Chen Qing urged his horse to come to the Cai River. As expected, the river was very narrow, at most five or six feet wide, and it would need to be widened to at least about ten feet. Chen Qing found that some government officials had already sprinkled lime and painted white lines on the shore. There were already Thousands of people started digging, and the crowds flowed in and out, making it extremely lively.
Chenliu County was very efficient in doing things, which really satisfied Chen Qing. However, Chen Qing found that there were many houses on the shore. He pointed at the houses in the distance with his riding crop and asked: "Do all the houses on the shore need to be demolished?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, if it is expanded to fifteen feet, it will involve the relocation of the houses near the front. If it is only expanded to ten feet, then only more than a hundred houses will be relocated. At present, Zhang Yasuo has decided to expand to ten feet, which is basically the case. It's enough, and I'll expand it to fifteen feet later."
Chen Qing frowned slightly. He originally agreed to expand to fifteen feet, why did he change it? He didn't say anything more. He had to ask Zhang Xiao directly about this matter. There was no point in asking Lu Dai.
"Is it more difficult to relocate?"
Lu Dai nodded, "Everyone wants to live by the river, which means a lot of benefits. It is impossible to ask them to move farther away. They must ensure that they are still by the river before they are willing to move. We in Chenliu County The section in Bianliang County was fine, but I heard that the price for the section in Bianliang County was sky-high, and the new Fuzhi County magistrate was beaten with bruises and bruises by the local villagers and fled in embarrassment."
After a pause, Lu Dai said again: "If the Jin soldiers asked them to move, they wouldn't dare to let go of anything and move overnight. The Western Army is still too kind. People who are kind can be bullied!"
Continuing north along the Cai River, after walking for more than 20 miles, we entered Bianliang County. After walking for a few more miles, we saw a flurry of chickens and dogs in the distance. More than a dozen government officials escorted an official from the village in a panic. After escaping, a large group of farmers were chasing me with hoes.
Chen Qing immediately sent hundreds of cavalry to respond. Perhaps because they saw the army on the official road, the farmers in the village returned to the village one after another.
Not long after, the cavalry came over with officials and government officials. The official was the new magistrate Fuhong. He looked very embarrassed, his official uniform was torn, his left eye was punched, turning it into a panda eye, and his face seemed to have been touched by a woman. There were five streaks of blood on his fingernails, and the other yamen servants were also stained.
Fuhong came forward with a mournful look on his face and saluted: "See you, Your Highness!"
"What's going on? These farmers refuse to move?"
"No! Relocation is not a problem. Expanding the river ten feet wide basically does not involve relocation. The key is that these farmers have gone to the river to build houses. If they want to widen the river, they will have to dig out their new houses. One by one. The sky-high price is to demolish a house for 500 guan or 1,000 guan.”
"The land by the river has no owner?"
Fuhong shook his head quickly, "No, the government has stipulated in the past that farming and building houses are not allowed within five feet of the river. Logically speaking, it is all government land."
Chen Qing nodded and asked: "How many farmers want to build houses by the river?"
"There are many, very many. This is the first village. I wanted to persuade them to demolish their houses to set an example, but the result... Alas! I am incompetent."
Chen Qing was furious and immediately shouted: "Wang Zhan, where is Li Que!"
The two commanders of the soldiers stepped forward and clasped their fists and said: "I have a humble duty!"
"Wang Zhan led a thousand men to the village to arrest people. I captured all the young and strong men and tied them all up to meet me at the river!"
"Follow the order!"
Wang Zhan led 500 cavalry and 500 infantry and rushed towards the village. For a moment, the village was filled with people crying for their fathers and mothers.
Chen Qing then said to Li Que, another commander of the soldiers: "You also led a thousand brothers to follow the government officials to the river. When you saw the house being built burned down, if anyone in the house refused to come out, no matter old or young, they would be knocked unconscious and dragged away."
Come out and tie them up."
"Follow the order!"
Commander Li Que also rushed to the river with 500 cavalry and 500 infantry. Next to him, Fu Hong moved his lips and did not dare to say it. There were old people in those houses, and they were looking for death and survival. They were forced to come to the village to try to persuade the villagers.
