Ordinary clear day

Chapter 74 Sankey
Shu Ning went back to her parents' room and told them everything said in her brother's letter.With tears in Tong's eyes, she read the letter over and over again.

Zhang Bao sighed, and said: "This boy is indeed a sensible one, we have not misunderstood him." Then he picked up the rattle and shook it a few times, walked towards his youngest son who was lying in the car with a smile, and shook him to tease him.

Tong put down the letter, wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, and said: "Although the son said so, we don't know the actual situation."

Zhang Bao smiled: "What are you worried about? There is still Ermo in Beijing. There will be no problems with his son's daily life. After all, he is the grandson of Ama Erniang. Will he treat him badly? You just love Don't worry about it."

Tong Shi smiled, and said again: "Duan'er said that choosing the prince to accompany him to study is too rash. Why did he give up such a good opportunity? If Ama finds out, he will definitely be accused."

But Zhang Bao didn't care: "If you don't do it, you don't do it. What's the point? And it's been nearly a month since the letter was sent here. I'm afraid the result has already come down, and what we want to say is useless. And it's not that Will Tong Ying from Prince Jian's family ask someone to recommend him to Zongxue? That's not bad."

Shu Ning also persuaded her mother: "Don't worry, Er Niang, brother knows what to do, just like what he said in the letter, if you really become the prince's companion to read, most likely you will not be with the fourth elder brother, but you will easily become the target of others' bullying." , it’s better not to do it. As for Zongxue, with Brother Tongying protecting him, no one will bully him.”

Tong's mind calmed down a little, and she stared at the "Pictures of Duanning's Daily Activities and Activities" carefully.

Shu Ning turned around and walked to the side of the car, teasing the little brother with her father, and after a while, she said to her father: "Ama, we wrote back to Beijing in the middle of November, but it turned out that it was almost the New Year, so we didn't Arrived in the capital. The messenger set off on the sixth day of the lunar new year, and it took more than 20 days to arrive all the way down the river. It took several months to go back and forth, which was really inconvenient."

Zhang Bao smiled and said, "It's impossible. Guangdong is so far away from the capital, and this waterway is already easy to travel. If you encounter that rugged mountain road, I don't know how long it will take."

"My daughter is thinking, our family is rich. Every time we communicate with my brother, we have to send someone to go back and forth for several months. Ordinary people will never even think about contacting their relatives far away. If the imperial court sends a special It is much easier for people to communicate with people in other places if they send letters between different places on a regular basis and only charge a small fee.”

"Oh?" Zhang Bao stopped the rattle in his hand, turned to her and asked, "Tell me about it."

Shu Ning thought for a while, and said: "For example, places A and B are far apart. Someone in place A wants to write a letter to his relatives who live in place B. He only needs to write the letter and pay some money, and it will be done. Someone helped him deliver the letter to his relatives."

Zhang Bao asked: "The same is true for sending letters now. If ordinary people want to send letters..."

"No." Shuning shook her head. "It's just for a few people to deliver, and the person who delivers the letter just happened to go to that place. If the government sends a fixed number of people, once every two or three days, or once every five days, they will go back and forth between the two places to deliver letters for people full-time. , wouldn’t it be much more convenient? Then you don’t have to wait for the right person to deliver the letter.”

Zhang Bao thought about it carefully, and felt that it made some sense: "How many people do you need? And the situation is different in different places, I'm afraid it's not so easy to do."

Shu Ning smiled and said, "Actually, this is not a new method. Don't you remember, Amma? In the Northern Song Dynasty, the Xiang army used to carry out postal delivery in the official camp, and it was highly praised by the people at that time. It was only after the war broke out that it was not implemented again. "

Zhang Bao was reminded by her, and he also remembered: "Yes, it is said that in the previous Ming Dynasty, an emperor had plans to re-implement this law, but later the court and the Chinese party fought fiercely, and the matter was left alone. In this way Speaking of which, the predecessors of the government-run postal service have also done it."

Shu Ning nodded: "That's right. Although Ah Ma is a low-ranking official, she can't do this kind of thing, but don't you know a high-ranking official?"

Zhang Bao understood what she meant, but hesitated: "It was written in your brother's letter just now that Wanning offended him..."

Tong Shi interjected from the side: "It is precisely because I offended him that I have to find a way to make it up. Our third room and Mr. Chen have always been on good terms. How could we alienate Wanning because of his ignorance? Write a good charter, if you get his favor, he won't alienate you because of that in the future."

Zhang Bao thought it made sense, so he agreed: "I'll check the history books carefully, and then I'll think about the whole constitution. When I write a letter to Master Yuheng, let's pass it on along the way."

Shu Ning said with a smile: "If it is really possible to open a government-run postal service and come to Guangzhou, it will be much more convenient for me to write to my brother."

Zhang Baoqu couldn't help laughing: "Even if it is really possible, it will be implemented in the Central Plains or the prosperous places in the south of the Yangtze River. It will be opened here, at least a few years later."

======================== I am the dividing line after a few days ====================== =
Zhang Bao braved the light rain and rushed back to the city from other places.He had just finished inspecting the farmland and water conservancy facilities in nearby towns, as well as the repair status of river dams, discussed with Mr. Su and other subordinates for a while, and returned home frowning.

Seeing that her husband seemed to be distracted during dinner, Mrs. Tong asked him if he had any troubles, but he said nothing happened, so Mrs. Tong could not continue to ask.After dinner, she saw Zhang Bao going to the study, so she wanted to follow, but the maid reported that Brother Xian was crying, so she had to go back to her room to see her son.

