At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 406: The Yellow River Bridge and the Increased Stakes
After inspecting Luoyang City, he went downstream into Dongjun. Dongjun was also a textile center in the Han Dynasty and had a unique geographical advantage.

The main territory of Dongjun is along the Yellow River. The thousands of miles of river on the south bank of the Yellow River are controlled by Dongjun. The entire Dongjun is like a long strip. This led to Xiao He seeing a lot of water-powered spinning wheels along the way. There was a large number of water wheels every time he passed a section of the river.

At the same time, there are a lot of docks in Dongjun. You can see a dock almost every hundred miles, which are full of various transport ships. Behind each dock is a prosperous city that provides services for this dock.

The governor of Dongjun was Wang Ling, an old friend of Xiao He. When Xiao He's fleet arrived at Puyang, the capital of Dongjun, Wang Ling had been waiting at the dock for a long time.

When Wang Ling saw Xiao He getting off the boat, he laughed and said, "I never thought you would become the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty. You really bring honor to us people in Pei County."

Wang Ling was also a nobleman of Pei County, and his status was much higher than that of Liu Bang. Historically, before Liu Bang became famous, he treated him as his "brother". Of course, history changed because of Xu Fan's intrusion. Wang Ling and Liu Bang joined Xu Fan together. After the founding of the Han Dynasty, Wang Ling was granted the title of earl for his military merits.

After the unification of the world, Wang Ling began to switch from military to civil, and began to become a prefect of the Han Dynasty. But at this time Wang Ling's development had almost reached its limit, because no one recommended him, and the position of Nine Ministers was also one-to-one. He could only move around in the position of prefect, and had served as prefect in two places. Of course, this treatment was not bad. A county in the Han Dynasty was equivalent to a province in later generations, which was the limit of many Han officials' lives.

After Xiao He became the prime minister, Wang Ling was very happy. Firstly, he was happy that his old friend became the prime minister of the Han Dynasty. Secondly, he was happy that the power of Pei County in the court had greatly increased. He believed that he still had room for further development.

Wang Ling was also a proud and arrogant person. Historically, he looked down on Liu Bang. When Liu Bang raised his army in Pei County, Wang Ling's party gathered thousands of people, occupied Nanyang and proclaimed himself king. Now Wang Ling's situation is different from history, but he does not think that his talents are limited to being a prefect of two thousand stones.

However, the number of positions in the Han Dynasty was limited, and most of them were controlled by the elders of Chen County. His hope of making further progress was extremely slim. But now that Xiao He was the prime minister, his chances were almost certain.

Xiao He smiled and said, "This is the Prime Minister's recommendation for the Emperor to promote me, and I will do my best to do it."

Wang Ling said: "That also requires your ability, otherwise why would the Prime Minister recommend you, and why would His Majesty promote you."

Xiao He asked, "What is the situation in Dongjun?

Wang Ling said: "Backed by the Yellow River, the development is quite good. The former governor Wu Jun vigorously built docks, developed dock services, and built highways. The transportation industry has driven the development of Dongjun. Now one-third of the transport ships on the Yellow River waterway will stop in Dongjun. Dongjun provides logistics for these transport ships and can make a lot of money every year."

Xiao He said: "Wu Jun who loves to repair the docks!"

Wu Jun was not very famous in the Han Dynasty. If he had not been suddenly promoted to the position of Chief Justice, one of the Nine Ministers, he would have been just one of the fifty unknown prefects in the Han Dynasty.

An old soldier from Chen County, he retired due to injury and became a pavilion chief, and then grew step by step from a peasant to a county magistrate to a 2000-shi prefect of the Han Dynasty. Even though the Han court was extremely pragmatic, it was still very rare for a Han official like Wu Jun to have experienced every level of the Han officialdom and move up step by step.

But after he suddenly became the Chief Justice, many people began to know about his past. The most surprising thing was that Wu Jun had used the money allocated by the court for repairing canals to build docks. Despite such a serious accident, he only studied at the Government Affairs College for half a year.

After he became the governor of Dongjun, he continued to build a wharf in Dongjun. For a time, officials in the Han Dynasty called him the governor of the wharf.

Wang Ling said: "Although the reputation of the wharf governor is not good, we have to admit that he is far-sighted. Dongjun has developed well in the past two years, all thanks to the industrial development strategy set by Governor Wu."

