Chapter 20: Dam Repair, Cai Zhenji and Cai Wenji

According to the "Great Harmony Doctrine" that Ji Hao pursued, he could actually just attack the landlords directly and deal with all the Qingzhou noble families. There were no truly large families here anyway, so as long as he appeased the Kong family, nothing would go wrong.

But he has been studying the social structure of the late Han Dynasty these days and found that if he really wanted to violently overthrow the aristocratic families, the final result would most likely be a miserable end for himself.

Any theory must be combined with practice.

The workers' movement was able to arise because in the current social structure, workers accounted for more than 90% of the population, while landlords accounted for less than 10%. If you exclude the relatives, the landlords probably accounted for less than 1% of the total population.

So the workers can win.

During the peasant movement, there were 400 million peasants, and if they were armed, it would represent the general trend of the world.

So it's unstoppable.

But what about this era?

You say the lower class people are suffering, right? They are really suffering. Ordinary people without homes and education are called "hooligans", which later evolved into an insult!
But unfortunately, there was a class in the late Han Dynasty called "Hanmen".

What is a poor family?
My ancestors were once wealthy, but now they are all gone, but the afterglow is still there!

For example, Liu Bei, Guo Jia, Zhang Fei... If we generalize, half of the people at the end of the Han Dynasty were from humble backgrounds and were branches of the aristocratic families.

They don't care about the lives of the people, but they have a strong sense of clanship and will not ignore their own people.

No matter what kind of natural disaster or man-made calamity occurs, if one has surplus, he will let the people in the clan have a meal. If a big figure emerges from a clan in a certain place, other clans will also come closer to him.

Even if they are unable to take care of themselves, the clan school has been passed down and will not be interrupted unless they starve to death.

This is the poor family.

In this situation, if the "aristocratic families" are attacked brutally, the poor families will be pushed to the opposite side, and all the complicated clan forces will become enemies.

In this case, the mass base will be gone.

Without absolute numerical advantage, the common people cannot shake the powerful families.

This is also the reason why the Yellow Turban Army failed.

But the fields were controlled by the aristocratic families, and if they were not allowed to give them up, it would affect their own development, so Ji Hao came up with a way to "give away grain while farming".

First put out a bait to lure the Shijia over, and then use hybrid rice to "increase growth".

While overall wealth increased, the aristocratic families failed to rise with it, so the status of ordinary people rose. Combined with the "dictionary" that cut off the source of the problem, the aristocratic families could be "popularized" and their advantages eliminated.

Then, Qingzhou will be able to get things started.

"Xun Yu, you will be in charge from now on! Issue a 'template contract' and treat everyone equally, whether they are from noble families or ordinary people."

After Ji Hao opened up the situation, he handed the work over to his subordinates.

He led his men to the north of Le'an County, near the Yellow River.

During this era, although there was the administrative unit of "county", there was no county town. There were only counties under its jurisdiction and a county town named after the county.

The county seat of Le'an County is Le'an County.

It is located on a large hillside at the mouth of the Yellow River and is not any modern city.

"There is a lot of land suitable for farming here, but water is a problem. Diverting water from the Yellow River for irrigation can easily lead to flooding, which can be a disaster if we are not careful!" said Cai Yong who was accompanying them.

Ji Hao nodded in response.

This was indeed the case in ancient times. The banks of the Yellow River were higher than the ground, so diverting water was not a problem, and the "large water wheel" he specially designed was not of any use.

But if you dig it open, the water and fire will be merciless and in a few hours you can create a new channel for the Yellow River through a one-foot-deep ditch.

Most of the ancient cities near the lower reaches of the Yellow River disappeared due to the Yellow River bursting its banks.

Including the "Le'an Old County Town" which is located on a hillside and looks quite safe.

"Don't worry about that. I brought something called 'cement', which can be used to build a dam and create a gate that can control the amount of water. You just need to plan the route well." It is said that governing a big country is like cooking a small fish. Ji Hao didn't understand it before, but he does now.

There are too many things to manage.

It’s not that you can just say “fix the irrigation canal” and your subordinates will fix it directly.

There needs to be someone dedicated to the planning and someone in charge to do it.

Fortunately, Ji Hao brought Chen Gong, Guo Jia and Xun Yu, three top talents of the era, with him. If Chen Gong brought some people with him, he could handle the "sea salt" business in Donglai.

From drying salt to refining refined salt, Ji Hao can do it as long as he provides the technology.

After Xun Yu understood Ji Hao's "wool fishing" strategy, he took over directly and played it skillfully.

As for Guo Jia, he organized the people to reclaim wasteland.

Several "large fields" have been planned and are waiting for water to be supplied for growing seedlings.

But as for Cai Yong, although his reputation as a great scholar was known throughout the world and his calligraphy was unrivaled in the world, when it came to practical matters, he knew that there was cement, but he still couldn't use it.

There is no clue about the planned "Leyang Canal".

Ji Hao had to take the lead himself.

"Build a reservoir here and a floodgate here! Water trucks are not very useful, but they are indispensable. In extremely dry weather, we may have to go to the central channel of the Yellow River to fetch water, so backup works must be built and improved." Ji Hao said: "A floodgate must also be built. I don't want us to be flooded directly when it rains too much one year!"

If other places were flooded, there might be nothing we could do, but if Qingzhou was flooded, it would be a joke.

There is the sea next to it, can it be flooded by the Yellow River?

However, there were floods in the past few years and a severe drought last year, which created millions of victims. The court did not intervene, and eventually millions of victims turned into the Yellow Turban Army and stormed the provincial capital.

The water conservancy project was not done well.

Officials only want to make money, so who the hell is going to spend the money?

"Hearing what the general said is like an epiphany. I will do it right away!" Cai Yong said.

He was limited by the times and could not think of many things, but his execution ability was really good. He brought a group of disciples with him, and in just a few days, he sorted out the previously chaotic Le'an County.

The county governor, the county magistrate, and the village chief worked together to comfort the local victims.

With the help of Zhao Yun, the situation is getting better day by day.

At this point, I have to say something: Guan Hai, who was active in Qingzhou in the original novel, simply disappeared and went to other places to cause trouble.

As for the reason, it is most likely that he is afraid of Ji Hao.

Guan Hai was once Zhang Liang's subordinate, and Zhang Liang was killed by Ji Hao himself!
"Father, mother asked us sisters to deliver the food."

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out.

Ji Hao looked subconsciously and found a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old and a little girl of fifteen or sixteen years old, each carrying a box of lunch, and coming to the bank of the Yellow River under the escort of servants.

"This is?"

"My daughters, Jeong-ji and So-ji, were originally scheduled to get married, but the marriage was delayed due to my exile. They have long missed the age. I was planning to write a letter to ask after everything is settled!" Cai Yong said.

This made Ji Hao's eyes light up, and he smiled and said, "So, the two of you haven't married yet?"

"No." Cai Yong shook his head.

"Then don't write the book. If you miss it, it means you are not destined to be together!" Ji Hao smiled and said, "Marry them all to me! Meng De often nags me because I don't have a wife!"

Cai Yong: “???”

(End of this chapter)