In recent years, Hequ Road's commercial development has been rapid, especially Shengzhou, because it is about to rush, it is the gateway to the Central Plains and is particularly prosperous. The radish is fast and will not wash the mud. In addition, Du Zhongxiao was in the Western Regions last year, and chaos occurred for a while. The most typical example is smuggling.

After investigation, in addition to smuggling flames, sulfur, and even military weapons to Dangxiang, it is not up to be said about other forbidden objects. In addition to Dangxiang, there are also smuggling to Khitan, which even affected the war between Yelu Chongyuan and Hongji in front, and a network has been formed.

Shengzhou is an emerging city, and it is not too difficult to investigate carefully. It will be a rough check in three to five days. The official Gu Cao tried it and Du Zhongxiao saw it, but there was no major objection. The death penalty was directly executed below, and several death penalty was submitted to the court according to the rules.

In the following days, Du Zhongxiao's big cart rectified the Hequ Road commercial, especially the forbidden goods monopoly. In addition to a few special shops, all the forbidden goods were included in the shopping mall system, and when it reached a certain number, it was reported to the government for approval. A military camp was set up in the city, and together with the military camps outside the city, the entry and exit of soldiers were strictly controlled. The military weapon management was from the battalion level to the battalion level, and from the Strategic Department, and vertical management was carried out.

After nearly ten days of busyness, he finally got a system. Du Zhongxiao felt very tired. After finishing his work, Du Zhongxiao held a banquet in the mansion and invited several officials from the court to repay their hard work these days.

It was mid-June, and the day was so hot that it was hard to wait. As soon as the sun sets, it cooled down. This is the weather here on Hequ Road. No matter how hot the days are, as long as there is no sun in the sky, it will be cool and pleasant.

Chen Xiliang and several officials from the court entered the Houya and thanked Du Zhongxiao, and each of them took their seats. The ministers on Hequ Road were rich in money, not to mention that Du Zhongxiao also had a generous amount of money from the governors. These banquets did not require payment out of their own pocket, nor did they know what they thanked.

A stove was set up next to it, and several soldiers were barbecuing meat there. Everyone sat down and brought it up.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The weather is just getting colder now. Please drink a glass of wine and use some meat to remove the dryness."

After drinking wine and eating meat for a while, Chen Xiliang said, "I heard that Jieshuai is going back to Beijing. I wonder who is coming to Hequ Road later?"

Du Zhongxiao said: "Have you heard of it? It seems that Taiwei Han is coming. However, after this term, you will most likely be transferred to another place, so there is no need to consider these. Young people can go to the Western Regions for another term, which will be of great benefit to their future career."

Chen Xiliang said: "For three years on Hequ Road, family members cannot be with you. Everyone has been on the border for enough. Who wants to take responsibility again? It is better to return to the Central Plains and reunite with their families. It is as if they are here to suffer."

Du Zhongxiao said: "Speaking of this, if you work in a border area, your family will not be allowed to take up your post, which will actually harm people. Besides, with this, many people will not want to come. The court has issued an edict that those who are willing to work in the Western Regions can also reduce the survey within one or two years of term."

Several people shook their heads and were unwilling to go. There have been discounts on Hequ Road in the past three years, so why bother going to the Western Regions again? These border areas are only suitable for one term, and no matter how many of them are, they are unwilling to go. In fact, it is difficult for officials to be sent to the prefectures and counties under Hequ Road, but there are railways, and the resistance is not so intense.

This is a common problem, and Du Zhongxiao had no choice but to talk about other relaxed things.

Dai Zhuang said: "In the past two years, there was only a shortage of people on Hequ Road, and everything was difficult to handle. Since last year, the number of merchants in Shengzhou City has increased and it has begun to flourish. This year's commercial tax has exceeded many mainland prefectures. The Secretariat came to publicly comment on it a few days ago."

Du Zhongxiao said: "That's natural. Our place is the gateway to the north to the Central Plains. Not to mention that the Western Regions are so far away, there are the surrounding livestock and furs. How many people have to be sold to the capital every year? If you manage it well, this place should be a prosperous place."

Wen Tong shook his head: "There are not many households around now, and the cultivated fields are not even enough food for local households, so they cannot be considered a prosperous place. You have to wait until there are more households and more fields in the future to be considered a prosperous place."

Du Zhongxiao said: "It's not the case. Because I am on a major transportation road, although there is not enough food, it can be transported from outside. As long as the commercial tax collected can make up for the money to buy food and have a surplus, it can be called rich."

A few people became interested and discussed enthusiastically what prosperity is. In Shengzhou, the land that has been reclaimed is only around the city. If the garrison is counted, it will not be enough for locals to eat, and grain needs to be adjusted from the Central Plains. However, it is located on the main transportation route and it is also the gateway to the Central Plains. If the commercial tax is included, in addition to the money to buy grain, there is also some surplus. In this sense, it can be considered rich.

