Chapter 637 Ten miles of towers, thousands of lights, Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times
River Governor's Yamen Department, Office—
After the river officials went down, several people sat together drinking tea and talking.
Du Jitong put down the tea cup, looked at the young man in python suit opposite, and said: "Uncle Yong Ning, there is a great danger of river embankments bursting in Huaiyang and other places, and water transportation can be cut off at any time. Water transportation is related to the country's major plans, so we must not let anything go wrong."
That’s it.”
Jia Heng said: "Don't worry, Lord Du. I, the governor of the river, will go all out to ensure that this year's grain harvest will not delay the transportation."
In fact, due to the Sanhe Gang incident, I had some interactions with Du Jitong, a cadre of the Qi Party, but they didn't meet much later.
Du Jitong smiled and said: "Uncle Yongning is the chief administrative officer of the country. I can rest assured that I have Uncle Yongning as my official."
In fact, at the beginning of the founding of the Han Dynasty, there was also a governor of water transportation and a governor of rivers. But now the two officials are separated. Otherwise, if he was the governor of Nanhe, the Sizhou incident would never have happened. After the flood incident, this Yongning must have
Uncle will not stay in the river government office, but he may be able to plan and manage river affairs.
At noon, Jia Heng put down the atlas of the water conservancy basin in his hand and raised his eyes to look at Liu Jixian who came from outside. Behind him, several families in fine clothes each held a stack of books made of paper.
"Captain, the materials written by the relevant officials are all here. Please review them." Liu Jixian looked respectful, handed over the pile of materials in his hands, and said in a deep voice.
In the official hall, Zhao Mo and several other officials were shocked. Zhao Mo's eyes narrowed and he thought to himself, he didn't expect it to happen so quickly.
Jia Heng asked: "How many people wrote about the two rivers' administration?" "Relevant river officials all wrote about it." Liu Jixian replied. Needless to say, everyone is involved in river corruption.
Zhao Mo frowned and asked, "Everyone is guilty of corruption? Isn't there an honest official?"
Peng Ye said: "Mr. Zhao Ge, Yong Ning Bo just said that the shortcomings of river affairs have affected the internal organs. If the upper and lower levels had not been colluding, it would not have been so difficult to distinguish the situation when I was patrolling the river."
Jia Heng was not surprised. He saw several Jinyi palace guards placing piles of materials on the small table and ordered: "Look for a scribe to make a record of the actual situation of the embankment. Also make a record of the corruption situation.
As he spoke, he picked up a piece of paper and began to read it.
Liu Jixian responded to the order, and immediately several scribes came over and started taking notes.
After a while, Jia Heng handed the piece of paper in his hand to Zhao Mo and said, "They are all trying to fool him to varying degrees. It's really shocking. Mr. Zhao Ge should take a look.
Zhao Mo took the note and read the words on it, with a gloomy expression on his face, and asked: "Uncle Yongning, so many river embankments need urgent repairs. Are the manpower and materials enough?"
Zhao Mo said: "The manpower matter is still difficult to deal with. We will allocate small camps south of the Yangtze River and north of the Yangtze River. We still need to purchase reeds, willows, wood and stones."
At that time, a group of scribes made records based on the strength of the dike and the actual situation, and marked them under the atlas, so that Zhao Mo could continue to retreat and allocate troops.
Shui Yu sighed and said: "I will report to the court immediately and request for the allocation of funds."
The current Hedao Yamen is in need of silver and lack of materials.
Zhao Mo said: "First, seize the wealth of those people to make up for the shortfall. Those who are greedy for the imperial court can make more money with one tael."
They only said that they were members of the guilty family, but they owed the court money, and even one tael would be enough.
After saying that, he looked at Liu Jixian and said: "Immediately use the Jinyi Guards to search the property of Nanhe Governor Gao Bin, three officials in charge of the river, Hebiaoying, Tingfeng, etc., and torture the three officials in charge of the river for embezzlement of property, regardless of the fields, houses, and shops.
, all the gold, silver and jewels were confiscated and put into the treasury.
