I

Xuzhou.

It has been more than a year since Zheng Sen was promoted to the post of magistrate of Xuzhou. The 23-year-old magistrate was a very rare person in the new Datong Dynasty where officials were generally young.

"Xiao Songzi, are you going out to the city for inspection again today?" Zhao Zhenfang held out a set of official casual clothes and asked the maid to help Zheng Sen change into it.

Zheng Sen said worriedly as he changed his clothes: "It has been raining heavily in Henan for days, and the swelling here in Xuzhou has been severe. The town entrance gate has just been repaired. If I don't personally inspect the river embankments, I really won't be able to rest assured."

"School is on holiday, I'll go with you." Zhao Zhenfang said.

In addition to Princess Rongfu and Mrs. Zhizhou, Zhao Zhenfang was also a member of the Datong Mathematical Society and the Physical Society, and even served as the Secretary-General of the Mathematical Society for a time. Now she has come to Xuzhou with her husband to take up the post, and she has also applied to be a teacher in Xuzhou Middle School, teaching mathematics (geometry), physics and other subjects.

As for Xiaosongzi, that was Zhao Zhenfang’s nickname for her husband, and Zheng Sen also had a nickname of “Fusong”.

The couple walked out of the backyard of the state government together. They only asked a few servants to follow them, and then asked the driver to drive the carriage out of the city. All the good horses were conscripted for military use, and all the poor horses were used by the people. Even the carriages provided by the Xuzhou government were not much bigger than donkeys.

The embankment in the north of the city had been inspected, and Zheng Sen and Zhao Zhenfang took a car all the way upstream.

After driving for a while, I saw people gathering by the river.

Zheng Sen got out of the car and went to check, and found that it was Yang Ding, the magistrate of Xiao County, who was also leading people to inspect the river embankments within the territory.

"Meet the princess, meet the prefect!" Yang Ding recognized the two of them and immediately bowed his hands.

Zheng Sen and Zhao Zhenfang returned the greeting at the same time and began to inquire about the situation of the river embankment.

Xuzhou is a large state with four counties under its jurisdiction.

Yang Ding sighed and said: "Today's water level is half a foot higher than yesterday. If it continues like this, Henan will have to dig up embankments to release floods again. The people of Shandong will suffer!"

"It's really hard. I just hope that the management of the Yellow River will succeed soon." Zheng Sen also expressed some emotion.

The disasters this year are already obvious, with floods in the north and drought in the south.

The drought in Jiangnan has caused the rivers to dry up, but it has been raining heavily in Henan for days. According to the usual method, when the water level rises to a certain level, the north embankment of the Yellow River is opened in the east of Henan to release the flood. In this way, one or two counties in Henan will be flooded, and several counties in Shandong will be flooded.

As for Xuzhou, which was moved to Jiangsu, it is the safest.

Zheng Sen took Yang Ding to inspect the river embankment and said: "At the end of autumn, when the water level is dry and shallow, and it has not yet frozen, we have to organize people to dredge the river. Now that the north has been recovered, water transportation is becoming increasingly busy, and the sediment downstream is too heavy It’s extremely unfavorable for ship navigation.”

"What the prefect said is true," Yang Ding said quickly, "Xiaguan is just the magistrate of Xiao County. It is up to you, the prefect, to take the lead in dredging the river and bring Dangshan, Feng County, and Pei County together to manage it."

Zheng Sen nodded and said: "After the flood, we will ask the magistrates of these four counties to come to the prefecture government office to hold a meeting to discuss."

Near noon, when they reached a ferry, everyone stopped to rest and eat and drink in a wild shop near the ferry.

The rules of the imperial court were complicated. Officials were strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol at noon on working days, and could only drink during dinner.

There was nothing good in the wild shop. They cooked a few side dishes. Zheng Sen drank tea instead of wine and clinked glasses with Yang Ding.

Yang Ding was a little cautious, so it was okay to meet Zhizhou. This Zhizhou was also the prince-in-law, and the princess himself was at the same table.

"Is Yang Zhixian from Sichuan?" Zheng Sen asked casually.