Du Zhongxiao said: "The world is different now. We have money and we don't have money. Because the railway can adjust grain on a large scale, the impact of grain is much smaller. Have you noticed that the Lumi used to be delivered to the rice. Now, which of us can eat Chenmi? It's just that after the Lumi is delivered, it is handed over to the shop to sell it to buy new rice to eat. This is because of the railway, and it is much more convenient to transport grain nationwide. In the past, rice was transported by rivers, but even if it was transported, it was still Chenmi. Now, by using railways, you can eat new rice."

Chen Xiliang nodded after hearing this: "Jie Shuai said it well. I have been an official for many years and have eaten Chen rice for meals. It has happened in the past two years. In the past, not only the price of new rice, it was difficult to buy on the street, but now every shop has it."

Wen Tongdao: "It's true. With railways, many local products can be transported out. In the past, it was worthless if it could not be transported out, but now it can be sold for money. Now, many fruits on Shengzhou market are transported from the Central Plains and Jiangnan."

The impact of railways on society is really in all aspects. Du Zhongxiao was used to it in his previous life, but he didn't think too deeply when the railway was newly released in the past two years. In the past two years, especially in the successful acquisition of the Western Regions, he felt much deeper. To be honest, the railways in this era are not comparable to Du Zhongxiao's previous life, with much smaller capacity and much slower speed. Even so, it is enough to change the domestic and international situation.

In the past, when there was no railway, the road was too long. If there was no water transportation, there was a balance between capacity and freight. Too far away, most of the food transported was often eaten on the road. For example, in the past, only 10,000 or 20,000 people on Linfu Road, but more than 20 prefectures on Hedong Road were required to supply grain and grass, and the price of grain in the prefectures was ten times that of other prefectures. Now with railways, even if grain was transferred from Jiangnan, the freight on the road would not be so high.

The railway directly changed the national layout. With the control of the Song Dynasty government, a national market centered on the Central Plains began to slowly form. This market alone has increased revenues higher than the previous national fiscal revenue. In addition to a large number of official industries and commerce, the central government's finances have grown very rapidly in the past two years. It is just that because the system cannot keep up, many of them cannot be revealed on the surface.

Just like Du Zhongxiao took the Western Regions, if there was no railway, I don’t know how much material it would consume. Now there is a railway, it only depends on where the railway leads to. Even if the conditions of that railway are very poor, it is just a single-line railway, which is enough to crush all countries in the Western Regions.

While drinking, several people were discussing the changes brought about by the railway through the world. In the past two years, there were not many railways built in the mainland, and the limited production capacity was used on the border. In addition to Du Zhongxiao's construction to the Western Regions, Hebei Road was also built to the border area, and Shaanxi Road was built to the Zhenrong Army, and Yanzhou.

The severe situation Dangxiang is facing now is actually the construction of several railways in the south and north of the Song Dynasty on its border. With these railways as support, the Song army can not only concentrate large troops, but also fight for a long time, exceeding Dangxiang's resistance. The same is true for the Khitan. Hebei Road built the railway to the border, Hedong Road to Daizhou, and Hequ Road to Shazhou, and several routes have already reached the border.

The ministers of the two prefectures may not be clear about the military principles of the firearms era, but they are sensible to understand the strategic role of the railway. After confirming that the military strength exceeds the other side, they spread the railway network and made a favorable situation for Dangxiang and Khitan.

Speaking of the changes over the past few years, Du Zhongxiao could feel that the years after he entered Beijing would inevitably be the time to fight against the surrounding areas. A group of soldiers would grow up with the war. Whether they can cooperate with the bureaucratic system and rebuild the army of the Song Dynasty is the most important thing.

In recent years, the external victory has improved internal finances, and a clear-headed atmosphere has emerged in politics. The temperament of the whole country is different. In the first month of this year, the emperor suddenly fell ill and woke up after fainting and often spoke strange words, and could not take matters for a long time. Now, his health has finally recovered and he can handle government affairs normally. It is precisely because of this that Du Zhongxiao was allowed to return to Beijing at this time.

Destroying Dangxiang and Khitan and realizing the unification of the world is an amazing temptation for an emperor. If the attack on Dangxiang is smooth and the western frontier is pacified, he will definitely do his best to deal with the Khitan. Du Zhongxiao didn't know what the situation would be.

Since he was promoted to the title, Du Zhongxiao has been an official outside for too long and has had too little contact with the emperor. The two of them are not familiar with each other. This time, what is important is the interaction with the emperor. If the interaction is good, the future prospects are limitless. Of course, if it is not good, he may be thrown into the cold palace. As for being a priest, if it is not trusted by the emperor, what priest is a priest?

Pang Ji has been appointed outside the office. The prime ministers in the court are Wen Yanbo and Liu Han, Wang Yaochen, Zeng Gongliang and Zhang Fangping, and the Privy Councilor Wang Deyong, Han Qi, and the deputy envoys are Tian Kuang and Cheng Kan. Except for Han Qi, none of them are familiar to Du Zhongxiao. Du Zhongxiao returned to Beijing and Han Qi came to take over as the strategic envoy of Hequlu and the Western Regions. It was really difficult to be Du Zhongxiao to be the deputy envoy of Privy Councilor.
Chapter completed!