Empress: Your Majesty, please respect yourself, I don't want to be promoted

Lu Chen stayed in Ping County for a day. Early the next morning, he left Ping County with Fu Ya and Chai Hongyu, preparing to visit the surrounding villages.

Zhang Yi wanted to go with him, but Lu Chen shook his head and refused.

Although Zhang Yi looks big and strong, like a warrior with muscles as his brain, he is actually the current magistrate of Ping County. If there is no important business, it is better for him to stay in the yamen and work honestly.

After all, there are many things that only he, the top leader, can handle.

It doesn't matter whether he goes on the inspection tour or not. Moreover, when he was in charge of Yuzhou two years ago, he often visited villages all over the place to understand the people's sentiments. He is very familiar with the roads here and there is no need for him to ask someone to lead the way.

Finally Zhang Yi had to give up.

"You should first properly handle the affairs of the county."

Before leaving, Lu Chen told him, "After a while, I will summon all the chief officials of the two states and counties to Yuzhou to discuss important matters. You will all stay in Yuzhou for a few days, so try not to pile up official business. Not only that, but you must also arrange various matters during the meeting in advance."

"You have a heavy burden to bear. Don't slack off."

Hearing this, Zhang Yi nodded hurriedly: "Yes, sir, rest assured, I will definitely handle all the affairs of the county properly."

"Ah."

After explaining everything he needed to do, Lu Chen left Ping County.

Then the three fast horses galloped on the official roads leading to various places, and soon passed through one village after another that did not look like a village at all.

Thanks to Ping County's rapid international development, the extremely developed water transportation of the Qingjiang and Ningjiang water systems after management and development, and the extremely favorable business environment, this land that was originally severely affected by floods has become a treasure trove of wealth from all directions.

More and more wealthy families and businessmen moved to Ping County to settle down, causing the land rental price in Ping County to soar day by day, and almost every inch of land has become worth a lot of money. If Lu Chen had not prohibited the sale of land in the beginning, and everyone only had the right to use the land, the land price in Ping County would have skyrocketed.

But even if they could not buy the land, the merchants would rather spend a lot of money to rent land in Ping County than give up Ping County, which is not only a holy land for merchants with excellent policies and no need to worry about the threats from bandits and evil cultivators, but also has extremely convenient transportation and is not far from the capital.

Because there are so many business opportunities here, it's like gold is everywhere. As long as you know how to do business, have some family background, and are brave enough to fight, you can make a lot of money by selling the goods produced in Ping County to all parts of the country.

It can even be said to be a sack of money.

As more businesses were being run, the demand for manpower naturally increased. Moreover, Fang Yu had a very sharp vision and was always paying attention to the developments of Tiangongsi. Every time Tiangongsi launched a product, he would immediately pay a considerable patent fee, and then directly build a factory and start production in Ping County in the name of the government.

Once new things such as cement, soap, distilled liquor, white salt, and crystal lamps were launched in the name of the government, they became widely popular. Countless businessmen flocked to the Ping County Government Office to seek cooperation with the government.

Fang Yu naturally would not refuse.

Gradually, the state-owned business of Ping County government grew bigger and bigger. Many powerful businessmen followed suit. Countless factories sprang up like mushrooms after a rain. The huge demand for manpower prompted Ping County and the counties of Yu and Sui states to continuously absorb foreign refugees.

It didn't take long before the refugees from the surrounding provinces who were originally unable to survive were completely absorbed, causing the population of Yuzhou and Suizhou to expand rapidly.

The administrative area of ​​a state has a population comparable to that of a province. Although it has been tax-free for two years, the amount of money paid to the national treasury is still the highest in the country, second only to the capital where Lu Chen is personally in charge.

Such a rich area can radiate and influence a very large area, and in the village closest to Ping County, basically every household lives the life they once dreamed of, or even better.

Some merchants who were not particularly wealthy could not afford to rent a house in Ping County, so they had to settle down in nearby villages. As these small merchants continued to gather, the surrounding villages became more and more prosperous, and have now developed into small towns.

Brick and tile houses have sprung up, the original mud-walled farmhouses have basically disappeared, the muddy country roads have been paved with cement bricks and stones, the drainage system is also very complete, and the potholes that were previously seen everywhere are no longer seen.

Walking on these unfamiliar yet modern country roads, Lu Chen couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Even its founder was a little confused by the speed of Yuzhou's development.

But one thing is for sure.

He does have the power to change this dark age, to dispel the haze that has shrouded the land of Zhongzhou for thousands of years, and to let the people living here see the sunshine.

