Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 399

The end of the new year is approaching, and the avenues in Nanyang counties are full of traffic and bustling.After a year of hard work, more than half of the cement road network in the thirteen counties of Nanyang has been completed. The flat and solid cement roads are like giant dragons, collapsing over rivers and mountains, connecting the thirteen counties together. With this road, people in Nanyang can reach any place they want to go in Nanyang within three days, which was unimaginable before.

There are a lot of carriages heading to Nanyang City. There is nothing we can do. The prefect is going to hold some kind of sports meeting to celebrate the return of the Heluo New Army from successfully suppressing the rebellion. With such a new thing, of course everyone has to join in the fun.Everyone attaches great importance to this sports meeting. Each township and county has sent its own experts, including archery, spear throwing, horseback riding, wrestling and fighting. Anyway, the elites have gathered together.I heard that people from Luoyang were also sent to participate. The county magistrates and clan elders who led the teams all said to the participating children with a straight face: "You must live up to your expectations and don't embarrass us!"

Great changes have also taken place in Nanyang City. The city is about to explode, and a large number of buildings are expanding around the city wall.This year, Nanyang City has added a few novelties. The first is the building made of reinforced concrete. Street lamps fueled by fat, the fourth...

The fourth is tap water.That's right, tap water.Considering the growing population and increasing water shortage, Fang Yizhi set aside a sum of money and ordered a large number of cement pipes that can easily fit a person. This kind of cement pipe is two meters long. It is very hard, paving all the way to the Danjiang River, laying out two tens of miles long water pipelines, introducing the crystal clear water from the Danjiang River into Nanyang City, and then sending the water to the street through iron pipes that are thick and thin. Alleys, and then the water is sent to thousands of households by thinner iron pipes. Nanyang citizens can drink water as long as they turn on the tap, and they no longer need to fetch water from the river or well.The benefits of running water are self-evident. In densely populated areas, whether it is river water or well water, it is often not clean, because ordinary people not only drink water, but also dump a lot of sewage. Washing clothes by the riverside or by the well, some of which belonged to sick people, is a good thing, if the sewage flows into the well, the people who drink the water from that well will be in bad luck, and many diseases are spread in this way.In addition, there are often rotting plants and even dead animals in the river. It is difficult to drink such water without disinfection.Tap water does not have such a problem, it is drawn directly from the mountainous areas, and there are several fully enclosed giant water outlets in China for sedimentation and purification, which are very clean.Of course, if it rains, everyone has to drink muddy water, but the water is the same everywhere in that kind of horrible weather, isn't it?

Relying on the construction of water pipes and road construction, Nanyang has easily digested the 11 refugees who fled from Shaanxi this year. Not only did these 11 refugees not have a bad impact on the people's livelihood in Nanyang, they also created good benefits for Nanyang. .This city is like a dry sponge. No matter how many refugees come, it can easily absorb them. Such skills are really impressive.

"elder brother!"

"elder sister!"

As soon as they entered Fang's mansion, the two little ones rushed over like birds, who else could it be if it wasn't An Ning and Xiao Jun?

Yang Menglong took a step forward, lifted An Ning high, turned around in a circle, and asked with a smile, "How is it? Are you happy with Uncle Fang?"

An Ning said happily, "I had a great time! Whether it's day or night, it's very lively here. There are more people on the street than ants...By the way, brother, why haven't you come back to see us after you've been there for so long? "

Yang Menglong said: "I'm back, haven't I?" Putting down An Ning, he grabbed Xiao Jun, who was holding onto Xiao Yufang's leg, and brought him over: "Boy, during my absence, have you been here?" Bullying my sister?"

Xiaojun said: "No! Not only did she never bully her, but she even had two fierce fights with the person who bullied her!"

An Ning nodded quickly: "Yes, yes, we had two fights. I beat the little fat guy who always bullied me in school to hide when he saw me, and never dared to show his face to me again!"

