Zhou Bo continued: "The second thing is that I stumbled upon an iron mine in the north, which is a big deal. Romance first ◢

He sighed and said, "Because you all know the situation in the north, it is very close to the land of the Qi country, and I am worried that it will not be good to meet the fine work or scouts of the Qi country." ”

Before going out in the morning, Zhou Bo had already listened to Li Xuzhong describe the situation of the iron mine in the north in detail. Li Xuzhong returned home last night, asked his father carefully, and finally understood the specific news of the iron mine.

When the Northern Song Dynasty was not extinct, the people here lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the iron mines did exist, and they were mined for a long time. It's just that due to some iron mine accidents, as well as the price fluctuation of iron ore, and a series of reasons, production has been suspended several times.

Later, the Jin people invaded the south, the Northern Song Dynasty was in danger, and the Yangtze River was repeatedly affected by wars, and finally the iron mine was completely closed. Two years ago, when the puppet Qi State had not yet occupied Xiangyang Mansion, the locals did not dare to rush to mine iron mines. Because the location of the iron mine is close to Tangzhou and Dengzhou, these two places are important places on the border of the puppet Qi State, so they naturally have heavy troops.

In addition, anyone who committed a crime in the Southern Song Dynasty or in the north would also be entrenched at the junction of the two countries.

Because of the border between the two countries, neither country dared to rashly govern it, and over time, it nourished a lot of thieves and bandits. In addition to those who worked as traitors, most of the people who joined later were refugees who survived.

The Southern Song Dynasty couldn't afford to support refugees, and the Qi State didn't care about refugees at all, so in desperation, they could only fall into the grass. Like these mountain bandits, they can do anything in times of war, whether it is military rations or ordinary people fleeing. As long as there is something, dare to grab it.

There are even times when they dare to attack the town directly.

Zhou Bo naturally didn't know the situation of the mountain bandits around the Guanghua Army, but he was definitely sure that there was a zài, it was just a matter of size. Therefore, he didn't just have to worry about Qi Jun now. Also worry about this bandit. Iron ore is very important for the construction of the Guanghua Army, not only in the wartime, the iron ore will have a good price, in addition, it can also play a great role in the creation of its own inventions, weapon improvement, and agricultural tool production.

Therefore, there is still value in taking risks!

Li Xuzhong and Li Shuping glanced at each other. The two of them didn't look overly nervous, but they looked a little embarrassed.

"My lord, iron ore is a good thing, but it is more than twenty miles away from us, so it won't be too far. Li Xuzhong said.

"It's okay to be far away, for transportation, we have steam locomotives to transport it, and for mining, steam engines can also provide drilling power. None of this matters. The key is security. Zhou Bo sighed and said with an extremely serious face.

"Zhou Envoy-kun. Actually, I mean security as well. At the moment we don't have a lot of troops, and 1,500 soldiers are still training. During these twenty miles of travel, if we encounter enemy scouts and harassment, or encounter mountain bandits and road bandits, we will not be able to take care of it at all. Li Xuzhong said.

"That's what worries me the most. But don't worry, for now, we will first go to investigate, determine the location, and the situation around the iron mine, and then combine the actual things. to develop a detailed plan for mining and guarding. Zhou Bo pondered slightly for a while, and then said helplessly. Now he can only take one step at a time, but he really can't, he has to ask Yue Jiajun to help with this matter.

Li Xuzhong and Li Shuping saw that Zhou Bo already had a plan. Nothing more.

Li Shu commented: "In this case, tomorrow I will personally lead the team to go to the mine with the survey team. ”

Zhou Bo nodded and said, "That's very good." ”

In the afternoon, after Zhou Bo came back from the military camp outside the city, Li Xiaoyu suddenly ran to the yamen. The two of them happened to meet at the gate of the yamen.

Zhou Bo laughed from afar and said, "Little Fish girl, I have good news for you." I didn't expect that I hadn't gone looking for you yet, but you did come to the door!"

Li Xiaoyu is still wearing men's clothes the day before yesterday, and his hair is also like a man, tied into a bun, which looks very elegant and cute. She looked very happy, walked over to Zhou Bo with a smile, and said, "I already knew what your good news was?" Hmph, I came to look for you in the morning, but the people from the yamen said that you went out early in the morning. I thought you went to my house, but I rushed back, and you didn't. ”

Speaking of this, she became a little angry, and said, "Hmph, where have you gone? Don't you know that I am very busy now?

