Chapter 7 A Promise of Gold
Old Yang looked at Li Ji talking under the wine and gave him a thumbs up.
"Great talk! I have benefited a lot from your words, brother!"
Old Yang held up the wine glass and said, "Come on, stop talking, brother, let's go."
Li Ji watched Lao Yang drinking with great concentration.
He suggested: "If you are used to drinking this wine, take a few jars with you when you leave."
Old Yang smiled and said:
"Yes, this wine tastes sweet, mellow, and long-lasting."
He turned to Lao Yu again, "Good wine, good wine. Suitable for the taste of us older people."
After eating and drinking, Lao Yang said goodbye to Li Ji.
"Brother, wait for my words. If the river cannot be dredged overnight, don't blame the government officials for being ruthless."
Li Ji knew in his heart, Lao Yang, Lao Yang, if I didn't have the diamond drill, who would dare to take on the porcelain job.
"I know that officials are responsible for management. The government has its own principles, so of course I can't speak without thinking."
Old Yang and Li Ji slapped each other fiercely and said:
"See you later."
Of course Li Ji went with the flow.
"You should go and come back quickly. Fifty thousand lives are a big deal."
"It's too late now. The government has brought them to justice. No matter how capable I am, it will be in vain."
Lao Yu put the bag on his shoulder and said to Li Ji, "Don't worry, we will be back that day."
Li Ji looked at the receding backs of Lao Yang and Lao Yu, and was thinking in his mind how to dredge the river overnight?
He called Li Ai and asked him to take the gold notes on the farm to the Liang County government bank and exchange them for gold.
He gathered a hundred boatmen and farmhands who were experienced in water operations and distributed the gold to carry away.
Li Ji and Li Ai rode on horseback first, arrived at Yongqiu Wharf and boarded the boat, then went down the river along the border of Ningling.
They used wooden geese to measure the blockages and marked them with wooden stakes.
Two hours later, wooden stakes were driven into all 129 shallow silt locations.
More than one hundred boatmen and farmhands, in accordance with Li Ji's instructions, requisitioned more than one hundred sand-dredging vessels from Liangjun, Yongqiu, Ningling, Suiyang, Pengcheng and other places.
Li Ji adopted the "three-fixed" method of fixing personnel, fixing ships, and fixing locations to dredge the river simultaneously along the Ningling and Suiyang lines.
When the recruited sand-dredging ship bosses saw that there was money to be made and that they were doing familiar work, they were all very happy and full of energy.
In some shallow areas, the silt and yellow sand can be cleared out in just a few strokes.
The yellow sand that is cleaned up and brought ashore can be used as building material. As soon as it reaches the shore, construction sites will purchase it, thus killing two birds with one stone.
When the cocks crowed, the boatmen and farmhands returned one after another.
All 129 blockages from Yongqiu to Guankou have been dredged.
Li Ji and Li Ai returned by boat from Suiyang.
Wooden geese were used to repeatedly measure the siltation along the way. Wherever the wooden geese went, the water flowed smoothly.
Li Ji ordered the boatman to remove all the wooden stakes.
At this time, the east was already turning white.
Li Ji had already ordered the kitchen to prepare hot soup and hot dishes.
He also ordered the housekeeper Li Ai to move a few jars of "Gaoliang Red" wine from the cave in the back mountain.
Li Ji personally rewarded the boatman and farmhands.
Those boatmen who usually couldn't hold their liquor were also drinking happily.
They ate and drank until noon, when the sun was high in the sky. The farmhands and boatmen then leaned against the wall and sang as they returned.
After eating and drinking to their heart's content, the farmhands stayed up all night and had no desire to sleep at all.
In the fields and mountains, in the dawn light, the busy figures of farmers can be seen again.
The key is that the shallow silt along the Grand Canal has been cleared, which means that Li Ji's promise has not been unfulfilled.
Whether in prosperous times or troubled times, it is particularly important for a gentleman to make his words known.
There are many people who have been convicted and beheaded for their words.
According to Zuo Zhuan, the 25th year of Duke Xiang, in 548 BC, Cui Zhu, a minister of Qi, plotted to kill Duke Zhuang.
The historian Mr. Taishi wrote truthfully "Cui Zhu murdered his king" and was killed, becoming the earliest victim of writing in Chinese history.
The historian's two brothers continued to write the same sentence and were also killed.
Sima Qian's grandson Yang Yun was sentenced to be beheaded for treason because of his "Letter to Sun Huizong", which made Emperor Xuan hate him when he saw it .
At the end of the Cao Wei Dynasty, Ji Kang was beheaded in the East Market because his "Letter of Breaking Off Friendship with Shan Juyuan" made the powerful minister Sima Shi "disgusted when he heard it".
Old Yang was a wealthy businessman at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Since he had his own private army, he could even use government soldiers to escort him.
This can ensure that his relationship with the government is extraordinary.
Li Ji believed that the tiger knew something when it took a nap.
Even though these people can eat and drink with you as much as you want, you must be cautious when giving them advice.
Fortunately, he kept his promise, so Li Ji finally put his worries to rest.
He suddenly yawned. He knew he had not slept all night and now he needed to make up for his sleep.
He was just about to lie down when the farmhand on guard came to report.
The farmhands reported that there were two ghostly guys sneaking around in the temple village.
Ghost? Impossible.
Li Ji was well-read, and he certainly didn't believe that there were any ghosts and monsters appearing in broad daylight.
He narrowed his eyes and said, "People whose identities are unknown must be interrogated strictly. Go and bring them here."
After a while, the two ghost-like men were brought before Li Ji.
When he saw it, he almost vomited. It looked so unlike a human.
One has an ox head and the other has a horse face, they look scary.
The visitor introduces himself:
"We are sent by Boss Yang to deliver the letter. The government has agreed to your request, but you must fulfill your promise tonight, otherwise all 50,000 laborers will be killed."
When Li Ji saw that Lao Yang had really done the job, he jumped up .
"Go back and report back. Tell Boss Yang to rest assured. I, Li Ji, will definitely do what I promised."
The Ox-Headed and Horse-Faced Monsters stood still, staring at Li Ji, as if they were waiting for something?
Li Ji immediately understood that they came to announce the good news, so of course they needed to be tipped.
"Butler, go to the kitchen and bring some side dishes. Bring them a jar of wine!"
Li Ai did not dare to delay and brought two pounds of beef and two roast chickens from the kitchen.
He also took out a jar of " Gaoliang .
Li Ji ordered Li Ai to give each of them five taels of silver, and then said:
"Go back and tell Lao Yang to tell the official to ensure that the river is clear at dawn tomorrow so that the dragon boat team can move forward smoothly."
When Niutou and Mamian saw the silver, they both smiled. Niutou said:
"Don't worry, Li Zhuangtou. We will definitely pass on your message. You can take a rest. We are going to report back."
As soon as Ox-Head and Horse-Faced Guards left, Li Ji finally felt relieved.
With the lives of 50,000 people safe, Li Ji was particularly excited.
Li Ji lost all desire to sleep.
"Ding!"
The Time Tunnel Fate Changing System sent a message:
Use wisdom to save 50,000 lives and successfully change their fate.
The reward items are as follows:
Item 1: Silver carp fry, 5,000;
Item 2: Herring fry, 5,000;
Item 3: 10,000 shrimp fry.
Li Ji thought that the small pond in the village was too small to reward fish and shrimp fry.
He immediately decided to dig a large pond in front of the mountain temple.
When the master was alive, he once said, Li Ji, when you grow up, dig a big pond in front of the temple.