Yang Menglong rubbed Xiaojun's hair: "You have a conscience, kid."

Liu Ziyan pinched An Ning's face: "An Ning, do you miss me?"

An Ning said crisply, "I want to!"

Cheng Qi smiled and asked, "Did you miss me?"

An Ning said, "I miss you too!"

Cheng Qi said, "You're so cute!"

Fang Yizhi and Wu Yong came out, looked at Yang Menglong, and smiled: "Hey, our Changsheng general is back!"

Yang Menglong laughed loudly: "I'm back! Father-in-law, Mr. Fang, are you safe?"

Wu Yongle said with a smile: "Thanks to the general, everything is going well, and the business of the leather boot factory he opened is also good. Our family has suffered for most of our life, and the most comfortable thing is the past few years!" His eyes quickly turned to Fang Yizhi With a sweep of his body, "However, Mr. Fang is not in a good mood."

Yang Menglong looked at Fang Yizhi.Fang Yizhi's smile was a bit forced, and Fang Yingqiu said, "Qiu'er, take Miss Liu, Miss Cheng and the others to play. I have something important to discuss with General Yang."

Fang Yingqiu responded, and said to Xiao Yufang, Cheng Qi, and Liu Ziyan: "Please follow me!"

The three beauties also knew that the thirteen county magistrates in Nanyang were all in Fang Yizhi's mansion, and they were waiting for Yang Menglong to come over. Obviously they wanted to discuss important matters, and it was inconvenient for them to be present, so they led the two little ones and followed Fang Yingqiu out. .Fang Yizhi and Wu Yong brought Yang Menglong to the living room. Sure enough, none of the thirteen county magistrates were there, and even Tang Wang Zhu Yujian was there, and everyone looked dignified. Stand up and bow your hands.Yang Menglong bowed his hands to return the salute, sat down next to Zhu Yujian, and cut straight to the point: "Everyone, don't be so polite, tell me, what happened that made you so nervous?" Know exactly what happened in Nanyang during his absence.

Zhang Tong looked ugly and said, "It's such a long story, I don't even know where to start!"

Yang Menglong said: "Then pick the most important thing."

Zhu Yujian said in a deep voice: "Only a month ago, the emperor decreed that the Yiling mining area should be given to King Xiang!"

Yang Menglong stood up with a roar and shouted: "What!?" The Yiling mining area is rich in phosphate rock, and most of the phosphate rock necessary for Nanyang's production of phosphate fertilizer comes from the Yiling mining area.This mining area was originally an unclaimed land, with only tens of thousands of miners mining there. Nanyang could purchase large quantities of phosphate rock at a relatively low but fair price, and even bought a mine there to support mining. Expanded agricultural production scale.Fortunately now, the mining area is under construction, but the emperor gave it to King Xiang with an imperial edict!Thinking about King Xiang's reputation for being insatiable, everyone can imagine what would happen if the Yiling Mining Area was controlled by him!

Fang Yizhi said: "As early as June this year, when large-scale mining began in the Yiling mining area, King Xiang went to the court and begged for that place to be used as a hunting ground. This official argued hard with all his colleagues and ended the lawsuit. In front of the emperor, but..."

Wu Yong said: "But King Xiang was determined to want that land, so he did not hesitate to give up hundreds of hectares of fertile land in exchange for it. Coupled with the strong support of Jingxiang officials, the emperor agreed as soon as his ears softened!"

Fang Yizhi said: "King Xiang has sent someone to tell us that the price of phosphate rock is going to be raised!"

Yang Menglong's expression turned gloomy: "How much will it improve?"

Fang Yizhi said: "Three times the increase!"

Yang Menglong yelled: "Three times the increase, why didn't he grab it!?"

The ore of Yiling Phosphate Mine was originally priced at [-] Wen per ton, which was a bit expensive, but considering the harsh local environment and terrible traffic conditions, the price was still reasonable, and it suddenly increased three times. It is almost the same as robbing, at least ordinary people cannot afford such a high price.

