Li Weiren knew that his talent and ability were only at an ordinary level. He was too far away from Wei Ze's foresight. The war between Russia and the Osman Empire was just an ordinary war in Li Weiren's eyes. Vézé could see too many things that Li Weiren couldn't, and this was what Li Weiren admired most about Vézé. However, Li Weiren didn't plan to learn from Vézé, and he chose to do what he thought was within his capabilities.
Commander-in-chief, you are my teacher. As a student, I am too stupid to understand so many things, but I will definitely obey your orders. Whatever you want me to do, I will do it. "Li Weiren thought so in his heart and said it out directly.
Hearing Li Weiren's attitude, Vézé laughed. "Looks like you want to make a name for yourself in the Osman Empire. They are really looking forward to your help. "
Li Weiren didn't defend himself. If the target of his defense was Vézé, any defense would be meaningless. There were so many powerful people who obediently lowered their heads in front of Vézé, and Li Weiren didn't think that he had any reason to be discussed by Vézé. He spoke from the bottom of his heart. "Commander-in-chief, without your guidance, I could only muddle along for the rest of my life. But now, I really want to make a name for myself. I want to follow the path you showed me and see how far I can go. "
"I won't send you there now," Vézé replied.
"Then can I look forward to it?" Li Weiren asked.
"You can look forward to it." Vézé laughed. The Osman Empire was very uncooperative in the matter of Kuwait, and Vézé could accept that the Osman Empire didn't support China in the Basra region. However, Vézé couldn't accept the Osman Empire playing tricks with China in Kuwait. China needed a long-term foothold in Kuwait. Even if it was not land, it had to have all the rights to extract oil.
However, Vézé was a little hesitant about this matter. The petroleum of this era was not the same as the petroleum of the 21st century, where the price could be inflated to a sky-high level. The petroleum of this era was actually a very cheap resource. Generally speaking, five to ten barrels of oil could buy an oil barrel. Not long after China's electric welding technology was invented, oil fractionation technology was finally guaranteed. Safety explosives made from diatomaceous earth and nitroglycerin had already begun to be withdrawn from the ranks of artillery. Trinitrotoluene had officially replaced it.
After the fractionation of Southeast Asian petroleum, a large amount of phenyl compounds could be obtained. China's utilization of Southeast Asian petroleum had greatly increased. The impact of Middle Eastern oil on China was limited to the separation of diesel. Moreover, this amount of money was nothing to China. However, there was a knot in Vézé's heart. He just wanted to take over Kuwait and extract oil for free. He knew that this idea was really childish, but Vézé could not overcome this idea.
Li Weiren did not know Vézé's knot in his heart. He had already expressed his stance and received a positive response from Vézé. Li Weiren tactfully said goodbye.
After Li Weiren left, Shen Xin came. After seeing Vézé, Shen Xin immediately said, "Commander-in-chief, I will obey the order to go to North America."
Vézé was very satisfied with these young people. They were far more obedient than the old guys. Vézé smiled and said, "You definitely can't leave now. Going to North America is not as simple as letting you take charge. You have to do some publicity first. Also, how is the investigation I asked you to do? "
"Cheap grain hurts farmers!" Shen Xin said in a slightly exaggerated tone.
The price of agricultural products in the Min dynasty fell again and again with the overall expansion. This could not be helped. Once there was enough money, the demand for rations naturally plummeted. If one ate pickled radish and boiled vegetables with rice, there was no pressure to eat two catties of rice. Half a catty of meat first, then they could only eat half a catty of rice or half a catty of steamed buns. Even if there was no half a catty of meat, one could eat two catties of fried vegetables with oil. This was a very helpless situation. The people had been hungry for too long. The cheap food of the Min dynasty had really eliminated the hunger of the masses.
But the basic needs of human beings were in a tiered state. After the sense of threat was eliminated, they needed to eat. The first reaction after eating was to have money to buy consumer goods. The low price of food in the country had greatly reduced the spending power of the rural areas.
Vézé smiled and said, "I heard that recently there has been a saying everywhere, that the rural areas are bitter!"
Shen Xin did not know how to answer for a moment. Whether it was bitter or not was something that could be compared. Compared to the time when Shen Xin went to Vézé, this era was already unimaginable. It was too difficult to starve someone to death now. How lazy or unlucky would one have to be to starve to death. But it was only 30 years ago, or even less than 30 years ago. More than 10 years ago, it was not uncommon for people to starve to death in China, outside the sphere of influence of the Liberation Army.
But this did not satisfy the people. At this time, what the people felt was: "No money, can't afford to buy the things I want to buy, life is too hard!"
Shen Xin had a military background. He did not think it was smart to compare the era of starvation with the present. It was precisely because the people had no way to make a living at that time that the Liberation Army had the foundation to conquer the world with ease. If starvation was the norm, then was the Min dynasty going to repeat the old drama of Manchu Qing?
