Qin Ge stopped the rudder in his hand and handed it over to the sailor on the side. Looking at the blue waves of the river and the color of the sea and sky, he smiled and said to the accompanying Jinmaohu: "That day, my uncle kept coming to me to complain that the navy equipment was too bad. , even worse than water pirates, I really didn’t bother, so I changed to a heaven-level shipyard, which consumed no less national war merits than Zheng He. Later, I spent millions of taels of gold to build the shipyard. I didn’t expect it to be like this. The effect is that it can not only develop the navy, but also bring such huge economic benefits, which is really an unexpected surprise!"
Man Chong continued: "The second largest industry is the sea salt industry. Nowadays, the sea salt industry in Liocheng County and Lai County along the coast has flourished. Gaoxian County and Shouguang County are still in the hands of Liangshan bandits, so Liangshan bandits often harass the coastal areas. In the past, the salt fields were basically controlled by water bandits and pirates. After the two major navies cleared out the pirates, the salt fields adopted a public-private partnership. Now that the waterway has been opened, sea salt can be continuously transported to Qilin City and sold to Yanzhou and Xuzhou. The salt fields The industry has basically benefited the salt farmers in the two counties, and many water bandits have returned to work and started water transportation business. The sea salt industry is expected to return to 60% of the peacetime level next year!"
Seeing Qin Ge listening with rapt attention, Man Chong poured him a cup of tea and sat next to him and said: "The third largest industry is fishing. Le'an County is close to the inland sea of Laizhou Bay and is a famous fishing ground. We have combined hundreds of The fishing model provided by Jizu and Lord adopts two methods: fishing and breeding. In terms of fishing, Youlong Shipyard has improved fishing boats, which not only allows fishermen to fish in inland rivers and offshore seas, but also allows fishermen to go out to sea on a large scale and for a long time, allowing them to catch more sea fish. !”
"In terms of breeding, fisheries are set up around the beach to breed marine fish. The water system in Le'an County is complex and abundant, and one-third of the people are engaged in industries related to fishery! Let's start with these three major industries, followed by metallurgy, Agriculture, transportation and other industries, in order to restore the people's livelihood in Le'an County as soon as possible!"
Qin Ge looked at the young-looking but old-fashioned Man Chong in front of him. He was only twenty-nine years old this year and had always been Qin Ge's most trusted confidant.
Qin Ge has been wandering outside these years, and it is Man Chong who has supported Taishan County, which is full of crises and troubled internally and externally.
Now Kinderman and Guan Zhong are gradually showing signs of overshadowing Man Chong's halo due to their peerless abilities and talents. Man Chong's power has been greatly divided. In the past, one family monopolized power, but now they are content in one corner.
Qin Ge patted him on the shoulder and said: "Bo Ning! You not only suppressed the banditry in Le'an County within one year, but also basically restored people's livelihood and production, and also absorbed 5 million refugees from Taishan County. In this year, It’s really hard on you, we brothers should stop seeing each other. If you have any difficulties, just tell me. I’ve come all the way from the counties and villages to work hard, and I know it’s not easy for you!”
This is also the first time since the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion that the two of them have sat together and chatted about home affairs. Thinking about it now feels like a lifetime ago.
Man Chong was moved to tears and shook his head and said: "I fought with my lord almost to death and fought bloody battles. What does my hard work mean? Now that the main banditry problem in Le'an County has been basically eliminated, my lord's policy is to turn bandits into civilians." It is a great achievement!"
"However, there are Liangshan bandits roaming in the east, and the Navy has to guard them all year round. Facing the Liangshan bandits near Erlong Mountain in the west, an armed force must be formed to defend against the bandits. Based on the actual conditions of all parties in Le'an County, I am planning to expand the number by 300,000 Le'an County soldiers and 500,000 standing reserve troops are mainly composed of powerful armed forces and surrendered bandits. After one year of training, they can form an army! Military expenses and armor will be a big problem!"
