The Iron Cavalry Battalion returned victoriously, and the military and civilians of Chuzhou welcomed it.

After several years of recuperation, Chuzhou has become a rare paradise in troubled times. As long as you work hard in a down-to-earth manner, the whole family can have a well-fed, clothed and peaceful life, so that the people will soon have a rare sense of belonging, and they will support the Zhenhuai Governor's Mansion and the Chuzhou Capture Army from the bottom of their hearts.

To achieve such remarkable results, in addition to the painstaking governance of people such as Liu Bowen and Du Zundao, who are well aware of the people's sufferings and are proficient in people's livelihood and political affairs, and the sincere cooperation with the local gentry, it is also inseparable from the strong support of those Jiangnan merchants. Although these people are not obvious, they have huge resources and valuable channels in their hands, so that Chuzhou and southern Anhui quickly passed the initial withering of people's livelihood and jumped out of the quagmire of lack of materials.

What is even more commendable is that these merchants provide people with extremely rare opportunities to work. If we only rely on simple tuntian farming, Chuzhou is narrow, and southern Anhui is mountainous, there is no way to solve the problem of food and clothing for the people in such a short period of time. The contribution of these businessmen to Chuzhou at this time is really immeasurable.

Of course, it is the nature of businessmen to seek profits, and if Chuzhou cannot guarantee the safety of their industry and stable returns, these businessmen will not be hot-headed and rush to Chuzhou.

When Zhao Yu returned to the governor's mansion in the city, he had to pass through the East Market of Chuzhou. After watching from afar for a while, he found that the bazaar was much more prosperous than it had been when he had left, and that there were few people with sorrowful faces.

These subtle changes made Zhao Yu feel gratified. In his opinion, killing people is to survive, and to beg the captives to go to the world. is invincible, if the territory is a miserable appearance of the people living in poverty, then even if it can reign in the world, it is not very interesting.

The governor's mansion is located in the northeast of Chuzhou, which is not vast, but Du Zundao personally supervised the construction, and the original governor's mansion was returned to Chuzhou. According to Zhao Yu's thoughts, he is away all the year round, and he has very little time in Chuzhou, so he doesn't need to open another mansion. It's just that Liu Bowen admonished that this move will also be of great benefit to stabilizing people's hearts. Zhao Yucai did as he said. To be above 10,000 people, in fact, many of his ideas are far from mature.

When approaching the gate of the mansion, Zhao Yu suddenly felt strange in his heart, and glanced at the crowd of people who stopped to watch in the distance. It's just that Liu Bowen and Ye Chen, the prefect of Chuzhou, came together to pay respects. He skipped the little thing. Invite the two into the house.

Fang Yi sat down. Liu Bowen presented the latest information on the attack on Jiqing by the captive army. The army of land and water, a total of 80,000, was captured to occupy Jiangning under the command of Xu Da. And under the city of Jiqing, there were two battles with the Yuan court military horses, or there were losses. Zhang Shicheng, who was forcing Zhenjiang, did not want to see the Chuzhou army capture Jiqing, so he led his troops back to the east, giving the Jiangnan camp of the Yuan court a chance to breathe.

At present, Xu Dazheng is adopting the strategy of only encircling Jiqing and cutting off the branches of reinforcements, tightly strangling the army of the Yuan Court returning to the division in Jingjiang, and at the same time encroaching on the defenders of Jiqing step by step.

Zhao Yu carefully read the battle report several times before putting it down, although Zhang Shi sincerely withdrew from the army, but the situation was still under control. Zhao Yu was in a state of flux, so he had no idea of rushing to the front line. Xu Da's response is mainly steady, and he is not in a hurry to advance, if he rushes there, it will make the military order dispatch unfounded, and it will be useless.

After discussing the military situation, Ye Chen, the prefect of Chuzhou, stepped forward to report on the people's livelihood and political affairs in Chuzhou in the past six months.

After talking with these two men for a long time, it was getting dark, so I left them to dine together in the governor's mansion.

Although Zhao Yu was born in a family, he did not have the problem of not getting tired of eating, and he was also willing to eat coarse tea and light rice. He pointed to the table and said with a smile: "No matter what the fame and power are, we can finally make millions of people in Chuzhou and southern Anhui have food on their plates and food in their bowls, so that we will not waste our strength and waste our time." ”

Liu Bowen and Ye Chen nodded in agreement, but their expressions were a little worried.

