Chapter 353: Peaceful and Prosperous Years
Ye Chutang told about the plan to plant trees along the river to fix sand.
“When the drought is over and there is sufficient water, we will expand the area for tree planting.
The reason why the Northwest is poor is because the environment is harsh and the soil is poor, so not much food can be grown.
As long as we improve these two points and build a good road, Tianshan County can be turned into a prosperous city.
Of course, this won’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you persevere. ”
Her tone was calm, but it made the three men's blood boil.
Because in their opinion, as long as Ye Chutang wants to do something, he will succeed.
Therefore, the prosperous Tianshan County immediately emerged in my mind.
Xiao He smiled and said, "I hope I can see it in my lifetime."
Ye Chutang nodded affirmatively, "I will definitely see it."
She couldn't guarantee that the entire Northwest could be covered with green trees. After all, the area was too large and there were too many uncontrollable natural factors.
But she can ensure that Tianshan County is covered with green plants and the county town is prosperous.
Seeing that Ye Chutang was full of confidence, Song Jingning and Xiao He immediately looked at the plan of digging rivers and canals.
Qi Yanzhou chatted with Ye Chutang about planting trees and building roads.
“If you want to be rich, build roads first. This is as important as digging rivers and canals.”
"Atang, the wind and sand in the northwest are too strong. Even if the road is repaired, a sandstorm can make it disappear without a trace."
Ye Chutang had certainly thought about this problem and had a solution.
“Plant trees on both sides of the road and put up markers along the road. Every twenty miles, a person will be assigned to water the trees until they grow big enough to not be buried by the sand.”
As for the water for irrigation, just dig a well, just like this spring sowing.
The guards will be able to withdraw in ten years at most.
Qi Yanzhou looked at Ye Chutang who had thought everything through and said with a smile: "Atang, since you have thought it through, just arrange it."
After reading the plan for digging rivers and canals, Song Jingning handed it to Xiao He.
He said to Ye Chutang, "Chu'er, your plan is very good. You just need to make some adjustments to the dinner details, especially the labor."
When Xiao He heard this, he quickly interjected.
“There is also the issue of wages.”
Although these plans benefit the country and the people, few people are willing to put in the effort.
Ye Chutang drank the tea in the cup in one gulp.
"We'll discuss the wages after the Khan arrives."
She can pay, but she can't pay in vain. She has to lay out all the pros and cons.
Xiao He finished reading the plan quickly.
The four of them discussed and perfected the small details.
After the discussion, Ye Chutang said: "Xiao Zhizhou, Song Shishi, the fundamental reason for digging rivers and canals is to solve the problem of farmland irrigation for the people. If you are willing to contribute, everyone will have a clear division of labor, and there will be no wages. As long as you can complete the task, you can use water for free in the future and pay less taxes."
These words confused Xiao He.
"What does taxation mean? Please explain clearly, Madam Qi."
"If you want to conserve water, the canal needs to be sealed with my cement. I can't just spend this money for nothing, so I have to get some benefits."
You know, the amount of cement used in thousands of miles of canals is not a small number.
Xiao He knew that Ye Chutang was right, so he asked, "I wonder how much tax Madam Qi wants to collect?"
"One tenth of the imperial tax revenue will be enough."
This ratio is considered very low and people generally will not refuse.
It might take Ye Chutang ten years to get his money back.
But it doesn’t matter. This is a long-term and effective thing. As long as the water channel does not dry up, you can keep making money.
No loss at all!
After hearing what Ye Chutang wanted in terms of taxes, Xiao He felt relieved.
"Mrs. Qi's conditions are reasonable, but the people now have wells and don't have to worry about irrigation. I'm afraid they don't want to go through the trouble of digging rivers and canals."
Ye Chutang smiled indifferently.
"It's okay if you don't want to. I will pay them. But Sir Xiao has to tell them in advance that the water in the well is not inexhaustible. If they want to use the water from the river for irrigation in the future, they will have to pay according to the number of acres of land, 30 cents per acre."
Given the dry weather in the northwest, the seeds need to be irrigated no less than ten times from planting to harvesting.
Every household has at least three to five acres of land, and it costs at least one or two taels of silver to harvest one crop of grain.
This amount of money is unaffordable for farmers.
But there was nothing wrong with the conditions proposed by Ye Chutang.
After all, she was helping the farmers dig the well for free.
Even a living Buddha needs to eat, and we can’t let the farmers take all the benefits.
Xiao He nodded and said, "I will explain Madam Qi's words to the people. They can decide for themselves how to choose."
The four discussed for a while before Karhan hurried over.
After dinner.
Ye Chutang made a long story short and summarized all the important events of the plan for discussion.
