The most important task of the Liangzhou Governor's Office is to resettle the people of Tingzhou, and the second is to build roads. To establish a state on the grassland, it is not just a matter of sending some people there. Of course, the work-for-relief method can be used in Tingzhou. To build a city and reclaim wasteland, food, clothing, tents, tools and other items must be prepared for the people. If it is transported by manpower alone, 80% of the food needed to build Tingzhou will be consumed in the process. If manpower is used again, Including the cost, it is an astronomical figure.
Fortunately, Liangzhou has a lot of cattle and horses. As long as there are enough vehicles, manpower and costs can be greatly saved. After the grain and grass supplied by the imperial court from surrounding states entered Lanzhou and Liangzhou under the rule of the General Manager of Liangzhou, Yang Ji adopted segmented transportation. One hundred thousand stones of grain and grass were transported from Lanzhou/Liangzhou to Ganzhou, and only five thousand people were used. The same number of people was used from Ganzhou to Guazhou, and Guazhou to Yizhou and Yizhou to Tingzhou were no exception.
If it were changed to the past, the imperial court would have mobilized civilians to complete this kind of ant relocation, and would have gone all the way to the end, but Yang Ji used all the garrisons from various states in Liangzhou.
Yang Ji's ideas were a bit advanced. It was not that the ancients did not realize that the army was more efficient than civilians, but that it involved the issue of military power.
This is the most important thing.
Imperial power and military power have always been two in one. No emperor would let military power escape from his hands, and no emperor would allow the army to leave the defense zone without permission, let alone an emperor like Yang Jian who rushed out of the blood and fire?
Therefore, when the troops stationed in various places are not ordered to do so, they cannot act without permission or leave the state, otherwise it will be regarded as treason. This is also an iron law and taboo of all dynasties. Whoever touches it will be unlucky.
But Yang Ji was not like that. First of all, Yang Jian and Yang Guang planned to use Liangzhou as a "test field" for military, official, legal and other systems after Yang Ji deceived them. Both father and son supported and encouraged Yang Ji to make troubles in Liangzhou. . Secondly, he is the general manager of Liangzhou and has the power to mobilize all the troops under his rule.
Third, Yang Ji adopted the segmented transportation method to try to prevent the garrison troops from various states from leaving too far away. After the delivery was completed, they returned to their own defense areas. This minimized the accumulation of garrison troops from various states and the unpredictable consequences that might occur. .
In order to reduce the contact time between the two states' garrisons, he also ordered each section to prepare carriages that could hold 100,000 shi of grain. When the time came for delivery, the rear section could be replaced with empty carriages for the front section's grain carriages, thus eliminating the cumbersome and cumbersome process. During the loading and unloading project, and in order to avoid inexplicable losses of food, the food bags were all sealed, and the escorting soldiers carried separate rations, and were supervised by prison officials during the journey; in this way, as long as there was no problem with the source, the food was basically Able to reach the destination from Lanzhou and Liangzhou.
But after all, there was still a lot of hard work, so Yang Ji left the loading and unloading to the prisoners, and sent 2,000 prisoners as coachmen to each section. The main role of the army was to escort the prisoners with arms and supervise the prisoners, but each section added Some necessary clerical staff are also a mighty team.
Such general arrangements may not all be reasonable. The small officials sent by Yang Ji are responsible for collecting all kinds of unreasonable arrangements so that the general administration and the states can make timely adjustments.
Some officials also raised objections. Some people believed that the food aided by the imperial court was only a temporary thing, and there was no need to transport it all to Tingzhou at once. It could be collected in Ganzhou and then sent to Tingzhou as appropriate. There was no need to build so many carriages.
This reason is correct, but two million stones is only the amount that Yang Jian has temporarily promised. If Liangzhou has sufficient transportation capacity and fast speed, doubling it will not be a problem. In this case, Yang Ji will of course try his best to transport it and repair it. Roads and city construction require horse-drawn carriages to transport materials, so how can it be wasted?
The key point is that all the data generated by this major relocation and immigration have reference value. If we are trying to save a few carriages and cannot get any reasonable data, it will undoubtedly be a small gain but a big loss.
When the opposing officials heard what Yang Ji said, they immediately changed from opposition to support; nothing else mattered, what they valued was moving grain. Liangzhou has been restricted by grain since ancient times, and the people cannot leave the land for construction, so Liangzhou's roads, water conservancy, cities and other infrastructure are not as good as those in the eastern states. If we can endlessly move four to five million stones of food, we can invite more young people to build roads, cities, water conservancy, and mines. .
