Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 811 The So-Called Directional Ability

"As the saying goes, 'There are no fixed formations in warfare, just as water has no fixed shape.' The right path is to adapt to the enemy's changes and achieve victory. What are we facing right now?"

With spring just around the corner, the annual general meeting of Jiangnan Province has begun again. This year's meeting is still being held in Hongdu Prefecture, but the main person in charge of the meeting has changed from the Little Prince to Xia Daosheng.

Previously, the young prince would simply assess the annual KPIs and proceed with the next phase of work step by step. But this year, with Xia Daosheng back, he is clearly about to make some new moves.

The grand assembly in Gangnam Province is known among the common people as the "small court assembly." The only difference between it and the grand court assembly is that the content of the discussions and policy decisions are made public, forming an official document that is then interpreted by people in the community.

However, it doesn't matter if you don't understand. Smart people, whether they are ordinary citizens or merchants, will definitely be able to make enough benefits as long as they follow the Jiangnan Xiaochaohui.

In fact, ordinary people are very simple. As long as they can see tangible benefits, they will support them unconditionally. Therefore, every time the Jiangnan Circuit holds a court assembly, it attracts a large number of people waiting outside for first-hand information. Many famous scholars will even stake out every new piece of information, and then they will compete to interpret the controversies behind each policy and start a debate on it.

Writing poetry is an outdated art form. Nowadays, the most important quality of talented people is to have their own understanding and interpretation of the policies implemented in a region.

"Our enemy will never be a specific person, but ourselves in the present moment. The household responsibility system implemented in the past few years has been quite successful, which is commendable. According to the reports, the average annual growth rate over the three years has been around 40%. This is due not only to the improvement of seeds for various cash crops, but also to the significant increase in the enthusiasm of the farmers themselves." Xia Lin was now wearing glasses; he was somewhat nearsighted and couldn't see small or distant words clearly. "From the days when we were poorly clothed and starving to today when children can run around the village with white rice cakes and white flour buns, I think you have all done a great job. Congratulations on your achievements."

The audience erupted in thunderous applause that lasted for a long time. It should be noted that Xia Lin was known for being easy to talk to the common people, but he was really difficult to talk to. It was extremely difficult to gain his approval. The total number of awards he had given out in the past few years did not equal the number of awards he received from Emperor Hongbao in a single year.

"but."

When the word "but" was mentioned, the entire room fell silent instantly. They were truly terrified by this word. Every time it came out, their mood would plummet. One sentence was praise, and the next sentence might be a scolding.

"But now we are facing a situation of stagnation and lack of progress. Do you think that you are satisfied with just solving the problem of whether we can have enough to eat? We have said before that we need to go from whether we can eat to whether we have enough to eat and then to whether we can eat well. You have not done a good enough job in this regard."

Xia Lin tapped the table twice, and the people below fell silent. They didn't even dare to look up for fear of being called on by Xia Lin to report on their work progress. The scene was like an English teacher suddenly saying "who can try" in class. The expressions of these local officials were quite interesting. Some looked at the table and thought it was too table-like, while others played with their pens and pretended to be casual.

However, what they feared most was not this, but rather that the first person Xia Lin would point to would be unable to give a coherent answer, and the question would turn from "who can try" into "one by one".

"Alright, you're the one. Zhou Chuyang, the magistrate of Linchuan County."

Linchuan County is one of the top ten counties in Jiangnan Province. Although Magistrate Zhou is only around thirty years old, he is known for his impartiality and incorruptibility. His professional competence and achievements are almost impeccable. However, when his name was called, he still trembled and stood up after a while, saying, "Well... our county has actually fallen short in this regard, due to various factors..."

"Enough!" Xia Lin frowned. "I don't want to hear your official jargon and platitudes. I want you to tell me your actual reasons and specific difficulties. Which aspect is it specifically? Is it the heavens, the earth, or people? If it's the heavens, then open up the heavens; if it's the earth, then fight on the battlefield; if it's people, then mediate. Haven't I told you not to complain about fate and others? Problems are not scary; what's scary is that you have to solve them. When you encounter mountains, you open roads; when you encounter rivers, you build bridges. This is a long-term plan. Since the fact that we are destined to encounter difficulties is unchangeable, can't you be a little more flexible?"

At this point, he tapped the table again: "We're about to enter our fourth five-year period, and the illiteracy rate is still nearly 30%. The variety of meat, eggs, dairy, fruits, and vegetables in the market is less than half of what we expected. What are you doing? Every year, the money is allocated, and this is the kind of report card you give me?"

