After staying one night in Yuzhou County, the team set off again the next morning and rushed to the place where the construction of the big river canal was started.
The county guard, Fang Jin, insisted on following him in order to please King Xuan.
In this regard, King Xuan didn't say anything and just let him go.
When they arrived at their destination, they were naturally greeted by Han Ju and other water conservancy ministers of the Xuan Kingdom.
After all the officials knelt down and worshiped, King Xuan glanced around for a while and subconsciously asked: "Where is Mr. Zhang?"
Hearing this, Han Ju quickly came to the side and said truthfully: "Back to the king, Mr. Zhang happened to be inspecting the river fortifications in Zezhong County, but don't worry, the king, he should be back in the afternoon."
King Xuan nodded and asked as he walked to the construction site: "How is the canal mouth fortification going? How long will it take to complete?"
"This..." Han Ju hesitated for a moment, then followed him and said, "If this continues, I'm afraid it won't be a short-term solution."
"What do you mean?" King Xuan paused at his feet and frowned slightly.
Han Ju was about to explain, but he looked at Xiao Yuan cautiously, as if he was hesitant to speak.
"If you have something to say, just say it. Don't be secretive. Brother Qin Wang happens to be here. If Zhang Jingrui did something inappropriate, you can speak out." King Xuan said.
"Yes." Han Ju responded, and then said: "Master Zhang is too serious about his work. He personally inspects the fortifications at the canal mouth every day. If he is slightly dissatisfied, he will rebuild it again. This is not because I delayed the construction period, but because I didn't. There’s a way.”
"That's it." King Xuan suddenly realized. After thinking for a while, he said decisively: "Listen to him. Just do what he says to cultivate."
"Yes, I understand." Han Ju responded respectfully.
Xiao Yuan smiled and said with a smile: "Sister Wang, I'm afraid you don't know much about Zhang Jingrui. His work is not only serious, but Sister Wang knows that this person is the most important person in our country of Qin." money officials.”
"Brother Wang, if you didn't tell me earlier, I've already learned the lesson and opened my mouth for three million taels of silver." King Xuan said.
Xiao Yuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, Sister Wang, it won't be long before he reaches out to you again to ask for money."
King Xuan smiled bitterly.
While they were talking, everyone had already arrived at the starting point.
As soon as you look around, you can see that the place is full of people wielding hoes to dig river channels, and they are very busy.
There are also officers and soldiers holding riding whips. From time to time, if they see someone moving a little slowly, they will whip them hard and curse fiercely: "Damn it! Move faster!"
Under this kind of supervision, if a civilian dares to be angry and dare not speak out, being whipped by a horse whip is not a light thing, and there will be a bloody mark on his body immediately. Similarly, he will scream for mercy because of the severe pain, but if he moves slowly, he will be greeted again. It was a fierce whip.
A man with a thick rope hanging around his neck was struggling to push a wooden cart, but it got stuck in the mud and couldn't push it up for a long time.
As you can imagine, the result was that he was severely whipped immediately.
"Don't you have the energy to work? Hurry up!"
Feeling the pain, the man's hand loosened, and the cart moved backwards, tripping him to the ground. Before he could get up, the whip arrived again.
"Master, please spare my life, Master, please spare my life..." The civilian husband began to hold his head and beg for mercy, curling up, but he could not stop the soldier's whip.
Seeing this scene, King Xuan was furious, his beautiful eyes almost bursting with fire, and he immediately raised his hand and said: "Let them stop!"
ah? Han Ju was stunned for a moment, then realized what he was doing, and hurriedly ran forward and shouted: "Stop everyone! Stop work temporarily!"
He was wearing the uniform of a second-grade official. Following his shout, everyone looked over and stopped what they were doing.
After calling a halt, Han Ju hurriedly ran back, lowered his body slightly and said, "Your Majesty."
King Xuan glanced at him and asked coldly: "Did Master Han see it just now?"
"This..." Han Ju was a little confused and bravely said: "Wei Chen... Wei Chen doesn't know what the king means."
"You!" King Xuan was angry and pointed at the construction site: "Didn't you just see those officers and soldiers whipping the civilians?"
"Ah?" Han Ju finally understood and quickly explained: "The officers and soldiers are responsible for supervising the work. They scold and beat the lazy civilian workers in order to speed up the construction period. Your Majesty Mingjian."
"That's nonsense!" King Xuan said with anger on his face: "I saw clearly just now! No civilians were lazy! It was clearly the officers and soldiers who beat them wantonly! Such behavior is no different from that of a bully!"
"this."
Before Han Ju could explain further, King Xuan said again: "I am building this canal to nourish fertile fields and provide convenience to the people! I am not here to accumulate resentment among the people!"
"We, the Xuan Army, have always served the country and the people, and there are no officers and soldiers who harm the people like this!"
The more she spoke, the angrier she became. Han Ju was also frightened, lowered his body, and responded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, the king taught you a lesson."
"After that, the officers and soldiers can scold and chase them away, but they are not allowed to beat the civilians. Once discovered, they will be dismissed immediately!"
"Yes, yes, Wei Chen, keep this in mind and will issue an official document immediately."
"Also, are the wages and meals of these civilians guaranteed?" King Xuan asked again.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, the government has not deducted anything on this point. Not only is there no need to worry about food and accommodation, wages are also paid according to normal standards." Han Ju returned.
King Xuan thought about it and said, "This is a national project. The wages should be increased."
"Ah?" Han Ju felt a little embarrassed: "But Your Majesty, this water conservancy project costs a lot of money. It's unknown how much it will cost to recruit civilians. If the wages are increased, it will be a big expense."
"The national treasury can afford this amount of money. As I said before, big rivers and canals are meant to benefit the people, not to accumulate public resentment." King Xuan said directly.
"This, yes, the minister understands that he will consult with Lord Wang and others later, and then accordingly improve the treatment of civilians, draft an official document, and submit it to the king." Han Ju said.
"Yes." King Xuan was satisfied. Then he glared at Han Ju and motioned for him to retreat.
Xiao Yuan watched from the side. After she finished reprimanding Han Ju, the two of them continued to walk forward. He said: "I fully agree with what Sister Wang did just now. Such a beating will not only build up resentment among the people, but also damage the project." In fact, it is even more delayed.”
"This bunch of officials! It's so unreasonable! They completely treat the people like nothing." King Xuan was still angry: "This is still a problem with the officials of Xuan State. I really hope that they can be vigorously purged like the Qin State."
Xiao Yuan heard the words, thought for a moment, and said seriously: "It's better not to do it. The Xuan Kingdom has a century-old history, powerful disciples and old officials are all over the officialdom. It is deeply rooted and cannot withstand such a shock."
After hearing this, King Xuan sighed, "Actually, I also know. I just want to change this situation and make the officialdom righteous."
Of course Xiao Yuan understood her difficulty and smiled slightly: "It may not be possible to take drastic measures, but it is still possible to do it step by step and moisturize things quietly."
"Oh?" King Xuan's eyes lit up when he heard this.
