Chapter 167
Chapter 167
Suzhou, Shixing County Government Office.
The five local youths who were tied up were in great grief.
The magistrate in front of him didn't look much better.
Who could have thought that these brave guys would actually rob people on the road!
But to say that the county magistrate didn't know about the local people developing side businesses is also a lie.
This is almost an open secret.
This is what makes Shixing County special.
Back then, the area developed very well because of the mine.
But because of the decline of the mine, people everywhere became very poor, and many of the surrounding fields were polluted by the mine and could not grow crops at all.
So it is poorer than other places.
When people are poor, they have to find ways to survive, but their way of survival is a bit illegal.
Their method is to follow Ma Lao San to rob people whenever they have nothing to do!
The magistrate of Shixing County knew something, but firstly, he had no evidence, and secondly, those caravans would only find the state government, so he didn't know who did it.
The most important thing is that since they robbed the passing caravans but did not rob their own business, they just turned a blind eye.
But I can still think of it.
They grabbed Ji Zhizhou's head!
When officials travel, they usually wear at least a pair of official boots, which also serve as proof of their identity.
Who dares to rob?
That is, the young and inexperienced people.
That doesn't make sense. Ma Laosan is a veteran, how could he not know these things?
Ji Yuan raised his chin, and his men immediately stepped forward to ask.
The five people who were caught said quickly: "It wasn't Ma Lao San who brought them that time. It was his youngest son who said that he had no money recently, so."
"So you stopped me?" Ji Yuan asked with a smile, "How much did you rob that day?"
"You are the only ones who haven't grabbed it yet."
Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Ji Yuan continued to ask, "How many times have you robbed with Ma Lao San and his gang?"
After careful questioning, it turned out that he had gone there five or six times, but the amount of silver they got was less than twenty taels per person.
They followed Ma Lao San only for money and not to harm anyone's life.
It’s not that they are good people, but if they really hurt someone, the government will definitely come to investigate.
They can clearly distinguish between having one meal and not being full every time.
The magistrate of Shixing County broke out in a cold sweat when he heard this.
What should I say when something like this happened during my tenure?
Ji Yuan discovered that the other party was still hiding something, and asked abruptly, "Does Shixing County have any accomplices?"
The five men were shocked.
No need to answer, it's true.
Before, Wuying would definitely arrest them, but what Ji Yuan said last time made him think for a moment.
Everything happens for a reason.
These young people in their teens and early twenties are willing to do farm work as well as labor, which shows that they are not vicious criminals.
So, why become a sand bandit?
What else could it be? Because I have no money.
Because of the current situation in Shixing County.
The fields are polluted and there is little land left for farming.
The minerals are exhausted and there is no way to continue mining.
Unless they are far away from Shixing County, people in Tianqi Kingdom all have the idea of being reluctant to leave their hometown, and no one is willing to leave their hometown easily.
Therefore, the local young people work as bandits while serving as ordinary people.
This situation is even very common in Shixing County.
The magistrate of Shixing County and the young people were still sweating profusely.
Ji Yuan, Wuying, has already seen the whole story.
The current Wuying is no longer the young man who was building the Meng Mansion School. He has experienced the vicissitudes of life and is a father now. With a little guidance, he can figure out the whole story.
So neither of them made a direct judgment, but just looked at each other.
Ji Yuan slowly spoke: "Shi Weizhong, Shi Weiyang."
After reading the names of the five people, Ji Yuan continued, "They are bandits, the evidence is solid."
"Send it to the Yongxing Mine and confiscate it until the twenty taels of silver are paid back."
That means working in a mine to pay off debts, which can also be considered a punishment.
"As for the punishment after the debt is paid off, we will wait for the decision for now."
Ji Yuan would not forgive them directly, but would first observe their character.
If he does his job honestly, then it's fine. But if he has the intention of running away, don't blame him for spending a lot of effort to rectify the situation.
Twenty taels of silver, according to the price of local miners, is equivalent to more than a year's work.
This punishment made the five people breathe a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, as long as I don’t go to jail, it’s fine.
It's not even about just chopping off the head.
They robbed the local governor!
Even if you get beheaded, no one will say anything.
The five men were taken to the mine, with their heads hanging almost to the ground.
In fact, the five of them were fine. The magistrate of Shixing County knelt down directly and begged for mercy from Lord Ji.
Ji Yuan directly ordered: "No matter what method you use, find out how many young people like this there are in Shixing County, what they usually do, and how they make a living."
