Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 135 0130 [Ling Guxu's dream of water conservancy]

The Luming Banquet is officially held, and the scholars themselves have to celebrate it.

The recommended student Wang Chang was the host and invited everyone to go to the lake—the Jinsha Lake (reservoir) in Yang County in later generations is much smaller now, and the ancestral home of the Wang family is nearby.

"Second brother, sister-in-law, hurry up!" Zheng Yuanyi was already urging.

"I'm coming."

Fatty Zheng actually didn't want to go. All the people who came to the appointment today were high-achieving students, and he didn't have the talent to recite poetry.

Zhu Ming didn't care about it, he just took a swim in the lake to relax.

The people left Dezhou City, came to the Han River Wharf, and boarded a passenger boat belonging to Zheng's family.

Crossing the Han River and heading west, it enters its tributary, the Jinsha River.

Both sides of the Jinsha River are paddy fields, and most of the rice has been harvested.

Zheng Hong said: "These are the fields of the Wang family, which have been operated for more than a hundred years, and there are nearly ten thousand mu of paddy fields alone."

"Great landlord." Ju Ming sighed.

Although his own Daming Village has tens of thousands of acres of land, the paddy fields are only two to three hundred acres, and most of the rest belong to mountainous land.

Going upstream for several miles, you will arrive at Jinsha Lake.

Zhu Ming couldn't help asking: "This Jinsha River and Jinsha Lake, could it be possible to mine gold sand in the past?"

Zheng Hong said: "The ancestors of the Wang family made their fortunes by mining gold and sand, and became a scholarly family after being a Jinshi. Now there is no gold sand to mine, but the Wang family has a firm foothold and has saved so many lands to become a rich man."

Sure enough, most of the local rich families have dark histories, and the ancestors of the Wang family must have been "gold bullies" who mined sand.

More than a dozen small boats have been parked in the lake, all scholars and their families come to swim in the lake.

There is also a large boat, a lake boat belonging to the Wang family, and scholars are invited to come for cruise parties from time to time.

On the lake boat, Wang Chang greeted him warmly.

There were a total of more than 20 scholars, and most of them failed to pass the Juren examination. They came here purely for free play.

The wine and food have been set up, and we are chatting while swimming in the lake.

Gradually, the drinking order began, and the female relatives also participated, all of them were masters of drinking, even Zheng Yuanyi toasted and drank freely.

Perhaps it was because Ju Ming's poetry was so good that everyone didn't bother to compare with him, so they skipped the stage of writing poems on the spot.

After drinking and drinking, Wang Chang began to talk about business: "The provincial test is in early February, and we will leave after the Chinese New Year. There is still time to hurry. But there was heavy snow last year. I heard that the snow in Tokyo was eight feet thick. In the spring, there was no snow in the suburbs. Finished."

"So, I will discuss to leave early, and it is best to arrive in Tokyo before the heavy snow." Min Zishun said.

A scholar from a slightly poor family said: "If this is the case, I may have to stay in Kaifeng for more than three months, and the cost of board and lodging will be too high."

Wang Chang said: "Min and Wang's family, try to support as much as possible, and there is no need to worry about board and lodging."

This is because the number of applicants in Yangzhou is small, and they are willing to help each other.

Yang Zhizhou and Li Tongpan recommended two additional recommended students, not all of them were doing things for money.Eight applicants, plus two guarantors for the candidates, just arrived in the capital with ten guarantors, otherwise they would not even have enough guarantors for the exam.

In other words, the ten people who are about to go to Beijing for the exam are each other's guarantors, and it is normal to subsidize some living expenses.

"When are we leaving?" Zhu Ming asked.

Wang Chang said: "September is just right, early October at the latest."

Fatty Zheng joined in the fun and said, "Take a middle number and set off at the end of September."

"can."

Everyone agreed with this suggestion.

After talking about business, we played again and went ashore for dinner at noon.

In the afternoon, he went fishing by the lake, but Zhu Ming was not interested in it, so he wandered around the village by the lake.

