Now that the emperor had spoken, Yang Fengfan led the team and took people around to watch.
Even he is often surprised by the development of Pingwan County.
He had also been in the Imperial Academy before and had not dealt with enough practical matters, so he did not pay attention to the power of business.
But facts have proven everything, now is the time to report your political achievements!
"What is the current population of Pingwan County?" Emperor Jing asked.
"Your Majesty, the population of Pingwan County today has more than tripled since I took office, reaching 180,000."
Li Yansong and others looked at each other. No wonder there was such chaos. It turned out that there were as many as 180,000 people in Pingwan County?
In fact, it is not difficult for many medium and large counties to reach such a population, but Pingwan County does not seem to have such a level of strength based on the regulations of the outer city walls and past impressions.
Seventy or eighty thousand people are too many!
"Oh? Why is the population growing so rapidly?"
"Since I took office, I have fully implemented the policies set by the Central Government to ease business. As soon as many paperwork procedures were cancelled, many merchants came to hear the news. Because it is convenient to do things and the roads are smooth, I set up workshops here. Finally, we hired more people.”
"This has attracted many people to come to work."
"Later, more and more merchants came here, and competition formed among themselves. Wages continued to rise, which attracted more people. Later, various benefits became higher and higher."
"Artisans from other surrounding counties and villages heard that here they only have to work from Sishi to Haishi every day, and they can work for six days and have one day off, and they can earn at least two taels per month. They all came to seek work. This is still the case today, and the population is still there. Increase."
Fang Zheng nodded in approval, the treatment was indeed good.
When you reach Haishi, you can work for six days and get one day off. This is reporter-level treatment!
For ancient people, the nine-nine-sixth year was a pure blessing! Where did you get the chance to have sex before?
"Not only that, there are also people who see business opportunities and start to set up street stalls to sell food. These things seem inconspicuous and the profits are small, but I have personally inquired and found out that the monthly income of this mere stall can be It’s as high as five or six taels of silver, which is really amazing!”
"But I am really tired, and I have almost no leisure time."
With five or six taels a month, he is simply a little rich person hidden among the people!
Xu Wenshu was secretly dumbfounded in the crowd. He was in charge of the household department and naturally knew more about business affairs.
However, it seems that such a harvest can only be achieved by relying on a large and intensive population labor force.
"Business is prevalent here, so how do you solve the problem of officials exploiting merchants? This is a hidden danger in many other places." Xu Wenshu asked.
Yang Fengfan smiled slightly: "Part of this comes from the strict discipline of the Yamen, and the other part comes from the Jin Yiwei sent by Mr. Fang."
"There is a Jinyi Guardhouse in Pingwan County, which is responsible for dealing with officials secretly extorting merchants. After several rounds of such heavy punishments, the habit of being light on business and cheap on business has been reduced a lot."
"And if a merchant has any grievances, he can report it directly to the Jinyi Guards. As time goes by, no one will dare to touch him."
Xu Wenshu was surprised and said: "How dare merchants report to officials?"
"Of course I dare. There is a public toilet near the Jinyi Guardhouse. There is a mailbox in the toilet. As long as someone leaves an anonymous letter, the Jinyi Guard will handle it."
Emperor Jing felt a little funny.
Report anonymously and the mailbox is in the hut, so there is no need to worry about retaliation.
"Did you set up Jin Yiwei?" Emperor Jing asked Fang Zhengyi.
Fang Zheng nodded: "Yes, officials bully the people, and the people have no means of counterattack. Their only tool is to use the law to defend their dignity. The Imperial Guard is the sword in your majesty's hand, and naturally it is also a sharp weapon to protect the law and the people. If the law and discipline are not If it survives, the rise of merchants will be out of the question.”
"Secondly, I was afraid that the people would be timid and afraid to seek justice for themselves even if they had legal protection, so I came up with this method. There can't be people in several huts every day keeping an eye on who has submitted anonymous letters."
