August is over, September is solstice.

The breath of the end of the year and the beginning of the year also quietly descended on the land of Guanzhong in this slightly bleak atmosphere this year.

A month ago, the countryside fields were lush and overgrown with crops, but now they are desolate as far as the eye can see.

Even the weeds and straw in the fields have been collected by the frugal peasants for the next year's slashing tax to be paid to the state treasury (1).

In addition, just after the autumn harvest, almost more than eighty percent of the young people in Guanzhong followed Liu Bang, the son of heaven, to go to Kanto, which made the fertile land of Guanzhong less lively.

In the countryside at the head of the village, there are mostly three or two old men holding fans, gathering under the trees to enjoy the cool and chat; Around the old man, from time to time, there were bare-chested children with bare buttocks, flashing in groups.

In such a quiet, peaceful, and extremely comforting picture, a team of outsiders suddenly appeared, apparently attracting everyone's attention.

"Huh?"

"What's that?"

The old friend whispered in confusion, causing Zhang Aiji to turn around slightly, and saw a team of strange people and horses on the straight road in the countryside.

"One, two, three, four······"

Squinting his eyes and counting, the leisure on Zhang Aiji's face couldn't help but quietly retreat.

As far as Zhang has seen, this team is composed of fourteen people!

Among them, there were ten convicts with black faces, shabby clothes, numb eyes, and a string of leg shackles.

In addition, there were two soldiers dressed in red short fights and short swords tied around their waists, but they were not wearing armor.

As for the remaining two, they were a little neatly dressed and hurried, and they were following the end unhurriedly, as if they were chatting about something.

"Prisoners, soldiers······"

Muttering to himself, Zhang Aiji couldn't help but slowly straighten up from under the tree, his eyes directed at the group of uninvited guests.

"Some time ago, I heard that before His Majesty set out on the expedition, he ordered the prince to renovate the water conservancy."

"These convicts, or the labor of water conservancy?"

"Uh-huh·······"

"The two soldiers shall be the soldiers of the prisoners; and the two behind him, Xu is a little sword and pen official······"

Zhang Yiji was muttering to himself, when he heard a soft cry behind him, which was obviously deliberately suppressed, but still full of anxiety.

"Straight!"

Following the prestige, Zhang Yiji noticed that on the other side of the ten prisoners, there were black stones that were half a person tall, one arm wide, one person long, and square, slowly 'floating and moving' before!

When I looked a little down, I saw a plank half a foot thick under the 'one' boulder.

Beneath the planks were dozens of calf-thick rolling logs, slowly moving forward with the stones on the boards.

Almost every step of the way, a prisoner would pick up a log from behind the plank and hand it to the prisoner in front of him.

In this way, the rolling log, which had been in the last position, was placed horizontally in front of the plank, and was again pressed by the plank carrying the stones.

In this way, the huge stone, which was obviously thousands of catties, was carried by dozens of rolling logs and a wooden plank, and slowly drove on the straight road.

After the stone moved a little earlier, Zhang Yiji finally understood: why did his old friend shout the word 'straight road'······

"Stand !!"

With an angry shout full of vicissitudes, without waiting for the team of strangers to react, Zhang Zhiji turned around, picked up the dove cane that had been leaning against the tree before, and walked forward angrily.

Hearing this life's loud drink, the two soldiers turned sideways unhappily for a moment.

When he saw the dove cane in Zhang Aiji's hand, he couldn't help but widen his eyes suddenly!

However, after three breaths, the two soldiers looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded in unison with a dark face.

Run!!!

Sure enough, the two soldiers only jumped out three or five steps, and Zhang Aiji's brand-new, faintly solemn dove cane, roared towards the place where the two soldiers stood a moment ago!

"Bastard thing!"

With a shout full of annoyance, he found that his 'attack' was dodged by the two soldiers, Zhang Zhiji did not continue to chase, but squatted down with a cane behind the stone, and stroked the straight path under his feet full of distress.

After a while, several old men who had been sitting under the old tree with Zhang Ai also came up one after another, squatting beside Zhang Aiji, and the distress on their faces was even worse.

"This straight road, but it was just tamped and repaired half a month ago!"

"Hateful!"

"His heart can be punished! His heart can be punished!! ”

Listening to the heart-wrenching scolding of several fellow villagers, looking at the straight road in front of him that had been pressed beyond recognition by the rolling logs, Zhang Yi had a slight killing aura in his eyes!

Straightened up and faintly looked into the distance, the two soldiers who were ready to run away again, Zhang Yi finally turned his head and looked at the two 'knife and pen officials'.

"Come here!!"

The angry shout suddenly provoked the two neatly dressed officials who seemed to be officials to be stunned.

After a while, he finally stepped forward nervously, and he had given up his hand deeply to Zhang Yi.

"Juniors, waiting, I've seen the boss ······"

"Humph!!"

Without waiting for the two middle-aged officials to salute, Zhang Yiji snorted coldly again, and smashed his feet with the dove cane in his hand in anger.

"Hmmm?!!"

Seeing that Zhang's illness had turned white, but he still had the strength to smash the dove cane in his hand, the two officials couldn't help but subconsciously shrink their necks.

