There is a severe drought in Guanzhong. Although the drought has only just shown its signs, the county government of Lantian County has not made any response policies until now. This makes Li Zexuan feel a little dissatisfied. In any case, these officials in the county government definitely have Suspected of neglecting government!
Li Zexuan came to the Lantian County government office in person today, and indeed he had the intention of coming to investigate. However, when he heard that County Magistrate He said that the county government was already making a drought relief plan, his face brightened slightly and he said:
"It is necessary to repair canals and open reservoirs! The county government had better start recruiting people in the next two days to repair all the main channels in the county with cement. As for the branch canals, they only need to be cleared and smooth! Open to the people The wages are allocated by the county government, and the required cement is uniformly allocated by Qiquge Workshop!"
"Renovate Zhu Canal with cement?"
County Magistrate He was surprised when he heard this. He was a little confused and said: "Master Marquis, is this a bit too extravagant? And it's not necessary!"
Li Zexuan shook his head and said: "Why is it unnecessary? There is already a shortage of water now. Canals built with cement can reduce water loss, and it will be easier to clean up every year in the future! Do you want to mobilize civilians and go to great lengths to clean the canals every year? ?”
Magistrate He swallowed his saliva and said: "Master Hou is wise!"
Although he also understood that Li Zexuan was telling the truth, he still couldn't accept such a luxurious thing!
After all, the cement produced in the workshop is still a commodity with a price but no market, and outside merchants cannot buy it even if they want to.
Li Zexuan seemed to have understood what County Magistrate He was thinking, and he said:
"The cement in the workshop has not been sold, so we have accumulated a lot of inventory in the past six months. Magistrate He, you don't have to worry about the shortage of cement. After the drought is resolved, the county government can organize manpower to repair the roads in Lantian County. Also renovate everything. Since we plan to build Lantian County into a commercial city second only to Chang'an City, we must not lose our dignity no matter what!
Now we are just renovating the roads. In the future, when there are more people in the city, our county will have to expand outwards! But that's all for later, the top priority is to fix the cement ditch as soon as possible! "
The roads in Lantian County are still bluestone roads, but they are also bluestone roads. The roads in Lantian County are far less smooth than those in Chang'an City. Li Zexuan has been dissatisfied with this for a long time. As the saying goes, if you want to get rich, you must first When it comes to road construction, he can repair the cement road from Yunshan to Chang'an City. Of course he will also repair the roads in Lantian County!
County Magistrate He was frightened by Li Zexuan's plan to build roads and expand the city, but at the same time, he was also fascinated. If Lantian County could really be built into a big commercial city second only to Chang'an City, then His county magistrate is famous all over the world!
Literary men have the same name, so how can he be an exception?
"Gudong!"
County Magistrate He swallowed his saliva and said: "What the Marquis said is absolutely true. I will do my best to assist the Marquis!"
Li Zexuan smiled and nodded, then asked: "How is the business scale in our city developing now compared to the past?"
Speaking of this, Magistrate He immediately became energetic and heard him say excitedly:
"Thriving, Mr. Hou, the business in Lantian County is getting more and more prosperous! Where there are people, there are business opportunities. The football league in the past few months has not only attracted a large number of spectators, but also attracted a large number of businessmen to open shops in Lantian County. , teahouses, inns, and taverns. The number of these shops and restaurants is more than three times that in the past. The commercial tax collected by the county government every month is almost five to ten times that of previous years! In the long run, the commercial tax in our county will Exceeding the field tax is just around the corner!”
"Well! These are all to be expected. What I want to ask is, with Lantian County's business developing so rapidly, are there any new problems?"
Li Zexuan nodded and asked.
Football is one of the most attractive sports. Lantian County hosted part of the football league this time, and it was expected by Li Zexuan to attract so many businessmen. However, this method can only be described as "stimulating growth". It’s not an exaggeration to say that there will inevitably be some hidden dangers in the middle!
"Well...."
Hearing Li Zexuan ask this, County Magistrate He suddenly showed a look of embarrassment on his face. After hesitating for a while, he said:
"Master Hou, there are problems. The most prominent problem is that as the number of shops in our county gradually increases, there are more and more ruffians who seek protection fees from businessmen! Many businessmen have suffered After being extorted, they also came back to the county government office to report to the officials. After the police in the government office arrested the gangsters, those merchants who reported the officials were often retaliated against afterwards. The most serious thing was that one silk shop suddenly and inexplicably opened fire one night. It’s on fire! After the news spread, those merchants rarely came back to report it!”
