Chapter 455 Storm is coming

Nandi

Xie Zhan knelt in front in his official uniform, welcoming the imperial edict, followed by his family and servants.

The sharp voice of the eunuch announcing the imperial edict was piercing.

Finally, the eunuch finished reading the long imperial edict. Xie Zhan, as required, kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.

At this time, the housekeeper of Xie's house hurriedly stepped forward to greet the eunuch announcing the imperial edict.

Everyone present stood up one after another, with different expressions, more of them were nervous or uneasy or terrified.

The emperor deliberately issued an edict to reprimand him, and Xie Zhan accepted it calmly.

Look, he asked someone to send 300,000 taels to the queen's family, didn't he also accomplish a matter of millions?

He comforted his family a few words, and asked the housekeeper to entertain the eunuch announcing the imperial edict, and then returned to the outer study.

"Go and invite Mr. Jiang."

The book boy received the order and went quickly.

Xie Zhan returned to the room and slowly poured himself a cup of tea.

Jiang Boya was his counselor who managed internal affairs for the third time. When he visited for the first time, Jiang Boya just smiled and didn't respond to his appreciation and solicitation.

This year, after becoming the governor of Lingnan, he went again, but this time Jiang Boya was out and he didn't see him.

The last time was when he came back from Shu, he deliberately took a detour to visit Jiang Boya again.

This time, Jiang Boya was finally moved by him, packed his bags, and returned to the South with him.

After returning to the South, he began to exercise the power of the governor, and Jiang Boya assisted him in sorting out the political affairs of Lingnan and the personnel of the three counties.

At the end of last year, he had been running around visiting celebrities and celebrities to recruit talented people.

At that time, a small number of people accepted his recruitment, and after he became the governor of Lingnan, many came to him for fame and fortune.

These people were either appointed to suitable positions by him or filled into the official team of the governor's office.

With the assistance of talents, he began to work on restoring the economy of the South.

The large-scale construction in Pingzhou cannot be concealed. They can build the Southland based on the construction of Pingzhou, take advantage of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses.

Xie Zhan asked the family to take out half of the three million taels brought back from Shujun and Gusu, and gradually invest in the construction of the three counties in the Southland.

At the same time, let the four major families in the Southland cooperate with the government's orders.

Qiao Xitong, Hu Jiangyi, Liao Xuewang and others, who are allies, have also invested in the Southland.

Millions of taels have been invested in the Southland, creating many job opportunities for the people in the Southland.

The people in the Southland have really benefited. The current Southland may not be as good as Pingzhou, but it is much better than ordinary prefectures and counties.

When Jiang Boya arrived, Xie Zhan was already sipping tea with a calm expression.

"Sir Xie, did the emperor issue an imperial edict to reprimand you?"

"Isn't it expected?" Xie Zhan said lightly, "Mr. Jiang, how about we play a game of chess?"

Jiang Boya nodded, and then sat opposite him.

The two discussed political affairs while playing chess.

"Mr. Jiang, it's really autumn now, and the storm is coming." Xie Zhan sighed.

Jiang Boya also knew the plan for Pingzhou. He placed a piece and then smiled, "Master Xie's trick of borrowing a knife to kill is good."

Xie Zhan smiled lightly. He had made all the arrangements for Pingzhou. Next, it depends on the opponent's response.

Jiang Boya placed a white piece, "If Pingzhou can't survive, Master Xie can use this to eliminate a strong enemy."

Xie Zhan immediately placed a black piece next to him, "If it survives, then we will take this step and force Pingzhou to rebel. "Zuo Zhuan" says that the one who starts the disaster will die, and the emperor can order the world to attack it together."

"Master Xie, have you ever thought that if Pingzhou survives this crisis, it will definitely come out on top, and what about the South?" Pingzhou faces risks and opportunities.

Looking at the chess pieces that are not in his advantage, Xie Zhan frowned.

Jiang Boya took a sip of the tea next to him and waited for him to make a choice.

Pingzhou

The four counties of Pingzhou, including Liaoxi County, Liaodong County, and Lelang County, are adjacent to the Xianbei in the north, and their walls need to be re-raised and reinforced.

Before the construction, Pingzhou directly pulled up a canvas nearly ten feet high to block the construction site and block the sight of the Xianbei people exploring not far away.

At dawn, the laborers began to work, and the laborers worked in groups of seven or eight.

The group at the edge, seven or eight laborers, were all veterans, and they prepared all the materials in a short time.

"Brother Chen, the lime mortar has been mixed according to the proportion."

The one who called Brother Chen hummed, indicating that he knew.

The other team members looked around, as long as they put the cooked glutinous rice soup in it, they would mix all the materials evenly and it would be ready to use.

But, "Where is the glutinous rice soup?"

"The glutinous rice soup is not cooked." Brother Chen said.

The team members looked at each other, not cooked? What should we do next?

At this time, someone came over with a peculiar wheelbarrow, on which were two bulging large sacks.

"Isn't it here?" Brother Chen stood up.

The laborers wanted to help unload the goods.

The man pushing the cart said no, and just asked them to step aside a little, then the bucket flipped, and the two sacks of goods were unloaded, and then he pushed the empty cart away, and had to continue transporting goods.

The team members also looked at the strange-looking wheelbarrow for a few more times.

"Brother Chen, what is this?"

"Oh, this new thing is called cement."

Hearing this, the laborers understood that this was probably made by the Seventh Institute of Technology again. Many new things and new toys that appeared in Pingzhou in the past two years were all from the Seventh Institute of Technology.

"Come on, carry it to the side."

The laborers spontaneously went in groups of two to carry a sack, but they found that once they started, "Oh, this sack of cement is really heavy."

Brother Chen asked them to open the sack and pour cement into the lime and gravel according to the ratio, and arranged four more people to fetch water.

"Brother Chen, don't we use glutinous rice soup?"

"No, we use cement instead."

No wonder they didn't see the big pot for making glutinous rice soup.

The laborers chatted while working.

"Two bags of cement so heavy, the big brother just used that wheelbarrow to easily carry them here."

"I don't know how much it costs. If there is such a wheelbarrow at home, it will be very convenient to carry something."

"Indeed, isn't it almost autumn harvest? If we use it to transport grain, we don't have to hurt our shoulders and bend our waists."

After cement and lime and gravel are dry-mixed in proportion, water is poured in to stir.

It didn't take long to mix.

The laborers found that it was much more convenient to mix cement mortar than glutinous rice soup.

They used to mix glutinous rice soup and lime mortar to bond the bricks and stones of the city wall.

Gao Jinghe, as the master craftsman of the civil engineering workshop, is also the master craftsman responsible for building the city wall in front of him. After finishing his work, he began to inspect and check whether the craftsmanship of the craftsmen under him was up to standard.

Every time he passed a craftsman, he would stop and watch. If the work was not good, he would give some guidance. If the work was good, he would stand for a while and then nod and continue to move forward.

Pingzhou's construction of the city gate and city wall was quite loud, and it could not be hidden from the Xianbei sentinels living nearby.

"Are the southerners repairing their city walls? They also pulled up a curtain. Is it to prevent us?"

"Yes, it's just a city wall, and it's quite mysterious."

The Xianbei sentry finally sneered, "Not very capable, but a lot of work."