Reform has begun, but only a few people in the Ming Dynasty can feel it.

First, officials who were constantly engaged in factional disputes in the court were purged; then, a group of officials were dismissed and removed from office in order to punish corruption.

The policy of promoting benefits and eliminating malpractices spread from the court to the local areas. A number of powerful gentry were dealt with by clearing the military posts and paying salaries, and the landlords and wealthy people who defaulted on taxes were severely punished.

The most shocking measure was the crackdown on students, the cancellation of preferential treatment, and continuous criticism. Wasn’t the court afraid of losing the support of scholars and collapsing?

As for the policy of separating officials and businessmen that had just begun, it did not seem so sensational compared to the blow suffered by the students.

However, the vast majority of people in the Ming Dynasty, that is, the common people, did not feel the changes brought about by the reform.

As for reducing or exempting taxes in some areas, this was something every emperor had done. It was only a temporary relief, but the people's lives were still very hard.

This is not Zhu Youxiao's fault. The Ming Dynasty's financial resources were too thin, and it had to support two wars, so it really could not provide much money and food to benefit the people.

For example, he had already planned to exempt people from labor service and to distribute the tax based on the amount of land he owned, but he could only postpone it.

In order to strengthen infrastructure construction, Zhu Youxiao had to give preferential policies to businessmen and let them complete the work.

Developing industry and commerce was the path Zhu Youxiao planned for the Ming Dynasty, and road traffic should be directly related to this.

Like the Song Dynasty, official roads were spread out in all directions, and the developed transportation was the pinnacle of human feudal history.

In addition to transportation, the Song Dynasty also attached great importance to postal services. There was a post office every ten miles and a post station every thirty miles. As the saying goes, "The land map sold by the White Pagoda clearly distinguishes the long post stations and the short post stations."

Since the imperial court was unable to come up with the money at the moment, Zhu Youxiao handed the task over to the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The state provided land and allowed them to build hotels and warehouses based on the post stations in order to form a developed logistics and transportation system.

With the surrender of the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce, Zhu Youxiao solved the problem in the south and gave the Jiangnan Chamber of Commerce the same rights and benefits.

As for paving roads and building bridges, it was naturally the responsibility of local officials. However, daily maintenance was the responsibility of the people in the villages and towns along the official roads, and the court exempted the relevant villages and towns from labor service.

This is a policy that benefits the people. Compared to asking people to work in other places, doing daily maintenance of roads at home is already a very easy job.

As a preparation for establishing a postal system, Zhu Youxiao issued an imperial decree, requiring the government to plan and name streets in each city, and to number and label urban houses.

No one knew what the emperor was going to do next, but the implementation of these policies was included in the official assessment, and no one dared to procrastinate.

Although post stations existed long ago, they primarily served government officials and made communication difficult for ordinary people. Ordinary people often asked someone passing the same route to deliver a letter.

It was probably during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty that some private post offices came into being in order to resolve the contradiction between the lack of communication services for ordinary people and the lack of postal agencies and service types.

The Private Post Office could not only mail letters, but also mail items, and could be considered the predecessor of the post office.

But this is still far from perfect. At least there are no house numbers in the city, and people don’t know their exact addresses. It is very troublesome to receive a letter or something.

Zhu Youxiao felt that by integrating the People's Credit Bureau or adding more staff to the post stations, he could solve many employment problems for the people.

If Leo hadn't been laid off, he might not have rebelled. Who would risk their life if they could have food to eat or a salary?

Moreover, the work on streets and house numbers had not yet been completed, but Zhu Youxiao had already started pilot work, targeting soldiers on the front line and their families in the rear.

……………………

"There's a letter, there's a letter..." The shouts from outside cheered up Zhao Mengzi, and he hurriedly trotted out.

The civilian postal service was not yet perfect, but the military had to try its best to ensure it. This was also a new task for local officials, which was directly linked to the performance appraisal.

Zhao Mengzi was illiterate, so after receiving the letter, he went to find the army clerk and asked him to read it to him.

The letter was also written by someone else, and my mother's words were more expressive and clear. Zhao Mengzi listened carefully, savoring the somewhat nagging narration, which was a trivial matter that was not worth mentioning at all.

There were also regulations for the resettlement of Liao people. Most military dependents were placed between Tianjin and Shanhaiguan to be closer to their families.

The village had expanded, with more than a dozen Liao families moving in. While there wasn't much arable land, the salt factories and mines were hiring, leaving virtually no one idle in the village. The money sent home had arrived, and the family had plenty to eat and drink. The newcomers had a girl named Xiaofang, who was quite nice...

Zhao Mengzi's mother wanted to tell her son everything she saw and thought, and wrote two long articles.

Zhao Mengzi thanked the clerk, put away the letter, and walked back to his residence with a smile on his face. Although it was a little silly, he was happy and joyful.

His relatives in faraway places were thinking about him, and his military pay allowed them to live well. This was the most important thing, and it made him feel at ease and not regard fighting as a chore.

The Jiannu were defeated again, and he had made a great contribution. He also learned how to write his own name. After receiving his reward, he sent it home so that his mother and brothers could build a big house.

Zhao Mengzi was busy thinking about how to reply to the letter so that his mother and brother could feel at ease and happy.

I heard that the imperial court has introduced a new policy. After pacifying Liaodong, meritorious officers and soldiers will be given a lot of land, right in Liaodong, and their family can come back and live a good life again.

Zhao Mengzi had just put the letter away when he returned to his residence when the call to assemble sounded. He immediately dressed and went out.

A year ago, he was just a volunteer who wanted to earn some money for his family. Now he is a small flag officer in charge of more than 30 soldiers.

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