What Li An said was not a lie. When studying the route of the railway to the center of Sichuan, it was controversial. Different people would have different opinions. Even when surveying the terrain, the dignitaries and officials in each county would more or less bribe the technical personnel who surveyed the terrain so that the technical personnel would set the route in their county. In this way, when the railway was built in the future, they would be able to obtain great benefits.
Whether it was Wenchuan County or Bazhou County, they had put in a lot of effort to fight for it. The county magistrate and the dignitaries in the county had paid a lot. If it all went down the drain in the end, they would be very depressed. And if the railway in Wenchuan County was taken away by Bazhou County because of the relocation of the Zhao family's tomb, the county magistrate and several dignitaries of Wenchuan County would probably be so depressed that they would bang their heads against the wall and hate the people of Zhao family to death. In the future, the people of Zhao family would probably have a hard time.
"What? If we don't go through here, do we have to take a detour to Bazhou County? This … "
The county magistrate of Wenchuan County was the first to protest. His expression was very surprised. He was also one of the main cadres of Wenchuan County. He could not tolerate Wenchuan County's railway being taken away by its neighbor, Bazhou County.
In fact, Ang Lee had already said it before, but it was not so straightforward, so the carefree county magistrate did not take it to heart. At this time, when he heard Ang Lee's words, he was suddenly shocked. Only then did he realize the importance of the ancestral tomb in Zhao family's village and did not feel ashamed of his previous thoughts.
"Of course, this is a place that must be passed. If the railway can't pass through here, it can only give up the whole of Wenchuan County and pass through Bazhou County. In this way, in three to five years, Bazhou County will become a rich place, and your Wenchuan County will still be as poor as it is now."
Ang Lee said calmly.
"No, how can this work? Our Wenchuan County has always been much stronger than Bazhou County. How can we be surpassed by Bazhou County? This is absolutely impossible. The route can't be changed. "
The county magistrate of Wenchuan County said loudly. He was so anxious that he forgot that Li An was a much higher ranking official than him. After that, he looked at the people of Zhao Village and scolded, "It's all your fault. If the railway didn't pass through our Wenchuan County and passed through the neighboring Bazhou County, your Zhao Village would be the public enemy of the entire Wenchuan County. Whether it's the county magistrate, me, the nobles in the county, or the people everywhere, we will all remember that it was your Zhao Village that brought shame to our Wenchuan County. One day, our Wenchuan County will be surpassed by Bazhou County.
The county magistrate's reprimand was obviously quite effective. The people of Zhao Village were silent and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Although the people of Zhao family's village didn't know much about the railway, they knew that with this road, transportation would be much more convenient. Their lives would be much better, and it would be much more convenient for them to travel. In short, there were many benefits, but they didn't know much about it before. In addition, the railway had to pass through their ancestral graves.
If the railway really went through Bazhou County and made Bazhou County rich, this was definitely not what the people of Zhao family's village wanted to see. The ideal railway line in their hearts should be in the wasteland behind their residence. They felt that passing through there was the most beneficial for them. Unfortunately, the railway had to go as straight as possible and had to pass through their ancestral graves. Otherwise, they would have to completely give up on Wenchuan County and choose to pass through the neighboring Bazhou County.
The huge benefits that the railway could bring were very tempting. Even the relatively ignorant people of Zhao family's village knew about it. They naturally didn't want to see the neighboring Bazhou County become rich and ride on their heads. Wenchuan County had always been stronger than Bazhou County, and this psychological advantage had lasted for many years. They couldn't accept a sudden change.
"Oh! If we really have to pass through Bazhou County, then wouldn't our Wenchuan County miss a good opportunity? "
"I heard that with the railway, it only takes us two or three days to get to the capital. What if it took us several months in the past?"
"If Bazhou County is connected to the railway, in the future, if we want to go to distant places, we have to run to Bazhou first before we can go to the places we want to go. Not only that, if other counties want to go to distant places, they will also have to go to Bazhou County. In this way, won't Bazhou County become rich?"
