Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

Zixuan discussed with the old people for a while, and then returned to Zhuangzi with Jinghan holding Qingyuan. After Qingyuan was put to sleep, the two of them discussed the solution.

"After we go back, let's prepare quickly. As everyone said, we are not afraid of drought, but we are afraid of waterlogging. In this way, we can mobilize the people in various places, and after the spring plowing is over, we will start to The dam should be repaired first," Zixuan said after thinking for a moment.

"Well, the other thing is that from now on, the food in the county government warehouse is not allowed to be used. In case of emergency, this is life-saving food. I will also save all the food in the winery. From now on, the winery I won’t make any more wine, and we’ll talk about it after a while if nothing happens.” Jinghan is not afraid of anything else. She is afraid that if something happens, people may be able to save it, but the crops in the field may not be. If there is no preparation at all, won’t these people also starve to death by then?

"I'm hurting my wife." Zixuan hugged Jinghan and said apologetically.

"What are you talking about? We have been married for more than four years. It's boring to talk about this anymore. By the way, if we build these dams, will the money in the county government be enough?" Jinghan only cares about making money. He was interested in the affairs of Zixuan County and never asked about the affairs of Zixuan County Yamen.

"It's enough. All the taxes collected in the past few years have not been paid in, and the money from the sale of wasteland has not been used. The construction of the county wall and other projects are all money allocated by the Ministry of Household Affairs, so the county There is still a lot of money in the government office, which should be enough." Zixuan felt a little sleepy, "Go to bed, we will go back to the county government office tomorrow, there are so many things to do."

Jinghan blew out the candles, then fell asleep in Zixuan's arms.

The next day, the family returned to the county. Today's county town is not what it used to be. The tall city walls are made of huge stones and are very strong. The size of the county town is directly based on the state town. The emperor meant that this place would be promoted to a state city sooner or later, so it would be better to build it directly according to the specifications of a state city to save trouble in the future.

As soon as he returned to the county government office, Zixuan found people from the county government office to discuss the matter.

Wenchang and Wenxuan are no longer here. They took part in the Qiu Wei examination the autumn before last. Wenchang passed the examination, but Wenxuan failed. In the spring of the next year, Wenchang won the first prize again. Wenxuan was a little discouraged. After returning home, he helped his father manage the family's property.

Jinghan wrote a letter to persuade Wenxuan to take the exam again in two years. Even if he failed, he should not be discouraged. The imperial examination was not the only way to go. Wenxuan has now turned around, saying that he is helping his father manage the family business while studying to prepare for the scientific examination. Jinghan doesn't object to this. To study, you don't have to gnaw at books, but you also need to practice more.

Ziwen, on the other hand, is here now. Like Wenxuan, Qiu Wei did not pass the exam after he was selected as a scholar. So I came to Zixuan and learned from Zixuan. This time, Zixuan had an extra helper.

Everyone spread out a relatively detailed map and carefully studied all the rivers in Zhendong County. "Sir, please see, although there are nine large and small rivers in our county, the biggest ones are the Taoer River and the Noni River. Why don't we go along these two rivers tomorrow and look around. Where are the dams that have problems? "As long as we are prepared in advance, we will be able to reduce losses even if water does occur."

The man who spoke was naturally the county magistrate. His surname was Zhao. He was in his forties and was a very steady man. Zhao Xiancheng and Zixuan get along very well, and he admires Zixuan very much for being able to make people live a good life in a short period of time.

"Well, that's fine. It's useless for us to just look at the map here. It's better to go to the place and take a closer look. Let's decide on the location first, and then when the spring plowing is over, we can recruit civilians and start building the dam together. . This can be considered a good thing that will benefit the people in the long run. We must do it well." Zixuan also feels that just looking at the map is not as good as seeing it on the ground.

So we arranged for the personnel to stay in the yamen, and the rest went out to check. After the division of labor was clear, everyone went home to rest.

"Brother, do you need to report the construction of the dam to the court? Logically speaking, it should also be reported to the prefect at the same time, right?" Ziwen asked Zixuan after everyone left.

Zixuan pondered for a moment before speaking. "Logically speaking, this is what should be done. After we all check it out and figure out the specific situation, I will write an official document and report it. This will be better."

In this way, in the next few days, everyone will go out together. Along the banks of the two rivers, we checked the condition of the river embankments and then decided on some locations for building embankments.

