Han Xiang

Chapter 637: Extremely Favoring the Third Person

Work-for-relief projects needed to be selected. Except for a few fertile areas in Wu County, most other places in Yangzhou were wild and uncivilized.

In an era without mechanization, there were many aspects to consider when doing things by manpower, such as transportation, material procurement, construction difficulty, and the income gained after completion.

Dredging rivers and building dams can effectively prevent the next flood, but it is not a once and for all thing. Flood control requires local officials to continue to do it.

Mechanization and technology pale in comparison to the powerful force of nature.

There are large swamps in Guangling County and Wu County. If they can be filled and improved, they may become fertile farmland. However, the amount of work is huge and the results are slow.

After two months of research and inspection, Long Xiang finally decided to follow the example of Sun Quan in history and build a new city next to Moling, like Hefei New City, with the big city as the center and radiating to the surrounding areas.

Although Yangzhou has a vast land, its development is backward because it is far away from the Central Plains. The south of the Yangtze River is even regarded as a barbaric land. The people in the east of the Yangtze River are also called people from outside the Yangtze River and people outside the Yangtze River by the Central Plains people.

From the time Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty divided it into thirteen tribes and states, until the rise of the Sun family in the late Han Dynasty, the seat of Yangzhou government had been changing in Huainan within the Yangtze River.

Among the counties in Jiangdong (Jiangbiao), Wu County is the most prosperous. Danyang County is synonymous with producing elite soldiers. Its governance is located in Wanling (Xuancheng) in the south, and the surrounding areas of Moling in the north are not developed enough.

Moling is adjacent to the Yangtze River and has a superior geographical location. However, this advantage turned into a disadvantage during the melee between the princes. It was easily attacked by water pirates and powerful men. Therefore, although there were plains and fertile soil around it, it was deserted and densely grassed because no one was cultivating it.

Now that Sun Kuang has led his troops to surrender and the military threat to Guangling in the north has been lifted, Long Xiang believes that this place can be vigorously developed. It is also time for Jinling, which has a rich history, to appear on the map.

When building Moling New City to settle the victims, Long Xiang wanted to make the Jiangdong cake bigger. In addition to economic considerations, there were also political considerations.

Most of the officials in Jiangdong counties now come from the gentry from Wu and Hui counties.

Longxiang wanted to set it up as a government seat after it was completed. This would be close to Hefei and Wuxian, which would facilitate him to check and balance the north and south of Yangzhou, and also have the intention of weakening the influence of the Wu Hui clan.

Select the city site and complete the planning.

Qiao Min was appointed deputy commander-in-chief and led Guangling's [-] soldiers and civilians to start building the city.

Building a new city does not take three or two months. Stone, wood, and cement are hugely consumed. The former can be collected locally, but cement currently only has workshops in Hefei.

Taking into account the waste of resources caused by transportation, Longxiang not only built brick kilns around the construction site, but also launched more than a dozen cement workshops at the same time.

At the end of the year, Jiangdong is freezing cold.

Since they were building new homes for themselves, the victims were very motivated to work, and they had hot meals to fill their bellies every day, so they worked enthusiastically.

When Jian Yong and Lu Su rushed to Moling, Long Xiang was correcting the deficiencies in project management with Qiao Nian.

The last time he built Hefei New City, although Qiao Ma stayed at the site for a long time, the project was always controlled by Long Xiang. Qiao Ma could at best be regarded as the chief engineer of the project.

During the construction of Moling New City this time, Long Xiang intended to train bridge workers to independently manage the project, and he acted as a consultant.

The two communicated in architectural terms. Xu Chu, Lei Xu and other colleagues could not understand, so they all stood outside the house waiting to chat.

"Mr. Zijing? Why are you here?"

"Haha, where is Yunqi?"

"Talk in the room"

Lei Xu and Lu Su were talking loudly, and Long Xiang's face changed when he heard this. He thought to himself that if Zijing didn't stay in Jingzhou to help, could he come back now for something important?

