Road construction is going on everywhere in Qufu County, so much so that the entire county is filled with smoke and dust.
But the places where the roads have been repaired are refreshing.
The cement road, which is more than ten paces wide, is as smooth as water, with ditches on both sides of the road.
This kind of ditch is also made of cement, and a cement cover is added on top.
Lu Shiyi ignored the dirty smell and squatted down by the ditch to take a closer look.
The sewage flows through it without causing any impact on the roads and streets.
"Why are the trenches dug so wide?"
Lu Shiyi had walked on the road himself and had experienced the benefits of concrete roads, so he was not ashamed to ask.
A local has the answer.
"This kind of ditch can be used for drainage during heavy rains, so that water will no longer accumulate in the city."
It's a very simple truth, Zhang Pu and others will understand it as soon as they hear it.
Apart from anything else, they have to admire Shandong's municipal construction.
Compared with the road construction in the county, the huge project is at the foot of Nishan Mountain in the distance.
Not only Qufu locals, but also the surrounding people came over. Tens of thousands of people covered the ground and dug the southern foot of Nishan into a large ditch like a lake.
Zhang Pu and others met Qufu County Magistrate Huang Zongyan here.
The queen of this famous family didn't show any elegance at this time. She was dirty all over her body and was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. She didn't even bother to clean the mud on her face.
"County Magistrate Huang, what are you doing?"
Zhang Pu looked at Huang Zongyan with complicated eyes, wondering why a good and loyal minister would be so willing to become a thief, and even completely abandon his scholarly demeanor.
Huang Zongyan was chewing steamed buns.
He is from Zhejiang and is not used to eating pasta. But nowadays, he can eat one steamed bun as big as a fist in two bites, and eat four in one sitting.
After strenuous labor, it is better to eat steamed buns to resist hunger.
"A large reservoir will be built here to solve the water problems of all nearby people."
Huang Zongyan explained the purpose of this project.
Everything can be forgotten in the late Ming Dynasty, but natural disasters are the most unforgettable.
Among many natural disasters, drought is the most terrifying.
Therefore, within the controlled area, Zuo Menggeng always emphasized the role of water conservancy projects.
Fortunately, this is Shandong. Although there are droughts, they are not severe.
If it is like Shaanxi, no matter how hard we try to build water conservancy projects, it will be useless.
Taking advantage of the relatively good times in recent years, Shandong is still doing well. Others can be postponed, but water conservancy projects must be done first.
Nowadays, various reservoirs are being built overtime in various parts of Shandong.
Once a drought occurs, these reservoirs are the basis for life-saving.
But Zhang Pu and others couldn't help but change their expressions when they heard that this was building a reservoir.
"County Magistrate Huang, this is where the saint's tomb is. You are waging war here and disturbing the saint's heroic spirit. How are you going to explain it to the world?"
Huang Zongyan heard this and looked over coldly.
"The saint has been blessed forever, and he certainly doesn't want to see his people starving. Do you think the saint approves of building the reservoir, or does he disapprove?"
Zhang Pu and others used saints to make excuses, and Huang Zonghui used saints to fight back.
Moreover, his reasons were more upright and ZZZQ, which suddenly made Zhang Pu and others speechless.
Can they say that a saint is willing to watch his descendants suffer from hunger?
As long as they dare to say it, they will immediately become the target of public criticism and the world's public thieves.
Since coming to Shandong, Zhang Pu and others have suffered repeated setbacks, and this feeling makes them very uncomfortable.
And they still lost in what they were best at, verbal debate.
Zhang Pu thought quietly, but couldn't figure out where he and others lost.
How did he know that the most important thing in an ideological debate is who can stand on ZZZQ's side.
When it comes to playing ZZZQ, Zuo Menggeng said that everyone in the world is his younger brother.
After a small confrontation, the huge project in front of them really attracted the attention of Zhang Pu and others.
"Aren't you afraid of provoking resistance from the people by so laboring and consuming people's energy?"
Huang Zongyan was extremely proud, pointing to the busy construction site.
"You can ask as soon as possible to see if there was any coercion."
Guan Yingzhen didn't believe it.
"If the government didn't force me, why would the people come here and work so hard?"
"snort!"
Huang Zongyan put his hands on his hips and was high-spirited.
"There was a severe drought the year before last and many people starved to death in Qufu. No one knows the importance of water conservancy projects better than them. Now the government is spending money and the people are contributing their efforts, just so that everyone has a hope of survival. You said, people How will we choose?"
After hearing this, Zhang Pu and others couldn't be quiet for a long time.
Exorbitant taxes, corvee labor and conquest have always been the bane of the common people.
Many dynasties have been destroyed because of such harsh treatment of the people.
Huang Zongyan said that these people were all voluntary, which was beyond their imagination.
However, after walking around the construction site for a few times, Zhang Pu and others also discovered why it was like this.
Although the people nearby come to work here for no wages, it can be regarded as a kind of corvee. But unlike the corvee in the Ming Dynasty, the county government here will provide food for the people.
Zhang Pu and others saw with their own eyes the food of the people.
Steamed golden steamed buns, and a large bowl of pork and cabbage stew for each person.
The three-layered pork belly, which is as big as a palm, is not something ordinary people can afford even in Jiangnan.
"How much money does it cost to provide food for the people like this?"
Hearing Sun Shenxing's emotion, Huang Zongyan was satisfied.
"These meats are delivered by the provincial government. Wherever reservoirs are built, the provincial government will provide 50,000 jins of pork, 100,000 jins of fish, shrimps, crabs and other aquatic products every month. Only when they eat better can the people have strength. Work.”
Hearing that Shandong actually gave the people such good food, Zhang Pu couldn't help but think of the Ming government.
"How much does County Magistrate Huang know?"
Huang Zongyan laughed angrily.
"All of these things are not handled by the officials themselves. They are under the responsibility of the Ministry of Finance. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Intelligence supervise each other. No piece of meat can be embezzled."
Hearing that the supervision in Shandong was so strict, even Zhang Pu, who was the most hostile, couldn't help but be impressed.
A government that truly cares about the people.
A well-organized regime.
A government that is as clean as water.
How can people not support it?
Not to mention that the officials here are completely different from those in Ming Dynasty.
The officials of the Ming Dynasty would only sit in the yamen, raise their hands to drink tea, and bow their heads to write ink. When he sees the white money, his eyes are crazy, and when he hears about the messy government affairs, he is helpless.
Not to mention caring for the people, have they ever gone deep into the people?
From what Zhang Pu himself saw and heard, many officials never even left their own yamen from the time they took office to the time they left office.
Compared with Shandong, it does not seem surprising that Ming Dynasty has declined today.
Looking at the originally flat land under my feet, it is becoming the source of life with the concerted efforts of countless people.
Even the most stubborn Zhang Pu couldn't help but feel his blood surge.
The powerful force that human beings have exploded for their own survival is the greatest glory in the world.
