During the Second Empire, when officials entered the palace, they had to work continuously until the holidays, and were generally not allowed to go home in the middle.
Every time they leave home to work in a government office, the officials frown and look forward to the next holiday day and night.
But now I don't have to work, I can go home freely, and there is such a good canteen that provides free meals, which is really gratifying.
Compared with the past, both the working hours and work efficiency of officials have generally increased by more than 50% after the establishment of the canteen, which is enough to show that the existence of the canteen has a significant encouraging effect on officials.
Liu Bei did not spend the money in vain. He came to the conclusion after investigation and practice.
He determined that if two people were engaged in the same job, providing them with meals or not providing them with meals would have a very obvious impact on their work enthusiasm and efficiency.
Even in the field of providing food, two different fields can be divided.
For two people engaged in the same job, if they are provided with cold food and hot food respectively, then the work efficiency and duration of work of the person who eats the hot food will be about 30% higher than that of the person who eats the cold food.
Early in his military life, he discovered that the performance of the army after eating hot food was different from that after eating cold food. After eating hot food, soldiers were more resilient, whether on the road or in combat.
This is not the case when eating cold food. Soldiers are more likely to show fatigue when traveling and fighting. It is not just fatigue or hunger, but more like a psychological state.
This situation attracted Liu Bei's attention.
Because he discovered this problem, he also specially conducted an experiment, allowing one army to eat simple hot meals and snacks, and another army to eat a wide variety of cold foods, including dry food, water, fruits and vegetables, and cold bacon.
Then the two troops began to perform the same tasks, including cross-country with heavy loads, obstacle running, then technical and tactical training, and finally a simulated battle.
In order to ensure the rigor of the experiment, he conducted the same experiment with different troops for five consecutive days.
After everything was over, Liu Bei came to an accurate and consistent conclusion.
Troops who eat hot food are tougher and more patient than those who eat cold food. With the same load, they can run farther, the same obstacles, and faster speeds. In the same simulated battle, the troops who eat hot food can always defeat those who eat cold food. Cold food for the troops.
So Liu Bei determined that eating hot food during a war was as effective in inspiring the army as throwing money after the war.
For people who have experienced war, eating a hot meal may really have a significant spiritual encouragement effect.
From then on, Liu Bei tried his best to provide the army with enough hot food. Even if it was difficult to supply during the march, before the war, as long as conditions allowed, the army would have a few delicious hot meals and hot dishes before going to the battlefield. .
Therefore, on key battlefields, Liu Bei's army is always invincible. After entering the fierce battle stage, it is often more tenacious than the enemy.
This is an important reason why Liu Bei's army was able to defeat many powerful enemies in the early days.
This key rule was also applied to other places after he took charge of power, and was finally consolidated to form the Central Canteen. After the successful establishment of the Central Canteen that provided free and abundant meals, the efficiency and enthusiasm of the officials in handling work really improved. There is a visible rise.
This is something worth investing in for Liu Bei.
Although it costs a lot of money, like in the military, the effect is really good.
The time and work efficiency of officials have been greatly improved, and many people are willing to stay and work overtime. In a sense, this also improves Liu Bei's input-output ratio. Compared with the money invested, he obviously earns more. many.
In addition, Liu Bei has gradually begun to try to promote tea in the army and among officials, and he is now actively promoting the craftsmanship of black tea in his tea workshop, which is currently quite effective.
It doesn't take long before the first batch of black tea will be delivered to him for him to taste.
Tea is really a good thing.
Historically, together with wine, sugar, and tobacco, it has become an important military commodity and can be called a special soothing agent for the army. The more cruel the war, the more tea is needed to help soldiers relieve their emotions.
And compared to items like tobacco and alcohol that can cause damage to the body, the effect of tea is obviously softer and even has many benefits for the body.
The intensity of ancient wars was low, but the intensity of modern wars has increased significantly. On the cruel battlefields of World War I and World War II, soldiers did many ridiculous things just to drink tea. Drinking tea was even more important than fighting, so that The ruling group had to provide tea as an important military commodity in sufficient quantities to prevent soldiers from getting upset.
However, the mental pressure of ancient soldiers was also very high, and the training intensity of Liu Bei's soldiers was also very high.
For soldiers, pressure will gradually accumulate. Liu Bei does not allow soldiers to burn, kill and loot. Traditional military methods of relieving stress are prohibited by Liu Bei, so they need to find other ways to relieve their emotions.
Therefore, on the one hand, Liu Bei actively provided hot drinks and hot food to soothe the soldiers' emotions, and on the other hand, he also prepared to introduce tea as an important helper.
