In the fifth year of the Great Song Dynasty, after the last squirming snowfall, the curtain came to an end.

At the end of the year, Di Qing's class returned to the dynasty and brought back the envoys and national letters of the Li Dynasty.

After the collapse of the Li clan in Annam, Di Qing followed Zhao Jun's instructions to support a twelve-year-old descendant of the former Li Dynasty to come to power.

Because the former Li Dynasty was not popular with the people, the former Li Dynasty had to be dependent on the rule of the Great Song Dynasty.

The child who was supported didn't understand, but the other adults of the Li family did. Therefore, after the Li family took power again, he flattered Di Qing to the extreme.

Internally, they immediately propped up their forces and brutally suppressed the opposition. Externally, he regarded the Great Song Dynasty as his parents, not only compared Zhao Zhen to his father's country in the above table, but also surrendered himself to the king of Annam, and was no longer the outer king and inner emperor like before, which was quite a bit of Zhao Gou's flavor.

Now the entire national power is basically in the hands of Di Qing, and for a time Di Qing became the emperor of Annan, and he was in the limelight for a while.

However, Di Qing did not stay in Annam for long, because it was impossible for the imperial court to let a high-ranking general lead the troops for a long time, so the Manchu Dynasty was playing both civil and military, and Zhao Zhen summoned him back.

Di Qing asked Yang Cha, the Guangxi Road Transit Envoy, to temporarily take charge of Annam, and then left a group of troops in Thang Long and Jiangnan Provinces, that is, the later cities of Hanoi and Haiphong in Vietnam, and returned to China with the envoys and letters of the new king of Annam.

Yang Cha, as the transfer envoy of Guangnan West Road, was actually sent by Zhao Jun to deal with this matter, so he naturally had to take this matter to heart.

Now the imperial court has moved the Guangnan West Road Administration from Guizhou to Yongzhou, which is equivalent to moving from Guilin to Nanning.

First, the development of Yongzhou is indeed better than that of Guizhou, and second, the relationship between Yongzhou and Annan can be developed nearby and the situation in Annan can be controlled.

It's just that Yongzhou is close to Annan, but after all, the living conditions over there are extremely bad, and it is impossible for the Great Song Dynasty to personally annex Annan, and Yang Cha naturally cannot always be in Shenglong.

So he asked Nong Zhigao to stay in Annan as the envoy of the Great Song Dynasty in Annan, and was in charge of the Great Song army stationed in Annan.

Nong Zhigao was still a little unhappy.

Joke.

He finally became a local official in the Great Song Dynasty, and he also fantasized about becoming an official and being transferred to Bianliang.

The ghost just wanted to go to Annan, where the birds don't and the climate is very hot.

But Yang Cha also asked him to go to Annam for a reason.

First of all, Nong Zhigao is more familiar with Annan's situation, which is conducive to controlling the situation.

The second is that Nong Zhigao, as the leader of the border ethnic minorities, can properly handle the problems of the ethnic minorities on the border between Annam and the Great Song Dynasty.

Last but not least, Nong Zhigao and his tribe had a feud with Annan, and it was impossible for the Annan people to accept him, which completely put an end to the intention of the officials sent by the Great Song Dynasty to become kings by relying on the whip of the imperial court.

Therefore, based on these three reasons, Yang Cha let Nong Zhigao be stationed in Annan first, and promised to report his merits to the imperial court, which made Nong Zhigao reluctantly stay in Annan as the little emperor.

In this way, the entire Great Song army in Annam would be garrisoned by ship from Guangxi and Guangdong, so that Jiaozhi would be completely under the control of the Great Song army.

However, it is still the same sentence, this time the army was dispatched, nominally because the Vietnamese Li Dynasty had repeatedly violated the Great Song border, so the Shang Kingdom destroyed the Li clan by thunder, not annexed Annam.

The Annamite people still rule by themselves, but naturally they can no longer be like the Li Dynasty, but call themselves the king of Annam, and officially establish the Great Song Dynasty Annam vassal state.

