Fenghou

Early the next morning, 30 young and strong men joined the Caihe widening project. At the same time, [-] women participated in the logistics, mainly cooking and delivering meals. There are currently [-] people in Bianliang County, and they can spend [-] It is not easy for young and strong men, and they have to maintain the minimum manpower of shops and restaurants. In addition, about [-] women are employed in the army's workshops, making Jiangxi clothes, sewing shoes, socks, military uniforms, etc.

Women's wages are slightly lower, thirty yuan a day. After all, it is not physical labor. The folks who carry the burden of digging can earn fifty yuan a day with food and housing, and they are genuine copper coins. This is not bad in Bianliang. The construction period is estimated to be five months, that is to say, each person can earn [-] yuan, deducting the rest time, and there is no problem in getting [-] yuan.

Qiguan money is a lot of money for most Bianliang families, and it can be used for many things. Even if it is not used, it can be saved for emergencies.

Of course, if you have money but no materials, the prices in Bianliang will inevitably rise sharply. Chen Qing ordered to stockpile a batch of grain, salt, cloth, tea cakes, and briquettes in Bianliang, and supply them at a low price. Four pieces are supplied, and there is one more piece of cloth for basic necessities of life.

On the construction site, teams of peasants walked past Chen Qing carrying heavy loads of soil. In the river, hundreds of men were intensively driving piles to build a wooden fence wall, and then filled a large number of mud bags. Caihe followed If the flow is cut off, of course the river will not overflow, but will flow directly from Bianshui to the Yellow River.

The Bianliang River section is about 35 miles long. Dredging the silt and widening the river course required a considerable amount of work. In the Song Dynasty, which did not have mechanized operations, it would take at least half a year to complete the project.

The following is the Chenliu County section, about 25 miles away, and it will take almost half a year for [-] migrant workers to complete.

At this time, Zhang Yuanlang, the director of the river channel, was brought to see Chen Qing. Zhang Yuanlang was about 50 years old, with a medium build and a strong appearance. Perhaps because of working in the wild all year round, his skin was tanned and his eyes were very bright. He had been sealed by Chen Qing. As the supervisor of the water affairs of Henan Province, he is fully responsible for the widening of the Caihe River this time. Of course, he is not alone. There are more than [-] officials under him, and hundreds of soldiers assist him.

"See Your Highness for a humble position!"

Seeing that his big tent was not far away, Chen Qing laughed and said, "Let's talk in the tent!"

The camp covers an area of ​​half an acre, half open, and there are more than a dozen tables inside. What are the officials arguing about?

The officials got so involved in arguing that Chen Qing came in without them realizing it.

Chen Qing didn't bother them. He walked to the back and sat down. He looked at a map on the table. It turned out to be a map of the Cai River dredging plan. Chen Qing was surprised and asked, "When was this drawing made?"

"This was made by Beizhi seven years ago. At that time, Zhang Xiaochun, the Prime Minister of Puppet Qi, found Beizhi, gave me three hundred guan, and asked me to draw up a plan for dredging and widening the Cai River. Although the Bian River was entrusted by the Puppet State of Qi, the plan was beneficial to the country and the people, so I readily accepted it, and spent a whole year with more than a dozen apprentices to make a dredging and widening plan for the Cai River, drawing a More than 100 drawings and hundreds of thousands of words of project details were written. As a result, Zhang Xiaochun regretted telling me that the puppet state of Qi could not afford such a large project and gave up. This set of drawings and text descriptions has been kept until today. Unexpectedly It worked today."

"Is the construction done according to the drawings now?"

"Exactly! For example, when driving wooden piles, usually only one row is used, but here it is definitely not possible. The terrain of Bianliang is slightly higher, and the accumulated river water has the pressure of flood discharge downward. The wooden piles are shallow or less. There is a danger of the embankment breaking, so I require three rows of piles to be drilled, and the piles must be at least one foot deep."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "If you want to transport supplies from Luoyang to Xuzhou, you can only take Luoshui to the Yellow River, then enter Bianshui from the Yellow River through Biankou, and then go down Caihe River, is that right?"