"Also, how much land do each family have, and how much land cannot be cultivated?"
In a word, he wanted the actual situation in Shixing County.
Since we are going to set up the steam engine here, we must understand the local conditions.
The magistrate of Shixing County nodded repeatedly.
He has been the magistrate here for a year and has been living a muddle-headed life, as long as he can save face.
Who knew that the complexity of the local situation exceeded everyone's expectations, and no one expected that the first thing Lord Ji paid attention to was their county.
I thought that with Mr. Ji's resume, he would go to other major grain-producing counties.
After this trip to Jiyuan, I have gained a lot.
Although his main purpose was to find a home for the steam engine, he unexpectedly made an unexpected discovery.
But come to think of it, he had always suspected that these sand bandits were half civilian and half bandit, and now it has been confirmed.
This kind of energy-depleted county is indeed prone to this kind of situation.
But who is the Ma Laosan they are talking about?
Ji Yuan said to Wu Ying, "We need to check on Ma Lao San. I feel like he has connections with many young people in the area."
Wu Ying nodded in agreement, and after returning to Suzhou City, he immediately began to investigate.
After finishing all these, Ji Yuan and his team went to Yongxing Mine again.
Mr. Gao and his companions have settled down and started to measure the surrounding environment and the depth of the water.
From this, a steam water pump was built.
In fact, after several years of research, it is not difficult to build such a pump.
Otherwise, all the previous research done by Master Gao and his colleagues would be in vain.
But the problem is that everything is still in theory and has not yet been put into practice.
In the past, there was neither place nor conditions, let alone difficulties for them to overcome. Now everything is ready, except for practice.
Ji Yuan also looked at Master Gao’s plan.
If nothing unexpected happens, this steam pump will be at least four meters high and will require a huge amount of coal as fuel.
There are many links in the process where no mistakes can be made.
Master Gao looked at his own design drawings and his hands were shaking with excitement. Knowing that Ji Yuan and the others were going back to Suzhou, he came specially to see Ji Yuan off.
Ji Yuan was full of doubts.
Mr. Gao?
Give it to him?
How could he have such virtue?
Master Gao shook his head and looked at Ji Yuan with eyes full of gratitude: "Ji Yuan, Master Ji, although you are my student, I really have to call you Master Ji now."
Without waiting for Ji Yuan to speak, Master Gao said, "Thank you for giving us the opportunity."
In fact, Master Gao didn’t know why things had developed to this point.
If someone had told him that he would follow a young man thousands of miles away to build a giant machine, he would never have believed it.
But now, it is real, very real.
Mr. Gao's entire family, even his teachers and his disciples, all studied mathematics.
Those numbers that are different from others seem extremely boring to others and are useless in the minds of many students.
But Master Gao likes it, and all his disciples like it.
Therefore, his master has always been called a weirdo.
Like him, even if he worked hard to pass the imperial examination, he was still determined to study these magical numbers.
Master Gao was actually not very happy about being assigned to teach mathematics at Jianmeng Mansion.
Because no one is willing to learn it. Even if someone comes, they will be discouraged because of the difficulty of mathematics.
So when Ji Yuan, who ranked first in the children's exam, went to study mathematics, he even felt a little honored?
Later, he did win honor by saying that everything in the world is related to mathematics.
I originally thought that Ji Yuan had passed the imperial examination and was assigned to be an official, and that his fate with mathematics had ended.
Who knew that he sent several drawings through Yin Zhangyin and also talked about the prospects of these drawings.
Master Gao could tell at a glance that what Ji Yuan wrote on the blueprint was not a fantasy.
So starting from the 39th year of Huayuan, he began to study with his fellow apprentices.
Unfortunately, although the idea is good, it is very difficult to actually implement it.
Be it materials or workmanship, they really don't meet the standards.
Even if it is made, it won't last too long.
From the 39th year to the 43rd year, they conducted research almost every day and even improved the skills of the local blacksmiths, but there was still a small gap.
At this time, it was another letter from Ji Yuan.
Ji Yuan said that if the research failed, it was most likely because the right direction was not found.
What direction?
No practical effect.
Like a nail driven into a wall.
You must first know the function of the nail before you know where to hammer it.
If you don't know the function, you'll just do it blindly.
That's true.
Then Ji Yuan said that he would go to the northwest after the new year and plan to open up a separate piece of land specifically for the study of steam engines.
