The scenery in Wenchuan County was rather pleasant. It was only the beginning of spring, but the earth was already covered in a layer of tender green. The distant mountains were also lush green and full of vitality. A gust of wind blowing on one's face was rather soft, unlike the strong winds in the north, especially the strong winds in the northern desert region, which made one's cheeks hurt.
In an area with pleasant scenery, the people living there were also gentle, at least much gentler compared to the people in the north. They were also slightly shorter, but it was not very obvious.
Central Sichuan was mountainous, and the area where Wenchuan County was located was even more mountainous. It was almost impossible to see any flat land. Only a large area around the county was flat, but it was not very large. It was much worse than the Guanzhong Plains. The rest of the surrounding area was mountainous.
In fact, all the scattered flat areas in Wenchuan were plains created by the Wenshui River. They were all distributed along the Wenshui River. Each plain was very small, and the largest one was the area where the county was located. The other larger ones were also important villages and towns. After all, if people wanted to live a good life, they could not do without water. At the same time, for the convenience of production and living, they preferred flat areas. Therefore, the small plains near the river were the most important areas for production and living. These small plains were also the areas where civilizations were most likely to emerge.
Smaller plains could only give birth to smaller civilizations, but large plains could give birth to very glorious civilizations. For example, when the Yellow River crashed into large plains, it gave birth to the great Hua Xia civilization. If it were not for the large plains on the banks of the Yellow River, the Hua Xia civilization would not have had the conditions to rise. This river and the flat land on the banks of the river were necessary for the development of human civilization.
Wenchuan was too small. All the scattered small plains added together didn't cover much area, and it wasn't easy to transform mountains into plains. Therefore, it could only be a county town. It would be difficult to develop it into a prosperous provincial city.
However, as long as there was a train, the situation would be different. With the train, which had an extremely abnormal transportation capacity, the economic development of Wenchuan would rise by several levels. Once there was money, it would not be difficult to change the mountains into plains. For example, the plains around the county could be expanded and the surrounding mountains could be flattened. A new plain could be built and connected to the original largest plain. In this way, the entire plains around Wenchuan County would look bigger and be able to accommodate more people and buildings. The development would naturally speed up and the lives of the people would become more prosperous. This was certain.
The mountainous terrain had a great effect on economic development. After all, as long as it was mountainous, transportation would not be very convenient. Without fast transportation, economic development would inevitably be greatly reduced. Transportation in mountainous areas was much more difficult than in plains areas, and the cost was also higher. The safety and maintenance costs were also higher, which was naturally more disadvantageous to economic development.
At the same time, because mountainous areas were all mountainous, there were relatively few flat areas, and they were very scattered. No matter what industry was established, it would be difficult to achieve a large-scale effect. For example, it was difficult to mechanize large-scale farming, and the workshops would also be scattered, unable to form a complete complementary system. Furthermore, the dispersion itself was very disadvantageous to transportation, which would greatly increase the cost of transportation. Even if large-scale roads and bridges were built, the effect would not be obvious, but it was definitely much better than doing nothing.
"Wenchuan County's scenery is not bad. It's a very beautiful place."
Ang Lee rode on a tall horse and muttered to himself.
Next to him was Lieutenant Chen Long and the county magistrate of Wenchuan County. The rest of the bailiffs and guards were advancing on foot. There were still more than thirty bailiffs, and there were even more guards, more than a hundred of them. They were all fully equipped elites. Such a large group would probably make the people of Zhao Village nervous. However, Ang Lee was not going to fight, but to reason. Even if he could not persuade the people there, he would not choose to use force.
It was the fortune of Zhao Village that this railway passed through Wenchuan County. If they were unwilling to cherish it, not only would they suffer a loss, but the entire Wenchuan County would suffer a heavy loss. At that time, they would not only offend the imperial court, but also the people of Wenchuan County.
