Inside the ice city, Zhu Yunwen learned about the situation of the local county government in recent years and also about the lives of the local people.
Overall, there have been significant changes, and Zhu Yunwen is generally quite satisfied with the current situation.
Of course, people didn't live very well in the past, but that's all in the past.
In short, things are constantly getting better, which is a good thing. The county magistrate also took the initiative to report many things about the local area to Zhu Yunwen.
After all, Zhu Yunwen's purpose in touring various places this time was to understand the lives of the local people and the situation of the officials managing the local areas.
Overall, Zhu Yunwen was quite satisfied with all of this.
So, after only one day in Bingcheng, Zhu Yunwen left the city the next day amidst the reluctant farewells of the people, heading north to Baicheng, a city further north!
Zhu Yunwen had never been to Baicheng before. Upon arriving, he discovered that it was actually a fairly large city.
When Zhu Yunwen arrived at the destination, he was greeted by officials from the county government and many local people.
When Zhu Yunwen entered the city, he made quite a grand entrance, but once inside, he felt that the people here seemed to live differently from those in other places, and not as well as he had imagined.
Along his journey, Zhu Yunwen traveled to many places. Under the implementation of a series of policies of the Ming Dynasty and a series of reforms by Zhu Yunwen, the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty were generally improved by several levels, and they basically had no worries about food and drink.
Moreover, if you can sell the grain grown on the land you have, you can still have some extra money to spend.
At least when passing through some rural areas, Zhu Yuntong would still see some young people from the countryside using bicycles or tricycles on the cement roads or country roads.
This shows that the common people were able to keep some money on hand to buy travel items worth several hundred coins or even one tael of silver.
This situation is enough to show that people's living standards have been greatly improved.
However, upon arriving in Baicheng, Zhu Yunwen noticed that there were far fewer people riding bicycles, and the people were not as excited as those in the previous cities.
This situation made Zhu Yunwen feel that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.
But something is definitely not right.
So Zhu Yunwen said to Zhao Qingzhu beside him:
"Have you noticed that this White City is actually much larger? Logically speaking, the people here should be much wealthier."
However, very few people here ride bicycles; compared to some other cities we passed through, the number is far fewer.
And the enthusiasm with which they welcomed us seemed to have diminished considerably, which seemed rather unusual.
This doesn't mean that Zhu Yunwen cared much about how much the people welcomed him.
Rather, it means that he can judge the state of the people in these places by how much they welcome him.
The more satisfied the people are with the court and with a grandson like him, the better their standard of living is.
Conversely, if their displayed enthusiasm diminishes slightly, it indicates that their actual level of happiness in life and their gratitude towards the court have also decreased considerably.
The people are still the same people; it's impossible to say that people in different places feel different levels of gratitude for the same thing.
There is only one possibility: they may not have received such good treatment in these places.
Zhao Qingzhu, standing to the side, looked at Zhu Yunwen and said:
"I do have that feeling too, and I feel that the people here are indeed not living as well as the people in the previous cities."
The people here seem to live in greater poverty, but that's a bit unreasonable. Baicheng is a large city in the north.
Logically, there should be more wealthy people here. Compared to the previous city, their lives should be much better.
Zhu Yuntong said, "That's right, I feel the same way. It seems this place is somewhat different from what we imagined."
Since doubts have arisen in one's heart, then a thorough investigation is necessary; otherwise, how can one be considered to have come to inspect the world?
As Zhu Yunwen spoke, he looked at one of his subordinates behind him and gave him a wink.
The subordinate immediately understood and turned to leave.
Next, Zhu Yunwen went to the county government office and had a conversation with the county magistrate.
It was nothing more than a simple inquiry into the living conditions of the local people, and the magistrate answered fluently and thoroughly.
Basically, the unreasonable parts.
In this way, Zhu Yunwen's suspicions lessened somewhat.
That evening, the subordinate who had been sent out to investigate returned and told Zhu Yunwen that the people of Baicheng were quite satisfied with their lives.
There was nothing wrong with anything else, and the people were very satisfied with the existing policies.
For example, in winter, people could have coal to roast, and poor people could also receive coal distributed free of charge by the imperial court.
For example, in the summer you can buy floral water made by His Highness the Crown Prince to cool down and repel mosquitoes and insects.
You can also buy bicycles and tricycles, which are convenient for travel and transportation, at a relatively low price.
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