Early the next morning, Zhu Xiu found a carriage and personally escorted Zhao Kuangyin back to the county seat.

In the spacious carriage, Zhu Xiu opened the window and let the fresh air blow in to dispel the dullness.

The smooth road was not bumpy and the carriage was running smoothly. Zhu Xiu helped Zhao Kuangyin sit up and lean against him to look at the scenery outside the window.

The spacious and straight road made Zhao Kuangyin dazzled, and he actually had the illusion of walking on the main avenue of Chengtian Street in Kaifeng.

"Stop the car~~" Zhao Kuangyin suddenly said, "Help me get out of the car and take a look!"

Zhu Xiu couldn't resist him, so he had to ask the driver to stop and help him get out of the carriage.

Zhao Kuangyin landed with his feet on the ground, stepped hard on the solid and flat road, coughed twice, and asked in surprise: "Did you build this road?"

The gauze wrapped around his head and face has been removed, his face is pale, there are bruises on the corners of his forehead and eyes, and there are several broken skin and abrasions on his cheeks.

He was a majestic man with a white face, big ears, a square face and a broad forehead. After he recovered from his injuries, his face would inevitably be covered with scars, adding a bit of a ferocious look.

Zhu Xiu blinked, thinking that the road was not built by humans. Could it be that it fell from the sky and was made by ghosts and gods?

"Hehe, yes..."

Zhao Kuangyin became even more surprised: "How long did it take to build it? Can it lead directly to Anding County?"

Zhu Xiu scratched his head: "The construction started in the spring and was put into use last month, so it will take less than three months. This road is called 'White Salt Avenue', connecting the Yangjinchuan Salt Factory and Anding County, and is used to transport salt goods."

Zhao Kuangyin squatted down, flattened his palms and rubbed the road surface carefully. There was a slight roughness, but in his opinion, it was already more solid and flat than the main Tianjie Road in Kaifeng City.

After a moment of silence, Zhao Kuangyin looked at him and said, "I guess this 'White Salt Avenue' was also written by you?"

Zhu Xiu smiled humbly: "My little brother knows how to burn white ash, clay, iron ore residue and other materials to make a kind of cement ash, mix it with gravel and gravel, and its viscosity is better than ordinary cement ash."

Rammed earth.

Just dig the roadbed, pour the mixed cement ash on it, scrape it flat with a scraper, flatten it with a rolling stone, and wait for it to dry and harden naturally.

There are hundreds of mountain households near Qingshiling, and most of them know how to burn white ash, so I organized them and set up a special cement ash production team. Unfortunately, the manpower is limited and the output of cement ash is not high. Currently, we can only lay this road.

....”

Zhu Xiu stepped hard on the road, full of regret.

In his plan, similar roads should be built to connect not only every village but also the five county towns and two military cities in Jingzhou.

Of course, low-quality cement fired by local methods cannot be compared with industrial cement, but its viscosity, hardness, and strength are far better than ordinary rammed earth, and it is more practical than the common triple clay used in city building.

Unfortunately, due to limited human and financial resources, we can only build the road from the salt factory to Anding County to get rich first.

In order to build Baiyan Avenue, Zhu Xiu did not hesitate to use forced labor to recruit civilians. They were only responsible for daily meals without any compensation.

It is common for ordinary people to work for the government, but Zhu Xiu advocated a labor recruitment system in Jingzhou, where everyone must pay for work.

This time, in order to save time for the construction, we made an exception. All workers were kept in a name book. When the treasury has savings, wages will be gradually compensated.

Zhao Kuangyin was silent for a moment and then said: "Do you think this cement ash can be used to build a city?"

Zhu Xiudao: "Of course! I have calculated that the cost of building a city with cement ash is much lower than that of glutinous rice mortar and mirage mortar. It is similar in composition to Sanhe soil, but only half the price. It is very suitable for large-scale use. Moreover, the bonding strength of cement ash

Not bad at all.”

Zhao Kuangyin's face was moved, his eyes were complicated, and he sighed softly: "You should go back to Kaifeng with me as soon as possible! Please ask Privy Council Guo to arrange your duties for you. There are three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five prisons, and various Taoist temples. Without you, nothing can be done.

A qualified position! You can do more things in Kaifeng."

Zhu Xiu's face turned red in a rare moment, and he cupped his hands and said in shock: "Brother Zhao is really ridiculous. In fact, there are many things that I can't do!"

Zhao Kuangyin looked at him and said quietly: "For example?"