Wu Yong sighed: "Our family has repeatedly made memorials to the emperor, emphasizing the importance of the Yiling Phosphate Mine to Nanyang and even the entire Heluo area, but these memorials are like muddy cows pouring into the sea..."

Zhu Yujian said: "My younger brother also went to the imperial court, saying that the Yiling mining area is not a barren mountain, and the ore produced is related to the life and death of millions of people in Heluo. My brother reprimanded me severely."

Zhang Tong said: "Not only that, King Yu also went to the court to beg for the 'wasteland' around Mengzhai Town and Macun Township in Wuyang!" Sneered, both angry and disdainful.This is an old trick of the vassal kings of the Ming Dynasty. Wherever these guys are looking for fertile land, if the owners of those properties are dignitaries or gentry with a background, that’s all. This piece of fertile land was said to be wasteland, and begged from the court, and the court who did not know the truth often did what they wanted, and gave them a large piece of fertile land as wasteland.As for the original owner of that piece of fertile land... If you are sensible, get out, if you don’t, you will immediately know what it means to "sit at home behind closed doors, and the pot comes from the sky"!Some poor farmers not only lost the land that their ancestors had relied on for generations, but also became tenant farmers of the vassal king for no reason. The vassal king only needed to pay a small amount of money to bribe the local officials and change their household registration slightly.Mengsai Town and Macun Township are not fertile fields, but Yang Menglong hired so many salt workers to dig there vigorously for two full years. It is difficult not to attract the attention of others with such a big movement.Now that the salt content of the soil they dug out is getting higher and higher, it is almost certain that there is really a super-sized salt mine below, and it will take another year at most to produce brine. With the greed of those princes, how could it be possible? Don't do it?That white salt is all silver!

Yang Menglong gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, I beat my life and death in Shandong, but they're fine, and they've decided on me!"

The county magistrate of Xinye said angrily: "That's all. The most infuriating officials are those officials who impeached Mr. Yang repeatedly, saying that you recruited and surrendered, colluded with the commander-in-chief of other towns, and conspired against you!"

The county magistrate of Yexian County said: "It is also said that the adults compete with the people for profit, making the people under the rule miserable and full of grievances. Isn't this talking nonsense with open eyes? Can't they come to Nanyang to see what the people of Nanyang are living now? ? This is the result of competing with the people for profit?"

The magistrate of Biyang County said: "What's even more exasperating is that they also said that we reused Fan people, disrupted the defense of Huayi, taught students strange skills and obscene techniques, abandoned the way of sages, set up factories bigger, and encouraged The common people are chasing fame and fortune, and the whole Nanyang is full of copper stink!"

Yang Menglong's face can now be scraped off a layer of frost: "What do they want?"

Fang Yizhi said: "They don't want to do anything, they just want to demolish Nanyang Technical School!"

Zhu Yujian said angrily: "It's ridiculous, ridiculous!" Over the past year, he has seen too many miracles created by industrial technology: concrete roads that are as smooth as a mirror, four-wheeled carriages that pull thousands of kilograms of goods galloping on the roads, Precise bearings and gears, machine tools driven by water, pesticides that frighten many pests, and screw pumps that can pump water to a height of several feet...these are all related to the national economy and the people's livelihood. Which one cannot benefit the people of Ming Dynasty for generations?There are also agriculture and engineering, as well as mathematics, geometry, and chemistry, and... which subject cultivates talents that are not the cornerstone of a strong country?Now he just hates that there are too few people who understand this, so that all this can only be spread in a small circle in Nanyang in a short period of time, and cannot be extended to the whole country.For the time being, only Nanyang Technical School is capable of cultivating these talents. There is no second such school in Ming Dynasty. Now someone is actually demanding to close down Nanyang Technical School and kill the hen that is hatching the golden egg, which makes him furious!
Yang Menglong sneered again and again: "Okay, I've got my idea on my head! Okay, I'm kind!"

(End of this chapter)