After being dressed as Wu Zetian's daughter, she was favored by the group

More than a dozen shirtless brawny men beat the war drum, and the sound of "dong dong dong" echoed over the city of Kunzhou, which lasted for a long time.

"Huh? Why are there drums!"

Li Zhi, who was sitting in the carriage, opened the window and looked towards the city of Kunzhou.

"Is there? Aye must have heard it wrong!" Li Lingyue replied with a guilty conscience.

Li Zhi ignored Li Lingyue, but looked at Eunuch Chen:
"Eunuch Chen, did you hear that?"

"Return to Your Majesty, the slaves have heard it too!"

Li Zhi frowned, feeling that something important had happened.

Because war drums were not something that could be played casually in ancient times, unless there was a war or an inspection of the army.

"No, my eyelids have been twitching, I have to go back and have a look!"

Once she heard that Li Zhi was going back to the city, Li Lingyue was not willing to give up.

She managed to trick Li Zhi out so that He Shan could mobilize the imperial army and punish the profiteers. If Li Zhi was released now, she would definitely not be allowed to kill so many people.

Li Lingyue spent a lot of time talking before convincing Li Zhi.

Not long after, a group of people rushed to their destination, standing on the high embankment, looking around, it was all desolate.

The originally rushing river had completely dried up, and a large area of ​​the riverbank on both sides was exposed. Li Lingyue followed Li Zhi, patrolling along the embankment.

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Li Zhi would never have believed that those water-blocking dams that had been built with a lot of tax money from the imperial court would either collapse and not be repaired, or be half-built and abandoned.

Where did the court money go?
"It's unreasonable, what the hell has Yang Yushi been doing all these years?" Li Zhi was completely enraged by the bean curd projects.

"Aye, could it be that the people below filled their own pockets and swallowed up the court's money!" Li Lingyue questioned.

"Impossible!" Li Zhi shook his head: "The imperial court will send inspectors to the localities to inspect and verify every year. How much tax money is used and where it is used will be reported truthfully! Kunzhou builds water conservancy every year, and it is impossible to hide it from the inspectors." , even if someone fills their pockets, they can’t afford that much money!”

The father and daughter walked and talked all the way, and when they turned a bend in the river, the angry Li Zhi immediately became ecstatic.

On the plain, dozens of large and small water storage weir ponds were newly built, all of which were filled with river water.

These weirs and ponds are newly scattered, like green eyes, inlaid on this fertile land.

Such a large-scale construction, even if it is dry all year round, can solve the irrigation problem of the people.

"So it is, so it is!"

Li Zhi was so excited that his lips trembled: "As expected, Yang Aiqing did not disappoint me, the people of Yanzhou are saved!"

Not only Li Zhi, but Li Lingyue at the side was also greatly shocked.

It can be seen that Yang Yushi used the appropriation of the imperial court directly to build weir ponds for water storage, which was indeed far-sighted.

Just building a water-blocking dam will not solve the problem. If the subordinates fill their pockets and there are quality problems, the government's appropriation will be in vain.

What's more, if the water blocking dam encounters a flood, once the dam is washed away, all the manpower, material and financial resources will be wasted.

The construction of water storage weir ponds is the safest way. As long as the water is fully stored, no matter whether it is drought or flood, it will not be greatly affected.

"Yue'er, let's go back! I'm going to hold a banquet tonight, and I'll reward my love dearly!" Li Zhi was in such a good mood that he walked lightly.

Li Lingyue took a deep look at the outstanding project, and followed Li Zhi back with some doubts.

On the way back, Li Zhi boasted and praised the officials of Yanzhou. Li Lingyue was absent-minded, opened the window and looked at the chilly scenery outside.

When the carriage passed by a farm, Li Lingyue happened to see an old man and his wife digging a well by the side of the road.

The old man's face was full of loess, and he kept waving the iron pick to dig deep into the ground. The dug up waste soil was put into a basket with a rope tied to it.

Li Lingyue was curious. In the current weather, the land was so dry and cracked that it was difficult to dig out water by himself, so he asked Eunuch Chen to stop the carriage.

"Old man, are you digging a well?" Li Lingyue asked while leaning on the window instead of getting out of the car.

As soon as the old man looked up, he saw Li Lingyue, a lady from a wealthy family, and quickly stopped working, wiped his cheeks embarrassedly, and showed a simple and honest smile:
"Miss Hui, the old man is digging a well to get water!"