This can be regarded as a fig leaf for Annan.

As for who is in power behind this, it can only be said that everyone understands.

In addition to Annam, the rest of the Liao, Western Xia, Dali, Goryeo, Japan and other neighboring countries also sent envoys to celebrate.

In particular, the Liao State and the Western Xia were shocked to learn that the great Annan had been wiped out in two months, and the Li family had changed dynasties.

Except for the Liao State who was painlessly angry and secretly accused the Great Song Dynasty of acting in a domineering style, the rest of the countries were all wise and decisive in the Great Song Dynasty.

After all, the Great Song Dynasty is also famous for sending troops this time, and it can be regarded as greeting all countries, and the results of this dispatch also make the surrounding countries feel frightened, so no one dares to point fingers.

When the New Year came, Zhao Zhen handled diplomatic matters, met with foreign envoys, held various celebrations, and also sent envoys out to congratulate various countries.

The East Asian circle celebrates the Lunar New Year, so the New Year is also the most lively time in the East Asian circle, and it is also the time when exchanges are most frequent.

This year, in addition to the major countries in the neighboring countries, even many countries in the Western Regions, Central Asia, and the Middle East sent envoys early, and after the prosperity of commerce and trade, the influence of the Great Song Dynasty was further expanded.

Strictly speaking, those countries in the Western Regions, Central Asia, and the Middle East had nothing to do with the Great Song Dynasty, and had no international political involvement except for commercial and trade exchanges.

However, Zhao Jun could not stand the layout in advance, and when he toured the country in the early years, he had already told local officials in Guangzhou, Zhejiang, Shaanxi and other places to take the initiative to send people out to understand the style of foreign countries and promote exchanges and cooperation.

In addition, the handicraft industry of the Great Song Dynasty flourished, and the goods were deeply liked by the Middle East and Europe, which led to the great importance of those white-robed monarchies in the Middle East.

The Middle East is now in the late Abbasid period, and the powerful empire that defeated the Tang Dynasty in the Battle of Talas is facing serious internal divisions.

From the eighth century onwards, there were as many as seven or eight independent kingdoms, large and small, and in the days when there was no oil system, they were not wealthy, and they also had to do business to survive in the nomadic system.

Although due to the Crusades, they had poor relations with Europe. However, this did not prevent these white-robed monarchies from purchasing tea, porcelain, and silk from the Great Song Dynasty and selling them to medieval Europe, and then purchasing ores, spices and other raw materials from Europe, Africa and other places to transport them to the Great Song Dynasty.

Under such preconditions, the Great Song Dynasty became the factory and market of Arab merchants in the Middle East, whether it was exported goods or imported goods from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, they had to travel back and forth to the Great Song Dynasty.

Therefore, the Arab world naturally had to have good relations with the Great Song Dynasty, lest the Great Song Dynasty refuse their raw materials and not give them export goods.

Time.

Since the Tang Dynasty, the Great Song Dynasty has a faint feeling that all countries are coming to the dynasty.

At the end of the year, various departments were on holiday, and the Constitutional Yuan was also idle.

In November, the statistics of various departments were basically handed over to the prime ministers of the Constitutional Yuan for approval and verification, and from December to January, the imperial court basically belonged to the state of taking a few days off, going to work for a few days, taking a few days off, and working for a few more days.

Zhao Jun is also a family man now, and after staying at home for two days, he can't sit still.

He thought that he had been repairing the river embankment in the past few years, and the flooding of the Yellow River in the eighth year of Qingli was about to happen in two years, and he didn't know how the specific project had happened in these years, so he decided to inspect it.

After Cao Xiu said hello to Zhao Zhen, he left Bianliang quite low-key.

As a result, as soon as he left the city, Jia Changchao followed.

After all, he was presiding over the Yellow River canal repair project, and since Zhao Jun was going to inspect the Yellow River, he naturally had to accompany him.

