Chapter 269 270. People cannot earn money beyond their knowledge
The Marquis of Changning was of the super first rank, and the prefect of Qingyuan was of the fourth rank. Naturally, he had to bring all the officials of the government office, including the fifth rank Tongpan Meng Yao, to meet Lei Li and his party at the city gate.
A simple welcoming banquet.
After a few warm and polite greetings, Lei Li got straight to the point.
The situation in Qingyuan Prefecture City.
It is not just about the specific situation of banditry, but also about the crime situation in various parts of the grassland, the customs of the people, the advantages, disadvantages and difficulties of the grassland economy, how to break through the existing shackles, etc.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi also briefly learned about the educational situation in Qingyuan Prefecture.
These are the basis for how to suppress and even eliminate the banditry in Qingyuan Prefecture, establish a complete logistics system for the escort agency, connect with other prefectures, and thus form a complete economic operation network.
It was also on the way to Qingyuan Prefecture City that Lei Li, Zhou Yi and other accompanying officials, except the old minister, discussed what they needed to know.
While asking questions, the clerk kept taking notes.
"…the people in the prefecture are generally illiterate and their education level is very low."
Lei Li asked, "As far as I know, there are very few Qingyuan people who have passed the imperial examination in the past two years. There are only a handful of private schools in Qingyuan Prefecture, and the prefectural and county schools are not well-developed."
"Master Duanmu, what do you think are the main reasons for the lack of private schools and the inadequacy of official schools in Qingyuan Prefecture? How can these problems be improved?"
The prefect of Qingyuan Prefecture was named Duanmu.
He was a civil servant who attached great importance to practical matters but was a bit arbitrary. He was a bit aloof and looked down on those rich kids who relied on their ancestors' influence to hold high positions but had no real talent or work.
Before meeting Marquis Changning, he was quite dissatisfied with this suddenly famous and airborne boss. After discovering that Marquis Changning was so young and handsome, he disliked him even more.
Magistrate Duanmu judges people by their appearance. When he sees good-looking people, he not only does not like them, but instead thinks they are useless.
Although Governor Duanmu was obviously caught off guard by Marquis Changning's question.
But because he was very familiar with the situation in Qingyuan City, he answered very confidently and proudly. However, because the situation in Qingyuan was indeed generally bad, he had a sad face and a depressed tone.
"The people of Qingyuan Prefecture were originally nomadic. For generations, they moved from place to place, herding cattle and sheep without much exposure to the knowledge and principles of books. Therefore, they were not eager to study."
"The county school and the prefectural school... the government office simply doesn't have enough money to pay for local official schools. Furthermore, there are no teachers coming to Qingyuan to teach."
"Officials in our government and county offices can only serve part-time as teachers in the official schools. However...please forgive my limited knowledge and ability. I only know how to learn on my own, not how to teach."
Duanmu, the governor, sighed deeply and added, "If the Marquis could recommend a few scholars, regardless of their level of knowledge, as long as they are willing to come to our Qingyuan, I will certainly welcome them with open arms and treat them with sincerity."
The reason why it is said to be sincere is that there is indeed not much money in the account of Qingyuan Prefecture City.
As the bandit problem became more and more serious, merchants from the Dayou Dynasty did not dare to come, goods from other prefectures could not be brought in, and cattle, sheep, gems and other items from the grasslands could not be taken out, and economic development was relatively sluggish.
The grassland is vast and sparsely populated.
The grassland lacks water and is not suitable for farming, there are few cash crops, and the growth cycle of cattle and sheep is long, and the shelf life of meat and milk is short, so they can only be preserved by making dried meat, cheese, etc.
The variety of goods is relatively simple, and the people's consumption power and desire are low. It is difficult for Qingyuan Prefecture to develop solely relying on its own consumption.
Lei Li's expression remained unchanged as he continued to ask, "What methods has Lord Duanmu used to address the bandit problem? Have any of them been effective?"
“I’ve used some…”
Magistrate Duanmu answered all the questions one by one. He felt that there was no problem in implementing certain methods, but the reality was difficult to meet his expectations. Sometimes he couldn't even understand why.
Magistrate Duanmu was sent to Qingyuan in times of crisis.
Before coming here, he had served as county magistrate for several terms and had made considerable political achievements, but due to the limitations of the cognition of the literati at that time, he could not fully empathize with the people of Qingyuan Prefecture.
Zhou Yi has received advanced modern education, experienced the information bombardment of the digital age, read many history books, and seen many analyses by ancient or modern historians. Naturally, he is able to break out of the limitations of his thinking better than Governor Duanmu.
Many of the problems that seemed difficult to understand to Duanmu Zhifu were very simple to Zhou Yi, and the reasons were also very simple and crude -
The people of Qingyuan are also limited by their self-perception. They are confined to their own little piece of land and are unwilling to break away from their existing lives.
Even if breaking the rules would allow them to have a better life, even if opposing and resisting banditry would make them richer and more stable, they are unwilling to join forces with the government to suppress bandits.
Some people may even shelter and help bandits out of fear of revenge from them, or provide convenience and tip-offs to them for a small favor.
In other words—
People cannot make money beyond their own understanding.
