In the Song Dynasty, there was no law or order.

Zhao Jun drew a circle in Shicheng and determined the future industrial foundation of the Song Dynasty.

This is also based on foresight. Otherwise, it would be very difficult to find a place rich in coal and iron ore.

After that, he inspected the surrounding counties of Luanzhou and also went to the southern seaside to see the future seaport of the Song Dynasty.

This is Caofeidian District of Tangshan City in later generations, very close to Ninghe District of Tianjin.

But whether it is Tianjin or Tangshan, at least in ancient times, they were not important places. There were some fishing villages on the seaside, and that was it.

Zhao Jun is well aware of the importance of maritime trade, especially now that it is time to vigorously develop trade with the Northeast.

If freight from Shenzhou and Liaoyang can be connected to Tianjin through Yingkou, and all minerals from the Northeast can be transported to Tangshan, then industrial construction will be faster.

In late May, Zhao Jun left Shanhaiguan and went to Shenzhou for an inspection. The local officials and garrison generals came to greet him.

He learned about the current situation in Shenzhou.

At the same time, I also learned about the current trade development between the Song Dynasty, the Northeastern women's straights, and the Bohai people.

Compared with Beiping City, Shenzhou City and Liaoyang City are very lively, with not only female straight women, Bohai people, but also Korean people among them.

The weapons and armors of the Song Dynasty were very popular among these ethnic minorities, and there was also trade in firearms and gunpowder. The bulk commodities were mainly grain, medicinal materials, wood, furs, and livestock.

Due to the developed maritime trade in the Song Dynasty, the northeastern ethnic minorities often transported the goods to Shenzhou and Liaoyang, and then local merchants transported them to Yingkou seaport to go to sea.

These commodities would be sent to various ports in the Song Dynasty along the coastline, such as Nigu Port in Hebei, Laizhou Bay in Shandong, and even to Haizhou in Huainan, that is, Lianyungang, and even to Guangzhou.

Because many raw materials can be processed into handicrafts or other commodities in Guangzhou, Quanzhou and other places, sold to Central Asia, and then resold to Europe by Arab merchants to make money from white people.

Therefore, it can be said that although the Song Dynasty has not yet established a global trade system, it has already established preliminary connections and is improving the economic cycle step by step.

"The drought is still here. It has not rained in Youyan Road for more than a month. People everywhere are becoming increasingly poor."

On June 8th, Zhao Jun returned to Beiping City from Liaoyang. It was noon. He raised his head and looked at the scorching sun. He threw back his purple robe, put his hands behind his back, and stepped into Yuanhe Hall with his head buried in the ground.

In addition to Wang Anshi and other accompanying personnel who have been following around, all the main officials of Youyan Road have arrived this time. Yang Tian, ​​Wang Si, Zhou Hang, Tang Jie, Wu Ruopeng and other chief officers and adjutants, more than ten of them, followed Zhao Jun. Step inside.

This time Zhao Jun has traveled from Beijing to Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Huludao, Shenyang, Liaoyang and other large areas, paying attention to the overall public sentiment, economy, government affairs, military and urban planning of Youyan Road.

Now is also the time to hold a meeting and make a summary.

Zhao Jun entered the hall and sat on the main seat. Now Yuanhe Hall has changed greatly. It is no longer a palace, but has been transformed into an office space. There are many desks in the room filled with information.

There were many scribes sorting it out inside. When everyone came in, the scribes stood up and left with their hands folded - some of these materials were from local aristocratic families, and some were statistics.

Seeing that so much information had been collected in the room, Zhao Jun nodded with satisfaction, and then sat down in his seat. Just like a meeting of the Constitutional Yuan, everyone sat on the left and right sides of Zhao Jun according to their positions.

On his right are many senior officials of Youyan Road headed by Yang Gao, and on his left are accompanying officials headed by Yang Gao. Although Yang Gao and Yang Cha have the same rank, Yang Gao has more seniority than Yang Cha, so he sits Arrived at the first location.

"I gained a lot from this trip. I have a thorough understanding of the basic conditions of Youyan Road. The water here is very deep and muddy. But only by walking into the water in person and groping around in it can we take a look. Are there any fish?"

Zhao Jun opened the game first, then looked around and said with a smile: "I'm very happy that I caught a lot of fish, and there are also big fish. Except for catching Cui Yi, a big corrupt official, I have gained something in all aspects."

Then he added: "But we'll talk about other things later. Let's talk about the things I care about first. How is the disaster on Youyan Road now?"

