The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 293 Zheng Lue’s future

Wang Xizhi and Wang Du took an official ship all the way, entering Zhangshui from Jinkou, passing Hejian County, Anping State, Julu County and other places.

Because the northern section of the Yongji Canal relies on the Zhangshui River, relatively speaking, it only needs to be widened and dredged, or a sluice gate should be built at the height difference. This is much easier to build, and the Zhangshui section of the project was completed first.

So Wang Xizhi and Wang Du stopped at the official port and were preparing to disembark, when the bow of the ship came over and said:

"Wang Jinshi, do you need us to put down a small boat for you to get to the port on the other side?"

"Oh?" Wang Du heard the words from the bow of the boat and said, "Boatman, are you ready to drive people away?"

"What are you talking about, Wang Jinshi? Even if you lend me some courage, I wouldn't dare to act like this!" The bowman said quickly,

"It's just that the port on the other side was built by aristocratic families. Compared with the official port, it is more luxurious and more beautiful. Most of them are descendants of aristocratic families.

When you disembark at the official port, most of them only provide heavy meals, which are not as exquisite as those on the other side. But Wang Jinshi, you will definitely get it for free. . "

"Master Yi, I'm short of money. I'm afraid I won't be able to go to the port of the Aristocratic Family to enjoy the delicious food," Wang Du couldn't help but say.

"I'm not a greedy person, and I might even be able to taste the heavy tofu curd!" Wang Xizhi said with a smile.

After saying that, the two got off the boat and headed to the public dock, chatting while walking.

"This canal has only been open for such a short time. Is it possible that one river separates two worlds?" Wang Du couldn't help but sigh.

Listening to Wang Du's sigh, Wang Xizhi couldn't help but said, "Aren't the ferries on both sides of the river owned by the imperial court?"

"No!" Wang Du couldn't help but shook his head and said, "As soon as Hebei was conquered, the imperial court built the Yongji Canal, and a large part of the money and food came from local aristocratic families.

Any aristocratic family that contracts all the money and food in the county will receive a reward in return, and the other will be given to the court. Of course, the court will pick it first! "

"Then why is the current port of the imperial court relatively dirty, while the port of the aristocratic family on the other side looks more gorgeous?" Wang Xizhi couldn't help but show some incomprehension when he heard Wang Du's words.

“Because the Han Dynasty’s purpose for the public port was to allow more lower-class merchants and coolies to live there, and to serve the purpose of allowing more people to rely on the Yongji Canal for survival.

Therefore, the environment here is relatively dirty and messy, and the food provided is mainly heavy on salt.

So the vast majority of the people living here are doing hard work, as well as us poor officials! "A familiar voice came from behind Wang Du.

When Wang Du heard the voice, he turned his head involuntarily and happened to see Zheng Lue.

However, Zheng Lue was wearing brown linen, and his originally chubby body had become even thinner. The only thing that remained unchanged was his smile and the slightly squinting eyes on his face.

"Boundary rule?" "Ziqi!" Both of them were very happy to meet this time, and it was so casual.

"Yishao, let me introduce to you. This is Zheng Lue of the Zheng family in Xingyang, the leader of the examination. Jieju, this is Wang Xizhi of the Langya Wang family." At this time, Wang Du, as the introducer of both parties, Talk about it right away.

"No. 1 Scholar?!" Wang Xizhi heard Wang Du's words and looked at Zheng Lue in front of him again and couldn't help but marvel.

"Luck, luck!" Zheng Lue said, "Your Majesty attaches great importance to facts and policies, so I was lucky enough to get the first prize. If the imperial examination were replaced by an examination of essays or poems, I'm afraid I might not even be able to get the first prize."

"Jieju is too modest!" Wang Du sighed after hearing Zheng Lue's words, and then said to Zheng Lue, "But then again, Jieju, why are you here?"

"Those of us Jinshi who stayed in Yecheng were basically under the command of Dr. Chen Yuan. As inspection censors, if we saw corruption, we had the right to directly participate in the performance. Of course, we also had to write down the diary of the area as a work refer to."

Zheng Lue said this and continued: "Perhaps because I proposed in the final palace examination "Yongji Canal" that the built Yongji Canal should be used as an axis to guide the surrounding mountain springs in order to develop farming, he was sent to inspect Yongji. Qu, let me write Yongji Qu’s diary!"

"It turns out that your imperial examination was so off-topic. No wonder you were admired by the King of Han. Now I look back and realize that all my articles are not even meaningful!" Wang Du couldn't help but say.

"Don't be humble. After all, you are also a Jinshi, so you must be appreciated by the King of Han!" Zheng Lue said.