"Zhongyuan was once a wealthy place, but the world has been peaceful in recent years, and the price of grain has plummeted. Relying on farming, the people can only eat enough, but it is difficult to get rich. Dongjun's only textile industry is okay, and other industries are not doing well. We want to develop specialty industries, but Zhongyuan cannot grow sugarcane, and the steel industry is not as rich as Chenjun, Guanzhong, and Hebei, and it is not as wealthy as Luoyang."

"Tai Shou Wu decided to build a dock to provide logistics for the transport ships along the entire Yellow River. It has become the pillar industry of our Dongjun. Our Dongjun has also developed a shipbuilding industry, specializing in manufacturing 500-ton and 1000-ton flat-bottomed transport ships. The profits of the shipbuilding industry are extremely considerable. Now it can provide our Dongjun with hundreds of millions of yuan in taxes every year."

"Tai Shou Wu has laid a solid foundation for the development of Dongjun. As long as I don't change these policies, the development of Dongjun will not be bad. In fact, I am still benefiting from Tai Shou Wu's favor."

Even with Xu Fan's cheating, the Jianghuai region of the Han Dynasty is richer than in historical periods, but the largest population of the Han Dynasty is still in the Central Plains, and the Yellow River is still the most important water artery for the entire Han Dynasty.

After the Han Dynasty developed its industry, half of the Han Dynasty's cargo transportation volume was carried out along the Yellow River, so at that time, the transport ships on the Yellow River were constantly flowing. Dongjun had formed a relatively profitable industry by providing logistical services for these transport ships.

Xiao He sighed, "I never thought that Governor Wu was also a capable official."

Then the group entered Puyang. Compared with the prosperous Luoyang, Puyang was just an ordinary county in the Han Dynasty. Since the industrial boom of the Han Dynasty, the fastest-growing counties were large counties such as Luoyang, Chenjun, and Kuaiji. Because the household registration system of the Han Dynasty was not as strict as that of the Qin Dynasty, these large counties attracted a large population. Naturally, a large population means a prosperous industry, and the prosperous industry will in turn absorb more population.

Other ordinary counties not only do not enjoy much industrial dividends, but also have their population sucked away by the big counties. If they want to retain their population, they must find ways to develop their own characteristic industries. If they fail to do this, they will be sucked dry by the big counties.

Wang Ling led Xiao He into the Dongjun government office and said, "I have a project in Dongjun that requires a huge investment. I would like to ask you for help, old friend?"

"What project?"

"Dongjun has an extremely advantageous geographical location. It is backed by the Yellow River and is located in the core of the Central Plains. Our Dongjun is not far from Guanzhong, Hebei, Jianghuai, and Qi. Your Majesty once said that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. Wu Taishou also developed Dongjun according to this concept. Our Dongjun will become the center of all trade routes in the world.

But there is a problem. Although the Yellow River has brought wealth to Dongjun, it has also hindered Dongjun's further development towards Hebei. The caravans from the Central Plains to Hebei were blocked by the Yellow River. At that time, the governor of Wu wanted to build a bridge across the Yellow River. In this way, carriages could directly enter Hebei from Dongjun, which would greatly reduce the transportation costs of the caravans. "

"Yellow River Bridge? Can it really be done?" Xiao He looked at his old friend in surprise.

Although the Yellow River during this period was not as violent as the Yellow River in later generations due to severe soil erosion, the Yellow River is still the largest river in the Central Plains. Its river channel is hundreds of feet wide. Building a bridge across such a wide river is something that no one has ever done before.

"The craftsmen of the Mohist school have calculated that it can be done. With steel and cement as piles, they can build a pillar that can withstand a tensile force of one million kilograms. On both sides of the Yellow River, they can pull iron chains and lay wooden boards on the chains. In this way, they can carry carriages weighing several thousand kilograms across the bridge. But the cost is a bit too high. The general's budget is 12 gold. The financial resources of my Dongjun cannot afford such a large project. I can only ask for help from you, the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty." Wang Ling said.

Xiao He continued to ask: "You have built such a heavy bridge over the Yellow River, how can ships pass under the bridge?

You know, the Yellow River is the most important shipping route for the Han Dynasty. If this bridge is built, it will cut off the Yellow River. The court will never agree to such a thing."

Wang Ling smiled and said, "Master Mojia has also thought of this. The bridge is 3 feet above the surface of the Yellow River, and a transport ship of 5000 tons can pass underneath."

