"Supervision Department, you are also involved in this debt action, and I don't want anyone to use this name to do anything wrong. On top of this kind of big thing, those who dare to come to the world will be guilty of one more crime, and the Shadow Division will also assist you in your actions. Seeing that everyone was talking about Zhao Xun's so-called bonds, Zhao Xun explained in a deep voice.

"Pei Yi, the duty of your chief secretary of administration, in addition to doing a good job in this matter, also needs to find professional water conservancy talents. I've agreed to your joint construction of the Chief Secretary for Administration and the Department of Military Affairs, but don't mess it up. Remember, it's about the worth of millions of people. Zhao Xun explained to Pei Yi in a cold voice.

"Don't worry, your subordinates should keep it in mind!" Several people immediately bowed down in response.

Issuing bonds is easier said than done, but there are still many things to prepare. What is the value of the bond, and the interest of the bond should be given according to the amount. The term of the bond, originally intended by Zhao Xun, was to designate bonds with different maturities of one year and three years. However, considering that this was the first time and could not be borrowed for too long, a one-year period was set. In addition, I have to give a brief description of the person in charge, and I can't just go to people and say, lend me the money, and I will pay you back next year.

Before the bonds were ready, the people who repaired the dredging of the river found more than a dozen by then. After some discussion, they elected representatives.

Because this is related to the overall situation of the Xiaoguo Army, and it cannot be sloppy, Zhao Xun personally met with this talent for river governance.

This person is about 30 years old, handsome and tall, but also talented. When he saw Zhao Xun, it could be seen from the expression on his face that he was still a little uneasy in his heart, but he was quite calm. After a brief introduction, Zhao Xun learned that this person's name is Sima Changqing, a native of Yangzhou, who caused a lawsuit in his early years, so he fled Yangzhou and lived in Qingzhou. According to his own words, the ancestor was an official of the Ministry of Industry who repaired and governed the river for the imperial court in previous dynasties, and was later trapped by the villain and exiled in Yangzhou.

Zhao Xun said straight to the point: "Today, the governor of Pontus asked you to come to ask about the repair and dredging of the northern canal, and also asked Mr. Sima to give me some advice and see what my Xiaoguo army needs." ”

The reason why Zhao Xun said this was because he didn't want to hear a lot of theories. Let's not say that Zhao Xun understands water conservancy or not, but he does, and he is not engaged in this, but he has no time to listen to his nonsense.

Sima Changqing also understood what Zhao Xun meant, paused slightly, relaxed his nervous mood, and said calmly: "The Metropolitan Governor wants to repair and dredge the Northern Canal and its surrounding rivers, it is said that it is a major event for thousands of years, but Xiaomin thinks that now is not the best time to repair the dredging river. After all, most of these things can only be done in times of peace and prosperity, otherwise...... Otherwise, it may be halfway through the process, and it won't last long. Either that...... It is the merit of the generations, and the disaster of the present. ”

When Zhao Xun heard this, his eyes lit up, isn't this talking about Emperor Yang of Sui. Indeed, this thing is really not what the Xiaoguo Army should do, if it weren't for the suspension of the war, and the Xiaoguo Army used their spare time, just at this time, repair the part first, maybe there is no need for Zhao Xun to deny it, and the Secretary for Administration and the Secretary for Military Affairs would not have proposed such a proposal at all. Even if the Secretary for Military Affairs put forward such a proposal for the sake of fighting, the Secretary for Administration would directly veto it.

Zhao Xun said: "I understand what Mr. Sima meant, but we are just the blessing of Chengze's predecessors, we only need to repair the dredging part, and then connect the surrounding rivers, but there is no intention of building from new." I wonder if Mr. Sima has any suggestions? ”

Sima Changqing sighed, and a large number of people: "To repair and dredge the river, it is nothing more than three things. Husbands, stones, and money. Among them, the people need tens of thousands of nearly more than 100,000, which is still only a partial start, if you want to start work in multiple places at the same time, then you need more. ”

100,000 people, that's not a small number. However, with the current jurisdiction of the Xiaoguo Army, hundreds of thousands of people can naturally be gathered. Speaking of which, this is the easiest thing to do. Coupled with the Great War in the south, many people fled to the territory of the Xiaoguo Army, which also added a lot of people under the rule of the Xiaoguo Army.