Shen Xin said, "Commander-in-chief, when I did the research, the attitude of the Ministry of Agriculture was that the people were not cooperative enough. They felt that it was too hard to learn to improve the soil and adopt new farming methods. In the past, it was the engineers who could do this work, but the situation was different now. The engineers did not have the energy to do so many projects. The local water conservancy construction has been strengthened enough, but it is not enough. But a young comrade in the Ministry of Industry made a suggestion to simply abolish the agricultural tax throughout the country. Abolishing the agricultural tax is equivalent to raising the income of the farmers nationwide by 30% in disguise. In this way, the real income and purchasing power of the farmers will greatly increase. Not to mention other things, the farmers can really afford some of the large items. "
It took great courage to propose to abolish the agricultural tax in this era, even if it changed the world to such an extent that the old dynasty was overthrown and the old system was smashed. But after all, the agricultural tax had a history of thousands of years, and it also accounted for about 20% of the total tax revenue of the Min dynasty. Abolishing the agricultural tax was bound to cause a full-scale political earthquake. Shen Xin also dared to say this to Vézé after repeated consideration and discussion. Moreover, abolishing the agricultural tax was not without preconditions. There was no agricultural tax in the northeast, but the northeast was the first to complete the unified purchase and sale of staple grains. And the farmers must complete the farming contract, if not, there must be an explanation.
Shen Xin nervously listened to Vézé's answer. "Abolishing the agricultural tax is not a problem. The purpose of carrying out the agricultural tax in kind is to have national grain reserves and avoid widespread famine. If you want to abolish the agricultural tax, you must do a good job of propaganda. The country can't abolish it unconditionally. "
"Then, Commander in Chief's idea is..." Shen Xin suppressed his excitement and hurriedly asked for clarification.
"Abolishing the agricultural tax must be combined with compulsory education! Whoever dares not to let their children go to school, whoever dares not to let their girls go to school, this agricultural tax must be collected! "Vézé put out the conditions he thought of.
Shen Xin was almost amused by these words. Reading was traditionally a good thing in China. How did it become a punitive measure to use the agricultural tax? But after all, Shen Xin was Shen Xin. Whenever he encountered something that seemed funny, he would not immediately laugh out loud. Instead, he thought about it with his brain. Then, he also understood.
Raising children and receiving compulsory education was a very expensive job. Now, there were not as many children as there used to be. This was because the mortality rate of children was too high in the past. Seventy to eighty children were born, and it was not uncommon for half of them to die before they got married. Now, just the fact that they could eat their fill reduced the mortality rate quickly. No one could stand five or six children at home making a fuss. Shen Xin's family had three children, which was not too many. After returning home, the three children gave Shen Xin a headache.
Li Mingen from the political department was about to collapse after giving birth to six children. The family planning tools in the department were free. China's best-selling family planning tool brand was called Durex. Li Mingen had a greater demand in this area, so he was very diligent. Hence, he was given the nickname "Teacher Du".
The reason why Vézé could convince the public was that not only did he point out the problem, but he could also come up with a solution to the problem. There were learning classes for parents in the city, which taught how to be a parent. No matter to what extent the cognitive level of the parents had improved, after all these years of accumulation, it had become a consensus in the city that they should at least give birth and raise their children.
But in the countryside, it was a big challenge to get all the children to receive adequate education. One of the major slogans of the Five-Year Plan was to eliminate illiteracy. "The new China has the obligation to eliminate illiteracy!" The problem was that to really put this great idea into practice, it was completely impossible to rely on good intentions.
After thinking this through, Shen Xin's joy at the possibility of abolishing the agricultural tax immediately faded a lot. Compared to this joy, to eliminate illiteracy was an extremely heavy task.
Vézé said, "I specifically discussed compulsory education with Levis, the civil affairs department, and the education department. They think that the country really can't enforce compulsory education. I also didn't mention abolishing the agricultural tax. This is also something that I thought of. Once it is implemented, there will definitely be a problem. "
Shen Xin agreed with this statement. Even if it was a great thing, there would be countless difficulties in implementing it. For example, one of the key points of universal health care was to let women go to the hospital to give birth. The army originally thought that the army would be easy to popularize, and there was a wonderful delusion that the soldiers in the army would take the initiative to do so after receiving education.
Reality ruthlessly taught everyone a lesson. It was easy to implement this in the city. But it was not possible in the countryside. Moreover, in places like Guangxi and Yungui, men could not get close to women giving birth. When faced with the problem of giving birth, it was easy to die with two lives. In the end, it was Vézé who proposed a solution to the problem. The rural soldiers in Yungui and Yungui went to the maternity hospital to stand guard and receive hospital training. Hearing the screams of the pregnant women and seeing the healthy babies born in the hospital. Coupled with the various education courses on the dangers of giving birth, this group of people finally understood that giving birth was not a simple problem. Women had to face huge risks.
Shen Xin really wanted to know what Vézé thought the risks were. He asked Vézé, "Commander-in-chief, what do you think the risks are now?"
"The risks are the publicity department. As far as I know, some people want to promote this as a political achievement, as if it is the government's great merit to let the people receive compulsory education. I think it is too unpromising to do this. This is a difficult thing that needs to be discussed seriously before the people can accept it. The biggest beneficiary of this is the country, the government. The second biggest beneficiary is the children who receive education, and the parents are the ones who bear the burden of providing for them. I don't think it is appropriate for the biggest beneficiary to speak to the giver like a benefactor. "Vézé gave an answer.