Xiao He was a little confused. How to build a bridge so high above the water surface of the Yellow River?
Wang Ling drew a simple cable-stayed steel bridge that was very common in later generations. It was then that Xiao He suddenly realized that it was necessary to build a pillar more than ten meters high to support the bridge. No wonder a bridge would cost tens of thousands of gold.

Xiao He shook his head and smiled bitterly, "My friend, this is really a difficult question for me. I can only assure you that I will support your plan in the Sages' Association, but I cannot guarantee whether it will succeed."

The Yellow River Bridge does not cost much money, but the technical difficulty is extremely high. In the words of later generations, it is a wonder that requires a civilization to use its most advanced technology to build it. Xiao He did not dare to guarantee that this plan would be passed by the Sages' Meeting.

Wang Ling smiled and said, "As long as you support me, that's fine."

Wang Ling also knew that it would be extremely difficult to pass such a plan, but having Xiao He's support was a good start. This was originally a plan proposed by the Wu army, and he would not object. With two of the three dukes and nine ministers of the Han Dynasty agreeing, the possibility of this plan being passed was very high.

When Xiao He saw Wang Ling with a smile on his face, he suddenly felt that his inspection trip might not be very good. Sanchuan County asked the court for money, and Dong County also asked the court for money. He was afraid that the future prefects would be the same.

On the other hand, Xiao He went south along the Yellow River for inspection, while Ye Teng took a rail carriage all the way north. After inspecting the ravines and gullies of Shangjun, he came to Jiuyuan County where cattle and sheep were everywhere.

"Prime Minister Ye, you are finally here." Jiuyuan County Prefect An Ling saw Ye Teng get off the rail carriage and walked forward excitedly.

Ye Teng saw An Ling and smiled: "Why should we be so polite to each other?"

An Ling sighed, "If Brother Gong Ao knew that you were the Prime Minister, how would he feel?"

Gong Ao died of illness in the seventh year of the Han Dynasty, just as in history. This forced An Ling and other Nanjun tyrants to find a new boss. After Ye Teng became the false face of the Han Dynasty, these Nanjun tyrants naturally began to gather around Ye Teng.

Ye Teng said: "Gong Ao is too arrogant, otherwise with his ability, he wouldn't have been so difficult to succeed."

In Ye Teng's opinion, Gong Ao's military talent was stronger than most of the Han army generals. If he had surrendered to the emperor in Nanjun like himself, he would not have been only a prefect with a salary of two thousand stones until his death.

After the two exchanged a few words at the city gate outside Jiuyuan, Ye Teng boarded the carriage prepared by An Ling and headed towards Jiuyuan City.

Jiuyuan City, textile workshop area.

Wu Tong, who had just bought a cart of woolen cloth, was about to pull the goods out of the city. However, he saw several Han officials blocking the street and shouting at the caravan and pedestrians who wanted to pass through: "You are not allowed to pass this road. Go somewhere else."

"Why are we not allowed to walk on the road?" someone asked immediately.

The Han official said, "The prime minister of the dynasty is inspecting Jiuyuan County. What should we do if you common people bump into the prime minister's carriage? You are not allowed to pass through here."

Wu Tong was not convinced and said, "I have also been to Guanzhong. When the emperor visited the counties in Guanzhong, he did not block the road."

The Han official shouted, "Guanzhong is Guanzhong, Jiuyuan County is Jiuyuan County. If you dare to break through the pass again, we will arrest you."

At this time, a workshop owner came out and begged, "Please open a small road. If the road is blocked, how can we do business? How can we provide taxes to Jiuyuan County if we can't make money?"

Once the road is closed, people in the workshop area cannot leave, and people from outside cannot come in. This has a huge impact on the business of these workshop owners. After all, in this era, each workshop is a small city, and the roads are not interconnected.

The Han official said, "You people only care about money. You can afford to offend the Prime Minister. Don't cause trouble for me here. We will leave in half an hour at most."

When the people of Zhou heard this, they could only stand there in disappointment, waiting for the soldiers to leave.

Wu Tong said angrily, "The current emperor demolished the imperial road in Chang'an City to make life easier for the common people, and used the materials to build houses for the common people. Now this prime minister is going the other way and is building an imperial road in Jiuyuan County. I really don't know who is more powerful in this world, the emperor or the prime minister?"

