After several months of fresh wind, the remaining snow finally subsided and turned into spring water to nourish all things.
Qilu land, Jining.
The spring breeze stirs slightly, the thin willows weep softly, and the vitality is bright.
In the early morning of that day, Song Li, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, led people out of the east gate of Jining City and stood on the bank of the Luhe River, looking at the river in silence.
The people of Jining, bringing their relatives and friends, went out for an outing in the spring sunshine. On the river embankment, crowds of people gradually surged, and laughter and laughter could be heard everywhere.
It's also true that after finally surviving the ice, snow and cold wind, shivering for several months, and accumulating sullenness for a long time, it can finally be swept away in this vibrant spring day, which makes anyone feel happy.
However, the joy is theirs, and Song Li's face is full of sadness.
"Master Song, Uncle Pan, the magistrate of Jining, is asking for an audience."
Lin Fang, secretary of the Ministry of Industry, bowed his hands and said in a low voice.
Song Li turned around and looked at Lin Fang. This man was in his forties, quite elegant, and was originally affiliated with the Ministry of Punishment. Because Lin Fang once lived in Linqing and was relatively familiar with Huitong River, he was transferred to the Ministry of Industry by Song Li.
"Just say that I have official duties and it is inconvenient to meet you!"
Song Li only wanted to think about flood control strategies and did not want to get too entangled with the local area. Besides, we’ve already met several times in the past few days, so why come and see him every few days?
Superfluous!
Lin Fang looked a little ugly. She hesitated and said, "Sir, I heard that Pan Zhizhou received an order from Zheng Gang, the prefect of Yanzhou Prefecture..."
Song Li's pupils froze slightly.
Yanzhou Prefecture covers four prefectures and 23 counties: Jining, Dongping, Cao, and Yi. Jining is under the management of Yanzhou Prefecture, and its government is in Rencheng.
Bidige
As a court official, Song Li was very clear about the importance of Yanzhou Prefecture.
From the location point of view, Yanzhou Prefecture is located in the middle between the capital and Peiping. It reaches Peiping 1,230 miles north of Rencheng and Nanjing 1,230 miles south.
It can be said that it is the heart of North Zhili and the key to defending South Zhili. Its strategic position cannot be underestimated.
The most important thing is that Huitong River passes through Yanzhou, which will become an important water transportation center and the artery of the "south-to-north grain transportation" in the future.
Once there is a problem here, dredging will open up the river and restarting the Grand Canal will be a joke.
Now that the magistrates of Yanzhou have stepped forward, Song Li can no longer refuse. Even if he is the minister of the Ministry of Industry, he does not dare to ignore the local officials of Yanzhou.
In fact, the "officialdom" of Yanzhou Prefecture is more complicated than most prefectures and counties in the Ming Dynasty, because there are three forces here:
The first force was a noble relative of the clan, namely King Lu.
The second force is the derivative public house of "the best family in the world"!
The third force is the local "parent official" Yanzhou prefect.
The first King of Lu, Zhu Tan, has become an immortal and "ascended" through cultivation. His son Zhu Zhaohui is only twelve years old and has not inherited the title yet. It seems that he is incompetent, but in fact he is not.
Zhu Zhaohui is a child, but he still has family and officials. These people all need benefits. Although the child is young, Prince Lu's palace will not give up the benefits he deserves.
But after all, Prince Lu's Mansion is still a clan member of the royal family, and Song Li is not too worried about them if they listen to the emperor's words. However, Duke Yansheng's Mansion is obviously in trouble. They rely on their status and influence to interfere directly or indirectly. Covering Yanzhou Prefecture and even the land of Qilu.
"Go directly to Rencheng."
Song Li had no choice but to ask someone to take the horse and go to Rencheng under the escort of Lin Fang and several state officials.
It was almost dusk when we arrived at Rencheng.
But before Song Li could rest, the prefect Zheng Gang personally greeted him and arranged a banquet to entertain him.
