Chapter 866 Holidays
In the Later Han Dynasty, Yu Xu, who strongly opposed General Deng Zhi's proposal to abandon Liangzhou, served as the governor of Wudu to resist the Qiang people.
He personally presided over the water transportation project of Qishan Road.
This project started from Ju County and ended at Xiabian. It involved burning stones and wood for dozens of miles and opening a canal channel. Eventually, water transportation was facilitated and more than 40 million yuan was saved every year.
The entire Wudu also benefited from this. From about 10,000 households, the number of residents increased to 40,000 in two or three years.
When the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty led the Northern Expedition to Longyou, he personally surveyed a circle of places that Yu Xu had once governed.
Then he wrote a letter to the little fat man, the Emperor of Han Dynasty:
Five hundred miles from Qishan to Ju County, there are tens of thousands of households. Looking at the hills and ruins, I believe it is Yin.
It means that there are tens of thousands of households in the five hundred miles from Qishan to Ju County. Just by looking at the graves along the way, I can tell how wealthy they were back then.
After the Han Dynasty acquired Longyou, the imperial court wanted to strengthen the connection between Longyou and Hanzhong, and the Xinghan Society wanted to increase transportation to Longyou.
The two hit it off immediately. Xinghan would provide technology, food and money, and the Han would provide people. They vigorously developed and maintained the Qishan Road, while at the same time widening the waterway and clearing the blockages.
Because of the professional team like Nanxiang Engineering Team, the quality and speed of construction have improved greatly compared to Yu Xu’s time.
Over the years, the road surface of Qishan Mountain has not only become much wider, but also much smoother, and the ships plying the waterway have become increasingly busy.
The entire Qishan Road has not only built enough post offices, but also many guesthouses to provide food and accommodation for business travelers.
According to the usual practice in previous years, the Qishan Road from Hanzhong to Longyou will not start to get busy until March.
But this year there are some exceptions. It has only entered February, and the number of transport horse teams on Qishan Road has already begun to increase.
The bells on the Yunnan horses’ necks jingled incessantly, echoing melodiously on the Qishan Road.
The end of Qishan Road is Qishan Mountain.
The Qishan Mountains are located on the north side of the West Han River, overlooking the West Han River, stretching for more than 60 miles, with beautiful mountains and towering peaks, controlling the throat of Shu and Longyou.
There are dangerous places such as Lu City and wooden gate road here.
The Western Han River passes through the Qinling Mountains in Wudu County, where it leaves the mountains and enters the plains.
This location was named Kawakou in later generations, which means the exit for Sichuan people.
At this pass, a mountain of earth stands abruptly, as if flying in mid-air, which is particularly eye-catching. This is Qishan Fort.
At the top of the mountain opposite Qishan Fort, there are various forts built using the Qishan Mountains, forming an angle with Qishan Fort.
Out of Kawakou, there is Xi County.
It can be said that Qishan Fort not only has a favorable geographical location, but also has the support of the people and people of Xi County.
Had it not been for the surprise during the first Northern Expedition and the support of the engineering battalion under King Feng Gui, there would have been no problem for Qishan Fort to hold on.
This is also one of the reasons why Zhuge Lao Yao has been lingering in Xi County during the Battle of Longyou.
Xixian County can not only support the army heading north, but can also turn back at any time via Qishan Fort to support Wudu, preventing the Wei army from entering Wudu via the old route from Sanguan and cutting off the retreat of the Northern Expedition army.
The water volume of the Western Han River in February is not too large, but it is enough for boating.
Li Ming stood on the bow of the boat, looking at the Qishan Fort two hundred steps away, like a crouching tiger, eyeing the Western Han River and the Qishan Road.
Although he knew that the people watching from the Qishan Fort were Han soldiers, Li Ming still felt a heavy sense of depression in his heart.
Another person walked out of the cabin, it was Ma Tian who he had met in Hanzhong.
He stood behind Li Ming and said with emotion: "What a dangerous place!"
Li Ming looked at the hilltop opposite Qishan Fort without looking back and said:
“How did the Prime Minister conquer such a dangerous place when he went to Long?”
“I heard that at that time, the Wei thieves had no idea that the Prime Minister would lead the army northward. In addition, Governor Feng was already prepared, so they captured it.”
Is Feng the governor?
Li Ming is silent.
Along the way, I heard too much news about Feng Prefect.
More news than I had heard in previous years.
Because as the bottom floor of the Li family's big house, he didn't need to worry so much before.