Yang Tian stood up and cupped his hands and said: "Zhiyuan, we have calculated that there are as many as fourteen counties affected by the disaster, among which Gu'an, Yongqing, Anci, Wuqing, Yutian, Shicheng, Guangning and other places are particularly serious. ”

"Well, some of these places are located in the lower reaches of rivers, and some simply have no main rivers in their territory, only some tributaries of small streams. Under drought, the water levels of various rivers have dropped significantly, and the counties upstream will definitely intercept most of the water resources."

Zhao Jun frowned and said: "The water resources in the downstream areas will be much less. May and June are originally the harvest season of millet and wheat, but now it seems that it is not easy to survive on just a few acres."

"It's also thanks to the fact that Zhiyuan was prepared and made arrangements in advance, otherwise Youyan Road would be full of refugees now."

Yang Wei sighed: "The grain that was previously transported to Zhuozhou has been sent to various counties as disaster relief food, and the disaster situation of each household has also been counted. In previous years, many people starved to death in disaster-stricken areas. I am afraid that this year Not anymore.”

Zhao Jun nodded and said: "Well, statistics are enough, but we must pay attention to the fact that disaster relief food must be distributed to the victims. If there is any deduction or serious punishment at the local level, we must not tolerate it."

"yes."

Yang Tian agreed, admiring Zhao Jun's foresight in his heart. As early as early May, he discovered that the weather was not right, and suspected that there might be a drought on Youyan Road, so he had people transport grain from the Yongji Canal in advance to solve the urgent need.

Otherwise, Youyan Road may be in a hurry now. Even if the court learns the news soon and transports food immediately, many victims may starve to death.

After all, many people in this era don’t have much food left at home, so they basically eat as much as they plant. Sometimes, in order to wait until the next season’s food matures, they have to go hungry and eat sparingly to prevent them from running out before the food matures. .

This is why in ancient times there were only two meals a day, one at Chen time in the morning and one at Shen time in the afternoon. These two time periods are also called Eating time and Wen time.

"There is also the aftermath work. Now the court can only control the food of the victims. In the long run, local governments must take responsibility and harvest as much grain as possible. The grain that died of drought will be burned on the spot to make fertilizer."

Zhao Jun emphasized: "The imperial court cannot always control so many victims. Only by doing it yourself can you have enough food and clothing. You must supervise the local officials and ask them to organize farming in the second half of the year as soon as possible to see if they can resume post-disaster production as soon as possible. "

"yes."

Yang Tian and many officials responded one after another.

Only after it was determined that although the disaster continued, it was still within the controllable range of the local government, Zhao Jun said again: "Has the matter in Cui Yi been investigated clearly?"

"Checked it out."

Yang Gao said: "This person colluded with several generals in the army to resell silk from the treasury. He also formed a caravan to trade with the Liao people at the border. They even dared to sell muskets."

A cold light flashed in Zhao Jun's eyes and he said: "Purpose the crime of treason. Those who are leading the charge should be killed. Report it to Dali Temple and the Constitutional Yuan. I will sign when the receipt from the Political Yuan is sent. implement."

"yes."

Yang Sui agreed.

Although all the incriminating evidence and the like have been found.

Everything has been investigated clearly.

But the procedures that need to be followed still need to be followed.

Cui Yi's level is equivalent to high-ranking officials in later generations.

The local government certainly does not have the power to judge them.

Only the Constitutional Yuan can decide.

Going to Dali Temple is basically just a process, and you just need to make a decision as soon as possible.

After the verdict was issued, it was first sent to the Constitutional Yuan. Several prime ministers reviewed it and found no objections. Finally, Zhao Jun signed it to take effect.

To kill a border official, Zhao Zhen is almost no longer needed. The Constitutional Yuan can handle it with full authority.

This is the meaning of the existence of the Constitutional Yuan.

As the governor of the Constitutional Yuan, Zhao Jun's power is unlimited, but he can reason with hard-working and good officials and hard-working people.

But for those monsters, ghosts and monsters, they are the most vicious existences in the world.

"Then let's talk about the future development of Youyan Road."

Zhao Jun looked around and said, "I know you may not be very interested in this topic. Now officials all over the world only care about the present. Maybe the disaster is more urgent for you, because what happens in a few years has nothing to do with you."

He continued: "But what I want to say is that when I came to inspect the local area this time, I did realize that the term of office of officials is too short, which has a great impact on governance. After I return, I will adjust the term of office of officials, so You need to take a longer view.”

"yes."

Yang Wei and others were overjoyed and very excited about the information revealed by Zhao Jun.

Officials all over the world have been in office for a long time.

Many times, if you want to achieve something by doing something, you have to leave immediately after working for two years.

This resulted in the system of official displacement, in which local officials still had great power, and lower-level management continued to be chaotic, and they could not be said to be very smart and capable.

