Take the farm down to earth

Chapter 152 Attending a Bachelor
Under the premise that productivity cannot soar, the ancient people's method of cleaning the river basically relied on river water washing and manual digging.

When digging by manpower, not to mention iron hoes, even wooden tools may not be available to everyone, and the efficiency is so low that it can be imagined.

So Shi Zhongkui quickly thought of the ship.

The 50 large boats were divided into ten groups, and the boats were driven every half an hour to drag the iron rakes with blunt iron nails that were only [-] centimeters long and magnified dozens of times, and the boats went all the way down the water.

A large amount of silt was easily stirred up from the river channel and slowly gathered at the bend of the river channel.

According to Liu Yu'er and Chang Baiyu's on-the-spot investigation these days, apart from the rivers in the capital, there are a total of 17 bends with relatively large angles in the entire rivers of Gyeonggi.

Shi Zhongkui ordered the big boat to stir up the sand, and at the same time ordered people to dig a sand channel at the bend.

According to the principle that the sediment deposited on the back of the curve will inevitably be ignored, with the sand distribution channel, the sediment will be deposited in the sand distribution channel by itself.

This method not only consumes the least amount of cleaning, but also is not slow. Fifty large boats traveling back and forth can easily stir up a large amount of sediment from the bottom of the river.

The only trouble is that a large amount of silt will still flow along the river and rush into the river in the capital.

However, each section of the river in the capital has closed gates, which are used to store water and raise the water level to allow ships to pass.

In the future, the Three Gorges Dam will actually use this principle to allow ships to pass through the upper and lower sections of the river with a huge difference in height.

Since it is possible to store water and close the gate, it is more conducive to dredging when the silt rushes in.

After the upper river course was cleared several times, once the sluice gates in the capital were closed, thousands of people jumped down the river section full of silt with dustpans and shovels, and a large amount of silt could be cleared out in one morning.

When the water level of the previous section of the sluice reaches the warning line, the dredgers leave, and then use the current to wash away the remaining silt to the next section.

Moreover, in order to prevent the silt from rushing into the lower reaches of the river, Shi Zhongkui simply used the moat as a sand storage tank for the accumulation of silt.

After so many repetitions, the cleaning work of the rivers in the capital was actually the fastest.

Of course, this also has a lot to do with no one jumping out to make trouble.

At the same time, because Shi Zhongkui had [-] shi of grain in his hand, he not only ate three healthy meals a day, but even acquiesced in the [-] field soldiers who called a family to fight.

These people are responsible for boiling water, cooking, and moving soil. Although the treatment is two meals a day, four steamed buns that are bigger than a fist are enough to eat each time.

The most important thing is that Shi Zhongkui grabs the food and grass himself, so no one dares to corrupt.

It can be said that every time the imperial court handles affairs, at least half of them are swallowed up and down.

With the participation of a large number of people, before mid-June, all the rivers in the upper reaches of the capital and in the capital were cleaned up.

After a heavy rain, there was no flooding of the embankment in the capital, which instantly made Shi Zhongkui unanimously praised by the court and the people.

Next, cut off the water flow of the moat, and rely on 3000 people to dig with their shoulders and hands. It is the easiest to clean the moat.

But it's not that no one jumped out to trouble him.

After all, according to his method, although the efficiency is indeed good, it also means that it will cost a lot of money to clear it in five or ten years.

But this time there is no need for Shi Zhongkui to stand up and appeal. Some officials who have benefited support him.

The most favorable justification is that the court has to send an important minister every year to be responsible for dredging the river before the rainy season in May.

This in itself is not a small expense, and every year the labor is recruited, and the people have already suffered terribly.

What is even more frustrating is that the money and manpower have been spent, but the effect is surprisingly poor.

In addition to corruption from top to bottom, the main reason is that people are superfluous.

They even regard cleaning up the river as a regular opportunity to make money.

And Shi Zhongkui gave an order, and the officials in the camp were beheaded with military law for fear of being caught by him.

Working is called a positive.

So after Shi Zhongkui selectively handed over his account books to the Ministry of Industry, the officials who wanted to trouble him could only shut up.

Moreover, after the news spread to the people, the common people and gentry inside and outside the capital basically all supported him.

The most important thing is that the ministers of the six ministries and even several cabinet ministers, in order to avoid being appointed as the ambassador of the river in the capital in the future, they all spontaneously sided with Shi Zhongkui this time.

Not only was the turmoil of Shi Zhongkui's impeachment easily suppressed, but people in the court had already started discussing how to claim credit for him.

After Tongfu came to the door, Shi Zhongkui realized that someone was planning to go downstream of the river in the capital, and hadn't started dredging yet.

Use the method of promotion to transfer yourself away in order to get some credit.