Zhou Bohaha smiled and said, "I went to the barracks in the morning and dealt with some things. I just came back, I didn't plan to have lunch, and then I went to the little fish girl's house to pay a visit. Presumably, Master Ling Zun Li has already told me about my employment, right?"

Li Xiaoyu nodded, smiled again, and said, "Yes." Zhou Yuanjun, how did you convince my father? My father is not very easy to convince, like me, he is not willing to talk to my father, he is too stubborn. ”

Zhou Bo smiled slightly and said, "You'll know later." In this case, you will come with me first, and take you to visit your office yamen. ”

Li Xiaoyu immediately became excited, and hurriedly asked, "Really, I have a separate yamen?"

Zhou Bozhen didn't know what to say, now that the entire Imperial Mansion was empty, even the guards were only seven or eight, and there were so many empty places, so naturally he could give Li Xiaoyu a separate lobby to work.

He hesitated, sighed, and said, "Miss Xiaoyu, now that there is a lack of manpower on the Yamen's side, and many things are done by yourself, I don't know if Miss Xiaoyu will not be used to it." However, if Miss Xiaoyu has someone you can trust, you can also recommend it to me, and after I review it, I can make him your subordinate?"

When Li Xiaoyu heard this, he became even happier and said, "Really? I can also find someone to be an official? That's great!"

Zhou Bo said: "Yes, but Yulu can only be deducted from your Yulu and given to your subordinate officials, because you should also know that the government does not have any taxes at all now." So you have to save some. ”

Li Xiaoyu actually didn't think about asking for a good fortune at all, she smiled and said, "It's okay. Hehe, I'm going to ask my dad to be my subordinate officer. In this way, he will no longer be able to control me, but I will control him. ”

When Zhou Bo heard this, he was immediately embarrassed, isn't this Li Xiaoyu sincere in making trouble?

He hurriedly said, "Little Fish Lady, you will soon be from the government." In the future, you must be strict in what you say and do, because you represent the parents and officials of the Guanghua Army. If you're still so naughty, I'll fire you right away. Got it?"

Li Xiaoyu was stunned, knowing that she was indeed a little too naughty, she restrained her expression and said, "Okay, I was just saying naughty things just now, Zhou Yuanjun don't take it seriously." ”

Zhou Bo sighed and said, "I hope you are doing it yourself." Come on, come in with me. ”

He took Li Xiaoyu to walk around the entire Imperial Mansion. The only eight guards in the embassy were introduced to Li Xiaoyu. After that, he took Li Xiaoyu to the court of the Civil Affairs Department.

The courtyard of the Department of Civil Affairs is next to the main hall and shares a courtyard and main entrance with the main hall.

Although the hall of the Civil Affairs Department is smaller than the main hall, the office equipment is all there, such as tables and chairs, the four treasures of the study, and so on. The logistics of these things are usually done by the government guards, which makes the government guards feel a little wronged, but there is no way, it is always difficult to start a business.

Zhou Bo stood at the door of the Civil Affairs Department. "This is where the office works," he said. ”

Li Xiaoyu touched his head suspiciously, and asked, "Why is it different from what I thought?" The officials and masters in the past were very majestic, why is this place so desolate. ”

Zhou Bo sent it for inspection, and said helplessly: "No way." Now that the city is in chaos, there is no way to recruit new officials for the time being. However, after the situation of the Gwanghua Army is stabilized, I will hold an examination to expand the number of office staff in the embassy. ”

Li Xiaoyu asked again: "After that, I will be here alone?"

Zhou Bo said with a smile: "I'm in your main hall, not very far." But anything that involves civil affairs. I'll assign it to you. If you can't handle it alone, I'll try to help you. ”

Li Xiaoyu frowned, but nodded anyway.

Zhou Bo then changed the topic and said, "In addition, you have to worry about recruiting your own subordinates. But remember, you have to take responsibility for the subordinate you recruited, and if he has no talent, or if he is a bad person, and causes any trouble, you will have to bear the consequences for him!"

Li Xiaoyu's willow eyebrows furrowed even tighter, he let out a long sigh, and said very disappointedly: "It's really troublesome to be an official...... Alas!"

"Little Fish Girl, being an official is to do things for the people, and now Little Fish Girl knows the difficulty, right? However, if you regret it, I won't blame you. Zhou Bo said deliberately excitedly.

