As the curtain of Yuanyou's eighth year was about to fall, Zhao Xu, who was far away in Bianliang, almost forgot the existence of Zhao Xiaoxi. Regarding the conjecture caused by the death of the imperial uncle, Zhao Xu can also be said to have a hard time, and he can only specialize in improving the cleaning and layout of the court.

Compared with the hundred officials who were far away in Bianliang, they felt that this winter was colder than before, and Zhao Xiaoxi, who received information from Bu Yi Pavilion. Seeing that Su Zhe, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and Su Shi, the servant of the door, were demoted, he could only sigh in return.

The decree was changed day and night, and the new party was used to suppress the old party, and this ambitious young emperor finally embarked on the old road of history. I don't know that this kind of party struggle is a disaster in all dynasties and dynasties, and it will greatly damage the vitality of the country.

These things and suffering, Zhao Xiaoxi didn't say anything to anyone, and sealed these spy reports. We will continue to devote our energy to the construction of the new city. As the Spring Festival approaches, the atmosphere on the island has become much warmer.

Many immigrants who have spare money on hand are most interested in the things they are most interested in every day. It is to go to the shops in the town, pull a few pieces of cloth to buy some daily necessities, and plan to have a truly prosperous New Year, looking forward to a better start next year.

Some people took advantage of the slack time to start repairing their houses and improving their living environment. In short, inside and outside the island, there is a hot scene, so that the merchants who arrive here can feel this thriving atmosphere.

But the most shocking thing is that the exterior wall of Xinnancheng, which has been completed and is planned to be repaired after the Spring Festival. The 3,000-meter-long and 5-meter-high parapet wall was incredible.

Many maritime merchants who have cooperated with Xinnancheng know that this is a city wall built with a kind of cement. It is this kind of cement that makes this city appear on this desert island so quickly, which really makes people feel like they are magical.

Some businessmen are sensitive to the fact that the market for this kind of cement is huge. Send an application to the official of the Ministry of Rites in charge of commerce and trade. But in the end, it was rejected by Zhao Xiaoxi, because the output of cement is not high, and it is only enough for the construction of Xinnancheng for the time being.

Everyone knows that after the city wall is built, the planned new city is also under construction. Even Zhao Xiaoxi asked that the commercial streets and residential houses in the inner city be built first. Finally, the new south city yamen and the city lord's mansion were built.

As long as this street can accommodate 3,000 shops is built, Cho Hyo-seok believes that the maritime merchants who come to this trade will understand this business opportunity. Based in the Ryukyus, Cho Hyo-seok can make this place a transit place for goods.

Regardless of where the goods come from, as long as you set up a point here to sell them, you will have unexpected benefits. The most important thing is that by setting up shop here, they can also buy the strange items they want to buy.

compared to building walls. These two-story commercial streets, all of which were two-storey, were perfected little by little under the rush of nearly 1,000 craftsmen and thousands of slaves. Many merchants even planned to pay for the shops before they even waited for the Ministry of Rites to start selling them.

But Zhao Xiaoxi still vetoed it, saying that these shops are only rented and not sold. The rent of these shops will also be one of the sources of tax revenue for the Yamen of New South City in the future. In addition to this, trade is carried out in this shopping street. It also needs to be handed over to a certain amount of taxes.

As for the people living here, Zhao Xiaoxi never thought about it. Go collect their taxes. Today's grain tax, in Zhao Xiaoxi's view, is a bit too high. However, in order to ensure food reserves, he agreed to this levy ratio.

In Zhao Xiaoxi's view, the real profit of New South City in the future will still come from commercial trade. By collecting taxes from those people alone. It simply can't support his huge consumption in the future. There are more people, just grow food for him.

Duan Zhengchun, who has been on the island recently, sees this kind of speeding change every day, and knows that this place will definitely become a cornucopia of trade from all over the world. He even did not hesitate to take out his father-in-law's style and set up ten shops. In the future, it will be operated by Dali officials and businessmen.

Zhao Xiaoxi did not refuse Duan Zhengchun's request, but still said that ten stores could be selected preferentially. However, the corresponding rent is also indispensable. The money of these shops is related to the income of the Yamen of Xinnancheng.

To be precise, Zhao Xiaoxi hopes that this commercial street with 3,000 shops can support the income and livelihood of officials in Xinnancheng. He didn't want to sit on such a cornucopia and even be unable to afford the officials' salaries.

The main body of the 3,000 shops was completed, and the craftsmen turned to the construction of the houses. In the future, these houses will also be sold or rented to merchants who come to the city, as well as the people and officials of the New South City.

Some of the people and artisans who have contributed to the new South City will be allocated to such a house for free. Of course, the ownership of the house still belongs to the city lord's mansion. After all, the entire new city was built by Cho Hyo-seok out of his pocket.

