Facing Xu Mochen's slightly sharp gaze, the prefect hesitated for a moment, then mustered up his courage: "Your Majesty, I will allow you to report this matter."
The rise of Lanzhou probably occurred in the past. At that time, Xu Mochen had only been on the throne for a few years, and his focus was on the unification war between China and Qianlong.
Lanzhou belonged to Daqian at that time. Because it was located in the north, except for Xu Mochen's pasture to raise horses, there were no additional resources, so it could be said that it was very poor.
Until recently, suddenly the entire land of Lanzhou ushered in a great harvest.
"Not only the food, but also the quantity of cattle, sheep, livestock, etc. has been doubled," the prefect said, "and from the beginning, it was a series of developments."
Within a few years, everyone had enough food and clothing.
Xu Mochen listened, but kept holding back in his heart. It seemed that the rise of Lanzhou was a rise, but so many resources did not increase the court's taxes.
"I have reported to the imperial court," the eunuch continued, "Your Majesty's decree at that time was to deal with matters in Lanzhou in an adaptable manner as he was busy with the war."
Xu Mochen sneered in his heart, that is to say, this big fat piece of meat was secretly divided by the courtiers and cultivators.
"So after that, in addition to the taxes paid, the people in Lanzhou became richer and richer," the prefect said with a blush on his face, "and they also had other needs."
When you have money, the first thing you think about is your own safety.
This era is not modern. There is surveillance everywhere, and state agents can be dispatched at any time.
When people are attacked and robbed of their homes, their resistance is very low.
Therefore, Lanzhou started the first phase of infrastructure construction, building cities and setting up an army to ensure the safety of the people within the territory.
This decision won the support of the people, many of whom even participated in labor for free.
In addition, there are many foreign residents, and the concerted efforts have created the current scale.
"What your Majesty has seen now is the grand occasion of Lanzhou," the eunuch said, turning to the topic, "After the construction of the city was completed, there was actually no corvee in Lanzhou for many years."
Xu Mochen understood, now that everyone has money and is living well, who would still do hard work?
When building a hydropower station, Xu Mochen and Xu Mochen said that although they involved immortal cultivators to speed up the construction, the power of the human race was also needed.
But here in Lanzhou, we encountered resistance.
It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality. This is the biggest problem he faces at present.
Forcibly mobilizing the people of Lanzhou to participate may trigger a civil uprising.
Xu Mochen thought and had an idea: "What if they are people from other states?"
"Your Majesty," the prefect tried hard to advise, "if your Majesty insists on building a hydropower station, it is best to educate the people first so that they understand the purpose of the construction.
I actually don’t understand the key. When it comes to diversion of rivers, migration of people, etc., people’s livelihood issues must be carefully considered.”
What he said was correct, but Xu Mochen's face darkened.
He understands the logic. It's like building a nuclear power plant in the 21st century. Even if safety is repeatedly guaranteed, the local people will always oppose it.
Unless it is suppressed by force.
Although Xu Mochen is a foolish king, he understands the key.
Unexpectedly, the richer the place, the harder it is to promote large-scale infrastructure reforms.
After waving the eunuch down, the elites around him expressed their opinions.
"Your Majesty," Shen Zhining said, "the key point is that the people have no understanding of electricity at all, which makes them unclear about the role of hydropower stations."
"People always have doubts about unknown things," Gu Jinge agreed. "If we force the implementation, it may be counterproductive."
Zhao Lingbo turned over the geography in her hand, and the more she looked at it, the more she frowned: "According to what the prefect said, I have carefully looked at the geographical map of mountains and rivers, and I can't find any suitable construction sites in this area of Lanzhou."
In this era, fresh water resources such as rivers were very important. Lanzhou's cities were basically built based on the original rivers, fields, and grasslands.
If it is changed, it will indeed cause earth-shaking changes in the life of the city.
The current problem is not just that there are no people, but that the construction of hydropower stations will affect the stability of Lanzhou.
Xu Mochen is in trouble.
"Your Majesty," Mu Nanyi, who had been looking at the map, said, "the common people have an idea.
His Majesty's original plan, which grassroots people have also seen, was to cut off several rivers here, integrate them into reservoirs, and then build a power station.