"The railway line belongs to our Wenchuan County. How can we let Bazhou take it away? This is a good opportunity to get rich! "
"Then what can we do? Who told this railway to pass through our ancestral graves? Are we really going to flatten our ancestral graves? That's unfilial! "
"Flatten our ancestral graves? That's unfilial! How can we be unfilial descendants? "
"It's nothing to flatten our ancestral graves. It's said that there are three ways to be unfilial. The worst is to have no descendants, and the worst is to bring honor to our ancestors. If our descendants can bring honor to our ancestors, then that's true filial piety. If our Zhao Family's descendants can become rich through this road, then wouldn't it bring honor to our ancestors? Our ancestors in the underworld would be gratified if they knew."
"You're being rebellious and unfilial. You'll suffer retribution if you touch our ancestors' Feng Shui treasured land."
"What Feng Shui treasured land? If it's really a Feng Shui treasured land, then our Zhao Family's descendants shouldn't be so poor. It's been a hundred years and there hasn't been a single county scholar. Every family is poor. Is it wrong to want to live a good life?"
"How dare you! You're asking for a beating!"
"Stop quarreling, all of you shut up!"
More and more people gathered in Zhao Family Village, and it was noisy. Obviously, different people had different requirements. Not everyone had the same idea. Some people tended to be conservative, while others wanted to get rich and change their poor living situation. People with a certain idea couldn't persuade each other. Neither side would give in to the other.
Seeing such a situation, Ang Lee laughed in his heart. He originally thought that the people of Zhao Family Village were very united. Just a little profit was thrown out, and they were already divided. Different villagers expressed different opinions and quarreled for different opinions. The old man who was leading the group sighed.
Under the old man's reprimand, the noisy villagers finally quieted down. However, the whispers did not stop. After all, thousands of people were not a small number. It was very difficult to make thousands of people who had not undergone training not say a word.
Seeing that the villagers had calmed down, Ang Lee said, "Everyone, the big idea is still up to you. I can only convey the imperial court's message. In addition, I'm sincerely doing this for you. Now, to you, the disadvantages of not agreeing to move the graves are obvious, and the advantages of agreeing to move the graves are also obvious."
The villagers were silent. Ang Lee continued, "Everyone, as I said just now, the railway must go in a straight line. As long as it passes through Wenchuan County, it must pass through here. Otherwise, it can only go around Bazhou County. If it can't pass through here, first, the imperial court will have to spend a lot of money to build the roads. Going around Bazhou, the distance will be at least dozens of miles. How much will it cost to build the railway? It's much more than you can imagine. And because of the consequences of your disagreement, what will the imperial court think? You are just ordinary people, but you dare to offend the imperial court. What kind of consequences will there be? This official can't say!
Second, the officials below the county magistrate of Wenchuan County, as well as the rich families in the county, the businessmen, and the ordinary people who are not affected by the road construction will all be jealous of the villagers of Zhao Village. It's you who obstructed the road construction, causing them to be unable to live a good life, causing them to be unable to go out easily, causing Wenchuan County to fall further and further behind Bazhou County. At that time, your Zhao Village will become the enemy of everyone in Wenchuan County. The richer Bazhou County is, the more hostile your Zhao Village will be to the entire county. Can your Zhao Village really bear the consequences of becoming the enemy of the entire county? You guys have to think about it carefully!
Third, your Zhao Village will miss the rare opportunity to ascend. This official can also see that your Zhao Village people are not rich. It can be seen from the clothes you wear that you are all poor. But have you ever thought that your Zhao Village people are not worse than others? But why are you so poor? This is because the entire Wenchuan County is a mountainous area, and transportation is too inconvenient. The grain grown in the fields has to travel a long distance to the county seat. If you want to bring it to the more expensive Yizhou, it will take ten days to half a month. You can't transport much grain at once. Most of the grain can only be sold to the hawkers who come to buy it. And because of the rugged roads and the inconvenient transportation, the hawkers will lower the price. In this way, you won't be able to make much money. It's the lack of transportation that prevents you from making money.
After that, he looked at the silent Zhao Village people.
