As an official, Li Xi should be diligent in government affairs.

On October 24, the 21st year of the Kaiyuan Dynasty, Li Xi inspected the Weishui River and the official road from Chang'an to Luoyang in the face of strong winds.

It wasn't until dawn that they returned to Weinan County with a body of exhaustion.

Faintly, you can hear the whining behind you.

These people brought by Li Xi from Chang'an, whether it is Wei Yue, Yang Shenyu, etc., or the officials below or even the school captain, but also including Gao Sheng, who followed Li Xi's family, naturally there will be no complaints, and even if there is, they will not say it, and the ones who are complaining at this time are naturally those officials in Weinan County.

And looking at the more vulgar and county gentleman's appearance, even if he heard it clearly, it seemed that he didn't mean to stop it at all.

Yang Shenyu had no expression on his face, but Wei Yue, who was relatively upright, frowned.

Li Xi looked at him like that, and pressed his hand at him on the horse, making a slightly calmer appearance, which made Wei Yue not say anything in the end.

However, after returning to the official post for dinner, Wei Yue still ran over and complained.

"Why do you have to endure it so much, no matter how you say it, we are also Beijing officials, and the adults are also responsible for the three departments, with the sword of the Son of Heaven, these local petty officials dare to be so contemptuous......"

Speaking of which, although Wei Yue has been in the household department for more than ten years, and everyone recognizes him as having outstanding ability, he has always been able to squat in the position of a principal, and he is still responsible for the Cao Yun matter that is not very important.

Li Yifeng talked to him in private, and he also knew that his surname was not very good, but when he didn't encounter anything, he couldn't help but be impulsive. In addition, he has been an official in Chang'an for many years, and he may not be obvious in Chang'an City, but after he arrives at the local level, he naturally has a sense of superiority in his mind.

Li Xi smiled when he heard this, sent down the case in his hand, and personally got up and poured him a glass of water.

In fact, compared with familiar officials such as Chang Feng, who are skilled in business but have flexible minds, or old and spicy characters like Yang Shenyu, Li Xi prefers Wei Yue, who is surnamed Gengzhi, so this journey has only been a few days, Wei Yue, the envoy of Cao, looks more like Li Xi's deputy, and Yang Shenyu, who is also an envoy of Cao, looks more like a staff officer.

People who are too flexible are often willing to take things seriously, but this kind of upright person, as long as you give trust and attention, he will be desperate to help you.

Seeing that Li Xi personally got up to pour tea for himself, Wei Yue quickly stood up, and when Li Xi handed over the teacup, he quickly took it, his face was a little confused, and said, "How can I ask the adult to pour water for the lower officials, this ......"

Li Xi smiled, and waved his hand at him while going back to sit down, "Sit, sit down, don't be so polite!" ”

Wei Yue sat back with the teacup in his hand.

Li Xi thought for a while and said to him: "It doesn't matter whether the place despises us or respects us, we come out to do things, not to save face." As long as we have to do something, they can give the necessary support locally, as long as they are obedient, that is enough, as for the rest, let them go! ”

Li Xi, the chief official, said this, and Wei Yue was embarrassed to say anything for a while, but seeing him like that, he took a big sip of the teacup, as if he was still angry in his heart.

It's no wonder that he was angry, but there were three Jingguan who came down this time, and you Weinan County is Qi County, so you shouldn't be so slow, right? The county magistrate said that he was sick and sent the county Cheng to accompany him, and the county man was resentful that his wife had run away, which in Wei Yue's opinion, was simply lawless.

After thinking about it, Li Xi suddenly asked, "Lord Wei, it's Chinese New Year's Eve five, right?" ”

Wei Yue was stunned when he heard this, then quickly put down the teacup and said respectfully: "Lord Hui, the year has just passed in September, and it is thirty-six. ”

Li Xi nodded and said with a smile: "Young and experienced, it's time to do things!" ”

Wei Yue seemed to have something else hidden in his words, and he didn't dare to answer for a while.

Don't think that his surname is Ge Gengzhi, he must be a reckless man, in fact, a person who can stay in the household yamen for more than ten years and can still be the director, no matter how surnamed Ge Gengzhi, it is also for the official oils, just saying that this brain is smart, he is no worse than anyone else. Even because his surname is straightforward and easy to offend people, it is more difficult for him to be an official than those other officials, and he can still sit in the position of the principal, which shows that his IQ should be higher than those people.

As long as he can suppress his temper, he can definitely be regarded as a capable officer.

Li Xi's fingers tapped rhythmically on the bookcase, and said slowly: "In fact, I feel uncomfortable seeing Weinan County so contemptuous, but after thinking about it carefully, I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing." ”

"Before we left Chang'an, those discussions in the city, presumably Lord Wei, you should have heard some of them, speaking of which you may only be a little emotional, but for me, the pressure is not small!"

Wei Yue sat upright when he heard this, his eyes widened, and his mind was spinning fast while listening carefully.

In other words, listening to Li Xi's tone, it seems that he is talking to himself!

What does it mean that your boss is willing to talk to you?

Wei Yue is not stupid!