Seeing this, Shu Ning went to the study and asked her father, "Ama, what's bothering you? Er Niang is very worried. If you have something to say, you might as well speak up. Although my daughter is young, she might be able to give some advice."

Zhang Bao had also seen his daughter's ability in the past, but this problem was not something she could solve alone, but she couldn't persuade her daughter, so she told the matter.

It turned out that when he inspected other places, he found that there were many deficiencies in river engineering and water conservancy in various places.The seaside or low-lying areas are prone to flooding, while the high-lying areas lack irrigation water sources. These two places are not conducive to reclaiming farmland. However, it has only been a few years since the sea ban was reopened, and many former cultivated lands have been abandoned. Grain fields This is not enough.

At the same time, the waters of the Pearl River are vast and there are many rivers and lakes. Many dams were built in the past, and some places are even a little unstable. There was a dangerous situation during the rainy season last year.He intends to repair it, but if it is to be completed completely, the project is too huge. Whether the government has enough money is a problem, and it is even more doubtful whether it can be completed before the rainy season.

He is worrying about these things now and doesn't know what to do.

It really wasn't a problem that an inexperienced person like her could solve, so Shu Ning had no choice but to worry with her.After thinking about it, she remembered one thing.

She said to Zhang Bao: "Ama, I have heard that there is a thing called 'Mulberry Fish Pond' in the area of ​​the Pearl River. Have you ever heard of it?"

Zhang Bao asked what it was.Shuning replied: "I heard that the land on both sides of the Pearl River is low and often flooded. Farming has been flooded for ten years. Therefore, the local people dig ponds in low-lying places and raise fish in the ponds. The excavated soil is piled up around the pond as the foundation of the pond, which can reduce flooding. On the foundation of the pond, mulberry trees can be planted to raise silkworms, and the silkworm excrement can be used to feed fish, and the mud in the pond can be used to fertilize mulberry trees. It goes on and on.”

Seeing that Zhang Bao seemed very interested, she continued: "In this way, the flooding will not be so serious, fish farming can be sold for money to help the family, and silkworm farming can be used to get raw silk, which can be sold to Western merchants and shipped overseas. It's just that this method also has two disadvantages."

Zhang Bao hurriedly asked: "What is it?" Shuning said with a smile: "Firstly, the place where the pond is dug can no longer be used for farming; secondly, if people who use this method make huge profits, it may attract others to lose Started the great farming business passed down from generation to generation, and changed to planting mulberry and raising fish.”

Zhang Bao pondered for a long time after hearing this, and then said to his daughter: "Is the 'Mulberry Fish Pond' you mentioned really local?" Shuning nodded and said: "My daughter also thinks that there is one from the book, Ama How about calling a local to ask?"

Zhang Bao asked Chang Gui to find Zhao Asheng.Not long after, both Zhao Asheng and Hu Dong came and asked Zhang Bao what his orders were.Zhang Bao then asked Zhao Asheng if he had ever seen a "Mulberry Fish Pond". He was thinking about it, but Hu Dong beat him first: "My lord, I have seen it before, and my grandmother's house has dug such a pond."

Zhang Bao asked Hu Dong the details, and Hu Dong replied: "The villain's grandmother's home is in Jiujiang, South China Sea, where the terrain is low-lying and is often flooded. The villain's uncles dug ponds to raise fish, and they lived in the pond base. Planting mulberry trees, when there is a flood every year, because the pond base is high, it is better than other families. Moreover, their family collects a lot of raw silk every year and sells them to workshops or raw silk merchants, which can earn a lot of income. The fish they raise stay Enough to eat and sell for some money.”

Zhang Bao nodded, asked some more details, and let them go out, meditating alone under the lamp.Seeing this, Shu Ning didn't bother him anymore, and went back to her room.

Zhang Bao invited Mr. Su to discuss it the next day, and also consulted experienced farmers. He came and went and made a charter. After reporting to the magistrate for approval, he first implemented the "Mulberry Fish Pond" in some low-lying areas.But at the same time, it also shows that only digging ponds on wasteland is allowed, and farmers are not allowed to change the use of cultivated land without permission.As for the cultivated land that was abandoned in the early years, farmers with spare capacity are also encouraged to reclaim it, hoping to increase the number of grain fields by this method.

This measure was only implemented under the jurisdiction of the Guangzhou government. Somehow, it was known to Zhu Hongzuo, the governor of Guangdong. He thought it was a good way to encourage farming and mulberry. He greatly praised the officials of the Guangzhou government and ordered the whole province to promote it. At the same time, According to the decree promulgated by the imperial court in the 22nd year of Kangxi, it is stated that if someone reclaims the abandoned land, the original owner will not be allowed to intervene.

It has only been a few years since Guangdong reopened the sea ban, and many lands that have been abandoned for a long time have not been reclaimed.As soon as Governor Zhu's measure was announced, a vigorous reclamation campaign was launched across the province. Farmers without land competed to plow the abandoned fields, while big landlords who had left the land aside for several years and ignored it, They also hired tenant farmers to reclaim the land to prevent their property from being taken away.

This upsurge had little effect on Zhang Bao, and the credit basically fell on the head of the magistrate, and he was used to it.But what Zhang Bao has to do now is to repair the river dams in various places, and wait until this year's rainy season is over before thinking about future problems.

Time passed quickly, limited by money and manpower, Zhang Bao could only guarantee to repair the most dangerous parts of the dams in various places, and only [-] to [-] hectares of mulberry fishponds were opened up, and only half of them were planted with mulberry saplings. Only tens of thousands of fry were released.

At this time, the rainy season came.

(End of this chapter)