Chapter 277 Lack of labor? Promote learning, education, and farming!
The next day, early morning.
The rooster crows the dawn and the morning glow fills the sky.
On the streets of Xinye County, the blood has not yet dried up, and the smell of blood remains in the air.
The people who were about to go to work in the farmland were shocked. They stared at the corpses lined up outside the county town and talked about it:
"What happened last night? Could it be that someone raided the county government office?"
"You still don't know? The county has already said that Zhao Biao colluded with foreign thieves in an attempt to murder the imperial officials."
"Ah? This is a serious crime committed by the Yi clan! Isn't Zhao Biao afraid of bringing down the whole clan?"
"Isn't that right! The entire Zhao family has been executed, and they are currently moving the corpses and counting the family's accounts."
"Hiss—! Our new county magistrate is really powerful. He actually dares to kill the Zhao family."
"I heard that the old man of the Zhao family had his head chopped off while he was still on the bed."
"You deserve it! If they are allowed to bully others, there needs to be someone powerful to deal with them."
"..."
The people of Xinye County were just amazed at first, but after hearing that the Zhao family had rebelled and the three tribes were wiped out by the barbarians, they all clapped their hands and praised them, as if their hatred for many years had finally been avenged by someone today!
While everyone was talking about it.
Within the county government office.
A man with a high crown and a professional diploma walked out.
It was none other than Yin Ji.
Yin Ji's expression was indifferent, not affected at all by the bodies that had not yet been cleaned up beside him.
He raised his hands towards the common people of Xinye and said loudly: "Fellow folks, the Zhao family has been executed for their rebellion. Now that their ancestral property has been counted, they have more than 8,000 acres of fertile land, more than 300 cattle, and countless farm tools."
"The county has issued an order that those whose contracted land is less than 30 acres can come to the county government to register. The county will provide corresponding compensation based on your actual situation and strive to allow each household to contract 30 acres of land."
The Zhao family's fields are all fertile land, ready for sowing and entering the farming stage at any time. How could Liu Bei waste these acres of land, so he sent Yin Ji to post notices, preparing to put the Zhao family's fertile fields into production within half a day.
"If my family wants to sign up, we only have 22 acres."
"We signed up, and the county magistrate showed mercy. We only have sixteen acres of farmland, and all of it is uncultivated land."
"I used to contract the Zhao family's land. I haven't had time to divide the land yet. Can you leave it to us?"
"..."
The people in Xinye are very active, as if they are afraid of missing this opportunity to make a pie in the sky.
Yin Ji sent someone to post the notice and immediately returned to the government office: "Everyone, line up, don't be anxious, register your own situation one by one, and after the government has verified it, you can compensate for the land."
"queue!"
"Those who disrupt the order will not be registered."
With the help of the county soldiers, the long queue was quickly completed.
In each household, men work in the fields, while women and children wait in line.
In this way, production will not be delayed, and business work will not be delayed. It is simply killing two birds with one stone.
now.
County government office.
Liu Bei was condescending, staring at the long queue of people below, frowning: "Farming is basically on the right track, but my family only relies on men to farm the fields, and the pressure on thirty acres of land is not small. It is difficult to improve farming efficiency."
Jian Yong on the side nodded slowly: "Yes! If we can liberate the women of each family, the farming efficiency will definitely improve, but the elderly and children at home will become a big trouble."
call-
Liu Bei took a breath and said softly: "The old man is still able to take care of himself. He still has the ability to be independent, but these children cannot. If something happens to him, it will be a serious matter that will kill his life."
"That's right!"
Jian Yongshen took it seriously and said: "Moreover, the imperial court has canceled oral and calculated gifts. This will undoubtedly stimulate the people to have children. In the future, more and more children will become more problematic."
Liu Bei frowned: "No, we have to find a way to solve it, otherwise it is not certain whether the next node can be completed. Your Majesty takes our new field as an example, so we have to make some achievements."
Why didn't Jian Yong understand Liu Bei's thoughts: "My lord, what you said makes sense. I and Uncle Ji will consider this matter."
Liu Bei said softly: "Thank you for your hard work."
Jian Yongdan smiled: "Where."
"County Lord—!"
