mage in the late qing dynasty

Chapter 970 All your wishes come true
The first thing to do is to review the income and expenditure of the Lubin Prefecture government.

After Liu Shenglin picked up the information handed out by the guide, his pupils contracted suddenly.

I wonder... why is there so much money?

The taxes collected from the temple fair last autumn alone reached a staggering 6.7815 silver yuan.

The amount of money subsequently issued for fish tickets, grass tickets and various mining tickets was also considerable.

In addition, there are taxes paid by various shops opened in Lubin Prefecture before the New Year, plus subsequent taxes from Hulun City and other places.

Liu Shenglin was surprised to find that although the Christmas party held in Lubin Prefecture caused some trouble, it boosted the economy of Lubin Prefecture.

After the Chinese New Year, the Grey Axe Army and the Blizzard Squad went out to suppress bandits. Although the large army's expedition should have been a waste of money and labor, it also increased some tax revenue, and the turnover of various shops increased sharply after the Chinese New Year.

How can this be?

The amount of taxation is shocking, and the expenditures are equally shocking.

Military spending accounts for the bulk of the spending.

Liu Shenglin frowned as he watched: "This is really nonsense!"

This year, Lubin Prefecture planned to build a road, but they actually planned to build a main road that could be up to 20 meters wide and pave it with a Western substance called "asphalt"?
Why waste this money for no reason?
Even if we build a road, there is no need to build more than 20 meters?

Digging underground channels to discharge sewage?
Manhole cover?

Bury the street lights?
Build a power station?
Brick sidewalks?
square?

library?
The Lubin Prefecture calls this government infrastructure.

You have money to burn, right?
The tax revenue of Lubin Prefecture may seem astonishing, but for such a large enterprise, that little money is just a drop in the bucket.

Liu Shenglin sneered three times, then continued reading and couldn't laugh anymore.

Attract investment?

Bid? Pay later?
It's just nonsense.

This means you have to owe the money first and then settle the bill after the work is done.

If we can’t pay the money by then, won’t Lubin Prefecture’s reputation be ruined?
The key point is that Liu Shenglin's family is rich, and after seeing the bidding, he really wanted to participate in several projects.

But when he considered that Lubin Prefecture had to advance money for the work and would only pay after the work was completed, Liu Shenglin was very unhappy.

It was as if he had already secured victory in the bid.

After all, he is in the Advisory Council, so he thinks this little matter should be easy to handle.

At worst, you can just spend money to build relationships.

However, he will have to raise an objection later.

Who told them that their duties as legislators are to promote benefits and eliminate malpractices, impeach officials, review government revenues and expenditures, propose bills, and discuss reforms...

According to the information, next are the proposals put forward by many members of parliament, almost 80 in total, including 12 industrial and commercial proposals, 3 education proposals, 17 public security proposals, 28 prison administration proposals, and more than 20 other proposals.

They are all brought to the table after passing the review.

Wait until they have seen enough.

Yao Jia tapped the microphone again.

dong dong.

Yao Jia held a cigarette between his legs and coughed, "Ahem, everyone, a lot of information should have been handed over to you for your review a long time ago. However, the Lubin Prefecture Advisory Council is newly established and is understaffed and underprepared. Please bear with me. In addition to the proposals in your hands, there are several proposals proposed by the prefect, which will be discussed first."

The guide distributed the information again.

This time, the information contains all the proposals put forward by Zhao Chuanxin.

The first thing is to abolish the flag-escape law in Lubin Prefecture.

The second thing was to abolish the princes and taijis in the Lubin Prefecture.

The third thing is to establish a technical school in Lubin Prefecture to cultivate employment skills for Han and Qi people who have no job opportunities.

At a glance, the crowd was in an uproar.

Yao Jia broke out in a cold sweat.

Although he agreed with Zhao Chuanxin's decision, he did not think that Zhao Chuanxin's proposal could be passed in the Advisory Council.

Yao Jia tapped the microphone and said, "I'll give you ten minutes to think about it. We'll start voting in ten minutes."

There was a large bell above the venue, and the bell tongue was swinging and ticking.

Suddenly, people felt the urgency of racing against time.

Ten minutes go by in a blink of an eye.

Yao Jia said, "Zhao Chuanxin, the prefect of Lubin Prefecture, the first motion is to abolish the flag-escape law in Lubin Prefecture. Those who agree please raise your hands."

The most primitive method is to vote by raising hands.

Yao Jia felt nervous, as if waiting for fate's decision.

I even feel a little afraid to look at it.

There was silence for two seconds, and then to Yao Jia's surprise, a lot of hands were raised.

There are vote counters in the field, counting from four directions. The vote is considered passed only if the four people's counts match.

But Yao Jia only needed a rough count to know that the proposal had been passed.

At least 2/3 of the people voted in favor.