What's more, King Feng Gui didn't bother much at all in the plains of Shu.
What he was tossing was Hanzhong, Nanzhong, Yuexi, Longyou, Liangzhou...
Li Ming, who has been staying in the country manor in Guanghan County, received information from King Feng Gui, and was naturally filtered layer by layer.
It wasn't until he walked out of the Li family's manor that he understood what the title "Feng Jishi" meant.
Maybe it was when we reached the pass that Panji began to slow down. Looking ahead, he saw that all the boats were boats.
Even the Qishan Road next to it was very lively with people neighing and horses screaming.
“Boatman, how long will it take for this to pass?”
Martin is a man who can relax his figure. Along the way, he squatted on the bow of the boat several times and chatted with the boatmen.
The boatman is a wrinkled man from Badong County. I heard that the late emperor transported grain to the army when he conquered Wu.
Later, the late emperor was defeated, and the boatmen lost their jobs, and the whole family almost couldn't survive.
Fortunately, there were contacts between the Han Dynasty and Wu State again, so in the end, he did not sell his whole family to the rich manor.
Later, Wu State transported coarse sugar to the Han Dynasty, and the Han Dynasty transported brown sugar, woolen materials and other materials to the Wu State. There were more and more exchanges, and the life of the boatmen also improved.
Originally, he was going to let his son take charge of the boat, but he didn't know that after Xinghan learned that his boating skills were good, he offered him a big price that he couldn't refuse, so that he could sail the boat again.
But this time, he was not sailing his own ship, but the Xinghan Hui's ship.
Moreover, we no longer go from Badong County to Jingzhou, but on the Western Han River.
Over the past few years, he not only worked with others to explore the waterways of the Western Han River, but also sometimes tested new ships.
I heard that this new ship was built by the Prime Minister himself and was called a floating horse. I don’t know if that’s true.
As for what I do most on weekdays, I take some novices and teach them how to sail in rapids.
A little tired, but by the end of the year, the money and food he received in one year would be more than what he had in the previous six or seven years combined.
The most important thing is that as long as he works for three years, his family can send a child to Longyou or Yuexi, where there are schools where the child can learn to read.
With hope for the future, my waist straightens unconsciously and my voice becomes louder:
“Sir, this year is no better than in previous years! Ever since I started sailing here, I have never seen so many boats in February.”
"At most, they are just people from the government who are anxious to travel between Longshang and Hanzhong. How can they be like now? Not to mention those horse teams on the road."
“Last year, when there were the largest number of cavalry on this road, they were not even half of what they are now…”
Among the newcomers brought by the boatman, two are literate young men. I heard that they have also studied in school.
At that time, the two people often asked him about the difference between the river waterway from Shu to Jingzhou and the water in the Western Han Dynasty.
At the end of last year, the two young men said they were going to Badong County to learn from others how to sail on the river.
As for why they came to learn to sail after entering the school, the boatman was also very surprised at first.
Later I found out that it was said that this was an arrangement arranged by the headmaster of the school.
As long as they learn to sail on the river, they will have the opportunity to serve as captains in the army.
This is especially enviable to boatmen.
Same person but different destiny!
Since we are all sailors, we can only be yelled at by others.
Others will have the opportunity to become generals.
The boatman thought, if his grandson could really go to school, would he have such a chance?
With this in mind, the boatman often got close to the two young men.
He didn't know what a mountain chief was, but because of the relationship between the two young men, he also knew how to call those knowledgeable people sir.
Just this title made him feel that he was also tainted with the aura of knowledge.
Hearing the boatman's chattering, Martin and Li Ming looked at each other, with a look of worry in their eyes.
Logically speaking, compared with land transportation, water transportation not only has a larger transportation volume, but also has a few times or even nearly ten times the loss.
But now the time for water transportation is not only earlier than last year, but the number of horse teams has also increased dramatically, which can only explain one problem:
The food problem in Liangzhou is probably far more than what the rumors say.
I just don’t know whether the rumored King Feng Gui, who is unparalleled in making money, is able to solve the food problem in Liangzhou?
With this in mind, I waited under the Qishan Fort for a day, and finally passed the Qishan Pass and came to Xi County.
From the dangerous mountains to the plains, the vision suddenly becomes clearer.
But without the obstruction of the Qinling Mountains, there is still a lot of chill in Longyou in February.
Although Longyou was not as severe as Liangzhou in the white disaster last winter, it was also affected.
However, because Governor Feng has been running Longyou in recent years, Longyou has a much stronger foundation than Liangzhou.