Just at this moment, a shout rang out not far away.
Liu Bei raised his eyes and looked.
But I saw that my own soldiers led the messengers from Wancheng and came quickly: "Come on, let's go down. Maybe there is another order from the imperial court."
Jian Yong'en nodded: "Your Majesty is really diligent in his work. He issues an edict every two days. He is simply more concerned about farming than us county magistrates."
"nature!"
Liu Bei said proudly: "Farming is your majesty's national affairs. It is a top priority. How can your majesty not care about it?"
Jian Yong naturally understood this: "Having said that, your Majesty is indeed very diligent in his work, which is rare in the world. If we follow your Majesty's work, we will be able to revitalize the Han Dynasty and rebuild the world."
Ta! Ta! Ta!
Turning around and going downstairs, I saw the messenger coming: "Uncle."
Liu Bei waved his hand to indicate that he did not need to be polite: "I dare to ask, but does your Majesty have an edict?"
The messenger nodded graciously: "Yes!"
Immediately.
Liu Bei hurriedly entered the palace.
Everyone stood aside, all bowed and held their hands.
The messenger was at the top, picking out the edict from the cloth bag and reading it aloud:
"The country is based on the people, and food is the first thing for the people. If you want to secure the country, you must focus on agriculture. Today's farming work is heavy and there is a lack of labor. This is because the sons of hundreds of families are still young and it is involved in farming work, so they cannot use their full strength."
"In view of this, all counties are ordered to promote elementary education, focusing on the Xiang (xiáng) order of the township and village (village), and setting up a filial scholar to encourage officials to gain popularity and enroll in schools, so as to provide peace of mind to each family."
Liu Bei was stunned when he heard this, and his eyes were as wide as bells.
He couldn't believe it.
I was worried about how to help the people solve their worries, but it turned out that His Majesty had already thought of it and even gave a proper solution. This was a stroke of genius.
"Uncle Emperor?"
"kindness."
"Take the order."
"oh!"
Only then did Liu Bei react and hurriedly received the imperial edict respectfully: "Xin Ye ordered Liu Bei to accept the edict."
Later, the messenger took out another volume from the cloth bag and handed it to Liu Bei: "Uncle, this is the "Jijiupian" textbook of Meng Xue. The full text has a total of 1,244 words. There are no repeated words. The sentences are seven words and four words.
Three words, etc., catchy and easy to remember."
"In addition, if there are not enough filial piety teachers, His Majesty recommends that the three elders be mobilized and the county governments in various places give them a salary of no less than fifty dan, so that they can teach without any mistakes."
Although the salary of fifty dan is not much, if every Xiaojing master were like this, then the entire Xinye County would probably have at least dozens, or even hundreds, of people. This would be a salary of thousands of dan.
You must know that even Liu Bei himself, the magistrate of a large county, only has a salary of a thousand stones, which is enough to prove the importance your majesty attaches to education.
So, how could Liu Bei not pay attention to it!
fortunately.
Now Liu Bei is not short of food.
He nodded without hesitation: "Don't worry, since it is His Majesty's decree, you should be prepared to go all out."
The messenger smiled faintly and cupped his hands: "Uncle Liu Huang, Your Majesty asked me to send you a message. Xinye is now a benchmark in Nanyang. All nodes have been completed ahead of schedule. We must maintain this trend."
Liu Bei's heart was surging and he was so moved: "Your Majesty still remembers!"
The messenger said with gratitude: "Listen to Mr. Xun Ling, your Majesty is very satisfied with Uncle Liu Huang's work."
call-
Hard work and long hours.
When Liu Bei heard this sentence, he felt that no matter how hard he worked, it was worth it.
Then, Liu Bei cupped his hands and clasped his fists again: "Please tell your Majesty that you must do your best to live up to His Majesty's grace."
The messenger nodded: "I will definitely convey this to you, please rest assured, uncle! It's getting late, I need to continue rushing to the other counties to give orders, so don't leave here."
Liu Bei waved his hand: "Xianhe, send it off for me."
Jian Yong raised his hands: "Here!"
The two of them had just left the main hall.
"Come here." Liu Bei got into work mode.
"exist."
"Invite the three elders from each township quickly. We have something important to announce in this county."