This was because Ang Lee had already thought it through. If the railway did not pass through Wenchuan County, it could only pass through Bazhou County. If it really passed through Bazhou County, Bazhou County, which was originally inferior to Wenchuan County, would become much richer than Wenchuan County in three to five years at most. At that time, not only the people of Zhao Village, but also the people of Wenchuan County would be jealous of the prosperity of the neighboring county. Ang Lee was prepared to use this to persuade the people of Zhao Village to agree to move the graves. He believed that with Ang Lee's glib tongue, he would definitely achieve his goal.
"Yes! The scenery of Wenchuan County is still very beautiful, but it is a little too cramped. Staying here for a while is a kind of enjoyment, but staying here for a long time is a kind of torture. It will suffocate people to death. "
Chen Long opened his mouth and said.
This guy was quite knowledgeable, and what he said was all true. In a pleasant mountainous area, people could indeed relax and forget a lot of troubles temporarily. However, if they lived in a pleasant mountainous area for a long time, this feeling would slowly disappear and be replaced by a feeling of loneliness. They would want to leave this beautiful place and go to a crowded city to have fun. At least, most people could not resist loneliness, and only a few people could be satisfied with it.
As the saying goes, traveling is to go from a place that you are tired of to a place that others are tired of. If you spend too much time in a city, you will feel bored and irritated. In a beautiful village, you will feel the same. No matter how beautiful the scenery is, it will become boring after seeing too much. Therefore, the improvement of transportation is quite important. As long as the transportation is convenient enough, one can go back and forth between the city and the village. If one is tired of the hustle and bustle of the city, one can go back to the village to experience the beauty and tranquility. If one is lonely in the village, one can quickly go to the city to experience the prosperity and liveliness. If one stays in a big city for a long time, one can change to another place to have fun. When one is tired of the scenery, one can go to other places to have fun. This kind of life is really good.
Ang Lee said with a smile, "You're right. No matter how beautiful the scenery is, there will be a time when one is tired of it. However, this is the first time we've come to Wenchuan. We definitely won't get tired of it in ten days or half a month. What do you think?"
As he spoke, he looked at the county magistrate beside him.
Hearing this, the county magistrate of Wenchuan County hurriedly said, "Assistant Minister Li is right. People like us who have been living here for a long time have never found this place very beautiful, especially when the mountain road is winding and uneven. It's really uncomfortable to walk on. How nice it would be if it was flat ground! Then it would be more comfortable to walk on the road and not be so strenuous. "
They had lived here for many years and had had enough of the environment here. They yearned for a big city like the capital. They felt that living in a big city like the capital was the most honorable thing to do. However, it was not easy to live in the capital. Not everyone had the opportunity to work and live in the capital. Most people still had to stay in their hometown, especially these yamen runners. They were considered to be famous people in their hometown. If they went to the capital, how would they be pressed to the ground and rubbed against the ground?
"Haha! Well said. When the railway is built here in Wenchuan in the future, the transportation conditions will be greatly improved and the county will become much richer. As long as the county is rich, there will be money to build roads. You won't have to walk on the low-lying and uneven dirt road anymore. "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
Chen Long next to him continued, "You're such a fool, County Magistrate! If the railway passes through Wenchuan County, it will be of great benefit to you. If it passes through other places, it will have nothing to do with Wenchuan County. Just now, you kept asking Assistant Minister Li to change the route. You're really stupid, haha! "
After that, he laughed. This county magistrate was really stupid. He couldn't see the huge benefits of the railway. Compared with not building the railway, building the railway could greatly improve the economic situation of Wenchuan County, and the income of these government runners would also increase greatly. However, they actually gave up such an important opportunity for the sake of a little difficulty in front of them. This was really too stupid or too lazy. In order to get rid of the trouble in front of them, they ignored the consequences. This was a kind of lazy government in itself.
"You're right, Lieutenant Chen. It's my fault."
Although the county magistrate's rank was not lower than Chen Long's, he was only a small local official after all. Chen Long was a lieutenant of the capital's Longwu Army, a small colonel at the foot of the Emperor. Naturally, he had to be more respectful. It was not wrong to call someone who was lower than him superior. Calling himself a subordinate was completely in line with the reality.