In the following days, the entire General Administration Office was busy with these matters. Although the imperial court attached great importance to the first batch of immigrants, strictly ordered the states along the way to cooperate, and sent a large number of troops to protect, censors to supervise, and doctors to treat them, after all, Liangzhou is the main one, so the General Manager's Office and the states don't dare to be careless at all.
The Tuyuhun, Qiang tribes, Guazhou and Yizhou horse thieves in the Hexi Corridor need to be deterred and attacked by soldiers and horses. Since Yang Ji is the general manager of Liangzhou, he naturally needs to have enough deterrent power to prevent all kinds of monsters from moving around. .
The He Tuo Di Zhi Dao Department has also been formally established. Perhaps because he has suffered enough, he is not as stubborn and unreasonable as before, but he has not caused any trouble to Yang Ji Zheng, and based on Yu Shinan's idea, he has dealt with Zhi Dao The direction has been changed again.
In order to save land and make water more convenient for pedestrians, Yu Shinan's idea was to make the straight road close to the foothills of the Qilian Mountains. However, He Tuo believes that the most fundamental purpose of the straight road is to facilitate the travel of surrounding residents, and merchants are only a small part of it. If the straight road runs close to the mountains, the people in the Hexi Corridor will still trample pastures and fields, and it will be inconvenient for business travelers, food and accommodation.
Even Yu Shinan was convinced by He Tuo's opinion and thought it was inappropriate. So after another discussion, he set the straight path in the middle of the corridor, and based on the southern foot of Yanzhi Mountain stuck in the middle of the corridor, he pulled the line and then The road was built in sections on the east and west sides. When the road encountered hills, it was dug. When it encountered large mountains, it was bypassed. The road surface was set to ninety-nine feet.
After the discussion was settled, construction began. After all, there were nearly 100,000 Turkic captives who consumed a large amount of food every day. If you use it one day earlier, you can earn one more day of labor.
Although they used to exchange labor for food, the work they did was relatively easy, but road construction was different.
After the arrangement was completed, Yang Ji felt a little more relaxed. After finishing his work and training for the day, he took Xiao Ying and others to see the progress of road construction.
Because the cables are being repaired in sections, the past few days have been spent on laying foundations and building arch bridges and culverts across the river. The canals that should be left for irrigation must be kept to prevent the straight road from turning into a levee and field ridge across the Hexi Corridor.
Although there is no modern machinery to help, the ancients' use of mechanical principles and lever principles in construction may not be much worse than that of later generations.
From the first sight, it was still a busy scene. Several craftsmen used carriages to bring several large barrels of glutinous rice porridge, eggs, and grass ash. Someone specially broke the eggs, mixed them with the glutinous rice porridge, and grass ash, and then stirred and beat them.
"What are you doing?" Yang Ji was a little surprised, so he walked over with Xiao Ying and other girls to watch, and asked the busy craftsmen.
"I've seen Alang." Although the craftsmen didn't know Yang Ji, they were dressed in luxurious clothes and had many guards, which made it obvious that they were traveling with noble people. These craftsmen quickly stopped their work and came to see him.
"No gift." Yang Ji looked at the adhesive mixed in the barrel and asked doubtfully, "Do you use this kind of adhesive?"
"Exactly." The leading craftsman bowed and replied: "Mix glutinous rice porridge, grass ash, and eggs together, and then mix them with clay to bond the stones and green bricks together. This is how city walls are generally built. If the roadbeds of ditches and rivers were not so bonded, they would be prone to collapse."
No wonder the Great Wall of the Sui Dynasty was made of rammed earth walls. It was probably because the cost of adhesives was too high that the Sui Dynasty could not afford to build masonry walls.
Yang Ji looked at the adhesive that was still used to fill tombs and coffins in rural areas in later generations. After thinking about it, he ordered: "Go find some lime powder."
Lime appeared in the Western Han Dynasty and even before that, but most of it was used together with charcoal to prevent moisture in tombs. However, Yang Ji thought of using it for construction. Although he could not make cement, he knew that lime powder, clay, and fine loess alone could be used to prevent moisture. It can form an extremely viscous adhesive, and the stoves in rural homes are bonded with this mud.
Although the craftsmen didn't quite understand why Yang Ji asked them to find these things, they didn't dare to ask any more questions. Someone immediately went to get some lime, and under Yang Ji's command, they used a sieve to sift out the fine clay and loess, and then Mix with lime to form a slurry.
"Try using this kind of mud to see if it can replace the glutinous rice, egg and grass mortar." Yang Ji said: "If it can replace the glutinous rice mud, it will definitely save a lot of money."
