People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 433: People's Livelihood is More Important Than Heaven

Coming from the people and going back to the people, this is not just empty talk.

At least Zhao Jun thinks not.

Some people may think it is empty and false, thinking it is just a slogan. What does it have to do with my 3,000 yuan a month?
But you have to consider that if you earn 3,000 yuan a month, that's because that's the limit of your ability. It doesn't mean that the country is not working hard to seek welfare for the people and provide protection for all citizens.

Because whether we start from idealism or realism, it must be so.

First, idealism.

Zhao Jun has ideals, so he must consider the people.

He could only realize his ambitions by ensuring that all the people of the Song Dynasty had enough food to eat, enough clothes to wear, money in their pockets, and could live an ideal and happy life.

Secondly, from a practical perspective, it is easier to understand.

As the saying goes, the first concern of those in power in all countries is the security of their regime.

The common people in your country don’t have enough food to eat, can’t afford clothes to wear, have no money in their pockets, and live a hellish life like cattle and horses.

What if they rebel and overthrow your regime?
So whether for the sake of his own ideals or to protect his own power, Zhao Jun must put the people first.

Now the development of the Song Dynasty is on the right track, but many problems will certainly arise in this process. Therefore, Zhao Jun needs to go to the people from time to time to find out where the problems lie.

In November of the eighth year of the Qingli period of the Great Song Dynasty, as the end of the year approached, the whole country was still bustling with activity.

Roads are being built and infrastructure is being constructed everywhere.

With the listing of silver dollars worth one string and mian banknotes worth five, ten and twenty strings, the domestic economy prospered even more.

In the commercial streets of Bianliang city, people no longer needed to carry a large bag when going out to trade. They could even simply use a horse-drawn carriage to load large boxes and carry dozens of kilograms of copper coins to trade.

After all, one string of coins weighs three or four kilograms. If you carry twenty strings of coins with you when you go out to do business with others, it is equivalent to carrying sixty or seventy kilograms of things, which is indeed too much exercise for your body.

Kaifeng was the central city of the Song Dynasty and the city with the most developed transportation. Goods from all over the world gathered here, giving rise to a huge business.

With more and more population mobility, Kaifeng Prefecture has registered the influx of foreign population and has determined that the population of Bianliang now exceeds three million.

Although it cannot be compared with the Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen with a population of 20 million in later generations, we have to know that this was in the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago, when there were only a handful of cities with a population of one million in the world.

At the same time, only Baghdad, the capital of the Arab Empire, and Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, could reach this level.

In contrast, Kaifeng’s population exceeds one million, which is three times that of Baghdad and Constantinople!
On November 26th, as the twelfth lunar month was approaching, Bianliang was not only not deserted, but became even busier. Lanterns were hung everywhere in the streets and alleys, with a strong festive atmosphere.

In the evening, Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan went home together after get off work.

Normally, Zhao Jun would just go out of Xihua Gate to go home, but Fan Zhongyan had to go out of Xihua Gate and walk north along Qishengyuan Street to Liangmenli Street, then go west and out of Liangmen to the outer city.

So generally speaking, when everyone left Xihua Gate, Zhao Jun would walk back to his home, while Fan Zhongyan would ride in a sedan chair and part with him under the protection of the guards.

But today, the two men took off their purple robes that represented nobility, put on two sets of casual clothes, and strolled on the streets in the west of the city.

After they came out of Xihua Gate, they went directly to Qishengyuan Street.

Originally, to get here, you need to come out of Xihuamen, follow Xihuamen Street, and pass Xijiaolou Street.

But now, Xijiaolou Street has been incorporated into the scope of the imperial palace. Outside the palace is the Qishengyuan Street running from north to south. The palace wall has been built with reinforced concrete structure and glazed tiles on it.

Groups of soldiers were patrolling along the imperial city wall when they saw Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan coming out. They noticed that they were not wearing official uniforms as they walked out of the palace gate, and were about to go up and question them out of duty.

As a result, dozens of people in ordinary clothes came out from behind them. The leader showed his palace card, and the soldiers left.

"You have a wife and children, I also have a wife and children. You don't go home after work, but drag me shopping."

Fan Zhongyan shook his head and said, "You really have nothing to do."

"How can you be free?"

Zhao Jun smiled and said, "This is called a secret visit to understand the people's sentiments. Old Fan, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but you should go out and walk around more."

"Isn't this accompanying you?"

Fan Zhongyan waved his hand into the distance, signaling the coachman who was waiting for him at the door to go back.

The prime ministers' coachmen had to wait for a whole day, and it was difficult for them to leave too far away. They had to be kept under watch at all times to prevent them from leaving the palace temporarily for some reason, which was also very tiring.