When Li Zexuan heard this, his face turned cold and he said sternly: "Is there such a thing? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"this..."
Magistrate He opened his mouth to say something, but in the end he lowered his head and said nothing.
Li Zexuan said angrily: "This is your dereliction of duty, Magistrate He! Those gangsters just want to use these little tricks to make businessmen fearful, so as to achieve the purpose of extorting protection fees! If the county government fails to do anything, wouldn't it? Encouraging the arrogance of those local ruffians?
If things go on like this, the business environment in Lantian County will become worse and worse, and even become notorious! Now there is a football league to help us attract customers, but what happens after the football league is over? What are you going to do to keep them? "
This was the first time Magistrate He saw Li Zexuan losing his temper. His face couldn't help but turn a little pale. After Li Zexuan finished speaking, he quickly raised his hands and said:
"What the Marquis taught me is that I will do my best to clean up these gangsters in the city in the future. However, those people are always ready to take action at the first sign of trouble. If we want to catch them, we will need a lot of manpower! We There are only about fifty people in the three shifts of county government officials in total..."
"If you don't have enough manpower, expand the recruitment! Lantian County is no longer the small county town it was back then. Magistrate He, your vision must be broadened. The three shifts of the county government must have at least a hundred people! You must do a good job. The public security in the city must resolutely protect the safety of the people and merchants!"
Li Zexuan interrupted Magistrate He mercilessly and said.
This government office is different from the army. Li Zexuan can expand his recruitment if he wants. He doesn't have to worry about anyone impeaching him!
"Yes, yes! I will take care of it later!"
Magistrate He quickly handed over his hand and said it was the right way.
Li Zexuan turned around, put his hands behind his back and said:
"In addition, I also plan to set up a Commerce Department within the county government to deal with businessmen's tax collection and ordinary disputes. The purpose of setting up the Commerce Department is to tell those businessmen that they can enjoy the benefits in Lantian County in the future. Get the same treatment as ordinary people without being discriminated against everywhere!
From now on, there will only be distinctions between scholars and civilians in Lantian County based on the hierarchy of scholars, farmers, workers, and merchants! Although the children of businessmen cannot participate in the imperial examination, they can still attend county schools in the county and can even pass the Yanhuang Academy in the future! "
In the past, merchants in Lantian County were helplessly bullied by gangsters, but Magistrate He did not do his best to help. The reason was due to the low status of merchants in this era. The reason why the merchants at the back did not dare to report to the government again was because they were worried about suffering helpless revenge from the gangsters. Another important reason was that they felt that even if they reported it to the government, the government would not take their matters to heart. It would be better to spend money. Forget it!
Li Zexuan wanted to change this status quo, but he did not radically raise the status of businessmen to a very high level, at least not as high as modern times. He just classified businessmen into the civilian class. In this way, the opposition he received would be Much smaller!
Magistrate He's eyes widened when he heard this, and he couldn't help but said: "Master Marquis, you must not do this, I'm afraid there is something wrong with this!"
"What could be wrong? I respect the rights of scholars and do not give any special treatment to merchants. I just classify the merchants and craftsmen in Lantian County into the civilian class. Who would object? This Commerce Secretary, you first Send someone to take charge, if your people don’t do a good job, then I will personally send someone to take charge, and then the Commerce Department will no longer be able to be dispatched by you!”
Li Zexuan said very forcefully.
If a superior person always treats his subordinates in a pleasant manner, he will make his subordinates lose their sense of awe and slack off in their duties. Magistrate He is like this now, so Li Zexuan wants to take this opportunity to give him a good beating. !
Seeing that Li Zexuan was so tough and decisive, Magistrate He could no longer refute and could only hand over his hand and said: "I obey the order and will try my best to manage this commercial department for Mr. Hou!"
Li Zexuan's face brightened slightly, and he nodded: "In this world, there are gains and losses. When businessmen get a good and stable business environment, they have to pay corresponding taxes to the government. In the past, the business tax ratio of one in thirty was not advisable. After the establishment of the company, all shops in Lantian County must report their profits for the month to the Department of Commerce every month, and pay commercial tax based on one-sixth of the profits for the month!"