Liu Jixian bowed his hands in agreement, then strode out of the official hall and dispatched the guards of Jinyi Mansion.
Jia Heng looked at Zhao Mo and said: "These are just some of the urgent needs. Those greedy people have either squandered all their money or hid it elsewhere. It is lucky to be able to recover half of their money now. These river embankments need urgent repairs, plus hiring
There is still a shortfall of 400,000 taels for the army and the people."
As he had previously supervised the construction of the river embankment, he had some idea of how much silver would be needed.
Zhao Mo pondered for a moment and said: "We will allocate another two to thirty thousand taels of silver from the Huai'an government treasury for emergencies. In addition, Jiangzuo Chief Envoy will spend this time every year
There will be a balance of 200,000 taels to meet unexpected needs. I will write to the Liangjiang Governor's Yamen to raise an approval of 100,000 taels. The Nanjing Ministry of Industry will allocate another 100,000 taels. The Ministry of Industry may not be able to count on it, so it will fight here and there.
If we scrape together, we can probably raise 300,000 taels to purchase materials."
According to jurisdiction, the land of Huaiyang was under the jurisdiction of the Chief Envoy of Jiangzuo and the Governor of Liangjiang. Zhao Mo had served as the governor of Jiangnan and was very clear about some of the official situations in Liangjiang.
Zhao Mo said: "Master Du."
Du Jitong's heart skipped a beat and he felt something was wrong. He smiled and said, "What does Mr. Zhao Ge teach you?"
Zhao Mo muttered: "Governor Du, the imperial court allocated 300,000 taels of silver to the Caohe Yamen this year for dredging water transportation and purchasing boats. They have just been delivered to the Water Transport Ministry. You might as well spend 50,000 taels to relieve the difficulties on the river.
.”
Every year, in order to ensure water transportation, the imperial court would allocate a sum of funds to provide the grain and rice needed by the Caoliang Guard. As a cabinet minister, Zhao Mo naturally knew this, and at this time he came up with the idea of the water transportation yamen.
Du Jitong: "."
"Mr. Zhao Ge, this money is used to buy boats and transport grain and rice." Du Jitong complained bitterly with a bitter smile.
I originally thought I could go to the theater, but unexpectedly the autumn wind came to him. However, by allocating a sum of money to the Hedao Yamen, I would be able to write a document and intervene in river affairs in the future.
However, at this moment, Jia Heng glanced at Du Jitong and said calmly: "Since Mr. Du is in trouble, there is no need. There is still a shortage of silver. Last time when the embankment was built in Henan, there was still river engineering silver that was not used up.
In addition to retaining enough dangerous work, an additional 100,000 taels were allocated to the Nanhe River. After all, it would all be used for river services.
The result of "begging for alms" from Du Jitong was that he would definitely mention the matter in a memorial to show his merit, and then ask Yang Guochang, who was in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, to allocate a new batch. What was he trying to do?
He was the governor of water transportation and the governor of Huaiyang, and he did not pay a penny. If this matter is reviewed later, the two important members of the Zhejiang Party will definitely have to talk about it.
When Du Jitong heard this, his heart trembled, he became irritated, and he felt that he had suffered a secret loss.
Zhao Mo was surprised and asked: "How can there be money from the dike that is hundreds of miles upstream from Kaifeng Mansion to Xiao County?"
The Ministry of Internal Affairs allocated one million taels to the Hedong Yamen. This matter had been discussed by some Shenjing officials before, and it was a waste of people and money.
Jia Heng picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and said: "The corrupt official property of Donghe was lost to make up for the shortfall, the thieves and bandits were driven out to work to atone for their sins, and rice grains were spread widely to gather the people, so as to save some labor, and the remaining
They are all for the purchase of earthworks and stone materials, and the river yamen are used to floating around. The imperial court allocates 30% of the regular items every year, and the rest is all for corruption. This one million taels of silver, based on the habit of floating around, has been used for 300,000 taels.
