Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 457 Dad, please ask me something

"Okay, let's go to the military camp to report first. I'll come back to you tomorrow to confirm the departure date."

"Okay, thank you Fang Qianhu."

In the alley, as the neighbors left, Fang Zheng also said goodbye to Jiang Huai.

The two exchanged a few words and then separated. After watching Fang Zheng and the others walk out of the alley, Jiang Huai went home and closed the courtyard door.

He turned around, looked at his home, which had not changed much from six years ago, and took a deep breath.

"Okay, okay, it's time to eat!"

In the kitchen, Jin Hua's voice came out, and Jiang Da Ri and Jiang Hu also brought the dishes to the stone table outside and put them down.

A plate of Nanjing roast chicken from Longchuan, plus a plate of red meat stew and a bowl of cabbage and tofu soup, this is the homecoming banquet Jinhua and the others prepared for Jianghuai.

Jiang Huai stepped forward to lend a hand, replenished rice for his parents and younger brother, and then took the initiative to sit down.

Perhaps the battle he came back with today was too big, so Jiang DaRi and the others were a little cautious.

Seeing this restraint, Jiang Huai took the initiative and said, "Jiang Hu is thirteen years old and can go to middle school."

"My grades are not good." Jiang Hu was a little embarrassed. He had been living in Jiang Huai's shadow these years. Although his teachers and parents didn't tell him, neighbors and classmates always said that he was not as good as his brother.

"It's not that bad. Ranking twelfth or thirteenth in the class is pretty good."

Seeing what his youngest son said, Jiang DaRi quickly explained. Jiang Huai also nodded and said:

"It doesn't matter, the middle school in Kunming has already started recruiting students, and the conditions are not as harsh as the four middle schools in Jiangning, Shangyuan, Wanping and Daxing."

"Is there any difference?" Jiang Dari was curious and said at the same time: "Tell me what the capital is like."

"Yes, yes, what is the capital like?" Jiang Hu also became curious.

Seeing that they were all curious, Jiang Huai talked about the capital he knew, and at the same time recounted his experiences in the past six years.

The family listened to his words and gradually became immersed in them, from the beginning to the end of the meal, and then to the main hall from outside. If Jiang Huai hadn't wanted to find Gao Guan, maybe he could talk about his experiences in the past five years for days and nights.

"By the way, why is Gao Guan back?"

Jiang Huai asked about his close friend. Jiang Da Ri and the other three looked at each other in confusion, and then lowered their voices and said:
"After you went to Nanjing, he went to Longchuan County to work as an official. Then you know that Huang Jingqin, the governor of Longchuan County, is the one who married the young lady of the Qi family..."

Jiang Da Ri's voice reminded Jiang Huai of a familiar face in his mind, and he couldn't help but feel a thump in his heart.

The first love is always beautiful, not to mention that the two people cannot be together because of the secular world.

Given his age, people have been trying to help him connect people for a long time, including high-ranking officials and wealthy businessmen, but Jianghuai rejected them all.

He didn't know why he refused. Maybe because he couldn't see certain results, he would not forget it and was unwilling to come out.

Now he suddenly heard the news about that person, and according to his father's words, Huang Jing and her were obviously married. This made Jiang Huai feel a lot lower, but on the surface he still said in a friendly manner: "Remember, what's wrong?"

Maybe Jiang Huai concealed it well enough, or maybe Jiang Dari was relatively slow. In short, Jiang Dari didn't notice anything was wrong with his son, so he continued:
"After Huang Jing passed the imperial examination, he was exempted from his family's crimes, and then he took his family to Jiangxi to serve as officials. It turned out that Huang Jing was corrupt and defied the imperial government's new policies, and was sentenced to Beizhou..."

"By the way, do you know where this Beizhou is?"

Jiang Da Ri's words were like a heavy hammer, hitting Jiang Huai's mind hard, leaving his mind blank...

"I know Beizhou. It's overseas, tens of thousands of miles away from us... By the way, the young lady from the Qi family has also been sent to Beizhou?"

"No, she was sent back to the town, but his yard was also raided. His father, Qi Jingzong, took over a lot of farmland and houses given by Huang Jing, and he was convicted and sent to Manmo."

"Now she lives in the courtyard of Lane 6 of Bodhi Lane in the east of the town. She lives alone with a daughter. She has no land to cultivate and can only make a living by weaving every day. It's really..."