"Here." The craftsmen suddenly became interested after hearing Yang Ji's last words. However, it was only used as a test object after all, so they did not immediately use mud to build the roadbed, but piled it up excitedly. Block the wall.
"Lang Jun is also interested in the art of construction?" Xiao Ying curiously looked at the wall that was getting taller and asked Yang Ji.
"Many people can't even eat glutinous rice and eggs, but the imperial court used it to build the city wall. This is not a luxury for the imperial court, but a last resort." Yang Ji pushed the slightly shaking test wall and said expectantly: "If mud can replace glutinous rice milk, the glutinous rice and eggs saved by this straight road alone will be enough for the people of Ganzhou to eat for a long time."
Xiao Ying quickly asked: "How long will it take to see results?"
"I don't know either." Yang Ji shook his head and said, "But it will get stronger as time goes by. We'll see it again tomorrow."
Although Yang Ji is relatively free, it doesn't mean that he really has nothing to do. Of course, it is impossible to stare at this test wall.
As military households and immigrants get closer, there are naturally more things to be busy with, especially in Tingzhou. Not to mention following up the whole process, but at least we need to know how far it has developed. However, due to the primitive transmission of news and the widespread use of flying pigeons to send letters, what happened in Tingzhou will not be known until a few days at the earliest, and Li Jing and Yao Junsu are capable of completely solving many things, and more It is to report on the progress, and occasionally ask Yang Ji for his opinions.
The military households in Fulu County, Ganzhou are currently in the initial stage of dividing fields and land. Although there are many things involved, it is also a matter for Ganzhou Prefecture officials, and because the general manager's office is on their territory, it is difficult to judge whether it is good or bad. It can be seen that Ganzhou officials are more attentive to their work than other local officials, so Yang Ji does not need to worry too much at all.
The key lies with the imperial court. Interest disputes and intrigues between the imperial court and the central government are happening almost every day, and Gongsun Huan will send a dove over from time to time to inform. These are what Yang Ji is currently focusing on.
In addition, Yang Lun and Yan Bi have collected the hydrological conditions of the Yellow River for hundreds of years, in which the Zheng family of Xingyang played a huge role.
The Zheng family has lived south of the Yellow River for hundreds of years and has been threatened by floods. Therefore, they paid more attention to the water conditions of the Yellow River than even the emperors of the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties. Therefore, there are a lot of information about the Yellow River in their family history. When they heard that Yang Lun was preparing to regulate the Yellow River and build new embankments, they took the initiative to copy these extremely precious and complete historical materials to Yang Lun and Yan Bi for reference.
Yan Bi estimated the highest water level in the history of the Yellow River based on imperial classics and precious data provided by Zheng. Then, based on Yang Ji's concepts of "conquering the sand on the river" and "consolidating the embankment of the wide river", he constructed the strand embankment, the moon embankment, and the check embankment. , Yaodi made appropriate modifications, and calculated the width of the riverbed between the four-layered embankments on both sides. If two large river embankments were built according to his design plan, then there would be no danger even if the highest water level in history was several percent higher.
However, the estimated cost was also ridiculously high. It was so high that Yang Jian, who was not wrong, hesitated. Finally, at the unanimous request of the Henan government and the public, Yang Jian decided to build the Yellow River embankment. Among the astonishing costs, I am afraid that the embankment surface will have to be used The adhesive is one of the huge expenses.
If the mud he made could replace the glutinous rice pulp, it would save an astronomical amount of money for the Sui Dynasty on the Yellow River embankment.
Realizing the importance of mud, Yang Ji took the officials of the General Administration to the test wall early the next morning. The craftsmen had been waiting there early. After everyone got to know each other, a craftsman carried After receiving Yang Ji's signal, he raised the gavel and hit the wall hard.
There was a muffled sound of "Bang~", but the wall was not damaged at all. He looked at Yang Ji, saw him nodding, and then continued to hit the wall hard, hitting it hard for the seventh time. Cracks have appeared.
"How is it?" Yang Ji asked the craftsman nervously because he didn't know the adhesion and resistance of glutinous rice paste.
Several craftsmen smashed the test wall bonded with glutinous rice paste. After a confrontation, an old craftsman saluted Yang Ji happily: "Go back to the general manager, the wall bonded with glutinous rice paste is stronger than the glutinous rice paste." A few points, but glutinous rice slurry is difficult to dry, and mud is difficult to estimate, so it is not clear whether the viscosity of the two is the same, but even if the viscosity of the two is the same, the cost of mud is lower than that of glutinous rice. If you use mud to repair the entire walkway , its cost is less than 10% of glutinous rice milk!”
