When Xie Lanzhi heard about this, she did not object. The two fallen captains were among the best soldiers in the army, yet they died instantly from firearms. This fully demonstrates the terrifying nature of firearms.
At the same time, the deaths of the two captains served as a wake-up call to everyone in the Xie clan, and even to the southern region of Tianjing, and the entire south. It told everyone that the Hun had invented firearms capable of overturning the chaotic world, but this was only the beginning.
At the end of the Jin Dynasty, there were separatist forces capable of fighting against the Xiongnu, with the Southern Regions currently being the most prominent.
Next is the Northern Region, and lastly, the Stone Kingdom Prefecture.
Xie Lanzhi commanded 700,000 troops in the Southern Region, but she didn't claim a million-strong army because it lacked substance. She valued practicality and wouldn't allow her subordinates to be misled by such empty boasts. The deaths of two captains had already severely impacted the 5,000 Xie soldiers in Weidu. Furthermore, the Xie clan in Weidu were terrified by the presence of firearms.
The Northern Region has 500,000 troops, the most elite being the three generals and the Red River's elite soldiers. The Stone Kingdom has 300,000 troops, second only to the Northern and Southern Regions in various strengths. Although they may seem mediocre, they are a formidable force for the nearby vassal states and cannot be easily challenged.
Weidu has never experienced such a light drizzle as it does today, yet many people braved the rain to come and pay their respects. Xiexia has opened the government offices so that people can also come and admire the final remains of the two brothers.
Seeing the genuine expressions on the faces of the common people, and the hypocritical faces of the gentry like Si Lei, Xie Xia fell silent for a moment.
Xie Xia was very grateful to the people for mourning his two brothers, and even honored them as heroes. In his heart, he knew very well that his two brothers had been killed before they even had a chance to fight back, which was not a great achievement, and if word got out, it would just be that they had died innocently.
But the people regarded them as heroes, simply because they had stopped the Huns who had harmed them. They saw them as heroes who served the country and its people.
Xie Xia experienced for the first time the simple and devout hearts of ordinary people at the bottom of society.
After paying his respects that night, he closed the door and stayed by himself all night, lost in thought until dawn.
Afterwards, he privately issued an order that violated the Xie clan's ancestral laws: [Return all the wealth plundered from the people by Xiaoyao Palace to the people, and open up all the rice left behind by Xie Fengqing in the granary.]
Xie Xia knew that these granaries, if left here, would be gradually emptied by his clansmen to enrich themselves. Perhaps after expanding their own wealth, they would even try to obtain official positions and become useless figures who only draw rations. They would be of no use to the Xie clan or the Marshal. It would be better to return them to the people. If the people were well-fed and clothed, they could work, pay taxes, and thus strengthen the Marshal's and His Highness's national treasury.
As long as the Marshal and His Highness have sufficient national treasury funds, they will eventually be used on Xie Jun's troops.
No other master in the world cares as much about the people's livelihood and soldiers as the Marshal and His Highness! Xie Xia himself came from the bottom and knew how cruel the Xie family's military regulations were. So even if a captain was beaten to death, he could only obey the military regulations as firmly as a stone and not overstep them.
Xie Xia distributed all of Xie Fengqing's private grain to the people of Weidu. When the people of Weidu learned that the grain was the legacy of Xie Fengqing, a deceased merchant of the Xie family, they were so grateful that they erected a monument and shrine for Xie Fengqing to express their gratitude for his great kindness and virtue.
Xie Fengqing left behind a lot of grain, and almost every household in Weidu, with a population of 700,000, received a bag of rice.
Xie Xia felt he hadn't done enough, and he wanted to carry out His Highness's new order thoroughly before accepting punishment.
Then Weidu discovered another thing: except for the royal family members who were exempt from taxes for seven generations, all others had to pay taxes, and those who violated this rule would have their property confiscated and be punished along with their relatives.
At this time, collective punishment is of utmost importance. Si Lei heard that Xie Xia had gone mad with grief because of the deaths of his two brothers.
He tried to persuade him himself, but Xie Xia invited him into the house for tea and placed Si Lei under house arrest. Si Lei was, after all, a prince, and his army came to demand his return that very day.
Xie Xia refused, and the three thousand Xie soldiers and five thousand Jin soldiers almost came to blows.
Finally, an urgent order was issued from above to arrest Xie Xia and bring him back to Tianjing. In addition, the imperial family was granted a tax exemption, and all other noble families were to be treated the same as commoners and were not to be disobeyed.
As the head of the aristocratic clans, Si Lei, representing the interests of the collective as a member of the royal family, could not possibly quell the conflict simply because the royal family did not pay taxes.
