The social environment, economic structure and even real estate prices in different eras and regions are all very different.
Today's urban real estate prices in the Dachu Empire are in a very special period, which is different from the traditional agricultural era, and also different from the modern industrial period of later generations.
The real estate structure of contemporary large cities in the Dachu Empire, that is, cities like Songjiang, is very characteristic of the times.
In later modern times, real estate prices are often high in administrative, commercial and financial center areas with good environments and good surrounding supporting facilities, such as Manhattan in New York, Chiyoda in Tokyo, and Gangnam in Seoul. These places are often populated by wealthy people.
But in the 19th century and even the early 20th century, not to mention the rich, even the regular high-income groups did not live in the real city center... Of course, this does not mean that the rich did not have luxury houses in the city center. , in fact, there are some, but they don’t live there permanently, they only stay temporarily when they go to the city to do business.
Why?
There are other reasons for the mess, but the core point is: the environment in the city center is so terrible!
In the modern industrial period, steam engines were used to power factories and coal was used for heating and cooking. This means that in cities with a highly concentrated population, countless coals are burned every day, thereby producing massive amounts of waste gas.
The reason why London was known as the Fog City from the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century... was for this reason.
Secondly, a large number of people gather together, and the daily travel needs of millions or more people, coupled with the huge living needs every moment, coupled with the huge cargo transportation needs brought by the dense factories, will not be able to survive without In the age of automobiles.
These people's travel needs and material needs require a large number of horse-drawn carriages to maintain short-distance transportation within the city.
A large number of carriages means a large number of horses...horses mean horse dung, urine and horse carcasses.
Coal and horses, these two things, coupled with the concept or ability of industrial pollution that is basically non-existent in modern times, all kinds of factory pollutants are directly discharged into various drainage channels and rivers in the city without any reservation.
These directly lead to the poor environment of modern big cities!
From the second half of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th century, London was shrouded in thick fog all year round. The Thames River was dirty and smelly, with countless garbage and even animal carcasses. The content of various heavy metals seriously exceeded the standard, let alone drinking. Or go swimming, etc. For those who are not used to it, in special weather, such as when the water vapor evaporates at high temperatures but there is no wind, you will be fainted if you get close to the river...
And this is not an isolated phenomenon, but a common situation in big cities. At the same time, Paris, Berlin, and New York were basically the same, and the environment in the city center was very bad...
The various buildings in the city center look magnificent, but in fact they are not suitable for human survival. They are much worse than the smog in a certain place in later generations.
This has also led to a very special phenomenon. The rich, high-income people and even the middle class who have the conditions to start a family and start a business are more likely to live in the suburbs all year round. Some rich people even live in the outer suburbs.
To them, the city center is actually a huge factory. It is a place to make money... not a place to enjoy life.
This is a direct result of productivity!
In order to reduce costs, modern factories would inevitably cluster in large cities. The huge urban population brought by a large number of factories spurred the emergence of large cities with a population of one million workers in modern times.
Then it brought a series of industrial and domestic pollution problems!
This process also inevitably occurred in the Chu Empire that started industrialization, and it was particularly obvious in Songjiang City, which had a population of more than three million and was still growing rapidly.
Songjiang City, with a population of more than three million, is actually very densely populated, with serious traffic and environmental problems. However, a large number of people like Sun Xu pour into Songjiang City from all over the country every day.
Many official agencies of the empire predict that in five years, that is, in the forty years of Chengshun, the population of Songjiang Prefecture may reach about five million, and the growth rate will not stop... it may continue to grow at a high speed until Chengshun In fifty years, the population of Songjiang City may even exceed tens of millions.
Although many people in the empire felt that this prediction was very exaggerated, Luo Zhixue felt that it was not an exaggeration at all... The population of London in 1850 was about two million, and by 1910, the population of London reached more than seven million!
Once a metropolis develops to a certain scale, the siphon effect on the population, funds, and materials in surrounding areas will be very large, let alone Songjiang, the largest super city in the country.
Such a huge population growth rate, especially the huge traffic and environmental pressures it brings, is always weighing on the heads of senior officials in Songjiang Prefecture.
