According to later historians, the Ming Dynasty had a population of more than 100 million in the Wanli era. This speculation lacks direct historical evidence, because the Ming Dynasty only officially registered Dingkou, that is, the taxpayer population. The population data of the guard is confidential, and even the military department can't check it, so he also fought a lawsuit in the Chongzhen Dynasty.

Relative to the actual population, the statistics of intellectuals are much more reliable. After the students are enrolled, they must make a register; The number of people is determined by each province, and the examination is held every three years, and I have never heard of any province with vacancies; When I arrived at Jinshi, it was even clearer, and each subject had a record of Dengke, not only the number of people, but also the names and biographies of people.

According to the research data, the number of students in the whole world is estimated to be about 100,000, and the population of the Ming Dynasty is 100 million, so the proportion of students in the population is only 0.1%.

The living standards of the people in the south of the Yangtze River are slightly higher, and the number of people who read is slightly larger. After the average of the county seat and the surrounding towns and villages, about forty or fifty scholars can be selected as one student.

This data is also in line with the current situation of Xu Yuanzuo's hard work to squeeze out dozens of apprentices from Zhuli and Tang Xing.

After Xu Yuanzuo carefully calculated the account to Hai Rui, he looked at Hai Rui's black face, which was quite pleasant about the crushing of knowledge.

"Lian Xian, where are you going to find this person?" Xu Yuanzuo finally finished with a mending knife.

Hai Rui looked at Zhen Zhenji, and said secretly in his heart: This prefect doesn't know how to help!

Zhen Zhenji avoided Hai Rui's gaze, looked at Xu Yuanzuo, and said secretly: Just coax him away, what do you mean by this problem?

Xu Yuanzuo actually has two meanings.

First, I have been low for too long, and when I meet a tiger that will not bite easily, it is quite interesting to brush the tiger's whiskers and touch the tiger's head.

Second. After subduing the tiger, you can still do something with the tiger's might.

"Since you said so, I think you have an idea in your chest." Hai Rui Road.

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "There are no new ideas, so it's okay to repeat the trick." He paused, arched his hand to the sky again, and said, "Emperor Taizu Gao is afraid that the officials will disturb the people. Therefore, the quota of yamen officials is limited. At that time, the world was depressed, but it was enough. Nowadays, the world is changing, and it is normal that there is not enough manpower, so there is a white servant. ”

Hai Rui was slightly stunned, and still remembered that he had just attacked Xu Yuanzuo with the problem of white labor, and it really made people blush when they thought about it.

Xu Yuanzuo seemed to have no mustard, and said: "If Lian Xian doesn't dislike it, Renshoutang can send twenty or thirty people out." If some shopkeepers and men are seconded from other merchants in Songjiang, it will be a little difficult for Lian Xian to gather a hundred people. But sixty or seventy should be fine. ”

"These people ......"

Hai Rui secretly said in his heart: When there is no one, I am worried, if I really have someone, what should I do with the salary for food and lodging?

Xu Yuanzuo looked at Hai Rui and stopped talking, and smiled secretly in his heart: Now you know the importance of the small treasury, right?

Daming is not a Tang Dynasty after all, and there is no pressure to recruit civil servants at will. After experiencing the cultural accumulation of the Song Dynasty, the official could not compete with the people for profit, could not serve the people at will, and could not be in arrears in the wages that should be paid. It has become a general rule. There are only two ways for the government to use white labor: acquiesce to them to get oil and water from the people; Give them food and labor.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. The same applies to the government.

"Renjudo won't talk about wages here." Xu Yuanzuo said generously: "Let's take it ourselves." But in terms of food and accommodation, it can't be pressed on us anymore, right? ”

From Songjiang to Suzhou to do business, it is not a day back and forth, and the accommodation of twenty or thirty people is not a small amount. Xu Yuanzuo has already provided manpower, does he still have to bring his own food and grass? It's unreasonable.