"Here."
****
Xinye, Dengjia.
In the study.
Deng Xun clasped his hands behind his back, frowned slightly, and said incredulously: "Liu Bei was actually prepared in advance?"
Deng Tong nodded affirmatively: "That's right! And Liu Bei is so brave. There are only dozens of people in the entire county government, but he dares to set up an ambush. He deliberately acted it out for Zhao Biao to see."
If Liu Bei shrinks his troops, it will inevitably attract the attention of Zhao Biao who is hiding in secret. As a result, the other party may give up this operation, making it difficult to eliminate hidden dangers.
Don't be afraid of thieves stealing, just be afraid of thieves missing you.
Liu Bei knew this very well. Only by completely eradicating the hidden dangers could he truly let go and continue to carry out agricultural affairs in a drastic way. Otherwise, he would be in fear every day and would not be able to do anything well.
It is precisely based on this.
Only then can he maintain the state of being loose on the outside and tight on the inside, waiting for the rebels to take the bait, and then launch a counterattack to directly uproot them and completely eliminate the hidden danger.
"That's right!"
Deng Xun, who was well versed in the art of war, could naturally tell: "I really underestimated Liu Bei. I thought he was just like an ordinary Han clan member, but I didn't expect that he actually had the bravery of King Chen."
"admire!"
“I really admire you!”
Deng Xun sighed from the bottom of his heart.
Unexpectedly.
Liu Bei, who was concealed by the title of "uncle emperor", still had such a brave side: "It's a pity that the Zhao family was wiped out in this way, and thousands of acres of fertile land fell into the hands of the imperial court."
Tong Deng sighed: "It is indeed a pity that the Zhao family gave birth to such a bad person who does not understand current affairs!"
Deng Xun, who is also the head of the family, felt a lot of pressure: "Yes, His Majesty is ruthless and courageous, and will show no mercy. He can forgive our Deng family once, but he will never forgive us a second time."
"Good nephew!"
Deng Xun turned to look at Deng Tong and said with great solemnity: "You should take the time to visit each house and don't have any bad thoughts. The situation of the Deng family is very good now. Any losses suffered at this time will be made up for in the future."
Although the imperial court's farming strategy did not harm the foundation of the aristocratic family, it did some superficial damage, causing some tenants who originally farmed the fields for the Deng family to become farm laborers for the imperial court.
Especially for the Deng family in counties other than Xinye, some are in the same situation as the Zhao family, and some are even worse than the Zhao family. Their situation at this time is very, very embarrassing.
certainly!
There are also some descendants of the Deng family who have no land in their families. Because of the imperial decree, they have hope for life and can contract thirty acres of land to meet their daily needs.
This is the Xinye Deng clan.
From the behemoth to the impoverished, they have it all.
Deng Xun needed to take into account the overall situation and balance the pros and cons. He could not ignore the fate of the entire family and forcefully go to war with the imperial power just because some families suffered losses.
Deng Tong bowed and handed over his hand: "Don't worry, head of the family, I just want to search for young talents in the clan and continue to take the imperial examinations. This matter can be handled at the same time, so you can rest assured."
"good."
Deng Xun nodded: "That's very good."
"Oh right."
suddenly.
Deng Xun heard something and turned to ask: "My dear nephew, Liu Bei recently summoned three elders from various villages. Do you know what happened?"
Deng Tong raised his lips slightly and smiled calmly: "That's right. Considering that it was about to enter the stage of full-scale farming, and in order to alleviate the problem of insufficient manpower, the imperial court ordered all townships to arrest Xiangxu and set up a filial piety teacher to teach
Children can read."
"oh?"
Deng Xun twisted his beard and his eyes suddenly brightened: "Is this happening?"
Deng Tong nodded: "Well, not only that, the three elders will be compensated an additional fifty stone salary every year, which will be provided by each county. We must ensure that all children of school age are enrolled in school and can read and write."
Deng Xun was astonished: "You actually still have a salary of fifty dan?"
"Well, my nephew didn't think of it either."
"It seems that His Majesty attaches great importance to this."
"That's right!"
