Through the Ring of Red Mansions

I don't know how many days the royal driver arrived in Jizhou. I think this is the "Shangshu?"The head of the Kyushu "Ji, Yu, Yong, Yang, Yan, Xu, Liang, Qing, and Jing" recorded in Yugong is now the "Jiani Juzhou" that accompanies Kyoto, and is directly under the jurisdiction of the Chief Secretary of the imperial court. After staying for one day, local officials were recruited to come to the imperial court to read the face-to-face performance, and read the dossiers of the past two years.

Jia Huan hadn't seen Shui Lang since that day, and gradually got used to the jolting carriage, his mental state was like a day by day, but reading and writing by himself, or playing chess and chatting with Zhou Hongbin, Dongfangying's daily bird's nest and white fungus Dongfangying was amazed by the constant rewards such as autumn pear paste, but it was really hard to ask, but if there was any good thing, he would grab a bowl and eat it.

At noon on this day, suddenly a familiar imperial guard came to invite him. Jia Huan saw that it was an acquaintance who had been taken by Long Si to Langhuan Villa. He heard that Shui Lang would take him to the Zhulin Temple in the north of Jizhou City. Huan Zheng was so bored, he immediately changed into unremarkable clothes, took Fang Ming and Fang Liang with him, and ordered Mo Yan and Qing Xiao to accompany Zhou Hongbin to go around the city of Jizhou by himself.

Not long after coming out of the post house, I went to a restaurant on the street first. Outside there was a signboard of Jinxiu Restaurant Jizhou branch. From the outside, I saw people coming and going, and the business was very prosperous.

Jia Huan entered the elegant room selected by Shui Lang, and couldn't help laughing, "Did you choose this place specifically? I wanted to come over sometime to see how the semicolons are doing here."

Shui Lang saw that he finally looked normal, so he smiled and said, "I'm also the major shareholder here, so I naturally want to come and check." He took Jia Huan and sat down beside him.

The food and drink that was ordered for a while was not as exquisite as the main store in the capital, but it added a lot of local flavors that were not in the main store. Therefore, Jia Huan was satisfied. Besides, the hygiene and service in the store were all up to standard. Fang Ming and Fang Liang went down to find someone to inquire for a while, and when they came back, they said that the reputation of this place is also good, and it is one of the best in Jizhou City, so they nodded and said, "This place is not bad, I have to think about it, and at the end of this year, I will seal the name of the chief shopkeeper here." A red envelope."

The shopkeeper here didn't know that he was going to make a fortune soon, but he just heard that the royal driver was stationed in the palace near Jizhou recently, and there were suddenly many dignitaries among the guests who came to eat, so he was so busy that he decided to entertain No, there must be no mistakes, never thought that he would hit the right one, and thus won the praise of the two bosses in Jinxiu Pavilion.

The two chatted for a while while eating, Shui Lang didn't eat much outside according to the rules, so when Jia Huan was full, the two went to the nearby branch of Huihui Hall to have a look, and ran away if they didn't want to run into each other Shui Lu, the eldest son of Dongping Prince, Zhou Hongbin, Mo Yan, and Qing Xiao came here.

Seeing that there were many people around, Shui Lu stood up and said with a smile to Shui Lang, "Why does Fourth Uncle come out to play without taking his nephew with him? The nephew is so bored that he doesn't know where to go." Then he glanced at Jia Huan next to him, Jia Huan knew from the address that this young man was the prince of Dongping, and was hesitating whether to salute, Shui Lang said, "You don't need to be formal when you are away from home."

Jia Huan had no choice but to answer "Yes", and asked Zhou Hongbin to come over and meet Shui Lang and Shui Lu. Although Zhou Hongbin didn't recognize Shui Lang, Shui Lu did, so when it came to Shui Lang's identity, he couldn't help being very trembling. He said, "Since Mr. Huan'er is the mentor, he must also be a well-educated person. Why don't you wait here for me to take a look. If there are any deficiencies, you can tell Huan'er at night. We have other important things to do Not staying here any longer."

Everyone was talking here, and a middle-aged scribe in the lobby came over and said softly, "I'm really sorry, gentlemen, but our place was originally a place for reading and copying books. If you want to talk about things, please respect me." Let's take a ride and go to the teahouse next door."

Jia Huan couldn't help laughing, and Shui Lang hurriedly led the crowd out of the Huihui Pavilion. Shui Lu asked, "Where is fourth uncle going? Take your nephew with you?"

Shui Lang said without changing his expression, "We still have business to do, you can go shopping by yourself." Shui Lu couldn't help but glanced at Jia Huan, and forced a smile, "The nephew will leave."

Jia Huan waited for him to walk away before pursing his lips into a smile, and did not speak. Shui Lang couldn't hold back his smile and said, "Is it so funny? He has a very different temperament from Baoyu in your family. Be careful turning your head away." You can’t follow me to settle the blame on you.”

Jia Huan said, "Obviously you didn't let him go!" Shui Lang laughed, but didn't agree with him, and led the people out of the north gate, and stayed outside the Zhulin Temple to see that the incense was burning inside, and there was an endless stream of pilgrims. Jue, Shui Lang himself also respected Buddhism, so he went into the main hall to burn incense, and then took Jia Huan to see the stone mill behind the Zhulin Temple. It is said that the big stone mill was the water mill in the Han Dynasty. Things that already exist are considered antiques in Daqing.

Jia Huan played freely with Shui Lang all afternoon, and in the evening the two of them had dinner outside before sending Jia Huan back. The next day they set off as usual, without talking all the way until the Kaifeng section on the bank of the Yellow River.

