As Han You said, work day and night, non-stop.
He went to the East China Sea to work with people, not to enjoy the mountains and rivers. He still had a headache when the sun went down. After knowing that he had passed the lower county of the capital, he ordered to speed up.
A thousand Zhao Jia soldiers were at the front of the team. After all, they were not one of our own. If something happened, they would be the first to be involved.
Seeing that the sky was getting darker and darker, Fu Yuxiang ordered to change the formation, and the veterans of Yidao Camp and the villagers guarded the middle position, which was the carriage of Han You and others.
In addition to Han You, there were several old masters and Yu Qi riding in the carriage.
From the capital to the East China Sea, there are hundreds of counties and twenty-three important towns and cities. The road is not smooth, with countless mountain roads, rivers and bridges.
Lao Sanzhou Ben finally had some effect. Knowing that Han You was in a hurry, he planned the time and journey, and the team arrived in Kaicheng before dawn.
The prefect of Kaicheng had received the news early in the morning, and he brought a group of subordinate officials to greet him outside the city early in the morning. In addition to the officials in the city, there were also the captains and generals of the military service in Kaicheng.
Han You did not let all the troops enter the city, but camped directly outside the city. He only led more than a hundred people into the city.
The prefect of Kaicheng, whose surname is Zhou, is Zhou Kun. He is in his early forties. He is as thin as an Emeishan monkey that has been hungry for eight days, and he also has a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks.
In fact, being an official in ancient times was also based on appearance, generally based on appearance. Zhou Kun was the prefect of Kaicheng in the previous dynasty and has been the prefect for nine years. In fact, it is difficult to become an official because of his honor, mainly because of the cost. Money cannot change appearance, but it can make people ignore his appearance.
When Han You was in Nanguan, Lao Ba had just secured the three provinces. Privately, the first task given to the bosses of the three provinces was to eliminate the corrupt officials of the previous dynasty, especially the officials who spent money in Beijing and used connections to become officials.
Kaicheng is not far from the capital. Logically speaking, Mr. Zhou Kunzhou should also be removed. In fact, Artest is really reluctant to do it.
Zhao Tai has nothing to do with Zhou Kun, it is mainly the people of Kaicheng who have something to do with Zhou Kun.
Kaesong is a very poor place. How poor is it? Let’s talk about the fertility rate.
In ancient times, ordinary people were keen on having children. The more children they had, the more labor force they had. They could get into trouble in the same village, fight over a well or something, and take advantage of any quarrels.
However, the initial fertility rate in Kaesong was the lowest and grew at a negative rate. Because of poverty, the people could not even support themselves, let alone farm.
The most intuitive manifestation is that there are no aristocratic families in this place, there are no gentry and wealthy families, and there is no money or water at all.
The terrain is too low, and it will be over when it rains all year round. The official roads are muddy, making it difficult for horses, cars, and people to walk. There are not many caravans coming. If you are unlucky, the official roads will be washed away by the rain, and this place will be like an isolated city. Yes, the population is getting smaller year by year, and people don’t dare to have children, so they can’t feed them at all.
As a result, after Zhou Kun became the prefect, the population of Kaicheng actually increased. The population became more and more every year, and now there are more than 17,000 households. You must know that before he became the prefect, this poor place had less than 5,000 households.
Households are households, people are people, and increasing the population by so much is definitely a dazzling political achievement worthy of special mention.
As a result, the imperial court never awarded him a reward. It was because this place was so poor that it didn't even have a temple. You can imagine how poor this place was. It didn't have any oil or water at all.
This is a very strange question. If we are poor, why does the population increase?
The answer is very strange. Zhou Kun could not make the people rich, but he could make the people eat. If they had enough to eat, they would still be able to live, but their lives would not be good. The child is not good, but he can give birth to a child, and he can feed the child after he has given birth. The child he feeds has the same bad life, the same lack of food, but the same... can survive.
Zhou Kun's role as the prefect is also very strange. There is not enough cultivated land. Well, he can just go fishing in the river to eat.
If there are no fish, then go into the mountains. Tens of thousands of people go to the mountains to hunt, dig wild vegetables, and pick fruits.
It's winter, and there's really nothing to eat, so that's no problem. Zhou Kun just changed his clothes and pretended to be a refugee, and brought the people to pretend to be refugees, ranging from two to three thousand to five or six thousand. , or in batches, go to the capital, go to the county, just like begging, whoever meets you along the way cares about who wants to eat, the end is the capital, neither crying nor making trouble, just go to the east side of the capital with a pestle outside the city gate , come on, help us, anyway, the emperor’s court will not let us starve to death.
