In the county of Cenzhou, Yue Kaishan cleanly handled the official duties for a day. For Cenzhou now, there is actually not much official duties. A severe drought has made Cenzhou almost completely dead. Qin Feng's almost miraculous prayer for rain relieved the drought, but it only solved the problem of drinking water for humans and animals. As for the crops, it only replanted some winter wheat, but it will not be harvested until next year.

In Cenzhou, all rely on foreign food to support it. Using the method of labor-for-relief, Yue Kaishan began a grand project of excavating the canal.

This Grand Canal is not completely out of nothing. After surveying the terrain along the way, the masters from the Ministry of Works finally decided on the plan to make use of almost all the dry rivers or abandoned rivers in Cenzhou. Therefore, most of the projects are actually to dilute the original rivers and connect these rivers, which greatly reduces the workload.

Cenzhou has a wide area, but not many people. This time, almost all of them were on the battlefield. Most of them were digging and digging the river, while the other was building roads.

The roads in Cenzhou were extremely bad in the past. It was not easy to build a road from scratch. However, since the cement was established, it has become an easy thing to build a good road.

How could such a good thing be left by those omnipresent merchants from the Ming Dynasty? Countless large merchants from the Ming Dynasty gathered in Cenzhou, Yingzhou and other places, even if they advance their funds in advance, they would be willing to take on more projects.

Of course, these big businessmen are not good people. For them, places like Cenzhou and Yingzhou are basically a blank piece of paper in business. Those who enter early can naturally get the largest piece of cake in the future. If you want to occupy the market, you must first leave a good image in front of the people of Cenzhou and leave a good image in front of the officials of Cenzhou. What is the opportunity to show good impressions in front of the people of Cenzhou than entering now? You must know that now is the most difficult time for them.

The local commercial development of the Ming Dynasty was already very deep, and Chu has always been a very developed area of ​​commercial development. Moreover, in these places, merchants who took the lead had already divided up their territory, leaving little room for latecomers. Instead of fighting with powerful opponents in the same pot, it is better to open up a new territory.

Although Cenzhou is very poor now, once the canal is dug, it will be another scene.

Now in Cenzhou, it is a construction site that has been magnified countless times. Construction is underway everywhere.

What Yue Kaishan needs to do is actually to pay attention to the progress of the project, and then dispatch various resources entering from outside and allocate them. This is indeed a job that cannot be as small as a person like his.

So he is often busy on various construction sites. He hopes to advance the progress of the project more before the spring next year.

Grain is the courage of people. By the beginning of spring next year, there will be another spring sowing season. You must not miss the farming season. By then, there will be no more people available.

I can't always expect support from other places. For Yue Kaishan, the first thing he can't stand was his self-esteem. He started from a ruin when he was in Kunling County. To be honest, the current conditions in Cenzhou are better than those in Kunling County at that time.

He signed his name cleanly on the last document, and the chief minister next to him immediately stamped the seal of the county government and received the document aside. Yue Kaishan stood up.

"The horse is ready, where are you going today?" asked the chief.

"Go to Liuhe." Yue Kaishan was simple and authentic.

"Is the county magistrate still so interested in those steam engines?" The chief laughed, "I have been there three times."

"How can we not be interested?" Yue Kaishan laughed. "With these machines, our progress has accelerated countless times. I originally thought that at least the middle of next year, we would be able to connect Xiaotang River and Ju River. Now it seems that this task can be completed by the end of the year."

"Xiaotang River has been in desolate for many years, and the river almost no longer exists. The Ju River was originally cut off this year, but a heavy rain made him active again, but it also brought difficulty to our construction." Changshi was a little regretful.

"No matter what, I am very satisfied with the progress. This is a major project. I will be very happy to be able to fully connect within three to five years." Yue Kaishan smiled and said, "Changshi, just look at it. In three to five years, our Cenzhou will inevitably become the west Jiangnan."

"Of course I believe it." The chief laughed.

"After I leave, the county government will ask the chief minister for the choreography. I will be back in about ten days." Yue Kaishan said.

"Judges should be at ease. Speaking of which, there is nothing wrong now." The chief minister nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, a county guard outside the door hurried in, "Mr. Governor, someone has sent a greeting post to see you."

Yue Kaishan was slightly stunned, "Are they those businessmen?"