Someone slammed the table in anger: "Why was it passed? Why? This is really outrageous..."

Yao Jia said coldly into the microphone: "You can question, but you can submit your questions after the parliament is over. If you are angry, please find someone to fight on the spot. I won't stop you, but you can't threaten me."

Yao Jia's words led to frequent fights and bloody battles among members of the Advisory Council.

That person was the first to stand out and was targeted by Yao Jia, so he immediately stopped.

Although Yao Jia is not as brutal as Zhao Chuanxin, he is not someone to be trifled with.

In theory, the financial power of Lubin Prefecture was in the hands of the foreign woman Rebecca Levy.

But in fact, Rebecca Levy is just a manager who does the accounting, and the person who really holds the financial power is Yao Jia.

In addition, this person had just experienced a life-and-death crisis, but he was presiding over the meeting as if nothing had happened. It was obvious that he was not an ordinary person.

Seeing that the crowd had quieted down, Yao Jia read out the votes and then announced: "The first motion is passed. The second is to abolish the princes and taijis in the Lubin Prefecture area."

Although they were mentally prepared, the crowd was still shocked.

Yao Jia once again felt the urge to turn her head away and not dare to look at the result.

However, the result surprised him again.

The number of votes in favor once again reached 2/3.

What the fuck is going on?

He was fully confident that this second proposal would fail.

It is unscientific, absolutely unscientific.

He looked at Tang Qunying, who was closest to him in the audience, with an inquiring look.

Tang Qunying was also confused and shook his head slightly to indicate that he didn't understand.

After the results came out, Yao Jia read out the votes again and said, "The second motion is passed. The third motion is to establish a technical school in Lubin Prefecture to train the employment skills of the Han and Qi people who have no job opportunities."

This time, more than 3/4 of the audience raised their hands.

Yao Jia smiled.

Now that the first two items have been passed, there is no reason to block the third one.

But he still waited for the counting results to come out, and read out the votes after the review of the governor in the civil election before announcing the results.

The process is very strict to reduce the possibility of cheating.

"Okay, I'll give you ten minutes to rest and then proceed to the next round of voting."

Yao Jia took advantage of this opportunity and ran out happily.

Outside, Zhang Shouzeng and others who were not members of parliament were waiting for the results at the door.

They have no right to vote and cannot even enter. Apart from the MPs and the Speaker, the only people who can enter are reporters. However, reporters are not allowed to speak before the end of the parliament session, otherwise they will be forcibly expelled from the venue.

However, there is a dedicated person to report whether each proposal has been passed.

This is public.

Yao Jia rushed to Zhang Shouzeng and said, "Heyan, tell me quickly, what is going on? Why did you get through so smoothly?"

Zhang Shouzeng smiled and said, "The court wants to set up a consultative council to collect public opinions from various provinces and plan local security. However, the court stipulates that the qualifications of voters and candidates are limited by gender, age, property, education, and industry. If you observe carefully, it is not difficult to find that only local gentry, officials at the gate of the government, and wealthy people can be members of the council. Women cannot enter the house, tenant farmers cannot be allowed, and craftsmen cannot be allowed... But our consultative council has merchants, herdsmen, tenant farmers, women, craftsmen, hawkers, scholars, students who specialize in Western science, and legal professionals... It is all-encompassing and is a microcosm of the four hundred million compatriots. The proposal proposed by the prefect is beneficial to the majority of the people, so the people agree. If the court sets up a consultative council, it will never pass..."

Yao Jia suddenly realized: "The prefect had anticipated today's situation a long time ago. It was a really good chess game."

"That's it." Zhang Shouzeng leaned on the railing and looked out the window, and said with emotion: "Mr. Prefect, you usually laugh and scold, but you have a lot of thoughts in your mind, which is beyond the imagination of ordinary people."

Just like Zhang Shouzeng said...

In the conference room, Liu Shenglin slammed the table and questioned Jiang Lingzhu through Wu Xiangning: "It's fine that the woman agrees with the three proposals, but why are you so short-sighted? What does Zhao Chuanxin want to do? Abolishing the princes and taijis is just a superficial act. He is digging up the roots of the gentry!"

According to his thinking, Lubin Prefecture would sooner or later become a foothold for the Han people.

What to do after you gain a foothold?
Find a way to get land and build property!

Lubin Prefecture did not charge any money for allowing land to be reclaimed, but imposed restrictions on the distribution of arable land.

It doesn’t matter. People like Liu Shenglin have plenty of ways to get land.

Find someone to impersonate you?
But Zhao Chuanxin wanted to fight this. Jiang Lingzhu sneered: "If you think that the Advisory Council is a place for you gentry and landlords to seek personal gain, then you are wrong. I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

"You..." Liu Shenglin never expected that Jiang Lingzhu would express this young man's original intention so bluntly.

Make him blush and get angry.