"Your Highness is right!"

"Does Luoshui and Biankou need to be dredged?"

Zhang Yuanlang shook his head, "The dredging was done during the Xuanhe period, and a humble job was responsible for it. A big ship with three thousand shi is no problem."

"Speaking of the three thousand stone ship, I thought of the new course of the Yellow River. Why did Zhang Dujian think that the new course of the Yellow River is not conducive to navigation?"

Zhang Yuanlang smiled slightly and said, "Your Highness, whether a river has shipping value depends not on the river, but on people. Hundreds of years of shipping have formed a lot of experience, and all shipping people know how to navigate this river safely. A mature channel will emerge, and after a hundred years, the water flow of the new Yellow River channel will be the same as it is now, but there will definitely be many cargo ships sailing in the new channel of the Yellow River, and this is the channel accumulated through experience."

"I understand what the supervisor means."

Zhang Yuanlang said again: "I have been to see the Yellow River change course in Jianyan for three years. I have visited it seven times, and there is basically no change. From my point of view, it is no different from the Yellow River in Zhengzhou. Why do you say boats?" The difficulty of reaching the shore is actually not a problem of water, but a problem of the shore, the banks of the river are too smooth, and there is no deep enough bay, and the pier needs this kind of bay.”

Chen Qing nodded, this is what the experts say, and he suggested: "After the capital inspector finishes dredging the Cai River, go to Tianbao River to have a look. There is intestinal obstruction of Guanzhong Shipping! If it can be dredged, The connection between Jingzhao and Luoyang and Bianliang will be greatly strengthened."

Zhang Yuanlang readily agreed, "When this is over, I will definitely go to the humble job!"

……

As the Jin soldiers retreated to Shandong Road, the imperial army of the Northern Expedition retreated to the south of the Yellow River in embarrassment, and Chen Qing's Central Plains war situation was officially over. Chen Qing immediately appointed Yang Zaixing as the soldier and horse envoy of Henan North Road, and led an army of [-] to sit in Bianliang. He also ordered Liu Cui to be the envoy of soldiers and horses on the East Henan Road, leading an army of [-] to Guide Mansion. Si Sanzhou.

There are also 5000 scattered troops stationed in Bozhou, Yingzhou, Tangzhou, and Dengzhou, with [-] people in each state, and a commander is responsible for guarding.

The dredging and widening of the Cai River is still in full swing, and Chen Qing returns to Jingzhao with an army of [-]. , silk, pig iron, copper and other materials, but the copper coins, grain and cloth were all left in Bianliang.

Zhang Xiao also stayed in Bianliang as the appeasement envoy of Henan Road. Although Chen Qing did not set up the Shangshu Xingtai on Henan Road for the time being, in fact, Sima, the appeasement envoy of Henan Road, was the Shangshu Xingtai, but they had different names and had the same power.

……

Five days later, the [-] troops arrived in Jingzhao. Chen Qing agreed to the suggestion of holding a triumphal ceremony in the Internal Affairs Hall. The ministers and tens of thousands of people went out of the city to welcome the return of the victorious army. Chen Qing immediately held a grand triumphal ceremony outside the east city. .

The grand entrance ceremony held in Bianliang was to show the great significance of recovering Bianliang, while the triumphant ceremony held in Jingzhao was an explanation to the subjects of Jingzhao, as well as a sacrifice and comfort to the [-] soldiers.

On the wide field outside the city, the [-] troops lined up neatly, with flags unfurled, swords and guns shining, on the high platform, Chen Qing paid homage to the [-] soldiers who died in battle, and then ordered the [-] troops to enter the city.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the city lined the streets to welcome the return of the triumphant army. The people sang and danced, cheered enthusiastically, and clusters of ribbons were thrown at the soldiers.

Compared with the poor and thin people in Bianliang, the people in Jingzhao are completely different. Everyone has plump faces, healthy and lustrous complexion, and almost everyone wears brightly colored fine linen or silk.