Yang Ding replied with a smile: "Being from eastern Sichuan, before General Huang (Huang Yao) led his troops into Sichuan, Xiaguan followed the former Mingzhi County and offered the city to surrender General Qin (Qin Liangyu). Thanks to His Majesty for not giving up, Xiaguan actually came from An official was promoted all the way to the county magistrate. This was not possible in Qianming. The lower official came from a family of officials, and his descendants were not even qualified to take the imperial examination."

Zheng Sen joked: "Haha, no matter where the hero comes from, my family used to be pirates."

"The prefect is joking." Yang Ding didn't dare to say anything about it.

Zheng Sen asked casually: "What difficulties are there in Xiao County?"

Yang Ding said: "Several coal mines have been discovered in the county. What kind of steam engines have been developed in the south in recent years? I heard that coal is needed to burn cloth. The coal in Xiao County can be mined and shipped to the south of the Yangtze River to sell for money. But this mining involves land acquisition, and the state has approved it, but the province has refused to approve it. There is coal in Xiao County, but we can’t dig it out and sell it!”

Zhao Zhenfang suddenly said: "Why do we need to mine coal and sell it to the south? I know the steam engine. The steam spinning machine has been developed, and the steam loom continues to be improved. You can contact the local merchants in Xuzhou and go to the south to order a steam engine. Just in Xiao The county opens a textile factory, then buys cotton from Shandong, and uses the coal from Xiao County to spin and weave fabrics in Xiao County. By then, Xuzhou’s waterways will extend in all directions, and you can sell it to the south or the north!"

"The enemy!"

Yang Ding slapped his head fiercely: "After several years of immigration from Shandong, food and cotton are recovering. The quality of Shandong's cotton is better than that of Jiangnan cotton. Xuzhou is next to Shandong, and the shipping cost for buying cotton is also cheap. We use coal to spin and weave our own cloth. Okay. As expected of Her Royal Highness, your brain is ten thousand times smarter than mine!"

Zheng Sen said with a smile: "In this case, I will visit the province to help get the approval document for opening the coal mine. The farmers whose land has been expropriated must be resettled by you. It is a good thing to open a coal mine first and try it out. Just keep doing it, and stop doing it if it’s detrimental to people’s livelihood.”

"Thank you, Governor!" Yang Ding was even more happy.

At the next two tables, there were entourages brought by Zheng Sen and Yang Ding. They were eating while peeking at the princess.

Fortunately for the people in the state government, the officers from Xiao County were very curious about the legendary princess and had peeked at her countless times along the way.

"My eyes will pop out if I look at him again!" Liu Mang cursed in a low voice.

Ying Dagao said with a smile: "Liu Boss, this is the princess. If you don't take a look today, it will be difficult to see her in the future. It's also thanks to the blessing of the county magistrate. If we hadn't accompanied the magistrate on the tour, where would we have met her in this life? Princess."

Wang Qian said: "You can see it, you can see it. I heard people say that the princess is a teacher in Xuzhou Middle School, and she is more knowledgeable than many male gentlemen."

Ying Dagao was surprised and said: "Princess, is she still knowledgeable?"

Liu Mang said: "This is called the origin of family knowledge. Your Majesty is a descendant of the royal family of the Song Dynasty, and family knowledge has been passed down from generation to generation. Your Majesty is highly knowledgeable, how can the princess not be knowledgeable?"

Ying Dagao said sourly: "This boy named Zheng has been burning incense for eight lifetimes, and he can actually marry the father-in-law..."

Liu Mang kicked him under the table and scolded: "You want to die, don't drag us into it! Are the prince consort and the princess something we can discuss?"

Ying Dagao said with a smile: "Keep your voice down, they won't be able to hear you. This magistrate is very young, I heard he is only in his early twenties. He is probably influenced by the princess. Otherwise, how can he be a magistrate at such a young age?"

Wang Qian said: "I have heard that Zheng Zhizhou is also a hero of Conglong. He started working with His Majesty when he was fifteen or sixteen years old."

"Really?" Ying Dagao asked.

Wang Qian said: "I also heard from people that my uncle works in the state."

