Before you know it, it's late autumn, and the green of the surrounding mountains has faded and replaced it with a golden yellow, a depressed scene. The work in the fields has been busy, the seeds that should be planted, the harvest that should be harvested, and the area of the Volcano Army has become lively. The people who run the fields are busy building roads and canals, and the rest of the households are engaged in all kinds of small businesses.

With the construction of the road from the Baode Army to Bingzhou, the cart business of the Volcano Army was booming for a while. On the main road to the south, from time to time, you can see dozens of wheel chassis piled together, connected front and back, and several horses pulling south.

Last month, Zheng Jian transferred dozens of car-making craftsmen from the Volcano Army to build a car-making workshop in Bingzhou. It's just that the car is easy to make, and they can't do the most critical bearings yet, so they have to buy it from the Volcano Army.

With the construction of roads and the popularity of large carts, the demand for horses for the inland state army on Hedong Road increased sharply. The requirements for horses used to pull carts were low, and there was no possibility of being used as military horses, and even the Khitan was exported on a large scale. Next to the camp is on the avenue, and you can see a large herd of horses passing by every day.

Just after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Director Lu sent by the Strategy Division arrived at the Volcano Army and prepared to stay in Tanglong Town.

Du Zhongxiao held a banquet in Jiuqu Building, received Director Lu, and explained relevant matters to him.

After three rounds of drinking, Du Zhongxiao said: "Principal, although Tanglong Town is a town, it has a vast territory and prosperous business, which is not as good as other places. The director should be careful when he takes up his post there. ”

Director Lu bowed his hand: "When the subordinate came here, he was repeatedly instructed by the minister to act according to the instructions of the Zhijun. Before the lower official left, he hoped that the army would not hesitate to advise. Xia Guan was in the city of Bingzhou, and was in charge of the fur yard there under the order of the Jing Strategy Division, and he was no stranger to doing business. However, there are many different places in Tanglong Town, and it is inevitable that I don't know what to pay attention to. ”

Du Zhongxiao, who is also the judge of the Economic Strategy Division, is the direct superior of Director Lu, and he does not reserve it, and tells him about the situation in Tanglong Town. Finally, he said: "The most important thing is in the business, and there are supervisors in the cabinet and each store, unless there is a special matter, just don't interfere with them." ”

Director Lu arched his hand: "The lower official has written it down." ”

In fact, the director of the cabinet workshop can directly send a letter to the envoy, and even Du Zhongxiao can't completely control it, let alone Lu. As long as the cabinet shop in Tanglong Town is stable, there will be no waves in other businesses.

Listening to Du Zhongxiao's introduction to the situation in Tanglong Town, Director Lu couldn't help but be shocked. I had thought about it before I came, but I didn't expect the actual situation to be more complicated. The business that is often over 10,000 is even more shocking. I secretly decided in my heart that I would talk less and watch more, and learn to talk again.

After drinking and eating, Lu crossed the river and went to Tanglong Town. After he arrives there, Zhang Qi will leave Tanglong Town and replace Wang Kai as the head of the Linfu Road Army and Horse Division. With the easing of relations with the Khitan and Yelu Buhua sitting there, there is no need for Tanglong Town to be guarded.

Back at the residence, Du Zhongxiao had just drunk a cup of tea, and Shisanlang ran in excitedly, raised a letter in his hand and said to Du Zhongxiao: "Official, the old man went to Shu and handed over a letter to his family, take a look at what is written inside!" ”

This is the advantage of being an official, you can use the official mailing system to send home letters, which is quite convenient.

Du Zhongxiao opened it and looked at it, his father Du Xun and the sugar merchant entered Sichuan and went all the way to Zizhou. Seeing that the climate, water and soil were suitable, he bought hundreds of hectares of mountainous land and prepared to plant sugarcane. In the same year of Du Zhongxiao, Guo Qi served as a magistrate there, and with him to take care of him, everything was safe.

In the second year of Qingli, there were hundreds of Jinshi, Sichuan Gorge belonged to the border land, and the conditions were better than those of Fujian and Liangguang, according to the principle of one term near one term and one term far away, there was always Du Zhongxiao in the same year as an official near Zizhou. The Du family just buys land to grow sugarcane, and does not do anything illegal and undisciplined, so it is not difficult to take care of it.

