The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Chapter 435 Stupid and Corrupt Officials

The iron ore reserves in the mountains south of Wuyang are quite high, and even in later generations it was still the leading steel producing area in Henan.

Earlier, Liu Sheng confiscated all the iron ore, pig iron, refined iron, etc. in Wuyang. For safety and convenience, he used the craftsmen collected from Wuyang to build several iron factories in Queshan.

The production processes of those iron and steel mills were formed by craftsmen referring to the relevant technologies of later generations provided by Liu Sheng and making some changes that conformed to the conditions of the times.

Although it is not a complete modern technology, the efficiency of steel production in those factories is more than ten times higher than that of ordinary iron yards in the Ming Dynasty. Relying on this, Queshan's arsenal can quickly produce armor and guns, allowing the Yi army to It has the most advanced equipment in the modern era.

At that time, there were three factors that limited the output of steel plants and arsenals: iron mines, rivers, and craftsmen.

After Da'ei occupied Ruyang, it was able to barely solve the problems of rivers and craftsmen.

After capturing Wuyang, Liu Sheng set up Da'ei's government-run iron mine, iron smelting plant, steel smelting plant, and arsenal in Wuyang.

In this regard, until Liu Sheng took control of Nanjing, Da'ei's steel output was sufficient for the military.

As for Liu Sheng, after Liu Sheng took control of Nanjing, there were more iron mines available for development, such as Ma'anshan to the west of Nanjing, as well as some iron mines in Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi.

If Liu Sheng did not want to climb the technological tree and was only satisfied with establishing a more traditional feudal dynasty, there would be no need to change anything, because today the steel output of Da'ei has exceeded that of the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.

So he smiled and said, "Then I won't bother you. If Your Majesty needs anything, please let me know, General."

"Your Majesty is tired from the journey and needs a rest. Please ask Tao Zhixian to go back." A sentry officer from the guard regiment said with a straight face.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Unexpectedly, after entering the county government office, he was stopped outside the lobby by the guards.

When Liu Sheng arrived outside Wuyang County, he was surprised to find that the magistrate of Wuyang County led the county officials and some officials from the government-run iron mines and iron factories to create a big pomp to welcome him.

To achieve this goal, industrialization is the path that must be taken. If we want to achieve industrialization, the top priority is to do a good job in the steel industry.

···

Tao Zhigui, the magistrate of Wuyang County, saw Liu Sheng entering the county government office. He originally wanted to follow him in and have a face-to-face interview to see if he could deepen Liu Sheng's impression of him and even win his favor. He thought that he had done a good job in welcoming Liu Sheng today. It should satisfy Liu Sheng.

The sentry didn't answer at all.

Anyone who knows him knows that he doesn't like his ministers to show off and waste manpower, material resources, time, etc. on vain things. The magistrate of Wuyang obviously didn't understand him and wanted to be taken seriously, so he did this.

As for the three accompanying brigades of personal guards, they were stationed outside the city.

In this way, Wuyang iron mines, ironworks, steelworks, arsenals, etc., as one of the earlier government-run steel "enterprises" in Da'ei, naturally attracted Liu Sheng's attention, and Wuyang was listed as a stay-at-home for the Imperial Guard's Southern Inspection. One of the places.

Tao Zhigui subconsciously wanted to give the sentry some benefits, but when he had to take out the money, he suddenly woke up. This move might easily be known to Liu Sheng and it would be self-defeating.

At the same time, he thought to himself: Unless the magistrate of Wuyang County and other officials did an outstanding job in practical matters, they would be in trouble.

Bai Xiaosheng gave a low response and went to arrange the manpower.

Three miles away from the city gate, Liu Sheng's face turned cold as the mountains shouted long live.

Although he was unhappy and even a little angry, Liu Sheng did not get angry on the spot. Instead, he waved his hand and said calmly: "Ping Sheng."

But Liu Sheng was determined to build a modern feudal empire so that Da'ei could dominate the world and be strong for at least three to five hundred years.

Then he led the bodyguard group into the city.

On the way to the county government, Liu Sheng summoned Bai Xiaosheng, the deputy commander of the Xiuyi Guards who was accompanying him, and said: "Send someone to check the magistrate of Wuyang and other officials in Wuyang, including those government-run iron mines, iron factories, and steel factories. Officials, try to be as quick as possible."

"Yes."

Seeing this, Tao Zhigui had no choice but to retreat and go to the temporary residence next to the county government office.

At the same time, he had an unpleasant feeling in his heart, and thought to himself: The things I did are quite secretive, and Wuyang is a small place, so that person shouldn't notice it, right?

