A small soldier of the frontier army in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 640 Dirty Work
Seeing Du Xun, Wang Dou stood up with a smile: "Eunuch Du is here? Just in time, I have a new batch of high-quality tea here. You and I, enjoy it together."

Du Xun said displeased: "There is no rush to drink tea, the most important thing right now is to talk about money."

He sat down on his buttocks: "Tell me, when will Lord Hou give us the 15 taels of silver?"

After looking at Du Xun for a while, Wang Dou's face sank: "Du Zhenjian, the money that the Marquis promised you will naturally not be withheld. It's just that you didn't do anything, and you just took the 20 taels of silver from the Marquis for nothing. Don't you feel any guilt?"

Before Du Xun could speak, Wang Dou waved his hand: "Well, Xuan Town is undergoing major construction now, and there are still some tyrants who rely on them to coerce the government. Let you handle these miscellaneous people and other matters, anyway, your job is to do it. These."

He comforted: "Don't worry, the Marquis will definitely give you the money, pay it in installments, and if you do a good job, I will give you a batch of money, absolutely innocent."

The guarding officials of the Ming Dynasty had great power, they could intervene in local military, political, economic, judicial and other powers, they could also supervise the civil and military officials, dispatch the guards and troops, suppress local tyrants and so on.

Just like the East Road, when things are going on in Xuanzhen Town, there will naturally be people who obstruct and oppose them. Frightened by Wang Dou's prestige, they dare not openly oppose them. ,It could not be better.

"what?"

Du Xun was trembling with anger, and raised his hand against the case: "The Marquis of Yongning means to use our family as a long-term laborer?"

He shouted angrily: "Marquis Yongning, do you take this supervising army seriously?"

Wang Dou snorted coldly: "Hmph, there is no free lunch in the world. If you don't work, you want to get paid? That's impossible!"

He said: "Also, I know that you control the Weapons Bureau and the Money Making Bureau, you go to these two bureaus to take stock and see if there are any good technicians and equipment, I am useful!"

"That's it, remember, if you don't work, you will have no money!"

Wang Dou said one last sentence, and slowly turned to the back hall with his hands behind his back.

"This scumbag."

Du Xun stood blankly for a long time, and finally shouted at the direction where Wang Dou was leaving: "We agreed on 20 taels, but in the end we only gave 5 taels to our family, and the rest will be paid in installments... Marquis Yongning, people live in this world , what is the most important thing? Xinyi wow."

……

In February, it was still quite chilly.

From Xuanfu Township to the post road on the East Road, there are densely packed busy people. They carry loads and push small carts, first spread sand and gravel, and even pour some lime water in some places, and then Huge rocks rolled.

The smooth and solid road surface is spreading day by day, and it has received unanimous attention from everyone in Xuanfu Town. It is a good thing to repair the official road. What's more, there is enough food and wages, so everyone is working hard. Among the crowd, except for some young and strong, There are even strong women who are struggling to bear the burden.

Du Xun had a sullen face, followed by some young eunuchs and pacesetter guards. Before he returned to Nanguan, he saw a confidant of his who came over with a sad face and complained to Du Xun: "Elder-in-law, those big families are too much. It is three times higher than what the government pays, and the slaves will say whatever they want, but they will not surrender no matter what."

In Wang Dou's plan, a new official road was built to connect with the East Road, until the three gates of Changping Gate, Xuande Gate, and Cheng'an Gate in the south, as well as the Anding Gate in the east of the town. Depending on the situation, the official road will still It will be repaired in Zhangjiakou.

Several main streets in the city will also be repaired and widened. In fact, they are not widened, but restored. Over the years, not only the streets in the city, but also the suburban roads, many places have been occupied by people, either to build houses or to dig fields to grow vegetables.

Although the Ming Dynasty is not as good as the Song Dynasty, the policy was implemented. The government needed to hire prostitutes to dance to publicize the public, and it was rarely enforced. However, the local power was quite strong, especially when many interests were occupied, which were embezzled by wealthy families. It was not easy to carry out various public affairs. , The amount of various compensation payments is a difficult problem.

