The water conservancy situation is still much better than Shang Cheng expected. Because of the continuous drought in Yanbei in recent years, and the tendency of the arid area to expand to the south year by year, the common people generally gave positive comments to the government's work of "building water conservancy projects to ensure production and income." In addition, this time the government did not adopt the method of apportioning forced labor to make the people suffer as before, but in line with the principle of "whoever pays for the grain and labor will benefit first", the health department, the local prefectures and counties, and the beneficiary farmers each contribute a part of the money and grain, which undoubtedly reassures the farmers and thus wins more support.

Zhou Xiang focused on the implementation of the "three fund-raising" policy. He said to Shang Cheng: "According to your explanation before leaving, we have subdivided the decree again, our health department is responsible for the overall planning and exploration of hydraulic engineering, the local prefectures and counties are responsible for raising money and grain, planning expenditures and organizing labor, and the farmers contribute labor and a part of the money and grain. Judging from the pilot states and counties, this decree is very popular with local support. The governor who had just sprinkled the tea soup on Luo's shirt said next to him, "It's not just support, it's just enthusiasm." A few days ago, I went to Yanbian on a business trip, and I heard from the person who was sent to supervise the water workers that the local people hated to offer a few Mr. Kanyu who had been invited by the Health Department to watch the direction of the water veins as gods and Buddhas...... Another governor corrected his words with a smile: "Changqing is wrong again." Those people are not the fairies who look at feng shui to cheat money and food, they are the craftsmen and craftsmen we hired. ”

Shang Cheng asked, "The person in charge of the survey is invited back?" He remembered that there were officials in the engineering department of the Department of Health, so why not use them? Why do you still go outside to ask for someone?

Zhou Xiang immediately explained to the commander: "The engineering officials in the yamen are not all from the background of water workers. Some people work in engineering, and they also supervise river workers, but in fact, they are only in charge of the flow of money and grain......

Shang Cheng understood as soon as he heard it. There are six departments of criminal work for the yamen, and the lowest first-class officials must also have studied in the state and county schools, and this alone separates the vast majority of folk craftsmen who have practical experience but have no theoretical knowledge, let alone a "diploma", from the yamen. It seems that the people sitting in the office with a professional signboard hanging at the door are not necessarily professional, and it is the same truth in ancient and modern China and abroad. It's a pity that these capable people have it...... He groaned and asked, "How's the work going, come back, craftsmen?" ”

Zhou Xiang said: "It is what Changqing said just now, the common people are very close to them, as long as they arrive at the place, the local gentry will rob their homes, and the lively situation is similar to when I was robbed of my marriage when I was in the Jinshi examination in the Shangjing Plain Mansion......

"Oh?" Shang Cheng asked with interest, "You have been robbed of your marriage?" ”

Zhou Xiang's face flushed slightly red, and he hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Shang Cheng saw that the other two people were all smiling when they heard Zhou Xiang's words, with a leisurely and fascinate expression, so he felt even more curious, and asked, "What's the matter?" Let's hear it. ”

Zhou Xiang's description is a bit embarrassing. Two of his colleagues laughed and said: "'Bihu Jinbang Guiche Chooses a Son-in-law' is a scene in Beijing. Every year of Dabi, Biluo Lakeside Xinke Jinshi unveiled the list, and the eunuchs of the city's high-ranking officials and eunuchs had to send people to send cars to guard and rob their sons-in-law in Datong City...... "Zhou Xiang entered Beijing to take the exam, and the title of the gold list by the Biluo Pond was not out of Datong City, and the family of the Poyang Hou family was robbed back to the house, saying that they would marry the little daughter of the in-law to him. At that time, he had already made a marriage in his hometown, and he did not agree. But "Bihu grabbing relatives" has always been a new science and technology scholar who "once became famous and known to the world......

"And then?" Shang Cheng asked with interest.

The two governors laughed but did not answer.

Shang Cheng had no choice but to ask Zhou Xiang: "Later, you agreed to get married?" ”

Zhou Xiang sighed before he spoke, and said faintly: "No." I escaped over the wall in the middle of the night......"

"What?" Shang Cheng stared at Zhou Xiang in disbelief. There could have been no more unexpected outcome for him. With Zhou Xiang's body, can he escape from the mansion of a marquis's family? Or did you escape over the wall? How many walls do you have to climb over one by one, Poyang Hou can't snatch Zhou Xiang home and don't care, right? At least a safe place, right? Besides, he didn't believe that a marquis's house didn't have a night guard who could make Zhou Xiang, a scholar, slip away without saying a word. It seems that people think that this family business can't be done, and they can't pull down their faces and send him out again, so they have to pretend to accidentally let him "run".

