People in the Ming Dynasty are lawless

Chapter 92 Work-for-relief!Xia Yuanji erected a monument as a letter!The spring of traders is coming【Please order first】

"What do you mean?" Ling Han asked.

"That is to say, we do not directly distribute food or money to the victims, but use the opportunity of building roads, rivers, bridges, and some public constructions to hire these victims as workers, work every day, and then provide They are paid.

After they have earned wages, they can buy food for themselves, so that the victims can support themselves, and the construction of government infrastructure has been completed, which not only solves the employment problem but also stimulates domestic demand. "

Chen Han said it very simply. Ling Han was very surprised after hearing it and silently remembered it in his heart.

Chen Han has never underestimated the memory of these ancient scholars. They must be very good if they can memorize the Four Books and Five Classics backwards and forwards.

Ling Han understood and remembered it easily.

At this time, Chen Han said again: "Since those businessmen are unwilling to give money and grain to the government at this time, it is easy to just tell them directly that whoever pays more grain this time will be A merit monument is erected next to it.

What is the use of this merit monument?

That is, when this road is built in the future, whoever pays more money will have his name written at the top.

List his name and the amount of money he paid, and this will become a living sign.

In the future, people who come and go on this road will be able to find out when they walk that it is all their merit. Isn't this more noble than making some money?

People who buy and sell people are always looked down upon. The common people think that they are dishonest and the money they make is not clean. But this time they donated money to build bridges and repair roads, and they were able to carve their names on a tall monument of merit. They will definitely pleasure.

Later, you can also find cultural people to write some articles praising the deeds of these businessmen on the back of the merit monument, and they may be willing to pay.

Just asking for money from others, business people's money and supplies are not free. They have to give people some benefits. Am I right to say this, village chief? "

After listening to this, Ling Han exclaimed in his heart, yes, very right.

If this is done, it will not only solve the problem of food money for the court, but also use this matter to publicize the goodness of businessmen and give a good impression to the people all over the world.

When the court promulgates some laws to relax restrictions on traders, everyone will be more convinced.

So Ling Han recorded this and praised it greatly, "Teacher Xiao Chen, you are indeed an outsider and well-informed. This method is good, very good. I will discuss it with the village chiefs of other villages right away.

Let them gather the idle young men in the village, and then discuss with several business households in the village, ask them to provide some money and supplies, and then go down the mountain to find a person who carves monuments, and then find someone who writes articles. Time to get together.

Maybe this thing can be done with dignity and without the village having to pay for it. "

After thinking of this, Ling Han did not dare to waste a moment longer. He said goodbye to Chen Han and hurried down the mountain that day.

He wanted to report this good method to the emperor and the prince.

……

That night, Ling Han returned to the capital.

He took out Zhu Yuanzhang's badge, which was specially issued to him, allowing him to enter the city freely during the curfew, and even enter the palace, and went all the way to Zhu Yuanzhang's study smoothly. Zhu Biao was also called to the study urgently.

After listening to the idea given by Chen Han, the father and son were overjoyed.

Zhu Biao immediately decided to leave this matter to Xia Yuanji and Shen Liqian.

That night, Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao, his father and son, and Ling Han discussed the specific plan and formed a solution.

The next day, Zhu Yuanzhang approved the proposal submitted by the Metropolitan Procuratorate and the Ministry of Household Affairs.

Then he directly approved the Ministry of Household Affairs to work with Xia Yuanji, Shen Liqian, Ying Tianfu and officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs to handle the matter.

After Xia Yuanji and Shen Liqian got the method, they were stunned.

Everyone was at a loss when discussing together before. The Ministry of Household Affairs advocated following the previous disaster relief procedures.

But the disaster is like a fire, and now it is the twelfth lunar month of winter. The New Year has just passed, and everything is heading towards a new look. Such a thing happened.

It is equivalent to having a good start but not opening the door well. This is unlucky, so this matter can only be dealt with as quickly as possible.

The Ministry of Revenue has been denied, and there are also problems with grain distribution in the surrounding areas.

The most important thing is that everyone knows that spring is about to start, but something like this happens. In order to give an explanation to the surrounding people, the court must do a good job. If anyone does not do well and takes on this kind of job, he will be guilty of not doing it well. .

So everyone is shrinking, and the method given by Chen Han is just right at this time, wouldn't it be a help in times of need.

Xia Yuanji and Shen Liqian felt like they had received a life-saving elixir. According to the method given by Chen Han, they wanted to ask the wealthy people around the capital to donate food and money, and then the court would use the money to start building roads. Bridge, for a project like this, the victims are called in to work on it.