The first thing they inspected was the section of the canal dug north from Kaifeng, which was a project set by Zhao Jun at the beginning of this year, which was funded by the Ministry of Finance in the first half of the year and organized by the Ministry of Industry, and Jia Changchao was often watching.

It was late winter, but it was about to start spring, and it snowed heavily in the north. The snow spreads all over the land, and although it is not as bitter cold as in the northeast, it is also biting.

Zhao Jun and Jia Changchao made a relatively low-key trip, and the two of them sat in a carriage, while roasting a fire, while discussing the diversion of the canal in two years.

"Last year, we used 120,000 people to excavate, and now the main section of the canal has basically been completed, and almost in the first half of next year, the canal can be officially passed."

Jia Changchao introduced the situation of the new canal in the car.

"Well, that's a good thing."

Zhao Jun said: "The new canal can not only drive the economy along the line, but also flood discharge and waterproofing, the only worry is that there are too many canals, once the Yellow River is flooded, the Bianqu plus the new canal, it is easy to flood the Bianliang, so the canal must pass from more than 20 miles outside the city." ”

Jia Changchao said: "Now our economy has not developed outside the city, at the beginning there are still some inconvenient transportation, if we build a wharf on the bank of the canal, I am afraid it will take a land route to send to the city." ”

"That can't be helped, the three easy return to the river is very harmful, although in the past ten years, we have carried out many projects on the Yellow River, but whether it can change this history is still unknown, so we still have to work harder, we must do a good job of the Yellow River." As for the economy, we will expand the city next year. ”

Zhao Jun lifted the curtains and looked out the window.

Outside the window, there is almost no one on the official road. A huge ravine had been dug in the east at this time, but there were no people on the construction site, and they all went home for the New Year.

However, it seems that construction has been built along the canal, and there are many shacks and houses, and nearby villages and towns are also lively.

That's good for construction.

Because the canal in Bianliang only has two sections, east and west, and no north and south.

Therefore, Henan Mansion to the west of the canal and Yingtianfu to the east are very prosperous. In the north, Fengqiu, Changyuan, and Yucheng, as well as Yingchang and Ruzhou in the south, have not developed much.

If we can build a canal from Bianliang north to the Yellow River and south to Nanyang, then we will not only be able to connect the north and the south, but also make plans for the future.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project was one such route.

It's just that there are too many canals in Bianliang, and it will be unlucky if there is a big flood, so the flood discharge and flood control projects around Bianliang still have to be done well, and in addition to the canals, a large number of ditches and reservoirs must be dug and built to achieve the purpose of regulating water resources.

"Yes."

Jia Changchao nodded, then also looked out the window and said, "Zhiyuan, I'm about to go to Fengqiu." ”

"Hmm."

Zhao Jun responded, and asked casually: "I asked Xia Zhu last month, in recent years, in order to repair the river, the imperial court has allocated almost seventy or eighty million yuan, has there been any corruption among them?" ”

Jia Changchao sighed in his heart, he really didn't know if there was corruption, because he actually went to see the river repair project once or twice a month.

After all, as the prime minister, it is impossible to run to the construction site every day, and he doesn't know whether the people below have deceived their superiors and subordinates.

But now that the leader asked, if he didn't know it clearly, it would obviously be a problem, so he thought for a moment and replied: "There must still be corruption, but the amount is not large, so it has not been reported to the prefect." ”

"Hmm"

Zhao Jun nodded slightly and said: "The money allocated by the imperial court is for the quality of the river embankment, and the reinforcement of the canal and the river embankment is done well, which is a thousand-year project." A little corruption is nothing, just deal with it. But if there is large-scale corruption that affects the quality of the river embankment and causes irreversible consequences, then you need to be careful with your head. ”

"Yes, yes, yes."

Jia Changchao suddenly pinched a handful of sweat, and said busily: "In this item, the official will take care of it, and it is bound not to let people take advantage of the gaps." ”

He decided to start next year and personally visit the construction sites where the embankments were being repaired and start checking the accounts. Regardless of whether there is corruption or deficit, it must be checked and cleaned to ensure the quality of the project.