Long Xiang hurriedly stepped forward and saw the familiar face as soon as he leaned out. He had also seen Jian Yong beside Lu Su.Is Jian Yong also in Jingzhou at this time?Didn't he go to Guanzhong with the emperor's uncle?

Long Xiang was suspicious because he didn't know Liu Xie was alive, let alone that he had gone to Chang'an.

"General Long, Your Majesty asked me to announce the decree."

Jian Yong took out the edict as he spoke, but Long Xiang stayed where he was as if he didn't hear it.

Seeing this, Lu Su quickly reminded: "Yunqi still doesn't listen to Xuan? There's something good going on."

"Your Majesty? Who is it?"

Long Xiang mistakenly thought that Liu Bei had proclaimed himself emperor, and thought to himself, "You won't be so reckless, right?"Then he looked at Lu Su doubtfully for explanation.

Historically, when Liu Bei heard that Liu Xie had been killed, he was surrounded by ministers and proclaimed himself emperor in Chengdu. In fact, he was forced to abdicate by Cao Pi.

Although Liu Xie was 'dead' in the fire, Cao Cao did not usurp the Han Dynasty. He only supported the puppet Liu Xi to ascend the throne. Regardless of whether Liu Bei recognized the new emperor or not, Long Xiang at least would not.

Lu Su saw Long Xiang's expression and immediately understood his doubts, so he explained in a low voice: "Before Yunqi closed Xudu, which caused chaos in the city, His Majesty was protected by Luo Yicheng and others and fled from Xudu to Hongnong. Uncle Liu Huang then I took your Majesty back to Chang'an and reorganized the imperial court. Yun Qi did a great job in saving your Majesty. Your Majesty will reward you based on your merits."

"It turns out that it was Chen Longxiang who took over the order."

Since it was Liu Xie's will, Long Xiang could naturally accept it happily, so he immediately knelt down and paid homage.

After Jian Yong read out the edict, he congratulated Long Xiang with a smile and said, "Your Majesty has given you the title of Marquis and General. Your Majesty is extremely gracious. Now besides the lord and General Guan, General Long is the third person in the court."

"Don't dare."

Long Xiang stood up to compile and said seriously: "Xianhe, please tell the general. Long's loyalty to the Han Dynasty will not change, but the general's obedience will not change either."

"Jian Yong already understands the prince's intention."

Jian Yong nodded slightly, and then asked again: "Before leaving Chang'an, my lord and the military advisor asked me to ask, how will the general make the northern expedition? How many troops and horses will be able to coordinate at that time?"

"Yangzhou has a weak foundation and has recently suffered a major flood. I am afraid that all the food saved in Hefei in recent years will be consumed by the victims, and it may not be possible to move northward in the short term. Alas."

Long Xiang sighed and paused for a moment, then continued to add: "Fortunately, Sun Kuang raised Guangling and surrendered. I only need to guard against Sun Quan in the west. If the general marches into the Central Plains in the future, Taishi Ziyi can send troops to Xuzhou and Qingzhou to attack Cao Cao from the side. contain."

"Don't you personally lead the troops?" Jian Yong looked confused when he heard this.

Long Xiang shook his head slightly and pointed to the northwest and explained: "Xianhe should have heard that in order to settle the tens of thousands of victims, I am building a new city in the northwest of Moling. I must sit in the rear to ensure stability."

"The Lord has considered everything carefully."

When Jian Yong nodded in agreement, he also mentioned that he would select talents from Yangzhou and follow them back to Chang'an to serve as officials.

Long Xiang asked officials in Huainan and Jiangdong to rush to Moling City for Jian Yong to choose.

Seeing that Long Xiang was so solemn about his work, Jian Yong hurriedly waved his hand and said: "You don't need to mobilize troops like this. It is true that the imperial court needs talents when it is first established, but Yangzhou is also the time to employ people. You can select some to join the court as appropriate. We can't stop eating because of choking." "

"What Xianhe said is true, I will consider it carefully."

When Long Xiang saw Jian Yong's answer, he immediately understood the other party's intention. He must not be too casual in choosing people. If he turns against the guests and goes against Liu Bei's people, the consequences will inevitably be self-defeating.

(End of this chapter)