The place Zhu Yijun is passing now is still in Ji Nei, so he passed through these places when he paid homage to the mausoleum.
Naturally, he remembered that there were not so many schools in these places before.
Therefore, he had to admit that the sudden appearance of so many schools in these places was indeed not a fancy project that local officials could create unexpectedly, but that there were really so many children studying there.
What's more, the sound of reading is difficult to fake. If you haven't read a book for a few months or even a year, the sound of reading coming to the slowly moving carriage will not be so loud and sweet.
Therefore, Zhu Yijun is willing to believe that the New Deal, one of whose goals is to benefit the people, has indeed benefited the people, and that local bureaucrats are not all that bad, and they still implement the benevolence of his emperor.
More and more people are studying. For Zhu Yijun, it is indeed beneficial to the country, the people and himself.
This will allow a person to produce greater value to society.
for example.
If the disabled veteran who is teaching in a school along Guandao had not received knowledge in the army, he would now be able to sit in a wheelchair and watch the sunset and sunrise after he retires, instead of being able to produce value to society and make himself The rest of your life is more intentional.
But now, because he has read, even if he can no longer fight the enemy, he can still shine for this society through teaching and educating people.
And there is no doubt that if the educational level of most people can be improved, it will indeed be more positive for the stability of society.
Although Zhu Yijun likes to flip tables, he doesn't want everyone to be as reckless as him.
The rails continued to extend forward, and gradually turned into wooden rails extending forward, and Zhu Yijun and his personal army also continued to extend forward.
The reason why the railway tracks turned into wooden tracks is because all the tracks use railway tracks. The amount of work is too large and the cost is too high. Therefore, currently only the Gyeonggi area has railway tracks. After leaving Gyeonggi Province, wooden rails are the main track.
Before I knew it, it was the twelfth lunar month, with light clouds and red leaves.
This is the busiest time of the year for farming.
Except for potatoes, which have been widely used in recent years and are planted in autumn, and need to be harvested during these nine cold days, farmers basically have no agricultural work. They are just chopping firewood and clearing snow, or carrying coal to marinate bacon and grow cabbage in the cellar.
Although these civil affairs may seem ordinary, in fact, in this era, they were scenes that only existed in the heyday of the times.
First of all, there are still trees that can be cut down for firewood, instead of being peeled, eaten and then withered in the spring, which means that there is no longer a problem of food. Secondly, there are coals for heating and salting meat, and there are cellars for storing vegetables. , this all shows that in the 19th year of Wanli, there were still people living a good life, and even had enough money to buy coal and more salt.
As the saying goes, you can’t see the fireworks and folk customs of the world unless you leave Beijing.
Zhu Yijun now really saw that in the villages and towns he passed along the way, there were a large number of people sitting around playing cards and smoking, and there were also a large number of country people who were surrounding a stage and cheering loudly.
In the nineteenth year of Wanli, in the countryside beside the official road.
Between the snow-covered wheat stacks and the houses, as long as someone puts up a shed and lights the stove, after three or five wisps of white smoke rise from the ground, there will be two or three strong men and fat women gathering here, with their gloves in their sleeves and their backs hunched. Chatting on the shoulder.
then.
When Zhu Yijun saw it, there would be a busker who played, played, played, and sang. He would perform a story in a nonsensical way that he didn't know where to pick up, and more people would gather around him. For a while, he also attracted small businessmen and hawkers. Unconsciously, coppers and silver dollars came out of many people's trouser pockets and shuttled between everyone's palms.
Zhu Yijun happened to see this scene and couldn't help but smile and said to his followers Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and others:
"Only when the people don't have to worry about their livelihood can they be so leisurely. Only when the people have enough to eat and drink and have spare money can there be so many people who make a living as entertainers and there are also many small businessmen and hawkers. It shows that I After so many years of restructuring with the ministers, it has still benefited a lot of people."
According to Zhu Yijun's arrangement, after he left the capital, the prince would supervise the country, and he would be assisted by the chief minister Shen Shixing, the cabinet minister Shen Li, the minister Li Chengliang, etc., and he would be accompanied by Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and other ministers.
"Your Majesty said so!"
"But in my humble opinion, this also has a lot to do with good governance that will forever free the world from corvée."
Wang Xijue spoke at this time, and then added:
"Usually at this time in previous years, the government would rush to use civilian forces to serve, not just regular servants, but also various miscellaneous servants!"
"In short, we cannot make the common people idle, but the purpose is to prevent them from being lazy and wasting money and food."