"The Metropolitan Governor wants to repair and dredge Youzhou to Yanzhou, including the Qingzhou River, and also connect the surrounding rivers to form a water network. Millions of quintals of stone are required. Sima Changqing continued. The "dan" mentioned here is a unit of weight, and here, each load is about more than 100 catties, think about it, what a difficult thing it is. It is not that there is a shortage of stone in the north, but that to mine it, it must be done by hand and transported to the place where the river is needed. If construction starts at the same time, you can imagine how many people are needed. Of course, the Xiaoguo army has black powder that can be exploded, but in this way, the military needs will be reduced.

According to Sima Changqing, the stones will be used to build stone arch bridges and piers, as well as to repair embankments in dangerous sections. The canals and rivers in the north have been abandoned for a long time, and because of the frequent harassment of the Tatar people, the northern trade has gradually weakened, and the imperial court's control over Youzhou has also begun to weaken. As a result, the role of the Northern Canal has decreased. What is still usable today is only part of the river.

What made Zhao Xun rush to some admiration was that after Sima Changqing heard that the Xiaoguo army was going to control the river, he also specially made field investigations in various places in the north, and also checked the information on the repairs that have been carried out in the past. According to him, there are nearly a dozen silted river sections in the southern part of Youzhou alone, and there are more than a dozen other river sections that are more severely silted. The most important thing in renovating the canal is to clear these silted places. However, even if the cleanup is unblocked, only a small part of the work has been done. Secondly, the canal is connected to other important rivers according to the meaning of the Xiaoguo Army, forming a water network in the north.

Why are these sections of the river silted? There are many reasons for this, but the most important one is that the flood breaks the embankment. Due to the disrepair of the Grand Canal, many of the embankments have collapsed, and in the event of flooding, the entire section of the embankment will cross into the canal, and the large amount of sediment brought by the rivers on both sides of the canal will soon re-block the cleared and unobstructed sections. Therefore, the key to the renovation of the canal is to build a strong embankment and at the same time prevent flooding from causing danger. This is the reason for the large-scale stone, fortunately, at this point, the Xiaoguo army has cement, which reduces a lot of trouble. Of course, with cement, it does not mean that the stone cannot be used, it is also missing, but it is much less than before.

Hearing Situ Liang's introduction to cement, Sima Changqing also sighed, and couldn't help complimenting Zhao Xun. Listening to Zhao Xun, he felt uncomfortable.

In addition, the dredging of the river channel is opened, which is indispensable to build bridges. In this era, the construction technology of stone arch bridges has been relatively mature, and one or two stone arch bridges will be built on the general rivers as traffic arteries. However, in addition to the large amount of stone required to build a stone arch bridge, it takes a long time, and the manpower and material resources invested in the middle are difficult to count.

River dredging, many places to widen, otherwise it will not meet the requirements of freight north and south. Many of the originally short and narrow stone bridges need to be rebuilt, and the amount of work is so large that it is comparable to the construction of the Great Wall, and the construction of stone arch bridges requires a large number of skilled craftsmen, stonemasons, and carpenters. Of course, when the Xiaoguo Army is ready to use cement and steel rods as support, it can be done at that time, but now the steel industry of the Xiaoguo Army has not reached such a luxurious level, but fortunately, the Xiaoguo Army does not need to fight in the near future. As for the frames of some bridges, they can be replaced with simple reinforced concrete.

