After sending Zhu Manniang to justice, Wei Chen also felt relieved. Otherwise, Wei Chen would feel uncomfortable when he thought about such a poisonous snake hiding in the government office.
On Gu Tingye's side, Sister Rong's biological mother was missing, so naturally there was a burst of crying. However, it was up to Gu Tingye to solve the problem himself. Wei Chen couldn't get involved in everything. He still had tens of thousands of people in Yuzhou to take care of.
.
Mid-February.
Yuzhou ruled Mi County, and the sun was shining brightly.
Since the beginning of spring, there has been continuous spring rain in Yuzhou. After the rain stopped, it was sunny for more than ten days without a trace of cool breeze, and it was very hot.
Wei Chen, the magistrate of Yuzhou, left Yuzhou City at the beginning of the month and inspected the counties below. Now that Xinzheng County has been visited, the next destination is naturally Mi County.
Sun Zhuo, the magistrate of Mi County, was greeting him on the official road with the county magistrate, Dianshi, chief registrar and other officials.
Sun Zhuo felt very uneasy when he heard that the prefect's patrol route was to first go to Xinzheng and then to Mi County.
There is no harm without comparison.
Xinzheng County is where the prefecture city of Yuzhou is located, and the county magistrate Chen Jun is also a fellow townsman and the same year as the magistrate Wei Chen. There is also a Jun Porcelain Guild in the territory. It can be said that those who are near the river are first served. As the main area for the Jun Porcelain trade, it is developing rapidly. Mi County does not have such good luck. Not only does it not receive much Junci glory, it is also adjacent to the turbulent Yellow River.
The existence of this above-ground river causes the groundwater level on both sides to rise, and salt accumulates on the surface due to evaporation, forming a large area of saline-alkali land unsuitable for farming in the depression behind the Yellow River.
Industry and commerce are underdeveloped, and agriculture is also sluggish. In mid-December last year, the taxes collected by Mi County were less than one-third of those in Xinzheng County, which is considered to be holding Yuzhou back.
Because of this, Sun Zhuo, the magistrate of Mi County who was waiting by the official road, would take out a handkerchief from time to time to wipe the sweat dripping from his forehead. It was not because of the heat, but because of panic.
At this time, a government official from a distance rushed over and shouted: "Coming, coming!"
Sun Zhuo hurriedly waved to him and asked, "But Lord Zhizhou is here?"
The yamen servant bowed down and reported: "I only saw people coming from official positions, but I don't know if they are Lord Zhizhou."
When Sun Zhuo heard this, he was so angry that he said: "You don't have any eyesight, so what use do you have!"
However, Mi County is a poor county, and there are not many good horses in the county government. Otherwise, Sun Zhuo would have asked the government officials to ride fast horses along the official road to find them.
Just when Sun Zhuo was about to see through the autumn water, two golden fans suddenly appeared on the official road in the distance, and the sound of gongs and shouts came slowly towards this side.
Officials have their own rules when traveling. When traveling in the seventh rank, they will wear a black fan, when traveling in the sixth rank, they will break a gold fan, and when traveling in the fifth rank, they will wear a large golden fan.
Using ceremonial guards beyond one's rank is deemed as exceeding the etiquette and will be impeached by the imperial censor.
Looking at the entire Yuzhou City, the only official who can travel with a big golden fan is Wei Chen, the magistrate of Yuzhou.
Therefore, Sun Zhuo recognized the identity of the person at a glance and immediately cheered up: "You are really the master of Zhizhou, please fire cannons to welcome him!"
After saying this, the sound of firecrackers went off loudly, and Sun Zhuo led all the county government officials to avoid the road to greet him.
After the sedan stopped, Zhao Ceying dismounted first, stepped forward and opened the sedan curtain, and Wei Chen, dressed in official robes, walked out slowly.
"Something happened on the way and I was delayed. I'm sorry you all have been waiting for so long."
Wei Chen looked at the officials in Mi County and said with a smile: "I was walking along the road, but I saw that the people in Mi County were working according to the time, and the seedlings in the fields were flourishing, which shows that Magistrate Sun is managing the county effectively."
