Although Jiangnan is rich, the countryside is also very bitter; And often there is not a single scholar in every village or town. Many of them have never been out of the village, and although it is not far from Jiankang, most of them still don't know what Jiankang is like.

Cheng Zhijie took the children to live in a farmer's household, eating coarse tea and light rice that was difficult to swallow at night, and sleeping in a mournful bed at night, as well as lice and fleas.

The children are used to eating and drinking, and they have suffered from this, staring at the food one by one and shaking their heads, and they can't sleep and complain at night. Cheng Zhijie ate heavily, talked with the host from time to time, and lay down peacefully at night, without being affected at all.

The next day, Cheng Zhijie gave the host's family some loose silver taels, and then continued to set off with the children.

"How do you feel about their lives? Do you still complain about your bitterness?"

Several little guys all had a dark circle under their eyes, and Cheng Zhuyun said first: "Father, I know that it is not easy for the people, I will definitely listen to you in the future and never waste food again!" ”

Cheng Zhijie laughed and praised: "Good! He also pinched her delicate little face with his hand. Cheng Huaimo hurriedly said: "Father, I won't waste food anymore." Seeing that Cheng Zhijie didn't speak, he hurriedly said: "Also, I have a lot of strength, and I can give them a lot of food in the future." ”

Cheng Zhijie laughed and said: "Okay! Loving to help others is also a reward. ”

Cheng Chengmo said: "I think they will always run out of food, so it is better to teach them skills so that they can gain more; Change your status quo. ”

"Well, yes, it's better to teach people to fish than to teach them to fish, and one step further, Cheng Qian, what do you think?"

"Teacher, I feel that under the rule of our Datang, there should be such a poor place under the rule of my father. Officials should have noticed this situation a long time ago and found a way to change him, rather than let it go; I think this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the officials, and I will report it to my father and the emperor to investigate them strictly. ”

Cheng Zhijie glanced at Li Chengqian in surprise, sighed and said, "You are right, the officials did not see this point and were negligent. However, the four virtues and 27 most of the current official assessment are simply the four words of morality, prudence, public service, and diligence, which focus on moral assessment; There is some lack of assessment of their ability to govern.

Therefore, I want you to remember, after you ascend the throne; It is necessary not only to assess the moral character of officials, but also to see whether the people's livelihood under the rule has been improved, and whether the people's life is rich is also an assessment criterion; And it is the most important assessment criterion. ”

When Li Chengqian heard this, he bowed down and said that he was taught. Cheng Zhijie took them to most of Danyang County, and what they saw was not abundant food and clothing, but full of devastation, which made these little guys a little depressed.

Cheng Zhijie returned to the Yamen of the Jiedu Envoy, and then asked people to invite Jiankang's officials, squires, and businessmen over.

As soon as these people heard that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had an invitation, they didn't know what kind of medicine they bought, but who dared not to go if His Royal Highness the Crown Prince invited him, so everyone hurried over with the intention of being slaughtered.

Cheng Zhijie welcomed everyone in on behalf of His Royal Highness the Prince, and everyone entered the yamen to find that a banquet had been set up here, and everyone's name was pasted on each seat, so everyone hurriedly found their own seats.

Cheng Zhijie fought in the middle of the battle, and arched his hand and said: "A certain Cheng Zhijie, I believe everyone has heard of my name." His Majesty appointed me as an observer envoy to Jiangnan and Lingnan, and I was ordered by His Majesty to accompany His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to Jiankang. I will meet you for the first time today, please forgive me for the rudeness. ”

Everyone was a little uncomfortable when they saw that this famous murderous demon king of the mixed world was so polite; They hurriedly saluted: "I've seen the Great Demon King Chitose." ”

Lao Cheng laughed and said, "Sit!" Sit! Although it is the first time we have met, we will have to work together for a long time in the future, so please don't be polite to me. ”

Everyone thanked and did a good job. Cheng Zhijie said: "It is the first time I have come to Jiankang, where the capital of the Three Kingdoms was built in Eastern Wu, and now it is the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has great hopes for Jiankang. ”

Everyone knew that the meat show was coming, and they listened carefully with their ears stunned, and at the same time, their hearts were pounding, and they didn't know how much blood would come out this time.

Cheng Zhijie continued: "However, we went around the surrounding villages and found that the people had no clothes, no food, and a very hard life. His Royal Highness prepares and relieves the township; Please help. ”

When everyone heard this, they secretly said: "Look, it's really asking for money, and it's also a name for relief to Xiangzi." ”

Cheng Zhijie saw everyone's expressions in his eyes, and he smiled slightly: "Of course, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince can't ask for everyone's money in vain." Our philosophy is that we can only achieve a win-win situation for a long time. ”

Everyone was confused when they heard this, and they looked at him one by one and didn't know what the hell he was going to do.

