Yongningbo Zhang Cheng placed a roasted potato or sweet potato on the table in front of everyone, and the entire small meeting room was immediately filled with the aroma of potatoes and sweet potatoes.
It was only the second time for veteran Guo Yingxian to eat this sweet and delicious roasted sweet potato. He held the steaming sweet potato in his hand, took a bite and swallowed it hastily.
He opened his mouth wide and breathed out the hot air, feeling as if there was a fire in his throat, but the fragrant and sweet taste of roasted sweet potatoes made him enjoy and be fascinated.
"Lao Guo, please slow down, or I'll burn your big throat."
"Hahaha……"
Following Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng's joke, a burst of laughter suddenly erupted in the conference hall, and the slightly tense atmosphere of the discussion was instantly swept away.
Everyone was smiling and joking with each other even more unscrupulously. Only He Biao, the commander-in-chief of the Yongyi Army, could not help but shake his head and sigh secretly when he saw this scene, but he was helpless.
In fact, since Zhang Cheng was granted the title of Earl of Yongning by Emperor Chongzhen, he found that the generals under his command and himself seemed to have become more subtle.
It's not that everyone has any new ideas, their loyalty to Zhang Cheng has not changed. On the contrary, as Zhang Cheng continues to be promoted, everyone feels more and more that following him is a very correct choice.
However, Zhang Cheng is now not only their general, nor the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, he is also the Earl of Yongning of the Ming Dynasty. That is a existence that transcends rank!
You must know that even in the more than two hundred years of Xuanfu Town, few generals of the army were awarded the title of earl during their lifetime, and they may not have the opportunity to meet a current earl for several generations.
But now that their general is already the current Earl of Yongning, they will naturally respect Zhang Cheng more, so they appear a little reserved in person. Although their personal loyalty has not changed, they also look a little unfamiliar.
In order to change this situation, Zhang Cheng told his close friends more than once that it doesn't matter if he pretends to be in front of outsiders, but when his family members are together, they should still be as close as brothers.
It was based on this idea that he personally came out during the discussion and distributed baked potatoes and sweet potatoes to several people to lighten the atmosphere.
Speaking of potatoes and sweet potatoes, Beilu under Zhang Cheng's rule has really benefited a lot!
Potatoes are "potatoes", while sweet potatoes are "sweet potatoes". However, in the late Ming Dynasty, they all had the same name called "sweet potatoes", and they were both introduced to Guangdong in the south of the Ming Dynasty during the Wanli period.
For example, in the "Compendium of Materia Medica" written by Li Shizhen, the miracle doctor of the Ming Dynasty, it is recorded that "potatoes can treat cold spleen and stomach, shortness of breath and fatigue after illness."
The Ming Dynasty scientist Xu Guangqi, who was a bachelor of Wenyuan Pavilion and the second assistant to the cabinet, was living at home in Songjiang Prefecture due to the death of his father. He learned that sweet potatoes grown in Fujian and other places were a good crop for famine relief, so he introduced them to Shanghai from Fujian and then introduced them to Shanghai. It spread to Jiangsu and the harvest was quite good.
His book "Agricultural Policy Complete Book" comprehensively records the introduction of "sweet potatoes" to the Ming Dynasty, as well as its cultivation methods and so on.
These things may not have spread in the north of the Ming Dynasty, but Zhang Cheng, as a time traveler, is very aware of the contribution of potatoes and sweet potatoes to alleviating famine.
Therefore, when he clearly realized that he had really traveled to the late Ming Dynasty, the shadow of a series of crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corns was always in his mind, and he could not get rid of it for a long time.
Through his unremitting efforts, these new crops are now planted on Xuanfu North Road. Although their yields have not yet reached the terrifyingly high yields of later generations, they still have great advantages.
These newly introduced crops by Zhang Cheng do not have very strict requirements on soil quality and moisture, so they hardly occupy the original cultivated land when planted.
Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng guided everyone to make more use of mountain forests, sandy land, saline-alkali land, etc. to plant these crops, and they did not need to be taken care of as carefully as grains, so that they could have good harvests, which greatly alleviated the grain shortage in Beilu. insufficient.
It is potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corns that have been widely planted on the East Road. Even their new names were determined by Zhang Cheng based on his own memory.
Now, as Zhang Cheng leads his army to the town of Xuanfu to take up the post of chief military officer, these new high-yielding crops will be planted on a large scale in the town and even in the entire Xuanfu area.
Now, after everyone in the small meeting hall of General Zhenshuo's mansion discussed the situation of the Henan bandits, they brought the topic back to Zhencheng.