Zhao Jun walked shoulder to shoulder with him. The guards around him changed into their regular clothes and quickly blended into the crowd, walking closely behind them.

They looked up at Xihuamen Street. The street had not changed much from more than ten years ago. It was still made of wood, with houses lined up in rows stretching into the distance.

Although the industrial age has arrived, the changes in cities often require the government to play a constructive role. Otherwise, it is obviously unrealistic to rely on residents themselves to improve their living conditions.

Just like Japan had completed its industrialization reform during World War II, but the main buildings in Tokyo were still low wooden bungalows, giving Li Mei an excellent opportunity for barbecue.

At this time, the Song Dynasty was very wealthy, and its fiscal revenue this year might exceed 200 million. However, the demolition fee for the entire Kaifeng inner and outer city renovation was simply astronomical.

The most intuitive example is the more than 40 markets in the inner city. Even an ordinary two-story house of more than 100 square meters in Jingfufang, the outermost area, costs more than 10,000 guan. The closer to the palace, the more expensive it is.

There were more than a hundred such houses in a market town. For example, "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" depicts the scene of Qingmingfang in Kaifeng during the Northern Song Dynasty, in which there were 122 houses of various styles.

Even if we don't count other lands, and only demolish houses and buildings, the court would need to pay more than one or two million strings of cash as compensation to the people for the demolition and relocation of a market town in the inner city.

If we take into account other inner city vegetable fields, shanties, luxury homes and high-value houses near the imperial city, the compensation for more than 40 wards is simply unimaginable.

According to rough estimates, the demolition compensation plus the construction costs to transform the entire inner city from wooden houses into wooden houses would cost the Song Dynasty court a year's fiscal revenue, which is about 200 million strings of cash.

Therefore, for now we can only proceed step by step. First, we have to spend money to expand the imperial palace, and then renovate the markets one by one. We dare not complete everything at once.

The snow had stopped in late November and the streets were clean. Except for the slight gloom due to the continuous cloudy days and little sunshine, it did not dampen people's enthusiasm.

Lanterns were hung on both sides of the street, and there was a constant stream of people coming and going in the West Market, including many foreign faces, such as merchants from the Middle East.

"Tanghulu, delicious Tanghulu."

"Grilled tofu, fragrant and tender grilled tofu, only three cents a piece."

"Potatoes, fresh potatoes from the oven."

The sound of shouting spread in all directions.

Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan walked among the crowd, looking around as they walked.

"How long has it been since you walked around the streets like this?"

Zhao Jun asked.

When Fan Zhongyan heard his words, he frowned slightly and then said, "Maybe one or two years."

"Me too."

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked into the distance. "I feel like I'm very busy every day, busy with national affairs and dealing with external enemies. I don't have time to spend with my wife and children, and I don't have time to focus on people's livelihood. Now that Xixia is destroyed and Liao is about to collapse, don't you feel a lot more relaxed all of a sudden?"

"Yes, so you plan to take a good rest?"

Fan Zhongyan asked back.

"No."

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked at the bustling street.

It was already dark, and lights began to light up in every house. Children were running around in the streets. Women came back with washed clothes from the river, preparing to cook dinner. A faint smell of honeycomb coal wafted in the air.

He said: "We should pay attention to people's livelihood and take a good walk around Kaifeng. Kaifeng is the center of the country. If there are problems here, there are countless problems across the country."

Fan Zhongyan understood what he meant and said with a wry smile: "If my old bones were not too weak to bear the torment, I would also like to travel around the world with you."

"Let's go." Zhao Jun smiled and blended into the night.

After leaving the inner city from Liangmen, the order in the outer city was still pretty good.

Apart from the occasional street fights, collisions and quarrels, or beatings and scoldings by shrews.

These were very common things in the market, and there were Kaifeng government servants on duty on every street to coordinate.

The blocks are lined up in an orderly manner.

Kaifeng City is very large, and Zhao Jun and Fan Zhongyan could not walk around the entire place in a day, so they just strolled around the West Market today.

I looked at the scenery of Yicheng Tower and Fanglin Garden from afar. The whole building was filled with red sleeves waving and colorful ribbons flying.

In addition to basic businesses, the outer city market also has a large number of residential areas. Honeycomb coal is used outside every household, and it is common to see several families renting one house.

The water we use is well water, which sometimes makes washing clothes and cooking very inconvenient.

Zhao Jun saw all of this and kept it in mind.

The two walked and chatted, and Fan Zhongyan suddenly asked: "You sent an official document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this morning, what did you do?"

While observing the situation among the people, Zhao Jun casually said, "Let people know that the Western Region Uighurs and the Black Khanate have surrendered and submitted to the Song Dynasty."