When there were still two days left before the Spring Festival, seeing that only half of the construction of the inner city was completed, Zhao Xiaoxi decisively ordered the work to be stopped. Let all the craftsmen involved in the construction, as well as those slaves, take a holiday to prepare for the New Year.

With the salary issued by the officials of the Ministry of Industry, these craftsmen who have been fortunate for a long time finally showed a happy smile. During this time, Zhao Xiaoxi was responsible for food and housing, and he still had a good salary to get.

Craftsmen with salaries naturally return home, and take their families to the old town to buy New Year's goods. For them, there is endless work waiting for them here, and there is no need to worry about the days of hunger and hunger.

In order to stabilize the hearts of these craftsmen who moved from the inland, Zhao Xiaoxi also deliberately built a craftsman village for them on the island. They are the only villages with an all-brick structure at present.

Some craftsmen who planned to decorate their homes took advantage of the five-day rest after the New Year to go to the town to buy some things. Get ready to whitewash the house inside and out, after all, this is their future home.

Compared to those slaves, fate is naturally not as good as that of craftsmen. Only some slaves who performed well and learned Chinese could get a little money. What's more, it's waiting until five days off and two clean changes of clothes.

But even so, most of these slaves from indigenous tribes are grateful to Zhao Xiaoxi. I especially envy the captains of the slaves who were appointed by the officials of the Ministry of Works, who not only had a single room to live in, but also received some bounty.

With these bounties, the lives of these slave captains are naturally much better than theirs. Taking advantage of the holiday time, these slaves guarded by the pirate integrated fast capture team also have the opportunity to come out and walk around the town.

It's just that there is no money in their pockets, and many slaves can only watch with their eyes, and these gorgeously dressed Great Song people are free to go in and out of the shops in the town to purchase things. And they can only act as spectators, looking at this lively crowd with envy.

For these young and strong natives who have been trafficked or captured, they all know that as long as they are lucky enough to work on this island, they will have clothes and enough food to eat. The rest can only be seen by whether they are smart or not.

Some clever slaves, in order to earn money to buy things, began to come to the bustling docks. Hoping to find a job and earn some copper coins that can be used freely, Zhao Xiaoxi did not refuse.

As a result, some of the porters who worked as porters at the docks saw slaves taking over their work. And half of the money they earn from their work is returned to them. Immediately agreed to the foreman's arrangement, and went home to prepare for the New Year with peace of mind.

As a result, some people who found that it was cheap to hire slaves also came to the yamen to rent slaves to help with the work. The rent paid was the same, the slaves received half of the rent, and the yamen received half of the rent.

This kind of good thing, which was also undesirable for slaves, gradually made the slaves give up rest. Began to walk in the field, which was not idle at this time. After receiving the copper money from the tenants, the slaves also knelt down and snorted happily.

It was the appearance of these slaves that made the immigrants on the island slowly gain a kind of self-confidence. Only then did they understand that they could enjoy a superior life and treatment here.

And these slaves also knew that in order to live a better life here, the first thing they had to do was to learn to speak Chinese. Other than that, it's about making money. As long as they perform well, they may be able to avoid the fate of slavery in the future.

For some lazy slaves, they will not end well. After all, in the eyes of these pirate hunters, the slave is a very lowly figure, and if he is not obedient, he will kill the matter.

It was this carrot and stick method that made the slaves sent by the pirate group one after another begin to slowly integrate into this new city. Their unique faces and skin tones also make newcomers feel the size of the world.

Even some of the indigenous slaves who were captured refused to listen to the teachings. Those old slaves who have adapted to the life of slaves will also teach these new slaves to listen to the words of these masters of the Great Song Dynasty, so that they can survive and have food and clothing.

Perhaps it is because he saw that these slaves were not useless, and they also knew that the future construction of the island would require the help of these slaves. At noon on the day of the Spring Festival, Zhao Xiaoxi, as the lord of the city, still walked into the slave camp with some food.

Look at the pirates who are guarding the slaves and instill in them the words of loyalty to themselves. Zhao Xiaoxi also sighed, did he open the curtain of the Great Song Dynasty, the first colonist?

But no matter what, Zhao Xiaoxi knows very well that he wants to complete the rapid rise. He had to step on some bones, and he felt more at ease stepping on these indigenous bones than stepping on the bones of his compatriots.

Looking at the slaves who were on their knees under the black press, Zhao Xiaoxi didn't say anything, and explained to the pirates who were guarding the slaves. In the evening, the slaves were fed up, and they were refreshed and waited for the next heavy lifting.

If it weren't for these slaves, who took on the hardest and dirtiest work, the new city would not have been built so quickly. Therefore, for Zhao Xiaoxi, the role of these slaves is still relatively large, and it is worth his attention for this.

As for how to deal with these slaves in the future, Zhao Xiaoxi felt that when he felt that these slaves no longer had the heart to resist and truly feared the Great Song people, maybe he would return the slaves to a free body! (To be continued......)