Deng Tong nodded: "My nephew heard that in the future, every county, township, county, and even the imperial court will all establish official positions with corresponding functions, and the salary will never be less."
"It's interesting."
Deng Xun twirled his beard and nodded slowly: "Your Majesty is the emperor I have ever seen who values Confucianism the most. However, whether it can be implemented remains to be discussed. Although reading is good, it is definitely not something ordinary people can afford."
The so-called material base determines the superstructure.
In Deng Xun's subconscious mind, ordinary people did not have enough to eat, so they had no time to pay for their children's education and literacy. Even bamboo slips were expensive.
In fact, "book shops" for buying and selling books had already appeared during the Han Dynasty, but the prices were quite expensive and not ordinary people could afford them.
"yes."
Deng Tong was naturally deeply touched and softly echoed: "The emperors of our dynasty all hope to popularize education, but the difficulties involved are really unimaginable. I believe that it won't be long before your majesty's move will also end in vain."
Deng Xun said graciously: "It's OK for emergencies, but it's not that easy if you want it to last long."
Deng Tong said softly: "But the merit of studying must be achieved over many years."
"Indeed."
"..."
*****
Nanyang, Pheasant County.
On the way to the smelting center.
In the carriage.
Liu Bian held the book and read it, but he was communicating with the military advisor alliance in his heart: "Teacher, our papermaking technology and movable type printing are estimated to take some time. Isn't it too early to do this now?"
"Don't worry."
The Military Advisor Alliance said with absolute certainty: "The promotion and implementation of any affairs must be done slowly. We cannot prepare everything and then implement it directly. This is wrong."
"You have to give these aristocratic families of the Eastern Han Dynasty a time to adapt, boil the frog in warm water, gradually promote it step by step, and slowly promote it, first let the people have enough to eat, and then gradually realize the importance of education."
"As long as we insist on using the imperial examination to select scholars, and after several years, it will penetrate down layer by layer. According to the current education system of the Han Dynasty, it is entirely possible to implement it."
"Even a wealthy family cannot resist the general trend!"
The voice of the Military Advisor Alliance was slightly excited, and seemed to be full of expectations for this: "And what we have to do is to build momentum for the imperial examination. Today it is the elementary school, and tomorrow it may be the Jinglu."
"First, based on the existing system, we will gradually open up the levels of education, starting from elementary school, then elementary school, junior high school, and high school. According to the degree of difficulty, we will gradually deepen the level, and finally advance to Taixue."
"certainly!"
The Military Advisor Alliance emphasized: "Experts only give examples. In modern times, it is from early childhood to high school, but in ancient times it may not be so comprehensive. Let us analyze specific problems in detail."
Liu Bian nodded: "Don't worry, I understand! But teacher, once movable type printing and papermaking are introduced, it will definitely have a huge impact. Won't the aristocratic family beware?"
"kindness."
The Alliance of Military Advisors seemed to have expected it, and said extremely calmly: "Papermaking will definitely have an impact on the aristocratic families, so we cannot put it on the market quickly. By controlling the output, the rare things are more valuable, so that the aristocratic families will slowly accept it."
"As I said again, the promotion of new things is by no means achieved overnight, especially the products combined with politics. This is especially true. It requires a certain development process and must not be rushed."
Control production?
Liu Bian's eyes suddenly lit up, and he immediately understood the thoughts of the Military Advisor Alliance.
It is said that quantitative changes cause qualitative changes.
If a large amount of papermaking technology is put on the market, it will inevitably arouse the fear of the wealthy families. After all, in this way, the most precious inheritance of each family will become a complete waste.
And if it is only a small amount of continuous incremental investment, after accumulating enough momentum and the time is right, it can be opened up in one fell swoop and the education system reform can be completely completed.
Make steady progress and proceed step by step.
This is the basic strategy for the current restructuring by experts from the Military Advisor Alliance.
"rest assured."
Liu Bian nodded slowly: "I understand."
Creak —
The carriage stopped.
Zhu Tong's voice sounded outside the carriage: "Sir, the casting workshop has arrived."
Liu Bian responded and then came out of the carriage.
Han Ji, the smelting visitor, had already come up to greet him: "Young Master."
Liu Bian waved his hand to interrupt, indicating that he didn't need to be polite: "How about it, can it be made?"
