Chapter 131 Wei Shengxue: What a pity
Although the trial site of Sangji Fish Pond has been determined, it cannot be implemented for the time being because there is another very important matter at hand.
Provincial examination.
The provincial examination, which was originally scheduled to begin after the autumn harvest, is about to start, but the entire Kuaiji County has just been hit by heavy rain, and the preliminary preparations will take time.
"After the provincial examination, select backup candidates from among the successful candidates." Liu Ji placed a list in front of Wei Shengxue and pointed out a few names. "Master, please take a look. These are locals from Wushang County. If they make the list, they'll be perfect replacements."
Wei Sheng Xue asked curiously, "Isn't it a taboo to employ local people?"
At the current level, those who can participate in the first imperial examination are all people with wealthy families and strong local influence. If they are appointed as the highest local officials, I am afraid that their family power will expand indefinitely, which is not conducive to the rule of the empire.
Liu Ji knew this, but, "Wushang County is a resettlement area for mountain people, and they are very wary and repulsive to outsiders. If we use outsiders, I'm afraid the results will be worse than using locals."
He added, "I have already reported this matter to His Majesty. The letter of appointment for the new county magistrate will be delivered to Kuaiji County soon."
Ying Zheng agreed.
Wei Shengxue nodded and said nothing more.
Since the masters of the empire have agreed, what is there for her to worry about?
The question now is, “Can these people make the list?”
Since Wushang County is a resettlement area for mountain people, the academic level of this area should be at the bottom of Kuaiji County, and it is probably not as good as others.
Liu Ji rolled up the list and whispered, "The test papers will not be released to the public."
Facing the immortal's surprised eyes, he actually felt a rare sense of shame.
This is completely different from his previous shamelessness.
"It's impossible to get a top ranking, but it's not a big deal if a few of the last ones are still there. I've already sent people to find out the information about these people. I'd like to ask the Cactus to take a look and eliminate those with poor abilities or moral character."
Wei Shengxue agreed, "It's just a piece of cake."
She was not good at identifying people, but she had a system that collected all the information within the Qin Dynasty. Liu Ji's purpose was also to get the detailed information of those people from her.
Liu Ji thought to himself: I can hide it from outsiders, but it is wishful thinking to hide it from the immortals.
"Also, the Emperor intends that those students who participated in the dam reinforcement be directly recruited into the government."
"Many of them came here for your blessing, others for reputation, but they have ultimately made contributions. Your Majesty is doing this to show the people of Chu that we, the Great Qin, appoint people based on their merits and will not dwell on past matters."
Wei Shengxue: "A thousand gold coins for horse bones?"
Liu Ji nodded: "That's what I mean."
Wei Shengxue stood up and said, "I'm not good at government affairs. You can decide these matters on your own."
"After the provincial examination is over, come with me to Wushang County."
"Okay." Liu Ji knew her purpose and agreed solemnly.
…
The provincial examination began as scheduled. After three days of intense testing, all the candidates left the examination room.
The examination room was closed and all examiners began marking the papers behind closed doors.
Similar to the college entrance examination, the marking time will last for nearly half a month. During this period, examiners are not allowed to leave the examination room or contact the outside world.
Before the provincial examination, Liu Ji had already decided on the candidate to replace the magistrate of Wushang County. Just in case, he also selected a few more candidates.
"At least one of these individuals must be on the list," he instructed the examiners. "This matter is personally entrusted to His Majesty the Emperor. I hope you will not disappoint me."
After completing the necessary tasks, he set off for Wushang County with Weishengxue.
…
When the two men landed, the news that had been delivered overnight by express horse had just arrived.
Upon learning that the immortal and the county magistrate were coming to Wushang County in person, the Wushang County Magistrate felt as if a poor student who had been failing the entire semester was suddenly called upon by the teacher to answer a question. He was completely paralyzed.
"Quick, clean up the best courtyard in the mansion!"
"Last time, someone sent me a gift. Hurry and put it up!"
"Hey, what is this? Take it away! This unlucky thing, move it away!"
"There's no time to replace the trees and flowers in the yard. Hurry up and prune them! The branches are almost reaching the sky!"
"And over there..."
Wei Shengxue stood in the clouds, looking at the chaotic scene below. He didn't know whether he should land or not. It felt like there was nowhere to step down.
But after waiting for half an hour, the place was still a mess, and it was even getting messier. She decided not to wait any longer and just leave it like that. She wasn't here on vacation anyway.
Magistrate Wushang was so busy that he was hitting his head with his feet. He suddenly saw a light and a blur in front of his eyes. He thought that he was too busy and his eyes were not functioning properly. But when he looked closely, he saw that there were two people falling from the sky.
Some people are extraordinary as soon as you meet them, and Wei Shengxue is obviously such a person.
Just look at the light that keeps flashing around her, no normal person would treat her as a human being.
"Your humble servant greets the Immortal Master and the County Magistrate!"
The magistrate of Wushang County was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and bowed quickly.
"waived."
Liu Ji glanced at the immortal master, and seeing that she had no intention of speaking, he took the initiative to step forward and start a conversation.
"Wushang County Magistrate."
"I am here."
"You must have seen the news I sent a few days ago."
"Yes, I have sorted out the household registration files of the villagers and placed them in the county government office. Would you like to review them now, sir?"
Wushang County was originally a piece of land occupied by the Baiyue people. After it was conquered by the Chu State, the people were moved here to cultivate and cultivate the land. In addition, the area is surrounded by mountains and the terrain is uneven, so ordinary armies would not come in and the area was less affected by the war. Over time, a large population accumulated.