After making sure that Zhang Aiji had no intention of swinging his cane, one of them finally stepped forward a little and wrote a book with a worried face.

"I hope the boss will take care of me."

"The younger generation waited for this trip, it was on the order of the prince to transport this stone brick twenty, and Zheng Guoqu in the past."

As he spoke, the middle-aged official couldn't help but bow his head with embarrassment, and then bowed his hand with a flattering face.

"And here is the straight road, and the juniors will send someone to repair it in a few days."

"Do you think that's okay, my lord?"

Looking at the middle-aged official's deferential face, Zhang Yiji was a little angry in his chest, and only looked at the straight road that was crushed by the rolling wood with distress, and then he snorted a little angrily.

"Good!"

"The old man is waiting here!"

Dropped a cruel word mercilessly, but Zhang Aiji did not have the slightest posture of leaving, but walked forward a little more with his chest straight.

"Go!"

"All flies camp dogs, don't follow the personnel of the dogs!!"

With a slight wave of the dove staff in his hand, several prisoners around the stones were repulsed, and Zhang Zhiji found that on the wooden board, it was not a whole stone, but dozens of stone bricks of almost the same size, neatly stacked, obviously used for construction!

stepped forward to take a look, came back to his senses, and looked at the deep pit that had been pressed out of the straight, Zhang Yiji's brows couldn't help but lock a little tighter.

"Where do these bricks come from?"

"Where?"

asked in a deep voice, and without waiting for the middle-aged official to speak, Zhang Aiji groaned to himself.

"Some time ago, I heard that the prince was benevolent, loyal and filial, and treated the old man in Chang'anyi······"

"Today, it's the stone brick aisle······"

Muttering to himself, Zhang Aiji's eyes suddenly sharpened, and he looked at the middle-aged official's gaze, and there was a little resentment.

"You just said, you are on the order of the prince to send these stone bricks to Zheng Guoqu?"

"Humph!"

"Your Majesty has only been away from Beijing for three or five days, and the prince doesn't think about repairing water conservancy, so he still has to build a construction and palace in Weibei!!"

Hearing Zhang Aiji's words, the middle-aged official's face suddenly became anxious!

After a while, I don't know what to remember, but I calmed down a little.

I saw the middle-aged official step forward slightly, and his tone was full of gentleness and humility from the younger generation to the elders.

"It's not so, it's not ······"

"These stone bricks were all ordered by the prince to be transported to the Zhengguo Canal by the younger generations to prepare for laying the bottom and side of the Zhengguo Canal to consolidate the river."

As he spoke, the middle-aged official did not forget to turn his head slightly and mouth in the direction of the ten prisoners.

"In a few days, the prince will go to Zheng Guoqu in person and drive these prisoners and officials and slaves into forced labor to clear the blockage of Zheng Guoqu ······"

Hearing the official's words, Zhang Yiji's face couldn't help but stagnate, and after a while, he let out a long 'oh~'.

"So, this time, the prince wants to repair Zheng Guoqu?"

Seeing that Zhang Aiji's face was a little angry, the official hurriedly nodded as if he had been amnestied.

"Exactly ······"

Hearing this, Zhang Yiji was a little angry on his face, returned to the pile of stone bricks with a calm face, and carefully looked at the dozens of stones.

"Hmmm······"

"The length and width are about two feet, and the width is one inch ······."

"If the old decay is correct, such stone bricks should be used for the construction of cities?"

Seeing that Zhang Aiji was asking, but he still didn't forget to pat the pile of stone bricks in his hand, the official couldn't help but hurriedly stepped forward and stood behind Zhang Aiji.

"Back to the old man's words, exactly."

"These stone bricks were originally cut by Shaofu for the purpose of building Chang'an."

"However, this time, the prince was ordered by His Majesty to major in the construction of Zheng Guoqu, so he ordered Shaofu to distribute 200,000 Shaofu stone bricks and transported them to Zheng Guoqu."

"The prince's meaning: The blockage of the Zhengguo Canal is due to the loss of soil in the upstream, and it goes down the river and blocks the river downstream."

"Therefore, this stone brick of 200,000 yuan is paved at the bottom of the Zhengguo Canal to consolidate the river mud in the upper reaches of the Zhengguo Canal, so as to prevent it from being rolled downstream by water and blocking the channel again······"

After speaking, the official couldn't help but quietly bow his head, bow down and bow again.

But when he saw that Zhang Yiji heard this, there was finally a little praise on his face, and he only nodded with a stiff face.

"Hmm."

"It's pretty good."

"If it is really a big construction, the old decay will inevitably have to repair a book and promise it to His Majesty in person!"

raised his head full of self-satisfaction, and saw that Zhang Aiji had smashed the dove cane in his hand twice.

"If the book is not comprehensible, the old decay should use a few rods given by His Majesty himself, and disdain his descendants to drink on behalf of His Majesty!!"

Listening to Zhang Aiji's frightening words, if anyone else said any of them, it might lead to death, the official couldn't help but wipe the cold sweat on his forehead with fear.

When Zhang Aiji turned around and looked at him with a calm face, the official's heart was even more violent, and it was raised to his throat······