Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 39: Also serving as Chief Clerk
"I think what Suo Guoyi said is very true. Although the people's livelihood in Shandan is in urgent need of recovery, Shandan is first and foremost a military city, and then a civilian city."

"The defense of the three mountains must be done well, especially the Yanzhi Mountain in the east must be given priority."

"Secondly, although Shandan has thousands of soldiers, with the migration of the indigenous people, there are only about 2,200 civilians left. Maintaining the army will become a difficult matter."

"Although I don't know how much money and food the governor will give to Shandan in the future, Shandan should be self-sufficient and reduce its dependence on Zhangye and the governor's office."

Inside the main hall of the government office, everyone was shocked as Liu Jilian spoke in Tang dialect these words that seemed a bit flowery in Shazhou.

It was already amazing that Liu Jilian could speak Tang dialect well and write regular script. But now, looking at the way he talks and talks, he doesn't sound like a general at all, but more like a chief historian.

Suo Xun looked Liu Jilong up and down, and Zhang Huairong also re-examined Liu Jilong.

In response to this, Liu Jilong did not stop, but continued:

“Although Shandan is mostly hilly, there are no less than one million acres of plain land suitable for cultivation.”

"I have been inspecting the area outside Shandan City these days and found that there are only about 20,000 mu of arable land outside the city, and the soil is uneven and in urgent need of repair."

"When the foreign bandits ruled Hexi in the past, they forbade us Han people to use iron tools because they were afraid of us Han people. Therefore, the agricultural tools used by the Han people in Shandan were mostly made of wood and stone."

"I think that agriculture is the foundation, and iron farming tools should be distributed to the people."

"If there are enough draft horses and oxen, we should distribute the animals to the people according to the governor's previous order, and call on the people to dig new gullies and bring water into the fields."

Liu Jilong explained the agricultural issues and then continued without stopping:
"In addition, Shandan City relies on the Danshui River to have abundant water and grass, but the hydrology of Hexi mainly relies on the snow water melted from the Qilian Mountains."

“You can send water officials to find suitable places to build dams to prevent droughts and floods.”

"in addition……"

Liu Jilong spoke endlessly about his suggestions for the development of Shandan.

The reason why he did not hide his incompetence was, first, to repay Zhang Yichao for his support, and second, because he was promoted too quickly. If he did not show some ability, he would probably be seen as a person with nothing but good looks.

Of course, the second point is that he was overthinking. Based on his performance in the Battle of Zhangye, no one would think that he was just a show-off.

"Keep talking!"

Zhang Huairong leaned forward, his expression changed from doubtful at the beginning to focused.

Not only him, but also Suo Xun and the other five captains were the same.

They didn't expect that Liu Jilong, who used to claim that he "only knew a few words", could give such a long speech and, more importantly, make good sense.

For a moment, Zhang Huairong, Suo Xun and five other captains who were descendants of powerful people in Shazhou could not help but doubt that all the books they had read in the past were in vain.

"My ancestors once served as reporters in the Hexi Sihu. I remember that before the An bandit rebellion, Ganzhou had reported to the Six Departments that there was no shortage of coal and iron ore in Ganzhou, but they had not been mined in time and had been abandoned because of the An bandit rebellion."

Liu Jilong once again raised the banner of his family. Anyway, there were only a few people left in the Liu family of Guazhou, and the remaining women would not be able to expose his lies.

Besides, there are indeed coal mines and iron mines in Shandan. When he passed by Shandan in his previous life, he saw many mines.

It’s just that the topography and landforms of the previous life and this life are too different, so he will definitely not be able to find it if he looks for it. But if we ask someone with this talent to look for it, he will definitely find it.

"Shandan does have coal and iron ore. There is no need to send people to look for them. Previously, the bandits forced hundreds of men to mine them. However, people often died of poisoning during coal mining. In addition, Shandan has no shortage of firewood, so they sealed it up."

Zhang Huairong's words were unexpected to Liu Jilong. At the same time, Liu Jilong also explained his words:
"There is poisonous gas in this coal mine, but the gas floats on the top of the mine. So as long as someone makes a ceramic pipe and inserts it into the mine, and someone uses some small objects to extract the poisonous gas, no one will be poisoned to death."

Although most of the knowledge was returned to the school, Liu Jilong did not forget the fact that gas is lighter than air.

As for the small item he mentioned, it was a hand-cranked blower. "If this can solve the problem, it would be great, but Shandan has no shortage of wood, so even if the coal is not mined, it won't have much impact."

Zhang Huairong said this calmly, and Liu Jilong forgot about it after hearing it.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, although the Han people had already used coal to cook and forge weapons, in most places where there was no shortage of wood, wood was still used as fuel.

It was not until the Northern Song Dynasty that coal gradually became the main fuel because large tracts of forests disappeared in Hedong, Henan, Guanzhong and other places.

If there is no demand for fuel, there is really no need to deliberately mine coal, unless Liu Jilong has coking technology and can significantly increase Shazhou's metallurgical output.

But the problem is, if Liu Jilian knew coking technology, he would have offered it to Zhang Yichao when he recaptured Guazhou.

In this case, coal mining seems unimportant. After all, Shandan has no shortage of forest resources. As for environmental protection, that is something that can only be considered after having enough food to eat.

After a brief thought, Liu Jilong said, "If that's the case, then we just need to concentrate on mining the iron ore."

"Hmm..." Zhang Huaishen nodded, then looked at Suo Xun: "What do you think, Suo Guoyi?"

"I think that everything General Liu said can be adopted." Suo Xun leaned towards Liu Jilong's side.

He also realized that Liu Jilong was quite capable in managing people's livelihood.

In the future, when I am in Shandan, I will inevitably have some dealings with him. If he can help Zhang Huairong to govern Shandan in an orderly manner, then I will be happier in Qilian City.

"If that's the case, then let's settle it this way. This government office has been occupied by the Tibetans for many years and is a bit too simple."

"Tomorrow I will talk to the governor and have this county government restored. At the same time I will recruit some knowledgeable people to fill the city."

"Although Shandan was changed from a county to a military city and there are no more county magistrates and county assistants, the other official positions still need to be maintained."

Zhang Huairong gave instructions and stood up, saying, "Let's discuss today's affairs here. General Liu will temporarily take over as the chief clerk. When you go back, record what was discussed in the government office today and draft a set of rules. I will hand it over to the governor tomorrow."

"As ordered..."

Liu Jilong and others stood up and bowed one after another, and Zhang Huairong also turned and walked towards the inner hall.

Watching him leave, Suo Xun, Liu Jilong and others also walked out.

Liu Jilian's performance was too eye-catching. Except for Suo Xun who left in a hurry, the other five powerful young men started talking to him.

Everyone complimented him, but in the end Liu Jilong left first on the pretext of writing the charter.

Looking at his back, one of the lieutenants couldn't help but sigh: "From today on, I'm afraid that General Liu will soar to the sky."

"He is just a commoner. How can he be a match for our strength?"

"Humph, the situation in Shandan is complicated. If he does a good job as the chief clerk, it will be useless, but if he does a bad job, it will be a mistake. Only he is willing to take on these tasks."

"Ignorance is bliss. If he wants to do it, let him do it. If he doesn't do it well, it's not us who will be punished."

"Hey...it's better to say less of this kind of thing..."

As they talked, several people walked towards the military camp, and Liu Jilong also returned home.

As soon as he arrived at the gate, he sent two soldiers at the gate to call Zhang Chang and others over, and asked them to go to the treasury to get some paper and pens.

He has more ideas and suggestions on how to govern Shandan...

(End of this chapter)