The letter described in detail the situation in Zizhou, which is hilly and rich in water resources. However, Shu is densely populated, and there is not much wasteland, so large-scale land can only buy hilly and mountainous land, but fortunately, there is no obstacle to planting sugarcane. The advantage is that the population is large, there is no shortage of labor, and it is easy to hire people as long as you are given money.

Du Zhongxiao put down the letter and told the content to Shisanlang.

Shisanlang said excitedly: "I have also asked people these days, and they all say that Shu is prosperous, rich in products, women are charming, and the family has an industry there. ”

Du Zhongxiao said with a smile: "When I enter Beijing as an official, you can go on a trip, and bring a lady back by the way." ”

Hearing this, Shisanro touched his head and smiled. He is just twenty years old this year, and he is old enough to marry. However, at this time, the phenomenon of late marriage and late marriage is very common, and he followed Du Zhongxiao everywhere, but he was not in a hurry.

After reading the letter, Shisanlang pestered Du Zhongxiao again and asked a lot about the situation in Zizhou, before he reluctantly left. He was at the age when he wanted to travel all over the world, and he was obviously interested in the sugar cane plantations thousands of miles away.

Thirteen Lang left, and Du Zhongxiao took the letter and thought about it. The situation in officialdom is changing, and no matter how good your political performance is, it is difficult to talk about the future. Since he is a human being in two lifetimes and cannot be a big official, he must be a big official, and it is necessary to buy some industries. It is a good thing for my father to build a sugarcane plantation in Shudi, which is fully developed, basically free of danger, and can accumulate experience. When you get bigger, you can choose a more suitable place.

In Du Zhongxiao's memory, the most suitable place to grow sugarcane is still Liangguang. It's just that Lingnan is underdeveloped now, not to mention Guangxi, even Guangdong is an extremely remote frontier. Except for a few states near Wuling, most of them are vast and sparsely populated, and there are not many Han Chinese. Even the area around Guangzhou, due to the destruction of the late Tang Dynasty, has not recovered now, and the land is vast and sparsely populated.

The future is uncertain, Du Zhongxiao inevitably often swings between home and country, and has no clear plan for the future.

At the end of August, more than a month after Wang Kai entered Beijing, a decree came to let Du Zhongxiao enter Beijing and summon the academy. It was clearly stated in the decree that it was recommended by Zheng Jian and Quan Zhi Kaifeng Mansion Ming Hao, and it was Wang Kai who contributed to it.

Zheng Jian needless to say, although he has been working on Hedong Road, he has always been official with Du Zhongxiao and has no personal relationship, but he has always appreciated Du Zhongxiao. Ming Hao also served as the envoy of Hedong, and when he left office, he recommended Wang Kai and Zhang Qi.

After receiving the decree, Du Zhongxiao was a little at a loss for a while. The Volcano Army has just developed, and it is inevitable that he will be a little unwilling to leave. And the pavilion is a kind of minister, and he doesn't know if he can do it. At the same time, I was a little excited, calling for the academy and taking the library position, which was the second important exam after the Jinshi of Wenchen, and once it passed, it had a bright future.

In the following days, several major events occurred in a row in the Volcano Army. First of all, the location of the camp was Huoshan County, and Cheng Wenli, the magistrate, temporarily served as the county commander, waiting for the imperial court to send the county commander over, and then handed over. After the establishment of the county, the yamen of the Volcano Army was moved from the military city to the volcano county. Since then, the Volcano Army has a subordinate county, and it has begun to slowly transform into a state.

At this time, the Volcano Army was no longer comparable to the small border states when Du Zhongxiao first came, and the successor was particularly cautious. After another ten days, it was decided that Jing Youjin Shishi Meng would take over Du Zhongxiao, and the military general would no longer serve as the chief officer.

A series of administrative divisions and personnel changes have excited the military and civilians of the Volcano Army. The administrative upgrade also benefits the people, not to mention the officials of the yamen, from the official rank to the wealth, everyone looks forward to it. Only Du Zhongxiao silently waited for the arrival of the new Zhijun Cheng Shi Meng.

(Happy New Year to all!) ）