There are three things that need to be done now, the most important of which is the construction of the garrison camps of Weiyuan, Tengshe and Baihu battalions. After all, these loyal and brave soldiers who are willing to sacrifice their lives for themselves cannot be allowed to sleep in the open like this.
After some bargaining with the major merchants in the town the day before yesterday, they finally agreed to recruit civil construction craftsmen for Yongning Bo through their business names in various places.
After receiving the official letter from Zhenshuo Mansion, the surrounding fortresses all responded and said that they would definitely bring Qi Dingzhuang to the town within three days to listen to them. Some Qianhu and guards even said that they only need to take care of the food. No wages.
However, how could Zhang Cheng miss such a good opportunity to win over people's hearts!
"Work-for-relief" has always been Zhang Cheng's usual method. Not only did he complete the projects and work he wanted to do, he also fed the people, supplemented their nutrition, and won over the people's hearts. Why not do it?
The second thing was what Zhang Cheng and Bian Yongqing were talking about "cleaning the streets and alleys in the town" before noon today. This was his first kick after taking up his new job in the town, so he had to kick it. Gotta be pretty.
In order to avoid kicking on the smelly and hard stone, Zhang Cheng did not use all his strength at once, but adopted the "boil the frog in warm water" strategy of first easy and then difficult.
First of all, Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng ordered Counselor Liu Minshen to issue an announcement to launch a nationwide cleaning operation in the town in the name of General Zhenshuo's Mansion. The main content was to clean up garbage on all streets and alleys, especially those at the corners of back streets and alleys. Accumulation of garbage.
He designated the areas of responsibility based on the government offices, shops, and houses facing the street, and they were responsible for cleaning their respective areas of responsibility on their own.
If they do not contribute, then General Zhenshuo's Mansion will designate specialized personnel to clean it up, but the costs incurred will also have to be borne by them.
This can be regarded as courtesy first and then fighting!
As for those public areas where there is no clear responsible person, all the soldiers of the Yongyi Army battalions are responsible for cleaning. Anyway, the camps and school grounds have not been built yet. Although they conduct joint infantry and cavalry or infantry and cavalry artillery training as divisions and departments, Most of the soldiers are on rotation or participating in camp construction.
Now is the time to find some more work for them. The officers and soldiers of the Yongyi Army wear uniforms and participate in the sanitation and cleaning operations in the streets and alleys of the town. This not only demonstrates the high-spirited spirit of the Yongyi Army, but also aligns with the "military and civilian family" advocated by Zhang Cheng. The concept is consistent.
This was also Zhang Cheng's first military order after taking office. For the sake of caution, he specially ordered the commander-in-chief He Biao to take charge of the matter full-time, and ordered Chen Zheng to personally lead the soldiers of Baihuying to assist He Biao.
Everyone then talked about the reception of the "Jiliao Military Inspection Group".
The name "Jiliao Military Inspection Group" was also decided by Yongning Bo Zhang Cheng. After all, Zhang Dou, Cao Bianjiao, Zu Dabi, Liu Zhaoji, Xie Sixin and others came here for only two purposes.
The first is to see how Zhang Cheng can train such a strong army, even though he already has some understanding of the sophistication of the armor and weapons in the Yongyi Army.
But they couldn't figure it out, how could Zhang Cheng support tens of thousands of troops with only nearly half of Xuanfu Town, and how could he possess all kinds of sophisticated equipment and weapons?
The second was to discuss business cooperation with Zhang Cheng. When they were in Liaodong, they were very interested in the cigarettes produced in Xuanzan. Zhang Cheng confirmed the intention to cooperate with Wu Sangui, who was still the commander-in-chief of the Ningyuan regiment.
Later, Zhang Cheng developed the dried fish trade in the Empress' Palace. This time, many officials and generals in Liaodong had shares and dividends. Everyone tied to a vine to earn money, and they could no longer be separated from each other.
At the same time, the generals in Liaodong were very interested in the telescopes that the Yongyi Army generals had widely equipped, as well as meat porcelain jars, white sugar, fine salt, etc., as well as other industrial products such as glass.
Therefore, after the Qing army was defeated and retreated, they secretly conspired to visit Xuanfu Town, not only to congratulate Yongning Bo and Zhang Cheng on taking office, but also to discuss a round of cooperation to make money.
Zhang Cheng still welcomed their arrival in his heart!
This is like when he first rescued Jinwei, he laid a set of bait, and now people follow the taste and find it, isn't it just playing into Uncle Yongning's ambitions?
Finally, it was agreed that Wei Zhice, the commander of the Tengshe camp, would serve as the ambassador with full authority for the reception. He was originally a scholar from a prison school and was capable of both literary and military skills. With the help of counselor Wang Yuanjing and counselor Liu Minshen, he would be absolutely perfect.
