Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 238: A Little Liaodong Shock to the Stinky Outsiders
Without a signboard, Li Ming and his group can easily distinguish the boundary between Pingzhou and Youzhou.

Because the side of Yanshan Mountain in Pingzhou is completely bald.

It is clearly distinguished from the Youzhou side which is covered with vegetation and full of "wild beauty".

This is obviously not because the weather is getting colder and the grass is withering.

The winter wind will not fail to reach Shanhaiguan.

In fact, all the trees on the mountain on the Pingzhou side had been cut down.

Not even the tree stumps were left, only big holes in their place.

Li Ming remembered that when he left Liaodong at the beginning of this year, Yanshan was not like this.

At a glance, the entire mountain range looked like it had lost all its hair after working overtime for a year straight after he left, 996.

The effect of overtime work is also very obvious.

In just one year, Yanshan almost completed the journey that took the Loess Plateau thousands of years to complete.

Of course, the sparse vegetation and soil erosion alone are not enough to make Liaodong present some characteristics that are "beyond the times".

What really made Li Ming feel something was wrong was another reason.

"Ming'er, Pingzhou...is it raining?"

Li Ling put his hands on the pergola and looked towards the northeast in confusion.

Pingzhou in the distance seemed to be shrouded in a mysterious cloud. The cloud was not dark, and it was neither sunny nor cloudy, filling the entire sky and earth.

Under the sunlight, it appears dark and unclear.

That's smog...

There is smog in Liaodong!

The Tang Dynasty more than a thousand years before the Industrial Revolution!

The corners of Li Ming's mouth couldn't stop twitching.

"It's not raining. It's the unique weather in Liaodong. I can't really explain why. It's probably cold."

Chang Sunyan answered for Li Ling casually and glossed over the issue of air quality.

The group left the edge of Youzhou, which seemed like a desolate wilderness, and officially entered the territory of Pingzhou.

As soon as you set foot on Pingzhou, the feeling is immediately different.

The road suddenly became wide and flat, and the horses' hooves could pedal effortlessly, giving the people, who had been displaced for half a month, a rare chance to relax.

The streets are interconnected, with heavy traffic and a constant flow of people, some of them are traveling merchants, and some are craftsmen and farmers on their way.

Regardless of their profession, everyone is busy but not chaotic, and full of endless energy.

"It's so lively. There are so many people on the road outside the county town. It's not inferior to the downtown area of ​​Chang'an?!" Su Dingfang was a little surprised.

In the early Tang Dynasty, after a long period of turmoil, the population was still in a stage of climbing growth.

Away from the city walls, there are usually few people on the country roads.

Li Ming and his companions traveled thousands of miles across the Central Plains. They were used to the desolate and deserted scene along the way, so they were a little uncomfortable when they suddenly met so many passers-by in the wild.

This scene full of vitality and flourishing things gave a little shock to those who came to Liaodong for the first time.

"I have heard about the prosperity of Liaodong for a long time. Today I see it with my own eyes. It is far better than I imagined in the palace. Seeing is believing."

Yang couldn't help but sigh and looked at Li Ming with a smile.

I can't hide my pride in my son.

"We've only just arrived here, we haven't even entered the city yet, it'll be even more lively as we go further in!"

Chang Sunyan enjoyed the fact that the people of the capital were naive and not humble at all.

Li Ling was also proud of his brother's achievements, but despite his pride, he felt something was wrong.

Her lover Cui Yi had the same feeling and whispered a few words in her ear.

Li Ling nodded, and rode his horse to the side of the horse that Changsun Yan and Li Ming were riding, and asked in a low voice:
"This road...could it be the Chi Road?"

According to the Zhenguan Law, only His Majesty's carriage can travel on the Chidao Road. If anyone else wants to use it, they must get His Majesty's permission.

Most of these civilians coming and going, including Li Ling himself and Li Ming's party, did not have the permission of His Majesty...

"No." Chang Sunyan answered confidently.

Cui Min, who had walked this road before, was stunned:
"Isn't it?"

"Of course not." Chang Sunyan patted his chest:

"We have comprehensively widened and reinforced the original road. How can it be the same road?"

Everyone stood back tactically, in awe.

The decree does seem to only clearly prohibit trespassing or damaging the highway, but does not specify any penalties for modifying or repairing the highway.

Because when Changsun Wuji participated in the compilation of the "Zhenguan Law", he probably did not expect that anyone would dare to do such a thing, and his beloved eldest grandson was among this group of daring people.

"It's good to have more people. A large and prosperous population is a blessing."

