Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

The man subconsciously took out some copper coins from his pocket and offered them with both hands.

Several soldiers looked at each other in blank dismay, and the corporal stood up immediately: "This set is useless here, let's do a body search."

The man was taken aback, and even raised his hands, allowing the soldiers to search him.

......

Daliang City, Daxiangguo Temple, Shi Congyun was resting under the old tree, chatting with the person opposite him, who was wearing a round collar official uniform, it was Chen Chengzhao who had just been transferred back by Emperor Shi.

He didn't like to come to temples and didn't believe in Buddhism, but Liumei and Zhou Xianxin often came to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense and worship Buddha. If he had time, Emperor Shi would go out with them to relax.

Meeting Chen Chengzhao this time was an accident. Originally, the old man also accompanied his wife to burn incense and worship Buddha, but he did not expect to meet the emperor.

Chen Chengzhao looked sympathetic, probably meaning that even the emperor had to accompany his wife to do such boring things.

Shi Congyun previously transferred Chen Chengzhao to Luoyang to build water conservancy projects. After several years of hard work, the water transport from Bianliang to Luoyang has basically returned to the level of the Tang Dynasty, promoting trade between cities.

"Officials, Luoyang has been revived, but it is impossible to restore the prosperity of Tang Dynasty, because Guanzhong is broken, and Luoyang is no longer a transit place. In addition, it used to be the capital of Tang Dynasty, but now it is not. Even if the canal is restored, other It will be hard to go back to the past." Chen Chengzhao said seriously.

Shi Congyun nodded. He had already thought of this. It is very difficult for human beings to change the laws of nature, even in the 21st century when technology is exploding, let alone now.

"At least it is necessary to ensure that food, supplies and troops can be quickly transported to the northwest through Luoyang."

"Officials, this is now a piece of cake. If there is a war in the northwest, clearing the control of the canal will at least ensure that the logistics of the [-] troops can reach Luoyang directly from Daliang." Chen Chengzhao said.

Shi Congyun nodded: "I want you to come back this time and want you to serve as the confidential deputy envoy, and at the same time have a good rest. I have worked hard for you in the past few years."

"Thank you for the love of the official family. It is only natural for ministers to do their best for the court and the official family." Chen Chengzhao stood up and cupped his hands.

"Sit down and talk." Shi Congyun raised his hand to signal: "There is one more thing, you are the best at water conservancy and naval affairs. Let me think about it, if it is possible to build a pontoon bridge on the Yangtze River."

The reason why Shi Congyun asked was because Chen Chengzhao was originally from the south of the Yangtze River, but he surrendered to China later, and he was very knowledgeable about water conservancy construction and naval training.

He must also have a better understanding of the hydrology of the Yangtze River than those generals and officials in the north.

Chen Chengzhao didn't answer immediately, but began to think carefully.

"Officials, I'm afraid this matter is very difficult. The ministers specialize in the training of the navy, dredging the river, controlling the water and changing the flow. But if it is said that repairing bridges, it is really not what the veterans are good at. Although they have done some repairs, they are not good. It’s a small bridge, if the Yangtze River is several miles long, I’m really not sure about such a long pontoon bridge.” Chen Chengzhao said seriously.

After hearing this, Shi Congyun realized that, yes, Chen Chengzhao is really good at water control, but if things like building a large pontoon bridge during a war are usually deployed by the Zhuangyuan envoys or pioneers in charge of logistics and supplies.

For example, the pontoon bridge on the Huaihe River was built by Li Gu.

Afterwards, Shen Yilun, Luo Yanhuan and others were responsible for most of the logistical work. Their experience in building floating bridges must be richer.

Emperor Shi began to think in his mind, when would he ask Luo Yanhuan to ask.

The two chatted about some relaxing topics one after another, and then told Chen Chengzhao to go back and have a good rest.

Chen Chengzhao was very grateful, he probably never expected that he would meet the emperor on this trip.

......

In the afternoon, Emperor Shi returned to the palace and had dinner with his sixth younger sister and Zhou Xian. In the evening, he cleared away the soy sauce bottle and left the two of them to sleep. Both of them agreed.

But before he got into the part he liked, people from the Privy Council came, saying that there was news from Zhenhuai Army to tell him.

Shi Congyun was angry, he didn't know how many times this happened, these ministers really have no eyesight at all!

However, under the cursing, he put on his clothes again and went out to see what was going on.

.......

The officials of the Privy Council were already waiting in the corridor outside the Wai Sui Hall. Seeing Shi Congyun coming out with a dark face, he was a little apprehensive, and did not dare to raise his head to deliver the information.

Shi Congyun looked at it for a while, and immediately changed his face: "You did a good job, do it well!"