Wu Xiangning crossed her arms and sneered, "We herdsmen followed the princes and the magistrate to oppose the new policies of the imperial court in order to gain pastures for grazing. Do you think we are on the same page with them?"

Liu Shenglin's face turned pale, but he was speechless.

Ten minutes have passed again.

Yao Jia returned to the stage and announced: "The next motion was proposed by Tang Qunying of Lubin Prefecture to improve the status of women in Lubin Prefecture and establish a higher education school for girls in Lubin Prefecture."

Tang Qunying's nostrils flared with excitement, and he said to the people on both sides: "It's me, I proposed the motion, it's me..."

However, the result disappointed her greatly.

All the women in the audience raised their hands, Jiang Lingzhu raised her hand, and some public officials from Lubin Prefecture raised their hands.

But even among the MPs who have daughters, only a few raised their hands.

Now it was Tang Qunying's turn to slam the table: "How can this be absurd? Just because she is a girl, can't she bring honor to the family? I have been hating myself for not being able to change my bun to a hat since I was young! Girls can also save the country from danger, what a bunch of short-sighted people..."

Yao Jia hurriedly said, "Tang Qunying, if you don't like someone, you can fight, but remember not to threaten, don't use weapons in a fight, and don't kill someone with your bare hands."

This was the second time that everyone heard Yao Jia say that they could take action if they were unhappy.

My goodness, everyone was confused by what they heard.

When Tang Qunying heard this, he immediately stood up, rolled up his sleeves and shouted, "Is there any man who dares to meet a woman like me?"

A strong man actually stood up and asked, "Do you think I'm afraid of you?"

Tang Qunying stepped forward immediately and the man hesitated.

It was this hesitation that brought him bad luck.

Tang Qunying slapped him.

Snapped……

The man had a Five Finger Mountain on his face.

He was furious and punched Tang Qunying.

Tang Qunying dodged and kicked the man in the calf again.

"Ahh..." The man hugged his legs and jumped.

Although he was strong, the place was narrow and he could not move freely. Also, he was not as agile as Tang Qunying, who had practiced martial arts since childhood, so he suffered a great loss.

At this time, two guides came over, one in front and one behind, pulling the two apart: "Okay, okay, stop fighting..."

The man gritted his teeth angrily and pointed at Tang Qunying: "You wait!"

"Afraid of you?"

Yao Jia's angry voice resounded throughout the room: "I've said that we can fight, but we can't threaten. Anyone who dares to threaten someone personally and puts it into practice will be disqualified as a member of the Council if discovered by the Advisory Council."

The man was sullen.

Tang Qunying returned to his seat with his head held high and his chest puffed out, looking like a victorious general.

Next, the anti-smoking motion was passed.

Yao Jia was quite surprised that the votes on the anti-gambling proposal were evenly matched.

Why are there still people who oppose the ban on gambling? But whose interests are being affected?
Next, Liu Shenglin's motion was read out: "Gentry representative Liu Shenglin proposed that gentry should participate in the infrastructure construction, civil litigation and reclamation planning of Lubin Prefecture."

This proposal was, unsurprisingly, rejected.

Dramatically, the next motion was from Jiang Lingzhu, who proposed: "The Lubin Prefecture government office should build a Lubin Prefecture Regional High Court, and Lubin Prefecture, Huluncheng, Zabaikalsk, and Zhuobarse should build regional intermediate courts. To ensure fairness and justice, lawsuits should be decided by judges and should be heard in court, not by patrol police, and certainly not by gentry, princes, or taijis. There should be laws to follow, and laws must be followed, violations must be investigated, and law enforcement must be strict."

As soon as this motion was proposed, Liu Shenglin and other gentry shouted: "No! Legal principles are nothing more than human feelings. If this is the case, won't there be countless cruel officials in Lubin Prefecture? In my opinion, the gentry should still manage the lawsuits..."

Jiang Lingzhu raised his speaking board instead of speaking without any manners like the others.

Yao Jia liked people who followed the rules, so she immediately extended her hand and made a "please" gesture: "You can talk."

Jiang Lingzhu stood up and looked around. "Gentlemen, the common people call them 'masters', but they have meritorious service. Unless they commit murder or arson, they can be exempted from the local government's responsibility and pay very low taxes. Jiang has studied law for several years, but he still dare not say that he understands the law. So, do gentry understand the law? Can they judge right from wrong? It's nothing more than subjective conjecture. The advantage of having laws to follow is that it can be popularized. If I, as a judge, understand the law, everyone understands the law, and we can avoid breaking the law and rest assured, instead of breaking the law and then following the gentry's words. You can judge for yourself which is fair and which is unfair."

Liu Shenglin was about to speak, but Yao Jia didn't give him a chance and said into the microphone, "Raise your hands if you agree."

Wow, the approval votes accounted for the majority again.

Liu Shenglin was so angry.