Shen Xin was a little confused for a moment. "Commander-in-chief, we are giving these children a way out. In fact, the country is also bearing a huge price to let them have a better life in the future. "
"That's right, but the people don't care." Wei Ze pointed out his opinion coldly. "For those who want their children to study, as long as they can afford it, they will insist on sending their children to school, not to mention abolishing the agricultural tax. Even if you increase the tax, they will still insist on sending their children to school. But we are facing people who do not want to do this, so I am completely opposed to this kind of publicity. "
Shen Xin was a little confused. "What's wrong?"
Vézé explained, "I am indebted to you, so I am in the right, and you are also in the right. I helped you, so I am in the right, and everyone is in the right. The punitive compulsory education law means that the country is in the right, and compulsory education is the right thing to do. Not letting children receive compulsory education is wrong. Whoever makes a mistake, we punish them. At this time, when we appear as a benefactor, those who are not happy will say, 'I am not begging you.' Whether compulsory education is a good thing or not, at least this publicity is a complete failure. "
"Pfft." Shen Xin laughed. He could completely understand the impulse of those civil officials to promote compulsory education as a great achievement. Compulsory education was indeed a good thing. If you did not consider the hard work of the parents of those five or six children, it was even a beautiful thing. But in the eyes of a cold person like Vézé, this attitude was indeed very wrong. Vézé seemed very unhappy, and the degree of the civil officials' displeasure was probably even higher than that of Vézé. After all, Vézé only gave orders, and the specific implementation, and even offending people, was left to the civil officials.
Shen Xin supported Vézé, so he could only keep his mouth shut on this matter. Just like forcing parents to let their children receive education would make some parents very unhappy, forcing the civil officials to do this kind of work would also make the civil officials very unhappy. At this time, everyone could only do it. If Shen Xin talked about how good it was for him to do this, how was he different from the civil officials?
Since Shen Xin was in charge of the publicity, Vézé told Shen Xin another important task. "The publicity work should make full use of the radio that is beginning to be popularized. That hard work for five years can earn 100,000 dollars. I think it's good, but try not to think too much, as long as what you say is the truth. If you don't tell the whole truth, especially the truth that the 100,000 dollars may not fall into your pocket in the first five years. In general, righteousness and profit should not be opposed. It is good for the country, and everyone can benefit. This kind of publicity is the most suitable. "
"What about the possibility of war with the United States, how should we explain this?" Shen Xin asked this big question.
Vézé sneered, "I like to wishful thinking. If the United States can take the initiative to attack us, especially if we manage North America well in the next few years, and education is better throughout the country. In that case, we will have a large number of young people with a modern nation-state concept, a local food base and a local population in North America, and a certain amount of industrial strength in North America. At that time, the war with the United States will just start in the sparsely populated Midwest. Our naval superiority will also be fully exerted. In that case, the pressure of war will be much less. And we will be able to get support from the world. So, let's start with the foundation. This is also the opportunity I hope you can show off in North America. "
"In other words, do our own things well first?" Shen Xin summarized.
"I hope the Americans can be that stupid. Of course, I will also find a way to facilitate the Americans' stupidity. However, we need to be strong to forge the iron. Let's get ready first. Ten years is almost enough. "Vézé did not directly agree, but continued to speak on the basis of Shen Xin's point of view.
"Commander-in-chief, will we go to war with other countries in other directions? If such a war occurs, we will have to fight two wars at the same time. "Shen Xin was not bad at strategic considerations.
"Our enemies now are Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Britain and the United States can be put aside first. Recently, Russia has been fighting the Osman Empire. Let's see how far Russia can fight and whether Russia can achieve a strategic breakthrough. If Russia can't do it, then our war with Russia is unlikely. There is nothing to be afraid of if the Osman Empire can't deal with Russia. If Russia can really change the situation, we have to make some considerations. However, if Russia can change their situation in the Mediterranean, the possibility of the British taking action is very high. At that time, it will be a very complicated situation. "Vézé slowly expressed his views. Some words could not be said to Li Weiren, but he could say it to Shen Xin.
"But these will not affect our construction work in North America. You first do a good job with the publicity, and then you can lead the team to North America. This is an excellent thing to boost morale. The government only has its own publicity, but there are no senior cadres personally leading the team. The people will also have doubts. So, your work will be very hard. "
Shen Xin smiled and said, "I'm not afraid of hard work. I'm afraid that my comrades won't agree. But since the Commander-in-Chief has already explained the key to publicity, I will definitely work hard. "
As a person who had suffered in the four northern provinces, Shen Xin had an indescribable feeling about the work of civil affairs. It was the regret of the past, but also the hope that he could have a chance to fight a turnaround. Among the old guys, Shen Xin was very young. If the retirement system could continue to be implemented, Shen Xin would have a great chance to go a step further. Therefore, Shen Xin was very satisfied with Vézé's appointment.
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