When he was just expelled from the household yamen, he was really angry, and even had the urge to resign in anger and not do it, although he still endured it later, but he planned to go to the yamen of the fart Jianghuai transfer envoy to eat and wait for death, anyway, it is not easy to be promoted, and it is not easy to demote, as long as he is honest, no one in charge of this official will be short of himself, and it is not bad to take the money to spend some leisure.

On the first day he arrived at the new yamen, he did this, Li Yifeng was very affectionate, he was lukewarm, Li Yifeng wanted to chat, he didn't have anything to accompany him, but he didn't care about you, you have to explain things, he didn't do it, anyway, he just shook slowly, in order to express his extreme resentment and unhappiness.

But after Li Xi said those words after he arrived, his heart was somehow touched all of a sudden.

In the final analysis, he is only thirty-six years old, which is a good age to do things, besides, although he has repeatedly persuaded himself to be an official who eats and waits for death from now on, but it is probably due to the extreme anger after being excluded, and his heart is actually very unwilling to live in mediocrity.

He also wants to make some achievements, he also wants to be promoted, and he also wants to hold power!

Therefore, when Li Xi, the young over-the-top officer, gave him hope again with some words, he couldn't help but be active in his heart, although he couldn't talk about any excessive positive surname, but in the end he put a lot of effort into it.

And when he watched Li Xi sitting in the official room and watching the case, familiar with Caoyun's affairs, and from time to time asking him, the original person in charge of Caoyun, to talk and chat to understand the situation, he gradually felt Li Xi's determination.

This is a boss who is willing to do things seriously - this is what Wei Yue said about him.

Combined with Li Xi's reputation in the past, whether it was his poetry and literary talent, or the fact that his family property could be a prince in a few months, Wei Yue's confidence in his boss became more and more sufficient.

In fact, in the face of Weinan County's contempt, his heart was not as angry as he showed on the surface, in the past, when he was in charge of Caoyun in the household department, it was not that he had not followed his boss out to inspect, and the faces of the following magistrates were naturally seen - treat you respectfully on the surface, but in fact, as long as it is not a direct key department, who cares who you are!

However, Li Xi's new official took office, and he was young, so he must be an uncontrollable temper, so he felt that if he showed some anger moderately, maybe he could help him win the new appointment of his boss one step earlier?

Again, his surname is very upright, but it doesn't mean that he is stupid.

More than ten years of career in the household department, more than ten years of officialdom, until he was squeezed out of the household department by his colleagues a few days ago, he has accumulated a lot of officialdom experience.

And it turns out that maybe his performance really had an effect, so he got Li Xi's heart-to-heart in exchange, at least on the surface, it should be regarded as heart-to-heart.

Li Xi said: "Lord Wei may know that I am with some people in the court...... There are some festivals, plus I am indeed young and not qualified enough, and suddenly become the deputy envoy of Jianghuai, there will be people to talk a few words and gossip, which is normal, as long as Your Majesty trusts me, it is enough. It's just that this pressure is still inevitable, and besides, you used to be in charge of this part in the household department, and this matter of Cao Yun ...... It's not easy to do! ”

These words were a little vague, but they still did not prevent Wei Yue from accurately grasping what Li Xi meant.

When he was in the household department before, Li Xi had heard a lot of deeds, and naturally he knew that he had humiliated Zhao Fengling in Shuzhou, and naturally he also knew who he was referring to by offending some people in his words, but this kind of thing, Wei Yuezong wanted to get married to his boss, but he still cautiously did not answer.

He just put his mind on the second half of Li Xi's words.

Caoyun ...... It's not good to do.

So, since Li Xi sighed like this, combined with the pressure brought to him by the discussions he just mentioned in Chang'an City...... Could it be that he had thought of something? Afraid that once this solution is proposed, it will bring more pressure?

He looked at Li Xi intently, slightly excited in his heart.

He is a former official of Caoyun, and he has always been willing to work hard to study, Li Xi can think of a method, he should probably have thought about it, and then combined with the key points of Li Xi's inspection along the way, Weishui and Guangtong Canal...... This method is almost imminent!

There is a true saying in later generations - if you want to get rich, you must first build roads. In fact, this is true at all times, and it is also a wise saying that people of all times have unanimously recognized!

After a pause, as if he was considering the wording, Li Xi said: "At least one million stones must be transported every year, this burden is very heavy, and according to the current situation, it is almost impossible to complete. In the past two days, from Xinfeng to Weinan, we have all seen all the way, and you Lord Wei is the old housekeeper of this piece, and you must know very well that if you want to achieve one million stones a year, there is only one way, that is, repair the road! ”

Fingers are still rhythmically tapping on the bookcase, said: "Luoyang to Shaanzhou, is the first pass, this wait for us to go to the field to see, look at the three world risks, we must find a way out, Shaanzhou to Chang'an, is the second pass, we have seen more than half of this, Weishui is almost unusable, Guangtong Canal has been abandoned for a long time, only by land, one is too high freight, two is too small...... Therefore, I thought about it again and again, and prepared to write to His Majesty, asking for the rebuilding of the Guangtong Canal. ”

Although Weinan is a county of Qi, it is only a county in the end, and it soon quiets down at night. In this cold night that gradually quieted down, the wind was whistling outside, and the two of them were talking at night, Li Xi's voice sounded a little distant, but this last sentence still made Wei Yue stand up suddenly.