Jiang DaRi clicked his tongue a few times, and Jin Hua also said: "Look, she is so pitiful now. Sometimes I will bring her some vegetables and scraps of rice, but life is not good either."

"..." Listening to his parents' words, Jiang Huai was silent for a long time. He really wanted to go to the other person now and see the other person's life, but when he thought that going to the other person at this time would inevitably lead to gossip, he suppressed his thoughts and couldn't help but ask: "What's going on in Gaoguan?"

"He was implicated, but he was not implicated." Jiang Hu and Gao Guan were closer. When Jiang Huai was away, Gao Guan would occasionally come back from Longchuan County and bring him sweets, so the two had a close relationship. good.

"What do you mean?" Jiang Huai was puzzled, while Jiang Dari explained:

"Man Mo, the magistrate of Liu County in Longchuan, was exiled for corruption. Gao Guan also participated in dividing the spoils, so he was dismissed. Moreover, several nearby counties knew that he had been corrupt, so no one was willing to hire him even as an accountant. Naturally, My life has deteriorated, so I have no choice but to return to farming.”

"Our family's current land is used for farming by the couple. They only receive 20% of the rent every year, but Gao Guan's kid insists on paying 40%."

Jiang Da Ri sighed a few times, obviously not expecting that the children he watched grow up would live like this.

It has to be said that the changes in Xijiang Town are indeed too great, and all kinds of changes make Jiang Huai feel in a daze.

Not long after, he got up and went to the stable in the backyard, fetched his leather bag, then returned to the main hall, sat down and opened it:
"This money was subsidized by a friend of mine in Nanjing. I can borrow it temporarily. Mom and dad, please take this and let our family build another yard."

Jiang Huai took out five hanging copper coins with a denomination of one hundred coins from his leather bag, which means there are five hundred copper coins here.

"This, this, this...your money..."

Jiang DaRi and the other three were so frightened by the sudden five hundred dollars that they stood up and couldn't say a complete sentence for a long time.

"Don't worry, I will return it to him in the future. The immediate priority is to solve the urgent needs of the family first."

Jiang Huai knew very well that after the construction of the official road stopped, his parents could only go to Longchuan to do casual work. They could not save much money every year, and they might not have any money now.

By handing these five hundred dollars to them, he can feel more at ease. As for the remaining money, he still has use for it.

"Can this go back?"

Jiang DaRi didn't want to take advantage of others, but Jiang Huai shook his head, and then said with a smile: "Don't worry, my son will not do anything illegal or disciplined, let alone a corrupt official."

"Besides, only if you are safe in the rear can I serve as an official well in the front."

"Okay, if you say so, we will accept it." Hearing what Jiang Huai said, Jiang Dari couldn't continue to refuse.

In fact, many people did hear about Jiang Huai's affairs in the past six years and came to ask for gifts to Jiang Dari, but Jiang Dari insisted on his bottom line and refused.

He had been a serf and did not want to be humiliated a second time in his life. If his son was found to be corrupt and the whole family was exiled because of his own problems, Jiang Da Ri would not be able to save the situation even if he gritted his teeth.

Therefore, even though his family was not wealthy, he never received a penny in gifts.

Now that he has these five hundred coins, he and his wife will probably spend them in thirty years.

Thinking of this, the couple laughed and did not ask Jiang Huai if he had any money to spend. After all, they had also seen that there were still a few coins in the bag just now.

"I estimate that I will go to Kunming to take the provincial examination in June, and then Jiang Hu will be sent to Yunnan Middle School."

Jiang Huai explained, but Jiang Hu said: "Brother, why don't you just move to Kunming? I'm going to Kunming alone. I'm afraid I won't get used to it."

"Everyone in middle school lives on campus, not to mention that I don't want to go to Kunming now. I will come back to Longchuan to serve as an official after the imperial examination."

Jiang Huai explained, while also thinking about what Wang Xuan asked him a few days ago if he was the magistrate of Longchuan County.

Now it seems that Wang Xuan wants to take over the position of Longchuan County Magistrate.

"Okay, I'll go to Gao Guan's house to see him, and ask him how his matter was determined."

Jiang Huai stood up and carried his bag to his room. Even though he hadn't been back for six years, the place was still clean, and the bedding and other things were laid out by Jiang Hu.

"Brother, I'll go with you."

After Jiang Huai put down his things and walked out of the room, Jiang Hu next to him started shouting impatiently.

"Okay, let's go together."

Jiang Huai nodded, and then walked out of the house with Jiang Hu.