Turning around, Zhu Ming climbed up and looked far away, and saw a large piece of dry land in the northeast.He wandered back to the lake and asked, "Why are there dry fields in the northeast, so can't we build aqueducts to go there?"

Wang Chang explained: "The tens of thousands of acres of land over there are high in the middle and short on all sides, so there is no way to attract water."

It's no wonder it can't be attracted!

Ling Guxu, who was fishing, silently walked up to Zhu Ming, beckoning him to talk alone.

The two chose a remote place under the pretext of changing fishing spots.

Ling Guxu said: "My family lives there. There are more than 2000 mu of land in my family, but only a few tens of mu of paddy fields. I rely on digging ponds to store water for irrigation. This time I will explain the current affairs of the exam. My article is Although the state officials are quite fond of the Jiangba water canal, it will never be possible to actually dig the canal."

"Why?" Ju Ming asked curiously.

Ling Guxu said: "The land of the river dam is [-] to [-] mu, two sides are adjacent to the Han River, and the other side is adjacent to the Jinsha River. It is extremely difficult to get water. In fact, it is very simple to build a canal, but we must rely on Jinsha Lake to build a dam. Some of the side paddy fields will be submerged, and all the paddy fields of the Wang family will be submerged."

Zhu Ming asked: "How many paddy fields need to be submerged, and how many dry fields can be irrigated?"

Ling Guxu said: "My family invited a gentleman who understands water conservancy to look at it. It only needs to submerge hundreds of mu of paddy fields in Wang's family, and the dams and canals built can irrigate more than 3 mu of dry land. Even, 1 mu of dry land can be irrigated. Many acres of dry land have been transformed into paddy fields that can grow rice!"

"It's really hard." Zhu Ming shook his head and sighed.

The hundreds of acres of paddy fields around Jinsha Lake are all fertile fields. How could the Wang family agree to build a dam?

It is all false to say that after the water conservancy is repaired, the loss of the Wang family will be compensated, and there will inevitably be disputes and accidents.

The water conservancy here was not promoted until the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty by Li Yuzhi, a water conservancy expert who was dismissed from office and returned to his hometown, with his extremely high influence.

Moreover, it was a disaster at that time, and the government could not deal with the victims. Li Yuzhi persuaded the government to provide relief with work.But the resistance was still too great, so a section of the canal was hastily repaired and then abandoned, only able to irrigate a few thousand mu of land.

The next time we build water conservancy, we have to wait until the founding of New China to completely solve the irrigation problem of tens of thousands of acres of land.

Zhu Ming took this matter to heart, it was related to his future military rations.

Ling Guxu also said: "My family's land property accounts for about one-twelfth of the land there. The construction of water conservancy is the biggest beneficiary. But there are countless neighbors who can benefit. For decades, I have been communicating with the Wang family. Negotiations, but there is not even the slightest solution. My family even promised that after flooding the Wang family's paddy fields, we will compensate his family for the amount of land and donate another [-] mu of paddy fields. We also asked Zhizhou to sign a contract. With enough sincerity, the Wang family won't listen at all."

Zhu Ming just smiled, thinking that if he was the Wang family, he would definitely not agree, because there are too many variables during the period.

It must be pushed by force!
Ling Guxu continued to explain his hometown renovation plan. He pointed to the west and said, "Water conservancy can also be built there, which can irrigate thousands of acres of land. It has nothing to do with my family. But the construction of the barrage also needs to submerge the good fields of the Wang family. We must pass through the fields of the Wang family. The main and minor sects of the Wang family have almost occupied all the water sources of the Jinsha River."

It's useless to talk about these things at this time, Zhu Ming asked: "Does Brother Ling know about water conservancy?"

Ling Guxu said: "I have learned it, but I just read books randomly without any practical experience. Mr. Zhu's mathematics is of great benefit to water conservancy, and I am also studying it seriously. Agriculture is the foundation of the world, and water conservancy is the foundation of agriculture." Ben. If I can be named on the gold list someday, I will definitely repair the local water conservancy every time I go to a place as an official!"