For now, tea production has not caught up, and Liu Bei's tea workshops around Luoyang have not yet entered the mass production stage. Once tea can be stably produced, he will introduce tea into the army as an important military material. middle.
After the development of the Lingnan area is on track, he will also increase the planting of sugar crops and steadily provide sufficient sugar products to the army.
As for Chen Qun and Yang Xiu, who were immersed in cooking, they only knew that the delicacies in front of them were really delicacies in the world. If they did not enjoy them properly, it would be a huge crime. They did not know that Liu Bei had made a huge fortune by spending money to build a large canteen. Macroeconomic accounts.
After all, the investment in the large dining hall was high, but the input-output ratio was surprisingly high. The work efficiency of the Luoyang court increased steadily, which helped Liu Bei quickly stabilize the world situation after the Tianling Rebellion.
Two months, two months before and after, the situation in the world became stable.
Before that, when Liu Bei had just ascended the throne and created new regulations, he worked overtime and led the cabinet people to work hard for more than three months. The entire court was in chaos for five months before they gradually adapted to the new rules and began to Implement new decrees.
Comparing the before and after, the importance of the central dining hall is self-evident.
Chen Qun and Yang Xiu still don't know how Liu Bei calculated this score. They know that the fried chicken nuggets at noon today are so delicious. They are tender and juicy. When they bite into it, the shell is crispy and the chicken is soft and tender. The delicious gravy explodes in your mouth, which is really a supreme enjoyment.
The fatigue of the whole morning was swept away at this moment. They forgot everything and devoted themselves to the enjoyment of delicious food.
Then Chen Qun secretly took a piece of fried chicken from Yang Xiu's rice plate while he was talking to his colleagues, and stuffed it into his mouth, creating an established fact that Yang Xiu didn't know what to do even if he reacted. .
Yang Xiu really didn't know what to do. Although he knew it was Chen Qun's doing, Chen Qun had already eaten the fried chicken nuggets. This limited supply of fried chicken nuggets was his favorite and he could only eat it once every three days. , and now there is still a piece missing, so he wants to twist off Chen Qun's head.
But he didn't do such a thing after all.
The family status of the Yang family in Hongnong is higher than that of the Chen family in Yingchuan, so Yang Xiu feels that his cultivation is better than that of Chen Qun. He cannot have a conflict with his good friend just because of a piece of fried chicken nuggets, but he really can't swallow it. tone.
So when he and Chen Qun returned to the cabinet and saw the pile of government affairs piled on his desk, he decisively returned the pile of government affairs to Chen Qun. Seeing Chen Qun's stunned expression, Yang Xiu felt a burst of joy welling up from the bottom of his heart.
More enjoyable than eating fried chicken nuggets.
Ignoring Chen Qun's stunned look, he returned the government affairs to Chen Qun. Ignoring the possibility that he might have to work overtime or even stay up late, he took Liu Bei's plan from his desk and continued to study it.
He read it three times before the afternoon's administration arrived.
Then Yang Xiu deeply realized that if Liu Bei's reform plan was really realized, the gentry, as a special monopoly group that existed in history to assist the rulers, would completely lose the value of their existence, and the rulers would no longer need The gentry existed.
Rulers can set up their own schools to train students, and students come from all over the world, so why do they need family heirs trained by nobles for their own selfishness?
In this way, the Hongnong Yang family will really never go back to the past. No matter how hard he tries, his descendants will not be able to safely inherit everything he has.
Because only titles can be passed down, positions cannot.
No matter how high the father's status is, only the title and economic status can be passed down, but there is no power.
Under the imperial examination system, the inheritance of power has become very unstable. Being an official for generations has become a symbol of academic supremacy. If you want to get a position with power, you must first pass the imperial examination, and then you also need to start from the grassroots collective. Farm representatives got started.
Young people need to climb up slowly, work hard, strive for meritorious service, or simply endure it completely.
This is of course a great benefit to those farmers' children, and can even be said to be an existence that can change their destiny. But for people like Chen Qun and Yang Xiu, this is simply poison.
But is there any possibility that they will not take this poison?
There should be none.
So suddenly, Yang Xiu understood why Liu Bei was the first to reveal this document to Chen Qun, and he might just be a part of Liu Bei's plan.
In fact, this really made him feel helpless, but he had no choice. The current general trend of the world could no longer tolerate his continued delusions.
As for the subsequent ninth-grade official law, Yang Xiu did not pay too much attention. He only knew that it was a supporting facility for the imperial examination system. More supporting facilities must be still being designed, but Liu Bei has not said it yet.