As soon as they walked out of the alley, many people walking on the street after dinner greeted them warmly. Not to mention Jiang Huai, even Jiang Hu whispered: "Their enthusiasm is a bit scary."

"Just walk faster." Jiang Huai sighed in his heart, but he still had to smile.

When he met someone who came up to say hello shamelessly, he could only deal with a few words, and then he pulled Jiang Hu and walked quickly to Gao Guan's house.

When they arrived at Gao Guan's house, Gao Guan had just returned home and was washing the mud on his feet at the back door.

"Gao Guan!"

"Jiang...Jiang Shengyuan"

Gao Guan was frightened by Jiang Huai's sudden shout. He obviously didn't expect that a big shot like Jiang Huai would come to him specifically. He was a little happy despite being frightened.

"I heard about your story. Let's go in and talk."

The sentence "Jiang Shengyuan" made Jiang Huai feel a little uncomfortable, but he quickly corrected his attitude and wanted to find out the truth of the matter.

Hearing this, Gao Guan immediately welcomed the two of them into the house, and only after entering the house did Jiang Huai see Gao Guan's wife.

"This is my wife, Bai Yi, whom Longchuan knows. Just call her Yuzhu."

Gao Guan introduced his wife, Jiang Huai didn't look at her carefully, he just smiled and nodded: "My name is Jiang Huai, and my pseudonym is Wen Qing."

"Hello, Mr. Jiang..."

Yuzhu has fair skin and graceful figure, which fits Jianghuai's impression of a girl in white (from the Dai ethnic group).

Although she looks beautiful, she can actually go back to her hometown to farm with Gao Guan, which shows her feelings for Gao Guan.

"Okay, tell me about you first."

After the introduction, Jiang Huai asked about Gao Guan, and Gao Guan followed suit.

His temperament is relatively straight, and he can't stand the Qingliu style who likes to talk. It happens that most of the officials in Longchuan County are the descendants of the people who were originally exiled. The Qingliu style will not change, so many things in Longchuan County All delayed by their efficiency.

Under such circumstances, the county government could only assign errands to Gao Guan. After all, Gao Guan was very efficient in everything he did.

However, it was this high efficiency that hurt him. There were some things that he had no way of going to the countryside to check, so he had no idea that some land taxes had been corrupted by the grain chiefs and district chiefs who went to the countryside.

As Yunnan implemented the New Deal, many documents that passed through his hands were found to have problems, so he was implicated and dismissed.

"I believe you won't be corrupt, but you really didn't take anything?"

Jianghuai was afraid of irritating Gao Guan, so he used the word "take".

Gao Guan had long been smoothed out by farming, so he had no temper. He just said helplessly:
"Sometimes they can't finish their work and ask me to help. After I finish, they will bring me some wine and meat, but the quantity is not large. As a colleague, I accepted it without thinking too much. I just want to return it in the future." "At that time, the officials in Beijing also said that my matter was not big or small. I thought it would be small, but I didn't want to be dismissed directly, and my reputation was also bad. Now I can't even do it. My parents can go out to work, but I can’t..."

Gao Guan lowered his head, obviously overwhelmed by life.

"It's not your fault. You were only eighteen or nineteen at the time. How could you outplay those guys in their twenties?"

After learning the reason why Gao Guan was deposed, Jiang Huai breathed a sigh of relief, and then continued to ask: "How many gaps are there in the document?"

"Not much, more than three hundred stone grains, but this is how long my job is. If it were longer, I would probably accumulate more, and maybe I would be exiled..."

Gao Guan could only enjoy the pain, and Jiang Huai nodded after hearing this: "It's really not much. This time you mainly fell on the Beijing Police."

"The police in Beijing are the most strict. There is never anything big or small to say. I guess after your matter was discussed, the punishment was finally increased."

"It's okay. I'm going to take the imperial examination later. I have to go back to Longchuan after the imperial examination. When the time comes, you can apply for civil service. I'll recruit you and you can use your actions to clear your reputation."

After Jiang Huai finished speaking, Gao Guan nodded immediately, not thinking that Jiang Huai was talking big words. After all, with Jiang Huai's style today, those who didn't know would have thought that the prefect had taken office.

"Stay with me and eat."

Gao Guan wanted to invite Jiang Huai to dinner, otherwise he would not be able to let go of his heart.

"We have eaten..."

"Okay, Jiang Hu, you accompany Yuzhu to buy meat and wine."