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Wei Chen's words made Sun Zhuo look proud in front of his subordinates, and Sun Zhuo straightened his waist unconsciously.
However, Sun Zhuo can be regarded as an old official because he was able to rise from a civil servant to the position of county magistrate. Naturally, he would not know his surname after being praised by Wei Chen for a few words, and he was still silently speculating on Wei Chen's intention. p>
The seal official should not leave the sealing place lightly. Wei Chen is the magistrate of Yuzhou. Generally speaking, if there is anything he needs to do, he can just give the following instructions and there is no need to go out personally.
Now that Wei Chen has condescended to inspect Mi County, he must have something important to do.
When Sun Zhuo came here, Wei Chen was probably here to inspect the education.
Since last year, Wei Chen has been working hard to promote the establishment of volunteer schools, calling on squires in various counties to donate money to run schools.
Of course, the state government will also purchase land for volunteer schools to support teachers and students.
Although Mi County is a poor county, with the strong subsidies from the state government, seven or eight primary schools have been opened in the past six months, housing more than a hundred students, which can be regarded as some achievements.
Sun Zhuo thought that this is what Wei Chen came here for. After all, local officials have always liked to inspect schools. Firstly, they can get close to scholars and recruit talents. Secondly, this is also a political achievement.
However, to Sun Zhuo's surprise, Wei Chen did not go to inspect the newly built school, and did not even enter the city gate.
After chatting with the officials in Mi County, Wei Chen, Zhao Ceying and Gu Tingye changed their horses, took their entourage and guards with them, and went to the Yellow River to inspect the river work.
Far away from the Yellow River, you can hear the rumbling sound of water. The Yellow River embankment, which is several feet high, is like a long dragon, crossing from the west to the east. It is amazing.
Looking at the surging Yellow River, Gu Tingye couldn't help but sigh: "A bowl of water, half a bowl of sand, no wonder the dams need to be raised every year!"
"I heard that someone in Daming Prefecture invented a dredging rake that can loosen the sand and let the water flow carry it into the sea, but I don't know if it can be used."
When Zhao Ceying spoke, he looked at Wei Chen, expecting him to give her an answer.
After this period of getting along, Zhao Ceying has grown to respect her teacher more and more. No matter what doubts she has, she seems to be able to get satisfactory answers from her teacher.
"River?" Wei Chen was a little confused when he heard this. He had no idea about this thing.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Ceying immediately asked someone to get pen and paper, drew a sketch for Wei Chen, and explained to Wei Chen the principle of the dredging rake.
It turns out that the so-called dredging rake is to install wooden teeth on a giant tree to make a big wooden rake. It is sunk to the bottom of the water under the weight of huge rocks, and then connected to the winch of a large ship. In this way, it can sway back and forth on the bottom of the river to achieve
The purpose of dredging the river bed.
Wei Chen figured out the principle of the dredging harrow, and immediately shook his head and declared: "This thing is useless!"
"Why?"
Gu Tingye asked in surprise.
He had just heard Zhao Ceying's description of the dredging harrow and thought it was very reasonable. He just didn't understand why Wei Chen said this thing didn't work.
"This is a matter of seeking fish from a tree!"
Wei Chen explained in a deep voice: "If you dig loose the sand today, it will be deposited again tomorrow. Even if you do it every day, it will not be as fast as the sedimentation speed of the river. It is just a waste of labor."
After hearing this, Gu Tingye and Zhao Ceying suddenly realized, and then couldn't help but feel a little discouraged.
I thought dredging was a good way to dredge the river, but it still didn't work. Should we just let the Yellow River continue to flood as usual?
Seeing the dejected looks of the two of them, Wei Chen couldn't help but laugh. He had heard too many stories about water control in the Yellow River in his previous life, and he could even give a rough outline of those effective plans.
The fifth strategy question in the initial examination was about river management, and Wei Chen basically wrote down all the river management strategies he knew.
It's a pity that this examination paper was shelved after the examination, and no one would really take the content above seriously.
Wei Chen was also quite depressed about this.
Now that Wei Chen is in charge, he can finally take action himself and put these river control strategies that have always been on paper into practice.