At least as far as the Qiang and Hu are concerned, their food source is no longer just cattle and sheep in the pasture.
In addition, the livestock carrying capacity of pastures has been increased, as well as the standardization of breeding and the construction of green storage towers.
So in this cold winter, the life of the Hu people in Longyou was many times better than that in Liangzhou.
In the past, the Protector Qiang Xiaowei Mansion led by King Feng Gui was a gold-swallowing monster.
Pingxiang now doesn't have this monster sucking blood, and can even squeeze out some food for Liangzhou's emergency.
It’s just that no matter whether it is a wealthy family in Liangzhou or Pingxiang, the food they can provide is not unlimited after all.
The remaining food gap must be found elsewhere.
This is why Qishan Road becomes busy a month in advance.
After landing in Xi County, Li Ming, Ma Tian and Feng Huwei joined together and at the same time gathered together with other cavalry teams heading to Liangzhou and began to set off for Pingxiang.
There are also many barbarian cavalry from Pingxiang.
There are three roads from Tianshui to Liangzhou.
However, whether it is the south road that passes through Dadouba Valley or the middle road that crosses Hongchiling, the mountains are blocked by heavy snow at this time, making it difficult to pass.
There is only the north road. Although it requires a detour and supplies are not easy to come by, at least it does not require climbing over the mountains.
I learned a lesson a few years ago. The Dian horses from Shu suffered a lot of damage because they couldn't stand the water, soil and climate of Longyou.
So Feng Huwei was very careful along the way. Whenever he arrived at a field, he would immediately instruct his men to wipe the sweat of the horses, rub their backs, and then put blankets on them.
Even so, after crossing the river, some horses still fell down.
“Boss, this won’t work! No matter how careful we are, this horse comes from Shu after all and can’t stand the water and soil of Liangzhou.”
“If this continues like this, even if we can reach Guzang, most of our horses will be lost..."
For people in a horse team, the horses they get along with day and night are their partners.
Knowing to keep moving forward, I don’t know how many friends will fall, but I can’t grit my teeth and move forward.
This feeling makes people extremely anxious.
“I don’t know! Don’t I know?”
Feng Wewei looked at the fallen horse being carried away, his expression already extremely ugly.
Hearing this, he turned around and cursed:
"You know everything, don't you know that? But why do you still issue a death order to transport grain to Liangzhou?"
"What does this mean? It can only mean that the monarch has reached the point where he has to transport grain at any cost!"
"Is it the king or the horses that are more important? Is your mind clouded by lard? You can't even tell the difference?"
"If you have the time to chat here, why don't you make more preparations? If you can save one more horse, that's better than standing and talking! Get out, get out!"
While he was talking angrily, he flew over with great force, kicking the talkative subordinates and sending them flying away.
Ma Tian, who saw this scene from a distance, said with some emotion:
“The soldier brought out by Feng Junhou actually has such insight. It’s really not simple!”
Although he was a little reluctant to admit it, Li Ming still had to nod:
“So in my opinion, this is the confidence of the person who dares to take exams to select officials to govern Liangzhou.”
Whether they are willing to admit it or not, even when it comes to taking exams and selecting talents, the children of aristocratic families still have the upper hand and the advantage.
Because the rich heritage of aristocratic families is far beyond that of ordinary people from humble families.
Let alone those pale heads.
Although the governor Feng put forward the limitations of the art of arithmetic, don't forget that the number among the six arts of the gentleman (ritual, music, archery, imperialism, calligraphy, and numeracy) is actually the art of arithmetic.
So the arithmetic foundation of children from aristocratic families is better than others.
As long as someone teaches the children of aristocratic families to learn the arithmetic skills of Nanxiang, it will be much easier than others.
If that person had not prepared at all and had taken exams to select talents, I am afraid that the entire civil servants in Liangzhou would be controlled by the children of aristocratic families.
But now?
He actually wanted to learn the arithmetic skills of Nanxiang from a warrior who had retired from the army.
In the past, when children from poor families wanted to study, they would be extremely lucky to meet a great Confucian to give public lectures.
Either you have to put down your dignity and beg to read books from aristocratic families.
What now?
Over in Nanxiang, the classics compiled by the imperial court were printed all over the streets.
You can borrow it for free even if you don’t have money, and the books are bound on fine paper.
As for the classics annotated by aristocratic families...you don’t let me read them, you just annotate them like a flower, so what does that have to do with me?