Facing Gao Guan's invitation, Jiang Hu wanted to say that he had eaten, but Jiang Huai took out two hundred copper coins from his arms and asked him to go shopping.

Jiang Hu didn't think much about it. He took the two hundred coins and went shopping with Yuzhu.

Gao Guan was very familiar with Jiang Huai, so when Jiang Hu and the others left, he immediately said: "You want to ask about Huang Qi, right?"

Huang Qishi, three simple words made Jiang Huai feel melancholy.

Gao Guan took this opportunity to remind Jiang Huai that the former young lady of the Qi family was married, and she and Huang Jing had not yet reconciled.

"Just caring and caring..."

Jiang Huai couldn't even convince himself with these words. Gao Guan could only sigh after hearing this: "She..."

He told what happened to the young lady of the Qi family. If she had not been pregnant at that time, she might have been sent to Beizhou to open up wasteland by now.

Because she was pregnant, she escaped the fleet sent to Beizhou, so she was sent back to her hometown. Although she had a yard to live in, she had no arable land to cultivate. She could only help others weave cloth in exchange for money. Her life was extremely difficult, and there were many libertines in the town. Also go look for her more often.

Although she could be heard scolding a libertine every time, there were still many rumors in the town.

For example, there are countless stories about her hooking up with men to survive till now.

Jiang Huai felt uncomfortable hearing these words, and raised his hand to signal Gao Guan to stop talking.

"You keep half of this money until I come back, and you help me transfer the remaining half to her. After all, we are childhood sweethearts, and it is unbearable to suffer like this."

Jiang Huai gave himself a bunch of reasons, and at the same time took out the remaining half of the hanging money from his arms.

Gao Guan took a look and found that they were all copper coins with a denomination of one hundred coins, and there were at least five or six hundred coins left.

"This, this, this...this is too much, at least fifty or sixty."

Gao Guan had never seen so much money except when he was an official, and his hands could not help but tremble.

For this half-money, he would have to go without food or water for at least ten years to save.

"Take it. Besides, it's not for you alone."

Jiang Huai shook his head and said: "Tell me these days about the monsters and monsters you encountered as a subordinate. If nothing else happens, I should come to Longchuan County to serve."

"If there are still this group of people messing around in the yamen in the future, you can help me identify them."

Patting Gao Guan on the shoulder, Jiang Huai chatted with him about the past.

It wasn't until late at night that Jiang Huai returned home with the help of Jiang Hu.

At the same time, a majestic city thousands of miles away from Xijiang Town also welcomed its prince after one night.

"Your Highness is a thousand years old, a thousand years old, a thousand years old..."

The sound of singing and singing came, and tens of thousands of soldiers in Beijing lined up in front of the Ming Dynasty Gate to sing. The one they welcomed was Zhu Gaoxu, who had spent more than two months visiting Hebei.

Zhu Gaoxu took Zhu Zhanqi, Yi Shiha, Li Shi, Li Cha and more than a hundred cavalry to the gate of Ming Dynasty.

On the tower of Daming Gate, Zhu Di came to welcome Zhu Gaoxu from a high position. On his left and right were civil and military officials from the Six Ministries and Six Prefectures Inspectorate who had arrived north early.

Riding his horse into Beijing, this was also the first time Zhu Gaoxu saw the real scene of Beijing he designed.

Zhu Gaoxu, who knew the future well, widened the city gates and heightened the city walls in his design of Beijing City.

Historically, the Daming Gate had three gates and three corridors, and this was also the case in Zhu Gaoxu's design. However, the three corridors were five feet high in the middle and four feet wide, and three feet eight feet high and three feet three feet wide on both sides.

This is not only true of Daming Gate, but also of other city gates.

The city needs to be built because Zhu Gaoxu is not sure whether a war will break out in Beijing in the future, and according to the current standards of the city wall, even some conventional artillery during World War I will be difficult to defeat, so it can protect the people of Beijing for a long time.

As for the reason why the city gate was built so wide, it was to consider the future lanes.

Many people in later generations lamented the demolition of the ancient city, and Zhu Gaoxu was one of them.

The ancient city has hindered urban development, Zhu Gaoxu is sure of this, but if the ancient city can be preserved, it will undoubtedly leave behind a culture that belongs to China.

Zhu Gaoxu doesn't know how many years from now the city of Beijing will face traffic problems, but he can guarantee that these wide city gates are large enough for trams and some cars to pass, and by that time, these city walls will inevitably become "antiques."