It used to be a home-based research.
Now?
Now government sponsored!
What is needed is ironware, tools, and place.
All eras are provided.
Master Gao even thought that Ji Yuan had traveled all the way to such a far place, couldn't it be just for this?
Just to clear out a place with your own hands and build the steam engine faster?
Wasn't the price he paid too high?
With his achievements, if he stays in the capital, he will surely rise to a high position.
Or go to a closer place, there is still a chance to build it.
But not Ji Yuan, Ji Yuan must run to the farthest place.
The farthest place you go, the more you can move freely.
If it were near the capital, he would definitely be questioned by all parties.
Master Gao had also been an official, so he naturally knew the problem.
But if you run far enough, there won't be such a problem.
Master Gao even felt that Ji Yuan was intentionally looking for abandoned mines, so he chose Suzhou.
But you can say that.
That era is calculated too accurately?
Every step seemed to be taken into consideration by him?
How old is he this year?
But anyway.
This year is only the 21st era, and we will do our best to provide them with a piece of sky for research.
If it weren't for the era, their research progress would definitely be as slow as before.
With such a large venue, so many people, and ready-made problems that need to be solved.
All of them are provided by Epoch.
Even if you follow Ji Yuan and do things in a weird way, outsiders don't look at you strangely.
Take him for example.
He was also a teacher at Jianmeng Mansion School and enjoyed monthly offerings from there.
Even though mathematics has been cancelled now, he is still a teacher.
If I resign from the position of teacher in the provincial school, I will definitely be criticized by many people.
But he only said one thing, he would go wherever Ji Yuan wanted.
Just hearing this sentence, everyone immediately showed envious expressions.
Even if Master Gao and the others didn't care so much about these things, they would still feel a lot more relaxed.
There's nothing I can do, since I'm following Ji Yuan.
After coming here from thousands of miles away, not only did others not look at them strangely, but they were actually waiting for them to produce results. Although this feeling was stressful, it was also a motivation.
Let’s talk about coming to Suzhou.
Everyone thought that Ji Zhizhou would first do breeding and rubber, which he was best at.
But he ignored the opposition and put the research of steam engine first.
So Master Gao said thank you earnestly and called him Ji Zhizhou very seriously.
How could Ji Yuan not know Master Gao's thoughts? He smiled and said, "If I bring you to such a remote place and don't create research conditions for you, then what am I?"
"Besides, if we can develop a steam pump, dozens of mines in Shixing County can be revived."
“That’s when we celebrate.”
Dozens of mines are alive?
Shi Weizhong, who was passing by, was suddenly stunned when he heard this.
Shi Weizhong did not wear bracelets or anklets. The reason was simple: his family was from Shixing County. If he ran away, what would happen to his family?
When they saw Ji Zhizhou, their first reaction was to run away, but that was without thinking. If they had thought about it a little, they would have known that they could not escape.
At this time, Lord Ji was heard saying that he wanted to revive the mine.
He had heard this more than once, but most of the time, it was his grandfather who said it to his father.
Grandpa told my father that as long as the mine was alive, they would live a good life.
Although mining coal is hard work, it can provide enough food and support the family.
If his grandfather heard what the young prefect said, he would probably jump for excitement.
However, it was only Ji Zhizhou who said that.
If any other young official said this, no one would believe it.
Shi Weizhong buried his head in his work.
He was a little curious about how this mine could survive.
It would be impossible to pour out such deep water bucket by bucket.
Ji Yuan also saw Shi Weizhong. He didn't say anything but said goodbye to Master Gao. He also said, "Master, I will be back soon after I finish dealing with the affairs in Suzhou City. Don't see me off. We will see each other often in the future."
Master Gao was speechless.
But is this true?
Ji Yuan was anxious to return to Suzhou City, indeed to settle the matters at hand.
When he came to Suzhou, everyone was hoping that he would quickly cultivate good varieties and research the uses of rubber grass.
But no one expected that Ji Yuan would actually run to the abandoned mining county town, and there was a trend of not coming back.
Neither the superior Hexi Prefecture, the local chamber of commerce and farmers, nor even the prefect of the neighboring prefecture, knew the reason.
It’s not that I don’t believe in the era.
But good breeds and rubber are really important.
Especially good varieties.
Those places where rice is grown are all rushing to inquire about the situation of Champa rice.
The Champa rice from Ning'an Prefecture was so good that it had even spread directly from the southernmost part of Tianqi State to the northernmost part.