Obviously, Ang Lee's words were very persuasive, and Ang Lee's words also made the villagers very nervous. If they insisted on moving the graves, first of all, they would offend the imperial court. This was not a joke, and it was the most opposite of the imperial court. Who knew what would happen in the future? Secondly, they would offend the influential officials and officials in the county, as well as many ordinary people who wanted to change the status quo. Offending everyone around them was enough to make them nervous. In the end, they would lose the opportunity to make a meteoric rise because of this. This was intolerable for most of the villagers who wanted to change the status quo. In short, as long as they did not agree to move the graves, they would bring a lot of trouble to themselves and their interests would be damaged.
Ang Lee continued, "If you agree to move the graves, there will be a lot of benefits. First of all, the railway will pass through your door, and it will be more convenient for you to go out in the future. The grains planted in the fields will also be more convenient to be transported to the place where you need them. You can make a lot of money, and your life will become better. Secondly, the neighboring counties will also travel thousands of miles to take a ride here. They will have to eat and drink when they come! You can open a small restaurant in front of your door, and you can also make a lot of money. The most important thing is the sense of superiority. When you see the people in the neighboring county eating and wearing worse clothes than you, you will feel happy. Also, when you have money here, you can build better and bigger houses, and your population will be more prosperous. Isn't a prosperous population the greatest filial piety to your ancestors? "
After saying so much in one breath, Ang Lee found that most of the villagers were convinced, and only a few people were not.
In order to prevent these people from remembering Ang Lee's points of view, Ang Lee specially asked his subordinates to write down the pros and cons of road construction on a piece of paper and gave it to the only scholar in Zhao Village, so that he could take it back and slowly study it.
"It's getting late, and it's time for dinner. You can all go back! You don't have to guard the ancestral graves. Can the imperial court forcefully dig up other people's ancestral graves? No one dares to do such a wicked thing. Do you dare to do it? "
As Ang Lee spoke, he suddenly looked at the county magistrate and the two yamen runners.
"We don't dare, of course we can't do it. It's a wicked thing."
The county magistrate and the two bailiffs quickly shook their heads. Although they really wanted to solve all the problems they encountered, they still wouldn't do things that were against human ethics. It was really not worth it to do immoral things for a little salary.
"Assistant Minister Li, when I go back, I will have a good discussion with the village elders. We will go back now."
The leading old man waved his hand and asked the villagers to go home quickly. Then he bowed and went back with several of his children and grandchildren.
The villagers all went back. Ang Lee didn't have any meaning to continue to stay here. He asked the county magistrate to lead the way and went to the county town ten miles away. It was not good to always stay on the ship. Going to the county town could replenish the fleet with some daily necessities.
"Assistant Minister Li, I think the people of Zhao Village have been convinced. They will definitely move the graves on time. The pros and cons are in front of them. Whoever doesn't move is a fool."
On the way, Chen Long said.
The county magistrate also said, "Assistant Minister Li, I think so too. When Assistant Minister Li tried to persuade them just now, these commoners were clearly convinced. Their attitudes were completely different from when I tried to persuade them earlier. When I spoke to them, they were all prickly and looked like they wanted to eat me alive."
"That's because you don't know how to speak and you don't understand. Do you know that the railway has to go in a straight line? Can you think of so many pros and cons? You can't! "
Chen Long scolded the county magistrate, blaming him for his incompetence.
The county magistrate smiled awkwardly and didn't refute. He was indeed incompetent. His ability was too ordinary. He didn't know much about the task given by the higher-ups and didn't take the time to understand it. He failed to persuade the people of Zhao Village well, which caused the anger of the people of Zhao Village. It was all his fault and it was useless to explain.
"Well, well, don't blame the county magistrate. He has done his best. If he knew everything and knew everything, he wouldn't be a county magistrate in Wenchuan. He would have been a marquis and a minister. Haha!"
Ang Lee said with a smile.
This was to help the county magistrate get out of trouble. It was not because of the county magistrate's ability, but because it was not easy to be a county magistrate. It was a position that could easily offend people. It was better to appease more people.
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