Old lady Zhang Chuchen loved the hustle and bustle. She sat in the carriage and talked to her husband with a smile.

"Huh...yes." Li Jing could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

A large population means good public security and there is no room for robbers and bandits to strike.

In this way, he would not have to sit on horseback and be on guard the whole time. He could rest in the car with his wife and leave the burden of guarding to the young man Su Dingfang.

He began to feel a little regretful that he should not have had second thoughts and raised a private army.

It shouldn't have been discovered by His Highness Li Ming.

Unlike his father who was afraid of Li Jing's talent, His Highness Li Ming was really not shy at all.

Based on the principle of using him to death as long as he doesn't die, he ordered Li Jing to do his best.

I didn't feel any pity for Li Jing at all just because he was a delicate flower in his seventies.

He even dared to hand over Li Ming's own imperial guards to him, letting him be fully responsible for his own protection.

He was not afraid that Li Jing really had rebellious intentions and would kill him with a single blow.

This trust, as heavy as Mount Yanshan, was a bit too much for Li Jing to handle.

If he had known this would happen, Li Jing would have been better off confessing to Emperor Li Shimin and stretching his neck for a strike.

At least it's easy.

Long sleep is much better than insufficient sleep...

"Brother Ming, how is it? The Liaodong officials and people are united in their efforts and have made great achievements. Everything is in accordance with the guidelines you set."

Chang Sunyan patted the shoulder of Li Ming who was sitting in front.

It was a rare opportunity to brag to his family, but Brother Ming was surprisingly quiet, so Chang Sun Yan had to take over.

"Cough cough!"

Li Ming coughed heavily, looked at the thick haze ahead, and nodded stiffly:
"Yeah, I can see it."

The further he walked, the more he could smell the sky-high PM2.5 levels.

For the ignorant people of the Tang Dynasty, they would probably think this was "Northeastern style".

For Li Ming, this probably means that there will be several more frightening ↑ or ↓ arrows in his annual physical examination report.

Damn, the enthusiasm of the people in Liaodong for work is really so high. The efficiency of shaving the earth's head is too high...

…………

It is autumn and winter now, and the temperature in Yanshan has dropped.

However, Li Ming and his team did not need to brave the severe cold and cross the mountains.

They could take the ancient coastal road in the east (which was later known as the Liaoxi Corridor).

By passing through Linyu Pass (i.e. Shanhaiguan), you can enter the hinterland of Liaodong.

Because the temperature is low now, the muddy mudflats on the ancient coastal road between Yanshan Mountain and Bohai Sea have frozen hard, allowing horse teams that are not pulling heavy vehicles to enter and exit.

In a few hundred years, when the warm interglacial period of the Tang Dynasty ends, this Liaoxi Corridor will completely emerge from the seabed, making the people of all ethnic groups in the Northeast truly happy.

But during the Tang Dynasty when the sea level was high, this narrow and muddy ancient road was still unknown.

To the west is the foot of Yanshan Mountain, where a few golden farmlands occasionally appear among the bare land.

To the east is the vast Bohai Sea.

It is a pastoral scene, peaceful and leisurely.

The fresh sea breeze blew away the haze, making Li Ming's brain work happily.

What if we could advance the course of history and use the magic of humankind to build a permanent highway here that could accommodate large vehicles?

Then, the business travellers between Liaodong and the interior would no longer have to take the rugged Yanshan Mountain Road...

The question is, is it feasible to transform the muddy land?
Why don’t we ask our civil engineer brother Xue Wanche when he comes back?

"Forget it, forget it. I'd better not start any large-scale construction and become the Qin Emperor or Sui Yang." Li Ming calmed down for a while and temporarily gave up this grand civil engineering project.

Building roads on frozen soil in the Tang Dynasty is like building a cap on the Pacific Ocean or installing an elevator on the Himalayas in modern times - not very realistic...

"Look! What are they doing!"

Cui Yi pointed in astonishment at the farmers working at the foot of the mountain.

"What happened?"

This shout startled Su Dingfang immediately, and he drew his sword vigilantly.

The imperial guards immediately became nervous and gripped their lances and bows tightly.

"Enemy attack?"

Li Jing, who had just been complaining about having to do all kinds of work, immediately got into work mode and prepared to lead the charge.

The soldiers held their breath and looked carefully at the farmers at the foot of the mountain with fiery eyes.

But no matter how the group of people looked at it, they felt that the farmers did not do anything suspicious and were really just farmers.

"Look what they are harvesting! It's rice, rice!"

Little brother Cui Yi finally finished shouting out a complete sentence.

Su Dingfang's hand holding the sword trembled slightly, and he had the urge to hit Xiao Cui on the head with the sword.