Those present dared not speak, but that didn't mean they weren't resentful. Many felt wronged by the criticism, after all, not all regions were as powerful as Hongdu Prefecture and Fuliang. When they took over, many areas were simply a mess, a mess corrupted by landlords, powerful clans, and gentry. When they first arrived, a family might not even have enough for a decent pair of trousers, using straw and chicken feathers for warmth in winter, and being able to eat a full meal once every three days was considered a blessing. In less than ten years, they had provided food, clothing, and blankets to the local people in these dilapidated places—that was already quite remarkable. Now, after doing all that, they were being accused of being unambitious. Where could they find justice…?

But Xia Lin didn't give them a chance to refute: "You still have two years. I don't care what methods you use, and I don't care about your fiscal revenue. Give me data to speak for yourself. By the way, no one starved to death this year, right?"

Xia Lin turned her head and asked the inspector beside her. The inspector gently shook his head, which made the officials below breathe a sigh of relief.

The original plan was never completed. If two more people in any of these families starve to death, Xia Lin might as well eat them raw without any sauce.

"Next, I'm planning a unified economic model. Please take note."

Everyone immediately took out their notebooks and pens and began taking notes. Xia Lin also opened his notebook, cleared his throat, and said, "The three problems facing us are survival, education, and development. The survival problem seems to have been basically solved, but it's not good enough. You need to find solutions tailored to your local conditions, so I won't go into too much detail. As for education, nearly 30% of young people under 30 are illiterate, which is a huge problem. However, this contradicts the survival problem, and I hope you can reconcile it with the actual situation in your localities. In the future, I will also try to reduce the burden of education and its impact on families. The most crucial issue going forward is development."

At this point, Xia Lin's brows were still furrowed, and he tapped his fingers on the table: "I haven't discussed this development issue in detail before because we didn't have the conditions in previous years. We hadn't even solved the problem of hunger, so talking about anything else was just empty talk. But now that we're full, we should start discussing how to build things."

Xia Lin's words at this point were already highlighting the key points, and all the officials immediately switched to radar mode, their ears perked up like antennas.

"After arriving in Hongdu Prefecture, I've taken a look around. Indeed, the granaries are full of grain and the bowls of oil, but the shelves are empty. Soap requires connections to buy, and cotton towels take a month to arrive. If this is the state of the capital of Jiangnan Province, then I can only imagine the situation in your localities. Although saying that Jiangnan goods are everywhere is a compliment to our Jiangnan Province, in my opinion, our industry is both small and inefficient, with insufficient production capacity and low technological level. Do any of you have any good ideas?"

They looked at each other, none of them could come up with a solution. After all, they really couldn't bring themselves to talk about it. They might be somewhat familiar with industry, but they knew nothing about the market.

"Since there isn't one, then let me share my thoughts. I want to divide the market into two parts: one is the planned supply and demand, which still needs to be guaranteed by pricing. The other is products outside the plan, which I intend to open up to the market and let them run wild. Fully open up semi-agricultural, semi-commercial, semi-industrial, and even semi-academic, semi-commercial industries, allowing the market to fill its own demand. Therefore, you need to complete production research reports on your local products this year, such as the porcelain and tea industries in Fuliang. These are key products. After opening up, official porcelain workshops and tea factories will begin to compete with private workshops and tea factories. You all need to arrange your open products. Apart from basic agricultural products and basic industrial products, almost everything else will enter the market."

Xia Lin's words were like a thunderbolt, so subversive that many people present were stunned. To put it simply, new ideas did indeed originate in Jiangnan, but this was far too new. The barriers between the traditional scholar-farmer-merchant-merchant class were shattered in an instant, leaving no room for compromise. This was somewhat risky.

Perhaps sensing their predicament, Xia Lin placed his hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and spoke with an undeniable confidence in his eyes and tone: "I know what you're worried about, but you don't need to worry. Whoever has a problem can come and talk to me."

Finally, he raised his head and said, "I'll say it again: whoever hinders the people's good life is a sinner, a sinner against the nation, a sinner against history. The power to convict doesn't lie with me or the law, but with the millions of people standing right here. So just do your thing. If you encounter problems you can't solve, I'll handle them for you. If you encounter tyrannical people, I'll correct them for you. If your policies are flawed, I'll revise them for you from above, fundamentally resolving your worries. All you have to do is get things done for me. Can you do that?!"

At this moment, the people below also gained confidence and stood up to express their conviction. Xia Lin nodded: "His Highness will speak next. Please welcome him."

The young prince stepped onto the stage and cleared his throat: "It's getting late, let's eat first. I have nothing more to say, let's eat. Today I've prepared sweet and sour pork ribs and fried crispy fish for everyone. You've all worked hard this past year."

(End of this chapter)