The new governor of Songjiang Prefecture, Li Xuanbing, was silent as he looked at a series of prediction reports... The series of prediction reports in his hand made him feel quite overwhelmed!
It is said that according to the current growth rate of population and the growth rate of factories and enterprises, if decisive measures are not taken, Songjiang City will not have to wait until the 50th year of Chengshun...it will be completely submerged in horse manure after ten years...at least One meter thick!
Although he knew that these were exaggerated descriptions deliberately made by experts and scholars in order to attract official attention and were actually unlikely to occur, Li Xuanbing still couldn't help but imagine the scene of his prefect's Yamen being flooded with horse manure!
Too scary!
And most importantly, as the prefect of Songjiang, Li Xuanbing cannot live in the suburbs all year round like those rich people and only go to the city when necessary.
He, Li Xuanbing, had to stay in the city center of Songjiang Prefecture all year round... Zhongcheng District, the most densely populated and most environmentally polluted area, was originally the county seat of Shanghai. Later, the Songjiang Prefecture also moved to Shanghai. The subsequent development of the entire Songjiang City, In fact, it was developed around the original county seat...
To the north is Beicheng District north of Suzhou River, to the south is Nancheng District to the west of Lujiabang, to the west is Xicheng District to the west of Jing'an Temple, and to the east...that's the Huangpu River!
As for the area east of the Huangpu River, there has been no large-scale development for the time being, only small-scale local development, and it is still within the suburbs. Well, it is mainly separated from the city by the Huangpu River, but there is no bridge on the Huangpu River!
There are no bridges on the Huangpu River, not because the Chu Empire's bridge technology is not very good and cannot even build a bridge of several hundred meters... but because they want to build a bridge across the Huangpu River without affecting the shipping traffic of the Huangpu River. The Jiangdaqiao Bridge is very difficult because the clearance height requirements for the bridge will be very high.
The shipping industry has long made a request. You can build a bridge if you want, but you must at least ensure a navigation height of more than ten meters and a main channel width of 100 meters...
When those bridge designers saw it, they were paralyzed... and even repairing it. If I had this level of technology, I would have built the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge long ago and become famous all over the country. I might even be awarded a knighthood for it, and I would still play with Huangpu. Jiang Bridge.
The Ministry of Transportation of the Dachu Empire convenes a group of bridge experts every two years to demonstrate the feasibility of the construction of the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge... Two years and two years, more than ten years have passed, but no one can give a clear answer The construction plan comes.
Luo Zhixue personally checked it several times, but it turned out that it was nothing. If it couldn't be repaired, it just couldn't be repaired... It wasn't a matter of cost or money, but because the technology was not at that level, and it couldn't be done even if it was forced to be done.
So much so that there are rumors in the bridge industry that whoever can build the Jinling Yangtze River Bridge will most likely be awarded a knighthood, and it will be a title of baron or above. Once awarded, the descendants will be ranked after barons. It is also possible to inherit the knighthood through assessment.
In the Great Chu Empire's meritorious title system, in addition to the five levels of real noble titles such as Duke, Marquis and Bozinan, there are also two specially established honorary noble titles of Lord and Jazz.
Among them, the Lord is special. This title does not have a title salary or any political privileges.
The early title of Lord was very special. At that time, it was an honorary title specially prepared for the direct heirs of the initial title of Earl or above, after the reduction of the title to Baron, after the title was reduced. This title did not have salary or privileges, but it could be a hereditary title...
However, currently, among the nobles above count and above in the Great Chu Empire, no one has yet been reduced to a baron rank, so the title of lord has not been awarded for a long time.
At the beginning of the unification, Luo Zhixue gave special preferential treatment to most of the founding heroes in order to appease the heroes and to smoothly take back the military power of the generals so that no unexpected situation would occur. Three generations, or two, one generation of special grace.
It has only been thirty-five years since the empire was founded, and the large-scale conferral of nobility was only five years after Chengshun. Even if some nobles are short-lived and die quickly, the heirs will also die quickly... But even if they die quickly, the original nobility will inherit and die. It’s all gone, but we can still continue to inherit it with reduced grades. This can last for several generations.
You can't have four or five generations die in just twenty or thirty years... No matter how unlucky you are, it won't be like this!
