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Chapter 1283 A Princess Arrives 2
The rapid changes have made it even harder for people to have any evil thoughts. In the past, it was considered a miracle to be able to accurately shoot with a rifle 200 meters away. Then, we saw field artillery with a longer range and greater power.

Just when we thought that opening up the Hexi Corridor to allow camel caravans to travel smoothly was the limit, we had to watch helplessly as rail carriages were built piece by piece all the way to Hami, turning the vast Gobi Desert, which was regarded as a natural barrier by nomadic people, into a smooth road.

I had worried before about how the people in the Western Regions would survive. If people couldn't have enough food and clothing, I, as the commander of the Western Regions, would definitely face repeated resistance. If I wasn't careful, I might be doomed.

However, with the influx of immigrants and grassroots officials from the interior, water conservancy projects in various places were started in a queue, which greatly consumed the local idle labor force and solved many food and drink problems.

The completion of each project represents the hope of a good harvest for a large area of ​​land. There are more and more cotton fields, wheat fields, vineyards, and orchards, and the supporting processing plants are also springing up like mushrooms after rain.

Both agriculture and processing industries require a large number of manpower. Mainland businessmen who come to invest in and operate plantations and processing plants do not mind hiring locals, even if the training is more laborious and there are cultural and living habits barriers that must be patiently taught and overcome.

Because according to the laws of the imperial court, if you want to invest and make money in the Western Regions, you must employ a certain proportion of local people. If the number is less, you will be subject to heavy taxes.

The calculating businessmen had already calculated the account before coming, and they didn't care who the workers were. As long as they could make money, there was no difficulty in the world that they could not overcome.

After more than ten years of persistence, the locals have gone from misunderstanding, distrust, resistance and fear in the beginning to gradually trying to contact, accept and integrate.

The most obvious is young people. They are the fastest to accept new things. As long as a relatively relaxed environment is created, they can quickly integrate into the new environment within a few years.

Even if there are still some elderly people who refuse to change or even have resistance, their influence will gradually weaken as they get older, their numbers decrease, and they no longer have much power.

The few guards of the Western Regions are the main driving force to ensure that the court's policies are effectively implemented. On one side is the hell of blood and fire, and on the other side is the world of food and clothing. There is no need to change too much. As long as you don't object, you can get it. Most people are willing to choose the latter.

When more and more people have choices, there is no need to rely on military deterrence. People will naturally pursue their own interests and overthrow everything that stands in their way, such as religion, clans, and tribal leaders.

I don't know when it started, but it was already there when I took office. More and more locals and immigrants began to intermarry. With the establishment of farms, processing plants, water conservancy facilities and large-scale caravans, young men and women had more and more opportunities to meet each other, and it became more and more common.

The more they get to know each other, the more they fall in love. The next step is not to discuss marriage, nor the gift and dowry, but the attitude of both parents. Especially the local families in the Western Regions usually do not agree to let their children marry outsiders.

At this time, it is time for the local landowners and factory managers to step forward. These mainland immigrants will do everything they can to persuade local parents to agree. It is not because they are kind-hearted, but because the court has regulations that for every additional intermarriage family among the employees, the unit will receive a reward.

First of all, taxes. When the number of intermarried employees reaches a certain ratio, the tax will be reduced or exempted according to regulations. Secondly, policies. Only when there are a certain number of intermarried employees can it be possible to get orders from the court and priority loans. Otherwise, not only will there be no preferential treatment, but also fines will be imposed, and the fines will lead to bankruptcy!
Anyway, the emperor's tricks are always the same: lure people with benefits and drive them with harm. If they obey, he will give them benefits, if they disobey, he will torture them. Although the method is not brilliant or complicated, it works very well. The people really don't understand too many big principles, but they can see the gains and losses of themselves and their families at a glance. As long as the government can keep its word and take practical actions, coupled with a strong military deterrence, it seems that there is no one in the world who cannot change their culture and lifestyle.

In most areas of the Western Regions, the new learning has been popularized, Taoist temples and mosques are side by side, and the streets are full of mainland Mandarin. The younger generation is proud to learn the new learning, work in factories, become officers, and eat Chinese food.

In bazaars and markets everywhere, beef and mutton are often sold on one side, while pork is sold on the other. There are also many mainland restaurants on the streets, and even brothels have appeared.

When the situation was reported to the emperor, the reply was two words and a note. "Leave it alone" was the reply to the brothels. "Strictly prohibit gambling, investigate and punish any case found, and never tolerate it" was an extension.

The emperor did not explain why he turned a blind eye to brothels but did not allow casinos to open, but the army commander Du Wenhuan gave an explanation privately.

Brothels are not only human nature, but also a reflection of prosperity. If it were in a poor and remote area, where people can't even fill their stomachs, even the most capable madams and girls would still starve.

Both the customers who visit the brothels and the girls inside are high-spending groups, which can drive the common prosperity of a large number of surrounding industries and keep more funds in the local area instead of letting investors take them all away.

So if a brothel appears in a certain area, it means that the local economy is developing well. And this thing will not expand indefinitely and will not become a big problem, so we should not only not worry about it, but also be happy.

But casinos are different. The poorer people are, the more they gamble. They always hope to change their fate by risking a small amount of money, but the results are often not satisfactory. If the people lose their only money to survive, the businessmen lose their capital, and the factory owners lose their production funds, only a few people will benefit, which is not conducive to the development of the local economy.

This will also lead to problems such as usury and debt collection, which may even result in loss of life. In order to avoid losses, operators have to recruit thugs and collude with the government, which not only affects the public security environment, but also corrupts local officials.

As the Western Regions changed, the neighboring Bukhara and Kazakh Khanates were also affected. At first, only a small number of Khanate people came secretly to do odd jobs to earn money, and then word spread, and more and more people came, and some even came with their families and did not plan to leave.

As far as the Western Regions and local government were concerned, the more people came, the better. Language barriers and illiteracy were not a problem. Even if they couldn't find a job, they could still work on government-run construction sites. Although it was a bit tiring, they could earn a lot of money.

But Bukhara and Kazakhstan are not happy. In this era, people are very important strategic materials, and a large population will make a country strong. Now people have fled, and many pastures and villages near the border have been abandoned. If this continues for a long time, the country will not survive.

(End of this chapter)