Yang Xiu raised his head and looked at Chen Qun, who was immersed in handling government affairs. Suddenly, a smile came to his heart, and he couldn't help laughing.
He put away Liu Bei's document and placed it on Chen Qun's desk without disturbing Chen Qun, who was destined to work overtime and stay up late today to deal with government affairs.
He is indeed still a young man, but after working in the cabinet for so many years, he has already honed a good political vision and political sense. He can be keenly aware of the subtle changes that are taking place in the times.
It seems that it is time to accept the advice of his father Yang Biao, return to his hometown to get married, have a wife and children, and then start to educate his children well so that he can adapt to the cruelly competitive society as soon as possible.
After all, in the future, what his father can leave to his children is a smart mind, rich experience, and some tips for learning knowledge through hard work.
The era of imperial examinations is coming soon, an era in which examinations and hard work determine everything. In the future social competition, the significance of the lintel may not be so great.
Well, at least for a while, that was the case.
Yang Xiu and Chen Qun have realized that the arrival of a new era is inevitable, and are seriously thinking about what they should do to avoid risks and gain benefits to the greatest extent.
However, more people don't seem to realize that the new era is about to sweep across. They are still living their lives step by step, and following the news constantly announced by Liu Bei, they learn about the latest trends in the court.
Try to reap some simple benefits from this latest trend.
And during this period, what are the latest trends in the court?
Jiaozhou.
This is the most discussed word and place in the entire imperial court during this period. According to the latest intelligence, Shufa Zheng, Rinan County, Jiaozhou, has successfully negotiated several good business deals for the imperial court.
One of them was discussed with several counties in Qingzhou. It is said that it is related to porcelain, lacquerware and silk fabrics. Some people really want to buy these rich products of the Han Dynasty. The counties in Qingzhou can make a lot of money for this.
But more importantly, those businessmen from five or six countries also wanted to buy enough iron pots and Shu brocade from the imperial court. According to Fazheng, these businessmen were not short of money, but they were short of good goods. They needed these good goods very much. , as long as the goods are good, price is not an issue.
Fa Zheng believes that the imperial court can sell enough iron pots and Shu brocade to them, as long as they can afford the money, they can give them as much as they want without any ambiguity.
In this way, the expenses of Ninan County and the expenses of paying to the state can be supplemented to a certain extent. It should also be a reinforcement for everything the imperial court needs, right?
However, in this matter, most departments of the imperial court were not qualified to speak. Only the Ministry of Revenue and the Shaofu were qualified to participate.
After Liu Bei ascended the throne, he set the scope of the imperial court's powers and responsibilities, stipulating that salt and Shu Brocade should belong to the Shaofu, and ironware should belong to the Household Department.
On this point, Liu Bei also needs to take Zhen Yan's thoughts into account. In the final analysis, the salt and iron affairs are managed by someone else. During the Jian'an period, this matter was all managed by him. He cannot be dismissed just because he was the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. Should all his original powers be taken away?
Therefore, Liu Bei chose to hand over all the iron affairs to Zhen Yan, and the Shaofu continued to be responsible for the salt affairs, Shu brocade, peach wine, etc. It was still Liu Bei's personal treasury.
This time foreign trade involves Shu brocade and iron, so it is natural that the Ministry of Revenue and the Shaofu should hold a joint meeting to discuss with Liu Bei whether this matter is feasible.
Of course, Liu Ye had no objection to the sale of Shu brocade to the outside world. This was a good thing to increase income. According to Fazheng, the foreign businessmen were even willing to pay the price of gold to buy Shu brocade, which shows their high regard for Shu brocade.
Luxury goods like Shu brocade are not something that everyone can afford. Buyers are limited, but production is rising. If more buyers cannot be found as soon as possible, the quantity of Shu brocade sold must be limited to avoid depressing the price. The price of Shu brocade.
Speaking of which, Liu Ye was also depressed.
For something as good as Shu brocade, the greater the quantity, the happier you should be. But who knew that Liu Bei's reform of production methods greatly increased the enthusiasm of skilled workers for production, and the output of Shu brocade increased rapidly, tripling in five years!
At the same time, the demand for Sichuan brocade in the market is constantly decreasing.
the reason is simple.
Those who were eager to use Sichuan brocade to show off their appearance and show off were cut off by Liu Bei like leeks.
As the largest buyers of Shu brocade, they have long since become the dead souls of Liu Bei and no longer exist.
(End of chapter)
