The next day, Li You inspected his new home and went to the government office in the afternoon to see what was going on. Before the table was warm, he was summoned by the prefect of Wang in a hurry. He didn't know what major event had happened.
"Yesterday I learned that the imperial court appointed Shi Dacan as prime minister to build the city of Suzhou." Wang Zhifu said when he met Li You.
Li You listened confusedly, which one was this? He asked: "Building a city? What city is it?"
The prefect Wang handed Li You a document saying: "Shi Dacan went to the imperial court to expand the city westward. The imperial court approved it and ordered the government office to assist. This is the copied memorial."
Li You took over and took a look, roughly as follows: "In the northwest of the county city, the population has overflowed the city for decades. From outside Changmen to Fengqiao, Huqiu is ten or twenty miles away. There are densely packed shops, densely populated, and connected houses.
, its appearance is not inferior to that of the city.
Because countless people from all directions gather here, thousands of households live together in an unorganized manner, and the market and goods are stagnant. It is estimated that the tax money lost is no less than two hundred thousand yuan every year. There are also dangers of bandits, and it is also common to see congestion inside and outside the Changmen, resulting in
The people complained in Tao.
To plan for this, please expand the city to the west, build new streets, alleys and waterways, and reorganize the business records, so that the imperial court can benefit from money and food, and the people can enjoy their jobs."
It turned out that the population was growing outside the city, and Shi Dacan wanted to build a new city to enclose most of this population, and at the same time strengthen regional management and increase tax collection.
Li Tuiguan had no idea about this at first, but when he took out the "Complete Picture of the Su Mansion" from the shelf and looked at it, he felt that Shi Shenzheng's brain was cramping.
Li You returned the copy of the memorial to the prefect Wang and said sarcastically: "This old man refuses to give up. He will eventually bring trouble to himself. No matter what he does."
He also pointed to the map and said: "The city wall of Fucheng has a circumference of forty or fifty miles, which is already one of the largest cities in the world. If you intend to expand the city westward to Fengqiao and Tiger Hill, visual inspection will require building a new city of at least thirty miles, which is almost
A large city has been rebuilt. The construction is huge, wastes manpower, and involves no calculation of money. How can it be an easy task? Shi Dashen just let him go because he wanted to achieve great success, and the court actually approved it. You and I can just watch the excitement."
There was another sentence that Li You didn't say: Now that the world is at peace and there are no military disasters in the south of the Yangtze River, why bother building a city wall? But he was afraid of being accused of coveting comfort and not being prepared for danger in times of peace, so he didn't say it.
"It is not necessary to build the maple bridge as long as the city wall. The city wall can be shorter, which will save a lot of trouble." Wang Zhifu said, he really wanted to accomplish this political achievement, and at the same time make some regular profit from construction.
Li You smiled and said: "Twenty miles outside Changmen is densely populated and prosperous, with endless houses and shops. Where should the inner and outer boundaries of the city be divided? Where is the appropriate place to build the new city? It's fair to say that the public has a right.
That makes sense, but there is no fixed number at all. If the boundary is drawn according to the nearby area, it will be simple to build. But then there will still be tens of thousands of families gathering outside the city, and the traffic inside and outside will still be crowded and blocked, so what is the use of building a new city?
It’s better to maintain the status quo!”
After listening to Li You's analysis, Prefect Wang was a little reluctant, "Although the matter is complicated, it is always beneficial to the country, and it can also be famous throughout the ages."
Li Tuiguan drew a circle with his finger, "The west side of Fucheng is different from other places. There are not many wasteland and fields, and they are all owner-occupied houses. To build a city wall of ten or twenty miles, you have to demolish the houses of ten or twenty miles. It's better to say less.
Thousands of households have been alarmed. Are these people easy to talk to? Master Shi will just move away obediently if he wants to take care of the country? I heard that in those days, the prefect Mao only dared to expand the city in the east, but did not expect to go west."
Thinking that there would be thousands of demolished households and the unruly people of Suzhou Prefecture... Wang Zhifu shrank. It was good to achieve some political achievements, but if it caused big trouble with unpredictable consequences, the gains would outweigh the losses.