Si Lei insisted on opposing it and even wanted to go to Tianjing in person to negotiate with Xie Lanzhi.
But now, Si Lei was blocked in Weidu. Not only could he not see her, but any of his words could no longer reach Tianjing. It seemed that Tianjing was intentionally blocking his voice, and he could no longer see Xie Lanzhi as easily as before.
Si Lei finally realized that he had no real power of decision; even his dignity was a gift from Xie Zhu. If Xie Zhu was unwilling, his position as a prince would be meaningless.
Before being captured and brought back to Tianjing, Xie Xia advised him: "This general doesn't understand how you can be so foolish. As long as your family has followed Her Highness for generations, you are all members of the Si clan. Would she ever mistreat you?"
"The gentry below follow you because of the benefits they have for you. Once you have no benefits at all, who will follow you?"
“Listen to my advice, family members should stick together. We should unite like the Xie family and govern these local gentry with obedience. Only then can we be considered a wise ruler. We shouldn’t try to buy off or win them over with benefits.”
Xie Xia then mocked him, "Actually, I don't understand why you, a member of the royal family, would try to curry favor with the wealthy and powerful. It seems your only skill is making money; you should save your breath for anything else."
Si Lei was so angry that he clutched his chest. This guy was older than him, yet he dared to call himself "brother." That wasn't all; by opening the granaries and distributing grain, Xie Xia won the hearts of hundreds of thousands of people in Weidu, overshadowing him in just ten days.
Could it be true, as Xie Xia said, that his governance has always been problematic?
When Si Lei realized that he could not cure Xie Xia, he had no choice but to settle for second best and wrote a memorial praising Xie Xia for winning the hearts of the people.
Tianjing reacted exceptionally quickly this time, not only accepting his memorial but also praising his people for their unity with Xie Xia's army and civilians, commending their sincerity. Only then did they praise Prince Li for his wise and enlightened rule as the ruler of this region, thus rescinding the order to punish Xie Xia.
In addition, 10,000 soldiers were stationed in Xiexia to assist in protecting the people of Weidu. From then on, Xiexia officially settled in Weidu for generations.
This move not only appeased Si Lei's dissatisfaction but also enhanced his reputation, which was exactly what he wanted. Most importantly, it would remove Xie Xia's punishment. Xie Lanzhi was using Si Lei's name to make Xie Xia owe Si Lei a favor. Xie Xia would not only not be dissatisfied but would also be grateful to Si Lei, and would then take the initiative to resolve the grudge with Si Lei.
Si Lei owes Xie Xia a favor, and even if he is unhappy that half of his military power is in Xie Xia's hands, he still has to consider how to make Xie Xia repay this favor.
After all, he is the Left General with 100,000 troops; his personal connections are obviously more valuable than those of ordinary gentry. They are also more likely to be of use.
Si Lei reluctantly agreed to let Xie Xia send 10,000 troops to Weidu. When the people of Weidu heard about this, they were no longer afraid of Xie's army because the destruction of opium and the distribution of grain had solved their current livelihood problems. Occasionally, when Xie's army passed by, the people would greet them. Many of Xie's soldiers were from the lower class, and they treated each other like ordinary neighbors, without any airs.
In addition, the people of Weidu praised King Li's decision to invite General Xie Xia to the capital as the wisest decision in history.
With the import tax in Weidu lowered, many merchants could enter Weidu with low barriers to entry, then buy back goods at high prices and resell them elsewhere. A large amount of money from trade remained in Weidu, tied up in Si Lei's treasury.
Xie Lanzhi didn't urge him to pay any taxes. Having more money made Si Lei uneasy. He was afraid that being too wealthy would attract unwanted attention. Now, with Xie Lingyun's protection, things would be alright for the time being, but who knew what the future held? Currently, in Weidu, besides a group of Jin soldiers on payroll, he relied solely on the common people.
So he turned his attention to the common people, spending large sums of money to recruit sailors, ostensibly to prevent the tragedy at Xiaoyao Palace. Many young men who were good swimmers actively joined the army.
Seeing that he was constantly plotting and even starting his own scheme, Xie Xia directly renamed the sailors as the Navy and appointed the centurions who had been protecting the family by water for many years as martial arts instructors.
The sailors recruited by Si Lei quickly became influenced by Xie's forces, much to Si Lei's frustration. He had no choice but to rely on Xie's capable army, lacking elite troops and generals. However, the navy was also partly his; if the navy became strong, he could benefit from it as well. Therefore, the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. Si Lei thus integrated the two armies.
After two years of recuperation, the main gate of Tianjing City was beginning to show signs of prosperity. Small vendors kept pushing their carts into the city gate, and the streets were bustling with people, crowded together. Today happened to be market day, and everyone was rushing to buy daily necessities.
