Chapter 151 National Conference
The next day, Han Song woke up and lay on the carved mahogany bed, not knowing what day it was.
“Edamame, edamame?”
"Hey, master, I'm here!" The servant hurried in from outside, his face full of excitement.
Han Song held his head and sat up: "I...I drank too much last night."
"Master, the wine you drank with the Prime Minister!"
Han Song slapped his thigh and quickly got out of bed: "It's broken, it's broken."
Maodou asked in confusion: "What's wrong?"
"I drank so much, I don't know if I said anything outrageous and offended the Prime Minister..."
"Oh, Master, don't worry. The Prime Minister just came to see you. He told me to take good care of you and asked the kitchen to prepare hangover soup and breakfast."
Han Song finally felt relieved and sat on the bed thinking about what happened last night. He never expected Xu Bing to have such an experience. Being the left prime minister did not waste his talent.
Maodou said, "Master, I didn't expect you to know the Prime Minister. Our lives will definitely be better in the future. Maybe we can even go to Beijing..."
"Don't be so rude!" Han Song's expression suddenly changed.
Maodou looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he had said wrong.
"Although Xu Xiang and I are old friends, I cannot use him as a pretext to repay a favor. You must not talk nonsense!"
Maodou stuck out his tongue and said, "Got it, Master. I'll go get you some breakfast."
Han Song nodded, but still worriedly reminded him twice that the prime minister's residence was not the county government office, so he should be careful.
Xu Bing returned from the palace at noon. After the morning court session, he handed the emperor a sign alone and mentioned the matter of Pingnan County to the emperor.
He did not hide his relationship with Han Song and directly told the current situation in Pingnan County.
Song Yuzhu fell into deep thought after hearing this. This place is really not easy to deal with. There is no good farmland for farming, no pasture for breeding, no mineral veins for developing heavy industry, and inconvenient transportation for developing light industry...
"You go back first, I will think about it carefully."
After Xu Bing left, Song Yuzhu opened the map and searched for a long time before finding Pingnan County in a corner.
Just as Xu Bing said, the geographical location there was very bad, with the Gobi Desert on one side and cliffs on the other. Pingnan County seemed to have become an isolated island, blocked by mountains in the ravines, with only one road leading to the outside world.
The other side of this road leads to Longxiguan City. In the past, caravans often passed by here, and the people would block their way and rob them.
The Suzhou government has rebuilt the official road, which specifically bypasses Pingnan County. Now the common people have nowhere to rob if they want to.
As Song Yuzhu was turning around, suddenly her eyes lit up. There was actually a hot spring here!
And there is more than one. Looking towards the northwest of the entire county, there are hot spring pools connected one after another. Aren’t these hot springs the best signature of Pingnan County!
Since nothing can be developed, why not develop tourism?
Don’t think that tourism was not developed because transportation was inconvenient in ancient times.
As early as the Zhou Dynasty, Suzhou and Hangzhou had become very famous tourist attractions across the country. Rich businessmen from all over the country flocked to the south of the Yangtze River for sightseeing, boosting the local economy.
However, you can take a boat to Suzhou and Hangzhou, but you can only take a horse carriage to Suzhou. Not only does the journey take a long time, but it is also very tiring. I'm afraid it won't be able to attract people to travel thousands of miles to visit.
Song Yuzhu thought about it and decided that the train would be able to reach Suzhou next year and a platform could be set up directly in Pingnan County, which would facilitate tourists' travel.
Another point is that the prerequisite for developing tourism is to ensure the safety of tourists. If they are robbed once, who will dare to go there in the future?
Song Yuzhu immediately told Xu Bing about these decisions. Xu Bing thought they were good ideas and quickly found Han Song to discuss the matter.
"Develop tourism?" Han Song was somewhat unfamiliar with this term.
"That's right, Your Majesty said there are hot springs in Pingnan County. How come such a good thing has not been used in the past?"
Speaking of hot springs, Han Song sighed and said, "When I first arrived in Pingnan, I also thought about using the hot springs to attract nearby merchants to come and play. But you also know what kind of people Pingnan County is like. After coming here once, they want to take off their pants. Who would dare to come a second time?"
Xu Bing said, "You have to solve it by yourself. After this meeting, His Majesty will definitely allocate money to your county to build inns and tourist attractions. If you can't seize this opportunity, there will be nothing you can do."
Han Song clenched his fist and nodded: "You are right! If I miss such a good opportunity, I deserve to be a coward and they deserve to be poor!"
Seeing his full of fighting spirit, Xu Bing smiled with satisfaction. It turned out that this man was the warrior Han Song whom he knew.
*
In the golden autumn of August, the first National Officials Conference was held under the attention of the public.
From the first-rank officials to the seventh-rank county magistrates, all gathered in Shangjing to attend this meeting.
Such a conference has never been held from ancient times to the present, and this meeting is destined to go down in history.
The meeting is mainly divided into three phases, lasting six days, with a one-day break in between.
The first phase was a two-day commendation meeting from August 1st to August 2nd, which included outstanding county magistrates in various states, excellent soldiers in the army, excellent students and hardworking working people.
The reward is not just verbal commendation, there are bonuses and plaques awarded by the emperor himself. This thing is hung in the ancestral hall to bring honor to the family. Whoever gets one will be proud to see the ancestors in the future!
The second phase will be on the third and fourth days of August, focusing on reflecting on the situation in each state and reporting on the subsequent development direction.