As for money, Sima Changqing doesn't need to say much, a few people here are all understanding people, otherwise they wouldn't have engaged in any national debt. Among them, what is even more painful is that Sima Changqing said that there is no way to form an intuitive effect in this water transportation in the short term, and it will take a year and a half in the north alone, and there is still no delay and other unexpected delays.

When Situ Liang heard this, he couldn't help but sigh: "This price is too great!" ”

Sima Changqing smiled bitterly: "This is also the reason why I don't agree with the governor of Dadu to dredge and repair the river now, the so-called prosperous era governs the river, and the prosperous era can do it!" ”

Sima Changqing continued: "The Metropolitan Governor and all the lords must also know that the cost of renovating the canal is certainly very high, but once the renovation is completed. The benefits are hard to measure! Not to mention, it is the land of Yangzhou, which is the best example. Murong Cheng, the king of Qi, was able to command the south with the Yangzhou Navy, which is the credit of the Southern Canal. ”

The land of Yangzhou is not as prosperous as the north and the south, which has always been so, and there is no foreign invasion, which is even more prosperous. The Grand Canal, which connects the Yangtze River, connects all the southern prefectures, and the goods of Hangzhou can be transported directly to the Jianghuai area through the Guò Canal, adjusting each other, and the economic meaning is naturally self-evident. The tax alone was enough for Murong Cheng to no longer worry about the food and salary of the Yangzhou Water Army. It is precisely because of this that Jiangzhou, south of Yangzhou, was obedient and allowed Murong Cheng to rectify. Let him transfer the disobedient guys to the front line of the battle between the Xuzhou Army and the Yangzhou Army.

However, after Situ Liang listed the advantages of the Xiaoguo Army, Sima Changqing also said that it can reduce a lot of burdens and speed up the repair and dredging of the canal.

But Rao is like this, Zhao Xun and others also listened a little heavy. This is still the most basic requirement, how much food do people need to eat? Zhao Xun even wondered if he shouldn't act like this. In addition, according to the general remediation plan, the silt dug out of the canal channel can be piled up into a river embankment, and then a large number of trees can be planted on the river embankment to prevent the river embankment from collapsing. So we need to transplant a lot of trees. People move to life, trees move to death! It's not a simple thing either.

Generally, on both sides of the river, willows and other landscape trees are planted. This protects the embankment and creates a beautiful environment. But it is definitely not about beauty and scenery, but about protecting the river. Zhao Xun knew that even in his previous life, in his hometown, wherever there were people next to the river, rows of poplar trees were planted. I still remember that at that time, Zhao Xun himself had always wondered why no one had put such a high number and such a straight tree for sale. Later, I learned that this was to protect the roads on both sides of the river and prevent them from collapsing due to heavy flooding.

It is undeniable that in this era when there are no railways, wherever water transport goes, it will prosper. The land of Yangzhou is the best example. If you want to say where the rich place in the world is, it is in Yangzhou, not the land of Yongzhou, where Luoyang is located. Therefore, if not for military needs, but only for economic needs, the Grand Canal must be managed. But such an investment is so big that it is simply unbearable. But it has to be said that the preservation of the canal does have a crucial impact on the stability of the north.

Zhao Xun was pondering, and he was also thinking about whether it was really time to repair the dredging river, Situ Liang, Pei Yi, Lu Ziliang and others were quietly waiting for Zhao Xun's answer, and what Zhao Xun said at this time was about the ultimate fate of this major event.

Sima Changqing saw that Zhao Xun was difficult to make decisions, so he had to be silent, he was just a water conservancy talent, and he couldn't afford to guide Zhao Xun's decision-making, so he had to bow his head and taste tea, but he didn't know if he tasted the fragrance of tea. Of course, Sima Changqing said that he didn't want the Xiaoguo army to control the river, but in fact, it was not. He is a water conservancy talent, so he naturally hopes to play a role in what he is good at. But his sanity told him that it was not a simple matter.

After a while, the room was quiet, there was not a trace of noise, only the charcoal fire in the stove, and the crackling sound of the guards. Sima Changqing quietly looked at Zhao Xun's expression, but he didn't find anything abnormal, and he didn't know what Zhao Xun thought.

