Jia Liu rode the horse for a while, then changed the carriage.
The reason is that there are no people on the road.
In the car, Jia Liu called two deputy leaders of the governor's special reporting team of the "Qing Daily" to get on the car and have a cordial conversation, and gave some instructions on the recent direction of the newspaper's public opinion.
It is nothing more than repeating the same old tune: first, we must pay attention to agriculture, second, we must prevent disasters, third, we must promote health and civilized construction, and fourth, we must clean up accumulated prisons and so on.
It's all daily work.
It was very nonsense, because Jia Liu had said similar words many times in the newspaper before. The problem was that even though he knew it was nonsense, he had to ask the newspaper to report his meaning in words again every once in a while.
This is the difficulty of being a high official.
If you don’t tell me, that won’t work!
Finally, let the editorial team publish an open letter in the name of a special commentator calling on the military and civilians of the entire province.
It is to allow everyone to contribute money and efforts to participate in the vigorous road construction project, so that Zhili, the central province of Gyeonggi, can be reborn and lay good transportation conditions for reform and development.
"If you want to be rich, build roads first!"
Jia Liu naturally proposed this advanced and factual slogan.
Yao, deputy leader of the reporting team and former secretary of the governor's office, was a little confused: "Sir, what is a special commentator?"
"Well, it means the ordinary people, or this call is the voice of the people. The newspapers listen to public opinion and report it. The governor's office attaches great importance to it."
Jia Liu explained it this way.
If you have to give an accurate explanation, this special commentator is the incarnation of the Governor General.
The people are him, and he is also the people.
What he thinks of may not be what the people want, but what the people want is what he definitely wants.
Therefore, calling on people to donate is also a manifestation of Jia Liu's respect for public opinion.
The survey results of the provincial road mapping team organized by Yang Jingsu have come out, and the construction of two provincial roads will soon be put on the agenda.
Considering the hot weather, we plan to start construction in various parts of the province at the same time after autumn, so that the busy farming season will not be delayed and the construction period will be saved.
In accordance with the Governor's standardized and streamlined road construction requirements, the Buzheng Yamen, together with the provincial roads passing through various prefectures and counties, have begun to prepare for the construction of road construction teams.
I heard that the Sixth Son Xiandi was going to build a road in Zhili. The purpose of building the road was to facilitate the transportation of goods and promote Beiyang trade to bring new tax growth points to the Ministry of Household Affairs. As the actual leader of the Qing government, the old rich man would not
He objected, but he didn’t have the money, so he asked the Ministry of Industry to send an expert team to guide Zhili’s road construction work.
It can be said that everything is ready, all that is needed is the east wind.
What is east wind?
Silver!
The two east-west, north-south main provincial highway projects total more than 1,600 miles, and more than 100 bridges need to be laid, including 11 extra-large bridges. According to calculations by relevant experts from the Ministry of Industry and Zhili Chief Minister's Department,
If you want to completely repair the two provincial roads, you will need at least 3.8 million taels of silver.
This does not include the cost of food and accommodation for migrant workers, follow-up maintenance costs, road care costs, and the "county-county connectivity" projects in various prefectures and counties.
If it is done completely according to the wishes of the Governor, the fiscal revenue of Zhili in ten years will not be enough to fill this hole.
Building roads and rivers has been a major project since ancient times. Some dynasties even used millions of manpower to build a road.
When the Sui Dynasty built the Grand Canal and the Meng Yuan Dynasty controlled the Yellow River, didn't they both lead to the subjugation of the country?
The main roads (post roads) of the Qing Dynasty are actually still the roads built by the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago. On the basis of this post road, successive dynasties have carried out regular renovations, but no dynasty said that the road was rebuilt, and which governor was full of food.
How can we build thousands of miles of provincial roads in addition to the original post roads within the territory?
A purely agricultural society does not actually need too many roads.
There are too many roads, and it is difficult to calm down the chaos.
Even the road maps are top secret.
Otherwise, if the rebels all know the roads leading from the local area to other places, which roads the government and army will come from for encirclement and suppression, and which places occupy strategic positions, then there will be no need to fight.