"But for this reason, often at this time, ordinary people will be even busier, and some even die of illness and exhaustion during the service! Bai Letian has a poem that goes: 'Farmers have few idle months, but people are twice as busy in May.' In my humble opinion, , the twelfth lunar month should also be doubly busy, but fortunately the common people of this dynasty met the Holy King during this prosperous time, and they can finally have some leisurely time at the end of the year and earn some spare money by working and trading."
Zhu Yijun deliberately did not mention the role of permanent exemption from corvee just now. He was sure that bureaucrats like Wang Xijue would take the initiative to analyze to himself as the emperor. Many of them bureaucrats still implemented the decree of permanent exemption from corvee, so they allowed the people to Winter is so laid back.
But after hearing what Wang Xijue said, Zhu Yijun just nodded and said nothing more.
Because the more Wang Xijue wanted him to praise that the current official administration was very good, the more Zhu Yijun didn't want to mention that the decree to permanently exempt from corvee had been implemented very well, and therefore the official administration was obviously good.
At this time, Zhu Yijun only turned around and asked Wang Yongji, who had been transferred to local training and appointed governor of Northern Zhili: "Wang Yongji!"
Wang Yong hurriedly raised his hands and said, "I'm here!"
"After being freed from the world's corvee forever, public affairs such as repairing city walls, dredging rivers, transporting grain and grass, etc., will need to hire small people to do these things. Can Beizhili hire enough people? Does it affect the general government of the entire Northern Zhili?"
Zhu Yijun suddenly asked.
Wang Yongji replied: "Your Majesty, the people's power is enough! Because there are still many people in need of money in the world, especially those with large families and small land. Many are still willing to serve and earn money, and they are different from previous years. It is different from the young civilians who are still forced to serve. This year, because there are wages to earn, there are fewer people evading the service. Instead, they are all vying for the job, and some are willing to bribe the government first, so there is no shortage of people, but The local government still has to pay wages to hire civilians to serve, and is seriously short of money, so many civilians still don't have the opportunity to serve, so they can only drink, gamble and even fight cockfights."
"The government didn't plan to directly use the purchased barbarian slaves?"
"This can obviously reduce more labor expenses."
Zhu Yijun asked.
Wang Yongji replied: "Your Majesty, most of the cheaper barbarian slaves were carved up by the wealthy coastal tribes before they entered the interior. Even if a small number entered the interior, they were divided up and made into slaves by the wealthy tribes in the interior. How could the government win over them?" Pass?"
"Basically, if the government wants to do things, it can only hire ordinary people from the country to serve. What's more, the ordinary people in the country are already short of work. This is all related to the great prosperity of the world and the prosperity of the population after Your Majesty came to the throne, so the court has no shortage of manpower. , only money is lacking, after all, ordinary people nowadays do not have to work. If the wages are too low to meet the expenses and cannot have a surplus to increase savings in a year, naturally they would rather rest than work."
"In this way, freeing the world from corvee will not only reduce the government's income, but also increase the government's expenditure. In this way, the local government must be very unwilling to accept such a policy."
Zhu Yijun said and asked: "But why did Wang Yongji accept it and let me see so many scenes of ordinary people enjoying themselves?"
At this time, Wang Yongji and Wang Xijue looked at each other, and then replied: "Your Majesty, forever being free from corvee is a great good governance for the people. As a disciple of the emperor, how dare I use the money from the vassal treasury for the sake of festivals without giving the emperor's favor?" If you surrender to the common people, won’t you be bullying the emperor and bringing down all the people?”
"It is impossible for me not to accept it. As for the increase in government expenditures, we should find other ways to increase revenue, whether it is to establish more industries or promote industry and commerce! We should not deliberately resist the decree in order to save money from the vassal treasury. .”
After hearing what Wang Yongji said, Zhu Yijun only smiled and said: "If all the bureaucrats in the world are like Wang Qing, who cares about me and the people below, how can there be a rebellion?"
After Zhu Yijun said this, the chests of officials such as Qi Jiguang and Wang Xijue rose and fell, and then they cupped their hands and said, "Your Majesty is right!"
Then, Zhu Yijun asked Wang Yongji: "So, most of the people who transport the heavy equipment for the army are ordinary people of our country?"
"Your Majesty, yes."
Wang Yongji replied.
Zhu Yijun smiled and said: "The powerful right people in this dynasty are still in short supply of slaves, so slaves from outside cannot reach the hands of the government. The government can only use the common people of the country, and the government has to bear the pressure of money and food. It seems that if we want this pressure to be resolved or reduced, we still need to step up external development.”
"What do you think?"
Zhu Yijun then asked Qi Jiguang, Wang Xijue and others.