It was even heard that the River Governor's Yamen established in Jining Prefecture planned to use the same method to dredge some seriously silted sections of the Grand Canal.

"Bo Qian, my father asked me to tell you that it is better to avoid them as much as possible if you can avoid conflict with the Hedao governor's yamen."

Shi Zhongkui understood the meaning of Yu Tongfu's words. The governor of Hedao is a real second-rank official, not only a high position and a key position with great benefits.

If it is compared with a hundred thousand snowflake silver in three years, the governor of the river can earn a million dollars.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, Li Sancai, the leader of the Donglin Party, had a family fortune of 470 million taels of silver.

And this big man once served as the censor of Youqian Capital, the governor of water transportation and minerals.

As for whether it is because of this errand that the family is extremely rich, it is a matter of opinion.

Shi Zhongkui understands the truth.

And Jia Lian said before that as long as he is willing to provide eight treasures wine, those nobles will definitely help him clean up the river for the sake of money.

At that time, I refused, and I could still evade it by saying that I couldn't believe Xungui's efficiency.

But now that he has been promoted and refused, it is inevitable that he will be suspected.

Besides, the matter of cleaning up the river was to rob some officials who had made preparations for their meritorious service.

If you don't even let others drink the soup, you will be blamed if you don't hate yourself.

Shi Zhongkui, who wanted to understand this, already planned to accept it as soon as he was happy.

But now he wants to make sure whether the Hedao Governor's Yamen has any connection with the Shimen.

Staring at Yu Tongfu, he asked, "Masters or uncles, do you have an old relationship with the governor of Hedao?"

"This", Yu Tongfu was immediately stopped by the question.

As for his hesitation, Shi Zhongkui didn't need to continue listening.

Cursing inwardly, it's no wonder that for thousands of years, there are only so many upright officials and famous ministers that can be recorded in thick ink in history books.

It's not that no one is smarter than them, nor is it that no one is more capable than them. It is true that there are too few people who can really stick to their hearts and look the same.

Shi Zhongkui sighed, thinking that he had promised the City God to deal with the remains in the moat.

To Tong Fu, "I will order someone to clear the moat in three days. If someone can be promoted to a bachelor's degree during this period, then my little brother will have to think about how to get married in the future."

This is just a test.

It's not that Shi Zhongkui doubted Yu Honggao and Yu Tongfu, but just as he was about to clean up the moat, someone impatiently wanted to kick him away.

This made him wonder if someone had other thoughts.

Of course, if he really can be promoted, Shi Zhongkui doesn't mind letting go.

Besides, he didn't forget that he told the emperor that he would stay for three to five months on the matter of the river course.

Let's not say what the emperor thinks, at least he can't take the initiative to stand up and say that he doesn't want to take care of the river anymore.

Seeing that he had compromised, Yu Tongfu smiled and left with a heavy sigh of relief.

After Yu Tongfu left, Shi Zhongkui thought about it all night in the study.

When the sky was slightly brighter, he sighed secretly and attracted the Chin-mouse.

In fact, Shi Zhongkui already understood that the master Pang Shitong, whom he had never met, was definitely not a morally perfect person.

But it didn't prevent him from shaping Pang Shitong into the perfect man he wanted to suppress the negative emotions in his heart.

It's a stupid way to set yourself a moral standard, but it works surprisingly well.

But once the hope is broken, maybe it will change from extreme liking to extreme disgust.

Fortunately, Shi Zhongkui was sensible enough, even though he had brought in Chinchilla, he didn't intend to reveal all the bad things about the household department.

Otherwise, in the face of a major case of the Ministry of Household Affairs, let alone a promotion, except for a very few major issues, the others have to stand aside.

As for Diao Dexing, the head of the department of household affairs, and You Shilang, who was targeted by Shi Zhongkui, they were out of luck.
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Two days later, at the court meeting, someone really stood up and listed Shi Zhongkui's achievements in opening up wasteland, clearing rivers, and raising fish in rice fields, and asked the court to reward him.

This statement immediately won the support of at least a dozen officials, large and small.

The emperor would like to see Shi Zhongkui be promoted, but he is unwilling to be proposed by civil officials.

There is no way to show favor to Shi Zhongkui, if this makes him promoted too quickly, who knows if he will change his position in the future.

Because of the eight-treasure wine and the river wharf, the nobles and military officers had a good impression of Shi Zhongkui, and some were unwilling to offend him at this time.

After all, as the leader of the six yuan, he was promoted faster than ordinary people, let alone having real credit.

Even if a few nobles and military officers are unhappy with Shi Zhongkui, they are not willing to be the first bird at this time.

In order not to be hated by Shi Zhongkui, he will come back in the future.