"The second issue is the resettlement of the Karasuma tribe. I have been looking for open areas in Bochang County, Li County and other places to build military horse farms to breed Karasuma war horses, which can solve the livelihood problems of the 70,000 to 80,000 Karasuma people, because the Karasuma people The Maru people are ignorant of the law, lack education, and have low willingness to engage in agriculture. Only 20% of them are willing to farm, and 10% go to fishery. Their main source of income now is basically the military salary of the Karasuma Rangers. Many young and middle-aged laborers from the Maru tribe have been assigned to various places for infrastructure construction, but there are still constant conflicts with the Han people. The resettlement of the Karasuma tribe in the future will be a big problem!"
"Finally, there is the issue of land and minerals for the wealthy and powerful families. Because Le'an County has the least banditry among the counties in Qingzhou, the wealthy and powerful families are the least affected. After the chaos was over, we acquired a large amount of land and minerals, but the powerful and powerful families It still occupies a quarter of the resources, and even now Le'an is stable. Many powerful people have even joined forces to put pressure on the county government to demand their land and minerals that were occupied by bandits, and there are even conflicts during land surveying and household registration!"
Qin Ge listened very carefully to Man Chong's story, suddenly looked at Man Chong and said with a smile: "Bo Ning, it's not easy to handle these things with your methods!"
Hearing this, Man Chong clasped his fists in embarrassment and said: "My lord Mingjian, the bandits in Le'an County have just been pacified, and many places still rely on powerful local armed forces to garrison. Karasuma Rangers are needed to suppress the bandits. I'm afraid of pushing them too hard. It will arouse powerful rebellions and ethnic conflicts! After all, bandits have been rampant in Qingzhou in recent years, and Qingzhou people are generally fierce and unafraid of death, thus triggering greater chaos; and the lord is now famous all over the world, forcing famous families to You are too powerful and you are afraid of discrediting your lord!"
Qin Ge patted Man Chong on the shoulder and said: "Bo Ning, you and I have always been of the same mind. We used to say whatever we had to say. If you have ideas about the New Deal, you can say it. I don't want our brothers to be separated. !”
After hearing this, Man Chong lowered his head and fell into silence. Qin Ge could see through his thoughts at a glance. The Qin Ge now was no longer the same as before.
Man Chong gritted his teeth, looked up into Qin Ge's eyes, took a deep breath and said: "My lord's policy does benefit the people, but it is too cruel to the wealthy and powerful. You have brought a huge amount of wealth from Youzhou. If you concentrate it Resources, combined with local powerful forces, can create a more powerful army and gain a good reputation!"
"And now your new policy has touched the bottom line of the powerful. A huge amount of resources are invested uncontrollably in the livelihood of the people at the bottom. The rich and powerful have limited benefits. They are more dependent on you because they have no choice. Once there is peace, they are likely to attack in groups and turn against each other. !”
"My lord, your idea of equality and harmony in the world is indeed admirable, but people are divided into three, six, and nine grades. The qualifications of ordinary people are iron and bronze, while the powerful are silver and gold. Their qualifications are Ordinary people are ten times and a hundred times more powerful. Combining with powerful powers can achieve twice the result with half the effort, whether it is military or political. But if you pay too much attention to the civilians, you will only drain your finances and reputation, and eventually fall into endless quagmire..."
Man Chong has always been a pragmatist. When he was in charge of Taishan County, in order to survive in the cracks, he invested limited resources into the territory and restrained the refugees with severe punishments and laws. In the process of seizing power from the gentry, he also made great use of the powerful gentry. Only in this way did Taishan County survive internal and external troubles.
This is also the first ideological conflict between Qin Ge and Man Chong, and it is also related to their experiences.
When Qin Ge fell to Luoyang, he saw the excessive greed, hypocrisy, cruelty, numbness and decadence of the upper echelons of the Han Dynasty. He recognized the essence of this corrupt Han Dynasty.
After Youzhou fought against foreign invasion, his vision changed from before after experiencing various people and people.