Since ancient times, the Yellow River has been "diverted once in a hundred years, and breached twice in three years". The people on both sides of the downstream are suffering unspeakably. Xu Huailan, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, Qin Minying, Minister of the Water Division under the Ministry of Industry, and Lu Youguang, the Minister of the Ministry of Materials, were in front of the imperial court, and the others waited on the embankment. view of the river.

The ancients ruled the Yellow River, but "built embankments to draw water and attack sand with water". Jia Huanshi knew that his own discussion was the key, so he couldn't help showing the posture of participating in the graduation defense back then, talking freely and eloquently. The Yellow River control methods that had been tested at that time were recounted one by one, but with slight changes so that everyone could understand, and also concealed those control methods that Daqing could not do.

The ministers at that time had never heard of such river control methods as cutting bends and straightening, creating flood discharge areas, regulating water and sand, enclosing lakes and reclaiming fields, etc. Only Xu Huailan and others suffered from the flood of the Yellow River all the year round. Those people in the Ministry of Industry, who are always in fear, are often immersed in the way of water control, so that they can hear some of the ways Jia Huan said.

Xu Huailan asked, "It is easy to understand that it is easy to understand the construction of reservoirs at the outlets that are easy to discharge floods over the years, but it is just a theory of enclosing lakes and recreating fields."

Jia Huan said, "The overflow of the Yellow River can form a lake. The people near the lake can easily maintain their livelihoods whether they raise fish ponds or farm fields. Moreover, the lake also has the function of storing water, which can reduce the power of the Yellow River's flood and the drought in the dry season."

Mr. Qian, the minister of the household department, also said, "Building the dam with stone materials and the cement Mr. Jia said can be more reliable than an earth-rock dam. This is naturally excellent, but in this way, the matter of building the embankment is very complicated. Taxes for the people? Now that the winter slack season is approaching, it is easier to conscript the people, but Xiu Tizi is a big deal, and there is absolutely no reason to give up halfway. If the people’s farming in the coming year is delayed, people’s grievances will inevitably arise.”

He looked at Shui Lang looking at Jia Huan with admiration, so he said it very politely, Jia Huan said with a smile, "Master Qian said that, but this matter has also been considered by the lower officials. I think apart from Zhengmin Fu, There is another way to find enough manpower to repair dikes and dams, and that is to call in army soldiers."

Before Jia Huan finished his sentence, he heard a rough voice, "It's a bunch of nonsense!! My Daqing soldiers are all brave men who fought for the country, how can they come to do such crude coolies?!"

Talking about the five big and three rough things in life, he looked like a military general. Jia Huan didn't know him at all, Dongfangying told him, "This is the Henan Jiedu envoy Yao Dahu, Lord Yao."

Jia Huan then smiled and said, "Lord Yao, please calm down, because the ministers of the sage and the ministers express their own opinions, and the officials said a little bit of trivial opinion. If you can remind Master Xu, Master Qin, and Master Lu, you will be very satisfied. It is not intentional." I have offended my officers and men, Daqing. The other thing I have not finished is that if a certain soldier can be recruited to help repair the embankment, after the embankment is completed, an inscription can be erected on the bank of the embankment, titled "The army who repaired the embankment" The names of the vassals and the people, so that the people along the coast will forever remember the kindness of the soldiers, wouldn’t it be the same as the bloody battles with the soldiers, and the common people will also praise them?”

Yao Dahu was taken aback for a moment, and couldn't help but think about the scene Jia Huan described, and he couldn't help being very moved.Even Xu Huailan couldn't help applauding inwardly, let alone anyone in the world who doesn't want to be famous forever, just in front of him, if it takes a year or two to repair the embankment, Yao Dahu's popularity in the local area will inevitably increase greatly. It is not impossible to be promoted again, and one more thing, if all the names of the embankment builders are engraved on the stone tablet in front of the embankment, who would dare to cut corners, in case that section of the embankment is washed away due to construction problems in the future, Wouldn't the person on the stele be infamous for the rest of his life?

So Xu Huailan said to Shui Lang, "I think what little Jia Tanhua said is very promising, except whether the cement is really stronger than the earth-rock dam needs to be verified, the rest of the items can be considered."

Shui Lang nodded with a smile and said, "Since that's the case, all the gentlemen will go back and draw up a list of what they said today, and Xu Qing will sort it out together, and then send it to me for review."

Everyone is here, and they sent Shui Lang to drive away together. Qin and Lu from the Ministry of Industry pulled Jia Huan again, and asked carefully about the details of the construction of the reservoir, flood discharge canal and cement dam. The memory of later generations marked a few places on the river map, and said with a smile, "The real place is suitable for building a reservoir or changing a flood discharge channel. I really don't understand, but I have a general idea, and I may need a few more The adults are going to bother to investigate."

Both Qin and Lu laughed and said, "Little Jia Tanhua is too humble, brother Cun Zhou has a son like this, the family is very lucky."

It is said that Jia Zheng's official position is lower than these two people, and he is very respected to be called "Brother Cun Zhou". After Beijing, there must be corresponding promotions, so the speeches are all polite.

In the next few days, Jia Huan and Xu Huailan and others made a general plan for river control, and decided on how to test cement and other methods, and finally summarized it in front of Shui Lang, who then ordered Qin and Lu to continue patrolling and drawing on the spot. , After the general construction plan is finally come up, we will discuss the start of construction.

It's almost the end of the year, and Shengjia will return to Luan capital after a few days of rest. Poor Qin, Lu and their subordinates are not allowed to go home for the New Year. It's just that everyone knows that this time's errands have been completed, and future rewards Indispensable, so I am very happy.