Because the compensation price is fair, it’s okay for some kind-hearted and fearful people, but some big households or unruly people take the opportunity to raise prices. Everyone in the town is afraid of Wang Dou, but Du Xun seems to be easy to deal with. Du Xun, who was in charge of this matter, was furious because of the persistent entanglement and entanglement.

Just as he was about to speak, another person ran over: "Eunuch, Eunuch, Li Dahu's family all lay down on the street, and they said they wanted to demolish their house, so they had to step over them."

Du Xun's face had been dark all the time, and at this moment he exploded: "Damn it, all cats and dogs are stepping on our heads, little ones, please listen to our family, pick up sticks, go forward and beat them Those who dare to resist will be handed over to our family, and if you don’t take money to redeem them, don’t think about our family letting them go!”

……

"It seems that Du Xun is going all out for money."

Wang Dou could see the situation there, the local forces were complicated and difficult to deal with, he knew it, eunuchs, like chamber pots, let Du Xun do these dirty jobs, the effect was good.

At this time, Wang Dou was not far from Yanghe, and he was accompanied by the officials of the shogunate, as well as Zhu Zhifeng, the governor of Xuanfu.

Hearing the voice of crying father and mother, Zhu Zhifeng was a little worried: "Marquis Yongning, if Du Zhenjian is like this, will he..."

He paused, the local forces were difficult to deal with, and he deeply understood that in the past, he wanted to rectify the street appearance, but in the end he gave up in a desperate situation. Du Xun volunteered to take on these dirty jobs, which surprised Governor Zhu and admired him in his heart .

However, he was worried that Du Xun's brutal behavior would trigger a civil uprising?There are also unfavorable public opinion such as gentry?
Wang Dou said: "The Supervisor of Du Town is honest and loves the people, and he is fair in dealing with things. Mr. Zhu needn't worry."

He changed the subject and continued the conversation just now.

Pointing to this section of the river and looking at the Yanghe River in front of him, Wang Dou said: "The terrain in this section is quite high, and it is difficult to divert water for cultivation, but there are many trees, so it can be rebuilt and transformed into a place for people in the city to go outing. The north gate of the city, In the area of ​​Xishuncheng Street, the abandoned houses collapsed, and most of the houses were destroyed. However, the green fields, elms and willows are misplaced, and they can also be rectified and built as a resting place for the people. After the rectification in the future, the town will definitely be comfortable and clean.”

"After the streets and official roads have been rectified, special personnel will be appointed to manage them. If it is sunny in the past, the sand will be buried, and the road will be full of mud if it is cloudy, and there will be garbage everywhere, so as to avoid epidemics. The current disadvantages of official labor are hard to recover. It will be managed by a special person, and it will definitely make the night small, the people will sing, and the door will not be closed at night."

Wang Dou finally said.

Zhu Zhifeng nodded slowly, quite fascinated, his political achievements are one, and benefiting the people is also what he hopes for in his heart.

In the Wangdou shogunate, the official roads and streets are under the responsibility of the Traffic Division of the Department of Civil Affairs, and the patrol similar to the police system is in charge of the newly established Patrol Division.

However, under Zhu Zhifeng's strong request, the governor and other yamen will also set up relevant agencies to jointly manage it.

Wang Dou's plan is that in the future, only one battalion of the Jingbian army will be stationed in the town, and the rest of the officers and soldiers will be withdrawn from the city to avoid crowding in the city.

Some officers and soldiers in the town are old and weak, with a lot of military resources. These people's temperament has shrunk, which really embarrasses the Ming soldiers. Moving them outside the city can also improve the grade of Xuanfu town.

"I heard that Yongning Hourang's subordinates developed coal briquettes with holes. What's it called... honeycomb?"

Zhu Zhifeng is also quite interested in a rumor.