Zhu Ming asked again: "What do you think of the current imperial court?"

Ling Guxu said: "Traitors harm the country. If the treacherous ministers in the court are not eradicated, it will be difficult to revitalize the country."

"Why are there so many treacherous courtiers?" Zhu Ming asked.

Ling Guxu said: "The officials have been deceived by traitors."

Zhu Ming couldn't help laughing: "Why don't the officials want to do certain things, and those treacherous officials just do what they like?"

Make Gu Xu silent.

Zhu Ming also stopped talking and started fishing seriously.

Pull the rod and see that the bait has been eaten up.

Ling Guxu also pulled the rod to change the bait, stared at the buoy for a long time, and suddenly said: "If there is a foolish king in power, it should start with the prince."

Zhu Ming curled his lips, that prince is not even as good as his father.

"Brother Zhu, it's cool here." Zheng Yuanyi came over carrying a fishing rod and brought some snacks for Zhu Ming.

Ju Ming lay in the green grass, covered his eyes with a leaf to block the light, and began to take a nap.

This day is really pleasant.

Zheng Yuanyi sat next to him, threw the hook into the water and ignored it, watching Ju Ming sleep with a smile on his face.

Ling Guxu was patient, staring at the lake quietly, and caught a grass carp not long after.

In the evening, a fire was lit by the lake, and the servants were busy cleaning the fish and putting on bamboo branches, while the scholars and women grilled the fish over the fire.

After spending half a month in Yangzhou, I also visited Zhizhou and Tongpan.

After the Zheng family's merchant ship went to Daming Village to load the autumn tea, Zhu Ming and Bai Chongyan left in a boat with the wind.

Zheng Yuanyi sent them all the way to the river, that reluctant look made Zhu Ming feel a little soft-hearted.

Fatty Zheng stood at the bow of the boat, blowing the wind from the river, full of ambition.

His elder brother is too incomprehensible, last night his grandfather made up his mind to train Fatty Zheng as the heir of the family.

Zheng Hong, who likes to have fun, inexplicably has a sense of responsibility, and is even more active in doing things.

After going to Daming Village, not only autumn tea, but also some corn must be transported back.When the matter is settled, he will take over the green tea business with full authority, and gradually take over the entire family business.

"Farewell, both of you!" Bai Chongyan disembarked at Shangbai Village.

The merchant ship continued on its way until it docked at the outskirts of Daming Village.

There were hundreds of Yangzhou poor people on this boat, dragging their families to land, and they were placed between the abandoned tea mountain and Daming village to reclaim wasteland.

Many food and living supplies were moved off the ship and replaced with corn and autumn tea.

Why does Daming Village buy grain?
Because corn is in short supply, one catty of corn can be exchanged for fifteen catties of rice. The big landlords in Xingyuan Mansion and Yangzhou are all asking for corn seeds at high prices.

What a pity to eat it, of course I have to sell it.

This year's corn harvest in the village is bumper, if all the corn is replaced with miscellaneous grains, there will be too much food to eat!

But it is only a one-shot deal, and corn will spread next year, and corn seeds will no longer be scarce and valuable.

Baskets and baskets of corn were carried up, as well as a lot of autumn tea, which filled the merchant ship to the brim, and the Zheng family could make a fortune by selling grain to make a profit.

Also making money, there are old white members, he also planted a lot this year.

Looking at the villagers carrying goods, Ju Ming could feel their joy.

Moreover, each of them is much stronger, not as pale as last year.

Seeing Zhu Ming, the villagers all stopped to greet him.The fear is reduced a bit, and the respect is increased a bit, which is the support from the heart.

Zheng Hong has a sense of responsibility, and Zhu Ming's situation is similar.

He must be responsible to these villagers who sincerely support him, and he must not mess around. If he is a little careless, it will be a road of no return.

Zhu Ming looked up at the sky, the autumn wind was brisk and the sky was clear.

(End of this chapter)