What does it have to do with you if they are harvesting rice?

"Rice can be grown in Liaodong? Am I seeing things? Is this still Liaodong? The land in the north of Youzhou can't be used to grow rice either!"

Cui Yi ignored the speechless looks of the soldiers and continued to shout excitedly:
"Isn't it just possible to grow millet, sorghum and the like?"

After he reminded everyone, they realized something was wrong.

According to the original timeline, rice first appeared in the Northeast region during the Bohai Kingdom period more than a hundred years later.

"Oh, that?" Li Ming was not surprised by this and explained:
"I specially arranged several production teams and selected several plots of land with good water and heat conditions to try to plant various rice seeds brought from the mainland.

"It seems that the experiment was successful. They really found a rice variety that can grow normally in Liaodong."

Cui Yi was still very surprised by this answer:

"As far as I know, our ancestors have been selecting suitable rice seeds and trying to grow rice in Pingzhou, but they have never been successful. Why did Your Highness succeed in just one year in Pingzhou..."

"Of course it's because Your Highness is the son of destiny, and it's destiny." Cui Mingan smoothly took over the words of his nephew Cui Yi, and spoke very nicely.

As the number one surname in the world, Lao Cui has always been very proud.

When have you ever been so humble to others?
He had never been so flattering even to the emperor himself.

But these days are different.

After the turmoil in Hebei and the forced departure of their hometown in Hebei, their family became like duckweed, with no roots.

His Highness Li Ming is the patron of this branch of the Cui family.

To put it bluntly, he almost handed over his entire life and property to His Highness Li Ming's hands.

Although Li Ming may not care about this, he still has to show submission.

For the survival of his family, Cui Mingan can be very flexible.

"That's not true."

Li Ming, a staunch materialist, waved his hand to stop Lao Cui from singing praises:
“It’s just simply casting a wide net.”

"Cast a wide net?" The two Cuis didn't understand at first.

"Whether rice can survive in Liaodong depends on the water and heat environment of different terrains and the grain itself." Li Ming answered their questions:

"So I asked them to collect grain seeds from all over the country and plant them in different areas such as the seaside and mountains in Liaodong, and try them one by one."

Cui Yi only half understood what he said. Cui Minggan did some mental calculations and was a little stunned:

"To test all these seeds one by one, it would take a huge plot of land and a huge amount of manpower!

"What if there is no result? Wouldn't that mean we won't get anything for the whole year?"

Li Ming nodded in agreement.

"That's it, space for time."

He pointed behind him casually:

"We've been walking along the seaside road, and most of the land is empty and barren, right?"

"Yes." Several people who were listening nodded.

“Those are not actually empty plots, but failed experimental plots.”

Li Ming said lightly.

"what?!"

Everyone was stunned, and Cui Mingan, who had actual experience in governing, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

Along the way, the endless wasteland was actually all so-called "experimental fields"? !

Large tracts of land were left unharvested throughout the year, just to test out which rice seeds could adapt to the climate of Liaodong and grow outside the Great Wall? !

"It seems that this part of the experiment was quite successful, and we have selected rice varieties that can survive in the saline-alkali land on the seaside flats." Chang Sun Yan echoed and gave a brief comment.

As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked again.

"You mean...it's the same in other places, with large amounts of land left uncultivated?" Li Ling couldn't hide his surprise.

Extending northeast along the coast, this stretch of unproductive land is endless and is large and "wasteful" enough.

It’s just a part of all the land used for experiments?

"Yes." Li Ming and Chang Sun Yan said in unison.

"We have to try all kinds of natural environments, from the high and cold mountains to the dry plains, and select the most suitable rice variety in the shortest time possible, so that we can quickly spread the planting in the Northeast."

"We will conduct trial planting this year, pilot project next year, and fully roll out the year after," Li Ming added.

Several bumpkins from the capital and Youzhou gasped.

They truly understood what Li Ming meant by "trading space for time".

We pursue extreme efficiency and speed in everything. Even the pedestrians on the road are in a hurry, as if time is of the essence.

This vitality and enterprising spirit is the underlying color of Liaodong.

This is also the fundamental difference between the people under Li Mingzhi and the subjects of other states and counties.

"It's faster, but..."

Yang looked deeper and said thoughtfully:
"But with so many fields suffering from crop failure or even total crop failure, won't the people have any objections?"

She was not worried that the people of Liaodong would not be able to be fed.

My son and his friends are not so stupid.

She was worried that this would lead to opposition from the landlords.

Imagine if Comrade Lao Li suddenly had the idea to requisition the vast fertile land in Guanzhong for "experiments"...