If it were not for the unprecedented intensity of supervision, not to mention corruption and perversion of the law, but for just muddling along and failing to complete the tasks assigned by the superiors on time, we might still be punished.

The tough system forces local officials to work hard, and I am afraid that grassroots governance has long been in chaos.

Therefore, to a certain extent, although the three-year term of exile has avoided the current situation of collusion between local government and local forces, it has also resulted in low administrative efficiency and a lack of subjective initiative for planning and reform of the county's future development.

Now the term of office of officials can be increased, and it can even be done like the Constitutional Yuan. If there are relatively long-term plans for the future, then they can serve for one more term.

For example, the term of a county magistrate is extended to five years, and two terms are ten years. Many 20-year-old Jinshi scholars are still only 30 years old after serving as county magistrates for ten years. It is not a bad thing to accumulate grassroots experience.

“I think there are two main aspects to the development of Youyan Road. One is industrial construction, and the second is commercial development.”

Zhao Jun pointed out the crux of the problem: "Although there is a lot of cultivated land in the entire Youyan Road, except for a small part of the Yanshan Mountains, most of it is a vast plain area, but this does not mean that we have to rely on the sky for food."

"Although agriculture must be developed, we often have to adapt to local conditions. This drought has sounded the alarm for us and made us aware of the fragility of agricultural development."

He emphasized: "So if a region wants to develop in the long run, agriculture, commerce, transportation, industry, and construction are all indispensable. Do you understand?"

"yes."

Yang Tian humbly asked: "Then how to develop industrial construction and commerce?"

As he spoke, he waved to Wu Ruopeng next to him.

Wu Ruopeng understood, quickly took a pen and paper from the table next to him, and started recording.

Zhao Jun pondered and said, "This business is to combine its own strengths and vigorously develop the handicraft manufacturing industry and the textile industry."

"Youyan is very close to the Liao Kingdom, and the fur they produce can be used as raw materials to make clothes."

"I have observed that the business model of the Song Dynasty and them is very backward."

"Except for a very small part of the goods produced in Youyan Road that are sold there, most of the goods are forced to be produced in the heart of the Central Plains."

"The cost of merchants traveling back and forth will also increase, which greatly weakens the trade volume of both sides."

"If the goods are originally produced in Youyan Road, the distance to the north will be much shorter, and the cost will naturally be much lower, so we can sell more goods."

"So in the commercial development of Youyan Road, the first thing is to create a better business environment, such as replanning and reconstructing Beiping City."

"The second is to have better policies to attract merchants to come and go, such as reducing certain taxes."

He talked freely, and many methods were handy.

But it shocked everyone.

Because the tax rates are fixed, how can the local government change the taxes?

Yang Ting was surprised and said, "If we make the decision on our own and reduce taxes, then the court will..."

"Won't you report it? Report the situation to the Political System Institute. I and you gentlemen are not fools."

Zhao Jun glared at him with dissatisfaction. These conservative local officials may follow the rules, but sometimes being too conservative is not a good thing.

Development and reform should be innovative. We can't just ignore thinking about many things because they are the dead rules set by the court.

From another perspective, there are too many such officials in the Song Dynasty. Those who can innovate are very few. Those who want to reform like Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi are almost rare.

"Yes."

Yang Ting, Wu Ruopeng and others nodded repeatedly. They are officials of the Transportation Department, responsible for handling local government affairs. These things are very important to them.

After that, Zhao Jun talked about the industrial model.

He believes that there should be coal and iron mines near Shicheng and Zunhua. The Luanzhou Natural Resources Department has recently found a lot of minerals and is determining the location of the mines.

Once the location is found, manpower and material resources can be mobilized from the Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant to collect minerals in Shicheng, Zunhua, Anxi, Lulong and other places and build the Youyan Road State-owned Steel Plant.

As long as the steel industry develops, it will not only promote local employment, but also vigorously develop the local economy.

Although Yang Ting, Wu Ruopeng and others were confused by the terms such as employment, economy, pillar industries, etc., they understood the key words and could vigorously develop the local economy.

So everyone listened carefully and took notes carefully.

After Zhao Jun clearly presented the future plan of the entire Youyan Road to everyone, he started the last topic. He asked: "How are you doing with the aristocratic families?"

"Uh"

Everyone looked at each other, and Yang Ting said cautiously: "It's still not going well."

"How is it not going well?"

"We have also come into contact with many aristocratic families, but most of them are quite resistant."

"Hmm"

Zhao Jun narrowed his eyes and said: "It's okay, so, give me the list, and I will talk to them in person."

If the negotiation is successful, everyone will be happy. If the negotiation fails, don't blame him for taking action.