When everyone dispersed after the discussion, Zhang Chengfang quietly invited He Biao and Chen Zheng to the side hall on the left. The two of them discussed with Zhang Cheng for half an hour before joining them. Leave.
…………
Although the officials, generals, and eunuchs in Xuanfu Town had their own thoughts about Zhang Cheng's arrival, they were all secretly observing Zhang Cheng's actions, wanting to see where his first three kicks would go.
Even Wen Hui, who had a deep hatred for Zhang Cheng, was no exception. Although he blamed Zhang Cheng for the tragic death of his young son, he only wanted to avenge his son, not to die himself.
From Wen Hui's point of view, he also knew very well that he did not have the strength to fight Zhang Cheng alone, so he was very dedicated to lobbying and agitating everywhere, just to expand his power so that he could play tricks on Zhang Cheng.
At this stage, before Zhang Cheng could find any fault or excuse, he still chose to remain dormant temporarily to watch the development of the matter without hesitation.
On February 15th, Zhenshuo General Zhang Cheng issued his first military order after taking up his new post in the town. It was posted all over the streets and alleys of the town, requiring that from tomorrow, all government offices, street shops and Government residences, private residences, etc. are required to clean up the garbage in front of their own courtyards...
At first, people didn't take it seriously. After all, they had lived in this environment for almost a lifetime and didn't feel anything was wrong. Who would be willing to spend their limited energy on something they thought was useless?
After Guerrilla Wen Hui heard the report from the servants in the mansion, his mood improved inexplicably. He immediately ordered the food and wine to be prepared quickly. He was going to have a few drinks tonight...
Not only Wen Hui, but few officers and generals in the entire town took this military order seriously, but they still wanted to do a face-saving project even if they didn't take it seriously. Most of them ordered the officials in the mansion to bring them tomorrow. Let people pretend to do it in a decent way.
Only those sitting in the various yamen in the town have some scruples and will put more thought into this. After all, they don't have the guts to refuse to carry out the military orders issued by General Zhenshuo's Mansion.
However, government offices that are not part of the military system, such as the governor's office, the household department's grain inspection office, and the punishment department's office of the criminal department, are another matter.
As the governor of the Xuanfu, Jiang Yuxu was quite puzzled that the first thing Zhang Cheng did after taking office was to clean the town. But after all, he was also a veteran in the officialdom, so naturally he would not go against Uncle Yongning or the Dusi Yamen. .
Moreover, as the governor of Xuanfu, he is the chief local official. If the environment in the town is greatly improved, it will be of great benefit and no harm to him.
…………
At dawn on February 16th, many families were still busy preparing for breakfast, but the streets were already full of people and seemed extremely noisy.
Many people didn't know the reason, so they opened a crack in the door to observe carefully, only to see a cloud of smoke and dust not far from the door. Many young and strong men were smashing pickaxes and shovels to clear away the old garbage on the streets and alleys. It must be called a hot day.
As the commotion outside became louder and louder, many people could not sit still. They kept sending their family members to inquire about the commotion outside, but the news reported shocked them.
Several major merchants in the town responded to General Zhenshuo's order and sent their own young and strong clerks to clean the areas responsible for their stores. Some merchants even hired helpers to clean up the areas in the street because their clerks were old and insufficient. Aged garbage in the area of responsibility.
For example, "Qing'an He Liangzhuang", which is in charge of the town's leading grain trade, "Wanhe Cloth Store", a leader in the cloth industry, and "Hongyuanfu", the largest business in the town, etc., are all organizing workers to clean up nervously. respective areas of responsibility.
In addition, Ruichangtai Branch, Qiande Branch, Zuixianju Restaurant, Sihai Automobile Dealer Branch, etc. also strictly obeyed the orders of General Zhenshuo and organized store clerks and helpers to nervously clean up the garbage in the city.
There are also teams of brave soldiers wearing bright red jackets. They are holding pickaxes or shovels in their hands, walking in the streets and alleys with neat steps, and starting to clear public areas in teams. Trash.
At this time, the bright sunshine was shining on Xuanfu Town, and large carriages were parked on various streets, some with two horses, and small wheelbarrows could be seen everywhere in the alleys.
Carloads of garbage were pushed out in wheelbarrows and loaded onto large carriages. Although it looked very messy, it was actually very orderly.
Those large carts were almost all loaded with the same type of garbage. Under the supervision of the Yulin Cavalry Guards of the Weiyuan Camp of the Yongyi Army, not a single cart was loaded with the wrong garbage.
Many fully loaded carts were driven by bargemen to different directions of the city gate. Everything seemed to have been planned in advance!
(End of chapter)