After a while, Zhao Xun stood up, looked at the officials in the room who were looking at him, and said in a deep voice: "If a few people want to do it, you can't hesitate." It's rare to have time now, it's better to dare late than to do it early, so let's take action! Sima Changqing, I don't know if I am willing to do things for Xiaoguo Army? Do things for the people of the world? ”

Sima Changqing took a breath and said in a deep voice: "The Governor of the Metropolitan is very fond of me, and I am flattered by it, so please mention it more in the future." ”

Seeing Zhao Xun say this, the other officials also breathed a sigh of relief, and they were busy doing it for the past few days, if they suddenly didn't do it, wouldn't it be in vain.

Zhao Xun said happily: "You and the dozens of people who work here with you, after coming to my Xiaoguo Army, you will concentrate on studying how to renovate the canal, and you don't need to ask anything else, what you need, ask me directly, and it is the same if you have any questions." Since we have made up our minds to do it, we must do our best, and there must be no mistakes. I now appoint you as an ambassador of the river, directly accountable to the Governor of Pontus, and no one is allowed to interfere! Sooner or later, the canal in the north will be connected to the canal in the south. ”

As soon as the order is given, the action will naturally begin, and the people will be recruited, where to recruit, how many people will be needed, and how much food and materials must be prepared, all of which need to be calculated by various ministries. In order to repair the river, Zhao Xun immediately set up a special river yamen, with Sima Changqing in charge. The Supervision Division, the Eagle Eye Division, and the Shadow Division are all involved in it, and those who do not cooperate will be strictly investigated.

The most important thing for the river yamen now is to investigate the situation of the rivers in various places, how to repair and dredge, and how to better connect the surrounding rivers together to maximize the benefits. If the south is prepared for war, then the north is for profit, for trade, and for the north to prosper.

At the same time, the Xiaoguo army is recruiting talents to manage the river everywhere, from the north to the south, no matter where you come from, only if you have the ability to do this, after passing the guò assessment, you will be given important tasks. For this reason, the merchants who went south also began to act, and the Xiaoguo army had an order, and if they brought back the river talents, they would be rewarded. As for how you do it, it's up to you.

Hearing that the Xiaoguo army wanted to control the river, Tang Xian of the Tang army couldn't help but be stunned, he was located in the southern section of Jizhou, and he could be said to be under the blow of the Xiaoguo army at all times, and he needed to be vigilant at all times, for fear that the Xiaoguo army would launch a surprise attack on him. Of course, even if it is an open flame, he is also afraid. No way, who let him once shamelessly raid the Xiaoguo Army? Now after hearing about Xiaoguo Jun's new moves, I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Tang Xian is not a government talent, but he is not stupid, how can he not know the price that needs to be paid to control the river? If the Xiaoguo Army really devotes all its energy to repairing the river, then there is no need to worry too much about the strength of the Xiaoguo Army. For this reason, Tang Xian expressed his goodwill, and immediately sent the river management talents in the land under his rule to the hands of the Xiaoguo army.

"Old Shen, you say, what does this Zhao Xun want to play? Fix the canal! Is this what he should do now? Tang Xian couldn't help but sigh.

Shen Yuanhe also sighed and said, "How do I know, this Zhao Xun has always played cards according to the rules, who knows what he is thinking!" Don't worry about him now, what we need to do now is to do our best to let the Yanzhou army and the Xuzhou army fight and annex the land of Yanzhou. Only in this way can we confront the Xiaoguo army and avoid defeat in a battle. ”

Tang Xian said with envy: "This Zhao Xun is really lucky, we fought with him in Qingzhou for a few months, but Qingzhou ran into Zhao Xun's hands in a daze." He also followed our actions against him and took Jizhou. ”

Good luck? Is it really good luck? Shen Yuanhe couldn't help but smile bitterly.