In fact, the benefits of this matter are obviously obvious. At least the court can collect an additional 100,000 or 200,000 yuan in tax every year. However, Li Tuiguan, who was serious about localism, fearful of difficulties and troubles, and had no motivation for promotion, ignored it. From now on, he can see it again.
The disadvantages of becoming an official from one's hometown.
Well, there's another point. Li You didn't dare to get even half a copper in the matter that Shi Shenzheng was in charge of, so he didn't even have the slightest interest in it.
Mr. Shi can do whatever he likes, whether he is successful or famous, or whether he wastes money and people, it has nothing to do with him anyway. It is more important to find a way to make money quickly.
Returning to the official office, Li You casually picked up a few cases and then left the office. He was going to invite Song Wengu, a merchant from Dongting, to dinner tonight.
After drinking for three rounds, Li You explained the purpose of his visit. It turned out that he was looking for Song Wengu to inquire about opening a pawn shop.
After listening to Li Tuiguan explain the situation, Mr. Song smiled bitterly and said: "My Song family's business mainly traffics silk, cotton and rice between the north and the south. For reputation reasons, I have never been involved in pawnbroking. If you are short of capital, I can ask the clan leader to lend it to you."
You have money, but you don’t know where to find the people in this industry to help you. Pawnbroking is no different from other businesses. It can’t be opened without a few sharp-eyed court officials."
It's really troublesome. It takes so much effort to find a business that can make easy money... I'll just go back and find a small pawn shop with no background and use it to pawn the stolen goods, Li You thought hard.
"Yes!" Song Wengu suddenly thought of a way to save an unknown small pawnshop in advance. "The pawnshop is open at Taiwei Bridge. I will go and inquire about it. If there is one that is not running well, I will lend it to you.
How about putting down the capital?"
The so-called public office is a kind of industry organization in these days, and some are named after temples, halls, and museums.
"That's good." Li You nodded and said, "This will trouble Brother Song. I won't thank you for your kindness."
Song Wengu's idea was indeed not a crude idea. It at least solved the problems of manpower, store space, and part of the customer base.
After talking about business, the two started chatting. Li You asked: "When I passed by the Dongting Tower, I saw no renovations. It was still the same as after the disaster at the beginning of the year. Why is this?"
Song Wengu replied: "Outside the city, transportation is convenient, and many of my merchants are there. I want to move the Dongting Tower to Shangtang outside Changmen, but the location has not yet been decided."
"You'd better wait, Shi Shen is going to build a new city, who knows where the city wall will be built." Li You revealed.
"What new city?" Song Wengu's reaction was exactly the same as when Li You first heard about it.
Li You briefly explained Shi Shenzheng's memorial.
"How unreasonable." Song Wengu shook his head and said, obviously he also disagreed with this.
Gradually, the news that the government planned to build a new city in the west spread throughout the streets and alleys. Most people in Fucheng were opposed to this and there was really not much support.
It is customary for projects like this to take the form of donations from large households. However, wealthy businessmen generally feel that this project is of little significance and does not gain a good reputation. It is a pure waste of money. Moreover, the city wall will also hinder the movement of goods, making it uncomfortable to spend money.
The thing is too silly.
As for the common people, some were worried about being conscripted into military service, and some were worried about having their homes demolished to build a new city.
In response to these public opinions, Li pushed the official to ignore the matter and was ready to watch Shi Shenzheng make a joke again. I don't know what madness the old man had, but he insisted on going against the trend of the city, and he could not show courage as an official.
There has to be a limit. Haven't you learned enough lessons from the first two times?
It's a pity that the jokes of the third-rank officials are not so good.
As soon as Li You entered the Yamen that day, he heard an appointment from Fenshou Road: Li You, the recommended official, would be the assistant in charge of the construction of the city of Suzhou.
He was stunned on the spot. It was as if Master Shi dug a hole first and then forced him to jump...and it must be intentional!
As a Taotai master who was authorized by the imperial court to have full authority over the construction of the city of Suzhou, Shi Shenzheng naturally had the authority to designate a person among his subordinates to assist in the matter.
Fortunately, Mr. Li, the thorn in the flesh, won the prize.