In addition, Jinghan also suggested that the diversion channel should be built together. Where water is diverted from the river, sluice gates are built so that during drought, the sluice gates can be opened to divert water for irrigation. When the water rises, close the sluice gate so that the fields will not be washed away. Another point is that there is no moat built outside the county government's city wall. This is a major disadvantage for defense. You can also take this opportunity to dig out the moat.

Zixuan was extremely excited about Jinghan's proposal, "Madam is great, I knew she would have a good idea." Zixuan hugged Jinghan and kissed Jinghan on the face.

Jinghan smiled, "Let's not talk about whether the idea is good or not. But you have figured it out. These projects are not small. How many people will be needed and where will they be recruited from? Do you know how many people are needed?"

"We have already calculated that for each river section, we will recruit civilian laborers from nearby villages. This way, they will be close to each other and work will be easier. For this moat, we can only find laborers in the city. In addition, the emperor Didn't he send five thousand soldiers to our place? The emperor had something to say, and he could let them help with the work when nothing happened. Wouldn't there be more of them when the time comes? Are there going to be a lot of manpower? "Zixuan has already made plans and is confident in his mind.

Jinghan nodded, "If that's the case, then I have nothing to say. This is a good thing to benefit the people, but you must make it clear to the people before doing it, so as not to make the good thing unpopular. Make the people willing. It's better to work." In the past few years, the two couples have made a lot of noise here. If it weren't for the emperor's full support, I'm afraid Zixuan would not be able to be the county magistrate here.

After all the plans were arranged, Zixuan wrote an official document and had it sent to Fucheng and handed over to the prefect. These projects are not trivial matters and can only be started after the governor has approved them.

It was impossible for the prefect to approve it immediately, so Zixuan waited anxiously. At the same time, Jinghan asked Zixuan to write a letter in detail about these matters and sent someone to the capital for Mingyu to deliver it to the emperor.

There was no reply from the prefect, and the spring plowing was not completely over, so Zixuan handled this official matter honestly in the county government office.

The chief clerk came in from outside, "Sir, the president of the county chamber of commerce is here and said he has some things he wants to discuss with you."

"Chamber of Commerce? This doesn't seem to have anything to do with me, right? Forget it, let's let people come in first, and I'll ask before we talk." Zixuan was a little puzzled. The chamber of commerce in this county was only established last fall. They are all merchants from various places who came here to build some workshops or set up shops to buy local specialties. Why do these people gather together?

Not long after the chief clerk left, two people were brought in, "Sir, these are the two presidents of our local chamber of commerce." The chief clerk specially introduced them.

Zixuan asked someone to see where they were seated, and then asked someone to bring tea, and then he looked at these two people. It turned out that they all knew each other. These two people were the owners of two of the several weaving workshops in the county. "I don't know if President Cui and President Jiang came to see me. What's the matter?"

"Sir, that's what happened. We, the people from the Chamber of Commerce, discussed it and decided to reduce the workers' wages. You may not know, but the wages here are twice as high as other places. We It’s not easy to operate here. Such high wages are really too expensive,” said one of the people named Cui.

Zixuan lowered his head and took a sip of tea, then did not raise his eyes to look at them again, "You two are the presidents of the local chamber of commerce. You can decide this matter. I don't care about these matters of the chamber of commerce. As long as you can hire workers, It's okay." Zixuan's voice was a little lazy, and when the chief clerk heard it, he knew that the magistrate was a little angry.

The head clerk secretly laughed in his heart, these profiteers, in order to make more money, actually thought of paying so much for their wages. You know, many people in the county now work in these workshops. If wages are reduced, these people will not be able to earn so much money. The chief clerk's family is in the local area, and some of his relatives work in workshops, so when he heard this, he felt very unhappy.

"Sir, you must come forward in this matter. Your Excellency, you should also know that your wife has many workshops in the county, and the wages in these workshops are the highest. Since it is a business, of course the cost is The lower the better. If Madam pays such a high salary, the cost will be too high, and the profit will be greatly reduced." The other person said, while muttering to himself. This county magistrate’s wife doesn’t understand business, yet she pays such a high salary. How can others make money like this? It’s true that a woman who doesn’t take care of her husband and raise children at home has to do these things.

"Sir, I hope the county magistrate's wife can take the lead in lowering wages. In this case, wouldn't she be able to earn more money? We have come thousands of miles away just to earn more money. If we can't earn more, If you don’t have enough money, this workshop won’t be able to continue.” There was a hint of threat in this man’s words.