"Will they agree?"

"This is the policy of using courtesy before force, being a king at home and a tyrant abroad. Sometimes a great country needs to behave in this way in order to demonstrate its majesty."

"Well, that makes sense. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent envoys to the Western Regions, but they colluded with the Xiongnu and even killed the Han envoys, so Emperor Wu conquered Dayuan."

Fan Zhongyan nodded and said, "Emperor Taizong of Tang attacked the Turks, but Gaochang State made friends with the Turks and resisted the Tang Dynasty. So the Tang army destroyed the city and the country and occupied the Western Regions. We can be regarded as giving them a chance."

As he said this, he turned his head and noticed that Zhao Jun was staring at someone's yard. There were several girls squatting by the well in the yard washing clothes. Fan Zhongyan said angrily, "You are already in your thirties."

"What are you thinking, Lao Fan?"

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes at him and said, "People with dirty thoughts will only have dirty minds."

"Then tell me what you are thinking about?"

"I wonder how inconvenient it is for them to get water from the well."

"inconvenient?"

Fan Zhongyan turned his head and saw that every time the girls needed water, they had to laboriously turn the wheel in the well to get it up.

Sometimes we don’t have enough strength and even fall down, and we have to fetch the water all over again after working so hard.

“It’s a bit inconvenient, but there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Fan Zhongyan said: "Many towns are far from the river, making it inconvenient to go there, and the water in the river is not clean."

In addition to the four canals in Kaifeng, there are many underground rivers.

The underground rivers were also not clean in the past. After the underground forces were eradicated, Kaifeng Prefecture sealed the underground entrances with steel doors.

Without any dirt hidden underground, the water quality improved and became the main source of domestic water in the city.

However, Kaifeng Prefecture has repeatedly publicized that water must be boiled before drinking to reduce the spread of disease.

But even so, it is still very inconvenient for people to get water.

You have to know that this is a city with a population of more than three million, and the amount of domestic water used and garbage produced every day is countless.

If not managed properly, big problems can arise.

“It’s time to lay the pipeline.”

Zhao Jun said: "Now that steel production has increased, the underground system should be comprehensively improved. Kaifeng Prefecture should set up a department to evaluate Kaifeng's underground. Then, within the next few years, all sewers should be reinforced with cement and steel bars, and laid with steel pipes, so that water can flow through the steel pipes into every household."

"You mean, tap water?"

Fan Zhongyan opened his eyes wide.

"Do I have this ability?"

Zhao Jun rolled his eyes at him again and said, "How can every household get water without plastic pipes? How much would steel pipes cost?"

"That is?"

"It's a pump!"

"pump?"

Fan Zhongyan wondered, "What is that?"

“A water-drawing tool commonly used by rural people when I was a child.”

Zhao Jun thought of his childhood.

Although the post-00s era is changing with each passing day, many things experienced by those born in the 80s and 90s have slowly dissipated.

But he is the first generation of the 00s, so he can naturally remember some things.

The water pump I remember was like a kettle. Before using it, you had to pour some water into it, and then shake the handle up and down, and water would come out continuously.

I didn’t know the principle before, and I thought it was fun, so I often used the water pump as a toy.

It was not until later when the village wanted to dismantle all these things and replace them with running water that he watched the adults dismantle the cement platform and take down and dismantle the water pump, and only then did he understand its structure.

The structure is very simple, with just some rubber pads, steel rings and the like inside. Now that I think about it, it should be related to airtightness and atmospheric pressure.

Now that we have rubber, it should not be difficult to make this thing. At least it is much better than a well.

"Anyway, once this thing is made, it will greatly improve people's difficulty in getting water."

Zhao Jun shook his head, put his hands behind his back, slowly walked out of Luocheng Gate, stepped into the road outside the city and said: "The burden of people's livelihood is on our shoulders. We still have to observe and consider it all the time."

"Ah."

Fan Zhongyan nodded.

The two continued walking outside and took another stroll outside West City.

They saw that the public security here was much worse than in the city, with fights, petty thefts, and even street robberies occurring.

Zhao Jun did not get angry and call Bao Zheng over to point at his nose and scold him, but just watched from a distance.

He kept all these questions in mind and thought about them in his head.

People’s livelihood is not just about having a house to live in, enough food to eat, enough drinking water to drink and enough clothes to wear, but also about their safety and property needs to be protected.

People cannot live in fear.

Now the Song Dynasty is not afraid of any external challenges.

But sometimes, the bad guys are not only outside, there are also countless bad guys inside.

It is unrealistic to eradicate it, but those in power must find ways to reduce this phenomenon.

People’s livelihood is more important than anything else.

(End of this chapter)