What he saw and heard along the way, especially in Nanxiang, gave Li Ming a sense of fear towards that legendary figure.
This sense of fear comes from his status as a descendant of an aristocratic family.
Li Ming doesn’t understand what dimension reduction attack is.
But he understood that in the face of all the new things in Nanxiang, the family's long-standing methods were as childish as those of children, and they had no power to resist.
In other words, because of Nanxiang's relationship, the gap between children from aristocratic families and those from poor families is constantly getting smaller.
Even the poor disciples are being chased by blue-headed Guizhou heads.
If the aristocratic family does not take advantage of it, take the exam to gain a foothold.
Then if given time, those who catch up may become the children of aristocratic families.
When the man who established a school in Nanxiang said he wanted to educate the Cangtou, Guizhou and barbarians, who could have thought of today?
What is foresight? This is what it means!
“Hello! Haha!”
Feng Jishi, who was far away in Guzang, sneezed twice in a row. He rubbed his nose and murmured, "The sun is so bright, how can I catch a cold?"
Wuwei Valley Water, flowing through Guzang, is the largest water flow in Wuwei County besides the big river. It is also one of the best irrigation water sources in Wuwei County.
Spring is about to come, and when spring comes, spring plowing is about to begin. Spring plowing is the most important thing of the year.
So Governor Feng wanted to go out of the city to inspect the flow of the valley water.
Not far away, Shuangshuang and Ah Chong, although still wrapped up tightly, had taken off their thick coats, and they were chasing Laifu.
Laifu is a dog with regulations. When Feng, the governor, went to Nanzhong, one person and one dog even sang to each other along the way.
It's just that when Wen Quan met a naughty child, he couldn't reason with him, so he could only run away with his tail between his legs and run around.
“Shuangshuang Chong, your mother is calling you to go back home for dinner!”
A distant voice came. Secretary Zhang Da crossed his legs, sat sideways on the mule, and was shouting this way.
There was no answer from the father and son.
When Secretary Zhang saw this, he was furious. He got off the mule, walked over, and picked up a naughty child in one hand.
Then he walked to the water and said loudly to Governor Feng who was squatting by the water:
“Brother-in-law, it’s time to return to the city.”
Governor Feng waved his hand and replied:
“Don’t make any noise, I’m checking the hydrological conditions!”
As he spoke, the goose feathers on the water suddenly sank, and Governor Feng quickly picked up the fishing rod and lifted it!
A fish three fingers wide was pulled out of the sparkling water and thrown to the shore.
They both said "Wow" and pointed at the jumping fish and shouted: "Fish! Fish!"
As he spoke, he twisted his little body, trying to escape from Aunt Zhang's clutches and go catch the fish.
“Don’t go! It’s fishy!”
Secretary Zhang shouted loudly, "If you make trouble again, I will tell your mother when I get back that you are disobedient!"
General Guan is the only person in the house who can suppress the little witch. After hearing this, they both immediately became obedient.
"Brother-in-law, hurry up and leave. There is an official document coming from Hanzhong this morning. I have something to tell you."
“Okay, okay!”
Feng Jishi had no choice but to stand up, took the two pairs from Zhang Xingyi's hand, and the two of them turned around holding a child in their arms.
The rest of the things will be taken care of by yourself.
"What Liangzhou needs most now is food. If Hanzhong doesn't send more food, what's the use of sending more official documents?"
Even though Governor Feng was still in the mood to go fishing, the fact was that he had no other plan but to wait for the food to come.
At least going out for fishing can give the people below the illusion of calmness.
Zhang Xingyi ignored his complaints, walked silently for a while, and suddenly said:
“The imperial court is preparing to appoint a chief historian to the governor’s office.”
"Um?!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Yong suddenly turned his head to look at Zhang Xingyi, his head almost hitting Shuangshuang, "What?"
The long historian is responsible for the military affairs and horses, and also assists the governor in handling the troops. When necessary, he can even take charge of state affairs on behalf of the governor.
To put it bluntly, they are officials who check and balance the governor.
“What are you looking at me for? I don’t know in advance.”
Zhang Xingyi glared at Feng Jishi angrily.
“Who wants to come over and be a long history?”
Zhang Xingyi made a sound: "Look at you! Isn't it normal for the governor's office to have a long history?"
Feng Jishi sneered "ha".
Zhang Xingyi sneered at this person: "Since Governor Feng doesn't want a long history, it seems he doesn't want a holiday either..."
“Fuck!”
(End of this chapter)