"Okay!" Yang Ji couldn't help laughing: "Do you still remember how to do it?"
"Don't dare or forget." Several craftsmen cupped their hands.
"Then we will use mud instead." Yang Ji said.
"Here!"
He Tuo, who was standing next to him, asked about the formula, frowned and thought for a long time, and said to Yang Ji, "General Manager, your mud seems to be used in the West."
"Oh?" Yang Ji said in surprise: "Who used it?"
"I'm not sure." He Tuo shook his head and said, "My father was from the Western Regions. After getting rich doing business on the Silk Road, he settled in Yizhou. He said that some of the vassal states in the Western Qin Dynasty had quite tall stone buildings. , the adhesive is similar to the Grand Steward. They mobilized a large number of slaves to collect volcanic stones, beat them into powder, stirred them into mud, and then built tall houses and castles."
Yang Ji's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. It seems that volcanic stone and volcanic ash are the most primitive cement, right?
He didn't know whether it was true or not, but he wanted to give it a try anyway, so he quickly told He Tuo: "Find some volcanic rocks and volcanic ash as soon as possible to try; by the way, when mixing the volcanic ash, only add lime and gravel. , never use soil. Then make a square mold and place it in it, just let it harden on its own and see if it can turn into a big stone slab in the end."
"Here." He Tuo responded.
"Sir!" At this time, Li Daliang rode his horse from afar and reported loudly: "The money-making furnace shipped from Daxing Shaofu has arrived."
"Really?" Yang Ji was overjoyed when he heard this.
"Exactly!"
"Finally, I've been waiting for it." Yang Ji took the reins of the horse from the guard, jumped on the horse, and ran towards the governor's house.
. . . . .
The Grand Steward of the Sui Dynasty was the local emperor of a large state. Only princes were qualified to be the Grand Steward. Among the many powers, they included the right to mine, smelt gold, silver, copper and iron, and to mint money. Of course, the general manager does not have all the powers. For example, he does not have the most important personnel appointment and dismissal power. All civil and military officials still have to be recommended by the Shangshu Province and appointed by the emperor.
The reason why Yang Jian added money minting points in Liangzhou was that Tingzhou and Yizhou were far away and the transportation of copper coins was inconvenient. In order to strengthen the trade between the Sui Dynasty and various countries in the Western Regions, Xue Yantuo, and various ministries in the Great Lakes Region, Yang Jian gave Yang Ji coins according to actual needs. money, which will play a vital role in Liangzhou’s economy.
The former Yangzhou General Manager Yang Guang, the former Yizhou General Manager Yang Xiu, the former Bingzhou General Manager Yang Jun, and the current Bingzhou General Manager Yang Liang are all exceptions.
As for Yang Lun, the general manager of Yanzhou, not only did he not have the power of appointment and removal, but he also had no right to mint money. It was not that Yang Jian treated him differently, but the water transportation conditions from Guanzhong to Yanzhou were very convenient, so there was no need to open a furnace to mint money.
When Yang Ji arrived at the official residence of the Shaofu Department, a green-robed petty official who had received the news hurriedly came over. He bowed and saluted and said: "The Shaofu Supervisor of the Liangzhou Department, Cheng Shi, came to see the chief manager."
"Shi Yecheng is exempt from the gift!" Yang Ji could tell from Shi Jin's attire that he was just a minor official from the ninth rank. Although he was engaged in making money, the money he made was not his own, so he had the right to do so. But, it’s okay to say that he doesn’t have any power.
Yang Ji exchanged a few pleasantries and went straight to the topic: "I have used money, but I don't know how money is made. Please open my eyes."
"General Manager, please follow me." Shi saluted and led Yang Ji to the courtyard of the Shaofu Department.
Coin casting is a series of projects. The Sui Dynasty has adopted the sand casting method. A hanging copper coin needs to go through processes such as copper smelting, mold making, melting, molding, polishing, selection, and threading. The people who came with the stone this time There are fifty coin craftsmen in total, but since Liangzhou needs to mine and smelt by itself, which requires countless miners, Yang Jian actually gave Yang Ji a huge industry.
Stepping into the courtyard, Yang Ji glanced around and saw that there were piles of money-making tools under the eaves. The craftsmen were sorting them out by category. The larger tools included more than a hundred copper-melting crucibles of different sizes, Forbidden blast furnace machine, as well as the stone foundation for the money pressing mold.