For the next half month, the three of them visited various counties in the two states, experiencing the development conditions and customs of each place before finally returning home.

After seeing the bustling downtown, the factories everywhere, the busy workers and the farms full of laughter, Fu Hua and Chai Hongyu could no longer restrain their admiration for Lu Chen. They praised Lu Chen's great achievements from the bottom of their hearts all the way.

Chai Hongyu was extremely grateful that she had come to Yuzhou. Otherwise, if she had missed Lu Chen, she would have lived in confusion for who knows how long.

Lu Chen's ears were almost callused from hearing these compliments, and he was too lazy to respond in the end. After returning to Lingyun Mansion, he drove the two girls who were about to become little fans out of the door, and then asked Jiang Chengyue to bring the information of the seven provinces and two directly affiliated states, and quietly looked through the information in the public housing.

As he watched, he gradually frowned.

Since the magistrates of other counties were not as proficient in business as Fang Yu, although the business atmosphere of the county town was boosted by Ping County, the level of development was still slightly lower.

But it was only a little bit short of that, and they could still look down on their colleagues in other provinces, states and counties without any pressure.

Nowadays, there is almost no unrest in the provinces surrounding Sui and Yu states, and even bandits are rarely seen. This is largely because the population who lost their land and became refugees have been completely absorbed by the two states.

Even some people who originally owned land could not resist the persuasion of their relatives and friends who had already made a living in the two states and were living an increasingly prosperous life, so they set out to the two states to work hard during the slack season.

Some people don't even want to go back.

Officials from surrounding provinces and local aristocratic families naturally noticed the continuous loss of people in their jurisdictions. At first, they were quite happy, thinking that throwing these troublesome untouchables to Yuzhou and Suizhou would solve a lot of problems.

But later they felt that something was wrong, as more and more wealthy families came to complain to them, saying that the untouchables were unwilling to rent their land, leaving their vast amounts of land uncultivated and gradually becoming barren.

As the population decreases, the demand for land decreases. With less demand, the land naturally becomes less valuable. Therefore, each ethnic group can only find ways to retain people, but they are unwilling to give up the profits they have gained.

So they had to ask local officials for help.

But those so-called officials are completely helpless about it.

Behind the two states is the great god Lu Chen. The restrictions on the movement of people are ineffective for the two states. As long as the people flow to the two states, no one has the right to interfere. As a result, the provinces began to fall into a serious vicious cycle of population loss.

Of course, these are the results reported to Lu Chen by the Xuanji Guards in the seven provinces.

When Lu Chen saw the report, he just smiled coldly.

"Tsk tsk. It seems that no matter which world it is, the impact of industry on the small peasant economy is devastating."

Now he can certainly see that Yuzhou and Suizhou, which are full of factories, actually already have the rudiments of an industrial society.

Due to the existence of royal families and ancestral laws in the capital area, as well as the restrictions of various forces, even if one holds great power and really wants to do something drastic, it will be difficult to act because of various restrictions and concerns.

But the two states of Sui and Yu are different.

The local forces here have basically been swept away by the empress in her rage, making this place like a blank sheet of paper for the rulers to paint however they want.

The people of Sui and Yu states were extremely supportive of Lu Chen and his disciples.

Although Lu Chen never intended to form a party, it is undeniable that Yuzhou and Suizhou, the economic center of Central and Southern China, are the bases he built.

The people here almost worship him as a god. Every household hangs a tablet commemorating his death. Even the people from Xinsui and Yuzhou who came here to work or settle down are no exception. Countless people kowtow to him every day.

Thanks to this, many of his ideas for Yuzhou and Suizhou were realized very smoothly.

The process of industrialization was much faster than expected, and the effects it brought were fully realized.

Now he has more than 100,000 elite troops at his command. Even if we leave aside the seven provinces that he has not yet fully controlled, just looking at the two states of Sui and Yu, the population under his rule is more than 20 million and there are countless resources.

He has the right time and place, so what he needs to do is very simple.

Just push it horizontally.

Thinking of this, Lu Chen took out a piece of white paper, picked up a pen, drew a few circles on it, and finally wrote a few words in the circles.

They are: bureaucracy, powerful people, clans, the martial arts world, half-demons, demon race, evil spirits, spiritual disasters, and royal family.

Putting down the pen, Lu Chen looked intently at these nine nouns that were extremely heavy for the common people, and a thoughtful look gradually appeared in his eyes.

"So, where should I start?" (End of this chapter)