Therefore, what Jia Liu is doing now can be said to be unprecedented since the founding of the Qing Dynasty, and it is also very radical. This makes many people in Beijing laugh at his jokes.
If it really causes trouble and cannot be contained, Jia Liu, the governor of Zhili, may not be able to continue his job.
The rich man did not miss the joke of the Six Sons. As the "rich dad" of the Twelve, he also had to beware of the rebellious Six Sons who wanted to grow up in Zhili and threaten the Qing Dynasty.
The deaths of Wen Fu, A Gui, Mingliang, and the Fu brothers were a wake-up call for him.
Who knows whether that kid Guiziliu will be concerned about the throne in the future.
Therefore, it would actually be a good thing for the Qing Dynasty if the Sixth Son Xiandi failed.
Even if Beiyang trade cannot continue because of this, it doesn't matter to the old rich.
The way to govern a country lies in stability.
As long as we can change the bad habits of the old four Japs who resorted to military violence, wanton extravagance and waste, and frequent patrols, with the Qing Dynasty's annual fiscal revenue of nearly 40 million taels, we can completely achieve peace and prosperity for the country and the people.
Of course, the rebels in Huguang must be defeated before that.
If something happens to Guiziliu, it would not be a bad thing for both parties to take the opportunity to demote or dismiss him, or transfer him back to the capital for better care.
Jia Liu knew the consequences of all this better than anyone else, so he worked hard to get money and tried his best to release water in Shanhaiguan.
He was also afraid of civil unrest.
If he wanted the people of Zhili to happily build roads and not worry about having money to eat and drink, and not have to worry about young laborers coming out to build roads and missing farm work, he would have to use money to subsidize them instead of simply using corvee labor instead.
Although Yang Jingsu said that the province had no money, he could still squeeze out 500,000 taels, so the remaining more than 3 million taels in provincial highway construction costs had to be solved by the Governor.
Although Jia Liu received 4.5 million taels of investment from Sichuan, he wanted to use this money for trade and industry. If it was used to build roads, Tianjin would definitely be in a mess.
There is not much money left on hand that can be transferred. The second and third phases of the Baolong project are in progress. I will probably be able to collect several hundred thousand taels before the end of the year, but I am afraid that the income will get worse as time goes by.
The reason is that Lao Fu's stock has risen sharply recently. If it rises, Lao Sijizi's stock will definitely turn green.
Besides, not all the anti-Qing elements who were loyal to the Fourth Japs were wealthy.
Therefore, Jia Liu naturally thought of calling on the military and civilians of Zhili to donate money to build roads.
In fact, it is not impossible for him to implement the "donating official position and paying grain" system in Zhili just like the old rich man did in Sichuan. Didn't he take this opportunity to buy the ninth-grade Lan Ling chief when he entered the officialdom?
But Zhili was a pilot project for the industrialization of the Qing Dynasty. Not to mention the Qingming Festival, the official administration was at least passable. If he messed up the place by selling off officials indiscriminately, he would have shot himself in the foot, and would not be sorry for the blue sky he worked so hard to build.
image.
The first step is to rectify officialdom, redress unjust cases, and punish corrupt officials with great fanfare, while the second step is to sell off officials without hesitation. Isn't this a slap in the face?
Jia Liu calculated that the population of Zhili Province is close to 30 million, of which 2.86 million are urban residents, accounting for about 10% of the total population.
If we calculate that the rural population earns five cents per person and the urban population earns ten cents per person, the people in Zhili Province can spend as much as four to five hundred thousand taels for road construction.
In addition, those who work in the government, whether they are officials or clerks, or run errands, can make hundreds of thousands of taels by donating according to their level.
Once the two are combined, wouldn't there be one million taels of silver?
In the early stage, we will start fines from the entertainment industry, rectify various guilds, apply for business licenses, etc., and squeeze the provincial finances in the later stage, and we can probably get the two provincial highways.
In the future, if the trade volume is 10%, the wealth will be abundant, so there is no need to worry about lack of money.
