Chapter 415: Integrating Resources

"Is Rong County so poor? Can the county government provide food?" Su Laoer was skeptical.

"Last year, when County Magistrate Yan was in office, he promoted double-season rice, and we harvested a lot of grain, so we can cope with it." Su Lao San replied.

After Wang Duanfang was captured, the acting county magistrate Liu Zhang took inventory of the county government's assets and found only a little grain in the granary.

Although County Magistrate Yan was in a bad mood, he still implemented the state government's orders without much interference.

The officials below followed suit and did nothing, except for the head of the household department, Song Wansan, who was busy forcing each village to plant two crops of rice.

Although Wang Duanfang exploited the people's wealth, he knew what he could and could not do.

He is not brave enough to touch the granary, otherwise ten heads would be enough to chop off.

So Su Lao Er and Su Lao San brought their respective officials and Su Ying to discuss how Rong County could build roads with part-time labor and part-corvee labor, including Rong County's agricultural deployment and road construction arrangements after the New Year.

Road construction was all done during the slack season. We had to calculate the time well and cooperate with each other to reverse the decline of Rong County as soon as possible.

When it comes to road construction, the men from Huanggou Village are involved.

"Second Uncle, at this rate, it will take decades to complete the construction of Lingnan's roads!" Su Ying said.

Lingnan Road had a total of 45 prefectures, with its seat in Guangzhou. Its jurisdiction included all of present-day Fujian, all of Guangdong, most of Guangxi, southeastern Yunnan, Hainan, and northern Vietnam.

It was divided into five military governorates: Guangzhou, Guizhou, Rongzhou, Yongzhou, and Annan, also known as the Five Governorates of Lingnan.

At the rate of repairing one state road per year, it would take at least forty-five years.

Wuzhou has a small jurisdiction and is located right at the doorstep, so it’s easy to get things done because there are many acquaintances there, and the construction was completed in just one year.

Other states do not have this convenience and cannot achieve this efficiency, and coordination and construction will be delayed for a long time.

It may take two or three years to complete the construction of a state, and my second uncle may not be able to complete the construction of the Lingnan Official Road in two lifetimes.

"Yeah, I know!" Su Laoer is not a fool, how could he not figure it out?

Officials are adjusted every three years or so. Maybe he would stay in Lingnan for ten years like Lu Zhaoshi, or maybe he would be transferred after three years.

In the future, not only Lingnan Road will build official roads, but all places will also be mobilized to build them.

If it is upgraded to a national strategic road construction, then no one can escape the fate of road construction, so Su Laoer is not anxious at all.

"Second Uncle! Building the road like this is too slow!" Su Ying pouted in dissatisfaction.

At this rate, when will Lingnan Road truly develop?

Only the official road in Wuzhou has been repaired, but the mountain roads in other places are still rugged, making it inconvenient for foreign merchants to enter and exit.

The grain in Lingnan could not be transported out, and after two or three years, the warehouses were full and rotted.

This in turn will affect grain prices. Low grain prices will hurt farmers, who will be unwilling to grow grain, and the promotion of two-season rice will become meaningless.

In the end, all the efforts were in vain. The grain from Lingnan could neither be transported north to support the Tang Dynasty's northern and western expeditions, nor could it be transported in time for disaster relief.

They also occupy many granaries and guard them, and what they face is that farmers will not plant two crops of rice, and the old rice in the granaries will be fed to rats.

"Then what do you think we should do?" After listening to Su Ying's explanation, Su Laoer realized that he was narrow-minded and short-sighted.

They only realized that the road was easy to travel on, but did not realize the profound meaning behind it and its strategic significance to the granary of Lingnan.

"These supervisors have accumulated a lot of experience in road construction in Wuzhou. Why not split them into five groups, each with a team, and head straight to the five military governors' offices to build roads simultaneously.

Uncle Yang, Uncle Yang II and other uncles in the village served as his assistants, and some experienced workers were recruited from the counties where roads had been built before. Each supervisor then had a complete set of technical personnel for road construction and cement making.

Second uncle, you just need to inspect and supervise the quality and progress of the project.

The cycle continued, and the next year the supervisors repeated the same process, doubling the road construction progress within the Five Commanderies’ jurisdiction.

If we do this, within five years, most of the official roads in Lingnan will be completed, or at least widened and paved, to meet basic road transportation needs."

Su Ying talked about her idea.

Su Lao Er was stunned. That's right, five sets of people will become ten next year, twenty the year after, and forty the year after that...

The construction speed has increased exponentially!

The heads of the Ministry of Industry looked at Su Ying with a gleam in their eyes!

Each of them leads a team and is assigned a designated area for construction, forming a competitive mechanism.

Everyone’s political achievements will be counted, and then everyone will show their magical powers!

Maybe it won’t be long before we can move up. It’s exciting to think about it!

"Well, this method is very good!" Su Laoer instantly understood Su Ying's other deeper meaning.

He withdrew from doing everything himself and only needed to control the General Administration, which not only reduced his workload but also gave his subordinates the opportunity to come forward, while greatly increasing the speed of construction.

"In this case, all supervisors have heavy responsibilities. We need to request the Ministry of Industry to adjust their positions." Su Lao Er pondered.

"Aying, now that you mention it, I think my Food Agency should adjust its approach!

"If we divide them into five groups and each garrison a governor's office, everyone will be able to save some time and not have to run all over Lingnan!" Su Laosan was inspired.

God knows every day I'm either working in the fields exposed to the wind and sun, or on horseback, and even then there are still many places I haven't been to.

I am so tired and my work efficiency is still low.

After the districts were divided, chancellors and chief clerks had opportunities to come to the fore and could all work more easily.

"Aying is definitely smart!" Su Lao San sighed, "We've been running around all year, and no one has thought of this idea!"

"It's not completely useless. At least I have learned a lot of new farming methods and experiences from you, sir!" The officials were delighted and flattered him one after another.

So Su Lao Er and Su Lao San separated and took their own teams to discuss the specific arrangements for the New Year.

Su Laoer called all the men and elders in the village to join the discussion.

This involves not only Lingnan road construction and double-season rice planting, but also the development of Huanggou Village itself.

Huanggou Village has soybean oil, soy sauce, vermicelli, honey, colored silk, as well as its own winter wheat, beans, and two-season rice.

It is necessary to unify and integrate resources so as not to delay the work and farming time in the village, and to roll out external matters as soon as possible.

It requires overall coordination and unified scheduling throughout the year.

It’s the first day of the Lunar New Year, and the Su family’s house is bustling with work!

After the approximate time periods were arranged, we began to group people, using the principle of voluntary combination to form five groups.

The men in Huanggou Village are divided into six groups, and one group stays in the village.

The men from the Song family, Zhou family, Qin Tieniu family and other families all came. Some followed them out, and some stayed.

The people from each group gathered together, assigned positions and manpower, and agreed to go to other counties to recruit a group of skilled workers on the fourth day of the New Year.

The chancellor and chief clerk of the Food Bureau divided the areas and then came to the Ministry of Works for cooperation.

The men in the village not only know how to make cement and burn stones to build roads, but are also good at farming.

If necessary, take a few people with you to the countryside to supervise.

Well, those who are capable should do more work!

The chancellors and the chief clerks praised their own cleverness.

"Oh, I said the kitchen was deserted, and now you're all here!" Fuxi came in with a resentful look on his face.