Anyone who hears it will be moved.
They can't grow rice in this area, so they can only watch with envy.
If Ji Yuan hadn’t come, I probably wouldn’t even have the chance to be jealous.
What?
Not that exaggerated?
Then let’s just talk about Champa rice and the data of high-quality rice varieties bred in the era, and you will understand.
Let’s talk about Champa rice first.
The Champa rice that the small southwestern countries were willing to scam to get.
The latest data shows that the average output for a cycle of 75 days is 481 kilograms.
The weight doesn't seem to have changed much.
The problem is that this time, more than 600,000 acres of land were cultivated.
There are more fields, but the average yield is still so stable, which means that no matter what the land is like, it is suitable for growing Champa rice.
Such good rice seeds were almost distributed to foreigners in the amount of 50 million kilograms.
After the late emperor passed away, he naturally would not provide rice seeds anymore, and they would be held accountable.
Then such a large amount of rice seeds were distributed to government offices in various places in Dianzhou Prefecture.
The government then distributed it to the local people. The seeds had to be purchased, of course, but the purchase price was not high, about the same as ordinary rice seeds.
The ordinary rice varieties in Ning'an Prefecture are actually not ordinary.
The planting cycle is also half a year, but the yield per mu is already around 700 kilograms.
In some places where the climate is not suitable for growing multiple seasons of rice, it is very suitable to buy this ordinary Ning'an rice.
That’s right, this half-year-old rice with a yield of 700 to 800 kilograms per mu has been called Ning’an rice. The name is also nice, Ning’an Ning’an, a very auspicious name.
All places in Tianqi Kingdom where rice can be grown are eagerly looking forward to it.
In areas with suitable climate, two seasons of Champa rice are planted, or Champa rice is planted together with Ning'an rice.
If it is not suitable, then just grow Ning'an rice, after all, the yield is there.
Wait until government offices from all over the country go to Ning'an to "learn from the masters".
Only then did I realize that the official fields in Ning'an Prefecture were truly a treasure trove.
Drought-tolerant rice, flood-tolerant rice, insect-resistant and disease-resistant rice.
Anyway, all kinds of rice are being cultivated, so you can always find one that suits your area.
The official fields in Ning'an Prefecture are simply amazing, they are a huge treasure trove.
I heard that the new emperor has sent people from the Ministry of Revenue to check it out. If nothing unexpected happens, this model will be promoted on a large scale.
Although subsequent events occurred after Ji Yuan left Ning'an Prefecture.
But everyone knows that these changes are related to the era.
But he still doesn't take credit for it.
He does not seek credit.
But when the news reached Hexi Prefecture, the local prefect's heart began to beat fast.
Then what?
Then Ji Yuan did not cultivate wheat seeds!
Go to the abandoned mines!
Is this appropriate?!
Jiyuan, Jiyuan, don’t you know where your advantages lie?
Continue to cultivate seeds, and you will be the living Shennong in the future.
Now the average wheat yield in Hexi Prefecture is around 300 to 400 kilograms. If you can increase it to 500 kilograms, then Shennong's reputation will be established!
When Ji Yuan and Wu Ying returned to Suzhou City, he finally understood why everyone was anxious to find him.
As for that rubber?
There is no need to mention rubber. The Rubber Company in Beijing was officially established, integrating the world's rubber industry.
How to say it.
The tax revenue brought by the rubber industry far exceeded everyone's imagination, even reaching one-third of the salt tax.
And there is a clear possibility that it will continue to rise.
In this case, you don't study rubber?
Isn't this a waste of resources?
Their Hexi Prefecture was so far away from Dianzhou Prefecture that they could neither benefit from the rice seeds nor from the profits of rubber.
You try really hard!
Ji Yuan really wants to say to everyone that he knows everyone is anxious, but please don’t be anxious for now.
If he could research what he has on hand.
Not to mention it’s more fragrant than the good varieties.
But it definitely far exceeds the rubber industry.
Wu Ying realized it: "No wonder you traveled so far to research steam engines. If you stayed in the capital, you would never have peace."
Who says it’s not!
On the way back, Ji Yuan had already prepared the draft of the steam engine.
Stop talking.
When he arrived in Suzhou City, he showed everyone his PPT, no, his plan!
Regardless of whether people can understand it or not, he definitely writes it in a fantastic way and definitely convinces everyone!
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