The people in the Shaofu, as long as they are outstanding and attentive, can now understand the word economy. In addition, they all realized that the core of the emperor's spending was to give the people a way to make a living.
Just like the city that never sleeps, what can be the use of this thing?
But the young masters all supported it, because they all understood that it was precisely because of this kind of construction that many people had the opportunity to work and receive wages every day.
Therefore, the word economy is the core of their understanding of the emperor's thoughts. When asked what the core of economy is, Song Heng and Zhang Chi both know that it is the means of making a living.
"I understand that the industry your Majesty is talking about is actually a collection of means of livelihood. The last time I met with His Majesty, Your Majesty and I told him that now three to four out of ten people in the prefectures and prefectures of Northern Zhili sell their fields to the city. In the future, the number of people farming will gradually decrease. With so many people choosing to work, it is unrealistic to continuously build more cities that never sleep. So His Majesty mentioned this word, industry."
"To put it simply, for example, raising silkworms, reeling silk, and making and dyeing cloth all require labor, and then the cloth and clothes are sold to form a cycle. In this way, the number of workers busy with these tasks every day is stable, and there is no need for additional work from the court. Money is spent to maintain employment opportunities for tens of thousands of people. Moreover, like Shuiyunjian, the waiters, chefs, and piano players it uses are all fixed."
Zhang Chi understood after hearing this, "Industry... So we did not consider it when planning. After all, so many people live in the capital, there must be a job. So what Brother Song meant, the capital The small workshops inside should also be concentrated in an area."
"good."
…
They discussed a lot this evening,
Even with the sun shining through the windows the next day, they still couldn't sleep.
In the end, Song Heng's wife couldn't help it. She didn't want to be that kind of strong woman who didn't obey. But she was really worried because her husband didn't sleep all night. Finally, she knocked on the study door.
He reminded softly, "Husband, it's time to get married. Why don't you have breakfast, rest for a while, and then continue later?"
The three of them all yawned and stretched their somewhat stiff waists, but in fact they still had more to say. Song Heng still didn't give a good look, "We are busy with business, why do you, a woman, talk so much? Go and ask the kitchen to bring some porridge. That’s it, no need to say more.”
Zhang Chi was embarrassed, "Madam, I'm really bothering you. This matter is really important. Brother Song also wants to report the results to Your Majesty as soon as possible. Madam, you don't have to worry about us."
Song Heng's wife actually has a temperament like orchid, with a thin and white face, like a gentle woman raised by a wealthy family. She just taught her husband such a lesson, so she looks pitiful.
Song Heng may have been through too much, and he probably felt that he had a good friend here, and his wife would not give him face by coming out like this, so he still said impatiently: "Why don't you go quickly?"
"Yes." Mrs. Song did not dare to say more, bowed and left.
She turned around and walked into the yard, just in time to bump into her sister.
"Brother-in-law, what did they say?"
Mrs. Song looked slightly sad, "I haven't slept all night, and I don't know how long it will take. If this continues, even good people will get sick."
The younger sister of the Song family raised her pretty eyebrows, "It's not a big official, but the battle is not small. Those who don't know better think it's a national policy related to the country, the country, and the country."
"Shh." Mrs. Song patted her sister, "Keep your voice down so that your brother-in-law can hear you and he can't scold you?"
"All right."
"Follow me to the kitchen. In this case, we can only make something to replenish qi and blood for them."
"Sister, did my brother-in-law act like this after meeting His Majesty once?"
"Yes."
"That's it." The sister of the Song family came closer and whispered: "I secretly mentioned the current emperor to the sister of the Wang family before, and I realized that he himself is extremely diligent, so if the officials in the imperial court are not summoned alone Fortunately, if he is summoned, it must be because he leaves early and comes back late every day. Look at their biggest official in the young mansion, he is so busy every day that his wife cannot take care of him. I see, my brother-in-law is also in trouble, so you You have to tell your brother-in-law that this situation cannot continue."
Mrs. Song was startled again after hearing this, and said at a loss: "... Then your Majesty, you can't torment people like this, right?"
"Oh, that's hard to say. Sister, you are just stupid. Now His Majesty has to govern the country well. The Ming Dynasty is so big and has so many people. It is not easy to manage. Of course, you have to be so busy."
"Of course I'm happy that your brother-in-law is favored by His Majesty. But he always forgets to eat and sleep, and it won't work if he gets sick. If that's the case, let me talk to him sometime."
"Yes. It's a pity that we don't dare to say these words to the emperor... Brother-in-law must listen to the emperor's words the most."
"Your Majesty?" Mrs. Song didn't dare to think about it. "The Emperor... is above the throne. And you can't talk nonsense in front of the Emperor."
The little girl stuck out her tongue, "Of course I know you can't talk nonsense in front of the emperor. I'm just talking."