"It's good that you know you're wrong. Is Zhao Village the village in front of us?"
Chen Long was carefree and didn't know how to be modest at all.
"Yes, the village in front of us is Zhao Village. The graveyard in the middle is their ancestral grave. On the other side of the ancestral grave, there are two villages, Zhao Village and Zhao Village. They are blocked by the slope now and can't be seen. You'll see them after walking for a while."
The county magistrate said.
Li An raised his head to take a look. The Zhao Village in front of him was incredible. It was a big village, and its scale was larger than the average village. It looked like there were at least a hundred households, and an average of five people per household. That was a total of five hundred people, and the actual number was definitely higher.
"County magistrate, how many people are there in Zhao Village? What about the two villages next to it? What are their populations? "
Ang Lee asked.
In fact, before they set off, the county magistrate had already told Ang Lee, but Ang Lee forgot. The county magistrate didn't say too much, so it was easy to forget.
The county magistrate hurriedly said again, "Assistant Minister Li, there are 112 households in Zhao Village. Including the old, weak, women, and children and some who have gone to other places to make a living, there are about 900 people. There are also more than 700 people in the village. About 200 people go out to make a living. Some come back occasionally, and some only come back during the New Year. There are more than 700 people in the village, and more than half of them are old, weak, women, and children. There are about 200 strong men in the fields. The situation in Zhao Village is similar to that of Zhao Village, which is smaller than Zhao Village. There are about 700 people in each village. There are about 500 people at home, and about 150 strong men in each village. I'm not in charge of the household registration, so I can only know about the general population. I have to go back to the county to ask the registrar."
Hearing this, Ang Lee nodded and said, "These three villages are very big! There are a total of two or three thousand people. There are 500 strong farmers at home. No wonder they are so confident that they even dare to talk back to our county magistrate. Hahaha! "Of course he was joking.
In front of Ang Lee, a county magistrate was nothing. But in Wenchuan County, a county magistrate was a very high official. If it was a small case, the county magistrate would not care about it. Only when it was difficult to solve would the county magistrate take action. For example, when Zhao Village was unwilling to move the grave, the county magistrate took action himself because the local government runners couldn't handle it. But the result was that the county magistrate's action was useless. The people of Zhao Village still refused to accept it, which made the county magistrate very worried. Fortunately, he met Ang Lee. As long as he put the blame on Ang Lee, he would be fine.
"Assistant Minister Li, you must be joking. I'm just an errand boy. I'm nothing. Haha."
The county magistrate said self-deprecatingly.
He was quite sensible and was telling the truth. Although the county magistrate was a high official in a small county, he could not handle everything. He could not handle the big clans with backings, nor could he handle the large number of ordinary people. He had to complete the task given by his superiors. If the people below were not satisfied, he had to appease them. A little carelessness might bring him a lot of trouble. If he was not careful, he would become a proper scapegoat.
"You're too modest. People say that the remote county magistrate is the local emperor, and the county magistrate is the prime minister! Haha! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The county magistrate hurriedly said, "Assistant Minister Li, you must be joking. I don't know about other places, but the county magistrate of Wenchuan County is really not the local emperor. The Shangguan of Yizhou often comes to inspect. Our county magistrate is really trembling with fear, and I, the county magistrate, am even more so. If I do something wrong, I can forget about wearing this official robe."
"Haha! I can hear that you want to be the local emperor. As an official, you don't want to be controlled by the superiors. Hahaha! "
Ang Lee said with a smile.
The county magistrate did not deny it and smiled awkwardly.
In front of them was the ancestral grave of Zhao Village. Although most of the people had left, there were more than 50 people guarding the ancestral grave. Obviously, they were determined not to move the grave. In order to prevent the imperial court from sending people to destroy it, they directly took turns guarding the grave. This made Ang Lee feel quite funny.
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