Cheng Zhijie clapped his hands, and someone brought up a few stone-like things and put them on the hall.

Cheng Zhijie said to everyone: "You may have seen that these strange things are not stones. It is cast from the latest cement developed by our research institute. However, his hardness is no worse than that of a real stone, so you can try it if you don't believe it. ”

Cheng Zhijie beckoned, and someone came up with a big hammer. The guard rounded the hammer and smashed it on the cement lump, and there was a "bang" sound of sparks, and the hammer was lifted high, but the cement lump only shattered a layer on the surface.

"Ahh Everyone exclaimed, but in their hearts they thought that there are so many stones in the mountain, you won't sell them!

Cheng Zhijie asked people to move the cement lump down, and then took up a bag of cement and said: "Everyone, please see, those fake stones just now were made of this kind of cement." Let me show you how. ”

As he spoke, someone came up and poured cement and water into the basin, stirring it for a while to become the shape of the stone just now.

Cheng Zhijie said: "It's not good to be in a hurry, this kind of cement dries quickly, and it only takes a day or two to completely dry and form a stone like the one just now."

So I'm going to use it for a wide range of applications, such as building roads, building bridges, building cities, and building houses. What do you think the future holds? ”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, thinking secretly in their hearts, and they all felt that if they really wanted Cheng Zhijie to be so easy to use, it must be unlimited business opportunities. Someone said: "May I ask the Demon King Chitose, are you going to sell cement with us?" ”

Cheng Zhijie shook his head and said: "No, cement is a state-controlled material, and private manufacturing is strictly prohibited." Seeing everyone's faces darkened, Cheng Zhijie continued: "But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent, he can't bear to see the people under his rule suffering, so where did His Majesty ask for the right to use cement." We can get a lot of cement from Your Majesty. ”

These squires and merchants said excitedly: "The king of the county wants us to sell?" ”

Cheng Zhijie shook his head again and said: "No, sales is very simple, anyone can do it; There is also not much to be gained. His Highness means to build roads! Everyone may have seen that the Jiangnan road is in disrepair, and passers-by are complaining. His Highness wants to build roads with cement with everyone. ”

"Your Highness is benevolent, it is a good heart to do this, we admire it very much, and we should be generous. However, I am waiting for a small family and a small business, and the whole family is also eating with this money, I am afraid that I will not be able to take out too much money to support His Highness. ”

Cheng Zhijie said with a smile: "Win-win, everyone remember that what we seek is a win-win situation!" Our Highness thinks that when the road is repaired, we can set up a card to collect a certain amount of tolls.

Half of these travel expenses are used to fund the surrounding people to improve their livelihoods, or to subsidize students to study. The remaining half of the road maintenance costs will be divided equally according to the amount of funding, I wonder if you are interested in participating? ”

Everyone was stunned when they heard this, collecting tolls? This one really dares to think, and there is a humane: "What if no one leaves after repairing?" Didn't they all lose it? ”

Cheng Zhijie laughed and said: "Everyone, if one side is a thoroughfare, only a small fee is needed, and it is comfortable, safe and fast to walk on, but on the other side is a mountain path, which is difficult to walk and unsafe, and it also delays time, how will you choose?" ”

Everyone was stunned and bowed their heads one by one, and Lao Cheng then smiled: "Don't worry, as long as the road is open and the logistics are turned around, businesses from all over the country will flock to it, so don't worry about not making money." ”

Everyone secretly thought in their hearts, feeling that what Cheng Zhijie said was promising; They exchanged words and discussions.

Cheng Zhijie took out a document and said: "Don't worry, if you have any questions, let's talk while eating." This is the plan I wrote for this project, with the seal of the Yamen and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You don't have to worry about giving in return. ”

As soon as his words fell, one of them stood up and said, "I believe in the Great Demon County King, and I am willing to invest 100,000 taels of silver in the shares." ”

Everyone turned their heads and found that it was no one else who spoke, it was this Shi Wudaunt, the richest man in Jiangnan who had only risen in the past two years. This fearless history has a very mysterious background, and he has become the richest man in Jiangnan in just a few years, and he can eat both black and white dishes in the Jiangnan area, and he is the first in terms of strength.

In fact, this Shi Wudaunt was originally a secret agent of the Great Demon Kingdom, and when Cheng Zhijie surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he resigned and started a business. He has a good relationship with the Datang Navy with the Great Demon Country Water Army as the main body, and he also got bad good things from the hands of these water armies.

In addition, the original jewelry and jade masters also followed him to do business, so in less than a few years, it has developed into an existence that the richest man in Jiangnan needs to look up to.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I used to be a businessman in Shandong, and I only came to Jiangnan in recent years. I admire the big demon king very much, you look at Shandong, look at Guangzhou, there is absolutely nothing wrong with following the county king! ”

As soon as Boss Shi spoke, the others did not hesitate, and they all shouted and asked to join.