Hai Rui's heart tickled, and there was still no way to do it after all. He does not keep office funds for himself. I don't think that's in line with the ancestral system. But the ancestral system didn't teach him the secret method of feeding a thousand people with a big pie!

Xu Yuanzuo bowed and said, "Lian Xian, please think about it slowly, the student still has to go to the county to return to the errand, so I will leave first." ”

Hai Rui gave him two words and asked him to take care of himself.

Zhen Zhenji saw it in his eyes, and secretly said in his heart: Don't be self-defeating. What if the King of Hades doesn't leave at that time?

Xu Yuanzuo didn't seem to see it, just saluted him and withdrew.

"Ah, the lower official has something to ask him, accuse, accuse." Zhen Zhenji couldn't sit still, and got up to leave.

Hai Rui also did not stay, and was bent on figuring out whether he could find the project for this expenditure from the public funds of Suzhou. It's a pity that the white service is the meaning of the white servant, and the magistrates use the white service to pay for it themselves, and set up another name to spend it from the public fund. This method is similar to finding invoices for reimbursement in later generations to offset bonuses, the logic is concise, but the operation is difficult.

Hai Rui doesn't have this skill.

Zhen Zhenji chased outside and stopped Xu Yuanzuo.

Xu Yuanzuo knew that the prefect was going to chase him out, and he was not surprised.

"You just got a big deal, but you stuck him on the silver money again, but you have no other plans?" Zhen Zhenji made a straight face.

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "What are the plans of the students, as far as the matter is concerned." ”

Zhen Zhenji is also the prefect of the first term, and after thinking about it, he said: "Do you want to take over the river project of Huangpu and Wusong?" ”

Xu Yuanzuo smiled: "If you want to send Hai Qingtian away, you have to give him some people." To feed this group of people, after all, you have to give Renshoutang some profits. Or the whole county can make a separate sum of money to send the god silver, and the students are not indispensable. ”

Zhen Zhenji immediately connected this chain, and he couldn't help but admire in his heart: it really didn't leak. He Renshoutang came forward to do good deeds, but in fact, it was still the money of the local wealthy. It's just that this money was spent on river dredging, and he took over the project to make a profit, and all the human feelings and laws are reasonable.

"The imperial court may not be willing to approve such a large sum of money." Heartfelt and auspicious.

Xu Yuanzuo said: "It's better than spending money to hire white servants." Some of the prefectures and counties are kept, some are allocated by the imperial court, some are donated by the localities, and all of them are combined, just enough for people to eat. ”

He had already submitted an application to the authorities for dredging the river and excavating a new river.

Theoretically, Songjiang Mansion is directly subordinate to the Sixth Ministry of Nanjing, but the Sixth Ministry of Nanjing is a standby court and has no real power in its hands. So the same thing has to be sent to Beijing. Beijing is in charge of the whole country, and its focus is more comprehensive than that of the southern ministers, and such a big project is really not something that can be done just by saying it.

What's more, it's been an eventful time these days.

On the sixth day of the first month of September, I led tens of thousands of horsemen to invade Zhenchuan Fort in Datong Youwei, and plundered Shanyin, Yingzhou, Huairen, Hunyuan and other places in the east and west. The local defenders were unbearable for a battle, and there were few people who could protect themselves, so that dozens of people from the governor Chen Qixue, the governor Li Qiu, the chief soldier Zhao Ke, and Hu Zhen were demoted, demoted, seized, and asked by the imperial history.

These Tatar-infested places were to be settled for almsgiving. In addition, the Yellow River broke in Pei County, and all of them were affected from Kaocheng, Yucheng, Cao, Shan, Feng, Pei to Xuzhou. The boat was blocked in Pizhou and could not go north. The Huai water then overflowed the river, engulfing the surrounding fertile fields and houses.

At this time, Jiangnan has to retain and allocate funds, which is really adding to the snow.

*

*(To be continued......)

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