The imperial court is very lucky, and since all the river work has been used in my hands, there will naturally be some leftover."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs originally allocated one million taels of silver to Donghe Hedao Yamen, but it has not been used up yet.
The river embankment was built from the west of Kaifeng all the way to Xiao County. Most of it was used to purchase civil engineering and stone materials. Almost 100% of it was used, leaving only a few hundred thousand taels left.
This experience of river construction also made Jia Heng realize first-hand the seriousness of "floating" during embankment construction.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the rich workers needed silver, and the river governor reported that he needed 1.2 million taels of silver. Guo Dachang, the famous flood control minister, made two cuts and repaired it with 300,000 taels. You know these people are
What kind of virtue, one fourth is used, less than 30% is used, all of it is left to He Chen to be greedy.
Zhao Mo was speechless for a moment. He was still a little shaken by the ups and downs of his official career for many years. This Uncle Yongning was simply...
Xu Kai looked at the young man and felt a sense of emotion in his heart.
The rebellion in the Central Plains was quelled without costing the imperial court a single tael of silver. After the rebellion was put down, millions of dans of summer grain were sent to the imperial court. Every tael of silver was spent on building river embankments, and a gold mine was found for the emperor...
.
It is not surprising that the emperor had great faith in him and obeyed his advice.
Jia Heng said calmly: "I already know the amount of work and materials required. If there is any trouble in river affairs, the imperial prison of Jinyi Mansion will be set up for those river officials."
There is a saying that the Chen and Han Dynasties followed the Ming system, and the official salaries were indeed a bit low.
In fact, you can implement the "Integrity Bank" system in Dahan, and then use high pressure to fight corruption, and set aside a portion of the money confiscated during the anti-corruption campaign.
The money will be divided into proportions and used as a fund for maintaining integrity, and distributed to anti-corruption officials as performance indicators.
Corruption is human nature, and human nature is used against human nature, supplemented by technical means, such as property disclosure, big data and a series of other means... The mouse gives the cat a bell.
He must say that although there are officials, if they are treated like thieves, officials will not be able to make a living, and there will be complaints. If this continues, the country will not be a country.
But I am afraid that as Su Chuo and Yu Wentai said, having officials is the only way to establish a country.
After Jia Heng made corresponding arrangements in Huai'an Mansion, he asked Xu Kai to sit in the Hedao Yamen to wait for the arrival of the Beijing army. Then, accompanied by a group of personal guards, he and Zhao Mo, the cabinet scholar, rode a fast horse to Yangzhou.
.
It was already evening, and the night was drooping. It was raining, and the vision was getting darker. However, the restaurants, teahouses, and brothels in Yangzhou City were already lit up with lights. The stars were shining orange or red under the rain and fog.
, a slightly hazy artistic conception, but the sound of singing, dancing and orchestral music is endless.
With tens of miles of towers and thousands of lights, Yangzhou has been prosperous since ancient times.
"Mr. Zhao Ge, it's getting late. You and I will first visit Shuiyu, the governor of Jiangbei Camp. After reaching an agreement with him, we will go to Jiangbei Camp tomorrow to mobilize troops." Jia Heng pulled the reins and faced the side because of the fast horse.
And Ben, Zhao Mo, who was in a slightly depressed state, said.
As the Jiangbei camp guarding Jinling, there were 30,000 troops stationed inside. The Jiedu envoy was Shuiyu, the uncle of King Shuirong of Beijing. If the soldiers and horses of the Jiangbei camp needed to be mobilized, his assistance would obviously be needed.
Zhao Mo thought for a moment, nodded and said, "That's fine.
The two of them talked, inquired about Shuiyu's residence, and headed to Shiqiao Hutong in Nancheng, Yangzhou.
When they came to a mansion with a high archway and two stone lions squatting in front of the door, they asked the Jinyi guards to go and deliver the message. Several Jinyi guards in flying fish uniforms shocked Shui Yu's housekeeper.
Shui Yu's third son happened to be at home. When he heard that Jin Yiwei was coming and wanted to see his father by name, he was equally panicked. He welcomed Jia Heng and Zhao Mo into the flower hall and asked them their purpose. He felt relieved.