Song Li did not sit down, but looked at Zheng Gang with a smile on his face and asked, "Is this banquet set for Song?"
The flesh on Zheng Gang's face trembled slightly, and he said quickly: "Your Majesty, this is a special trip for you. Please take a seat."
Song Li moved his chair back, looked at the side room with a cold face, and said loudly: "Why, after Sage Kong, do you still dare not see people and hide to one side to peek?"
Zheng Gang quickly explained: "Master Song misunderstood, there is no one from Yanshenggong's mansion here..."
The door opened, and a middle-aged man holding a book walked out. Under his willow eyebrows were narrow eyes with a cold light. There were a few pockmarks on his slightly thin cheeks. His short and sparse beard was being covered. Hold it in your hand.
Song Li glanced at Zheng Gang and said, "What did Master Zheng just say?"
Without looking at Zheng Gang's sallow face, Song Li took a step forward and saluted, "Song Li has met Duke Yan."
Duke Yan Sheng smiled and didn't say anything when he passed by Zheng Gang. He sat in the chief position and said, "You two adults, please take a seat."
Zheng Gang felt his face burning with pain. Didn't he agree beforehand that Yan Shenggong would not come forward, but listened from behind and tried to persuade him? Fortunately, he ran out directly.
If you want to run out, run away as soon as possible. As for letting me get slapped in the face? Once word of this gets out, how can I, Zheng Gang, hang out in Yanzhou Prefecture?
Song Li said to Zheng Gang who was stunned on the spot: "Master Zheng, please sit down."
"Sir, please come first."
Zheng Gang was a little confused and asked quickly.
Kong Na didn't care about Zheng Gang. He came to serve as the city government office, which gave him a great honor. Those who can enjoy this honor are usually members of the royal family. As for Zheng Gang's face, what is that?
"Master Song came to Shandong this time. We all know that he came with the mission of dredging the Huitong River. However, the court does not know much about the Huitong River. I am afraid it will not be possible to dredge the Huitong River. I would also like to ask you to be the prince of Shandong." The people should think about it and reply to the Holy Spirit, abandon the plan of dredging the river and switch to sea transportation."
Kong Ne didn't mince words at all, he said it directly.
Although Kong Na was Yanshenggong and also served as the magistrate of Qufu County, and was somewhat of an official figure, he still had the title of "Duke" on his head. Most people could only look up to him. He didn't understand official talk, and he didn't bother to understand it.
As a "big shot", he does not need to be like ordinary officials, walking on thin ice for fear of saying the wrong thing and offending others.
Facing the powerful Yan Shenggong, Song Li quietly removed the wine glass, replaced the tea cup, poured the tea, and said: "Yan Shenggong, dredging the Huitong River is an order from the Holy Emperor. The cabinet unanimously agreed. How can we say that things approved by the Ministry of Industry will not work if they are not feasible? Besides, the sea is rough and bumpy with high winds and waves, how can it be compared with river transportation?"
Kong Ne looked at Song Li who was putting pressure on him. He almost had to use the emperor and the entire court to pressure him.
However, so what if the court exerts pressure!
If you can't repair the river, you just can't repair it!
As the head of the Kong family, this Duke Yansheng needs to ask for orders and speak out for the people!
Kong Na did not directly confront Song Li, but asked: "I wonder if Mr. Song can read history books?"
Song Li frowned and said, "Although Song is not talented, he still knows a little about history."
Kong Na said seriously: "In March of the first year of the Sui Dynasty, just after the cold winter, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty ordered the excavation of the Tongji Canal to connect the Huaihe River and the Yellow River. At that time, millions of people in Henan and Shandong were conscripted! The people were oppressed by corvee service. There was no way to breathe, and the people were in dire straits. Mr. Song should know what happened to the Sui Dynasty later!"