The guard shook his head: "It's not like, looking at it, it looks like a scholar."

"Scholar? How old is it?" Yue Kaishan took the reply and glanced at it. His face suddenly sank.

"Are you in your early forties!"

After holding the post and pondering for a moment, Yue Kaishan ordered: "Tell the man that I will go to Liuhe to inspect the construction site soon. If he wants, then walk with me. If you have anything to say, just say it on the way."

"Yes, the county magistrate!" The guard bowed and took the order and hurried away.

"Why do you know this person by the county magistrate?" the chief clerk asked.

Yue Kaishan nodded: "An old acquaintance hasn't seen him for many years, and he didn't expect to actually arrive in Cenzhou."

"So that's how it is!" The chief clerk smiled.

Yue Kaishan didn't say anything more, and turned around and headed straight out of the county government.

Outside, the guards accompanying him were ready to go, and on the other side, a middle-aged man in his early forties looked like a scholar, standing quietly where he was standing.

Yue Kaishan strode out of the mansion and looked at the man from afar.

"Brother Yue, I haven't seen you for many years, and the beauty is still there!" The man bowed his fists and bowed to the ground.

Yue Kaishan sighed and gave a gift: "Brother Zhou Lan, you haven't seen each other for many years, but you look much older."

"Walking around, I have a rare time to have free time, sleeping in the open, so I naturally look a little older, but I feel very good." Zhou Lan looked at Yue Kaishan with a smile.

"Let's go together, talk while walking." Yue Kaishan turned over and his horse.

Zhou Lan nodded without saying anything, turned over and walked side by side with Yue Kaishan.

Under Yue Kaishan's instructions, the guard behind him rode his horse slowly and gradually distanced himself from the two of them.

"Why did you come to Cenzhou?"

"How can we not come? Now, no one can get on the table except you and Zhou Jiyun." Zhou Lan curled his smile.

Yue Kaishan was silent for a moment, "What? Your plan is not going well?"

"It's not going well." Zhou Lan smiled bitterly: "The group of young talents we chose were excellent in Daqi, but in the Ming Dynasty, it was obvious that they were not suitable for the local conditions. The Ming Dynasty's official position system was completely different from that in Daqi. What they learned was not useful in Daqi. Everything had to be learned from scratch, but they had almost been established. Although they worked very hard, almost all of them were defeated in the competition again and again."

"Didn't do well in the autumn exam this time?" Yue Kaishan asked.

"It's not just bad. Thirty-eight people took the exams of the Beijing University, and only one passes the exam." Zhou Lan sighed: "Their articles are of course nothing, and their strategy is not bad, but they are defeated in subjects such as studying things and mathematics. If you can't enter the Beijing University, you can only go to the schools in various counties, but in this way, the starting point will be too low."

"Where are people from General Zhou who are not developing smoothly?"

"Brother Yue, you are more familiar with the military system of the Ming Dynasty than me. Where is the general? Originally, there were indeed many people. These people were extremely brave. If they could be under the general, they would be easy to be promoted with a little care. However, a major transfer this autumn, our people were transferred to pieces. We originally thought that they had been exposed, and this was done by the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty. Later, we found that these mobilizations by the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty were fundamentally an example, and the purpose was not to allow a large general to form some fixed forces. The various laws and regulations of the Ming army and the training system were exactly the same. No matter how the army was mobilized, it had little influence on combat effectiveness, and there was no major transfer of senior officers. But you also know that our people were just grassroots officers. When they were under other generals, there was a greater possibility of death on the battlefield." Zhou Lan was extremely bitter.

"This is how the Ming Dynasty. If you want to get up in the army, you can only rely on real military achievements." Yue Kaishan said in a low voice. "You can't think of taking shortcuts. What do you want to do when you come to me this time?"

Looking at Yue Kaishan, Zhou Lan suddenly became excited: "Brother Yue, after we graduated from the county school, we can only become officials first, but now we have a good opportunity. Didn't the Ming Dynasty give the right to select and employ people below the county government to the local area? If our people can come to you, wouldn't you be able to simply dismiss them as officials?"

Yue Kaishan smiled and said, "Do you want to turn Cenzhou into a base camp for the children of aristocratic families?"
Chapter completed!