Since His Highness Fengning established commercial taxes, the business environment has been cleaned up, creating a favorable environment for employment and entrepreneurship.
After Si Xitong included import tax in the list of commercial taxes, he formally established a chamber of commerce to draft labor and employment laws. He also assigned students to rural areas to popularize the law, which would be used as a bonus for the imperial examinations the following year.
Many students, seeking extra points for this service, set aside their status and traveled to rural areas to spread legal knowledge. They even carried maps pointing to the newly built Ministry of Labor, which led directly to the Grand Council. If anyone was owed wages, a report to the authorities, if true, would be immediately accepted. Normally, the government couldn't do this for fear of offending relatives of high-ranking officials; now, the Ministry of Labor had direct access to the Grand Council, a department directly under the Emperor's authority. A report was all it took, and an investigation would be dispatched immediately.
At first, the people couldn't believe it, until a merchant who had been driven to desperation reported that the Xie family magistrate had seized his family's ancestral property to the Ministry of Labor.
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Chapter 106 The Birth of the Labor Department
The Western Guard and the Censorate were eager to take charge. The new department made a bold move, arresting the county magistrate on the very first day, returning the ancestral property to the merchant, and finally removing the magistrate from office. The Ministry of Personnel directly appointed the students who had passed the palace examination as candidates for the civil service.
Nowadays, county magistrates no longer have the secure jobs they once did, and their positions are no longer guaranteed. Anyone found abusing their power, neglecting their duties, or failing to perform their duties can be immediately replaced. This is especially true for lower- and middle-level local officials, who can be replaced at any time. Si Xitong, to a certain extent, helped maintain a clean and honest environment within the lower- and middle-level officialdom.
The establishment of the Ministry of Labor immediately attracted a large number of officials to take up their posts. Like newly appointed officials making their first big moves, they all went their separate ways within a day and handled hundreds of civil disputes over wages.
This intimidated merchants from all over the country, who reacted by dismissing or refusing to rehire them.
Soon the landlords reclaimed the shops and land owned by the merchants, and they began to be auctioned off and resold at high prices.
The unscrupulous merchants had nowhere to hide their attempts to drill holes, and in the end, they had no choice but to obediently follow the procedures to hire people and pay wages.
This led to a surge in employment, as more and more vendors started their own businesses, and the business environment improved, unlike before when it was chaotic and dominated by speculators. Now, the government would target any speculators first, giving many honest and law-abiding merchants a great sense of security.
With more and more people paying taxes and leaving the countryside for work, the increasing population movement has put immense pressure on security. At one point, the military had to be called in to maintain order. There were also road problems; outside the main city, the roads in Tianjing were all dirt tracks, making travel extremely difficult after rain.
Coincidentally, the Ministry of Works had suffered several setbacks due to issues with gunpowder and firearms, but these failures also led to the creation of some sub-products. For example, there was a type of stone that could be forged into cement, which would then be laid on the ground and dry in three hours, and it was also inexpensive to produce.
The Ministry of Works reported this minor matter, and Xie Lanzhi used some money from her private treasury to hire people to repair the road.
When Wei Zhao of the Ministry of Works received 50,000 taels of silver, he was completely stunned. Cement was so cheap, labor was so cheap, and even the people of Tianjing were so grateful for the improved life brought by the new decree that they voluntarily helped with the work for free. So 50,000 taels could be used to build a house outside Tianjing.
Wei Zhao dared not disturb Commander Xie, because Commander Xie was to depart for Honghe next month. She was making this long journey to the Northern Region for the sake of the development of the South. This matter was once a hot topic among the common people and in official circles.
Occasionally, idlers in the teahouse would bump into acquaintances and ask, "Has the Marshal gone to the Northern Region?"
Not yet? Probably soon.
"I wonder if the Marshal is used to the food in the Northern Region?"
"That is to say, I hope the Marshal can take good care of himself."
"It's best to go and come back sooner, so Your Highness won't have to worry."
At the same time, Wei Zhao, the Minister of Works, had just posted a notice that the road was under construction, and a thousand people, men, women, and children, came that very day, bringing their own food and sweet potatoes.
Wei Zhao thought that it was good to take the free labor, but he couldn't really not pay it. So he used the extra money to buy cheap eggs and small fruits from small countries as afternoon tea snacks at the construction site.
Unexpectedly, even more people came. The three-mile road was repaired in less than half an hour. At night, locals spontaneously patrolled to protect the road until it was solidified.