“Many people don’t understand, or are unwilling to understand, things beyond their own cognition, and will refute and question cognition that differs from their own.”
Zhou Yi said calmly.
Governor Duanmu seemed to have suddenly understood something, and his face and neck turned red with excitement.
"Yes! Yes! That's right! No wonder I always feel like I'm talking to a deaf person and can't make myself understood. It turns out they simply don't want to listen to me!"
Meng Yao, who had been listening in on the comments, was also enlightened when he heard this. He smiled bitterly and sighed, "The matter that has troubled us for so long turns out to be so simple. Listening to your words is worth ten years of reading."
Magistrate Duanmu was also excited and sighed.
He found that almost every question asked by the Marquis of Changning and his wife hit the nail on the head. It was obvious that they were practical people who came to solve problems rather than trying to gild themselves by taking advantage of the situation.
He looked at Lei Li and Zhou Yi with more and more eagerness, feeling that they had met too late.
"My Lord and Madam, if you don't mind, please come to my mansion tonight for a small gathering. My wife is an excellent barley wine brewer, and her meat patties are also top-notch. You must come and try them!"
"good!"
Lei Li and Zhou Yi agreed.
That night, the couple went to the prefect's residence for a small gathering. In addition to Lord Duanmu and Meng Yao, they also met General Wu who was stationed in Qingyuan.
General Wu went to inspect the various garrisons in Qingyuan City two days ago and came back in the evening. When he heard that Marquis Changning had arrived, he came here exhausted.
General Wu is a very straightforward person.
At first glance, he looks like a dark, rough and rude man, but in fact he is very meticulous and has more patience, tact and talkativeness than the slightly impatient Duanmu Zhifu.
Lei Li, Zhou Yi, and Meng Yao were old acquaintances, and they got along well with the two adults. However, they would not accept a single word.
The next day, the couple carried out a surprise inspection and rode on horseback to various counties and towns without notifying the prefect in advance.
So the Marquis of Changning and his wife took some accompanying officials, dozens of Jingwei, and local officials such as the prefect Duanmu, General Wu, and the magistrate Meng Yao, a total of hundreds of people, and marched to various county towns.
The first stop is the richest county town in Qingyuan Prefecture.
Lei Li and Zhou Yi can see the rich local specialties, specialties from other prefectures, as well as seafood such as pearls, corals and dried fish. They can also see animal training troupes performing and enthusiastic local girls and boys dancing to earn bounties.
Then, the couple went to Wulu County, one of the poorest counties in Qingyuan Prefecture, which was completely different from the Har County they had just visited.
There are few shops in Ulu County, and the types of goods in the shops are also very limited. Almost all of them are local products. Things from other prefectures, such as cotton cloth, are rare, and there are no seafood such as pearls and corals.
Duanmu Zhifu and other local officials explained to Marquis Changning.
Compared to his confidence in Har County this morning, Governor Duanmu felt a little nervous and ashamed at this moment.
As a subordinate, he was worried that Marquis Changning would doubt his ability to govern; as a fatherly official, he felt sorry for the people because he had not given them a good and stable life.
Lei Li was mostly observing and asking questions. Noticing the awkwardness and nervousness of Governor Duanmu, he immediately gave him affirmation and encouragement, which moved Governor Duanmu to tears.
After a few days of going deep into the grassroots, Lei Li and Zhou Yi had a certain understanding of the situation in various parts of Qingyuan, and they also deeply realized how serious the bandit problem here was.
The bandits in Qingyuan not only rob merchants, they sometimes go down to the villages, rob ordinary people, steal their cattle and sheep, and even kill fellow villagers with blood ties from the same tribe.
In response to this, Lei Li and Zhou Yi discussed several times with local officials including Governor Duanmu and developed a series of targeted plans.
When Lei Li and Zhou Yi came to Qingyuan, in addition to escorting the merchants' goods as a cover, they also brought a lot of dried chili peppers and chili powder because they were greedy.
Saltpeter is also available in Qingyuan, and the largest saltpeter mining site is in Qingyuan.
Lei Li asked Governor Duanmu to mine some, and then purchase hunting dogs from various villages and towns. If there were no hunting dogs, ordinary dogs would also do.
Zhou Yi wants to train these hunting dogs to find people and things, and help officers and soldiers chase bandits. At the same time, he also wants to train officers and soldiers, cultivate their combat capabilities and adaptability, and help the government get out of the passive situation.
Lei Li had the craftsmen conduct saltpeter experiments, or in other words, make firecrackers and bombs, and train a group of special archers to shoot chili powder or lime powder.
Prefect Duanmu was also busy. He recruited a group of young and strong men in the name of increasing ore mining, but in fact he conscripted them as militia and asked the Kyoto guards to train these militiamen.
You are not a mature soldier if you have not been on the battlefield.
Before officially encircling and suppressing the bandits, General Wu led the new recruits in several actual combat operations and selected the counties and villages that were most vulnerable to bandit attacks.
First, they used the wind direction to shoot chili powder to blind the bandits, and then used firecrackers to scare the horses and lure the bandits into the trap.
Horses would trip over shallow pits or caltrops, causing bandits to fall off their horses and be injured, or be trampled to death by frightened horses.
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