Qi Jiguang first replied: "Your Majesty is right! In fact, the world's powerful people have no shortage of servants, and they may even have insufficient servants. After all, before Your Majesty came to the throne, many people in the world were so poor that they had no choice but to sell their children and daughters. In good years, you can only buy a thirteen-year-old girl with only one or twenty taels of silver. In lean years, you can buy a girl who is 5 or even 2 taels of silver and can be a slave. But now there is a serious shortage of servants. It’s because the New Deal has benefited the people and brought them peace, so fewer and fewer people are willing to be slaves; and the people’s peace is all a result of His Majesty’s hard work in governance!”
"Your Majesty, I agree with what the Prime Minister said!"
"If the New Deal had not been implemented, the situation that Wang Butang said would not have happened, that is, the right-wing and powerful households were short of slaves, so the government also had a shortage of slaves and had to spend more money to hire civilian husbands."
Wang Xijue started talking.
"I know that the meaning behind your words is to tell me that the New Deal is being implemented very well and the changes are not that serious. Most of the ministers in the world are still loyal and wise, and most of them love the people and are honest. Let me believe .”
Zhu Yijun said something at this time, and then suddenly said with an innocent look: "But why have I not believed in all the ministers and all the officials in the world?"
"If I didn't believe it, I would be generous in giving out bonuses every year, instead of directly saying that you are lying to me, deceiving me, or even refusing to pay bonuses?"
"Your Majesty does not distrust your Majesty, but your Majesty never seems to be shocked by the evil things done by some officials in the world, and gets angry because of it. This makes your Majesty feel sad and feels that your Majesty does not seem to have been completely convinced by you. I truly regard you as a gentleman."
Wang Xijue raised his hands and said bluntly.
After hearing this, Zhu Yijun laughed and said, "I don't have any!"
"I have always regarded your ministers as gentlemen, so I have always treated them with courtesy. I will reward you every time and give me gifts every year. Even when your ministers make suggestions, I have never stopped them. Most of the time, I listen to them face to face, and at the latest It also goes from morning to night."
"I believe even what Wang Qing is saying now. Just because I trust you, it doesn't mean that I will be furious with those officials who are disloyal and unfaithful. I will even blame you and others for not knowing who recommended them. Qing and others are also furious, saying that they are also very disappointed in Qing and others."
"I have been in charge for almost ten years, so why should I be too demanding on you?"
Wang Xijue was speechless when Zhu Yijun said this, and his face turned purple.
Zhu Yijun then said: "I am even very willing to believe that the imperial court's new policies have been implemented very well everywhere!"
"Therefore, I decided to take a small team of officers with me while the army was encamped at the post station in front. Wearing incognito, we went to see other places. When the time comes, Wangge Lao and the Marquis of Nanchang will go with me. The governor of Beizhi, Wang Yongji, will go with me. I also brought a team of people in civilian clothes with me, so that I could see from the perspective of ordinary passers-by how the local ministers who advocated the governance of the late Grand Master Xinli benefited the people for me."
After hearing this, Wang Xijue's complexion suddenly turned as white as snow, and he looked at Wang Yongji.
Wang Yongji first raised his hands and said yes, without any intention of remonstrating.
Then, Wang Xijue had no choice but to say yes.
"I have always believed in the loyalty and ability of your ministers, especially those who come from official families. After all, people with permanent property have perseverance and will naturally not do anything that goes against the reputation of their family. Basically, they have good ethics. They are lazy at best, but often not bad.”
After the army camped in Zhending Mansion, Zhu Yijun actually changed clothes with Wang Xijue, Liu Wei and others, and walked along the trail towards Xiping Mountain. While walking, he deliberately talked to Wang Xijue, Wang Yongji and others. Some believe in the words of bureaucrats and scholar-bureaucrats.
But as soon as Zhu Yijun arrived in a village, he saw officials arresting people. They beat and scolded a dozen strong men and women, took the locks, and handed them over to three scholars sitting in a grass pavilion.
One of the scholars stood up and said, "Let's go and choose a pretty village woman to have a taste of the wild life. For the rest, the women will let them cook for us. The men will carry us up the mountain to view the scenery later."
Seeing this, Zhu Yijun rode over and asked, "Why are you taking people?"
At this time, the officer who took the people saw that Zhu Yijun and others were all powerful and majestic, and thought that they must be a caravan with background, so he said on behalf of the three soldiers: "We are taking people to serve for the government, please merchants to mind their own business!"
Zhu Yijun immediately frowned and pretended to be angry and said to Wang Yongji:
"Wang Qing's family, what's going on? Doesn't this person force me to take back what I just said?"
(End of chapter)