"Two adults, what a coincidence. My father went to the Nanjing Military Department to ask for pay. He took a boat early this morning. I'm afraid he won't be able to come back until tomorrow." Shui Yusanzi said.
Jia Heng frowned, looked at Zhao Mo and said, "Mr. Shui, you immediately send your servants to Nanjing under the escort of the Jinyi Palace Guards, inform him and ask him to return the other way."
Shui Yu's son did not dare to neglect him and responded quickly: "My lord, please wait a moment."
With that said, he left the flower hall and ordered a servant. Seeing that Shui Yu was not there, Jia Heng and Zhao Mo had to leave the Shuifu Mansion.
Under the bamboo hat, Zhao Mo's square face showed deep thoughts, and he said: "Shui Yu is not allowed to return for a while now. Let's rest in the post house first, and we will make plans tomorrow."
The memorial that was jointly submitted to the imperial court earlier will arrive in the capital in the next few days. It may be better if the order arrives before the troops are mobilized.
In fact, I knew in my heart that it would be too late to do this again and again.
Jia Heng said: "Well, let's wait one night. If I haven't returned tomorrow, Mr. Ge, please be a witness and mobilize the soldiers and horses of the Jiangbei camp first.
The reason why he asked Zhao Mo to come with him was for the endorsement of multiple people.
If the situation is urgent, he must obey the authority. If he alone mobilizes the soldiers and horses of the Jiangbei camp, there may be some gossip after the review. Bringing Zhao Mo along will become a contingency plan for the two ministers who are in charge of Nanhe.
At this point, whether there are certain things that can be avoided or things that need to be avoided, you may have buried a hole for yourself at some point.
Zhao Mo nodded and said, "Then you and I will go back to the post house first."
Jia Heng muttered and said: "Old Zhao Ge will go back to rest first, and I have to visit an old friend."
"Old friend?" Zhao Mo's eyes flashed, and he was suddenly startled.
Yes, the Yanyuan Yamen was stationed in Yangzhou, and Lin Ruhai, the salt inspector, was the son-in-law of Rongguofu.
Just as Zhao Mo was thinking about it, bursts of noise suddenly came from the streets ahead. The two of them looked around and saw four or five officers and soldiers who looked like officers, negotiating something with the Jin Yiwei. Not far away there were
Several officials held umbrellas and surrounded an official in scarlet robe.
At this time, the leader was slightly fat and fair-skinned.
The scarlet-robed official bowed his hands and said with a smile: "Are these two gentlemen Mr. Yong Ning and Mr. Zhao Ge?"
Zhao Mo followed the sound and looked slightly focused.
Jia Heng waved his hand towards Liu Jixian and asked a few people to come over.
"I am lowering my official position to the governor of Yangzhou, Yuan Jichong. I heard that Yong Ningbo and Zhao Ge have set foot in this place, so I have sent someone to prepare a small banquet in the government office to welcome the two adults. Please don't refuse." Yuan Jichong, the governor of Yangzhou, walked quickly.
He stepped forward and almost got out of the way of the staff holding an umbrella behind him, with a smile on his face.
This man was fair and fat, and when he smiled, his eyes narrowed to the size of mung beans, but there was a hint of shrewdness in his eyes.
Jia Heng looked at Yuan Jichong, his eyes condensed, and a thought came to his mind. Yuan Jichong?
He had heard Song Xuan mention this name. It seemed that when he was in office in Nanyang Mansion, he embezzled the money and food provided by the imperial court to help the victims. Later, he was impeached by the imperial court for embezzlement and dismissed from office. He didn't know who he was, and he didn't say anything about it.
He was transferred to a prosperous place like Yangzhou Prefecture as the prefect.
Before Jia Heng could answer, Zhao Mo had already spoken: "Prefect Yuan, we have important matters to attend to."
"I know that the two adults are busy with their affairs. It's already dark now, so it's not too late to have a meal before leaving." Yuan Jichong's smile on his face remained enthusiastic. He was standing in the rain and was still unaware of the rain falling on his body.