Therefore, although the title of Lord was established in the early days, it was not awarded.
Correspondingly, since the two lower-level nobility, Viscount and Baron, generally only have one or two generations, there are many cases where the nobility is reduced to the people. In order to provide some comfort, Luo Zhixue expanded the scope of conferring nobility in the past few years, starting from the initial Earl and above were extended to all aristocratic systems.
The heirs of any noble family after the title of baronet can obtain an honorary title of lord without any salary or political privileges. They can continue to be directly hereditary in the future and will not be removed...
The meaning of this title is: My direct ancestor is a noble...
In addition to the title of Lord, Luo Zhixue later established the title of knight.
In the Great Chu Empire, knighthood was not a strictly aristocratic title. It was a lifelong title that could not be hereditary, and descendants could not obtain the title of lord. However, although it was not hereditary, and descendants could not obtain the title of lord, the gold content of knighthood was In fact, it's not bad, because this title comes with a salary and more important political privileges.
After all, the Dachu Empire was also an imperial country. Since the aristocratic system had been established, the aristocrats naturally had certain political privileges. The most important one was: the officially recognized aristocratic prince (including those who did not have actual titles) Heir to the Baronet, Viscount, etc.), if they join the army, high school graduates can directly enter the three major military academies without taking the exam (equivalent to being awarded a warrant officer).
If you want to work in politics, those with a high school or technical secondary school degree or above can become an official directly without taking the exam. A high school or technical secondary school degree will be awarded at the ninth grade, and a university degree will be awarded at the eighth grade.
Of course, in the early stage, the prince must have a high school degree or an equivalent technical secondary school degree.
Otherwise it’s all in vain!
But this is nothing to an aristocratic family. If you are born in an aristocratic family, enjoy top-notch resources, and can't even go to high school, why do you want to be an official... You might as well just live and die, how can you avoid it? In one day, the entire family was confiscated and exterminated.
Therefore, even lifelong knighthoods that are not included in the traditional nobility sequence are very attractive. Even the second sons of many large aristocratic families will try their best to get a lifelong knighthood because they have no inheritance rights... But most of them are difficult to succeed.
Knight titles are generally awarded to military personnel with outstanding meritorious service, civil servants with outstanding political achievements, and outstanding individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their respective fields.
In other words, except for a small number of traditional nobles above baronet and young lecturers who have just stayed at the school for a few years, the professors and lecturers at the Royal Institute of Technology are almost all lifelong knights...
In other words, the teachers at the Royal Institute of Technology are almost all nobles, and they are even more exaggerated than the military!
This shows that the Great Chu Empire attaches great importance to scientific research!
In the Great Chu Empire, studying can really change the fate of oneself, one's family, and even the fate of future generations.
And for some geniuses who are talented and hard-working, as long as you show your talent when you are in elementary school, then really, you don't have to worry about anything and just study all the way through scholarships. Not only does it not cost money, but the local government ethics and education institutions For your political achievements, you will be given various benefits and conveniences, such as scholarships and job placement for your parents.
If you can study all the way and finally get admitted to the Royal Institute of Technology... the local education officials will be happier than your parents!
Those are all political achievements!
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a social atmosphere that focused on child prodigies, and it was even worse in the Chu Empire. This emphasis was not even promoted by the people, but by the government...or it was promoted by Luo Zhixue in his early years and then A habit to stay.
Thirty years ago, when he was very poor, Luo Zhixue directly established the Royal Institute of Technology in order to engage in scientific research and development, and then searched for high-IQ geniuses from all over the country, and then threw them a bunch of messy textbooks and asked them to study on their own. teach!
Back then, in order to search for geniuses, local governments and counties directly set tasks and gave rewards... You must find one or two geniuses for me. If you can't find them, you will make a mark, and if you find them, you will reward them.
This continued for several years. Although the Royal Institute of Technology was later formalized and began to recruit students directly from high school students, this custom and tradition was still passed down. If there were too many college students in the jurisdiction, they would be regarded as upper-class students. A good political achievement, if a student from the Royal Institute of Technology can appear, it will be an even greater political achievement.
That's why local officials attach so much importance to discovering and cultivating talents.
Not for anything else, just to get promoted.
(End of chapter)