"Well, after such a big project, the country will have to do a lot every year, and the strict requirements of quality first must be conveyed. If any of the levees burst, destroy, or collapse due to quality problems, then don't blame me for turning my face and not recognizing people. ”

Zhao Jun's tone was a lot more stern.

"Yes."

Jia Changchao replied again.

The convoy moved on.

The wind and snow had long since stopped, and the warm sun outside was shining on the ground.

They set out in the morning, prepared to eat in Fengqiu at noon, and then arrived in Changyuan in the evening, and are expected to go to Huazhou tomorrow to inspect the situation of the Yellow River project.

However, it was less than ten miles away from the sealed hill, and behind the slope of the road ahead, three or four hundred people suddenly appeared, surrounding the convoy.

"Bastard, what do you want to do?"

"Bang bang!"

Two gunshots rang out, and there was chaos outside.

Zhao Jun and Jia Changchao's faces changed slightly, and they lifted the curtains and glanced out.

This is on the edge of the official road, on the left side is a small hill, no more than ten meters high, and there are one or two hundred people on the periphery with axes and knives, and there are more than ten people on the hillside, holding guns at them.

Although there were more than a hundred of their guards, all of whom had guns, they did not dare to fight back at this moment, and the leading generals were forced to retreat step by step.

The guard next to him came to the window in a panic and said, "Zhiyuan, Jia Xiang, someone outside stopped the car and robbed the property, and killed our two brothers, they have guns in their hands. ”

"Where's your guns? Is it a burning stick? ”

Jia Changchao was furious.

"They hid behind the hill and shot, but we didn't dare to shoot back."

The guard said.

As soon as you shoot back, it's a big trouble.

Because they had hills as shelters, they were directly on the avenue.

In addition, there is snow on the road, and the carriage is not easy to run and turn, once the situation expands, they die and the matter is small, what will happen to the two people in the car?

"Give them the belongings on them, take the bodies of the dead soldiers, and we will return."

Zhao Jun said in a deep voice.

"Yes."

The guard answered.

Then the attendant, who was carrying silver taels and copper coins, opened the bag on his body, revealing the bright money and scattered it on the ground.

Zhao Jun traveled more than 100 people, not only carriages, but also more than 100 horses, people eat horses and chew, the cost is naturally not paid by the local finance, but he pays for it himself, so he brought a lot of money out, brought by the close guards, I am afraid that it will be tens of thousands.

So much money was thrown on the ground, which suddenly made those people's eyes glow green, if it weren't for the fear that the other party also had a gun in his hand, I am afraid that he would have rushed up to grab it a long time ago.

The convoy slowly retreated while throwing money around.

The coachman turned the carriage with difficulty, and the rest of the soldiers dismounted and turned back, and the twenty or so soldiers at the front formed a defensive formation, and when the money was gone, the convoy turned successfully, and then the horses were turned and followed the team.

At this time, the ground was full of money, and when they went farther, hundreds of people rushed out in a swarm and began to pick up money on the ground with joy.

A young man with a spear on the hillside looked at the situation below, and said worriedly to a man in his thirties next to him: "Tuantou, those people have guns, and they come out with so much money, I'm afraid they are some kind of big official." ”

"What about the big officials? Can we still be caught? When the time comes, as soon as the clothes are taken off, they will be mixed in the river workers who repair the river, and they will not be able to find it. ”

The man laughed, and then said: "I have made a fortune this time, I must celebrate it well, and I will go to Chunfeng Tower tonight, and the girls will pick and choose." ”

"Okay."

"Hahaha, it's better to make money with the head of the group."

"That is, how powerful our group leader is, who among the river workers who repair the river is not convinced by our group leader."

"Have fun tonight."

These people laughed and laughed as if they had won a great battle.

And at the moment.

In the convoy that had already moved away from here, Zhao Jun leaned against the board with his eyes closed.

His face.

It's already iron-green.

(End of chapter)