Haisheng Mingdi

Chapter 803 Henan
Henan, Kaifeng.

Governor Chen Qianfu entered the city from Nanxun Gate. He is the governor of the Huanghuai provinces and governor of Henan, and a senior official in Xinjiang. He just came back from the embankment of the Yellow River, and he was sitting in the carriage exhausted.

As soon as you enter the city gate, you can hear the sound of hawking along the street. As the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, the most beautiful day of Kaifeng should be when Zhao Kuangyin of the Northern Song Dynasty established his capital here. Nine emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty made Tokyo's scenery infinite in 160. 100 With more than ten thousand soldiers and civilians, it is the most populous city in the world.

Because of the convenient canal and developed transportation, merchants gathered from south to north. There used to be more than 300 commercial firms in Tokyo, with more than 10,000 Chinese and foreign merchants.

For this Nanxun Gate, more than 1 pigs and tens of thousands of sheep are driven into the city every morning.

"The house is made of gold, the cage is made of jade, and the cars are like flowing water and the horses are like dragons." Chen Qianfu opened the curtain and looked at the street. Undoubtedly, although the Kaifeng city today has been restored compared to the Chongzhen period, it is far less than the Tokyo city of the Northern Song Dynasty. The former Tokyo city of the Northern Song Dynasty It was also buried under the city.

It is said that under the current Kaifeng city, eight Kaifeng cities are buried, city upon city.

Kaifeng is recovering from the war and famine. The guild halls along the street, various shops, and even street vendors have brought the city back to life.

During the Wanli period, Kaifeng had a population of 40. The entire city stretched for dozens of miles, with a height of five feet and a circumference of [-] feet. There were five gates, three gates, and water gates. Zhang, two Zhang deep.

It has eight squares and five corners, 69 streets and 56 lanes, two forty alleys, five schools, and 84 places.

There are also Zhou Wangfu with a circumference of three miles, as well as large and small county kings' houses, golden nails and vermilion houses, and glazed palaces.

The five city gates of Kaifeng Mansion were closed, and they were also very lively, with various businesses, constantly implicated, and the businesses on both sides went door to door.

During the reign of Chongzhen, Li Zicheng opened and sealed the city three times, fought for food and two gold, and starved to death countless times.

The third time, the city was besieged for six months, and then the Yellow River burst, and Kaifeng was submerged. The water was more than ten feet deep, and floating corpses were like fish.

Only a few thousand survived.

After this flood, Kaifeng was ruined and withered.

Since then, the Qing army, Tuzhai, Tuanlian, and thieves and bandits have spread across Henan.

Chen Qianfu became the governor and governor, and assisted the imperial camp in restoring Yingzhou and taking back Nanyang.

The once prosperous metropolis in the Central Plains, although the water has receded, has also become a fox's den and a rat's hole, with no government offices or people.Chen Qianfu began to rebuild the Kaifeng mansion. The imperial court allocated funds, plus the remaining local taxes and taxes, and donations from the gentry and the common people.

Chen Qianfu took the lead in donating his official salary and other family wealth, repairing the moat and city walls, cleaning up the streets, rebuilding the city gates and gatehouses, and then rebuilding or rebuilding the official schools, governor's yamen, cloth press yamen, etc. , Merchants reopened the market.

Up to now, there are 780 new entrants in Fuxiang County's editors and examiners.

The most important reason why Kaifeng can restore Wanjia Fireworks is that Chen Qianfu paid attention to the development of handicraft commerce and concentrated all his efforts on attracting investment. The traditional industries of coal and ceramics were launched again, and he also took advantage of the convenience of water and land to make this place a commodity distribution center.

Zhuxian Town, within [-] miles of Kaifeng City, was originally one of the four major commercial towns in the world at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It was as famous as Jingdezhen, Foshan Town, and Hankou Town. Now, thanks to the efforts of Chen Qianfu, it has also become a handicraft center in Henan with a large number of workshops.

Relying on industrial and commercial taxes and government-run handicrafts, Chen Qianfu received precious funds to rebuild Henan. The money was used to repair cities, roads, and assist in the repair of the Yellow River.

Industry and commerce in Kaifeng City are now flourishing. There are seven or eight markets in the middle, east, and west of the city, and more than 30 markets outside the city.

Zhuxian Town has become a gathering place for water, land, boats and vehicles. There are many piers along the Jialu River outside the south gate, which is five miles long. It is also the largest livestock trading market in Henan.

Compared with other prefectures and counties, Kaifeng is undoubtedly the first to recover by taking advantage of the special characteristics of the provincial capital. This is what Chen Qianfu strongly insisted on, focusing on the recovery of the provincial capital first, developing industry and commerce, and then driving other cities to recover.

Seeing that his hard work has improved a little bit, Chen Qianfu was also somewhat relieved in the carriage.

But there is still unresolved melancholy between the brows.

Kaifeng is recovering, and there are thousands of fireworks and people, but there is still a sharp sword hanging over his head, which makes him feel uneasy.

This sharp sword is the Yellow River.

The section of the Yellow River in Kaifeng is suspended above the ground, a few feet above the city of Kaifeng. Once the embankment bursts, the whole city will be flooded with water, and everyone will have to feed the fish.