After passing through the long corridor, Zhu Gaoxu got off his horse and touched Chi Huan with his hand.

Chi Huan did not show any signs of fatigue. Apparently, as he thought, he was not old, and was even very young.

At the same time, Zhu Di and others who were on the city gate walked down the horse path and came to the back of Daming Gate to welcome him.

"Is your city gate so wide to prepare for cars and trams in the future?"

Approaching Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di asked about Zhu Gaoxu's design for the Beijing city gate.

After all, he had seen many models in Taixue. Although he thought many of them were unrealistic, he still wrote them all down.

"Exactly, but that was much later."

Zhu Gaoxu chuckled. He didn't think that the two of them would be able to see trams and cars in their lifetimes. Even Zhu Zhanhe was embarrassed.

However, a wide city gate is always much better than a narrow one.

At least as far as the main city gate of Daming Gate is concerned, there is no problem in walking four carriages side by side.

"Okay, the prince has just arrived, let him rest."

Zhu Di seemed to have a lot to say to Zhu Gaoxu, so he dismissed the ministers, took him and Zhu Zhanqi's hands and walked onto the carriage.

In a breath, the big chariot was started and set off towards the Forbidden City.

Sitting on the carriage, Zhu Di asked Zhu Zhanqi many things along the way, and then turned his attention to Zhu Gaoxu.

"I heard that the survey of other railways has begun. My suggestion is to build the Northeast Railway first and split it into two sections, such as..."

Zhu Di talked about his idea. What he wanted to do was to build a line from the east of Beijing to the intersection of the Songhua River and the Nen River (Nen River), which is southwest of Zhaozhou and north of Songyuan City in later generations.

Then a railway will be built from Hechengwei directly across the northern mountainous area of ​​Halawen Mountain and directly to Hailar City.

In order to convince Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di sent Tangqi to run it early. The railway started from the east of Beijing, passed through Yongping Prefecture, Liaoxi Prefecture, Guangning Prefecture, Liaoyang Prefecture, Shenyang Prefecture, Hanzhou Prefecture, Changchun Prefecture, and finally arrived in Zhaozhou. Mansion.

Except for the need to take a boat to cross the Liao River, the whole journey was not too difficult and the roads were all flat.

As for the other one, it was the railway that started from Hecheng Guard, passed through Zhenlu Guard, and arrived at Hailar City.

The two railways and the Wenjiang waterway were completely sufficient for the Ming Dynasty to control the Mobei area, and there were people along the way.

As for the mileage, the former is more than 2,600 miles, and the latter is 760 miles, totaling 2,820 miles, and the cost is about 9 million yuan.

Although it is very expensive, if the construction is successful, it will indeed be of great help to the Ming Dynasty in controlling Mobei.

In order to convince Zhu Gaoxu, Zhu Di even revealed several open-pit mines he had discovered during his several northern expeditions.

"Dad, even if your railway is built, it will probably be gone in ten years. Are you sure you want to build it now?"

Zhu Gaoxu was going to deceive Zhu Di. After all, the old man didn't know how long he could live.

"I am fifty-six now. Although I may not be able to live until then after building this railway, at least I have hope."

Zhu Di has been painting cakes all year round, and it is impossible to be fooled by Zhu Gaoxu. He expressed his thoughts, and then said: "Second brother, you kneel down first."

"Huh?" Although he was speechless, Zhu Gaoxu still knelt down. After all, the old man was his father.

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu kneeling down, Zhu Di said sadly:

"This time about Jiangxi and Zhejiang, my father will definitely be written off in the future. Just treat him as a pity and pity him. Build this railway. I beg you."

"..." After listening to Zhu Di's words, Zhu Gaoxu lowered his head and looked at his knees.

"If you want to repair it, I also support it. But if there is no money, then the Northeast Railway will definitely have to be stopped. The Beijing-Beijing Railway must not be stopped."

Zhu Gaoxu knelt down to remind Zhu Di. Zhu Di immediately put on a smile after hearing this: "Of course... Dad knows more about things than you do."

"Come on, come on, get up first, your legs and feet are not good after kneeling for a long time."

Zhu Di helped Zhu Gaoxu up. He was so satisfied that he was stroking his beard happily.

At his pleasure, the emperor also escorted them into the magnificent Forbidden City in Beijing.

Not surprisingly, in the next few hundred years, this place will be the center of the Central Plains Dynasty and even the world...

(End of this chapter)