I'm afraid that a large number of aristocratic families from the Wei, Du, and other clans have already come to the capital to "state the pros and cons."

Although this experiment is in the best interests of most people in the long run.

It is also destined to be ruined by small groups whose interests are directly harmed.

"There are no landlords anymore. The people fully support me."

Li Ming lightly stated the fact that shocked the listeners.

"Concentrate our efforts on major tasks. This is my motivation for setting up production teams."

The landlord and tyrant Cui Mingan lowered his head and said nothing.

One year is an incredibly short period of time to select rice that can survive and even have a good harvest north of Yanshan Mountain.

The social resources mobilized for this purpose are also incredibly huge.

After eliminating the old interest groups that hinder the development of productivity, it will be possible to mobilize forces that were unimaginable in feudal society and carry out social practices on an astonishingly grand scale.

All this reflects that Li Ming's control over Liaodong has reached an unprecedented level, which is difficult for people in other regions to match or even imagine.

Is this the future master of the world?

It's horribly efficient...

…………

Pingzhou, with its seat in Lulong County.

Liaodong Committee Office.

"Oh, they really started fighting?"

Wei Daijia, the governor of Pingzhou and Yingzhou and also the standing committee member, was reading the intelligence coming from inside the country.

Today's intelligence is that the armies of Li Zhi and Li Tai finally fought at Hangu Pass.

"Based on the time it took for the message to arrive... the eight brothers have been fighting for nearly half a month, right?"

Wei Daijia was cracking walnuts, feeling like he was enjoying the fun.

Although the exact news had only come today, it was not difficult for him to see from the documents sent by His Highness Li Ming that the brothers would have to fight sooner or later.

What's more, His Highness Li Ming packed up all his loyal followers in Chang'an and sent them to Liaodong.

Many of them are old acquaintances of Awei.

All of this indicates that the world is about to become turbulent again.

If he doesn't even have this little bit of political sensitivity, Wei Daijia would have spent the past two years as a member of the "Fourteen Traitors Party" in vain.

Wei Daijia's evaluation of the Eight Kings Rebellion that swept across the world in this new era is:

"A tempest in a teapot."

Under the protection of the Red Turban Army, he didn't have to worry about this brotherly infighting spreading to the core area of ​​the Northeast.

He could just watch the fire from across the Yanshan Mountains. The fighting was in full swing over there, while the construction was in full swing here, and the two sides did not interfere with each other.

"No, we can't have this mentality. Liaodong and the Tang Dynasty are one."

Wei Daijia began to reflect on himself.

When the brother counties in the mainland were engaged in a civil war, how could Liaodong just sit back and watch?

We must sell supplies to both sides and make a fortune from the war!
Wei Daijia immediately took out paper and pen and started writing a plan.

"Commissioner Wei." The messenger came.

Wei Daijia said without even raising his head: "I'm busy, we can talk later if there's anything else."

"Oh." The messenger was ordered to retreat obediently.

After a while, Yuchi Xunyu came.

Half a year after returning to Liaodong from Chang'an, the little black charcoal-head had grown a lot bigger. He rushed in as usual, shouting in a hoarse voice:
"Awe! Something big has happened!"

Why do you call me A Wei? Is this a nickname that a little black guy like you can call me... Wei Daijia muttered in his heart, muttering unhappily:
"Why do you all bother me? It's a busy time. I'm very busy. What's the matter?"

"event!"

Chief Financial Officer Fang Yize also rushed in. Due to long-term sitting in the office and lack of exercise, his skin had turned pale and he was out of breath after running a few steps.

It is a rare and once-in-a-millennium occurrence that the Chief Financial Officer actually leaves the accounting office where he has always been in charge.

Wei Daijia then realized that something really big had happened.

"What happened? What happened?" His heart skipped a beat and he put down his pen.

"Brother Ming!"

Fang Yize and Yuchi Xunyu said in unison.

"What?" Wei Daijia didn't react for a moment.

"It's Li Ming! Li Ming is back from Chang'an!"

"What?! Where's the message? Why didn't you tell me earlier!"

Wei Daijia slammed the table and stood up.

"Didn't you say you were busy..."

Yuchi Xunyu was muttering to himself when he felt a gust of wind blowing beside him.

Wei Daijia had already jumped out of the study and ran towards the gate of Lulong County.

Yuchi Xunyu and Fang Yize, the two little friends, one black and one white, looked at each other and hurried to catch up.

"Hey, hey, hey, wait for us! It's not at the South Gate, you're going the wrong direction!"

(End of this chapter)