The most egregious thing is that Zhou Kun doesn't take the so-called laws seriously at all. Normally, people need to go through procedures to other states and cities, which is very cumbersome. No local official will let the people under his rule leave, unless it is very special. Condition.
It was better for Zhou Kun, who opened roads and books at will, whenever the people came over, and encouraged the people to work in other wealthy places.
It stands to reason that if this continues for a long time, it will lead to a massive loss of population. After all, Kaicheng is not wealthy in the first place.
In fact, this is not the case, because this guy Zhou Kun used the "assets" of the Zhou Dynasty as improper assets.
This guy divided the land and gave him a fucking house!
Kaicheng cannot pay taxes and money, and it is a key poverty alleviation target in the court, so it has to repay money year after year. It often collapses or is destroyed, and work materials have to be sent.
It would be better for Zhou Kun to use these materials to build houses and provide free accommodation for the people. The same is true for the land. Although it is not enough for farming, he can get a little bit from each house. He can't live without starving to death, more or less. It was a bit of an attempt to defraud the court of subsidies, but all the money was spent on the people of Kaicheng.
Who doesn't want his wife and children to be on the hot bed? It's hard to be miserable, but it's also poor to be poor. At least they won't starve to death, so many young and strong laborers left Kaicheng and saved their money for a few years before coming back.
Han You was pressed for time and entered the city only because of the prefect.
In addition to framing, there is also curiosity, deep curiosity.
You must know that Zhou Kun is not from a poor family. He is neither a down-and-out scholar nor a low-income family. This guy's hometown is from the south. He is a local wealthy family, and his background is relatively good. Otherwise, he would not be able to spend money to buy Became a prefect.
Of course, it doesn't matter how rich you are. If you were really powerful, you wouldn't be able to be the Zhou government in Kaesong.
There was nothing after getting off the carriage. Han You returned the greeting casually and led the people into the city. He didn't speak until he arrived at the government office, which was even worse than the stables of Four Seasons Villa.
"Master Zhou."
Han You sat on the main seat and cupped his hands: "Sit down, others can leave."
Fu Yuxiang winked, and the old soldier and the other soldiers pressed the hilts of their swords. The Kaicheng officials were so frightened that they ran out like dogs.
When only Han You, Wang Hai, and Zhou Kun were left in the main hall, Han Jianzheng opened his mouth, half-smiling but not smiling.
"Given the current status of my supervisor, local officials, not to mention the prefect, even the prefect should treat each other with courtesy and flattery. Mr. Zhou...doesn't take Han, me, seriously?"
Zhou Kun, who had a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, couldn't laugh or cry: "If General Han likes extravagance, Kaicheng does not have the money to flatter him, and the lower officials flatter him again and again, but show no sign, which makes General Han angry. If General Han does not like extravagance, it means that you have a breeze, since A man with clear arms must be an upright person. If a subordinate flatters an upright person like the general, isn't it just creating disgust for him?"
"That makes sense."
Han You laughed: "I heard that you can feed tens of thousands of people with nothing?"
Zhou Kun's old face turned red: "Barely alive."
"Just stay alive." Han You nodded: "If you get promoted to a first-class official, come with me to the East China Sea. If you are as good at feeding the people as rumored, I will guarantee you a bright future and leave after dawn."
Zhou Kun was stunned, his expression changed again and again, and finally he gritted his teeth: "One hundred thousand strings!"
"What?"
"With the official gone, the people of Kaicheng will not be able to survive. One hundred thousand guan is enough to build a road from Ping County to Kaicheng. If the road is widened, the people of Kaicheng will be able to feed themselves. With or without the official, everything will be fine." live."
Han You glanced at Wang Hai: "Give him two hundred thousand guan."
"Wait a minute."
"explain."
"How many hungry people are there in the East China Sea?"
"Countless."
"Okay." Zhou Kun stood up and said loudly, as if he was going to die, "I will be the magistrate of the state."
Han You took a breath: "From the prefect to the prefect, you are very ambitious."
"The purpose of lowering my rank is not to be promoted."
"why?"
"Xiaguan can support 70,000 people in Kaicheng. Seventy thousand people is not the official's limit, but the limit of Kaicheng. Xiaguan wants to go to the East China Sea... to challenge himself."
Han You: "..."
Wang Hai frowned: "What if you can't feed me?"
"It means that 70,000 people is the limit of the lower official. Then the lower official will naturally have to go back to Kaicheng and continue to support 70,000 people. However, the general will have to pay for the expenses when returning."
Han You laughed: "That's it."
Wang Hai took out the roster from his arms and took a look at it: "The next stop is Suzhou. General Zhechong Fulang of Suzhou is personally recommended by His Majesty. He is good at defeating more with less."
Zhou Kun was a little confused.
When the emperor "recommends" talents to his ministers, this sounds awkward.