If they continue like this, they gentry will soon be nothing more than shit.

The world has really changed.

……

Zhao Chuanxin has a veto over the proposals of the Advisory Council.

But he does not participate in parliament.

Moreover, the veto power cannot be used easily, otherwise it will lose the support of the people and cause panic.

Zhao Chuanxin practiced light blade for a day.

According to the legend, cultivation is when one reaches a certain level at a low level and then suddenly breaks through and upgrades.

But he is different.

Level 1 is level 1, level 2 is level 2. Once you’ve mastered level 1, you simply can’t break through.

It took him a day and a half to become proficient in using the level 1 light blade.

But when it came to level 2 runes, he just couldn't master it no matter what.

Xingyue said: "Level 1 Light Blade Rune is for you to actively gather energy. Level 2 Light Blade Rune is based on Level 1 and guides energy. The levels increase in sequence and become more and more complex."

Zhao Chuanxin ejected a blade of light the size of a millet grain, which dissipated about ten centimeters in front of his finger.

He snapped his fingers again, and a light blade rune the size of a millet grain appeared on the tip of his middle finger. He could use it to cut a piece of paper, but that was all.

He said in distress: "It's like a maze, how can I guide it?"

It's still a four-dimensional maze.

If it was a level 10 Light Blade Rune, he couldn't imagine it. Would it cover the entire starry sky?
Xingyue said: "Only practice can make your hands more skilled."

Zhao Chuanxin practiced until the evening and felt extremely irritated.

I simply stopped practicing and went to the restaurant run by Niu Hanzhang's family to have a big meal. Then I teleported to the white house and opened the "Code of the Old Gods" under the dawn light on the glass roof.

[After Xingyue calculated the consumables, he used the Central Control Rune Fragments and Solid Rune Fragments to build a machine for manufacturing guns for the Pioneer Partner Haven.]

[The machine is in trial operation, and the solid rune fragments have successfully made various parts. ]

[The Pioneer Partner Haven has some metal in stock, but lacks wood. Only two guns have been made so far.]

The metal stored in Pioneer Partner Safe Haven is steel that Zhao Chuanxin purchased from the Essen Steel Plant in Germany.

He sent over a gun made on Xingyue's assembly line.

This is a bolt-action rifle modeled after the Italian M1891, except that the original round-nosed bullet had insufficient performance for long-range shooting, so it was replaced with a pointed bullet and oil-root gunpowder, which greatly increased its range and power.

The gun is 1300mm long, the barrel is 900mm long, and weighs about 9 pounds. It has a double locking latch at the front. It has a fully constrained ammunition feeding function, a simple structure, a small number of parts, and low cost of use and maintenance in the desert.

The operation difficulty is extremely low.

Zhao Chuanxin sent the gun back.

In the world of "Code of the Old Gods", humans are tall and generally have stronger physical fitness than people on Earth, so it is natural that guns are made bigger and heavier.

[I activated the Energy Fluctuation Convergence Rune Fragment and teleported to the Shadow Forest to cut wood for making guns.]

[The chief of the forest elves said to me worriedly: Fearless pioneer, the forest elves predicted that when the Zuling Peak shook, the world would soon face the end of the world. And the Zuling Peak had an earthquake a few days ago. In the past, humans from outside rarely set foot in the Shadow Forest, but recently, humans have frequently entered the Shadow Forest to seek refuge. The tribes of bee people, ant people, etc. that we drove away have also reappeared in the Shadow Forest. Many people in my tribe were killed by unknown reasons.]

Zhao Chuanxin thought to himself: Your guess is really accurate.

[I said: Yes, I have also heard many people discussing the end of the world, and the gods are about to be resurrected.]

[I have no way of telling the forest elf leader about the energy fluctuations and convergence rune fragments, so I can't tell it what happened in the cursed desert.]

[The chief of the forest elves said: Fearless Vanguard, I have a task for you. I want you to recall the elf scout, whose people need his help. I have nothing to give you, but if you are willing to help, I can give you a few pieces of wish-granting mushrooms as a reward.]

【Wish Come True Mushroom, your wishes will come true after eating it, no side effects! 】

Zhao Chuanxin was stunned.

Damn, there is such a good thing?
With such a good thing, why did you hide it before?

He immediately wrote:

【I agree. 】

【I got the wish-fulfilling mushroom. 】

Zhao Chuanxin had a mushroom in his hand that was no bigger than a thumb. It was colorful, slender, and very clean.

Can eating this thing make your wishes come true?

[The chief of the forest elves said: Eat it in time, otherwise it will wither. ]

At this time, Zhao Chuanxin saw that the wish-fulfilling mushroom had shrunk.

I wonder, is this the way to be timely? Even a few seconds late is not okay?

He gritted his teeth, closed the Old God Code, and ate the Wishes Come True Mushroom...

(End of this chapter)