In April of the third year of Jiayou's reign, the first phase of the Hongshui River project was completed. Five flat-bottomed canoes with a load of 200 tons were immediately lowered from Dongchuan Pier and flowed all the way down the river. They arrived at Centipede Beach five days later and docked for unloading and loading.
It was transported by dry road to Qingfengdu, a hundred miles away. There, there were two 500-ton waterships waiting for a long time. After loading the goods, it was a smooth journey and it only took four days to arrive in Wuzhou, Guangxi.
Because there is still a six-mile-long canal between Wuzhou and Qinzhou that is being widened and deepened to accommodate large ships, so it is temporarily necessary to transfer by land again, along the post road through Tianmen Pass, and arrive at the foot of Qinzhou City. It is loaded at Qinzhou Port.
After all the materials are shipped, they can be shipped by sea to all parts of the country.
Although two more land and water transports are currently required, it only takes twenty-seven days to complete the journey. Even if you go upstream when returning, it will only take forty-eight days, which has shortened the time several times.
Moreover, the project has not yet been completed. According to the plan, the second phase next year will connect the entire waterway. The waterway will be in-depth repaired in the next year and every dry season in the future. In addition to maintaining the existing shipping capacity, it also focuses on improving the safety of ships.
The passing capacity enables larger ships to pass through waterways more safely and smoothly.
Of course, even for the second phase next year, the number of civilians involved will not exceed 20,000. Starting from the year after next, it will drop to less than 10,000. There will never be such a huge project as this year.
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The Hongshui River Project has been repeatedly praised by future generations for its boldness in project establishment, short time-consuming, successful construction, and huge role in the future. However, history often forgets it. In order to connect this golden waterway among the mountains and ridges, 730 people have
Many civilian husbands and seven officials sacrificed their lives or were seriously injured and unable to work.
Perhaps in the eyes of the imperial court and officials, it was normal for such a dangerous project to be built in the miasma-ridden Dali, where thousands of people would die. But Chen Ke felt deeply remorseful. If he hadn't pushed so hard, he would have died.
There should be fewer deaths.
In order to comfort the deceased and to put his mind at ease, he proposed three things: 1. Send the remains and relics of all the deceased civilians back to their hometowns. 2. The death or disability pension should be sixty minus the time of death or disability.
Age, multiplied by the average annual income of men in Guangxi and Hunan - fifty guan payment. Third, erect a monument at the starting point and end point of the Hongshui River project to commemorate these civilians who dedicated their lives and everything.
What he didn't expect was that his three orders were met with unanimous opposition. As for the first order, the officials in charge thought that the workload was too heavy and demanded that the person be buried on the spot as usual, and only reported to the local government.
, just order them to inform them. The second way. This alone will cost another million yuan. The third way is to erect monuments for the seven officials who died in the line of duty. They have no objection, but to erect monuments for the civilians.
, not only is it unnecessary, but it also seems to be an invitation to buy people's hearts.
It has not been easy to go all the way with the officials. Now that we have reached this stage, Chen Ke does not want to have a stalemate with them. However, he also realizes that he is not doing enough... There is still a commotion about paying wages to the people. Even Su Shi and Ouyang Xiu wrote
The letter came, blaming him for not giving face to his colleagues. At that time, there was a reason for "rewarding a brave man with a heavy reward". Now that the project is over, if he continues to do this, it will definitely disgust all the officials in the world.
He no longer insisted in person, but secretly submitted a petition to invite officials to grant favors. He also hinted in the petition that there was still surplus in Dongchuan, and all rewards could be withdrawn locally without having to trouble the court...
…
However, he underestimated Zhao Zhen's kindness. Soon, a decree came back. Not only did he approve the three items he proposed, but he also awarded the officials who died in the line of duty posthumous titles and titles. The other officials also received promotions and rewards, and all the rewards were there.
A money order from Bianjing came with the imperial edict, which shows how quickly the imperial court accepted new things.
Since the official issued the decree, the officials naturally had nothing to say, but they still couldn't understand Chen Ke... Well, why bother?
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In June, the "Canal Workers Monument" was inaugurated in Dongchuan. In addition to officials from Dongchuan City, the princes of Dali also came to watch the ceremony.
There was a sea of people in the square that day, mostly soldiers and civilians who came to watch the ceremony. Looking at the white marble column more than three feet high sitting on the three-story base, everyone was enveloped in that sense of solemnity. The civilian husbands who had participated in the river construction
We even had tears in our eyes. For the first time in our lives, we experienced what it means to be respected...
The ceremony was presided over by an imperial envoy sent by the imperial court. Chen Ke claimed to be ill that day and did not show up. He watched the scene with a telescope from the highest watchtower.
Next to him stood Princess Miaoxiang wearing a jingle ring. She was invited to attend the ceremony, but after learning that Chen Ke was absent, she only showed her face during the unveiling session where she was required to appear, so she went straight to look for him.
come over.
"I really don't understand, sir." She didn't understand why Chen Ke spent so much effort and hid away in the moment of glory: "Why do you have to do so much for these common people?"
