At this moment, Li Xue walked to Zhao Xian's side and asked:
"Brother Zhao, what are you planning to do this afternoon?"
Seeing that Li Xue was in good spirits and had regained her former vitality, Zhao Xian was also very happy.
"I was originally going to inspect the construction of the canal this morning and was just about to leave when the Fourth Prince arrived."
The prince is resting this afternoon and does not need to accompany me. I plan to inspect the progress of the canal construction. The rainy season will arrive in two months, and the main structure of the canal must be completed before then.
“That’s great. Father has drunk quite a bit of wine and will probably sleep for two hours. I have nothing to do anyway, so I’ll go with Brother Zhao to check on the progress of the canal construction.”
“Okay, let’s go there now,” Zhao Xian said.
Li Xue, accompanied by several guards, followed Zhao Xian back to the village. After tidying up, Zhao Xian prepared to leave.
Just then, a carriage drove up and stopped at the door.
Zhao Xian was very familiar with this carriage; it belonged to Prefect Shen. Why had he come at this time?
Prefect Shen got off the carriage and, upon seeing Li Xue and Zhao Xian, hurried over.
"Greetings, Princess."
“Prefect Shen, you don’t need to be so polite,” Li Xue said.
Zhao Xian welcomed Prefect Shen into the house, unaware of why Prefect Shen had come to see him at this time.
After the group was seated, someone brought out tea.
"What important matter brings Prefect Shen to Narcissus Village at this time?" Zhao Xian asked.
"I have come here for two reasons: first, to visit the princess and see how she is recovering; and second, to bid farewell to the Junior Minister."
Zhao Xian and Li Xue were both taken aback, as they did not understand the meaning behind Prefect Shen's words.
"Thank you for coming to visit, Prefect Shen. I have fully recovered, so you don't need to worry about me," Li Xue said.
Prefect Shen nodded and continued:
"Some time ago, I conducted an investigation around Qing'an Prefecture and found that some villagers in Liuqiao Village were infected with typhoid fever. I then took timely measures to isolate the village."
Thanks to timely intervention, the epidemic was prevented from spreading and typhoid fever was avoided from becoming widespread.
Perhaps for this reason, the Emperor issued an edict transferring me to the capital, appointing me as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, a third-rank official, in charge of the Imperial Medical Academy.
Zhao Xian knew that the position of Right Vice Minister in charge of the Imperial Medical Academy was not low, equivalent to the modern Minister of Health.
In less than two years, Prefect Shen was promoted from a fifth-rank prefect to a third-rank vice minister, which is equivalent to taking off like a rocket.
"Congratulations, Prefect Shen. No, I should say congratulations, Attendant Shen," Zhao Xian said.
"Currently, the position of Prefect of Qing'an has been taken over by Imperial Censor Lu. We have already completed the handover procedures, and in two days, I will leave Qing'an Prefecture to take up my post in the capital."
“That’s wonderful. The Fourth Prince also arrived at Narcissus Village this morning. Minister Shen won’t be going back today. I’ve already prepared a banquet to celebrate.” Zhao Xian said.
"Since the Fourth Prince has also arrived, I will not return today. Where is the Fourth Prince? I need to pay my respects."
"My father drank quite a bit of wine at noon and is sleeping at the farm now. He probably won't wake up for at least two hours."
"It seems the only time to pay respects to the Fourth Prince is during dinner. Oh, by the way, were you about to go out just now?" Prefect Shen asked.
Zhao Xian smiled and said:
"The village is building a canal leading to Yingkou Town, and I was just about to go and take a look, but I didn't expect Minister Shen to come, so I won't go."
"I've heard about your village's canal construction project for a long time. This is not only a major event for your Shuixian Village, but also for Qing'an Prefecture. I've wanted to come and see for myself for a while."
"Since we happen to be here today, I will accompany you to inspect the progress of the canal construction."
Zhao Xian nodded and said:
"Alright, let's go together then."
Soon, two carriages, one after the other, drove out of Narcissus Village.
A small river connects Shuixian Village to Yingkou Town. When the river is full, small boats can pass through it.
During the dry season, there is hardly any water in the stream. Zhao Xian plans to widen and deepen the stream to transform it into a canal.
In this way, the renovated waterway can be used by merchant ships. Because it is connected to the main river in Yingkou Town, the water volume of that river can be stabilized, and it can be navigated all year round, which greatly facilitates the transportation between Shuixian Village and the outside world.
The canal project is now more than halfway complete, with more than 30 miles of canal already connected from Shuixian Village.
If we extend the canal for another twenty miles or so, it will reach Yingkou Town and connect with the main river there, thus completing the entire canal.
A road had been built beside the canal, and two carriages sped along it. After more than half an hour, they arrived at the section where the canal was being built.
The number of people involved in the canal construction was enormous. Tens of thousands of people came from Dezhou, and with the addition of 50,000 soldiers transferred by Li Guang, the total number of people involved in the canal construction exceeded 100,000.
The river, stretching for miles, was teeming with people, carrying loads on their hands and shoulders to widen and deepen the river. The scene of labor here was truly spectacular.
Zhao Xian and his entourage disembarked from the carriage and went to inspect the construction site of the canal.
Prefect Shen was stunned by the scene before him. There were people working there as far as the eye could see, and the whole place was bustling with noise and excitement. It seemed that only Zhao Xian could have such a grand scale.
Prefect Shen looked at Zhao Xian and admired him even more.
The group walked along the river, inspecting the area as they went. The scene of their labor had already captivated them, and they were all very excited.
A large number of people had gathered at a site where a canal was being built. A large amount of stone had been piled up there, and a huge bridge pier was being constructed in the middle of the canal.
Judging from the situation, a large stone bridge is being built across the canal in this area. Considering that merchant ships will be passing under the bridge in the future, the bridge must be built to be very tall.
When Zhao Xian and his group arrived at the bridge construction site, the foreman saw Zhao Xian coming and immediately stepped forward and bowed.
"Greetings, Lord Shaoqing."
"No need for formalities, you've worked hard. How many piers are needed for this bridge?" Zhao Xian asked.
"When the canal is open to navigation, merchant ships will pass through, and only one bridge pier can be built. As a result, most of the weight of the bridge will fall on the bridge pier."
Therefore, the selection of materials for the bridge piers must be extremely careful to ensure that the bridge will not collapse for a thousand years.
Zhao Xian nodded. It seemed that ancient craftsmen had very strict control over the quality of their projects.
Some famous stone bridges in history have stood for thousands of years without collapsing. This is not only related to the wisdom of the ancients, but also to their sense of responsibility.
"The stones used to make the bridge piers were quarried from the mountains and were specifically used for building bridge piers. Each boulder weighs several thousand kilograms."
"It was already incredibly difficult to transport these massive stones here; to build them into bridge piers would be even more challenging," the foreman said.
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