Nowadays, there are cities in the downstream areas of these rivers. Judging from the words of the prefect, they should be quite large.
In this case, the original plan will not work.
For the current plan, the grassroots people think that they can only choose another place to build and reduce the scale."
Xu Mochen understood as soon as he heard it. Since he couldn't make big changes, he should start with small-scale construction.
When the hydropower station is built and the role of electricity is fully exerted, and it becomes more effective, the people of Lanzhou will be able to accept it.
If you can't climb the stairs in one breath, then walk step by step.
"Sir's opinion is very good," Xu Mochen agreed immediately, "Tang Aiqing, the Fang brothers and sisters have already entered Lanzhou for field inspections, and have they brought any news."
Tang Derun shook his head: "Wei Chen did not receive the letter. Maybe it is because there are some remote areas in Lanzhou and letters are exchanged..."
Halfway through this sentence, he thought of something and was stunned.
Something is wrong. With Lanzhou’s current prosperity, remote areas do not exist.
Unless the two of them are trapped in the mountains.
Xu Mochen frowned: "This plan must go forward, but according to Mr. Mu's wishes, we must first modify and reduce the scale."
It is equivalent to saying that the plan needs to be re-formulated.
After everyone left, Xu Mochen and Tang Derun looked at each other, and the latter understood.
He turned around and waved his hand, setting up a restriction around him, and then took out a pair of pens and inkstones.
This pen and inkstone Xu Mochen has seen before, it belongs to Mu Nanyi, and it is a physical object condensed by immortality. It is very rare in the world.
Xu Mochen immediately realized that the matter in Lanzhou was not over yet, and the people lurking in the dark were still observing their every word and deed.
If you want to keep the secret, you need special means.
Mu Nanyi's immortality is also a big treasure, which may be able to deal with the other party's prying eyes.
Tang Derun did not speak, he just sharpened the ink, dipped the pen in the ink, and wrote a line of words on the paper.
Xu Mochen looked at these words and asked him to write down the question: Is it confirmed to be valid?
Tang Derun wrote: I can't guarantee it 100%. At present, it seems that the plan is going smoothly and there is no interference from the other party.
Xu Mochen: Is there someone to be suspicious of?
Tang Derun: Si Tingxuan has fallen, the rest...
Xu Mochen looked at the guess he wrote with a deep look: In this case, your plan is feasible.
Tang Derun: Your Majesty must be careful, I'm afraid this is still the opponent's territory.
Xu Mochen: I understand that there are still some strangers who have not been found, maybe they are the trump cards left by the other party.
Over there at the nine-story pagoda, it might just be smoke.
Si Tingxuan's here is just a way for the other party to test him.
This is a wolf lurking in the dark, staring at himself and others with a faint gaze, waiting for an opportunity to move.
The two ended their conversation, and Tang Derun put away his pen and inkstone.
"Let's proceed according to the new plan," Xu Mochen made the decision, "cooperating with the follow-up actions, the second batch of teams can come in."
According to the original plan, Xu Mochen and others were in the front line, and the second group were some immortal cultivators around him.
These people are not very powerful, but if they help with construction, they can shorten the process to a great extent.
Tang Derun received the order: "This matter will be handled personally by the humble minister, so your Majesty must rest assured."
Xu Mochen nodded.
Everything was explained clearly, and Xu Mochen decided to reduce the scale, but the plan could not be delayed any longer.
If the people of Lanzhou cannot recruit, then he plans to recruit from surrounding states and counties
people participated.
The most important thing at the moment is to determine the location where the new hydropower station will be built.
After the destruction of the Liuzang Sect, there was a brief vacancy in the power of Lanzhou immortal cultivators, which gave Xu Mochen a lot of room for action.
He personally led people and went deep into various places in Lanzhou to investigate carefully.
Not to mention the prosperity along the way, to avoid these existing cities, Xu Mochen found three places after screening.
These three places are all located deep in the mountains, which are completely different from the original plan.
After repeated discussions, and even with reference to the opinions of Ji Junen, Minister of Industry, a location was finally selected.
It's just that here, it's far away from the capital, and the wires originally planned to be made are not long enough.
Xu Mochen could only adapt to local conditions and first pull the electricity to a nearby city.
Compared with the original effect, the effect is much worse.