"How much?" Chen Ke asked rhetorically: "The imperial court rewarded hundreds of officials with more money than this for a suburban sacrifice. Is it possible that they have worked hard for half a year and even sacrificed their blood and lives, but it is not as good as a hundred officials for a picnic? Is this considered?
What’s the point!”
"Officials are the people who govern the country," Princess Miaoxiang said.
"Relying on them can only destroy the country..." Chen Ke sneered, suddenly realizing that the other party's identity was not suitable for discussing this issue, so he said lightly: "Actually, I just want to make myself feel at ease..."
"How can there be immortality in labor?" Princess Miaoxiang looked at this man who had been domineering since they met with complex eyes. Only now did she realize that he had such a sentimental side. She comforted softly: "How much
It's been like this for years, you just get used to it."
"In your hearts, civilians are like cattle and horses at will. If one group dies, another group will die. Don't feel bad at all." Chen Ke glanced at her and said quietly: "But I can't be so detached. As long as I think about it, everyone
Behind the deceased, there are a pair of heartbroken parents, a wife and children who have lost their support, and I can't close my eyes."
"Sir, are you so kind?" Princess Miaoxiang comforted her kindly, but was treated like a donkey, so she naturally felt deeply aggrieved. Moreover, she had always been grudged against Chen Ke for betraying her trust and letting the Yang family go, so naturally she would not miss any opportunity to vent her anger.
: "If this is the case, your Excellency will not let the people of Dali still be shrouded in the shadow of war!" She and Chen Ke have always maintained a super friendly relationship. Naturally, she knows what kind of person Chen Ke is, so she is not afraid of offending him.
he.
"Hahaha..." Chen Ke laughed loudly and said: "The people who were beaten to death are all Bai people. Wouldn't it be better to end it early? Besides, with the imperial army here, do the Yang family dare to mess around? I'm sorry they don't dare either!"
"I feel relieved when you are here, but you can't stay in Dali forever." Duan Mingyue said quietly.
"If I leave Dali," Chen Ke thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "I will naturally continue to speak for the Duan family."
His words were meaningless, but Duan Mingyue was deeply pleased, but there was no joy on her face as she said, "I wonder how credible your words are?"
"It's very credible." Chen Ke laughed, put his hand on Duan Mingyue's slender waist, and gently rubbed it: "I am also half the son-in-law of the Duan family, how can I watch my uncle being bullied?"
"Bah, what a half-son-in-law..." Duan Mingyue spat, but did not break away. Instead, she leaned on his shoulder and said with charming eyes: "You are a coward who talks but does not practice."
"Who talks all the time but doesn't practice?" Chen Ke laughed and said, "When it comes to real life, he can run faster than a rabbit." In fact, if he really wanted to get rid of her, it wouldn't be difficult, but Mingyue's identity is too special.
, and he is also very ambitious. He does not want to cause "human life", let himself be controlled by others, and destroy the balanced situation that has been painstakingly managed.
"My mother-in-law said when she was reincarnated, men won't cherish what they get if it's too easy." Duan Mingyue chuckled and said, "I am yours after all. Who dares to touch me in Dali? What are you anxious about?"
"You witch," Chen Ke's heart was aroused by her arousal. If there weren't guards behind him, he would have already started to take action: "Tell me, what do you want?"
"Don't say that, it hurts feelings." Duan Mingyue had no scruples, a soft little hand wandered on his chest, and said softly: "I heard that a huge copper mine was found in Dongchuan.
Mine, this shouldn’t be a coincidence, right?”
"Hehe..." If she touched it again, something would really happen. Chen Ke held her hand down and said, "It was indeed an accident. During the training, I fired a few rounds and a large area of copper mine was exploded."
Duan Mingyue is a fool and does not believe in such a coincidence. How could it be possible that the Song Dynasty had already built cities and repaired roads, yet copper mines were discovered within its sphere of influence?
Obviously, a series of actions taken by the Song Dynasty were all carefully planned, and the purpose was the copper mines in Dongchuan!
Just thinking about it made her teeth itch with hatred... Back then, she was begging the Song Dynasty to send troops, but she didn't know that people had already been eyeing this piece of fat. It turned out that everyone was plotted by this bastard!
Duan Mingyue wanted to tear Chen Ke into pieces when she thought that she was willing to sacrifice her appearance, begging for mercy like a prostitute, but looking like a fool to the other party.
Of course, she can only think about it, she has to continue to please...
"Sir, Dongchuan is the territory of our Duan family. Copper mines were found on it. It seems to belong to our Duan family, right?" She leaned in Chen Ke's arms lovingly and said, "The imperial court can't just mine it in vain."
"Dongchuan, it seems to be the territory of the Gao family, right?" Chen Ke pretended to be confused and said, "It was originally assigned to me by the Gao family."
"That's their generosity to others," Duan Mingyue said indifferently: "Dongchuan does belong to my Duan family, as evidenced by the documents demarcating the boundaries between our families over the years."
I really don’t blame me this time. It was after 1 o’clock and I was still short of 500 words when there was a sudden power outage. I had no choice but to set the alarm and go to sleep. When I got up in the morning, I posted. (To be continued)
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