Seeing Zhou Xiang's melancholy appearance, he felt that there seemed to be a follow-up to this story, so he asked again: "What happened later?" ”

"Later?" Zhou Xiang squinted his eyes and stared at the green bricks under his feet, his expression seemed to be in a trance, as if he was recalling something. "Later...... I stayed in Beijing for half a year, then went home and became a relative, and then went to Luoyang to take office, and after a few years, I was transferred to Yanshan. ”

Shang Cheng had already determined that Zhou Xiang and the young lady of the Poyang Hou family had something to do later; But it was about the woman, so Zhou Xiang couldn't say it, and he couldn't ask. He was a little embarrassed, so he coughed dryly and then brought the topic back to water conservancy: "...... Well, I mean, how is the pilot? ”

Zhou Xiang said: "Now it seems that the situation is even better than we originally thought. At present, although we are only doing pilot projects in a few prefectures and counties near Yanshui, as far as the current progress is concerned, both the government and the local people agree with this decree. However, there are some problems. On the part of the Health Department, the biggest problem is the lack of experienced craftsmen. This issue is particularly acute in view of the fact that the detailed rules will soon be vigorously promoted to the whole bathroom. In addition, the 29 counties of the next three prefectures will be engaged in hydraulic engineering, the project is huge, and the construction period cannot be short, so the master who can survey the direction of the water vein and the river craftsman who has built the dam and weir pond are even more important. ”

A governor added: "There is also the former Tang Dynasty in Yanbei, where these craftsmen are more needed." ”

Shang Cheng thought about it and said, "Now these craftsmen have to find a way to keep them. In order not to delay the construction period because of the busy farming, they can raise their wages a little more, so that even if they do not return home, the family can hire additional laborers to work on the land. In addition, for their daily life, it is also necessary to draw up a standard, which I think is comparable to the subsidy for ordinary officials in the state and county to go on business. ”

Zhou Xiang and the others all laughed. They originally had this plan, but they were afraid that it would be inconsistent with the imperial court's system, so they came over to let Shang Cheng make the final decision. Previously, in order to convince Shang Cheng, they also prepared a lot of reasons. Now it seems that the preparations they made in advance are purely superfluous, and the business is obviously not shorter than them.

In addition to these good news, Zhou Xiang also reflected some unpleasant things encountered in the pilot, the most common of which is that the two villages quarreled over who came first and who came later, and even delayed the construction period for this reason. Even in the same village, the villagers often quarrel because of the distance and distance of the canal and the pond, sometimes because the canal is close to the Zhang family and far away from the Li family, the villagers will even do some unexpected things, some mothers-in-law and aunts will also splash and beat the horizontal, jump up and scold the heavens and the earth, or cry so much that the snot rolls on the waterway drawn by the craftsmen. And that's not all. An even more terrible thing happened in Yanyu Town, outside the city of Yanzhou, because the government built a dam on the river to store water, and as a result, someone in the downstream village lit a fire to the house of the Xuntian Guan family in the town. Although the arsonist was arrested by the yamen on the same day, the old Guan family couldn't swallow this breath and mobilized the people in the household to "comment" with the three villages of Liu Luchen downstream......

Shang Cheng couldn't do anything about what happened in Yanyan Town. In the countryside of this era, the influence of the clan always far exceeded the laws of the government. Alas, living in this land is a simple and kind farmer, but when they feel that their vital interests are being harmed, they immediately become selfish and narrow-minded, and the self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy limits their horizons and their minds. He told Zhou Xiang and the others that when the water conservancy was being built on a large scale in Quanyanshan, it was necessary to explain the difficulties of the government and the farmers clearly in advance, and strive to get their understanding.

He repeatedly stressed that it was necessary to try to resolve all possible serious conflicts before the construction began. The construction of water conservancy is supposed to be for the benefit of everyone, if the farmers are harmed because of this, then what are they doing with these water conservancy projects? It's better not to fix it.

Finally, he instructed Zhou Xiang that after they returned, they should reformulate a more detailed and comprehensive document as soon as possible based on the experience gained and the problems encountered in the pilot project, so that it could be discussed at the recent "joint office meeting" of the various yamen of the Health Department. Because he had not yet met with Lu Zhi, he did not mention the specific date of the meeting, but only said that a meeting would be held soon, and the meeting would review Zhou Xiang and their new proclamation.

After Zhou Xiang and the others said goodbye, Di Xu, who had been waiting next door for a long time, immediately came in.