Han Xiufeng was not unprepared, he had done some homework in the guild hall a few days ago, and knew that although the Yongding River Yamen could not be compared with Su Song Taidao, who had been making money every day, it was by no means a poor yamen.

In order to ensure that the capital is not flooded, no matter how hard and difficult it is for the imperial court, it will allocate 40,000 taels to the Yongding River every year. What's more, if the river is well dredged once, how can it be guaranteed for two or three years, and in these two or three years, there is no need to spend a lot of money to repair and dredge, and the silver allocated by the imperial court will naturally not be used for river work.

However, where the money went really had little to do with the two in front of me, and even if I looked for them, I couldn't find them. The blame can only be blamed on the previous river members for greedy for the money that should have been used for river work, leaving a dangerous river that meanders for hundreds of miles, the river is getting higher and higher, and the embankments on both sides of the bank are collapsing everywhere.

Repair, ask for silver.

If you don't repair it, Ling Xun will flood the capital and really lose your head when the time comes!

Thinking that if this soldier is not trained well, although he will not lose his head, he will not have good fruits to eat, Han Xiufeng said with an embarrassed face: "Lord Wu, Shi Tongzhi, the matter of Heying's food and salary, Lord Peng explained it before the lower official came, and the emperor also explained it, is it possible to let the lower official go back to Beijing to pray for an audience?" ”

Wu Tingdong wanted the silver more than Han Xiufeng, and said without thinking: "If Brother Han really wants to go back to Beijing and beg for an audience, the official will not stop him." ”

Shi Zanqing hurriedly said: "Brother Han, don't worry, there is something to discuss." The court is in an eventful time, you and I can't add chaos to the emperor anymore! ”

"Shi Tongzhi, you and Lord Wu want to govern the river, and the lower officials have to train the army! The two of you are worried that there will be a flood and you will not be able to explain to the emperor, and the lower officials are also worried that this soldier will not be able to communicate with the emperor. Han Xiufeng paused, and then arched his hand and said: "Lord Wu, as far as the lower officials know, the whole river camp Gongwei Jinggi is still invited by you, if this soldier is not trained well, the lower officials will naturally have the responsibility, but Lord Wu, you can't get out of it!" ”

Going around and around to his own head, Wu Tingdong regretted it, secretly thinking that this is not a stone to shoot himself on the foot, and he was gloomy and didn't know what to say, Shi Zanqing suddenly said: "Brother Han, in my opinion, it is not difficult to make a difference." ”

"Please also ask Shi Tongzhi to make it clear."

"In the final analysis, isn't it necessary to train 1,500 soldiers in the three battalions, the river camp already has food and salary, even if it is calculated at one or two or five dollars of silver for each guard, you can also receive 2,250 taels from the Zhili Domain Division and the grain road every month, and it is 13,500 taels for half a year." Shi Zanqing looked sideways at Wu Tingdong, and then said: "How much money to pay the green battalion soldiers is still the rule set by the Shunzhi Dynasty, this little money is naturally not enough, Lord Wu can think of some help, but these 1,500 soldiers are recruited and cannot patronize the drill, and they have to listen to Lord Wu's order to dredge and build embankments to prevent floods." ”

Shi Zanqing's proposal is really not a solution, or it is Wu Tingdong's wishful thinking when he first asked for the rectification of the river camp, Han Xiufeng didn't dare to agree, so he could only say helplessly: "Shi Tongzhi, if you really listen to you, then these 1,500 soldiers will be considered to be in the army, to put it bluntly, they are a bunch of coolies, and what the emperor wants is elite soldiers who can go into battle to kill thieves!" ”

Han Xiufeng didn't mention that the emperor was okay, but when he mentioned Wu Tingdong, he was angry, and couldn't help but raise his head and said: "Long Mao has been surrounded by Monk Lingqin and Lord Shengbao in Jinghai, and it is a matter of time before they are exterminated by officers and soldiers, they can't break through the siege, let alone kill the capital." ”

"Lord Wu, three years ago, the imperial court also thought that the Cantonese bandits would not be able to become a climate. Two years ago, who would have thought that the Cantonese bandits would not only break through the encirclement, but also coerce the people all the way to capture Wuchang, and even go down the river to capture Jiangning in one fell swoop. So this guaranteed ticket, you can't play! ”

Wu Tingdong realized that he had lost his words, and hurriedly said: "The official still said the same thing, the little silver in the Dao Treasury can only be used for river affairs. ”

"Is it important to control the river, or is it important to defend Gyeonggi?"