Man Chong, on the other hand, loyally guarded Taishan County. Externally, facing the high-pressure invasion of the Yanzhou gentry led by Liu Dai, flanked by the wolf-like and tiger-like Zang Ba, there were also a group of evolutionists such as the Holy Shield Society who secretly made a trip. Son, but also to unite all forces in the territory.
Let Man Chong develop a pragmatic character. However, although he did not agree with Kinderman's recent new policy ideas, out of loyalty to Qin Ge, he chose to remain silent and implement Qin Ge's decrees.
Qin Ge hugged Man Chong's shoulders and could only sigh with emotion for the brother beside him: "Bo Ning, I understand your hard work! Emotionally speaking, since the creation of the territory, you have put in as much effort as me. Even during the creation process, you were far more important to it than me! After I returned to the territory, I launched the Qingzhou strategy. The political power was controlled by Guan Fuzi and Shande. You were sent to this corner of the country. Many old people Brothers all feel left out, but this is the trend of our development! As our team grows stronger, the power and responsibilities of many people will be diluted and marginalized!"
Upon hearing this, Man Chong hurriedly left his seat and knelt on the ground and said: "My lord, recommend me to the position of prefect. This kind of kindness has made me panic..."
Qing Ge smiled fondly and said, "I'll tell you what's on my mind. Now we are only brothers, no superiors or inferiors!"
Man Chong's eyes were a little moved, but still a little cautious.
"The root cause of cholera in the world today is that Emperor Gaozu and Guangwu compromised with the powerful nobles in order to control the world. Once the power was compromised, it was like taking root and sprouting. The roots would go deeper. In the future, they would annex land and buy off the population. Now we have Disaster!"
"The very important reason why I chose the position of governor of Qingzhou is to take advantage of the bandit troubles in Qingzhou and the weakening of the famous families to use thunderous means to eradicate the ills and establish a world of great harmony!"
"Those civilians do not have high qualifications, but they are mostly exploited by the nobles from generation to generation. In the future and even in the future, when civilizations compete for hegemony, they are the most solid force. If they blindly compromise with the powerful, they will indeed be able to unify Qingzhou more quickly. , but the people are still poor and turbulent, it is just a showpiece, just like Youzhou, when foreign invaders invade, they will fall apart at the first touch!"
"The New Deal must be thorough! Those who are barefoot and not afraid of wearing boots are talking about the common people, not the tycoons. I want to see whether they want money or life! I can tolerate the tycoons owning private property and support their free development. However, the reform of the system and mechanism We must fight it to the end, this is a matter of principle! Just go ahead and do it! Whatever happens, I will take care of it for you!" Qin Ge couldn't help but exude a sense of domineering at the end.
Man Chong was a little scared, but he was still confused about Qin Ge's strategy, but he saw Qin Ge's determination, and that was enough!
Man Chong knelt on the ground and said: "I will make sure that the New Deal is implemented to the end in Le'an County!"
At this time, there was a burst of gunfire from the river. Qin Ge looked up and saw that the Ten Thousand Bones Demon Ship and the Iron-armored Loach Ship were lining up in front. Five loach ships were arrayed on both sides like giant beasts. Several sailors The messengers began to communicate in flag language.
Qing Ge smiled fondly and said: "Let's go see this chicken that lays golden eggs, and our two great naval forces, Zhenhai and Weihai!"
Qin Ge and Man Chong jumped onto the iron-clad sea loach boat. They saw the Night Emperor, Zheng He, Li Bao, Qin Jirang and others on the giant boat lined up to greet them. After seeing Qin Ge jump on the board of the boat, he walked neatly military salute.
"Haha! Uncle! Your majesty is still as strong as before, and your sword is still young!" Qin Ge walked over and gave the Night Emperor a hug.
The Night Emperor said with a straight face: "You brat, are you saying I'm old? Otherwise, let's make a show of it!"
Qin Ge and Ye Huang looked at each other arm in arm and both laughed.
