Shanyan comforted him and asked the old man to retreat. Wang Zhu was beside him and subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. He had been listening to Wang Pu's exchanges, for fear that the common people in this village were stupid and talked nonsense.
The smile on Wang Pu's face faded and he regained his composure. He turned his head to look at Wang Zhu and said calmly: "Cheng Xiang, you have done a good job as a magistrate of the state! When you first took office, you encountered a major disaster. You have been conscientious and self-denying in the past two months. Come on, thank you for your hard work!"
"The lower official is just doing his duty and not daring to slack off!" Wang Zhu showed a smile and cupped his hands and said: "Compared with the hard work of the prince, there is no need to say the word 'hard work'!"
Although Wang Zhu's words may sound like compliments, they are also somewhat true. In the past two years in Huaidong, Wang Pu worked hard to stabilize the people and manage the government, reform the system and promote the law, and consolidate the newly occupied land under the Han rule. He works hard and forgets to eat and sleep. The many silver threads between his temples are proof that he is not yet fifty years old and has already aged badly.
For the officials in Huaidong, Wang Pu was by no means a good boss. He was harsh, forceful, and even a little unhuman. In the past two years, he personally dealt with dozens of officials from various states.
Among them, in addition to the retained officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty, there were also officials selected by the imperial court to assist Huainan. Because of this, Wang Pushi offended many people both inside and outside the court.
However, Wang Pu was kind to the people of Li, and he was meritorious to the emperor's court. The Huaidong prefectures could quickly recover from the disaster of war, and Wang Pu's merits were huge.
"Your Majesty has entrusted me with the governorship of Huaidong, so I have to work hard and make a difference!" Wang Pu sighed, stood up, and said to Wang Zhu: "Sizhou is the strategic point of the Huaihe River. Looking at it now, the people are gradually attached to it, and it is effective. What’s more, imaging still needs to be improved!”
"Yes!" Wang Zhu responded solemnly.
"Let's go to Guishan. I have summoned Chu Zhizhou to discuss matters!" Wang Pu said and walked out first.
Wang Zhu followed, thought for a moment, and asked: "Is it because of the repair of Baishuitang?"
Wang Pu was somewhat impressed by his astuteness and nodded: "The imperial court has already agreed. His Majesty named it himself, Hongze Lake. This lake spans Si and Chu diagonally, and the two states need to work together to excavate it!"
Guishan is adjacent to the Huaihe River, thirty miles northeast of Xuyi City, on the southwest cliff, with a deep abyss at its base. Climb to the top of the mountain and stand in the wind to view the mountain and abyss. Wang Shu, who has read a lot, pointed to the foot of the mountain and said: "It is rumored that Dayu controlled the water and locked the Huaihe vortex with iron locks. The water god Wuzhi was at the foot of Guishan. This is the place!"
Wang Pu nodded slightly, glanced at the Huaihe River, thought carefully for a while, and said: "The water section from Xuyi to Huaiyin has always been dangerous. Hundreds of miles of wind and waves have caused numerous capsizes. To facilitate navigation for the people, I want to open a new canal to avoid The danger of the Changhuai River is to start from Guishan, take the Huaihe River as the source, and extend for fifty miles!"
Hearing what Wang Pu said, a tall middle-aged official next to him frowned and couldn't help but said: "Your Majesty, I am about to open up a flood, and I want to build a new river. In this way, I am afraid that I will waste the people and hurt the money!"
This official was Zhang Yanqing, the magistrate of Chuzhou, who was originally the defense envoy of Haizhou in the Southern Tang Dynasty. During the Northern Han Dynasty's southern expedition, in addition to Guo Tingwei, he was another Tang official who performed outstandingly.
After the peace in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he also surrendered to the Han Dynasty. After Wang Pu came to power, he selected good talents because of his practical talents. He also served as a defense envoy in Chuzhou and was familiar with the people's conditions in the state. He wrote a letter recommending him to know Chuzhou. He was retained in the Southern Tang Dynasty. Among the old ministers, there were only a few who were trusted by the Han court and entrusted with important positions.
As the leader of the election, Wang Pu was very kind to Zhang Yanqing. However, at this time, he still spoke out and raised objections, saying to Wang Pu: "As the envoy said, although it is only fifty miles, it is not long, but the construction of the canal should be postponed first. A reprieve?"
After listening to his advice, Wang Pu frowned subconsciously and turned his head to look at Zhang Yanqing, only to see Zhang Yanqing's steady expression. He opened his mouth, then looked at Wang Zhu and asked, "What do you think?"
Wang Zhu also thought about it seriously for a while, and then said: "The Hongze Project, even if we combine the efforts of the two states, is time-consuming and expensive, and there is really no spare capacity to do both. If it is done forcefully, it will only lead to excessive labor and breed resentment among the people." !”
Seeing the two of them holding the same opinions, Wang Pu did not answer the conversation for a while, but reflected on himself and murmured: "Could it be that I am really impatient?"
After thinking about it again, Wang Pu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's it, we can discuss this later!"
"But Hongze Lake, the imperial court has agreed. Before winter, officials should be dispatched, allocate money and food, recruit corvees, and start the project! I have three years to make Daze a success!" Wang Pu said firmly: " Any supply issues or deficiencies should be reported to Yangzhou, and I will coordinate from Yangzhou!"