Zhao Yu saw it in his eyes, put down his chopsticks, and said in a deep voice: "Could it be that there is something wrong?"

The two of them glanced at each other and hesitated for a long time before Ye Chen spoke: "Don't hide it from the manager, I have been discussing with Liu Changshi for a long time recently, and I feel that we have buried a big hidden danger in Chuzhou now. ”

When Zhao Yu heard this, his face tightened, and he hurriedly said, "Tell me quickly." ”

Ye Chen frowned and said, "The source of the hidden danger is the rampant businessmen. It is true that our current situation is inseparable from the help of these businessmen, but the benefits they have obtained are now enough to threaten the stability of Chuzhou. ”

Zhao Yu returned to the city and sighed at the prosperity of Chuzhou's business, and when he heard Ye Chen's words, he asked, "What about this?"

Liu Bowen said: "The way of businessmen, the goods are worth the world, and dredging is also related to people's livelihood." It's just that these businessmen are bustling, and they are expelled for profit, and they are not obedient people who are content in one place after all. The most important thing in the way of people's livelihood is that the cultivators have their land. Cangli knows etiquette, this is the road to long-term stability, if you are bent on pursuing business, the fields are barren, and the people are breeding, it is inevitable that there will be chaos!"

"In recent years, the Chuzhou government has been committed to the work of Tuntian, but with little success. In addition to the lack of arable land, most of the people are willing to work, although the business has been fruitful in the short term. However, in the long run, the people are happy to rush for quick success, but they have less patience to cultivate the land. Work in exchange for money, silver money to buy grain, in the long run, the more commercial wins, the more wasted agriculture. The affairs of people's livelihood are in the hands of businessmen, and the gentry of the government are not as respected as profit-seeking businessmen!"

Ye Chen said worriedly: "At present, the grain consumed by the military and civilians in Chuzhou is less than three-four tenths of their own production, and if there is no grain input for one day, the price of rice is bound to rise sharply." In this way, if a foreign invader cuts the Chuzhou trade route and does not allow a single soldier to enter the country, the current excellent situation will undoubtedly be destroyed!

After Zhao Yu heard this, a layer of cold sweat surged on his back, he had little contact with political affairs, and those who knew it were naturally not as profound as these two people. After pondering for a long time, he said in a deep voice: "After you go back, sort out the household registration tax book and send it to me, I want to take a closer look." ”

Liu Bowen and Ye Chen saw that Zhao Yu had paid attention to this matter, so they nodded in response, and after hastily eating the meal, they went back to prepare.

Zhao Yu sat in the atrium and muttered for a long time. When the door came down to report to Shen Wansan for a meeting, he woke up and invited him to enter the house.

Shen Wansan has been developing in Chuzhou for more than two years, and he is not a stranger to Zhao Yu, so he bowed down and said with a smile after entering the door: "Lord Governor is proud of the Central Plains, Shen is here to congratulate!"

Zhao Yu nodded and invited him to take a seat, and asked each other about the current situation for a moment before asking: "Mr. Shen is making money every day, if he only comes to congratulate, why should he visit late at night." So what's going on. Let's just say it!"

Shen Wansan nodded and said, "Since the chief manager asked." I'll be blunt. I have come today to ask the manager to allow me to open a workshop in Jinghu. The Jinghu waterway is convenient, but the land is barren and barren and barren land. It was deserted. It's a shame. Why don't I take over? Construction of workshops. First, it can earn tax profits, and secondly, it can also recruit thousands of workers and revitalize the livelihood of hundreds of households. ”

Zhao Yu frowned and said: "This matter has always been taken care of by the prefect of Chuzhou. Mr. Shen didn't go to the mansion, why did he come to me?"