"I always feel that I am the one who was lucky enough to be selected by the King of Han!" Wang Du couldn't help but sigh.

"Then you don't need to be humble. In terms of luck, you are the best in the world." Zheng Lue said more truthfully.

When Zheng Lue said this, he looked at Wang Xizhi and said:

"Young Master Yi, you come from Henan like me, and you are from the world-famous Langya Wang family.

Although I missed the exam, if you want to become an official, I can write a letter of recommendation to Shangshu Ling Chu Hui. I believe Shangshu Chu will take good care of you! "

To be honest, no matter whether Chu Hui is willing or not, all the aristocratic families from the south will instinctively support Chu Hui.

This is not necessarily because Chu Hui formed a clique for personal gain, but because Chu Hui's identity is too special.

He not only represents the interests of the family, but he is also part of the veteran faction. Even the military history system was presided over by him before Xi joined the army.

Therefore, Chu Hui himself can be regarded as a party, an absolute political group formed with Chu Hui himself as the hub.

Zheng Lue, who came from the south, almost instinctively hugged Chu Hui's thigh without having to know the way.

"Then thank Brother Zheng!" Wang Xizhi heard Zheng Lue's concern, expressed his gratitude, and then said,

"Brother Zheng, you just said that the vast majority of people living in Guanjinkou are coolies and poor officials. Doesn't the King of Han know this? Or does the King of Han condone this?"

"The King of Han naturally knows the situation here." Zheng Luolee said with a bit of regret, "But if all the ports here are built according to the construction standards of the aristocratic families on the other side, the cost to be paid will be too high.

For the vast majority of people who rely on the canal for survival, although this side is now a little messier, at least they still have a place to stay.

And there are also retired soldiers patrolling, so at least there is no need to worry about safety.

But if this place is like the opposite Jinkou Jiajia, which has carved jade railings and fine wine and fine food, it will not be able to operate here.

At least these common people may be forced to leave and go to more unorganized but cheaper places. "

When Wang Xizhi heard Zheng Lue's words, he nodded thoughtfully and said with some emotion,

“If Brother Zheng’s plan to farm according to the Yongji Canal can be successfully implemented, I think more people will be able to farm instead of coming here to make a living.

I somewhat understand why the King of Han chose you, Brother Zheng, as the number one scholar, because you are so talented! "

When Zheng Lue heard Wang Xizhi's words, he couldn't help laughing and said, "Thank you, thank you!"

For a moment, Zheng Lue looked at Wang Xizhi and felt as if he had known each other at first sight, and he started talking more earnestly. To be honest, Liu Tai could see that the further development of "Yongji Canal" in Zheng Lue's imperial examination was naturally quite insufficient.

Although the farming plan he proposed with Yongji Canal as the core was very good, Zheng Lue did not solve the unavoidable problems of how to solve the problem of water sources if his plan was implemented.

You must know that this is the north, not the south. The south has abundant water power, and some water is brought in from time to time.

But in the north, it is not uncommon for rivers to dry up during dry seasons, so I must give priority to ensuring the transportation of the Yongji Canal. After all, there is water in the channel, and at least food can be dispatched from other places for emergency response.

Therefore, Liu Tai asked Zheng Lue to come here to serve as the censor of the river patrol. The most important reason was to let Zheng Lue go deep into the grassroots to see if he could come up with a plan. If he could come up with a relatively reasonable plan, Liu Tai would be willing to do so. Throw money in.

Think of it as training the future prime minister. After all, if this plan can succeed, you will naturally train him as the reserve prime minister.

If you fail, then naturally don't say anything more. Even if you are the top pick, you only have one chance to try and make mistakes.

Of course, in Liu Tai's opinion, instead of spending a lot of effort to divert the river into the river, it is better to think of more ways to find cash crops that are more suitable for local cultivation.

It's just that this requires taking over the south of the Yellow River, or even the south of the Yangtze River, to cultivate food crops.

After all, cash crops can only be developed when there is abundant food, otherwise it will inevitably lead to social unrest.

Of course, if we really take over the south of the Yangtze River, we must develop waterways, especially find ways to obtain rice from Champa. By then, the population of Chinese people may actually exceed 100 million in the feudal era.

However, Zheng Lue didn't know Liu Tai's thoughts.

But he knew that as the censor of the river patrol, in addition to impeaching corruption when he saw it, the most important thing was to thoroughly perfect the details of his "Yongji Canal" policy in the imperial examination.

This required him to visit village after village and explore tributary after tributary.

After all, when you really want to do something, you always need to implement it at the lowest level. Simple planning from the upper level is not enough.