The official was overjoyed, said a few words of humility, and then withdrew.

The reason why Shi Congyun changed his face was because he didn't expect that the information he sent back was so useful. Jiangnan's Jiangfang troops controlled a scholar from Jiangnan, and according to his account, he was called Fan Ruobing.

Said that he had a way to let the northern army cross the river.

In the beginning, the team leader of the Patrol Department took him to see Dutou, and he was introduced to the commander, and then to the commander of the capital. In the end, because the matter was so important, although he didn't know if what he said was true or not, he was still sent by the commander of the Huaihe Army. Guo Ting said that he received this letter directly to the Privy Council.

The letter said that he was a scholar in the Southern Tang Dynasty in his 30s. He claimed that he failed to pass the scientific examinations in the Southern Tang Dynasty. If you are appreciated by the emperor, you can still become an official, but this road is also interrupted by the king who travels all day long and doesn't care about political affairs.

He also heard that the imperial examinations of the Qin Dynasty in the north were fair, and that the high schools of nobles' children had to be re-examined to attract talents from all over the world, so he had the heart of Beitou.

So Fan Ruobing surveyed along the river day and night, often paddling boats back and forth to measure distances on both sides of the river, and finally found an ideal place where a pontoon bridge could be built, allowing the army of the Qin Dynasty to cross the Yangtze River.

Shi Congyun was a little excited when he saw it, but he wasn't sure if it was true or not, and if Fan Ruobing was really capable.

So after returning, it was too late to play some pleasant games with Zhou Xian's sixth sister, but immediately called the Imperial Academy to draft a letter and send it to Huainan overnight, so that the Huai army in the south would send Fan Ruobing to Beijing. He wanted to see it for himself. Does a person have the same ability as he said.

If there is, it would be pie in the sky. If a pontoon bridge can be built on the Yangtze River, it will save at least a thousand logistics supply ships for the Qin State. War preparation time.

Emperor Shi desperately wanted to meet this Fan Ruobing......

Chapter 448, Resistance

At the beginning of March, great progress had been made in the revision of "Daqin Xingtong". Dou Yi submitted the revised opinions to him in general, and Shi Congyun read it for several days.

Generally speaking, most places are good, and many improvements are satisfactory. However, the laws and regulations on the protection of the fairness of the imperial examination are still not strong enough. Most of them still hold the same attitude towards the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Shangshi was very dissatisfied with this point, this matter was not serious enough, and they all held the previous mentality, he needed to change this point, so he summoned officials from Yushitai, Dali Temple, and the Ministry of Punishment to come over, and spent a whole afternoon carefully Explained it to them.

Emperor Shi attaches great importance to this matter. First, he cannot turn back the wheel of history. Moreover, as society progresses, if he does not delegate more power, he may be backlashed.

Second, he also needs a balance of power.Before, the southern generals and officials were used to balance the northern generals, and then it was time to gradually promote low-level talents to balance the power of these important officials who followed him to conquer the world.

Although the words are ruthless, reason makes Emperor Shi very clear-headed. Any long-term dynasty has such a process. For example, in the early Han Dynasty, Liu Bang and Empress Lu killed princes and kings with different surnames; Great family; Zhao Kuangyin in the Northern Song Dynasty cups wine and releases military power, etc...

This law has hardly changed. Chinese moral theory likes to shape saints, but the bloody fact is that no one is perfect, and no one can maintain himself in the face of power, wealth and desire.

However, in a country with a huge composition of personnel and a huge organization, if you think of governing the country by gambling that there is no one saint in a million, you can hardly be said to be naive, but you are looking for a dead end.

Political mediation is the most beneficial means for oneself and the whole country. Although people often see the bloody political struggles, such as the political struggles in the early Han Dynasty, the political struggles in the early Tang Dynasty, and the political struggles in the early Song Dynasty, they will bring themselves into The dignitaries and dignitaries felt the same, and were filled with righteous indignation.

But in fact, from Shi Congyun's point of view, this in itself is a very strange angle. For him, no matter how bloody and cruel the high-level political struggle is, only a few people will die, which is ten million times better than war. For the people at the bottom, it is the best.

When the truly incompetent high-level officials turn political struggles into uncontrollable wars, it will be a hell for countless civilians. Blood flows in the oars, lives are burnt, bones are exposed in the wild, and wars with thousands of miles of uninhabited people are the most terrifying.

In order for the regime to transition smoothly and power to be balanced, Emperor Shi must start thinking now, relying on more opportunities, more fair civil examinations, military examinations, and industrial examinations, to train more poor children without roots, and in the next few days In ten years, let them gradually restrict the civil and military officials who gradually surrounded the emperor.