In recent years, Yang Wencong, the governor of rivers handpicked by the emperor, is also very serious and responsible in repairing the river, but the focus is on the management of the new rivers in Shandong first. Henan has been repairing and repairing, and has no energy or funds for comprehensive repairs and reinforcements.

After all, there is still a lack of money.

But it won't work without major repairs. The Hedao Yamen can get some money, but the key depends on Henan itself.

In June of this year, the Yellow River almost burst at Zhangjiabao, Fuxiang County. Fortunately, there were river workers patrolling the river. During the heavy rain, they found the embankment overflowing in time, beat the gong, and quickly reported it. After a whole day and night of emergency rescue, the embankment finally avoided the tragedy of bursting and flooding the city.

But the repaired embankment is full of dangers. Although the wave of danger in June was finally overcome, if it is not repaired this year, it is estimated that it will not be able to survive next year.

He went to find Yang Wencong several times, and also sent several reports to the imperial court. Yang Wencong could only squeeze some silver to Henan, and the imperial court also specially drew some, but there was still a gap.

He returned to the Yamen in a carriage.

The governor's yamen is still built in the original location of the governor's yamen, but the governor's yamen in Chongzhen was actually underground in the current yamen.

Today, the city gates and city pools of Kaifeng City are actually above the original Kaifeng City, which has already been deposited underground.

In this new city, only five gates have been repaired for the time being, and most of the city walls are just temporary earthen walls, which can only be gradually replaced with brick walls.

The governor's yamen occupies a large area, but it is relatively simple.

"It is far from enough to rely on river workers and fortresses to repair the levee. The River Governor's Yamen, the Cabinet, the Ministry of Households, and Henan's remaining taxes and taxes have been allocated. Now a lot of money has been settled, but there are still far from enough people."

In the past, the imperial court conscripted people from prefectures and counties along the river to build rivers. Later, they used silver as slaves. Corruption is all gone, and finally the people are forced to serve in military service, which is equivalent to paying the money but not being exempted from the service. The people have been working hard to build the river for a long time.

When the Shaotian Dynasty recaptured Henan, in the past few years, the construction of cities, roads and embankments was mainly done with labor relief, but now that the place is getting more and more stable, the method of labor relief is not easy to use.

It can only be that the labor is still paid for, but there was not enough money before, and now some money has been obtained, but there are new problems.

"Ministry, if we want to overhaul the Yellow River embankment in the Henan section, the existing money is far from enough." The counselor of the Water Resources Department said bluntly.

And the counselor from the tax department even said, "It's hard for a smart woman to cook without rice. Now we are recruiting river repair workers, including three meals a day, and an additional [-] Wen per day. This is really too low, and basically no one will respond."

In the past, they used work as a substitute for relief, and they gave [-] Wen or food for a day. Naturally, the victims of the disaster and the hungry were willing to starve to death. They were willing to do it even for a meal.

But now it’s different. Now that everyone has settled down, the land is distributed, or they work in workshops. Building rivers is a very tiring job. Twenty cents a day and three meals are included. Who wants to do it?

Now with the stability of the world, the imperial court has immigrated everywhere, and with the rise of industry and commerce, wages are becoming more and more expensive. In the past, long-term workers in the south of the Yangtze River were provided with food and housing, and then three taels of silver a year.Now in the south of the Yangtze River, some clothes, shoes and hats are included for food and housing, and even meat is eaten during the busy farming season. The annual salary starts at least ten silver dollars.

Many people who have been allocated land, the family manages their own farming, grows grain and mulberry, raises silkworms and weaves, and does some work during the slack time. Not only can they get enough food and clothing, but they can also have some surplus.

"There is only so much money for the time being, but the embankment cannot be repaired. If the Yellow River cannot sustain its breach during the flood season next year, how many prefectures and counties in Henan will be flooded by then? Now Kaifeng and Zhuxian, which have thousands of fireworks I’m afraid the town will be flooded into lakes and seas again, what kind of loss will it be? How many people will die, how many good fields will be washed into sand, and how many cities and houses will be buried in the mud?”

"The repairing of the river is not a matter for the government of the imperial court. It is also a personal matter for all the people on both sides of the Yellow River. Now that the imperial court is trying to raise funds to get money, everyone has to contribute their strength."

"In this way, the wages for repairing the river can be raised a little more, fifty cents a day, plus three meals."

"Fifty Wen may not be willing to come to repair the river."

Chen Qianfu also knows, but it is impossible for him to give 78 ten or even one hundred yuan a day, and he can't get it out.

Now repairing the river is not only short of project money, but also short of labor.

"Building the river is everyone's business, and it is related to everyone's vital interests, so those who have money will contribute money, and those who have someone will contribute, and everyone will work together." Chen Qianfu said directly.

All the Henan officials in the Yamen frowned when they heard this, "Ministry, His Majesty has already fixed the land tax and Dingyin in various places, and has repeatedly stated that there will be no additional levy. If we add additional levy, I'm afraid At that time, the imperial court will blame me and cannot afford it."