The 50,000 taels were used to build a road that extended beyond Tianjing, even reaching the entrance of a rural village. Villagers could easily walk on a good cement road as they left their village. Children liked to play there in the evenings, and adults would bring out stools to chat and eat in such a nice place.
Some villages had some savings. Seeing that the cement road at the village entrance looked better than the stone-paved road, and that the muddy pile behind the village was unsightly, the village chief assigned the able-bodied men of the village to carry stones and pave a road through the village. This story of the village spontaneously building a road reached the Ministry of Works, and then it reached Si Xitong. Si Xitong personally wrote a plaque for the village: "Village of Good Roads".
Once the plaque was placed in the village, the entire village became famous.
The entire village is filled with pride; anyone who goes out and says they are from the village of Shanlu will be envied.
Inspired by the example of Shanlu Village, many villages spontaneously contributed their efforts; those with money contributed funds to repair the roads, and some clan villages even spent their own money to buy cement from the Ministry of Works to repair their village roads and irrigation canals. Of course, these events occurred after Xie Lanzhi went to the Northern Region.
A wave of entrepreneurship swept through Tianjing. Normally, the government worried that people would abandon their fields, but now, with the increased production of super rice and the added cost of cement irrigation canals to boost yields, and with other businesses still relying on grain as their foundation, the government was naturally not concerned about insufficient production. Moreover, the officials in charge of agriculture were monitoring the situation day and night, not daring to relax their efforts. Thus, the pressure on grain production was significantly reduced with the upgrade of rice cultivation and fertilizer.
The common people at the bottom of society are increasingly aware of the importance of agricultural technology. Si Xitong even specially compiled his own agricultural book: The Great Jin Agricultural Techniques.
They distributed the copies free of charge to various government offices and then distributed them to the people.
Illiterate people could hire painters, and the government would reward them with grain.
Since agricultural books didn't require sophisticated drawing skills, they only needed to be simple and easy to understand. Many folk artists came to apply, and soon the government officials personally brought them to the Minister of Agriculture to create artwork.
Agricultural books used to cost one or two taels of silver to buy from bookstores, but now the government distributes them for free. Many people are scrambling to get agricultural books and paintings. A village will probably keep two copies, which are reserved for those who can read to lead the way.
Thus, the first agricultural treatise, the Great Jin Agricultural Manual, was born. The Great Jin Agricultural Manual compiled and updated three hundred agricultural techniques, each based on insights Si Xitong gained from Xie Lanzhi. After further refinement and modification by Si Xitong himself, a book on agriculture, unlike anything from the previous dynasty, was created.
Many of the planting methods had to be tested on public fields by the agricultural officials before they could be issued. However, most of them worked, which is why they were recorded in the book.
In the streets and alleys of Tianjing, every family was happy and harmonious. Merchants enjoyed a stable environment that boosted consumption, and ordinary people went to work early and returned late, with two full meals a day. However, because of this year's good sweet potato harvest, many families could eat three meals a day, with sweet potatoes as their evening meal.
It's better than having nothing to eat, and much better than the situation in the south now. There are constant uprisings and famines there. They had just survived a plague when the Shi Kingdom launched a war against the small country. This caused the people of the small country to flee in droves, migrating to the southern regions and Tianjing.
This added considerable pressure to the soldiers on the southern border. Xie Lanzhi had no intention of accepting refugees from outside; the diverse backgrounds and social classes would make managing them extremely costly. Moreover, the south had only been stable for two years, and its internal development was still incomplete, barely managing to make ends meet. It simply couldn't afford to take on too many.
Even with the border guards completely sealing off the border, people still manage to smuggle themselves in, and every day, more and more people with unfamiliar accents are roaming the vicinity of Tianjing. Although they are relatively well-behaved, they are still a potential threat. Therefore, Xie Lanzhi suddenly remembered that there was an abandoned canal in Tianjing, which would be perfect for using these people to repair. They could simply feed themselves sweet potatoes and taro, so they wouldn't starve for the time being, and they could also stay together to keep watch over the area.
Xie Lanzhi also drew on modern folk techniques, selecting ten people from each village to form a militia, each receiving two dou of rice and fifty jin of sweet potatoes as a monthly stipend to guard these refugees. They were also tasked with supervising the construction of irrigation canals.
Meanwhile, the streets of Tianjing were bustling with activity, a scene of great prosperity. But as a soldier beat a gong and drum to signal for people to make way, the people pushed to both sides, wondering if another battle was about to break out.
This is Xie's elite cavalry; they wouldn't normally mobilize such a large force for important matters.
The rider hadn't slept for two days. He could have taken a boat to Tianjing in a day, but General Zuo was worried that the firearms might be intercepted. After all, even though Tianjing was safe, accidents could still happen.