Just after the investiture ceremony, Wang Lei, the governor of Xuzhou, went to Xu Wei and complained: "In power, you have to help us Xuzhou. Xuzhou has just been included in our cadres. The local area is poor. Xuzhou is obviously a fertile land, but Under Cao Cao's rule, the people have been so poor these years that they have no food for the night, and they still have to rely on our relief to avoid starving to death."
Wang Lei got angry when he said this. Xuzhou was originally one of the most fertile prefectures and counties in Daqian. It had a flat terrain, fertile land, numerous rivers, and a dense population. It was a first-class and fertile land for the Han Dynasty. But when Wang Lei took over, the population Not even a million!
And all this is also to be blamed on Cao Cao. When Cao Cao took over Xuzhou, Xuzhou faced the threat of a large army attacking from Yanzhou. However, Xuzhou had a flat plain, which was suitable for cavalry operations. Cao Cao's 50,000 army did not dare to kill tens of thousands of cavalry. Out of the city, hundreds of thousands of people even moved out of Xuzhou.
Cao Cao also knew that the terrain in Xuzhou was not conducive to defense, and he and Yuan Shao conspired to massacre the noble families in Xuzhou. For Cao Cao, Xuzhou was not considered a core territory at all, so he spent these years moving the people of Xuzhou to Qingzhou. go.
But this was a hardship for Wang Lei, who became the governor of Xuzhou. Xuzhou, which originally had more than 4 million people, had only a little over a million people when he took over. The population was less than 30% of the original number. The land was barren, the people were barren, and the counties were in ruins. , this is Xuzhou in Wang Lei’s hands.
After Wang Lei's one-year governance, Xuzhou also received a great harvest this year, and the people finally recovered a little bit of their vitality. However, Wang Lei still needs to make a lot of efforts to restore Xuzhou to its original prosperity. And now Wang Lei comes to Xuzhou. To be great is to work hard.
"After a year of recovery, and with Huang Tian's blessing, the people of Xuzhou can finally have a full meal. But if we want to make the people of Xuzhou rich, we can't just rely on farming, so I want to build a A steel plant can quickly make Xuzhou rich, but the court just refuses to give us the money and only gives us some grain, saying that now Xuzhou needs to quickly resume agricultural production and that industrial matters will wait for a few years.
But can this matter wait? If we had to wait here, steel plants in other places would have been built long ago. By then the price of steel will fall, and we will be even less able to sell at a good price. But now our coal mines in Xuzhou and The iron ore has to be transported to Jizhou, and steel plants in other places are cheaply used. This is not making us people in Xuzhou suffer two crimes!"
"And Huang Long doesn't care about the easiness of my old brother at all. Last year, he clearly robbed hundreds of thousands of people in Xuzhou. Now I want to return these people, but he actually said that he didn't see the people in Xuzhou and said that Duan Peng robbed them. People's affairs do not exist at all. This is not a lie with open eyes. Hundreds of thousands of people disappeared because of him!"
Xu Wei smiled and said: "I have nothing to do about the population issue. Nowadays, there is a shortage of people everywhere in Daqian. But if you say that the court has not invested in you, you are lying with your eyes open. It has not given you a large shipbuilding project." The factory has at least provided employment for tens of thousands of people in Xuzhou, and the investment has been over one billion. You are lucky enough to have such a big project settled in Xuzhou. There are not many such big projects in the whole country. Project, many governors look at you with envy and jealousy, saying that I treat you too well, if I approve another steel plant worth 1 billion, I'm afraid I will be eaten by other governors."
But Wang Lei said: "This is different. The shipyard is for future expeditions to the south of the Yangtze River. It is a military industrial unit, and it also builds ships from Hanoi. It can only operate in rivers. What role can this play? Nowadays, everyone knows that the ocean is an endless wealth. As long as there are ships to mine it, various shipyards in Daqian are now working hard to build sea-going ships.
But what we make is a flat-bottomed river boat. If such a boat reaches the sea, it will capsize when a wave comes. How much help can this bring to Xuzhou? The people of Xuzhou can only earn one hard-earned money, and they are also subject to the influence of Liaodong. of exploitation.”
Xuzhou has been developed for thousands of years. In addition, the terrain is flat, the population is large, and there are not many trees. If you want to make boats, trees are naturally indispensable, and these are not available in Xuzhou. The shipyards in Xuzhou have to go to Yuzhou and Liaodong transports timber to shipyards.
"It's because Xuzhou doesn't have any pillar industries, so I want a steel factory. This will not only accommodate a large number of people for employment, but the steel factory can also manufacture various farm tools, so that Xuzhou's money will not go to other places." The most important thing is to build a steel plant in Xuzhou. We have both coal and iron ore, and our Xuzhou is well connected in all directions and can contact the entire Central Plains. The imperial court can definitely build a steel center in Xuzhou,"
Xu Weidao: "You have a little peasant mentality. Not only the money from your Xuzhou flows to other states and counties, but the money from other states and counties also flows to your Xuzhou. Not to mention other things, let's just say that in this year, the court gave Xuzhou The money has exceeded 2 billion in support, is this your Xuzhou money again? And according to what you said, Yanzhou is the center of the world, wouldn't it be more appropriate to build a steel plant in Yanzhou!"
Wang Lei immediately said: "But there are no large coal mines and iron mines in Yanzhou!"
Xu Wei smiled and said: "Hedong must meet these conditions. Moreover, Hedong has thousands of years of iron-making experience and many experienced blacksmiths. It is most appropriate for the imperial court to establish a large-scale steel factory in Hedong. Don't come to me for help." Well, as far as the current situation in Xuzhou is concerned, agricultural construction has not been completely completed. It is impossible for the imperial court to build a large-scale steel plant in Xuzhou! If I were you, I would still find a way to invest in some fish and meat canning factories, dig some struvite to make money, and build some In light industry and agricultural production, you can also get some cash crops, which is suitable for Xuzhou now! And the money you make will not be less."
Wang Lei looked disappointed. In this era, agriculture is no longer as profitable as industry, otherwise there would be no such thing as industrial and agricultural scissors.
After thinking about it, Xu Wei said: "Well, as long as you completely restore the water conservancy facilities in Xuzhou and restore the food supply in Xuzhou to the time when the world is not in chaos, I will find a way to get Niu Gui to agree to build a steel plant in Xuzhou!"
Wang Lei immediately said excitedly: "We have agreed to govern!"
Not long after Xu Wei left, Huang Long came to the door again. His purpose was similar to Wang Lei's, both asking for money and projects!