The Han official who was blocking the road became furious when he heard this and pointed at Wutong Road, saying, "Catch this troublemaker."

Suddenly, four Han officials rushed out, surrounded Wu Tong and captured him.

Wu Tong continued to resist, but was powerless and was soon captured.

Wu Tong protested: "What crime have I committed? Why are you arresting me?"

The Han official angrily said, "You slandered the Prime Minister and you still say you have done nothing wrong. Take him to jail."

Then the Han official made a round of inspection and said, "Let me see who dares to slander the prime minister."

The people around were so frightened that they dared not make a sound and left the place one after another.

Ye Teng, who was sitting in the carriage, found that after entering Jiuyuan's streets, there was no one there. The people in the surrounding shops and residential areas could be seen watching him carefully.

Ye Teng said: "Why did you drive away all the people on the street? This time I inspected the local area to understand the local situation. What else can you understand if you do this?"

Ye Teng was somewhat angry, this kind of street ban was not popular in the Han Dynasty, the emperor often went on tours and never did this, even in formal occasions, at most he would have a team of soldiers for protection, but he would not ban the people from appearing.

An Ling explained, "Jiuyuan County is a mixture of Hu and Han people, half of whom are Xiongnu. They are all defeated in the war, and I can't guarantee that there are no people who are full of resentment towards the court, so I asked the subordinates to arrange better guards, but I didn't expect them to ban the entire street."

Ye Teng shook his head and said, "Speed ​​up the carriage and don't affect the lives of the people too much."

An Ling was sweating profusely at this time, and it felt like he was flattering the horse's leg.

Ye Teng's convoy began to speed up and entered the Jiuyuan County Government Office.

Ye Teng began to ask the Han officials of Jiuyuan County to take out the accounts of Jiuyuan County for him to review.

That night, Ye Teng's personal guard came to him and said, "Master, Jiuyuan County arrested a civilian today because of the forbidden street incident."

"what's the situation?"

The guard told him everything that happened today, and said, "Now the people of Jiuyuanjin are saying that Prime Minister, you are more arrogant than the emperor."

When Ye Teng heard this, he broke out in a cold sweat. This was going to kill him.

The people of Anling are really useless. Ye Teng decided to distance himself from these fellow townsmen from Nanjun, otherwise he would be killed by them at any time.

Ye Teng ordered: "Go and bring the captured people here."

"promise!"

Then Ye Teng, who was getting angrier and angrier, ordered his men to find An Ling.

An Ling didn't know what was going on and thought Ye Teng was looking for him for something good.

He happily came to the room where Ye Teng lived and said, "Prime Minister, I wonder what you want to see me for?"

Ye Teng said angrily: "After so many years, I didn't expect you to still be so short-sighted. No wonder you are so insignificant."

An Ling was scolded and was at a loss for words: "Prime Minister, what did I do wrong?"

He had been preparing to entertain Ye Teng today and didn't understand why he was being scolded for no reason.

Ye Teng said: "The court repeatedly ordered that officials should not be received when they come for inspection, but you did not listen. The emperor even dismantled the imperial road to make life easier for the people, but you banned the people from going out to the streets, and later arrested the people who complained. Do you want to be the King of Xia and make the people of Jiuyuan County look down on you?"

Only then did An Ling understand what had happened. When the road was closed, some people complained, and the people below arrested the complaining people.

"Why are you so angry over such a small matter, Prime Minister? I will ask my subordinates to release the people and I will tell them not to talk nonsense."

Ye Teng said: "In my opinion, you are talking nonsense. Get out!"

Not long after, Ye Teng's personal guards came with Wu Tong.

Ye Teng bowed and apologized, "Because of my coming, Warrior Wu has been wronged."

Although Wu Tong was full of resentment, he was a little surprised that the prime minister apologized to him.

"These are all minor matters. The key point is that I don't know where my cart of woolen cloth has gone. The Han officials in Jiuyuan County are too much. They don't even allow people to speak."

Ye Teng said: "I will compensate for the loss of the warrior, Ye Wu."

"My subordinate is here."

"Take this person away from Jiuyuan County."

"As ordered."

Afterwards, Ye Teng reported what happened in Jiuyuan to the court first. He suggested to the emperor that Jiuyuan should arrange a Han official who could better educate the Huns to be the prefect.

(End of this chapter)