But there is one thing that the people of Bianliang and Jingzhao are exactly the same, that is, each face is filled with joyful smiles, cheers from the heart, and excitement from the heart.

As night fell, the [-] troops returned to Bashang Barracks to rest, while Chen Qing returned to Yongwang Mansion with more than a hundred soldiers.

17th Chapter [-] Presents

Perched in the lobby, the two daughters are nestled in the arms of their father, one on the left and the other on the right, licking with relish the lollipops his father brought back for them. Chen Qing brought back the most famous Wufenglou maltose in Bianliang. The day before the reopening, Chen Qing bought a bunch of them for the children. In fact, their mothers also liked it.

But everyone is still not caring about eating, and they are all admiring the treasures on the table. The two-foot-long table is full of all kinds of rare treasures. Pick out the best batch and dedicate it to King Yong, and Chen Qing rewards the remaining jewels to the generals and officials.

There is also a rule in Chen Qing's mansion, usually the concubine Lu Xiu gives ten pieces to each person, but today Chen Qing changed the rules a little bit, each of his wives and concubines can choose one that he likes the most, and the other nine pieces will be given to each other. The princess will distribute it to everyone, so that everyone will be happier.

Everyone picked one and were looking at it happily, Chen Qingxiao asked: "What did the lady choose?"

For the first time today, Lu Xiu did not choose jade, but a set of porcelain. When her husband asked herself, she smiled and said, "I picked a set of top quality tea set!"

Chen Qing suddenly remembered that there were three sets of azure official kiln Jun porcelain, which can be called the best of the best. They were treasured by Emperor Huizong. They were found from Qian Huang's mansion. He asked for them by name. He didn't expect his wife to have such a keen eye. , All of a sudden, Chen Qing also found two other boxes on the table, but they were not taken away.

Chen Qing looked at Zhao Qiaoyun and Zhao Yingluo again, and found that both of them were very silent. Zhao Qiaoyun held a phoenix crown in her hand, and Zhao Yingluo held a pair of white jade bracelets. They were not top-grade jewelry, but probably belonged to their mothers. They are all hurting their spirits.

Ah Ying and A Lian are still a bit vulgar. In Ah Ying's hand is a top-quality emerald the size of a jujube, which is inlaid on the cap badge. In A Lian's hand is also a rare ruby, which is as big as a chicken egg and is of high quality. Chen Qing I secretly praised the two people for their good eyesight, and got the two top gemstones on the table.

"Two little guys, you can choose one too!"

Chen Qing smiled at the two girls in his arms who were eating candy: "Xue'er, don't you like Jingjingjing the most?"

"Xue'er has grown up, and she doesn't like Jingjing anymore." Chen Xue answered vaguely while eating candy.

"Then what do you like?"

"Love the pretty dress!"

Chen Qing laughed, and asked his second daughter, "What does Bing'er like?"

"I like candy!"

The children's innocent answers made Chen Qing very happy, and he asked the eldest son Chen Ji who was standing beside him, "What did Ji'er take?"

Chen Ji handed the box to his father, "Report to Dad, my son took a piece of Li Mo."

Li ink is the best in ink, made by Li Tinggui and his son in the Five Dynasties. In the Northern Song Dynasty, there was a saying that "gold is easy to get, but Li ink is hard to find". Song Huizong collected hundreds of pieces of Li ink.

Although Li Mo is very precious, it is still a bit inferior to the azure official kiln Jun porcelain. There are five pieces of Li Mo in Chen Qing's study, but there is no azure official kiln Jun porcelain.

"Why did Ji'er choose Li Mo?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

Chen Ji respectfully said: "Master has always missed a piece of Li ink that he lost in Bianliang. I chose this ink to make up for his regret."

Chen Ji's master is Lu Cunyi, the head of Chen Qing's five aides. These five aides are not actually aides, they are more properly called consultants. Their full-time jobs are all teachers of the school.