Since Liu Ji took office as the governor of Kuaiji County, he has recalculated the number of people in Kuaiji County and issued household registrations. Xianyang also exempted the punishment of barbarians and hidden households. Many mountain people who used to hide in the caves and strongholds came out and were allocated one or two pieces of land in the relatively flat Wushang County, and gradually established villages.
The magistrate of Wushang County was descended from mountain people, so he treated these people as fellow countrymen. He did not hide the good seeds and new agricultural tools sent by the higher authorities, and rented as much as he could to them.
Gradually, these settled villagers gradually got rid of their primitive tribal life and began to integrate into agricultural civilization.
However, the terrain here is low-lying and the network of waterways is crisscrossed. Although this is good for irrigation, it is always affected by flooding every summer when the rain is abundant. This year is especially so. If it weren't for the help of the immortals, I'm afraid the entire county would be engulfed in floods.
When talking about this, Magistrate Wushang could not hide his sorrow on his face, "Even the best seeds can't withstand being soaked like this."
Then do you dare to use the cement used to reinforce the embankment to build houses?
Wei Shengxue couldn't help but say something in his heart.
"I originally wanted to lead people to dig more small lakes and ponds and plant some lotus roots. We can use them to irrigate the fields during droughts and divert river water during floods."
Good idea.
Many lakes and ponds have this feature.
"But it's a time-consuming and labor-intensive project, and we also need to build roads, so we don't have enough labor." Currently, digging the lake and transporting the goods rely entirely on manpower, which is bound to be inefficient.
Wei Shengxue looked at him. His eyes were full of concern for the residents of Wushang County. He didn't look like someone who could use cement used to build a dam to build houses.
What a pity.
"Go gather some men," Liu Ji said. "The Immortal has personally formulated a plan to improve Wushang County."
The Wushang County Magistrate's eyes lit up, and the company commander's worries seemed to have mostly dissipated. "Okay, okay, I'll do it right away."
…
The Wushang County Magistrate and his men followed Wei Shengxue. Seeing her stop at a certain spot, he hurriedly stepped forward to introduce it, saying, "This place is low-lying, and even in Wushang County, it's considered a place that everyone despises."
He bent down, grabbed a handful of wet mud, and rolled it in his palm. "This is all excellent river mud. If we can cultivate it, we won't even need to buy extra fertilizer."
Wei Shengxue: "I want a place like this."
She gestured to her attendants to take note. "Dig down here and make a pond. Put some young shrimp and fish in the pond, and add some water chestnuts and lotus roots around the edge."
"The excavated mud doesn't need to be transported away. It can be piled up directly around the pond to form a wide and flat field, which can be used to grow rice or other crops."
"Then we continued piling up soil on the edge of the field to create a higher foundation. This area is used to plant mulberry trees."
As Wei Shengxue spoke, he used his spiritual power to mark the area above the depression, and the layout of each part was very clear.
In later generations, this was a very common mulberry fish pond.
But here, there is a fantastic idea that has never been seen before.
This layout is very clever, but Liu Ji feels that having a plan personally formulated by an immortal must have more than just this benefit.
He bowed respectfully and asked, "Master, I am ignorant and do not know what your intention is in doing this."
As soon as he asked the question, others who also had doubts could not help but look forward to it, waiting for her to explain it.
Wei Shengxue said, "Mulberry leaves are used to feed silkworms, silkworm feces are used to feed fish and shrimp, and the accumulated mud in the fish pond can be dug up and used as fertilizer for mulberry trees and crops. This recycling method can achieve the effect of 'double benefits, ten times the harvest.'"
"In addition, the mud-filled pond base acts as a dam to a certain extent, which can reduce flooding, killing two birds with one stone."
Everyone suddenly understood.
"The immortal master's magic is unattainable in the human world."
Wei Shengxue smiled awkwardly, "It's just a gift from afar. This method is not what I want. I am just a carrier of knowledge."
"But it was you who gave us this method! This kind of wonderful method cannot be obtained without countless generations of accumulation and experimentation. This move can save us at least hundreds of years of effort. Immortal Master, please accept our respect." The magistrate of Wushang County waved his sleeves and kowtowed to her with his officials and subordinates.
Wei Shengxue accepted the gift and said, "Your Excellency should organize the staff and start as soon as possible. Winter is coming soon, and it will be difficult to work then."
"In addition to mulberry-based fish ponds, you can also try planting other crops and replace mulberry trees with vegetables and fruits. This is something you can try on your own."
Wei Shengxue encouraged them to try various methods. Sangji Fish Pond might not be the most suitable one, and they should not limit their thinking to it just because she was the first to propose it.
…
"Conscription for corvée labor again?!"
"Hasn't the levy been completed this year?"
"No, no, it's not corvee labor. It's about having each township organize people to claim the low-lying land. With the guidance of the gods, there is a solution to the low-lying land!"
"What?!"
"The village heads have gone to claim the low-lying land. From now on, that piece of land will belong to the village. All the benefits will be shared among everyone." The person who came to deliver the message could not explain it clearly for a while and his face turned red with anxiety.
"How many people do you need?"
"Ah?" The person who delivered the message did not expect that there would be people willing to participate even though he could not express himself clearly.
The village chief swore, "You said this was a method from a god. That's a real god who saved our lives. He definitely won't harm us! Only a fool would not do it!"
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