, I didn’t expect King Yong to use the simplest and crudest way to solve the problem, hey!
Hundreds of houses were built along the seven to eight mile long river, all made of wood, soil and straw mats. At this time, they were all engulfed in raging fire, and the old people living in the houses were dragged out and tied up by soldiers.
His legs were broken, unable to move, and he watched helplessly as the house was burned down.
Not long after, hundreds of young men were escorted over with their hands tied behind their backs. Many of them were beaten to bloody wounds. This was due to fighting with soldiers, and also because they were civilians. If they were enemy soldiers, they would have been stabbed long ago.
Cut off the head.
A large group of women and children followed behind the man, crying and crying. The old man, who was still yelling and howling, was petrified when he saw his children and grandchildren being tied up and taken away, and there was silence for a moment.
Chen Qing pointed his riding whip and shouted: "Push them all down! Give each of them fifty sticks, and anyone who dares to resist will have their heads chopped off!"
Hundreds of men were forced to lie on the ground. The soldiers used spear poles as clubs and beat them hard and violently. The beatings made the farmers cry for their fathers and mother, and howled incessantly.
After being beaten fifty times, everyone was beaten to a bloody pulp, unable to move, and everyone was in great pain.
At this time, more than a dozen old men came forward and knelt down and begged for mercy. Chen Qing said coldly: "Why should we beat them? Because they are disrespectful to the magistrate. This is just a warning. If anyone dares to be disrespectful to the magistrate, they will be exiled."
"
Chen Qing pointed at the burning house and said: "Wending the river is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, but you are like flies trying to take advantage. Today I am warning you that from now on, anyone from the states along the way who dares to occupy the river will have their tax exemption cancelled."
, and double taxed.”
A group of old people were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and they kowtowed and said they dare not.
Chen Qing led the army away, and the women, children and the elderly came to help their men one after another. They complained to each other one by one. The leading men were surrounded by a group of old people and yelled at them, asking them for money for medical treatment.
News about personal interests spread quickly throughout the banks of the Cai River, as if it had wings. Farmers demolished their temporary houses one after another. Seeing that they could not take advantage of the benefits, they also had to lose ten years of tax exemption. This kind of thing is like a chicken and egg.
No one wants to do it.
When Chen Qing returned to the camp, Zhang Xiao came over after hearing the news. He bowed and thanked him: "Our most troublesome problem was unexpectedly solved by His Highness. I am really grateful to you. We can officially start work tomorrow."
Chen Qing waved his hand and said: "I would like to ask, how did it shrink to ten feet when it was originally planned to be widened by fifteen feet?"
Zhang Xiao smiled slightly and said: "This is the suggestion made by Zhang Yuanlang, the water envoy of the former capital. I think it makes sense."
"What's the point?"
"A ten-foot-wide river can accommodate five cargo ships of 500 shi in parallel. Inland river ships are basically less than 500 shi. Even if it happens to be a fleet of 1,000 shi, there will still be no problem. If it is a ship with two or three thousand shi, it will not be a problem.
You can go on the inland river, as long as there is a guidance official in front, he will direct everyone to pull over, and the fleet of two to three thousand stones can still go smoothly."
"What if it's a five thousand stone war fleet?" Chen Qing asked.
"Your Highness, a five-thousand-stone fleet rarely appears a few times a year. Even if it does, we can definitely take the new route of the Yellow River! There is no need to crowd the inland waterway, it is not safe."
Chen Qing was speechless for a moment, Zhang Xiao smiled and said: "Another consideration is the amount of work. If it is widened by fifteen feet, it will not be completed this year and will be delayed until next year. It will affect the implementation of His Highness's market plan and will also
Affecting the normal operation of Bianliang."
Chen Qing nodded, "This Zhang Yuanlang is pretty good. How old is he?"
"About fifty years old, he was a sixth-rank official in the previous dynasty."
"I want to meet this person and ask him to serve as the Water Affairs Superintendent of Henan Province. As an official of the Department of Appeasement, he will be responsible for dredging channels and transshipping ships."