Wang Dou nodded: "Exactly, coal is widely used in the northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and Xuan Town is the same. The night is full of smoke, and the ashes of the stove are everywhere. This briquette has a small smoke and a lot of flames. It is easy to make and convenient to transport. If successful, not to mention the reduction of coal ash, the ordinary people can also increase the way of making a living."

Honeycomb coal, Wang Dou is often seen in later generations, and he knows that it is a low-cost and easy-to-use thing.

Because it has been seen a lot, and the production method is also known, add flammable straw powder, etc., and coal powder, mix with a certain proportion of loess, add water and stir well, then press it out with a machine for pressing honeycomb coal, and dry it.

However, after arriving in the town, I accidentally thought of this thing. I thought it was easy to make, but I didn’t expect that the later generations saw the holes, but they didn’t know that the holes were made. Honeycomb coal is not easy, and the Secretary of Home Affairs is still studying how to drill holes efficiently.

But the words have been released, so Wang Dou can only continue to talk about the low cost, convenient use, and simple production of briquettes.

"Reading the books of sages and sages, what you do is to benefit the country and the country."

Zhu Zhifeng's iron face showed a smile: "The Marquis of Yongning is not as good as a lower official in terms of benefiting the common people."

He bowed to Wang Dou, Wang Dou helped him up, and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhu is serious. There are many things. I should ask Mr. Zhu for advice."

……

The two were talking, and from a distance, some wealthy gentry, merchants, generals, Confucianism students, etc. secretly looked at this side, while watching the scene of road construction in full swing.

"So much money and food is spent for nothing like this. Should I say that Wang Dou is stupid, or does he have other intentions?"

One person looked at it, his eyes were extremely hot, and while talking, he sighed in his heart, it would be great if he spent so much money on himself.

"Inviting to buy people's hearts, flattering the people, since ancient times, which one of these people is not a traitor?"

One person gritted his teeth and said: "The imperial court treats the gentry preferentially. Look at Wang Dou, but he forced the gentry and the people to pay food and taxes on the East Road, which provoked the anger of the sky and people's complaints. It's really gentle and disgraceful. What's more hateful is that if you don't give in to the king's despicable power, even It is impossible to enter Tunbao to be an official or an official, this is treason!"

He was talking, but his voice became lower and lower for the second half of his sentence, and only a few people who were at ease and close to him heard him.

Watching the crowd, there are also some visitors from outside Xuanfu Town, such as the Zhang family, Shen family, Yang family, and Li family who are integrated with government and business in Shanxi.

Wang Dou blatantly sent troops to search the property of everyone in Xuanda. Although these famous officials in Shanxi gave up those businessmen, it was impossible for them to have a good impression of Wang Dou, and some even hated them.

At this time, a voice said: "Duke Zhang, when Emperor Gao had a policy of building walls high, accumulating grain widely, and slowing down the kingship, seeing Wang Dou's management in this way, the schemer is great."

A slightly old voice said: "Hmph, Sima Zhao's heart is known to all passers-by. The king is ambitious and the country is in danger."

"If that's the case, what good plan does Mr. Zhang have for Daming's misfortune?"

"At this time, Wang Dou's soldiers and horses are strong, and his force is difficult. The only way is to wait for the word. We wait for the opportunity. If we wait for five or ten years, the king's thief will always decline. The day of the whore!"

This slightly old voice said: "I heard that Ji Junjiao is very favored by Wang Dou's thief? If there is such a day, even if the old man is old and the Ji family is half-old, I should try my best to resist her, so as to vent my hatred! "

The deep-seated hatred in his words made people feel chills when they heard it.

The previous voice said: "Mr. Zhang's treasured sword is not old, and the younger generation admires it."

……

Xuanfu Town and its surroundings are constantly changing. Of course, Du Xun, who is in charge of doing dirty work, has been resented by many people.

Under February, Wang Dou looked at a white and round object in his hand. He flicked his fingers and there was a ding sound, and the object in his hand made a pleasant sound.

He clamped it again with his hands, blew towards the edge of the object, and listened close to his ears, a pleasant buzzing sound came into his ears.

(End of this chapter)