Ying Dagao sighed and said: "Oh, if we were good southerners, we would have followed His Majesty in revolt, and maybe we would become high officials now."

Liu Mang said, "Just be content. So many people have died in Hebei and Shandong. It's good for us to be alive. We all went south early. Otherwise, if we stayed in the north, we might have contracted the plague and died." .”

"That makes sense." Ying Dagao nodded.

These three guys are all officials of the Xiao County government.

Liu Mang came south from Tianjin for several years. He first settled in a farm outside Xuzhou and worked as a farmer for a whole year. Because he had served as an officer in Tianjin, he quickly became the leader of the peasant soldiers when he was incorporated into them.

With the arrival of new immigrants, the population of Xiao County increased day by day, and the county police force was in short supply, so Liu Mang was transferred to the city to become a police officer.

Liu Mang's current official position is probably the deputy director of the Public Security Bureau of Xiao County.

Ying Dagao suddenly said: "Boss Liu, every year the county puts up a notice asking for a Tianjin officer named Liu Mang or Liu Meng. Your name is Liu Mang. Could it be you?"

"I don't have any relatives, so it's definitely not me." Liu Mang smiled.

To prevent someone from pretending to be someone else, the notice issued by the government did not say why they were looking for Liu Mang. Zhao Han couldn't even remember his name. He vaguely remembered that he was called Liu Mang, but it seemed possible that he was called Liu Meng.

Wang Qian took over the conversation: "This notice is posted every year, even in the state. I am afraid that some noble man in the court is looking for his lost relatives. Brother Liu is from Tianjin, and he happened to be an officer. His surname is It’s a good number, I should have picked up the notice a long time ago.”

Liu Mang waved his hand and said: "Even if there is such a great thing in the world, it is not my surname Liu's fault. I am also old. If I can retire as a classics historian, I will be very satisfied in this life."

After a brief lunch, Zheng Sen put down his chopsticks and stood up, planning to continue patrolling the river embankment. There were still two dangerous river sections that he needed to visit.

Yang Ding stood up and suddenly shouted: "Liu Mang, come here!"

Liu Mang responded quickly: "Yes!"

Yang Ding called Liu Mang over to give instructions, but Zhao Zhenfang remembered something and stared at Liu Mang's face repeatedly.

She was too young at the time and had long since forgotten. The person in front of me seems a bit similar, but doesn't seem like him.

Finally, Zhao Zhenfang couldn't help but ask: "Your name is Liu Mang?"

Liu Mang was startled: "Princess, are you talking to me?"

"Your name is Liu Mang?" Zhao Zhenfang asked again.

Liu Mang nodded.

Zhao Zhenfang asked again: "Where are you from?"

Liu Mang replied: "I used to live in Tianjin and went south with Mr. Wang (Wang Diaoding). When Mr. Wang arrived in Xuzhou, he left us here, and he took the former Ming prince to Nanjing."

Zhao Zhenfang laughed: "Have you ever served as a soldier in Tianjin?"

Liu Mang said: "I served in the Tianjin New Army. When Li Ge Lao (Li Banghua) reorganized the New Army, I was promoted to the management team by Li Ge Lao. Unfortunately, as soon as Li Ge left, the Tianjin New Army collapsed. Our management team I’ve been doing it for more than ten years.”

Liu Mang was very close to the Datong court. He not only helped the emperor and the princess, but also served as a soldier under the cabinet minister Li Banghua.

Zhao Zhenfang asked: "In the first year of Chongzhen, there was a severe drought in Tianjin. Was your Excellency ordered to guard the bridge?"

Liu Mang said confusedly: "It seems that I have made a mistake, but I can't remember clearly."

Zhao Zhenfang immediately knelt down and saluted: "My benefactor, please accept my bow!"

As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked.

Liu Mang bowed in panic: "I don't dare to treat you like a princess."

Zhao Zhenfang smiled and said: "You deserve it. If it weren't for your help, my brother and I might have starved to death long ago."

Ying Dagao and Wang Qian looked at each other, feeling incredible. Their colleagues in the county government were actually the benefactors of the emperor and the princess!