After reading this, Yang Ji realized that there was not much difference between casting money and making weapons. Seeing that there were dozens of mold-like iron money models in the box, he picked up one and looked at it, only to find that it was covered with rust, and the others were almost the same. So, he frowned and asked: "This thing is so rusty, can the money it is made from be standard?"
"The General Manager doesn't know that we are now using the mother's money sand casting method. The money we create is tighter, more detailed and has clearer lines than the money model casting method. These money models are no longer used." After Shi Jin finished explaining, he said awkwardly: " It’s just that people in our line of work cherish their tools very much and always take care of them.”
"It's good to do something and love something!" Yang Ji threw down the rusty Qian Fan and said with a smile: "But technology needs to be constantly improved, so it's better to throw away some things that are no longer used. , so that everyone can travel lightly."
Shi Jin didn't understand what he heard, so he followed the previous topic and said: "General manager, in fact, whether it is Qian Fan or mother's money, you can make money. As far as I know, many private money can be made better than official money." The money must also be exquisite; the key is that the Liangzhou Governor's Office has the right to mint money, so as long as the copper content is as high as the imperial money, it doesn't really matter whether the pattern matches the official money."
Yang Ji suddenly said: "You mean that there is no difference in technology between official money and private money. The key lies in whether it is illegal or not, and whether the copper content is high. Is that right?"
"That's right." Shi Jin said with a bitter smile: "Many people are casting copper coins privately and making huge profits from it. Some private coins have the same copper quantity as official coins, but their styles are more exquisite. They are more like official coins than official coins. . But most of the private money is bad money with a serious shortage of copper. Because the styles are not much different, the people can't tell the real money from the fake. Therefore, the only way the court can deal with private money is to punish it with severe criminal laws. But the court laws have restrained the common people. and businessmen, but there are many aristocratic families who make huge profits by making private money. As long as no one reports it, the court can only turn a blind eye. However, Liangzhou has the right to mint money and open copper mines to mint money. But it’s okay.”
Yang Ji glanced at Shi Jin unexpectedly. This guy seemed honest and honest, but in fact, he used this method to teach himself how to make fake money and make huge profits. Is this considered a fishing execution? Asked: "I wonder how many copper coins you can make in a month?"
Shi Jin quickly said: "This depends on the shortage of copper materials and manpower. If the general manager has enough copper materials and extra manpower, the money produced will definitely be much more."
In fact, the amount given by the Shaofu Supervisor to the local mint office has always been 10,000 guan a year. This 10,000 guan is enough to meet daily expenses. In addition, there is cloth that can be used as currency to make up for the shortage of copper coins. , and the army mainly uses food and materials and does not consume much money and silk, so the court gave 10,000 guan of coinage, on the one hand to prevent the proliferation of copper coins, and on the other hand to prevent the recruitment of private soldiers.
But this kind of restriction is insignificant. Neither Yang Guang, nor Yang Jun, Yang Xiu, and Yang Liang took this restriction seriously after they obtained the right to mint money. Shi Jin knew that Yang Ji wouldn't take it seriously, so he didn't even bother to mention the limit.
"In addition to copper materials and manpower, what else do you need?" Shi Jin didn't say anything, which didn't mean that Yang Ji didn't know, but he didn't point it out. Even if he made copper coins indiscriminately, he would not harm the Sui Dynasty. There is no psychological pressure to plunder the supplies of various countries in the Western Region, Xueyantuo, and the Great Lakes Region.
"We need to use charcoal as fuel." Shi Jin glanced at Yang Ji and said, "Actually, charcoal (coal) is better as fuel, but it is poisonous when burned."
"The poisonous gas of charcoal is caused by the airtight seal. If it is burned in a ventilated yard, it will not harm people. If a chimney is added to the stove in the enclosed yard to divert the invisible smoke, there will be no problem. I will Arrange some people to build the stove, and you can use charcoal with confidence in the future."
The "firewood-saving stove" is not difficult for Yang Ji. The kitchens of Wangfu and Liangzhou Xinjia now use this kind of stove, which is quite mature.
"Here."
…
Yang Ji did not stay here longer, but planned to mobilize manpower to mine. According to his countless historical experiences, he knew that both Yizhou and Huizhou had gold, silver and copper mines. Huizhou's name in later generations was Baiyin. In addition, Qilian Mountain There are gold and silver mines in Jinshan Mountain, Jinshan Mountain and Tianshan Mountain. As long as people follow their memories to find them, won’t money just come rolling in?
Of course, miners are also a problem, but this problem is not a problem. If there are not enough prisoners, they can be captured and used. At the same time, you can also use the money to buy Hu slaves.
However, the former is easy to say, but the latter requires careful planning and planning.
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