After listening to Palatina's detailed description of the dark side of the major cities of the Assanian Empire, Roland put away his smile and said to her with deep feeling: "As you feared, the development of transportation and communication has gradually dissolved the border between urban and rural areas, and the bilateral convection of urban and rural populations, and the countryside is always the side of the net outflow of population, which will cause serious social problems in the long run, but the situation in the Far East is somewhat special, the pressure of rural life is far less than that of the cities, the welfare is guaranteed, and the fertility rate is higher, which effectively hedges the trend of population outflow, and the pace of urban life is faster. The social structure is also more fragile and less resilient to sudden risks, in contrast to rural areas, which are antifragile and more resilient to risks. ”

Suddenly realizing that he was speaking too abstractly and academically, Roland paused to observe Palatina, and was surprised to find that she did not look bored, but listened attentively, as if trying to absorb his thoughts.

Roland was moved by her attentive demeanor, and in order to make it easier for her to understand, he changed to a more accessible language style.

"Palatina, we only see young people going out of the countryside, but we don't see what kind of life these young people live in the city, each of them is full of confidence when they set out, thinking that they will be able to establish themselves in the city, but unfortunately the statistics show that the reality is very cruel, it is difficult for rural young people to find an opportunity to get ahead in the city in a short time, and they have to endure harder work and lower quality of life than in their hometown. Some of them stubbornly choose to stay in the city, looking forward to the day when the turning point comes, while others return to their hometowns in discouragement, dismissing those bohemian dreams and working in agriculture with peace of mind. ”

……

The two chatted as they walked, and came out of the village office and returned to the barn. Roland took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and with about ten minutes before the departure of the train, he asked Paladina where else she wanted to go.

Palatina noticed that the women and children of the village were neatly dressed, some of them even fashionable, and at first glance they did not look different from the townspeople. In contrast, the situation in the Assanic Empire was completely different, not to mention the huge disparity between urban and rural areas, and even the difference between the holy city of Asshan and the surrounding satellite towns was so large that it was unforgettable.

"We just said that the convenience of transportation and communication has narrowed the distance between urban and rural areas, so theoretically there should be little difference in the quality of life between urban and rural residents, but this is not the case in the empire, where you can hardly see the popular clothing styles in the city, and the countrymen are always dressed in a rustic manner, and they do not gradually change until they enter the city, what is going on?"

Roland met Palatina's puzzled gaze and replied calmly: "This may be because most of the elites of the empire are concentrated in the cities, they occupy land in the countryside to build manors and villas, but they don't care about the lives of their neighbors, neither invest in the countryside that can benefit the countrymen generally, nor vigorously develop the rural market, as a result, most of the countrymen are too poor to afford fashion goods, and even if a few can afford to buy them, they have to go through a long journey to the city to buy, rather than pay expensive transaction costs, It would be better to leave the countryside and move directly into the city to settle down, which is probably the root cause of the one-way influx of the imperial rural population into the towns. ”

Palatina tilted her head in thought for a moment, and muttered, "Although I could not fully comprehend your mind for a while, experience and intuition told me that you were right, and now I wonder why the countryside of the Far East has not become as poor and backward as the imperial villages, and has not been left behind by the rapid development of towns?" ”

Roland smiled lightly.

"In fact, it is very simple, the Yashan Empire provides us with a negative example, as long as all the mistakes made by the imperial authorities in rural governance are corrected, for example, the imperial authorities have too much oppression of the countryside, excessive exploitation, the burden on the rural peasants is too heavy, they are forced to revolt, rebellions and uprisings come one after another, the Far East independence revolution is a typical example, in this situation, the vast majority of rural people are so poor that they have the money to pursue fashion? In the Far East, on the other hand, the policy of rural governance was diametrically opposed: at the beginning of the founding of the country, we implemented a policy of substantial tax reduction, reducing agricultural taxes to half of those of the imperial provinces, implementing agricultural reforms to promote bumper harvests, and the peasants grew more food, paid less taxes, and had savings in their pockets; We have also implemented basic transportation, rolled out a national news network, and carefully cultivated the village market, so that goods and information from the towns can penetrate into the surrounding villages, and the villagers have the spending power and the opportunity to get in touch with new fashions, and of course they are happy to buy fashionable goods, so you will see that the girls in the village are not inferior to the people in the city. ”

Palatina nodded her head and was inspired.

Roland glanced at the pocket watch again, and then said: "If you just stay in empty talk, you may suspect that I am exaggerating, while there is still a little time, I will take you to the supply and marketing cooperatives in Valley Village, you will have a deeper understanding when you see the goods on the shelves with your own eyes." ”

"Okay!" Palatina complained happily and complained, "I was in a hurry along the way, and I wanted to walk around and see more of the several stops in front of me, but I only stayed for half an hour at most, which was too disappointing." ”

"The train can't be delayed because you are not finished traveling alone, besides, you are a spy sent by the imperial military, we are still a hostile position in the final analysis, and letting you have an in-depth understanding of the situation in the Far East is tantamount to betraying national interests, it would be good to give you a chance to see the flowers, what else is there to complain about!" Roland said angrily.

"Humph! I knew you weren't in a good mood! Palatine sneered inexplicably, "Actually, you've been following me with the intention of supervising, lest I see something I shouldn't see, right?" ”

"There's nothing to deny it, and of course I won't show you anything that involves confidentiality." Roland was calm, "But then again, there are more than 30 people in the imperial visiting group, and I only supervise you closely, but I indulge others to spy freely, is this logical?" ”

Palatina was stunned when she heard this, and guessed: "Because...... I'm the most perceptive of all visitors, so you're more wary of me? ”

"I don't know if you're the most perceptive of all, but I'm sure you're the prettiest of all the visitors," Roland asked Palatine with a smile, "Everyone has a love for beauty, do I need to explain my motives?" ”

Palatina threw him a wide roll of the eye in extremely exaggerated slow motion, and utterly despised this shameless man!