Feng Zhen could never have imagined that his well-behaved and precious son would unexpectedly dig such a big hole for him at such a critical moment.
At the moment, he was still on the road.
From Nansheng's Ningzhou to Dongqing's Wanzhou, the two places were very far apart. Feng Zhen and his group had been on the road for more than a month, and their bones were about to break from the bumpy ride. In addition to the fatigue from the long journey, Feng Zhen was also not used to the temperature in the north and south. Nansheng's cold was cold and damp, so cold that it made one's bones shiver. Dongqing's cold in winter was an overwhelming snowstorm, so one had to be fully armed just to go out.
When they arrived in Wanzhou, it was less than a month before New Year's Eve. Most people were cooped up at home for the winter, so there were very few people on the road.
It was freezing outside, but inside the carriage, it was warm and cozy.
Inside the carriage, the two scholars, Feng Zhen and Qian Su, were fully armed. They wore brocade hats and marten coats, and carried warm hand warmers in their arms.
Qian Su was a southerner who grew up in a warm and watery place. When had he ever seen such heavy snow in the north?
At first, he was a little excited, but after a while, the novelty faded, leaving only worry for the people in his heart.
"The snow is so thick, I don't know how the people will survive this winter …"
Although it was said that snow meant a good harvest, if the snow was too heavy, it would be a snow disaster. The quality of the people's houses was not good, so every winter, countless houses would collapse under the weight of the snow. Without shelter from the wind and rain, how would they survive such a cold winter?
Qian Su's brows were dyed with worry. On the other hand, Feng Zhen was in a good mood the whole way, even having the mood to warm up his wine and drink until his cheeks were flushed.
In the end, he couldn't stand it anymore, so he explained a little and comforted Qian Su.
"Didn't you notice that along the way, we didn't see a single corpse on the road?"
They didn't even see many living people, let alone corpses frozen to death outside. The snow on the official road, however, was swept clean.
Feng Zhen flattered his lord and said with a smile, "My lord is lenient and treats the people very well. How could you let them not survive winter? This year's snow wasn't too heavy, and the people already have a plan to deal with it. Even if the houses that the commoners live in are crushed by the snow, the government will arrange for them to take refuge. They will only return after the houses are repaired. They won't let anything happen to them. "
Feng Zhen smiled and said, "You'll know once you enter the city."
Actually, even without entering the city, Qian Su knew that her worries were unnecessary.
After entering Wanzhou, Qian Su discovered a very strange phenomenon. There were always villages near the official roads, and the houses in these villages were all neat and tidy, as if they were twins from a mother's womb. One had to know that the houses in the villages of the commoners were built in all sorts of styles. Not only were they ugly and of poor quality, but their locations were also messy. However, these villages were different. They were neat and tidy, and it was comfortable to look at them.
Not only that, but he also saw people climbing up to the roofs to clear the snow.
The distance was a little far, so he couldn't see the appearance of the commoners clearly. However, he could see that they were wearing thick clothing that was enough to ward off the cold.
Feng Zhen explained to him, "The villages near the official roads were all built by the government after they recruited refugees. Most of the commoners are refugees, and some of them are people from deep in the mountains. The government made the decision to move them down from the mountains. They were built near the official roads to make it easier for them to transport grain. With the official roads extending in all directions, the commoners could transport the agricultural products that they had accumulated at home to other places to sell. "
This place wasn't far from the mountains, and there were farmlands that the commoners could cultivate and be self-sufficient here.
Of course, the maintenance of the official roads was also undertaken by these villages in turn. For example, when there was snow in winter, each village would be responsible for clearing a section of the road.
After the winter, the government would allocate a certain amount of money, grain, or various kinds of spring planting to the commoners in these villages.
Qian Su said, "It's hard to leave their homeland. Would they be willing to leave the place where their ancestors have lived for generations?"
"At first, there were indeed some commoners who weren't willing. They even suspected that there was some conspiracy behind it," Feng Zhen said with a smile. "Dongqing has also experienced many years of war, and the commoners have suffered greatly. The government moved them, changed their houses, gifted them with fertile land, spring planting, farm tools, and cattle. Who would really cling to their old place and refuse to move? As long as some people in a village become rich, the others will be moved no matter how stubborn they are. Our lord has a kind heart, and these commoners aren't ungrateful … "
Apart from a few trusted subordinates, no one knew of Jiang Yu. Ji was playing a big game of chess.
After hearing this, Qian Su agreed with Feng Zhen's explanation. Ji was indeed a kind and wise ruler. He had expended so much manpower, resources, and money just to let the commoners live a good life and live in good houses. It was truly rare. Many feudal lords only knew how to develop themselves and squeeze more capital from the commoners to fight for the world. It was rare to see a feudal lord who was willing to sacrifice his own interests to benefit the commoners.
The more Qian Su understood Ji, the more she felt ashamed of her past self.
Prejudice was really unbearable!
After hearing Qian Su's words, Feng Zhen smiled but didn't say anything.
Jiang Yu? It was true that Ji was benefiting the commoners, but this construction plan wasn't just for the commoners.
Because of the chaotic times, many commoners couldn't register for household registration at birth. They were considered unregistered residents, and without a household registration, there was no way to conduct a census.
Without accurate population statistics, how would tax laws be enforced in the future?
Moving the commoners to a fixed village, counting the population, and arranging household registration was not only for the benefit of the commoners, but also for unified management of the commoners and to ensure social security. These houses weren't given away. They were still rented to the commoners at a low price to encourage the commoners to produce and create value. Then, they would buy the permanent residency rights of the houses from the government … This was an invisible demographic dividend.
In Wanzhou, such villages could be found everywhere.
These villages were all built around arable land and roads built by the government. There were at least 40 to 50 households in a village, and at most 100 households in a village.
Of course, these constructions weren't completed overnight. Basically, every village had to be repaired and a group of people moved in.
At first, the commoners weren't very willing. Later, they all stretched their necks and hoped that it would be their turn.
The wheels of the cart continued to roll forward. Before long, they saw the tall and majestic Elephant Sun.
It wasn't very fitting to say that it was a county. The permanent population here was even greater than that of the largest state capital, and the city was constantly expanding.
Of course, these expansions had their own rules and regulations.
After entering the city and seeing the neat and tidy houses in the city, Qian Su once again fell silent.
If he knew that there was a word in this world called "obsessive-compulsive disorder," he would probably understand how he felt.
Whether it was village construction or city construction, was the person in charge's obsessive-compulsive disorder at an incurable late stage?
The houses had to be neat and uniform, and the decorations on the eaves had to be exactly the same. There couldn't be a single difference in the architectural specifications. Even the green bricks on the ground had to follow a certain pattern … Because Jiang Ji had recommended the method of making green bricks at the Huangshui Conference, many of the feudal vassals had gone back and started to work on it. However, they had ended up in a mess, and the green bricks weren't very beautiful and neat. But Elephant Sun was different!!!
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