Li Zexuan felt more than once that the ancient commercial tax rate was too low. One in thirty, in modern times, the commercial tax rate must be at least 178% or more, right? Anyway, agricultural tax is greater than commercial tax, which is definitely an abnormal phenomenon! Why do poor farmers pay more taxes than wealthy businessmen? This is not fair!
In the past, Li Zexuan was not in his position and did not pursue political affairs. Now that he has entrusted a county, he naturally has the ability and obligation to intervene in this matter!
When County Magistrate He heard "take one out of six", he immediately lost his composure! This is actually a five-fold increase in business taxes. Is this okay? He quickly said: "Master Marquis, you must not! With such a heavy business tax, how can those businessmen still be willing to do business in Lantian County?"
Li Zexuan said flatly: "This has not been tried yet. How do you know, County Magistrate He, that the businessmen are unwilling? The protection fees they pay to those ruffians every month are definitely far greater than this amount. As long as the county government can help them Get rid of these ruffians and ensure that they have a stable and good business environment. They will definitely be happy to accept this proportion of business tax!
All in all, when doing business in Lantian County, they can not only get treated like normal people, but also not be harassed by gangsters, and their children can also receive a good education from the county schools. These benefits are what they have in other states and counties. You definitely can’t enjoy it, right?
In addition, in the future, the goods of the Yanhuang Chamber of Commerce will be given priority to merchants in Lantian County. In this case, I don’t believe that there will be merchants who are unwilling to accept this tax rate~! "
Listening to Li Zexuan's analysis one by one, Magistrate He couldn't help but feel a little moved. To be fair, if he was a businessman himself, he might be willing to come to Lantian County to do business. This business tax cannot be said. It can only be said that the previous business tax was too small. Even if it was increased five times, it would not be much! Compared with the many benefits you get, it is totally worth the money!
"What the Marquis said is reasonable. The official immediately recruited people to repair the canals, and at the same time established a commercial department and cracked down on the ruffians in the city to create a good business environment for the merchants!"
After thinking for a moment, Magistrate He cupped his hands and said.
Li Zexuan nodded and said: "Yes! We need to work especially hard to repair the canal. It is best to start the construction in the next two days. After the canal is repaired, the dam will open the gate to release water. As for Zhuangzi, which has higher terrain in the north of Lantian County, this Hou will find a way to carry the water there when the time comes!"
"Yes! Mr. Hou~!"
Although County Magistrate He didn't know how Li Zexuan could move the water to a higher place in the north, he couldn't take the initiative to ask if Li Zexuan didn't tell him, so he could only say yes!
When Li Zexuan saw that everything that needed to be explained was done, he turned around and was about to leave. Before leaving, he gave a faint instruction: "The ruffians in the city are the cancer of Lantian County. We must treat them mercilessly. If Some ruffians openly resist the government, just send someone to tell me, and I will bring people to destroy them!"
A light sentence, but full of murderous intent, County Magistrate He felt a chill in his heart. Then he remembered that the fair-faced, scholar-like Marquis in front of him was a ruthless character who went on a killing spree in Sheling Mountain and killed many people. He couldn't help but feel in his heart I mourn for the ruffians in the city, and I think you'd better just surrender, otherwise...
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After leaving the county government office, Li Zexuan went directly to the Xinhou Mansion in the east.
The Hou Mansion and the county government were not far apart, only one square apart, so Li Zexuan arrived in front of the Hou Mansion very quickly.
"Oh! By the way! What is the name of the square where the Hou Mansion is located?"
Walking to the door, Li Zexuan suddenly had a question in his heart and couldn't help but ask it.
Since he is going to move back here in the future, he must know his home address, right?
He was naturally asking about the two brothers Liu Feng and Liu Yun behind him!
When Liu Feng heard this, he couldn't help laughing and said:
"Haha! Mr. Hou, this square originally seemed to be called Yunfufang, but I heard that County Magistrate He changed the name of this square a month ago. It should be called Yong'an Square now~!"
"Oh? There is such a thing?"
Li Zexuan couldn't help but be a little surprised. Although he didn't like flattery from his subordinates, he had to say that Magistrate He was a good flatterer! It really touched his heart!
"That's a good name change! Yunfufang, Pregnant Women's Place, haha! Yong'anfang sounds better than Yunfufang~!"
Li Zexuan smiled, then walked towards the gate of the Hou Mansion.
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First update!
Two chapters in one!
Thanks Hans for the great reward! (April 6)
(End of chapter)