Lu Cunyi is the longest senior staff member, over sixty years old, originally a doctor of Taixue from Bianliang, and a native of Chencang County, Guanzhong. After the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty, he returned to his hometown and was hired by Chen Qing as a doctor of Taixue in Jingzhao. Badou, rich in learning and five cars, is a well-known great Confucian in Guanzhong, with peaches and plums all over the world. At the beginning of the year, he officially became the master of Chen Qing's eldest son, Chen Ji, and came to Yongwang's mansion every morning to teach him to read.

Chen Qing was very satisfied with his son's respect for his teacher. He smiled and said, "You can choose another one for yourself."

Chen Ji hesitated for a moment, took another piece of warm, white and fine jade pei, hung it on his waist, bowed and said, "Thank you, Daddy!"

Chen Qing patted his head, he really liked this son who knew how to read and understand manners.

……

At night, Chen Qing and his wife finally calmed down after some affection, Lu Xiu lay in her husband's arms and said, "Husband, I also want to go to Bianliang, I want to see the old house, I grew up there. "

Chen Qing smiled happily: "Next time I go to Bianliang for inspection, I will take you with me."

"we have a deal!"

Chen Qing nodded, "It's a deal!"

Chen Qing suddenly remembered something, and said with a smile, "I found your elder sister Lu Qi."

Lu Xiu sat up all of a sudden, and asked pleasantly, "How is she? How did your husband find her?"

"She married Fu Bi's great-grandson, and the couple lived a relatively poor life. His husband had to sell his great-grandfather's official kiln porcelain to survive. Fortunately, he met me."

Chen Qing recounted how he met Fu Hong selling porcelain when he was visiting the black market. Lu Xiu lamented that it was such a coincidence, "It's God's will! Fortunately, they met their husband."

Chen Qing said with a smile: "Your family sister is very straightforward and smart. I think even if she didn't meet her husband, she would still come to me."

"It should be! She has been very competitive since she was a child, did the husband help them?"

"I asked Fu Hong to be the magistrate of Bianliang. He was born as a Jinshi, and his qualifications are sufficient."

When Lu Xiu got the news from her clan sister, she let go of her heart, and suddenly she was a little worried again: "The tea set I'm holding is probably the one from their family!"

Chen Qing hugged his wife's delicate body in his arms and said with a smile: "No! That day, the blue official kiln was obtained from the miser Qian Huang's mansion. There were three sets in total. He was desperately accumulating wealth, reluctant to eat, reluctant to wear, but in the end it was cheap. me."

"Husband, I still want to have another child!" Lu Xiu twisted her body in her husband's arms, her eyes clearly hinting at her husband.

"Okay! Let's study how to have a baby." The husband and wife continued to love each other under the quilt.

……

Early the next morning, Chen Qing came to his official room, and all the officials in the official room lined up to welcome his return.

Chen Qing waved his hands and said with a smile: "Everyone has worked hard, and I will give everyone a small gift later."

When everyone heard that His Highness was going to give gifts, they were all very happy. After returning from attacking Datong Mansion last time, His Highness gave them each a bead, which was worth several pennies. Everyone returned to their seats full of expectations.

When Chen Qing came to his official room, Chao Qing sent a thick stack of documents, "These are relatively important documents, and the urgent documents have already been processed by the princess, and there is no objection from the Internal Affairs Hall."

Chen Qing flipped through the pages, "It's not in a hurry, is it?"

"It's not in a hurry!"

Chen Qing smiled and said, "Let's talk about it tomorrow! I'm going out today to have a look, and you can arrange a carriage."

"Wait a minute!"

Chen Qing stopped Chao Qing again, and handed him a cloth bag, "Shall we share it with everyone? Each person has a small bag, and the things are the same."

This time Chen Qing gave each person a gold hairpin, which was found in Liu Yu's belongings box. There was a whole box of gold hairpins, of uniform standard, weighing about half a tael, inlaid with a pearl, worth thousands of gold hairpins. Zhi, it is estimated that Liu Yu was going to reward the palace maid, but for some reason, the reward was not given out.

