Du Zhongxiao took Su Song to walk on the newly opened road, pointed to the big ditch that was being dug not far away, and said: "The states south of Kaifeng Mansion are low-lying and waterlogged every year. This land, as soon as it is waterlogged, it is easy to produce salinity, and this area is full of salt, and nothing grows. If you want to cultivate the fields here, the first thing is to cure the halogen. Large ditches are opened around the fields, and mounds of soil are raised and sent into the fields, which are called terraces and strips. ”

Su Song nodded again and again: "If this method is useful, when I go back, I will also open up some wasteland in Suzhou." The local government is the head of the government to recruit households, and there is no new land to be reclaimed, so why should it attract people? It's a great way to know. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "In fact, in the case of Ma Meng, the key personnel have already arrived, as long as they are strictly interrogated." This kind of thing, the manager Zheng Peng joined the army is the most suitable to do, why should we get involved? As long as you take a leisurely look, there are no mistakes in their trials. ”

Su Song felt the same way. Because of the seriousness of the case, the transfer envoy transferred an official from the neighboring Suzhou to the same trial, and it was Su Song. This made Du Zhongxiao overjoyed, but he didn't expect the two to get together in a few months. When you think about it, it's not surprising. The transfer of officials is to assist, not to re-try, and it can only be a shogun. Su Songxin arrived in Suzhou, if he was not allowed to come to this kind of errand, who else could he send?

Du Zhongxiao is a very pragmatic person, the most difficult time of Ma Meng's case has passed, and the rest is hard work, and now that there are many people involved in the trial, he will no longer ask about everything. Most of the energy is put into the cultivation of fields.

Because of Su Song's relationship with Du Zhongxiao, and because he doesn't like to work cases, most of his time is spent on coming to inspect the reclamation with Du Zhongxiao. He was originally a magistrate, and he did not need to participate in the preliminary interrogation in depth. Su Song's mind is extremely clear, and he knows what to do and what is not so important. There are many officials involved in the Ma Meng case now, and it may not take much credit to spend effort in it, but it is to cultivate the fields, and he learned the method from Du Zhongxiao, and he can do it when he returns to Suzhou, which is the real political achievement.

At this time, the mouth of the Bianhe River that diverts water from the Yellow River has been blocked, and the water in the river is getting shallower day by day, and there are no big boats to pass, only some small boats run short distances. In the entire upper reaches of the Bianhe River, more than 100,000 people were employed, including official and private merchant ships, and gradually began to lose their jobs. Winter is very difficult for people on the water, Du Zhongxiao cultivated fields in Yongcheng, and hired people to work, and it was not mandatory to settle down, which attracted many people. At this time, there are more than 300 households that have really settled in the local area, and there are more than 2,000 people who will live on the cultivated fields in the future, and more than 2,000 people will work here, which is very lively.

Seeing that several big ditches were being built together, Su Song said: "Such a large project uses a lot of manpower and costs a lot of money and food. If it weren't for the fact that he had a way to make money and had this mind, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to do it. ”

Du Zhongxiao smiled: "The way to make money is something that people come up with, as long as you use your brains, there is always a way." We are officials, not to make money for our own family, and many things are much more convenient. ”

Su Song nodded after hearing this, but did not speak. There are many officials who take advantage of their positions to do business, but most of them do so for their own gains, and they are used for official business, but only very few. The money earned is used for the public service, which is not in vain, and sometimes it is easy to say that it is not clear.

At this time, the war with the party gradually calmed down, and many of the former border guards were added to the rank and entered the imperial court. Some of them, such as Teng Zongliang and Zhang Kang, were impeached by the courtiers because the minister's money accounts were unknown, and the result was unpredictable. Du Zhongxiao learned a text "The Story of Yueyang Tower" in his previous life, which was written at this time, and the protagonist was Teng Zongliang in the same year as Fan Zhongyan.