"Hmph, you underestimate people, I won't regret it, I will definitely be a good official. Li Xiaoyu said immediately, putting on a confident look-

From this day on, Zhou Bo decided to hand over all the work related to civil affairs to Li Xiaoyu on official business.

In the afternoon of the same day, after the news of Li Xiaoyu's appointment as the chief of the Department of Civil Affairs spread, there was an immediate enthusiastic response.

Many ordinary people are very surprised that Li Xiaoyu is an official in a girl's family, and even some of his peers are not convinced. They talked a lot behind their backs, most of them were questioning, but there were also some vicious people who doubted whether Li Xiaoyu and Zhou Bo had any ulterior relationship.

However, these violent reactions subsided that night. Because Li Xiaoyu's father, Li Fuzi, is a respected old man, and Li Xiaoyu herself is an extremely strong girl, after hearing these discussions, the father and daughter immediately took action, attacked these irresponsible rumors, and suppressed these unconvincing voices that night.

Of course, many people understand in their hearts that the people do not fight with officials, no matter what, it is a foregone conclusion that Li Xiaoyu will become an official, and if he offends Li Xiaoyu, he is afraid that there will be no good fruits to eat in the future. That's why they gradually reined in and didn't dare to chew their tongues more.

Although there is no problem in reputation, after all, Li Xiaoyu is not good at managing people's livelihood at all, and many things are half-understood. Zhou Bo handed over some official business to Li Xiaoyu at noon and let Li Xiaoyu take charge of handling it. It's just that although Li Xiaoyu can recognize words, he has a lot of administrative terms that he has never encountered before, and there are some difficult policy problems, so he was confused all of a sudden.

Fortunately, Li Xiaoyu is not a stubborn child, but if she doesn't understand something, she will either ask Zhou Bo, and if she doesn't even understand Zhou Bo, she will go home and ask her father.

Li Fuzi is dozens of years old, and he naturally has opinions on the current affairs of the Guanghua Army, and he has helped his daughter a lot in this regard.

Since Zhou Bo hired Li Xiaoyu, he finally felt the pressure reduced.

Li Xiaoyu has not officially taken office, and a novice needs a certain amount of time to adapt, so the early stage should naturally be called a probationary period.

Zhou Bo didn't care much about whether Li Xiaoyu was qualified or not during the probation period, he always felt that a person could be cultivated, not to mention that in this extraordinary period, it was already very good to have a person on an errand. Therefore, when he was in the Department of Civil Affairs, he generally no longer deliberately asked, but just gave himself a boundary in his heart, but Li Xiaoyu's decree must be carefully analyzed before it can be implemented.

In addition to waiting for Li Xiaoyu to really become a qualified civil affairs secretary, then he can delegate power.

The next day, when Li Xiaoyu came to report according to the time of the official service, Zhou Bo introduced his staff member Li Xuzhong to Li Xiaoyu and asked the two of them to cooperate well. The work that he should have been assigned yesterday had already been assigned, so he didn't have anything extra to explain today, chatted a few words, encouraged him, and then went to gather the survey team to join Li Shuping's escort team.

Li Shuping brought more than 30 soldiers as escorts to meet the survey team outside the North City Gate.

Zhou Bo briefly explained a few words, asking them to pay attention to safety, not to make a big fuss, and try to be as cautious as if they were on a secret mission. At the same time, he also stressed again to Li Shuping, we must mark the situation along the way, as well as the situation around the iron ore.

Li Shuping happily accepted the order and promised that everything would be foolproof.

After sending off the survey team and the escort team, Zhou Bo sighed slightly, and secretly prayed in his heart: I hope that everything will be smooth, and whether the Guanghua Army can develop rapidly is here.

The iron mine was only twenty miles away from the city, which was not a long distance for a man in the prime of life, and it only took two hours at most to come and go. Therefore, from this point of view, Zhou Bo is still relatively relieved, because if there is any unexpected situation, Li Shuping and the survey team can still withdraw quickly.

Zhou Bo returned to the yamen with mixed feelings, and when he first came to the gate of the yamen, he heard the sound of chattering and laughter coming from the courtyard. These laughter should naturally be the voices of young women, but this is strange, how can the dignified system make the yamen of the palace sound and speak? This is the public mansion, not the green building!

He asked the two guards standing at the door, "What's going on?" (To be continued.) )