The only trouble is how to get promoted.

Of course, the easiest is to work in Zhan Shifu, and the second is to be promoted to a bachelor's degree.

Shi Zhongkui is already a minister of the sixth grade, and there are not many official positions left in Zhan Shifu.

After counting and counting, the Zhan Shi of the third rank and the less Zhan Shi of the fourth rank will definitely not work.

Then there are Zuo and You Chunfang University Scholars and Zuo and You Shuzi who are the fifth rank, and Zuo Yude who is from the fifth rank.

Moreover, these official positions are basically concurrent, and because the emperor has not established a prince yet.

That is to say, Shi Zhongkui went to Zhan Shifu, but his job is actually a lecturer of the Imperial Academy of the sixth rank.

It's just that it's easier to be a servant after being promoted to the fifth rank.

Just when everyone had just negotiated to promote Shi Zhongkui to be the left concubine of Zhan Shifu.

Immediately afterwards, someone stood up and began to play, "Yang Wenqin has something to play in the matter given by the Ministry of Rites."

The emperor suddenly had an ominous premonition in his heart, and he hesitated for a moment before saying 'sure'.

"The minister impeached Diao Dexing, the head of the Department of Household Affairs."

Yang Wenqin is not stupid either. The charge of impeachment is Diao Dexing's dereliction of duty, so that it is common for the yamen to wait three to five months to get money from Duzhisi.

In fact, there is no need to investigate this matter, because the courtiers present basically understood the reason, but because Yang Wenqin did not lift the table, many people secretly thought it was a pity.

But it also gave them a reason to trouble the Ministry of Finance.

Once you follow Diao Dexing's investigation, you may be able to catch a big fish.

So many people in the household department became nervous all of a sudden.

Then, after Diao Dexing was arrested, the Chinchilla threw a few pages of bills copied from Diao Dexing's secretly hidden account book to Zuodu Censor Yan Haowen's house.

And these few pages of bills are full of the time and amount of money received by the right servant of the household department.

The censor of Zuodu immediately suspected that someone was plotting against him, but he couldn't pay attention to whether Diao Dexing was threatening him to save him.

Because he is also one of the bigwigs who benefited from the fire consumption of the household department.

If you hesitate, of course you dare not take risks.

We can only call a few big bosses to discuss first, and among them is the right servant of the household department.

Afterwards, Diao Dexing's trial went very smoothly.

After this guy got the hint, he knew in his heart that saving his life was the best outcome.

As for the ledger, of course, it is full of denial.

Otherwise, if the front foot tells the account book, the back foot will die in the prison.

Diao Dexing dismissed from office and returned home, and You Shilang also wrote a letter to resign, and his attitude was extremely firm.

Because he already understood that someone must be planning behind the scenes, taking advantage of the opportunity of the court to discuss Shi Zhongkui's reward, and taking advantage of Diao Dexing's matter to force him to resign.

And these people didn't do anything wrong, so if he didn't leave, the consequences would be even more serious.

Of course, the right servant still wanted to struggle at first, after all, no one can let go of the temptation of power.

But because he is unwilling, it doesn't mean that other people dare to let him stay in the capital.

Shi Zhongkui also endured until now, and only then went to the left servant Zhao Bochun's house.

Coming to the door at this time not only makes people feel that it is a matter of course, but also avoids suspicion inside and outside the court as much as possible.

The reason is very simple, You Shilang has already submitted a letter to resign, and Shi Zhongkui helping the Imperial Academy's waiter to study for a bachelor is tantamount to helping himself.

You can also get the gratitude of this bachelor, his mentors, relatives and friends behind him.

In fact, Zhao Bochun wished that the right servant could go away, after all, the new right servant would not be able to threaten him for at least three to five years.

And he actually prefers the Bachelor of Attendant from the Imperial Academy to come over.

Because people's eyes will only be on joining the cabinet.

As for the Hubu Shangshu, all the ministers of the cabinet are concurrently in charge, which means that the bachelor of the servant does not dare to disrespect the Hubu Shangshu, nor does he dare to deal with him, the left servant, in a short time.

Not to mention helping Shi Zhongkui at this time, he will definitely get a lot of rewards in the future.

As for money, at Zhao Bochun's level, money is really not the most important thing.

In the end, after some fights and transactions in the court, the current right servant was sent to other provinces because of negligence.

As soon as the right servant of the household department became vacant, he immediately became the object of competition among various forces.

In late June, Shi Zhongkui was watching the field soldiers outside the moat, cut off the water source of the moat, and waited for most of the stagnant water in the moat to flow away along the outlet.

Appointing him as a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, the official document of Zuo Shuzi of Zhan Shifu was officially sent to him.

(End of this chapter)