Of course, Jia Liu must emphasize the principle of voluntariness.
All government units and subordinate agencies, including the three major yamen, the governor, the chief, and the inspector, must make unconditional voluntary donations.
Schools in the province, prefecture, and county schools must also take action. If the scholars are unwilling to voluntarily donate money to build roads, can we consider letting them study at home, and whether the scholars can also take the annual examination?
We want to see if this scholar has contributed to the country.
If the people are unwilling to donate money, can we ask the helpers from the third class and the sixth room to run errands and do work frequently to persuade them?
In short, under the premise of voluntariness, this piece must be collected.
This open letter was the introduction that triggered donations from officials, soldiers, civilians, businessmen, and academic universities across Zhili Province.
There won't be any trouble.
Officials, businessmen, and students cannot naturally make trouble.
The soldiers and civilians donated very little, only five or ten coins. How could someone want to hang the governor up as a street lamp just for a few steamed buns?
What's more, the Governor was really using their money to handle their affairs. He didn't lose a penny, but received millions of taels of supplements.
The kind that can’t be any cleaner!
In addition to donating money, there is actually another way to raise funds.
It's just a loan to build roads.
For loans from banks in Zhili and other provinces, the future tax collection rights of provincial highways are pledged.
This method is the most effective and safest.
The problem is that Jia Liu doesn't want to do the large-scale development that he worked so hard on, and ends up taking advantage of the business groups.
Since donations are raised to build roads, the roads should be free in the future, so how can they be used for profit?
If we charge people tolls for decades, it will definitely seriously affect local economic development.
It also goes against the teachings of the sages who take things from the people and use them to make things better for the people.
After talking to the two deputy leaders of the reporting team about some precautions for newspaper publicity, Jia Liuming stopped the car to make it easier for him.
After getting out of the car, I saw a fertile field in front of me, but the rice didn't look very good. Maybe it was because the weather was too hot this year.
After the soldiers looked around to make sure there was no danger, Jia Liu walked comfortably to the roadside under a row of poplars.
I shivered for a while, and after shaking three times, I was satisfied and put away the crime tools. I smelled the fragrance of rice coming from my nose, and I couldn't help but enjoy it again.
Seeing several farmers pulling weeds in a field not far away, Jia Liu immediately jumped over from the canal and hurried over to say, ask and chat with the fellow villagers.
This is his usual style of being close to the people, a virtue he never changes no matter where he goes.
This was not arranged in advance. When the soldiers saw this, they were frightened and quickly jumped over the ditch to follow.
If the Governor was beaten to death by farmers in the rice fields, then their heads would have to be moved with him.
The farmers in the fields also saw the long queue on the official road and knew which official was passing by. They also looked at it curiously. When they saw a group of officers and soldiers running towards them, they were startled.
"Hello fellow fellows!"
"Come here and have a rest, fellow!"
From afar, Jia Liu waved and shouted a warm greeting to the farmers.
When they saw an official calling them, the farmers hurried back to the fields. They were all nervous and restrained, fearing that they might offend the official if they did something wrong.
"Fellow, don't be nervous. I was just passing by here and saw you working hard in the fields, so I wanted to have a casual chat with you. Come and smoke."
Jia Liu knew that the farmers were naturally repelled by him as an official. In order to make the farmers less wary of him as an official, he took out a small iron box from his pocket, opened it, took out a few cigarettes and handed it over.
Needless to say, the loose smoke really made several farmers lower their guard and eased their tension.
Everyone curiously looked at the cigarettes in their hands, took the young adults' cigarettes and lit them one by one.
As the smoke rings continued to be blown out, the atmosphere suddenly came alive.
Jia Liu took the opportunity to pull people to sit on the edge of the field. He didn't care at all and sat down on a big piece of dry mud. He pointed at the rice in the field and asked people: "This year's harvest should be good, right?"
"Speaking of this year's harvest,"
An old man in his sixties thought that this young official was nicer, so he casually said: "Maybe he has the same hair as an adult."