"Let's not talk about the Sui Dynasty, let's talk more recently. In the 26th year of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty ordered the construction of the Huitong River, the Shandong Canal, with a total length of more than 250 miles. Do you know how many people were recruited? Two hundred More than half a million!"
"In the twenty-eighth year of the Yuan Dynasty, Emperor Shizu of the Yuan Dynasty followed Guo Shoujing's suggestion and dug the Tonghui River from the capital to Tongzhou, with a total length of more than 160 miles, and recruited more than 2.8 million migrant workers!"
"Master Song was ordered to come to manage the Huitong River. In your opinion, how many people and how much power do we need to recruit to achieve such a feat?"
Song Li frowned.
Kong Ne stood up and said sternly: "The ministers in the court just opened their mouths and wanted to take the lives of millions of Shandong people. As Duke Yansheng, how can I not say a word?"
Song gave the gift a sip of tea, raised his head slightly, and said to Kong Ne who came over: "Master Kong is overly worried. The Yuan Dynasty dug a huge river to open it. Because of the word "excavation", our court only needs to dredge the original river channel." There is no need to use millions of migrant workers for repairs, and with the strong support of the Ministry of Household Affairs, there is no possibility of harshly blaming the people."
"Oh, when the Yellow River was being built at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, was there still little money and food?"
Kong Ne shouted.
Song Li suddenly put the tea cup on the table, stood up, and said: "Mr. Yansheng, this is the Ming Dynasty, not the Yuan Dynasty! I, Song Li, am here to assure you that once the court money and food arrive, you will be able to make one, two, and one cents." If someone is found to be greedy for money and food from dredging the river, even if he takes off his official uniform, I will bury him at the bottom of the river!"
"Master Song, I hope you will remember what you said today! I also hope you will investigate carefully. If there is civil unrest, it will not be a matter of wearing official uniform!"
After Kong Ne finished speaking, he threw up his sleeves and left.
Zheng Gang looked at Song Li, sighed, and then chased him out to bid farewell to Duke Yan.
Song Li sat down and fell into silence.
Kong Na's words are not lies. Such a large-scale water conservancy project must consume a lot of manpower, and the river can be said to be the Shandong Canal. The people who recruit the most migrant workers are probably the people of Shandong.
But Shandong is really bitter.
Before Hongwu, Zhu Yuanzhang made several northern expeditions. It seemed that Peiping was his base camp, but in fact the rear area was Shandong. Whether it was food supply or civilian recruitment, Shandong's contribution was indispensable.
In the past thirty years, the people of Shandong have not been stable for a few years. In addition, after Zhu Yunwen ascended the throne, in order to curb the ambitions of the "King of Yan", he mobilized hundreds of thousands of troops to blockade Peiping. The food of these armies required manual transportation, and these tasks , another showdown came to the Shandong people.
Shandong has been tired for a long time.
But Song Li had no choice. As Shandong is the water and land hub from Nanjing to Peiping, if he didn't pass through here, where would he go?
If we take a detour, how much time and food will be wasted, and how much manpower will be added?
Late at night, Lin Fang looked at Song Li who was standing in the courtyard looking up at the night sky. He took a cloak, walked over and said, "Sir, it's still a little chilly at night. Please put on more clothes and take care of yourself."
Song Li waved his hand, rejected Lin Fang, and said, "The imperial court wants to do something, but the difficulties are far greater than the imperial court imagined. Lin Fang, in your opinion, what should we do?"
Lin Fang thought for a moment and replied softly: "Sir, our mission is just to build the river... As for Yan Shenggong, the prefect of Yanzhou, or the palace of Prince Lu, it has nothing to do with us..."
Song Li's eyes lit up.
This seems to be the truth. I am just a river builder. Why do I get involved in the local area and get entangled with these officials? The most important thing is to find out the plan to build the river and report it to the court. As for someone who stumbles, it is not me who stumbles. , it’s the imperial court, it’s the emperor...