Han Ji exhaled and looked a little ugly: "It has been created, but it is far from the master's requirements."
Although there have been waterwheels since the Eastern Han Dynasty, they were only used to draw water and were not considered large-scale water conservancy machinery. It was difficult to transport river water to longer distances.
no way.
Liu Bian could only make high-tube turning cars.
The high-tube turntable recorded in historical materials first appeared in the late Tang Dynasty and was used for rice irrigation.
It is a machine with the properties of a transportation chain and is the prototype of modern bucket elevators and scraper conveyors.
but......
This kind of machinery has certain limitations.
In the final analysis, it was because the technical level in the late Tang Dynasty was not up to standard and it was difficult to invent a ball bearing with a certain load-bearing capacity.
The military division alliance considered that it was necessary to get it right in one step, so it made partial enhancements to the high-tube transfer car.
This involves ball bearings.
certainly!
Bearings are the basic components of machinery.
Its quality and function affect the process of industry!
This is the most basic basis for promoting industrialization. If we can't even handle basic bearings, then we can't even talk about inventing steam engines, internal combustion engines and other things that symbolize modern industrialization.
therefore.
The technical difficulty of bearings will have to be overcome sooner or later.
Bearings require high hardness, wear resistance, and pressure resistance, and ordinary steel will definitely not be able to withstand it.
However, there is absolutely no problem in temporarily using it on a large number of wooden high-tube turntables.
As for when steel machinery is needed in the future, various alloy steels or the production of tungsten steel will be considered to meet the requirements.
"Walk."
Liu Bian was too lazy to waste time and waved his hand: "Let's go in and have a look."
Han Ji bowed his hands and said, "Here."
Immediately.
The two of them entered the smelting workshop.
Liu Bian was the first to check out the steel balls they produced.
From the appearance point of view, it is indeed not as standard as modern ones, but after polishing, it still has the prototype of a standard circle.
Liu Bian stared at the steel ball with his eyes, refusing to let go of any detail. At the same time, he was communicating with the experts in his heart:
"Teacher, I feel that these steel balls are already very good. Why did they still fail?"
The Military Advisor Alliance immediately explained: "A single steel ball may be okay, but a ball bearing requires multiple steel balls to work at the same time and cooperate in order to operate normally."
"Once the error of the steel ball is greater than a certain threshold, it will definitely not be used. Therefore, this is a relatively precise part. It is indeed difficult for workers to polish it manually."
Speaking of this, the Military Advisor Alliance finally gave advice: "The experts just gave advice. Under the current conditions, it may be better to get a machine."
"mechanical?"
Liu Bian frowned even more: "Isn't this thing more difficult than rolling balls?"
The Alliance of Military Advisors said softly: "Don't worry, the experts have already made a simple plan. We will use large-scale machinery to make a rough grinding pattern of the ball, and then we will polish it with you. We will definitely pass the test."
"So be it."
The Alliance of Military Advisors suggested: "Let Jikai master the manufacturing of steel bars first. After we go back, we can make simple hydraulic presses, pedal grinders, and jigs."
"If we still can't make it, we'll do the next best thing and turn the balls into rollers. This will reduce the difficulty level. It's not impossible to build the high-cylinder slewing car first, and then overcome the difficulty of the ball bearings."
certainly.
If given enough time, experts can definitely create it.
But now, because the farming time is too tight, some things cannot be perfected. It is difficult to conquer the ball rolling technology in a short time.
"All right."
Liu Bian took a deep breath and turned to look at Han Ji: "My lord, the error of this ball is still relatively large and it is difficult to meet the requirements. How about this? You first ask Ji Kai to master steel bar casting."
"I will go back first and try to invent a set of machinery to replace labor with machinery. In this case, the error may be controlled within a reasonable threshold."
Han Ji looked in disbelief: "Ah, this... Young Master, is this possible? Do you have enough time?"
Liu Bian did not insist on his words and said softly: "Let's fight for it. If it really can't be done, we will think of other alternatives. In short, we must not delay farming."
Han Ji took a deep breath: "Here!"
Liu Bian ordered: "Wrap some balls in this ball. I want to take it back."