Zhu Xiu thought about it seriously and said seriously: "For example, I don't have the ability to escape from the heavily guarded rehabilitation center like Brother Zhao. If it weren't for being really unlucky, Brother Zhao would have escaped long ago!"

"Cough cough cough~~~" Zhao Kuangyin suddenly coughed violently, making his face red and thick, "Help me get in the car~"

Zhu Xiu hurriedly helped him get into the car and rested leaning against the car board.

The coachman shouted, and the wheels continued to turn.

Zhao Kuangyin stared blankly at the slowly retreating scenery outside the window, and asked again: "I see that there are many civilians walking on Baiyan Avenue? Could it be that this avenue is not for official and military use?"

Zhu Xiu peeled the orange and said in surprise: "Of course the road must be built for people to walk on. Why should it be divided into official and military uses? In my opinion, the imperial road in front of the Kaifeng palace should also be open to the common people."

Zhao Kuangyin refused Zhu Xiu and stuffed an orange into his mouth, saying: "The etiquette system of superiority and inferiority should be like this."

Zhu Xiu chewed the sweet and sour orange and said vaguely: "In such a large palace city, the royal family and the court can follow the etiquette system as much as they want. Once outside the palace city, they should still pay more attention to the people's livelihood and see what happens under their rule."

No matter what the people eat, wear, and use on a daily basis, if they can truly take the common people of the world as their own responsibility, there will be no need to use royal ways to distinguish the boundaries between superior and inferior, and the people will naturally support it..."

Zhao Kuangyin listened silently and did not refute.

He has lived well since he was a child, but he is not ignorant of the hardships of people's livelihood.

Since I ran away from home, I have witnessed with my own eyes the tragedy of bones being exposed in the wild, refugees fleeing in war-torn areas, and people exchanging children for food.

Looking at the pedestrians walking in groups chatting and joking on the Baiyan Avenue, some carry hoes on their shoulders, wear bamboo hats on their heads, and their bare feet are covered with yellow mud, as if they have just returned from working in the fields.

Some hawkers carry loads and go between the salt factory and the county town.

Such a road, which is comparable to the Imperial City Avenue, allows people to travel freely without any cards or restrictions, which is extremely difficult.

Seeing Zhao Kuangyin deep in thought, Zhu Xiu laughed secretly.

Zhao Da must have never heard of the eternal slogan "If you want to get rich, build roads first". Compared with getting rich, all ethics and ethics are just nonsense.

During the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong opened the Furong Garden as a public garden on a regular basis, allowing the people to visit and enjoy the magnificent scenery, magnificent palaces, rare treasures, and rare birds and animals. This is the magnanimity that an emperor in a prosperous age should have.

In contrast, today's Kaifeng Palace City has many royal roads on all sides that are prohibited for common people to set foot on. It would rather leave it empty than allow people to trample on it. It is simply petty and petty, and Zhu Xiu deeply despises it.

This kind of custom was probably left over from when Zhu Wen founded the country. Perhaps Lao Zhu knew that he had usurped the Tang Dynasty and cut off the Li Tang Dynasty, and was worried that the people of the world would not accept it, so he guiltily tried every means to flatter his status and highlight his status.

own royal status.

They were all named Zhu, and Zhu Xiu didn't think highly of Lao Zhu. He was killed by his own son, so Lao Zhu, the emperor, was considered a coward.

Just as he was about to eat the last orange segment, Zhao Kuangyin silently took it from his hand and stuffed it into his mouth.

Zhu Xiu spread her hands and leaned back against the car, swaying slightly and feeling drowsy.

Shi Xiangwen's big head appeared at the window, blocking most of the light and making the car dark.

Shi Xiangwen grinned stupidly: "Zhu Xiu, I caught two grasshoppers. You can get out of the car and play with me for a while."

Zhu Xiu shook his head: "I'm on my way, let's go back to the city and play again."

Shi Xiangwen said in a loud voice: "The carriage is moving slowly. Let's play on the side of the road for a while. I will carry you later without delaying things."

With a headache from being bored in the carriage, Zhu Xiu smiled and said, "Brother Zhao, please take a break. I'll go down and play with grasshoppers."

Zhao Kuangyin twitched the corners of his mouth, nodded and forced out a smile.

Zhu Xiu jumped off the carriage, rolled up his sleeves, squatted on the side of the road enthusiastically, and played grasshoppers with Shi Xiangwen.

Zhao Kuangyin looked through the car window and saw two people, one large and one small, squatting together with their heads touching, having a great time.
Chapter completed!