Jiuxi

Chapter 980 [The Long Road]

For Xu Zuo, what he had seen and heard in the past few days had caused his emotions to surge, and the shock he had received was even greater than in the past twenty years combined.

The advantages of firearms and the kindness of medical treatment have already made Xu Zuo have great respect for Lu Chen. From now on, every place in the city will continue to challenge his preconceived ideas.

The group came to the General Works Bureau in the south of the city, where there were a large number of recruited craftsmen, as well as some skilled craftsmen transferred from the Firearms Bureau. Now the Firearms Bureau was specifically responsible for the research and manufacture of weapons, and the rest of the craftsmen were all assigned to the General Works Bureau.

Xu Zuo even saw dozens of mysterious alchemists here. According to Lu Chen, these people's alchemy skills might be of great use.

Hundreds of years ago, the gunpowder used to make fireworks was obtained by chance by alchemists in the process of making elixirs. Perhaps they will create more surprises in the future.

Xu Zuo felt a little amused, but he did not make a big deal out of the matter. He believed that Lu Chen would not be deceived by any unorthodox methods.

After all, in addition to the chemical workshops composed of alchemists, there are dozens of workshops in the General's Bureau. The obstetric forceps that Xue Huaiyi praised so highly are the masterpieces of one of the workshops.

After this tour, Xu Zuo and Jiang Hui gained a lot of knowledge. Although most of the research in the workshops has just started and it seems a long way to go to see the results, through the vision described by Lu Chen, the master and apprentice who have been immersed in classics, history, and literature all their lives seem to have opened a door and seen a wider world.

Salt-solarization, coal purification, cartography, levers, pulleys, cement, sugar, glass, and even various technologies and items that can improve living standards.

These were not completely beyond Xu Zuo's understanding, but they still shocked him.

In fact, Lu Chen knew the facts but not the reasons. However, he now had the power to make decisions in Jiangbei. With just one order, countless people would help him find materials, craftsmen and talented people with professional knowledge, and they would do their best to study according to Lu Chen's requirements.

Therefore, Lu Chen only needs to point out a direction, tell the corresponding workshop all the information he knows, and then let them work in this direction. It is like sowing countless seeds. In the future, there will always be some seeds that take root, sprout, and bloom into gorgeous flowers.

This step is actually a crucial step.

Moreover, Lu Chen was well aware of the limitations of productivity and technological levels, and did not seek the key to the industrial revolution. He only hoped to see people well fed and clothed during his lifetime, and that people on this continent would no longer regard the budding of natural science as gimmicks. This was his greatest ideal.

At this moment Xu Zuo was even more silent than yesterday. It was not the kind of silence that came from rejection or resistance, but rather the silence of deep thought.

Coming out of the last workshop, Jiang Hui bowed and said, "Your Majesty, there is something I don't understand."

Lu Chen said calmly: "Jiang Xiuzhuan, there is no need to be polite. Just speak frankly."

Jiang Hui said slowly, "Your Highness's ingenious ideas are admirable. Once those novel things are released, they will surely become popular everywhere. I just wonder if they will be monopolized by the imperial court like salt and iron?"

Lu Chen asked meaningfully: "What if it is, and what if it isn't?"

Jiang Hui replied, "If the court is the only one in charge, it will inevitably plunder the people's wealth and cause corruption among the officials involved. But if these technologies are allowed to flow into the private sector, people will flock to them for profit. How many people will be willing to concentrate on farming in the future? I am not questioning your foresight, and I know that I am not very knowledgeable. However, farming is the foundation of the country and must not be neglected. Therefore, I dare to speak out, and I hope your forgiveness will be granted."

Lu Chen did not answer, but smiled and said: "Prime Minister Xu, you have a good disciple."

Xu Zuo also smiled and said, "He is young and inexperienced, and his only redeeming quality is his honesty and sincerity. Why don't you teach him a lesson, Your Majesty?"

To put it bluntly, he was also worried about this issue.

Lu Chen did not expose him directly, and said calmly: "Jiang Xiuzhuan, except for a few crafts related to the national economy and people's livelihood, the research content of these workshops will be handed over to the Lu family business. Of course, the Lu family business cannot take over all the business, so at that time, all the big businesses from all over the country will be involved. As for the specific form of cooperation, please keep it a secret for the time being. I admit that your concerns are reasonable, but there is no need to rush, let's continue to watch."

Jiang Hui was not a stubborn young man, so he responded respectfully when he heard it.

After a simple lunch, everyone came to another building not far from the General Bureau.

The Agricultural Institute, as the name suggests, is responsible for all matters related to agriculture and sericulture.

From ancient times to the present, every dynasty has paid attention to agriculture. As Jiang Hui said, this is the foundation of the country. However, basically no dynasty has conducted detailed research. At most, they would encourage farming and cultivation.

Taking the Great Qi Dynasty as an example, the Ministry of Revenue was in charge of the land, people, money and grain, and tributes of the whole country. The Sinong Temple that had appeared in the previous dynasty was also incorporated into the Ministry of Revenue. It was basically only responsible for formulating policies on the general direction and the most important financial collection system.

In the Agricultural Academy, Xu Zuo and Jiang Hui saw a lot of different research.