···

At night. After having dinner and washing up, Liu Sheng felt refreshed and not at all tired.

However, when he was sitting in the lobby of the county government office and looking at the secret information about Tao Zhigui and other Wuyang officials that Xiuyiwei had initially collected, his expression gradually became gloomy.

Originally, he just didn't like Tao Zhigui's extravagance to welcome him, so he asked Xiu Yiwei to check it out. Unexpectedly, he found quite a problem.

After reading it, he slapped Xiuyiwei's report on the desk and said with a cold look: "I appoint cronies in the county government, place connections in other departments, secretly accept bribes, and help some businessmen engage in unfair competition.

I really didn’t expect that less than a year after the founding of Damei, someone would dare to exercise power and corruption in a military-industrial powerhouse like Wuyang, causing the county and government factories to be in a state of chaos. How audacious! "

It was rare for the guards to see Liu Sheng so angry with Da Wei's "one of his own". They were silent for a moment, which also made the air pressure in the lobby even lower. Even Bai Xiaosheng and other close officials did not dare to say a word.

After calming down, Liu Sheng said coldly: "First, transfer the Third Brigade of the Tiger Guards to the south to control all government-run iron plants, steel plants, and arsenals, and be ready for my orders at any time.

Another regiment of Shengjie Guards was sent into the city, and Tao Zhigui and other corrupt officials were arrested overnight, interrogated, and thoroughly investigated! "

"As ordered!"

Yang Kuiwu, the commander of the guards standing in the lobby, responded and immediately arranged for guards to carry Liu Sheng's handwriting to deliver the order.

Suddenly, Wuyang County, which was relatively quiet after dark, started to boil...

In the backyard of the Commerce Bureau Yamen near the county government office, Tao Zhigui, who had also had dinner, was drinking tea with Liu Minxi, the county commerce bureau chief.

Tao Zhigui felt a little uncomfortable when he thought that the day before yesterday, the two of them were drinking wine in a private house, accompanied by two oirans from the county, but now they did not even dare to drink because they might be summoned at any time.

"I don't know when Yu Jia will leave."

Liu Minxi was very calm and took a leisurely sip of tea before saying, "As long as everything goes well for that person and he sees what he wants to see, he will naturally not stay in Wuyang for a long time."

Hearing this, Tao Zhigui thought of the failure to meet the saint today, and couldn't help but said suspiciously: "Your Majesty entered the city at the beginning of Shenshi today (3 o'clock in the afternoon), but he didn't summon me, and the guards didn't treat me well. You said Could it be our fault?"

"How is that possible?" Liu Minxi, although his official position was lower, was the mastermind of the gang. Hearing this, he smiled and said, "You have to know that the man who came to Wuyang had been marching for most of the day, so it is only human nature to want to rest first.

As for the guards not giving you a good look - you are just a county magistrate, not a cabinet minister. In terms of rank, you may not be as high as an ordinary general in other people's bodyguards. Why should they give you a good look? "

"That's right." Tao Zhigui was easily convinced.

Liu Minxi added, "As for what we do, we basically do it within the rules. There is nothing illegal, and there is even no perpetrator. How could this happen?"

Tao Zhigui nodded again, completely relieved.

He also felt that since he took office, he had not done anything too extraordinary - placing cronies in important positions and placing connections in other departments. This was a normal thing in Ming Dynasty officialdom in the past.

As for helping certain businessmen obtain the share of steel sold to the private sector outside government factories, it was nothing more than revealing some information and doing some tricks within their powers.

Who made those businessmen aware of their interests and knew how to support their relatives' business?

Just as Tao Zhigui was thinking this, there was suddenly a burst of footsteps and the sound of soldiers clashing outside, and then he heard the door being slammed open.

"The Guards are ordered to capture people! Anyone who dares to stop them will be arrested as per their partisans! If anyone is arrested by force, they will be shot without mercy!"

Hearing the movement and shouts, Tao Zhigui and Liu Minxi shivered at the same time.

Then Tao Zhigui panicked - he was originally just an ordinary scholar. By chance, he joined the Wei tribe, accumulated merits, and was selected as the county magistrate. His actual ability was not very strong.

At this time, Tao Zhigui subconsciously looked at Liu Minxi, who had been helping "make suggestions" since he was appointed magistrate of Wuyang County.

But he saw that Liu Minxi had already gotten up and ran towards the backyard wall. She was so agile that she didn't look like a fat man.

(End of this chapter)