At this time, Jiang Yan first came to Chen Qing to discuss the matter of the new imperial school, and Chen Qing said with a smile: "I just want to go out and have a look, so I might as well go together and see what the new imperial school has become."

"There have been great changes in the past few months, and it is estimated that His Highness will not recognize it!"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "You have whetted my appetite, so I have to take a look."

"Your Highness, it's raining outside!" Chao Qing reminded in a low voice.

Chen Qing waved his hand, "It's okay! It's raining and cool, just in time for a trip!"

Chen Qing took another sip of tea, and then got into the carriage with Jiang Yanxian, and under the guard of a dozen cavalrymen, the carriage drove towards the south gate of the city.

Chapter 48 Proposal

The carriage drove slowly in the drizzle, and the air was exceptionally fresh. Chen Qing simply opened the window to let the cool air pour into the car.

"It's so cool in late July, I didn't expect it! It's unbearably hot in Bianliang, and I'm sweating when I sit. It doesn't rain, and the air is dry. It's uncomfortable to live there."

Jiang Yanxian smiled slightly and said, "It's true that the summer in Jingzhao is not hot this year. The main reason is that there is a lot of rain. Basically, it's this kind of light rain. To be honest, I still miss the sun a little bit."

"Don't go out of the sun, let me enjoy the coolness for a few days first."

"His Royal Highness has lived in Bianliang for more than [-] days. Didn't he enjoy the palace? The palace has interlayers, where ice cubes can be placed, and it is very comfortable in summer."

Chen Qing shook his head, "After the fall of Puppet Qi, Wanyan Wushu closed the palace, and I didn't go in, and kept it closed. There are a few large ice cellars for mutton and wine, and nothing else is used."

Jiang Yanxian continued: "A few days ago, there were rumors in Jingzhao that His Royal Highness was going to move Prince Yong's Mansion to Bianliang, and people in Jingzhao City were panicked. Later, the princess refuted the rumors in the "Beijing News", and there was absolutely no such thing, and the rumors gradually spread. Calm down."

Chen Qing was a little surprised and said: "There shouldn't be such rumors! I never said that I would move to Bianliang."

"The main reason is that His Royal Highness has not returned after taking Bianliang, so the rumors came out."

Chen Qing shook his head, "These rumors are simply nonsense and demagogic. Didn't the "Beijing News" publish them? The imperial court's 20 troops are preparing for the Northern Expedition, Wanyan Wushu will come back at any time, and Bianliang has been poor for a long time. To turn it into a transfer place for materials, we need to dredge the Cai River again and widen the river channel, how can I come back if these things are not finished?"

"Your Highness, now is the most sensitive time. Your Highness has won the Central Plains. Many people are staring at whether we are going to move to the Central Plains, so it is normal to have rumors. The key is that Your Highness must explain clearly to everyone why we don't move. Bianliang, why did you stay in Jingzhao? If everyone understands His Highness's determination, then all kinds of rumors will naturally disappear."

Chen Qing nodded, "You are right. I really need to write a statement. After all, this is the Song Dynasty, not the Tang Dynasty."

Not long after, the carriage came to the open space in the south of the city. The open space in the new city has indeed changed. Many houses have sprung up. Seven streets and dozens of small streets have been leveled out. The streets are paved with stone slabs, perhaps because it is raining lightly outside. Because of this, the stone slab was very clean, and the wheels of the carriage passed by on the slate, making a sparkling sound.

Many houses have been built. The originally empty land is now under heavy construction. Houses are rising one after another. Other vacant land is divided into large and small plots, and boundary stakes are placed on each plot.

"The carriage stopped!" Chen Qing yelled, the carriage stopped, and it turned out that it had already reached his land.

Chen Qing jumped out of the carriage, and the fine rain fell on his face, and soon his face and head became wet.

"Why is the boundary post red?" Chen Qing asked, pointing at the boundary post.

"It means that the land already has an owner, and the boundary posts are painted with red paint to show the difference."