Even though Liu Tai knew how to plan, Cao Yi, Guo Pu, and Wang Bo were the ones who really did the work.

Zheng Lue knew this because Chu Hui came over and gave Zheng Lue some advice.

After all, it is not easy to produce such a down-to-earth person among the gentry. Chu Hui felt that by training Zheng Lue, he did not expect to become a minister, but at least he was at least seven or eight levels sure of becoming a future great minister.

After all, he had a high enough vision and at the same time could put forward the details and methods of farming down-to-earth. At least other scholars couldn't do it, so Chu Hui also reminded him.

Chu Hui's reminder to Zheng Lue was enough for Zheng Lue to devote all his attention to this matter.

After all, people of this era are pursuing a reputation as a young scholar, and Zheng Lue knew very well that if he could complete the entire strategy he proposed in the imperial examination, a famous scholar would be waiting for him.

It is under such circumstances, how could Zheng Lue not be enthusiastic about his work!

Therefore, Zheng Lue was indeed very happy to meet Wang Du this time.

But on the second day, Zheng Lue immediately devoted himself to the survey of the entire Yongji Canal and said goodbye to Wang Du.

But before leaving, Zheng Lue gave Wang Du the key to the courtyard that he had received as a reward for being the number one scholar, saying that he would go to his courtyard as a place to stay in Yecheng first, and leave the main house to himself, and you can help me clean it. Clean it so it won’t be covered in dust when I come back.

Living in Yecheng is not easy. This sentence has been deeply understood by all those who have come to Yecheng.

Although the court will provide a place to live after becoming an official, the problem is that the low-cost employee dormitories provided by the court are the same as the independent courtyard houses that are obtained after becoming the number one scholar.

Basically, the top five in the first class will provide such small courtyard buildings, and they will only be used by this group of candidates. When the next batch of new candidates come out, they will need to give up this house.

However, Liu Taize said that the next batch of exams will take about three to five years, and the house will be in Zheng Lue's hands for at least a short time.

Generally, after serving as an official for three years, you will usually have your own house as an official. Even if you don't, the court will allocate you a house equal to your grade.

Of course, in this era, there were many children from aristocratic families, so there was generally no need to wait for the court to allocate a house.

After all, the houses allocated by the imperial court follow the grade, and what grade will be assigned to what grade of residence.

And if you have been living in your own house, in addition to receiving the corresponding housing allowance from the court, the most important thing is that you will not be moved because of your promotion or demotion.

And Wang Du was not polite. Since Zheng Lue dared to give it away, he dared to take it.

Unlike when I was crowded into an inn with him, even if I took a bath together, I still took a bath together!

After taking the key from Zheng Lue, Wang Du and Wang Xizhi quickly headed towards Yecheng.

When he arrived in Yecheng, he introduced Wang Xizhi as if he were half a master: "When we arrive in Yecheng, let's go to Jieju's house and settle down first.

After I report to Dr. Chen tomorrow, I will drop by Chu Shangshu's residence to deliver the assassination.

No matter how you say it, you are from the Wang family of Langya, and you have done filial piety. Shangshu Chu will definitely not treat you badly! "

Wang Xizhi was about to answer Wang Du, but at this moment several people surrounded them.

"What are you doing? I am Wang Du, a new Jinshi. This is the seat of the Han Dynasty. Under the feet of the King of Han, if you do anything rebellious, you will definitely be severely punished by the court!"

Wang Du stood decisively in front of Wang Xizhi at this moment, looking at several people with a serious look and threatening them.

The leader, Liu Zhao, pointed to the winged tiger embroidered on his body, then took out the Imperial Army token and said:

"We are the Hu Ben Guards, and we have been ordered to come here to invite the young master Wang Xizhi of the Langya Wang clan."

"Is this the Langya Wang family?" Wang Du, a man from a poor and poor family, understood the meaning of the four words "Langya Wang family" for the first time, and then whispered to Wang Xizhi, "The King of Han was born as a captain of Huben, and the guards of Huben were the king of Han. Soldiers."

When Wang Xizhi heard this, he walked out from behind Wang Du and said calmly: "This is Wang Xizhi of the Langya Wang family. Please don't embarrass Brother Wang."

Wang Xizhi said, turned to Wang Du and said calmly: "Thank you Ziqi for sending me here, but Xizhi needs to go on his own for the rest of the way."

As he spoke, Wang Xizhi saluted Wang Du, took a deep breath, and did not wait for Wang Du to return the salute, but prepared himself to face the most difficult obstacle in his coming to the North.

Following these Tiger Guards, they headed towards the Han Palace in Yecheng.

(End of this chapter)