"After a long time, the people know that the law is in their hearts, and this method can be abandoned. I believe that in the future, there will be an environment where the law is the boundary, everyone obeys the law and abides by the law, and the people can safeguard their rights and interests openly."
Emperor Jing nodded approvingly, feeling very satisfied.
Li Yansong and other veterans also expressed slight admiration.
Founder is annoying, but he really doesn't have a choice when it comes to things!
Xu Wenshu asked: "Then why haven't I seen this kind of thing in the capital?"
Fang Zheng raised his hands and said loudly: "Your Majesty is in the capital. Under the emperor's feet, the sacred candle is shining, and the universe is clear. All crimes will be brought to justice. Isn't it unnecessary to do this in the capital?!"
Xu Wenshu's old face fell, and he was full of curses in his heart.
I don't need to ask you stupid questions, just take pictures when you get a chance!
Li Yansong pondered: "But... Pingwan County is so crazy about absorbing the surrounding population, so the abandonment of the fields may have become a problem, right?"
At the mention of abandonment, the atmosphere became a little tense.
It’s about the food plan, no matter how rich you are, this is the foundation of the country!
However, Yang Fengfan did not panic at all and said with a smile: "What Li Gong said is reasonable. Pingwan County absorbs strong labor from the surrounding areas, leaving the old, sick and disabled at home. At first, the lower officials also had such worries."
"But later it was discovered that when these people had money, they would actively buy livestock and send them home. In this way, the shortage of labor was quickly alleviated, and it became impossible to talk about leaving the fields uncultivated. This cattle is better than one person. It’s used a lot.”
"We have just conquered the Kingdom of Jin, and the pastures over there are for us to feed cattle... This is not a problem." Fang Zheng reminded in a low voice.
Everyone was extremely relieved. It seemed that the most worrying situation did not exist, so that was good.
"You continue talking." Emperor Jing said.
Yang Fengfan said: "Apart from the prosperity of industry and commerce, Pingwan County's greatest achievement is education."
"In two years, thirty-two new schools have been added throughout Pingwan County."
Thirty-two? Everyone was shocked.
"How is that possible? This was all built with taxed money?" someone asked in a voiceless voice.
The addition of more than 30 schools in two years is too amazing!
"Half of it was built with money from the county, while the other part was built with money from merchants."
"Businessmen still care about education?" Li Yansong pulled off his beard without paying attention.
"Of course! Many people here come here with their children. They are usually busy with work and have no time to raise children, and they are easily distracted by work. When the county government learned about this situation, it began to lead merchants to build schools for these children."
"Some of these schools are prepared for working people... In fact, many types of work need people who can read and write, but such people are often extremely scarce, so they build university halls specifically to teach literacy. In addition, they can also Learn the ways of the sages.”
"Nowadays, many motivated people are willing to spend some money to study and practice calligraphy in universities during their spare time, so as to increase their income in the future."
The officials were in an uproar and fell into discussion.
"Incredible! Incredible!" Li Yansong murmured.
Such achievements have never been heard of by them... The ideals cherished by scholars are easily realized by merchants?
Yang Fengfan was already very proud, but suddenly he saw Fang Zhengyi winking at him, and he suddenly remembered something.
Yes, the county also arranged a school project specifically for His Majesty to cut the ribbon.
Now it’s time to put the icing on the cake!
Yang Fengfan clasped his fists: "Your Majesty! In order to cope with future changes, the county has just built the largest school with funds, which can accommodate 3,000 people! It has cafeterias, dormitories, and libraries, for those aged five to fifteen. Everyone can study in one school, and the most important thing is that the tuition is extremely low, so that every student of appropriate age can read.”
"This school has been widely praised by the people in the city since it was first built. Everyone is grateful for the kindness of the imperial court. Everyone says that His Majesty loves the people like a son and cares about them, so he gave this school an excellent name... .”
The ministers were all smiling, and Emperor Jing was even more delighted: "What's your name?"
"Enqing School!"
...