Shen Wansan said distressedly: "Such a trivial matter should not have bothered the manager. It's just that Governor Ye's Mansion has been busy with official business recently, and I haven't been able to see him several times. Business opportunities are like agricultural times, and a delay of a moment is a great loss, and I am really anxious, so I have no choice but to take the liberty to trouble the chief manager. ”

Zhao Yu was remembering what Liu Bowen and Ye Chen played, and after hearing this, he just nodded and said, "I know about this matter." It's just that I've returned from an expedition, and I'm physically and mentally exhausted now, so I don't have much energy to ask. After I have rested for a few days, I will invite Mr. Shen to discuss it in detail. ”

When Shen Wansan heard this, his face showed joy, and he hurriedly got up to thank him.

sent Shen Wansan away, and the registration book requested by Zhao Yu was also sent to the mansion.

Regarding the future of Chuzhou, Zhao Yuqiang endured fatigue, missed the night review, and buried himself in several large boxes of cases.

The disaster of Shangjia is obviously not the only one Liu Bowen and Ye Chen who realized the seriousness of the problem, and many strategists in the Governor's Mansion, such as Du Zundao and Zhu Sheng, have reported the matter to the Governor's Mansion. It's just that Zhao Yu was leading troops outside at that time, and he didn't see it, but this time, when he faced it squarely, all Chen Yan's invitations were picked up together.

Ye Chen and others are extremely dedicated to the collection of information, not just lying about their feelings, but also with detailed data listing, which is clear at a glance.

Of the 200,000 households in Chuzhou and southern Anhui, half of them rely on farming to make a living, and the cultivated fields are far from meeting the needs of the people and the army. The grain price in Chuzhou is also far higher than that of the surrounding prefectures and counties, but the people have more money in their hands, and the shortcomings have not been exposed for a while.

Only when he saw these numbers with his own eyes did Zhao Yu feel shocked, knowing that Liu Bowen and Ye Chen were not alarmists. Business can't help it, agriculture is not prosperous, Chuzhou is in full swing, and you can't escape the vanity of the mirror.

Zhao Yu stayed awake all night, and only meditated and breathed for a moment when it was almost dawn, and when his spirits were a little more uplifted, he urgently summoned the staff of the governor's office to discuss the matter. For several days, the discussion was endless, and he didn't even have time to visit Chang Yuchun, who was recuperating from his injuries, so he only sent his own soldiers to condole.

The rise of Chuzhou is thanks to businessmen, and if it is said that once it is eradicated, it will inevitably lead to chaos and people's livelihood. Moreover, business is not without harm, and the comprehensive suppression is just a waste of food due to choking. The current situation can remain the same, but the development of business must be limited. The Governor's Office immediately promulgated a number of provisions to promote agriculture through commerce, strictly ordering that business should not harm the cost of agriculture, and at the same time encouraging the newly attached people to cultivate more land.

As soon as this order came out, Chuzhou and southern Anhui affected a lot, and many merchants who had not taken root even left. And merchants such as Shen Wansan who have been operating in Chuzhou for many years are also quite complaining. Zhao Yu changed his previous conniving attitude towards businessmen, and directly ordered businessmen not to raise prices and disrupt the market and people's livelihood with strict laws, and finally controlled the shock within an acceptable range.

This incident can be regarded as a blow to the booming Chuzhou, but as the hope of winning Jiqing grows, some dissatisfaction of the people is also diluted by the succession of good news.

After this incident, Zhao Yu finally understood the difficulties of the emperors of the past dynasties. On the shore of the land, it is not the king's land, and we must do our best to think about the food of the people of the whole world, even if we have an occasional gain, we cannot easily give up the root of agriculture. What he did in Chuzhou was regarded as pulling out the seedlings and helping them grow, but he did not lay a solid foundation, so he dropped out. This matter is not the work of a lifetime, and it must be slowly figured out.

Therefore, instead of giving up on exploring a new way out, he became more and more diligent. Eat a trench and grow a wisdom, the local tyrant is not eliminated, and the world is difficult to appease!(To be continued......)

PS: Historically, the germ of capitalism, marked by employment relations, emerged in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty. However, this book is not a rigorous historical text, so it is somewhat vague, and Xu Yikui's "Weaver Pair" at the end of the Yuan Dynasty already has an account of the silk weaving workshop, so I will not repeat it. To be honest, although the land nourishes our civilization, it is not a restriction to civilization. This is just a martial arts fandom, so it won't be as rigorous as the deduction of the new Song Dynasty, but just a simplified treatment, which won't affect the advancement of the real main line.