"The headquarters only know that repairing the river is important now, and it can't afford to wait. It has to be repaired, and it has to be repaired in time. As for other things, you can't be afraid of taking responsibility. If you want to do something, you can't be afraid."

Facing today's Henan Province, he believes that the most important thing is to repair the river. If the river is not repaired well, then everything he is trying to do now will be in vain at any time.

"The headquarters has been thinking about this these days. I can't sleep at night because of worry. The headquarters also knows that there have been many voices recently, even harsh and unpleasant, but if there are harsh voices, don't do anything? We are local officials selected by the emperor, not here to enjoy blessings , but to do practical things for the emperor and the people.”

As he spoke, he took out a copy of the proposed regulations for repairing the river and handed it to the officials.

In order to ensure the smooth construction of the river, the river workers were distributed according to the number of acres of land, and one river worker was paid for every [-] mu of land. The Henan government gave him the money for the river workers, which was calculated at fifty Wen a day, one yuan and five silver dollars a month.

If the land is less than [-] mu, then how many dong should be calculated according to the number of acres of fields in a village. These one hundred households are organized into several groups, ten people in each group, serving for half a month or a month at a time, and the number of fields is different, which can also be adjusted specifically.

Chen Qianfu's method is to ensure the smooth construction of the river, so it is no longer the principle of free market employment, but forced labor, one person per [-] acres, and the wages that should be paid will still be paid, but the wages are not based on the market. Fifty Wen a day.

The most important one is that the gentry should work together as a errand, just like in the past when the gentry paid for food together. This stall is also divided according to the mu. Only the land is considered, regardless of the status.

If you are a gentry and your family has a thousand acres of land, then you have to hire ten river workers. If you don’t want to go to the river, you can hire ten people. The government still pays one person fifty yuan a day. To find ways to.

Smart officials have seen some problems with this method, that is, before everyone paid the ding silver and shared it with the field mu. The wages were paid, but the problem is that one fen per [-] mu is paid, and there are many people who want it.

According to market conditions, heavy work such as repairing rivers is similar to prospecting, and it usually costs [-] to [-] yuan a day.

But Chen Qianfu doesn't care about these things. After all, Henan has its own particularity. The construction of the Yellow River is not a small project. It requires many people, the construction period is long, and it costs a lot of money. The wages are set high, and he can't afford them. Hiring workers, and not being able to hire them.

That can only be divided according to the mu, and the gentry will work together as a errand.

In this way, small people can do river work by themselves, and even several households can take turns. It’s a little harder, and the impact is not big, but for landlords and gentry, especially big landlords, it may have a big impact. If there is a lot of land, many people have to be hired. If you can't get hired at a low level, you must pay for it yourself.

"It has to be like this, otherwise when will the few people on the river be able to repair it?"

"Also, the repair of the river pays ding per mu, and the industry and commerce also pays for it," according to the scale of workshops and shops. This is a real donation and taxation, but Chen Qianfu ignored the persuasion of his officials, since he wanted to do something big , then you have to gather strength.

There is no way to pay money and serve at the same time.

"Things must be done without delay. All Yamen officials must assign tasks and include them in the assessment. Whoever fails to do so will be dismissed directly by the headquarters."

"One more thing to reiterate, whoever dares to make money here, deduct wages, or even embezzle food and materials, etc., the governor will show no mercy. When he finds out that the headquarters wants to copy his house, he will send his whole family to exile in the frontier Land reclamation!"

Chen Qianfu is willing to take risks because he knows that as a governor, he must do things, otherwise he is not qualified, and the emperor will not allow him to continue to sit in this position.

"One river project is provided for every [-] mu. The gentry are all on duty, and the businessmen donate money to help repairs. Regardless of the gentry and the common people, they all have to do the errands, but the wages that should be paid must not be less than a penny. In addition, the gentry and the common people pay small silver per mu. If you don’t work on the river, then you will never be allowed to collect additional silver for repairing the river.”

"The amount of Dingyin in various places has been fixed for a long time, and the saints also have a decree that they will never be added."

Chen Qianfu reminded the officials that although he was flawed in his work, the gentry and ordinary people paid less to repair the river, but if an official took a car to collect the money, the money for the river repair would be spread to the farmland. It's absolutely not allowed and will definitely cause big problems.

The problem of money can only be considered from other aspects. Whether it is taxation, industrial and commercial tax, or persuasion, you can find a solution, but you must not collect money from the people again.

Now it is already a helpless move to collect small silver and send river workers.

"The river worker's money of fifty renminbi a day has to be settled every ten days. The food on the river worker is full for three meals a day, and there must be one meal a day where you can see meat."

"Everyone cheer up. Tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people will go to the embankment. If one of them can't handle it well, it will be easy to cause a big accident. Then you and I will all be finished."

If the river is not repaired, if the repair is not good, they will be finished if the Yellow River bursts its embankment.Xiuhe, if the management is not good, if something happens, they will be finished.

This matter is a test of their ability, but now they can't delay it, so they can only bite the bullet and face the difficulties.

"Ministry, how will the imperial court deal with the dismissal of the autumn examination?" An official turned to ask another difficult matter.

(End of this chapter)