"This official is the Yongding River, so it is naturally important for the official to control the river."

Shi Zanqing was worried that Han Xiufeng was young and vigorous, so he really returned to Beijing in a fit of anger and begged for an audience, and hurriedly said, "Brother Yanfu, dissipate your anger." Zhixing, you also say a few words. A few of us big living people can still be suffocated to death by urine, isn't it just a little silver, if you have something to say, let's talk slowly, and figure out a way together. ”

"Brother Ji, you know best the family background of the Provincial Department, it is difficult for a good woman to cook without rice, I can't think of this way." Wu Tingdong snorted coldly, don't look over his head and stop looking at Han Xiufeng.

"Zhixing, there are priorities, or you go to the South Bank Hall to take office first, first rectify the river camp, and then send someone to Shuntianfu to think of a way, doesn't Shuntianfu also want to cooperate with the river camp for food, no matter where the money and food come from, you can ask for a little first."

Han Xiufeng is not a fledgling stunned young man, he knows very well that these two people in front of him are all masters of Taijiquan, if there is no explanation today, don't expect to get money and food from the Provincial Administration in the future, so he pretended to weigh it and raised his head and said: "Lord Wu, Shi Tongzhi, according to the lower officials, although the Yongding River is not connected to boats, does not irrigate, does not produce fish and shrimp, and is even called a useless river, it is not really useless. ”

"What's the use?" Shi Zanqing asked knowingly.

"The Yongding River is good at siltation, frequent diversion, and easy to burst embankments, the latter two are troubles, but the former can benefit the locality. It is said that the sediment in the river is very fertile, and the fields on both sides of the bank can be irrigated with Yongding river water for one year, and you can go without fertilizing for three years! ”

"So what?"

"You just said that there are more than 100 hectares of silt land, what year did this more than 100 hectares occur? Since the Yongding River has been frequently diverted and the embankment is easy to break, there must be more than 100 hectares of silted land over the years. Even if it is only more than 100 hectares, the lower officials do not think that the river workers below will really rent more than 100 hectares of silt land to the people for planting at a land rent of three to six cents per mu. ”

Shi Zanqing was stunned, Wu Tingdong didn't expect Han Xiu Summit to hit the nail on the head and propose that there have been far more than 100 hectares of silt over the years.

Han Xiufeng didn't know what they were thinking, and continued: "Since the Provincial Department can't squeeze out money and grain to help the river camp, you can hand over the river beach silt under the jurisdiction of the South Bank Department to the lower officials." As long as there is land, the lower officials can make Heying as good as Rongbian. ”

Han Xiufeng could think of it, how could Wu Tingdong not think that in fact, he had ordered people to quietly investigate who had occupied the silted land over the years, and was planning to take the opportunity of the approaching flood to take back the silt land that originally belonged to the river yamen. More importantly, as the Yongding River Channel, which also governs the river camp, he must manage the food and salary of the river camp, and must not let the river camp be self-sufficient.

Thinking that if he didn't give any money and food, he really couldn't deal with the emperor, and muttered: "It's not trivial to check the acres of silted land, even the official has to ask the court to take back those fields." In this way, this official will not let you go to the river camp empty-handed, how about moving 5,000 taels of assistance first? ”

"Lord Wu forgives the sin, five thousand taels is not enough."

"Zhixing, it's not easy for Lord Wu to move five thousand taels!"

"Shi Tongzhi that Xiufeng is not difficult for Lord Qiang Wu, but the emperor does not dare to slack off."

Wu Tingdong realized that the young Zhengwupin Tongzhi in front of him was not ordinarily difficult to speak, and muttered: "Han Tongzhi, the silver official only has five thousand taels, but in addition to the silver, the official has a stack of blank photos here, you can take some if you want." ”

"Blank donation department photo of the household department?"

"Exactly, the imperial court knew that the river was tight, and opened a donation case for the management of the river, one from the four-rank alternate prefect, four from the five-grade Tongzhi, eight from the seven-grade alternate magistrate, ten county Cheng, the main book, and twenty each of the Gongsheng supervisors." Looking at Han Xiufeng's thoughtful appearance, Wu Tingdong added: "If anyone wants to donate grace, they can also play another invitation. ”

"Zhixing, as long as someone is willing to donate, it is silver!" Shi Zanqing was worried about Han Xiufeng's tendons, so he couldn't help but remind.

