Ming Zhengzhi, I am Zheng Kezang

"Uncle Wu Ping, my subordinate was ordered to transfer 20 stones of cement and [-] craftsmen from Taiwan to assist Uncle Wu in building Xunwei Village."

The so-called Xunwei is Jimei. Dongxi, the largest river in Tongan, enters the sea here, and the vast bay formed is called Xunjiang by local people. The west bank of Xunjiang extends to Jimei. It is an elegant name derived from the homophonic pronunciation of Bai in southern Fujian dialect. These two words have been used interchangeably since the Ming Dynasty.

"Twenty craftsmen?" Liu Guoxuan looked at the Ministry of Industry in front of him coldly. "Jimei and Gaoqi, Xiamen, are close to each other across a river. In the year of Guimao (note: the 17th year of the Yongli calendar, 1663), the northern soldiers crossed the sea and landed on the island. In such an important place, the Ministry of Industry only transferred [-] craftsmen. Could it be that Master Li Jingli wants to surrender to the enemy and the seller?"

"Uncle Wu Ping is serious. Twenty masons alone cannot build a stronghold, but they are all veterans who have used cement to build roads and bridges in the past few years. They are master craftsmen." , but the Ministry of Industry is unmoved. "As long as Wu Pingbo dispatches some laborers to help."

"Just Ligong to help?" Liu Guoxuan cut off the other party's words and asked directly. "How much labor will it take? Could it be that the commander-in-chief transfers the entire army to you."

"Uncle Wu Ping was joking," the Ministry of Industry thought about it, and reported a number casually. "Just call in five hundred soldiers."

"Just 500 people?" Liu Guoxuan is good at using time, and naturally he will not ignore the news from Taiwan. Cement has been a topic in Taiwan these years. He even sent [-] captive slaves to Zheng Kezang last year. Therefore, he didn't dare to question further when he saw that the people from the Ministry of Industry looked confident. "It will be finished in a few days."

"As long as the manpower and supplies are complete, according to Uncle Wu Ping's plan, this small village with [-] troops will only take a day and a night."

"Well, I will give you a whole day and night. If you can't build it by then, don't blame the ruthless military law."

The news of Liu Guoxuan building a stronghold in Xunwei could not be hidden from the eyes and ears of the Qing army. General Tong'an immediately mobilized about [-] soldiers from the Eight Banners and Green Battalion garrisoned by the Manchurian and Mongolian garrisons and rushed over in a mighty manner. However, what they did not expect was that, In a day and night, a stone military village has stood at the end of the promontory---in fact, whether it is to use cement to make bamboo-reinforced concrete prefabricated panels, or to use it as an exterior wall adhesive paint, it takes a long time to condense, but the Qing army Coming here in a hurry originally planned to use the fast to beat the slow, so they didn't bring heavy firearms such as the Hongyi cannon, so they were helpless in the face of the high and deep Xunwei Village --- because they were worried that Liu Guoxuan's main force would hear the news and cross the border. When the sea came to help, the Qing army, afraid of being attacked by the enemy, had to retreat without a fight, but they didn't know that there were only hundreds of defenders exhausted after a night of hard work in Xunwei Village.

"Well done." Liu Guoxuan, who inquired about the source, was not a person who wanted to save face. Seeing that the Ministry of Industry was able to do what it said, he did not hesitate to praise it. "The commander-in-chief also wants to build one or two artillery forts next to the stronghold. Can Qidushi help with this?"

"As long as Dongning can mobilize enough cement, Xiaguan can not only build more artillery fortifications for Xunwei Village, but also expand it." Regarding Liu Guoxuan's ardor, the Ministry of Industry was unsure, and answered plainly. "It's just that Dongning's cement output is not high, and the descendants are trying their best to promote the construction of prefectural and county roads. I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult."

"The enemies of Tong'an often sent eight-oared boats down the Xunjiang River to spy on Siming's reality." Liu Guoxuan had such confidence, no matter what officialdom, the most important thing now was Siming's safety, and everything else had to give way. "If these confidants are not in trouble, the commander-in-chief alone is restless, so it is imminent to build more artillery fortifications to defend against the enemy. The commander-in-chief will personally ask the king to allocate more materials."

At the same time that Liu Guoxuan on the sea side began to realize the benefits of cement, Zheng Kezang was also investigating the Dongning official road construction project. This is a large project that started in July last year. It has progressed after a year. How, is not only what Zheng Kezang is concerned about, but also what Chen Yonghua wants to know.

"If you go back to Shisun, the 67-mile official road and the 78-hole wooden stone bridge between Anping and Suncheon have been changed into concrete roads and bridges with a width of 430 steps. It took a total of 170 A thousand cubic meters of gravel, nearly 14 shi of cement, 11 shi of yellow sand, and [-] bamboo tendons." Chen Ming'an, a doctor in the Ministry of Industry, reported pointing to the two-and-a-half-inch-thick concrete pavement. This kind of thickness can be regarded as an absolutely sophisticated project in later generations. This is not because Zheng Kezang has high requirements but because the cement he made has low strength. "In addition, all the slave workers, craftsmen, supervisors, and town soldiers ate a total of [-] shi of rice noodles and other meat, vegetables, wine, sugar and salt at a price of [-] taels, and [-] seven slave laborers for quarrying and road construction died of illness. , another [-] people died due to rockslides, and [-] people died due to flooding and broken bridges."