…
Song Heng, Song Yue and Zhang Chi simply took a sip of millet porridge and continued the discussion. After one night, they already had a general consensus on the layout of some functional areas in the capital.
In this way, the conditions are met if it falls on the picture.
Song Yue will do this job.
The existing structures of the capital were all in his mind. After a brief sketch of the home, the river, bridges, houses, city walls... the appearance of the area near Zhengyang Gate was already clearly visible on the paper.
…
It took another two days for Song Heng to finalize his 'work results' and bring them to the palace.
Zhu Houzhao was also shocked when he saw the picture for the first time. It should be said that the ancients were more meticulous in writing articles and painting. There was not even a typo in writing an article, and there was not even a single extra stroke in painting.
"You actually dropped it on the paper!" The emperor stepped down from the dragon chair and directed the young eunuch, "Let's go outside the palace. The light outside is good."
The emperor took the lead, and Song Heng followed behind him. He explained: "I also think that this is convenient for your majesty and for the people to see clearly at a glance. If you just talk about it, you can't explain it clearly."
"Very good, very good." Zhu Houzhao was not stingy with his praise for this, "This must have taken a lot of thought, right? You haven't slept a wink these past few days?"
Song Heng did not deny it, "It is what a humble minister should do to eat the emperor's salary and be loyal to the emperor."
When he got outside, Zhu Houzhao pinched his waist. He stretched out his hand and pointed and said: "To the west is the academy and the women's hospital, to the east corner is the city that never sleeps, and further down is your new plan, right? Streets, shops, houses... those are one by one. What are the red dots? I think they are arranged horizontally and vertically in regular patterns."
"Your Majesty, that is a private school." Song Heng explained: "We have thought about it over and over again. If we want the people who gather here to rent and build houses willingly to pay for them, we must attract them with a private school. And now the private school in the capital itself It is also an increasingly serious problem. Many people have money through work and want their children to study and take imperial examinations. But with so many people coming in all at once, private schools are really not enough."
Zhu Houzhao opened his mouth and said, "We really reach the same destination through different paths... Maybe this is the fate of us Han people."
"What did your Majesty say?"
"Nothing. Where can I find a teacher for the private school?"
"The candidates from various places are just right."
Zhu Houzhao understood, "You mean those people who failed the exam."
"That's right. Wouldn't it be great if you fail the exam and find a private school as a teacher in the capital to prepare for the next subject?"
"In a few years, competition among private school teachers will be fierce."
Song Heng laughed along with him, "The capable ones will go up and the mediocre ones will go down. However, I am a little worried that this method also has flaws, that is, the houses built by people from different families may be different."
"It doesn't matter if it's different." Zhu Houzhao didn't care about this. "As long as it's not a dilapidated house, I don't care what people make of their houses. Besides, wouldn't it be boring if they are all the same?"
"There are still some people who may not have enough money."
"The court can lend it to them." Zhu Houzhao blurted out, "They have ten taels of silver. If they ask the court to borrow five taels of silver, wouldn't it be enough to return the five taels of silver in installments? This is called a bank."
"What is a bank?"
"It's a combination of a pawnshop and a bank. They use their house deeds or other valuables as collateral, and the court lends them silver. When they return it, in addition to the principal, they also have to pay interest. The interest shouldn't be so high, just make enough money. .”
Zhu Houzhao knew that this matter could not be explained in one or two sentences, so he confirmed this approach first, "This private school is a good idea. The open spaces in the capital must be controlled and all placed under the jurisdiction of the planning department. I will allocate some more manpower to you." , those who occupy the capital’s land without permission must be punished. And it doesn’t have to be built by the people themselves. The young government can also build houses, and sell them after they are built, and then you will get money back!”
Song Heng said: "I am worried that there is too much money..."
"You can also borrow money. Since organizations can lend money to people to build houses, why can't they lend money to commercial organizations to build houses? Just pay back the interest according to the rules!"
Zhu Houzhao slapped his thigh, so that the capital would feel like it was developing!
In fact, it is not easy to engage in relatively high-end economic development such as scientific inventions from the beginning. Everything is easy first and then difficult. There is no threshold for building a house. He made the small economic circle of Jingshi turn around, with hundreds of thousands, upwards With a market of millions of people, it will be possible to encourage so-called 'technological products'.
A new invention that sells one million copies in the capital is a new wealth myth. When there is such an atmosphere, future generations do not need to think too much. The ancients full of wisdom will create good things. Something.
He is only responsible for improving the soil. As for what grows in the soil, he cannot control it, and it is best not to control it, because if he controls it, he may miss some 'good fruits'.
As for the bank matter, Zhu Houzhao felt that there was no need to go to Song Heng again.
Firstly, Song Heng's work itself is very challenging, and it is not easy to do it well. Secondly, it is his first time to use Song Heng, so we still have to see how it goes.
So he had to find someone else.