This is a long-term plan in his heart. Of course, he will not tell anyone about this matter, but he is just going to use the most stringent laws to ensure the fairness of competition.

Therefore, the newly formulated "Da Qin Xing Tong" is much more lenient than the laws of the Tang Dynasty, not to mention the Five Dynasties.

Some capital crimes that required casual execution before were changed to exile, and many corporal punishments that required beheading, limbs, and noses were changed to hard labor and stick punishment.

It has become more civilized, which also conforms to the law of historical development, because from Qin to Han to Tang to Song, the penalty has been continuously reduced, and many cruel and inhumane tortures have been continuously eliminated.

However, under the premise that all punishments have been lightened, only the emperor's legal history about the imperial examinations went against the trend of the Tang Dynasty, and on the contrary it was aggravated.

For example, in the Tang Dynasty, the punishment for cheating candidates was generally deprivation of one or several admission qualifications, and the guarantor was implicated, and the implicated guarantor would be demoted.

Dou Yi and other officials of the three halls believed that the Tang Dynasty's handling was very reasonable.

However, Shi Congyun knew that punishment of this magnitude could not stop fraud at all, and loose punishment would also lead to the complete monopoly of this upward channel by bureaucrats and aristocrats, which would lead to the disaster of subjugation of the country over time.

So they were forced to amend the law on the imperial examination on the spot, which specifically emphasized that if they participated in fraud and helped candidates to cheat, both participants and candidates would be executed, and the invigilators would also be punished.

Many officials were taken aback when they heard this.

Many officials objected on the spot, saying repeatedly that this was too harsh, and asked the emperor to take back his order.

Shi Congyun glanced at them, how could he not know their little Jiujiu.

Among these people, there must be many officials who originally wanted to give their nephews a back door, seek connections, and let the invigilators make a difference. This kind of thing was done by Tao Gu a few years ago.

At that time, he bribed the invigilator officials to find an official position for his eldest son, but the news was disclosed to Shi Congyun by officials from the court and central government.

He sent someone to investigate, and it turned out that this really happened. Emperor Shi was furious and scolded Tao Gu, but the law had not been amended at that time, and the biggest punishment for Tao Gu according to law was to be demoted. It's not easy to get angry in my heart, so I just put him idle in the Imperial Academy and no longer reuse it, and dismissed the invigilator at that time.

What happened a few years ago is still vivid in my mind, but now these officials are all against it. Obviously, many people have their own little calculations, and many people want to be the second Tao Gu.

The situation like Tao Gu's before was just demoting officials. If this law is enforced, it will be dead.

Facing a large group of officials below begging to take back their orders, and using benevolence, righteousness and morality as reasons to speak out, Emperor Shi, who used to like to listen to the opinions of ministers, was particularly tough this time, and said directly: "There is absolutely no possibility of discussing this matter. Back off, all."

Everyone looked at each other, wanting to say something, Shi Congyun glanced over the crowd sharply, then fell silent, and finally no one spoke,

Yushitai, Dali Temple, and the officials of the Ministry of Punishment could only stop talking one after another and then retreat.

Only Dou Yi and a few officials left very straightforwardly, but Shi Congyun did not give any conclusions or conjectures for their reasons, which is unpredictable.

......

After that day, the promotion of the new law began to enter the implementation stage, but Emperor Shi felt a little uneasy, because he had taken a lot of bureaucratic cakes.

Half a month later, the newly revised "Da Qin Xing Tong" began to be announced by Dali Temple, the Ministry of Punishment, and Yushitai, with the emperor's seal, and then announced it to the world, and issued it to all states and counties, requiring it to be implemented from June this year.

As for what kind of reaction it will cause, it will take time to test.

He is not afraid of the general direction, and what needs to be paid attention to now is the reaction of the court. After all, this new law is a virtuous policy for the people, but it is not for many officials.

During this period, Emperor Shi thought about it, and asked Fu Zhaoyuan to increase the number of imperial guards in the palace a lot, and then asked Wang Zhong to train the troops directly in the inner palace.

.........

In late March, Fan Ruobing was escorted by Huainan troops and entered Daliang along the Bian River.

Emperor Shi didn't meet him immediately, but let him be placed in a post in the capital, and then sent eunuchs around him to reward him with some money, and then informed him to write down his strategy of crossing the river. The drawing is better, give him five days, after which the emperor will personally meet him.

Because Tian Shi Congyun has been busy with the new law these days, and he can't get away from it. At the same time, he doesn't know if Fan Ruobing has real talent and learning. Give him time to prepare, and if he doesn't have it, he won't waste time.

On March 27th, the spring breeze was warm, the sky was bright and clear, and Shi Congyun finally found time to meet Fan Ruobing, who had come from the Southern Tang Dynasty, at the Privy Council Office in person.