We talked for nearly an hour and finalized the details.
"You two can discuss the rest. I have to go to the academy."
Song Jingning nodded, "Once we have discussed it, we will write it down and you can go through it again."
"Okay, you guys chat."
When Ye Chutang arrived at Yinghua College, the afternoon class had just begun.
There are more teachers in the college, and more girls coming to study.
The sound of reading is clear, childish and full of power.
Cui Shuyue was the dean. He no longer teaches and is the manager of the academy.
Ye Chutang went directly to her study.
"Shu Yue, what are you busy with?"
A familiar voice sounded, and Cui Shuyue looked up quickly.
Seeing Ye Chutang coming, she put down the pen in her hand, smiled and stood up.
"Mrs. Qi, you are back. Come and sit down."
After saying that, she asked the servant to pour tea.
Then he found the diary records of the time when Ye Chutang was away.
Because there were more teachers and students in the academy, the content of the diary was very long and there were two books.
Ye Chutang stretched out his hand and pushed it away, "Shu Yue, I'm confident that you can manage the academy, so there's no need to look at it."
"Madam Qi, you should take a look. You are the master of the academy."
"Shu Yue, please let me go. I've been running around outside for more than a month, and I have to take care of this and that right after I come back. I'm so tired."
When Cui Shuyue heard this, she withdrew the log record.
"Then let me briefly summarize it with Dean Ye."
Ye Chutang did not refuse and listened quietly to Cui Shuyue talking about the changes in the academy over the past month.
Get to know the new teachers and new students.
After Cui Shuyue finished speaking, she said, "Shuyue, I will not teach you medical skills anymore. Let my sister-in-law teach you."
"Okay, I'll sign a contract with Madam Qi later. What does Madam Qi want to teach?"
"I won't teach you anything. I will manage the academy with you, discover the strengths of the children, and teach them according to their aptitude."
Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude is also the purpose of Huating Academy.
But the paths that women and men will take in the future are different.
Yinghua College cannot simply copy the teaching methods of Hua Ting College, but must have its own strategy for educating students.
Although Cui Shuyue has good literary talent, he can only impart experience and does not know how to innovate.
"Please tell me, Madam Qi. I will do it."
Ye Chutang only has a general idea about "teaching students in accordance with their aptitude", but whether it can be implemented and what the effect will be remain to be verified.
Because her teaching philosophy was so advanced, Cui Shuyue didn't understand many things and needed her to explain them in detail.
We chatted for an hour and my throat was sore.
"Shu Yue, I'm not sure if what I just said is feasible, let's try it first."
After hearing what Ye Chutang said, Cui Shuyue's respect for her surpassed that of Song Jingning.
"Everyone knows that Madam Qi is a talented writer, but few people know that your ideas and abilities are much better than your literary talent."
Ye Chutang smiled and said, "Actually, my literary talent is not that good. Those amazing poems were all taught by my master."
She couldn’t say that she copied the ancients, so she could only call them “masters.”
Cui Shuyue naturally didn't believe this, but she didn't refute it either. She just thought Ye Chutang was being modest.
"Mrs. Qi, I have written down everything you just said. I will sort it out and elaborate on it later."
Ye Chutang nodded and stood up.
"Okay, go ahead and get busy. I'll leave the academy to you. If you need my help, feel free to come to Qi Mansion and find me."
Cui Shuyue knew that Ye Chutang was always busy, so she nodded in agreement.
"Okay, if there's anything I don't understand, I'll go to the Qi Mansion and ask Madam for guidance."
"If you're not busy tonight, let's go to Tianxialou for dinner."
Cui Shuyue glanced at what she had just written and shook her head to refuse.
"No, I want to sort these out quickly."
"That's fine. Go ahead and do your work. I'll go see the kids and tell them that my sister-in-law will teach them medical skills from now on."
"Madam Qi, take care."
When Ye Chutang went to the living room, Xia Shu was teaching students to recognize new herbs.
She didn't go in, but listened outside the door for a while.
Xia Shu was gentle and patient, and her explanations were very detailed. The girls liked her very much.
Ye Chutang waited for her to finish speaking before entering the classroom.
The students hadn't seen Ye Chutang for a long time and felt a little unfamiliar with her.
It was only after Xia Shu's reminder that he stood up and saluted.
"Meet Master Ye."
Ye Chutang didn't mind the students' alienation and directly explained his purpose.
"From now on, Master Xia will teach you medical skills. I hope you can learn something."
Someone asked, "Master Ye, don't you want to teach us medicine?"
"Teach you. When you have more medical knowledge, Master Xia and I will teach you together."
After saying that, Ye Chutang left.
Xia Shu came out to see them off.