"Just now Jiang Xiuzhuan said that farming is the foundation of the country, and I deeply agree with him." Lu Chen changed his previous relaxed and leisurely attitude and said with a sigh: "For thousands of years, the common people have been working hard to dig for food in the land. Even in a peaceful year with good weather and good harvests, it is a rare bumper year if a family can finally have enough food to fill their stomachs. If there is a slight setback, the family will have one meal full and three meals hungry. If the court imposes additional corvée labor, they will starve every day. As for the years of war and disaster, all kinds of tragic scenes are recorded in history books as cannibalism. Xu Xiang and Jiang Xiuzhuan are well-read, and I think they understand this better than me."

Xu Zuo said seriously: "Yes."

"Farming is an extremely complex system. From the cultivation and selection of improved varieties, to the improvement and optimization of farming tools, to the research on irrigation and composting technology, to the rational use of land for crop rotation, these studies cannot be achieved in a short period of time. However, we must continue to do so, so that we can gradually increase crop yields in the future and allow the people to harvest food that matches their efforts."

Lu Chen looked at the master and disciple and said slowly: "You two, don't think this is an easy thing. If you and I can feed hundreds of millions of people in our lifetime, this life will not be wasted."

Hearing this, Xu Zuo and Jiang Hui nodded solemnly.

After coming out of the farm, Lu Chen and Xu Zuo walked side by side on the flat street.

"Prime Minister Xu, I have always had a question in my mind: why have so many wise men from ancient times to the present been unable to make life better for the people?"

Faced with Lu Chen's soul-searching question, Xu Zuo fell into a long silence.

Bathed in the early summer sunset, Lu Chen seemed to be talking to himself: "From my limited knowledge, there are probably two reasons. One is that a large amount of land is concentrated in the hands of a few officials and gentry. These people happen to hold the power of the court, and they have the privilege of not paying taxes. I once discussed this issue with Mr. Li, the old prime minister. Take the nine great families in Jiangnan as an example. These nine families control millions of acres of fertile land in Jiangnan, but pay less than 200,000 acres of land tax to the court. As a result, the court treasury is empty and the people live in poverty. Only these aristocratic families control countless wealth and enjoy wealth and glory."

"Prince, this is a problem left over from the special situation twenty years ago."

Xu Zuo was not a rude person, he sighed and said: "Without their support, the state of Da Qi would be in danger."

"I know, but it's time to turn it around."

Lu Chen walked forward with his hands behind his back, his tone calm but unquestionable: "Some time ago, I killed thousands of people in Heluo and uprooted dozens of prominent families, just to give those people in Jiangnan a warning. If they know what's good for them and obediently give up a lot of land, and pay taxes according to the amount of land approved by the Jingjie Law in the future, I can spare their lives. If they don't know what's good for them, I will let Huo Zhen come to their door one by one. Anyway, they have been rampant in Jiangnan for the past 20 years, and there are countless handles. None of them is clean."

Xu Zuo naturally would not object to this, but he knew the difficulty of this matter, so he reminded: "The three largest landlords in Jiangnan today are Li, Xue, and Ding."

The Li family of Jinlin, the Xue family of Qingyuan, and the Ding family of Ningtan.

Li Daoyan, Xue Nanting, Ding Hui.

Needless to say, although Li Shizhi plotted treason and murdered the emperor, because Li Daoyan sacrificed his own family for the sake of justice, except for a few branches of the Li family who remained in the capital who were executed, the Jinlin Li family's industries in various parts of Jiangnan did not suffer much of an impact.

As for the Xue and Ding families, they took advantage of the several disturbances in Jiangnan in recent years, which caused the fall of many prominent families, and they rose up to absorb and purchase large amounts of land.

Lu Chen's expression remained unchanged, and he said slowly: "No matter who it is, no one can obstruct this change. Anyone who stands in the way must die."

Xu Zuo no longer hesitated and nodded, "Don't worry, Prince. I will fully cooperate."

Lu Chen smiled and continued the previous topic, "Another reason is that I think the court exploited the people too much, but relaxed the commercial taxes. This is a really unreasonable decision."

"That's not true."

Xu Zuo is not a yes-man. He has his own considerations. He then said calmly: "Suppressing civilians and merchants is the ancestral system of the country, so on this basis, the commercial tax is relatively relaxed. In the past, Emperor Taizu encouraged agriculture and sericulture to suppress merchants because merchants value profit and do not engage in production. If business is too indulgent, it will inevitably affect the safety of the country in the end. I know that the prince is interested in developing commerce and wants to influence the situation through the Lu family business. However, I still want to remind the prince that the greater the power of the merchants, the greater the harm they can cause. They will collude with officials, hoard goods, and disrupt the government as long as it is profitable. Even if the prince has a talent for governing the world, how will he deal with it then?"

These words left Lu Chen speechless for a long time.

He shook his head and sighed, "It seems that I really thought it was a bit simple."

"The prince is concerned about the country and the people, and is truly a role model for our generation."

Xu Zuo showed respect on his face and said sincerely, "In my humble opinion, it will probably take hundreds of years to achieve a balance between agriculture and commerce. The prince does not need to rush. You can take it step by step. First, you should strengthen the control over the scale of commerce. Second, you should firmly hold the leading power in your own hands. Only in this way can you avoid losing control. If necessary, you can tighten the rope to at least ensure that the country will not be in turmoil."

Lu Chen stopped, turned around and looked at the gaunt face of the Right Prime Minister, and said with a smile: "I will consider this matter carefully, and I hope to ask Prime Minister Xu for more advice in the future."

Xu Zuo bowed and said, "I'll be at your service any time."

(End of this chapter)