When I was studying texts in my previous life, because of the relationship between the author Fan Zhongyan, the teacher mostly talked about this matter briefly, or was vague. Later, I came across some online rumors that Teng Zongliang was a big corrupt official, and that he burned the account books during the investigation, and what he did was appalling. Fan Zhongyan's article is well written, but it is actually a cry for a corrupt official. When I am really in this era, I know where things are so simple. Teng Zongliang was said that the accounts were unclear was the minister's money, and the imperial court had never checked the accounts, and the scope of use was extremely wide and the accounts were chaotic. It is the northwest, and the accounts are not burned, and I don't know how many characters have been pulled out, some of which are particularly sensitive to small tribes that had dealings with the Song Dynasty and the party at the same time. With the habits of officials at this time, I am afraid that they will not keep these Tibetan tribes secret, and ruin the trust of the imperial court.

Of course, if you think that Teng Zong is wronged, it is not necessarily. This person is not only in the northwest, but also has a reputation for loving money as an official in other places, and he uses soldiers and officials to collect money for himself. Teng Zongliang has a criminal record, and it is not him who is really unlucky in this matter, but Zhang Kang.

After the war eased, the Northwest investigated the accounts of the minister's money, setting a very bad precedent, so that the officials did not dare to let go of their hands and feet economically.

Du Zhongxiao is a cautious person, and the start-up capital for his land reclamation is the Yongcheng tax allowed by the state. Then I made a time difference, used the money to build a workshop for making fireworks and firecrackers, and then used the money earned to cultivate the land, and the accounts were clear. Su Song didn't know this, so he didn't want to say much.

After walking a short distance, when he arrived at a small pond, Du Zhongxiao said to Su Song: "The groundwater level here is too high, and the water will come out if it is not dug deep, which is the most troublesome." Every other section, a low-lying place is selected as a pond to accommodate flowing water. Only in this way can the water in front of us be diverted through a deep ditch, section by piece, and finally into the river. ”

Su Song nodded: "The Bianhe River in the east is raised because of the accumulation of sediment and the riverbed, this method is feasible." ”

"Yes, the channel of the Bianhe River is high, and when the water is released in the next year, water can be diverted from there to irrigate the terraced fields that have been built. The river water is full of sediment, which is a good fertilizer, and it is also alkaline. With such a two-pronged approach, this will be a fertile land. ”

Su Song is very knowledgeable, and he knows everything about miscellaneous books, and when he talks about these things with Du Zhongxiao, he is the Tao.

The place where Du Zhongxiao chose to reclaim the land is between the Bianhe River and the Lianshui, one of the two rivers has a high river channel and a low river channel, so there is a natural drop. Open a deep ditch and use natural flowing water to achieve drainage and silt irrigation, which is very convenient.

Du Zhongxiao thought clearly, although he could gain some reputation by handling cases by himself, but what really showed his political achievements was to reclaim wasteland and solicit household registration. Officials take the exam, this is the first place.

A shed on the edge of Pitang is a resting place for land reclamation workers. Du Zhongxiao and Su Song walked under the shed and said, "Let's rest here." ”

The two sat down, the entourage served tea, and Du Zhongxiao said to Su Song: "Zirong, the case of Ma Meng under the rule this time is very widely implicated. I made a rough estimate that if it was poor, most of the officials in Yongcheng would have to be removed, and many officials in the state would be implicated. The officials in the county, especially the yaqian who is in charge of all kinds of official property, have always been big households. Arrest all these people and track them down one by one, but I am afraid that most of the big local families will have to break their homes. Although it is difficult for powerful people to be innocent, but with such a big deal, the place will inevitably be unstable. What do you think? ”

Su Song smiled: "I've been here for two days, and I know your arrangement." This side is extremely solemn and courteous, but the Yongcheng County Ya outside does not leak a trace of rumors. These days, I have heard that many snakes and rats, including yamen officials, have fled to other places. From this point of view, you already have a certain number in your mind. It's nothing more than that the first offender, Ma Meng, will not be forgiven, and the people in the yamen will not easily touch them. If it's not a great evil, that's it. - There is no way to do it, to stabilize the place, it can only be so. Don't worry, I'm here and I'll help you. ”

Du Zhongxiao thanked him. Benzhou has Han Yi's support, and Du Zhongxiao is sure to solve the problem in his own way. Su Song, who came from other states, would be fine if he didn't object. Du Zhongxiao wants to rectify the place, not to paralyze the government.