"Is there any problem with the paving of the official road?" Zheng Kezang bowed his head and touched the completely hardened road surface. According to the test of the Ministry of Industry, the cement road surface of this thickness is enough to carry a super-heavy artillery of [-] catties without cracking. It can be said that it has basically met his original design requirements.

"The first is that the output of cement is insufficient. At present, the eight kilns of the Ministry of Industry are lighting fires together, but the output is still insufficient." Chen Mingan made no secret. is poor. "Second, there is a shortage of manpower." This is the contradiction. When there is cement, the cement waits for people, and when there is no cement, people wait for the cement. Therefore, the construction speed is always slow. "There is nothing else."

"The output of cement is insufficient, so we need to open more kilns. As for the excavation of lime and the grinding of bricks and tiles, people are needed. I will find a way to solve these problems." Zheng Kezang's solution is to import slaves. Of course, this will cost money, but But there is no need to explain to Chen Ming'an. "By the way," Zheng Kezang continued to ask. "Those rebellious Qing soldiers didn't cause any trouble?"

"With the guards watching, this unarmed traitor can't cause any trouble." Chen Ming'an thought for a while. "There were a few who escaped. After they were caught, they were taught a lesson. They were beaten until they wept and cried, and they were hungry. Now, basically no one dares to run away." Chen Ming'an was obviously optimistic. "Even if they escape from the slave labor team, they may not end well. Not to mention the Gaoshan Shengfan, the Pingpu Shefan may not dare to take them in."

"That's what you say, but you can't always use the Yongwei Army to suppress soldiers." Zheng Kezang thought for a while. "You can announce that each team competes, and the top three teams that complete the most construction work every day and pass the inspection by the supervisor have extra meals. In one year, the top three teams can be released as citizens immediately, and they can also share with ordinary refugees. The same granting of land."

"This is a good way for grandchildren, so that they can compare themselves, and it will save some people from being unable to hold back and cause trouble." Chen Ming'an pandered carefully, but returned to the original question. "It's just that this manpower is already a little insufficient. If we let some more go, let alone even more shortage?"

"Making these people serve hard labor is to punish them for forgetting their ancestors, but after all, they are all Han Chinese, so we can't keep them locked in." Zheng Kezang's cold eyes seemed to be able to cross the strait. "If you really want to exhaust them to death, won't Yu arrange for them to quarry for gold?" When he said this, he suddenly changed the subject. "Of course it can be too tolerant, we must let them know the fate of being a traitor!" After speaking harshly, Zheng Kezang signaled the imperial guard to drive his unique four-wheeled carriage over in Dongning. "Just try it, how much can you run on such a flat road." The driver took the order and went away, watching the gradually accelerating and disappearing carriage, Zheng Kezang finally answered the question that Chen Mingan had been holding on to. "Don't worry, Yu has already made an agreement with the Yingguili Merchant Hall. It is estimated that in a few days, the Yingguili people will send at least [-] black slaves, half of which will go to the Ministry of Households, and the other half will go to the workers. From now on, there will be this number of black slaves coming to Taiwan every year, Master Chen can rest assured."

Chen Ming'an kept silent, he was not an official of the Ministry of Household Affairs, so naturally he would not understand how much it would cost to buy so many black slaves.

It took a while for the fast-moving carriage to come back. Seeing the sweaty Andalusian horses, Zheng Kezang knew why the imperial hand had a flying look on his face without asking, but Zheng Kezang’s first question at the beginning was Just let him pause: "Do you think you need to shoe the horseshoe again?"

The driver thought about it for a while, and nodded heavily: "Jianguo, riding a horse on such a road may have to use heavy nails from Liaodong."

"Master Chen," Zheng Kezang turned his gaze back to Chen Ming'an. "I'm still asking you to build the road." Chen Mingan said hurriedly, but Zheng Kezang ignored it. "President Chen, Yu Hui will take care of him, so you don't have to worry." Before Chen Ming'an understood whether Zheng Kezang's words were a pun, Zheng Kezang had already boarded the car. "Go back!" The carriage ran briskly along the newly paved concrete official road, and Zheng Kezang wrinkled looking at the spacious road that no one walked on. "Go to Mr. Chen's envoy"

"What? We need to draw lines on the newly built official road, and let the people walk on both sides." Chen Yonghua looked at his son-in-law in surprise. Before the Tang and Song Dynasties, the official road did not allow people to walk, but the Ming Dynasty only heard of it. The post station does not allow ordinary people to enter easily, but it has never said that people are not allowed to walk on official roads. "Did the son-in-law make a mistake?"

Zheng Kezang was taken aback, he really made a mistake, but at this time he could only make a mistake: "My father-in-law may have misheard, my son-in-law means to divide the roads, and divide the newly built cement official road into the roads of origin." And the way of going, whoever comes will go the way of coming, and whoever goes will go the way of going, so that the left and right can be divided, and the traffic will not be blocked."

"How many people will be in charge?" Chen Yonghua pointed out the flaws in Zheng Kezang's plan. "Besides, Dongning's business affairs are not successful, and there were not many pedestrians on the old official road in the past. If you talk about the new official road, if the government sends someone to supervise the order, the gain will outweigh the loss."

"This?" Zheng Kezang hesitated. Indeed, not everything can be copied from later generations. "What the father-in-law taught is, let the son-in-law think about it more carefully"