The governors of the eighteen states had to go up to the city wall to read out the reports from their respective governments.
Of course, these reports are not for those who draw the biggest pie in the sky. They must be implemented by the end of next year to receive rewards from His Majesty. If they cannot be implemented or are very poorly implemented, they will definitely be rated as medium or below in the evaluation.
The third stage is on the sixth day of August, the National Day, when a military parade will be held in Beijing to demonstrate the military strength of Daqi and enhance the prestige of our country.
During the meeting, the city defense camp, the military, and the army sent 5,000 soldiers to maintain order in the city. There were also people from the Xuanyi Building protecting in the dark to prevent anyone from deliberately causing trouble.
The entire meeting was open and transparent, and no one was shying away from the public. Everyone could watch or listen as they pleased.
*
On the morning of the first day of August, before dawn, the common people who came to Beijing carried small stools, moved stools, and brought melon seeds and candies to find the best seats on the street to watch the fun.
The shops and restaurants along the street were booked out early.
Hearing that they could see the emperor today, everyone was very excited and wanted to see what the true dragon emperor looked like.
At one o'clock in the morning, as three cannon salutes sounded, more than 3,000 civil and military officials in official uniforms lined up in a long queue and walked towards Zhengyang Street.
The people immediately stopped talking and looked at these people with bated breath.
Led by Xu Bing and Zhao Xiao, they also represent the highest official positions among civil and military officials.
The two of them were wearing purple Kirin official robes. The new style of official uniforms were simple and neat, making the two of them look mighty and handsome as a military general and elegant and steady as a civil official, which made people couldn't help but be dazzled!
Following behind were Privy Councilor Qin Fengtu and the six ministers. Zhang Qi had a big belly, so in order to stand in line with them, he walked with his belly sucked in, fearing that he would affect his appearance.
Further back were the governors of the eighteen states and officials from various departments, lined up for hundreds of meters.
These people are all successful candidates in the two imperial examinations. They are truly the chosen ones of heaven, the literary stars who have descended to earth!
As the officials gradually walked away, the people began to talk.
The old man selling tofu patted his chest and said, "Oh my God, I was so scared just now that I couldn't even breathe!"
The shopkeeper of the oil mill nodded in agreement, "Who says it's not true? The aura of these officials is really scary!"
"I don't know what the Heavenly Family looks like, but I heard that the current emperor is the incarnation of a real dragon..."
The store closest to Zhengyang Street is called Linlanglou, which was originally a shop selling gold and silver jewelry. However, there were too many distinguished guests who came to reserve seats today, so the owner simply temporarily converted the second floor into a teahouse, using screens to separate it into private rooms, and put out snacks and tea inside.
Charles and his daughter spent a lot of money to book a room. His illness has improved a lot and his complexion is much better than before.
Liu Yanzi sat opposite the two of them, resting her chin on her hand and looking at him with a smile.
Charles got so angry at his look that he picked up a pastry on the table and threw it at him, but Liu Yanzi caught it and threw it into her mouth.
"Well, the pastries at Hexianju are pretty good, you should try them."
Charles licked his back teeth, as if he was going to throw the whole plate of cakes on his face.
Little Nina looked at the two people curiously, not understanding what they were doing.
"I won't be angry with you anymore. I came here with a mission today. I'll just rest here for a while and leave soon."
Li Xianxiu from next door also came with her maid. She stood by the window, staring at the officials below, and did not come to her senses until they had gone far away.
"Princess, princess?"
Li Xianxiu was stunned for a moment: "What's wrong?"
“Everyone’s gone.”
"I know..." Li Xianxiu's cheeks flushed slightly. He was fascinated by the general in front of him and was stunned for a moment.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Three more salutes were heard outside the window. Song Yuzhu, wearing a black robe, slowly walked to the observation deck on the imperial city.
Everyone looked up at him. Although they were far away, Li Xianxiu could see that he was a handsome emperor, but not as handsome as the general he had just seen.
"Long live the emperor!" Thousands of officials fell to the ground and shouted at the same time. The huge sound was shocking and the people did not know why they also knelt down, kowtowed and shouted "Long live the emperor".
Song Yuzhu waved her hand and said, "My dear ministers, please stand up!"
The clear voice actually reached everyone's ears. Everyone was shocked instantly, wondering what magical power the emperor had used!
In fact, Song Yuzhu did not use any high-tech technology. Instead, he used the principle of sound amplification to make a large horn-shaped loudspeaker on the city wall.
Although it is not as good as electronic sound amplification equipment, the sound amplification effect is still good. At least the officials below can hear their own voices.
"Hello, my dear ministers, officers and soldiers, and common people. I am very happy to hold this national conference in Shangjing."
"It has been six years since the founding of Daqi. In these six years, from the turbulent times to the current prosperity and strength of the country, it is inseparable from everyone's hard work and efforts. I sincerely say to everyone, thank you for your hard work!"
Song Yuzhu had given speeches many times in college and was quite adept at it. He did not use flowery classical Chinese in his speeches, but chose easy-to-understand vernacular Chinese, which was very infectious and particularly sentimental.
If it were put in modern times, it would at most be an acceptable speech, but the officials and people in ancient times had never heard such a genuine and simple speech!
Everyone was shocked at first, then gradually became excited and choked up, and finally burst into tears!
Oh, heaven and earth! How could they have such a kind emperor who cared about the people?
(End of this chapter)
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