Thinking that they did have their difficulties, Han Xiufeng could only stubbornly say: "Since the Provincial Affairs Department really can't turn around, then the lower officials will get some blank photos." ”

"That's right, if you have something to say, you have something to discuss."

"Lord Wu, Shi Tongzhi, there is still something to do with the lower officials."

"What?"

"When Xiaguan returned to Beijing, he brought twenty attachés from Shanghai, they were not Xiaguan's family members, they were all military attachés who were the acting envoys of the two Huai Salt Transport Envoys and the sub-patrol of Huaiyang's military preparations, Guo Peilin and Guo Daren, among them, there was a thousand generals, two generals, four alternate thousand generals, eight alternate generals, and the other few were either foreign commissions or additional foreign commissions......

Without waiting for Han Xiufeng to finish speaking, Wu Tingdong agreed: "Master Peng told the official in the official document about this matter, you go back and draw up a roster, attach their resumes, and hand it over to the military room for handling." ”

"Lord Xie Wu is complete."

"Anything else?"

Seeing Wu Tingdong holding the teacup and preparing to send off the guests, Han Xiufeng hurriedly said: "There is also when the grain officer will be able to take office." ”

"Not only has the selection of the Heying Grain Officer been thought about for a long time, but he is also in the South Bank Hall at the moment. His surname is Chen, his name is Chongtong, a Houguan of Fujian, and he was born in a person, and now he is an alternate magistrate of Qinjia from the fifth rank. Since there was no more suitable person to act as the governor of Nan'an for a while after he stepped down, the official let him go to nursing for more than a month. ”

Wu Tingdong thought for a while, got up again, and said: "Otherwise, this official will draft an official document ordering Chen Chongtong to help with the camp affairs, and you can bring it with you, so as not to be unjustifiable." ”

"Lord Xie Wu, then the official will retire first, and go outside to wait first."

Wu Tingdong didn't like Han Xiufeng, a subordinate who didn't ask for money and food as soon as he came, but he didn't wait for him to be unkind, and said without looking back while walking outside: "It's so cold outside, just wait here." You and the second brother are also old acquaintances, and you just happened to catch up with the second brother. ”

"Zhixing, no matter how urgent the official business is, it is not in a hurry for a while." Shi Zanqing got up and sent Wu Tingdong from the main hall, turned around and smiled bitterly: "How can you say that you are like this, as soon as you come, you will ask the officials for money and food." This is when I met Lord Wu, if I change to a Shangguan who is not good at talking, this Nan'an Hall will not be able to handle it for a few days! ”

"Uncle Shi, the conscience of heaven and earth, I really don't want to make it difficult for Lord Wu, I am really helpless." Han Xiufeng glanced back, and explained with a sad face: "Believe it or not, Uncle Shi, I really didn't want to come to be this South Bank Tongzhi, I was driven to the shelves in a daze, and I was in a daze to act on the south bank of the Yongding River." ”

"I believe it, but what's the use of believing it!"

"You are an elder, I am your junior, you can help me say good things to Lord Wu."

"If you want me to help you, have you ever thought of helping Lord Wu and me?" Shi Zanqing glared at him with hatred, sat down and said unhappily: "Zhixing, although you came to be a fellow acquaintance on the south bank to train the army, but no matter what, you Han Zhixing is the official of the river yamen after all, how can you not think about river affairs as a river member?" ”

"Uncle Shi, I am willing to share my worries for Lord Wu and you, but the emperor gave me half a year, if I can't train 1,500 soldiers who can go into battle to kill thieves within half a year, the emperor will ask me!"

"Half a year?"

"Or could I just be so aggressive?"

"Forget it, don't say it, after all, no matter what you say, Lord Wu or you, it's all for errands."

Han Xiufeng couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Shi, will Lord Wu be angry?" ”

"What do you say?" Shi Zanqing sighed and sighed worriedly: "Lingxin is coming, more than 20 embankments along the river have collapsed, and the spring flood is not good. ”

"But ......"

"Don't do it, go and wait outside, and when you get the official document ordering Chen Chongtong to help with the camp affairs, you will hurry to the South Bank Hall to take office, you can't afford to delay the river affairs, you only have half a year to train the troops. It's important to run errands, and we'll talk about other things later. ”

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