Chapter 449: Fan Ruobing's River Crossing Plan

At the end of the month, Yazuo Division reported that the residential area by the Bian River had been completed.

Emperor Shi took Xiao Huanghua and hundreds of horses, escorted by Fu Zhaoyuan, to check.

After the addition of a living area by the Bianshui, it became more lively and prosperous. The industrial area by the Bianshui spread in several places along the river, and the river bends on the north and south sides connected to the new accommodation area. The long gathering area, presumably after many years, this may become a new county.

On the hillside outside the residential area in the north, there are many peach blossoms. This is a large area of ​​pink spreading across the hills, which is very eye-catching. The large sea of ​​flowers floats like waves in the majesty. The little yellow flower likes it very much. She is wearing a green dress in the sea of ​​flowers Running around cheerfully, from one tree to another, like a lively little rabbit.

Shi Congyun also took a good night's sleep under the tree. He used to be allergic to pollen, but he didn't have that kind of problem after he came to this world.

When he woke up, it was already afternoon, Xiao Huanghua squatted obediently beside him, and even put a warm cloak on him.

Shi Congyun stretched himself, and then told the soldiers not to disturb the residents below.

He came here this time to see how the following things are going. After all, he spent a lot of money and should not waste it. Second, he took the opportunity to come out to relax. He has been busy for a long time recently and needs to work and rest. Combine.

Before leaving, Shi Congyun took the little yellow flower and asked the imperial guards to guard up and down. He played around in the woods on the mountain for a long time, and had an in-depth exchange of feelings with the well-behaved little yellow flower. It was a rare trip out.

The next day, Shi Congyun met Fan Ruobing in the official office of the Privy Council.

Apart from him, there were several senior officials of the Privy Council and military attachés from the two divisions in the Privy Council, waiting to see Fan Ruobing's plan for crossing the river.

Fan Ruobing was a somewhat thin and unattractive scholar. At first sight, he was indeed very nervous, and his hands and feet trembled when he saluted. After all, he was facing the most powerful person in the world today, but he recovered quickly.

He said that he was underappreciated for his talents, that the dignitaries of the Southern Tang Dynasty monopolized the officialdom, and that he had nowhere to rise to join the Ming Lord, and then he began to talk about his plan to cross the river.

Following his speech and the display of drawings, several generals in the army who were originally prepared to take it as a joke gradually became serious. Before, they always thought that building a pontoon bridge on the Yangtze River was like a fantasy, and it was just a joke.

But Fan Ruobing didn't just talk about it......

He proposed that the location for crossing the river is at Caishiji, because he concluded that the river surface near Caishiji is the narrowest based on his many years of visits along the Yangtze River and his own small boat tests. It is also the source of the name Caishiji.

And such a balanced support can be used as the fulcrum of the pontoon bridge.

At the same time, he also proposed specific details. For example, in the past, most of the pontoon bridges used iron cables to connect ships, and then laid wooden boards. This method was used when Shi Congyun led the Hou Zhou army to cross the Huaihe River more than ten years ago.

However, the Yangtze River is not the Huaihe River, and iron cables can support it. When the strength of the plank is limited, if the length is too long, the fragile plank will be easily broken soon after the boat undulates with the waves or moves left and right.

If roads that can be easily passed are not paved, follow-up support and logistical supplies will become problems.

For this reason, the craftsmen of the confidential department have tried various wood boards, but the strength and toughness are not enough.

For this problem, Fan Ruobing's solution really surprised them, that is, instead of using wooden boards, they used a common thing in the south-bamboo.

He also proposed a set of processing procedures. The bamboo strips look slender, but as long as they are weaved, soaked in oil and water, and dried in the sun, they can become very strong. The most important thing is that they have far more toughness than wood and can withstand large deform without being destroyed.

Everyone was stunned, and Shi Congyun's heart lit up, why didn't he think of this method before!

He remembers that when he was a child in the countryside, the second floor was used to store corn and rice, but for the sake of ventilation and convenience for baking, his grandfather’s generation would ask a bamboo craftsman to weave a bamboo floor slab with bamboo to replace the traditional wooden slab. High, strong toughness and breathable ventilation, thousands of kilograms of grain can be placed on it without any pressure.

Immediately without further ado, he immediately said: "Fan Ruobing, you are very knowledgeable and insightful, I really need a talent like you."

Fan Ruobing was very excited, but was stopped by Shi Congyun when he wanted to thank you, and continued: "But my state of Qin always acts according to the law, I want to reward you with an official rank, but in our country, the official rank is only for meritorious service on the battlefield or ranking in the imperial examination.