When they reached the entrance of the academy, Ye Chutang said, "Sister-in-law, Sun Chu is hosting a banquet at Tianxialou tonight. Brother will definitely go. You can come and join in the fun."
"Okay, I'll come over after I finish learning."
Ye Chutang left the academy and went to Tianxia Building.
Sun Chu was listening to some music and eating some fruit in his room, feeling very comfortable.
Seeing Ye Chutang coming in, he quickly stood up and waved away the zither player.
"You came quite early. Are you done with your work?"
Ye Chutang sat down at the table and threw a grape into his mouth.
"I'm done now. I know everything about the greenhouse and cement. I came to you to discuss opening a shop again."
Hearing this, Sun Chu immediately became energetic.
"What other shop do you want to open?"
"Food, clothing, housing, transportation, everything. I said I want to control the economic lifeline of Beichen Country."
To make clothes, one has to grow hemp and raise silkworms, weave cloth, run a dyeing factory, and then make clothes.
Food means planting crops to increase yields, building the largest granary, and making all kinds of delicious food.
Accommodation means providing building materials, opening inns, and improving the living experience.
Travel means building roads and cars to shorten the time distance between two places.
Of course, you have to open one of the money houses spread all over the world!
Sun Chu was filled with emotion after hearing what Ye Chutang said.
"What you said is what I want to do. If we work together, we can achieve it in less than ten years."
"That's what I think too. Make a plan first, and then move forward slowly."
"Okay, at this stage, what kind of shop do you want to open?"
When Ye Chutang asked Jinzhi about the second-family shop that had been taken back, he had already thought about what kind of business he wanted to do.
"First, open three shops, one selling medicinal food, one selling medicinal wine, and one selling medicinal tea."
These three things can be learned quickly and are relatively easy to operate.
The idea of health preservation has always been highly sought after no matter what period.
Sun Chu nodded, "Okay, you provide the products, I'll run the business, and the profit sharing ratio will remain the same."
"Okay, you take Dan'er with you. She is good at gathering information, communicating, and responding to emergencies."
"No problem. When business gets better, I'll also need an assistant."
"Then let's make some short-term plans first."
Both of them understood business and had a good understanding of each other, so it didn't take long for them to reach an agreement.
The people who were invited to dinner also arrived one after another.
Those who came were all young people who knew each other. They ate and drank and got drunk.
They are all looking forward to the future.
Song Jingning looked at Ye Chutang with drunken eyes, remembering what Qin Muyun had found him and told him not long ago.
“Song Gongzi, I know that when dynasties change, the Song family will take part in choosing a wise ruler to ascend the throne.
Since you were able to open an academy in Tianshan County and enter the officialdom, it should be that the Song family chose Qi Yanzhou, right?
My master and I saw two new emperor stars, corresponding to Qi Yanzhou and Ye Chutang respectively.
Let's work together and we'll get both of them to that position. ”
When he first heard this, he was very confused.
Because he knew that Ye Chutang didn't want to be emperor and be trapped in the cold palace.
But Qin Muyun said, "Only if they become emperor can everyone be convinced. Moreover, with their abilities, it will only take three to five years for the people to live and work in peace and for the officials to not dare to have any dissenting thoughts. Then they can select a few people to supervise the country and assist the crown prince in ruling the country, and they can live freely."
Song Jingning was moved by Qin Muyun's words and agreed to his request.
"Sister, I'm sorry. Even if you find out the truth in the future and blame me, I won't regret it."
Ye Chutang noticed Song Jingning's gaze and asked, "Brother, why are you looking at me? Is there anything you want to say to me?"
Song Jingning smiled and shook his head. "It's good like this now. The years are peaceful and prosperous."
***
In the following days, the entire Tianshan County was extremely busy.
Digging rivers and canals, planting trees to stabilize sand, digging wells and building roads...
Ye Chutang and Sun Chu's business was also booming and spread throughout the Beichen Kingdom.
The emperor was delighted that Chen's army defeated the neighboring country and made four hundred thousand enemy troops unable to return.
Not only were military salaries and food allocated, but pensions were also given to deceased soldiers.
Of course, the quantity is not enough, but it is already a pleasant surprise.
Because the drought continued, the imperial court did not have enough relief grain to distribute.
In order to survive, people in many places began to leave their homes and seek a way out, and the trend of fleeing famine gradually formed.
The world is unfair, the court is doing nothing, and the people begin to blame the emperor again.
One day, a bolt of lightning struck during a drought and landed on a jujube tree.
Four words appeared on the charred tree trunk.
A tyrant brings disaster to the country!
As soon as this happened, rumors spread.
The people began to dig up the emperor's past, bringing up all the bad things he had done before, and the calls for him to abdicate grew louder and louder.
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