Jia Heng said loudly: "Prefect Yuan, I and Mr. Zhao Ge are indeed busy with important matters. Besides, Mr. Zhao Ge has been traveling all the way and needs to rest for a while at the post house. We can talk about it tomorrow."
Shen Yuebo smiled, bowed his hands, and said, "What Mr. Zhao Ge said is true. It's Shangguan's presumption."
Zhao Mo looked at Shui Yu and said, "Mr. Jia Heng, I'll be in the post house for a while."
Yangzhou City, misty rain, vast sky and earth, in the front yard of Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen
Shen Yuebo is wearing a jade-colored gown and a scholar's square scarf on his head. His face is like a crown jade, with silky eyebrows and apricot eyes. He has an elegant demeanor. He has a short beard on his chin. At this moment, he is twirling his beard in his hand. He is standing behind the window, looking at the rain and fog in the courtyard in trance.
.
"Master." Following the heavy footsteps, a loud voice sounded in front of him. A woman with green buns in the clouds and a dress with water sleeves came hurriedly. It was Zhao Modao's concubine, Mrs. Zhou, with crispy and waxy hair.
Wu Nong said softly: "Master, the medicine is here, drink it while it's hot."
Since Lin Ruhai was poisoned and assassinated previously, although he was diagnosed and treated by the imperial physician, his health has not been very good since then.
Lin Ruhai turned around and said, "It has been raining for almost a month and there is still no sign of it stopping.
Zhou took a spoon, gently stirred the medicinal porridge in the porcelain bowl, and said softly: "Master, are you worried about Gaoyou Lake?"
Lin Ruhai sighed and said with emotion or to himself: "Sizhou's embankment burst, causing countless casualties. Gao Bin, the governor of Nanhe, committed suicide out of fear a few days ago. You can imagine what the embankment will be like. The newspaper said,
Yongningbo has also taken charge of the river channel and is in charge of flood control matters."
"Uncle Yong Ning?" Aunt Zhou's eyes flashed, she handed over the porridge bowl and said in surprise: "The master is talking about the uncle Heng who often writes letters."
Lin Ruhai nodded, took the porridge bowl, and said, "It's him."
I am still thinking about Jia Heng. He was mentioned in the letter sent by Yu'er before. I don't know what he looks like. He was already an assistant minister of military aircraft and an important minister of the imperial court at a young age.
It's like a dream.
This is how the Jiangnan officialdom, which is a little further away, views Jia Heng.
Lin Ruhai's understanding of Jia Heng was from the newspaper in his residence. At that time, Jia Zhen lost her title due to a crime, and Jia Heng wrote a "Resignation List", and then his reputation spread all over the country.
After that, Jia Heng moved around one after another until he became the Commander-in-Chief of Jinyi and the deputy envoy of the Jingying Festival. Then, due to the recent chaos in the Central Plains, he was promoted to the title of Yongning Bo. During this period, he kept writing letters. Since he had never met him in person, most of them were written by Jia Heng.
Some pleasantries and greetings.
At this moment, a maid from outside entered the study and said, "Sir, the steward of the front yard sent a greeting card to you."
Aunt Zhou came forward and took the greeting card, saw the name clearly on it, her beautiful face changed slightly and her brows were filled with joy, and she said: "Sir, this is the greeting card from Uncle Yongning. He has arrived in Yangzhou."
When Lin Ruhai heard this, the spoon she was holding in her hand suddenly paused and landed on the porcelain bowl, making a crisp sound of "ta".
Overjoyed, he took the greeting card and hurriedly said, "Go and tell the front yard to let me know. I'll change my clothes and go over to greet you."
In the front hall of Yangzhou Yanyuan Yamen, several clerks secretly looked at the young man in a python suit who was sitting in the official hall, and at the guards behind him who were wearing flying fish suits and embroidered spring knives.
Is this Uncle Yong Ning?
Jia Heng held a cup of tea, took a sip, and waited patiently.