"Did you fetch water for your own drinking?" Li Lingyue asked subconsciously.

"Yes, the main thing is to irrigate the crops!" The old man replied.

'Irrigate crops? Li Lingyue clicked, and asked inexplicably: "This place is very close to the Yantang, why doesn't the old man go there to fetch water?"

The old man smiled wryly, but did not answer, but his wife muttered, "Why else, I have no money!"

Although the voice was small, it reached Li Lingyue's ears clearly.

Li Lingyue didn't wait for Li Zhi to stop her, she jumped out of the carriage, Li Zhi slapped his forehead, not knowing that his daughter was going to make such a fuss again, so he also got out of the carriage.

"This aunt!" Li Lingyue saluted the peasant woman generously: "I heard what you just said, do you have to pay for fetching water?"

Li Zhi's expression darkened immediately upon hearing this.

The peasant woman glanced at the twenty or so guards behind Li Lingyue, and quickly waved her hands in denial: "Miss heard wrongly, the servants say nothing, and don't know anything!"

Li Lingyue knew from the other party's expression that he was lying.

She didn't ask any more questions, but went back to the carriage, took a large bag of copper coins, and forced them into her hand before the peasant woman refused.

"Auntie, don't be afraid. We are not people from the government. We are also big families who come here to fetch water. I heard that fetching water requires money, but I don't know how much it is per load? Please let me know, so that the other party does not raise the price!"

Li Lingyue's contradictory words heard the peasant woman's ears, and she didn't think there was anything wrong. She kept rubbing the purse, looked at her husband, and finally said:

"Since you know that you need money to buy water, what else can I say? If Miss goes to the weir pond to fetch water, she will have to pay [-] yuan for each load!"

Twenty dollars is enough to buy 40 steamed buns.

Even though Li Lingyue has seen a lot, she couldn't help but be surprised by this showy operation.

In her time, water could indeed be sold for money, such as urban domestic water, mineral water, and bottled water.

But this was in ancient times, and some people actually made a fortune by selling water.

"Bastard!" Li Zhi walked up to the peasant woman with a livid face, and asked sharply, "Zhen... let me ask you, is the water in the weir pond over there really used to sell money? ……I!"

"Ayemo is going to get angry, let me handle it!" Li Lingyue hurriedly pulled Li Zhi aside, and smiled apologetically at the peasant woman.

"I, Aye, am an upright person, so I startled my aunt. I'm really sorry. May I ask my aunt, are these all Yang Yushi's actions?"

When the peasant woman heard Li Lingyue mentioned Yang Yushi, she quickly waved her hands and said:
"No, no, Mr. Yang is a good official. If it weren't for him, we ordinary people would not even be able to get the water from the weir pond!"

After the peasant woman finished speaking, her husband also helped to explain: "Yes, thanks to Mr. Yang, we can get water for free when we plow in the spring next year, and we will only charge money at other times."

The more Li Lingyue listened, the more confused she became. After careful questioning, she learned the whole story.

It turned out that most of the money for the construction of the weir ponds was jointly funded by Zhou, Wang, Xie, and Cui. They would not do good things for the people for no reason. However, most of the water conservancy funds allocated by the imperial court were used for disaster relief and safety for the people, and there was no way to build water conservancy projects.

In order to solve the irrigation problem for the common people, Yang Yushi had to negotiate with a few wealthy lords. Every year during the spring plowing season, the government takes back the management rights of the weir ponds. During this period, the common people can take unlimited water from the weir ponds. The power returned to the hands of several rich men.

In order to verify what the peasant woman said, Li Lingyue and Li Zhi went to Yantang to check on the spot.

Sure enough, a thatched hut was built next to each weir pond, and there were special guards inside. If you want to get water, you have to pay first.

Seeing such an absurd scene, Li Zhi was furious.

On the way back, Li Zhi never mentioned the matter of entertaining Yang Yushi again, but kept scolding him for being weak and incompetent.

Cursing is scolding, Li Zhi also knows in his heart that if someone else is in Yang Yushi's position, he will be helpless.

Li Zhi was in a very depressed mood. When he was about to arrive at Yanzhou City, the drums of "Dong Dong Dong" were still ringing endlessly, which made Li Zhi even more irritable. Eye-catching things make him unhappy!
Seeing that Li Zhi was on the verge of going berserk, Li Lingyue was really sweating for He Shan in the bottom of her heart.

"Uncle, if you don't hurry up, even the gods can't save you!"