"yes!"
When Wang Pu said this, feeling his will, the nerves of the two prefects subconsciously tightened.
Wang Pu asked: "How much people can be concentrated in the state?"
"Preliminary estimates suggest that Sizhou can recruit 10,000 civilians under its jurisdiction!" Wang Zhu calculated for a while and estimated a conservative number.
Zhang Yanqing said: "Chuzhou can recruit 15,000 civilians!"
It was quite a lot. Wang Pu nodded with satisfaction, turned to look at Zhang Yanqing, carefully considered his words, and said in a warning tone: "Hongze Lake is basically within the territory of Chuzhou. This project requires a lot of effort. In addition to the military service and Hongze, a large number of people's land will be occupied. For these people, the state government should provide good compensation and resettlement for these people, and provide them with additional land to help them rebuild their homes.
In addition, we must strictly prevent officials from intruding, plundering the people, and causing public resentment. This matter is particularly important and urgent!"
After hearing Wang Pu's instructions, he looked solemnly and said with cupped hands: "Yes! I don't dare to neglect you, and I will strictly control you!"
"The same goes for Sizhou!" Wang Pu added to Wang Zhu.
...
Returning to Yangzhou from Shanyang in Chuzhou, Wang Pu inspected the counties and towns along the way, personally inquired with the people, and carefully observed the people's sentiments. He inevitably encountered some omissions and punished them. There were three lawless officials in Gaoyou County, and they were found guilty. He was sent to Yangzhou for investigation and judgment.
Today's Huaidong officials are most afraid of Wang Pu's inspections in Xiazhou County. Basically every time, he will deal with some people. The people are happy, but some "officials have no life", especially for the old officials of the Southern Tang Dynasty. As far as we are concerned, they have never been subject to such strict restrictions in the past. It is like hanging a sword over their heads, and they are uneasy...
After more than half a month, he returned to Yangzhou.
Yangzhou City, under Wang Pu's governance, has completely restored its former prosperity, even better than it was under the Southern Tang Dynasty. After all, under the Han Dynasty's policy, too many government donations were abolished, and "fairness"
Get some publicity.
With Wang Pu, a cold-faced god, under the stable and good order, Yangzhou City quickly burst out with huge energy, and even in disasters, its prosperity was not affected at all.
The first thing he did when he returned to the Chief Envoy's Yamen was to summon his subordinates to listen to the government and make decisions. During his absence in Yangzhou, he had a backlog of official affairs.
In the second hall, Wang Pu was observing the matter seriously. All the officials were sitting among them, respectfully reporting to each other, and no one dared to touch him. Of course, no matter how upright and righteous Wang Pu was, these people still treated him with more fear than respect.
From the afternoon until the evening, the Yamen Hall became deserted again, and a series of Taozhou affairs were piled up on the hall desk.
But Wang Pu still did not rest. The sunset was dark, and the servant held the lamp. When the old servant carried the meal and walked lightly inside, what he saw was still Wang Pu's figure under the lamp, bending over his desk and reading documents.
"Your Majesty, you are a day director. You have been sitting at the table for four consecutive hours. You should rest for a while and have a meal first!" the old servant advised.
Wang Pu raised his head and gestured: "Leave it for now until I finish reading this official document!"
After saying that, he lowered his head again. What he was inspecting were some official documents handled by Taoist officials. He wanted to see if there were any irregularities or omissions...
Looking carefully, he heard the sound of sobbing. He raised his eyes and saw the old servant, who had already laid out the dishes and chopsticks, and was holding up his sleeves to shed tears. Wang Pu was stunned: "What are you doing, why are you sobbing?"
"You are so diligent and don't take care of your body. I really can't bear it!" The old servant said: "I will never be able to take care of my official duties. If I continue like this, my body will be exhausted..."
Seeing this, Wang Pu couldn't help but chuckle and said: "It's only been two or three years! I promised the court that Huaidong will be under great rule for five years. After these few years, there will be plenty of time to rest!"
However, after listening to his advice, Wang Pu put down his official duties, picked up the bowl and chopsticks and ate. After eating again, he asked: "Where are Sanlang and Silang? Have they eaten?"
"You two gentlemen, you have already used them."
"Inform them to go to the study room. I will test their academic performance later to see if they have slacked off during my absence!" Wang Pu ordered while putting rice in his mouth.
"yes!"
Wang Pu had four sons. The eldest son and two sons were all grown up and served in the army. The third son and the fourth son were young, so he took them with him and trained them personally.
In less than a moment, Wang Pu finished his dinner, stretched, and once he was relieved, he opened the official document again...
The old servant put away the tableware and couldn't help but sigh when he saw it: "You are so busy with official duties, but do you know how others criticize you? I really feel unworthy of you, little man!"
"Talk too much!" After hearing what he said, Wang Pu raised his head and scolded him lightly.
After a pause, Wang Pu sighed quietly and chuckled: "What I do is for the people of Li, for the security of Huaidong, and for His Majesty's strategy. It is not for the honor and disgrace of these officials, nor can I give them comfort. Even if they
Those who are not self and those who hate self are not worthy of the Dao..."
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