"Is this true? Do you really want to ...... Want to rebuild the Guangtong Canal? ”

Li Xi smiled, pressed his hand and said, "Sit, sit down and say...... If you want the road to be smooth, I'm afraid it has to be like this, what other good ways does Lord Wei have? ”

Wei Yue rubbed his hands excitedly when he heard this, but he could only smirk, "This, how can the lower officials have any good way." After hesitating for a moment, he frowned again and said, "It's just that the Guangtong Canal will be rebuilt...... I'm afraid it's not easy! ”

In the past few years when he was in charge of Caoyun in the Ministry of Households, he mentioned the matter of rebuilding the Guangtong Canal to Lord Langzhong of the Ministry of Water several times, but in the end it was still unsuccessful, so as soon as Li Xi mentioned this, he was deeply touched.

"One is too expensive, the Guangtong Canal is three hundred miles long, has been abandoned for seventy or eighty years, if you want to re-dredge, I am afraid that it will cost a huge amount of money, even if Your Majesty approves, the government hall door province there, may not agree, two, Guanzhong is not rich in water, although a lot of water conservancy has been built in the local area, but in the end, in fact, it still depends on the diversion of Wei water for irrigation, you don't repair the canal, the people can find their own way, you can also farm, you build the canal, the people irrigation is immediately convenient, but, can not save water!"

He snapped his fingers and said: "Everyone says that the eight rivers surround Chang'an, in fact, whether it is Chanshui, Bashui, Weishui, the amount of water is not large, a little build water conservancy, to meet the irrigation of Guanzhong, there is still more than enough, but if you want to keep the Guangtong Canal after the construction is always rich in water to the passage of ships without hindrance, I am afraid it will not be easy, which is also one of the reasons why the Guangtong Canal is abandoned." ”

"Therefore, although no one in the court has mentioned this matter in the past few years, as long as money is mentioned and the problem of water volume is mentioned, it will inevitably be resolved in the end."

Li Xi nodded and sighed: "After the Guangtong Canal is repaired, the people want to divert water for irrigation, which is naturally reasonable, but the income increased by the people using up the water is far from the price after the Caolu is abandoned!" It's a pity that the people won't understand this truth, and in fact, if Guanzhong is more convenient for irrigation, it can produce more grain, and it can also reduce the pressure of Caoyun to a certain extent, so this matter is not all harmful. Moreover, I am going to write to Your Majesty to directly connect the rivers of Chanshui and Bashui to the new Guangtong Canal, which will surely alleviate this problem at that time! ”

This is the technical problem, the eight rivers around Chang'an, and finally they are all injected into the Weishui, and the Weishui eventually flows into the big river, and a large amount of water flows away in vain, and the people can quote it for irrigation, not even one-tenth of it, so Li Xi means that he simply intercepts a part of the amount of water that originally belonged to Weishui and directly fills it into the Guangtong Canal.

Wei Yue has been in charge of Caoyun in the household department for many years, and he has thought of many similar ideas, and he has also thought of this method that Li Xi said, so he was not surprised after hearing this, but just bowed his head vigorously and was silent.

After a long time, he said: "This can certainly increase the amount of water in the Guangtong Canal, but ......"

Li Xi smiled when he heard this, "The people can use it if they want it, and this has little impact." Of course, in line with this, I will ask the Ministry of Industry to renovate the water conservancy facilities in Guanzhong when I write the book. ”

Wei Yue thought about it, then nodded, in fact, he also knew that although the people diverted water for irrigation, it would affect the water level to a certain extent, but in the final analysis, that was not the most critical factor, besides, although the Guangtong Canal had been abandoned for many years, there was still a stone channel, once the dredging was done, even if the people took water, they couldn't take too much.

The biggest problem is money.

The Guangtong Canal, which has been abandoned for decades, is to be dredged enough to pass through ships, and according to Li Xi's idea, it is necessary to bring over the water and the water, which is not something that can be done casually, first of all, it requires a lot of money!

Speaking of this, seeing that Wei Yue lowered his head again and was silent, Li Xi didn't speak, just looked at him.

Since Emperor Xuanzong made himself the deputy envoy of the Jianghuai transfer and handed over the matter of Caoyun to himself, a certain degree of support is almost certain, so although it is not easy to get the superiors to agree to rebuild the Guangtong Canal, Li Xi is still at least ninety percent sure that this matter will eventually be approved.

So, this is not a problem.

The difficulty is that Li Xi has to deal with more than one Guangtong Canal!

The danger of the three gates, which often capsizes people, is obviously more urgent than this.

Therefore, he needs someone who is willing to work hard and is proficient in this matter to arrest this piece for himself.

After a long while, Li Xi said: "If you want to rebuild the Guangtong Canal, no one can preside over it, so I intend to promote Lord Wei to concurrently serve as the Jingzhao Mansion Shicao Si Shi to participate in the military, majoring in the Guangtong Canal, I don't know if you dare to take on this responsibility?" ”

(To be continued)