When the time comes, the victims will get their wages and buy food for themselves.

In this way, the victims of the disaster will no longer be treated like charity as before, but will receive dignity through their own labor;

The traders donated money and items to the monument of merit.

From now on, as long as the common people see the names on this merit monument, they will understand that some businessmen are still willing to donate and kind-hearted in the face of natural and man-made disasters. They also help these businessmen spread their reputation, which makes them look good. There is light above.

What they got was fame, the people got benefits, and the court solved the problem without spending any money from the court.

The most important thing is that once so many people move around the capital, food, drink and food will need to be transported from the surrounding areas, which will drive the development of many industries.

The combined population of the affected counties must be [-] to [-], which is a huge consumption.

As His Majesty and others said, the most important thing now is to stimulate business.

How exciting?

Empty talk is useless, it must be like this practical action.

With such a good policy that achieved multiple results at one stroke, Xia Yuanji and the others no longer knew what words to use to admire the decision-making abilities of His Majesty the Emperor and His Highness the Crown Prince.

The two people immediately took officials from the Ministry of Revenue and officials from Yingtian Mansion to the affected counties to check the situation.

Find out who among the disaster-stricken people and victims can be recruited as relief-for-work workers.

After understanding all these issues, Shen Liqian and Xia Yuanji went their separate ways.

Xia Yuanji cooperated with Yingtianfu and issued a notice clarifying the disaster situation in Lishui County.

It tells that the court has given a solution this time and hopes that rich people can donate money and materials.

It’s clear that if you donate money or materials, you can go to the merit monument.

It is said that a donation ceremony will be held in the main square in front of the Confucius Temple in Beijing five days later.

Whoever donates money at that time will be immediately engraved with a monument of merit.

Shen Liqian took some people with him and went to the surrounding areas to start publicity.

On the one hand, it is to inform the disaster, and on the other hand, it is to inform the surrounding business opportunities and encourage the surrounding traders to spread the news.

When traders see business opportunities, they will take the initiative to bring over food and supplies, as well as food and drink.

At that time, even opera troupes, juggling troupes, monkey dancers, and other entertainers may also take this opportunity to come to the capital.There are many Jianghu artists who attend temple fairs, and their noses are still very effective.

Between 5 and [-] people gathered around the capital. Apart from working, they only had to eat, drink and relieve themselves.

It took Xia Yuanji four days in the capital to spread the news.

Jin Yiwei also provided him with information.

It is said that most traders are waiting and watching.

There are two reasons to wait and see.

On the one hand, it is said that when the emperor needed money to repair the city wall of Yingtianfu, the wealthy businessman Shen Wansan volunteered to pay one-third of the money to repair the city wall, and even took the initiative to use part of the money to reward the soldiers.

However, the emperor made him guilty of buying people's hearts. If not for Empress Ma's persuasion, Shen Wansan's entire family would have been executed.

But even so, death penalty can be avoided, but living crime cannot be forgiven. In the end, Shen Wansan's property was confiscated, and his family was exiled to Yunnan.

It is certain that Shen Wansan intended to curry favor with the new emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, but to say that he bought people's hearts felt a bit like much ado about nothing.

Therefore, traders are worried that if they contribute money and effort this time, will the government regard them as buying people's hearts?
The second aspect is the distrust of the court and government.

Who knows what you did after taking the money?

You said you were going to provide disaster relief, but we don’t know what else you used it for.

You said that you want to write this on the merit monument, but we don't know if it is just empty talk.

And this is an important reason why the court broke trust with the people.

In fact, because of the Guo Huan case, the world was in chaos, and a large number of middle-class homes were ransacked, leaving everyone with lingering fears.

After Xia Yuanji learned about this situation, he immediately held a public meeting in front of the Confucius Temple.

He asked the officials of Yingtian Mansion to go around and gather all the traders in Confucius Temple, and then he went on stage to reason with the traders.

Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and his son, as well as Lu Ben, Zhan Hui, the censor of Zuodu of the Inspectorate, and the six ministers, all appeared in the crowd in civilian clothes.

Xia Yuanji was seen wearing a blue official robe, standing on a temporary wooden platform in front of the Confucius Temple.

In front of him, there was a table with pen, ink, paper, inkstone and a stack of red paper.

There is a huge stone tablet in the open space next to him, which is two meters wide, five meters high, and a palm thick. The stone tablet is carried by Bixi, the sixth son of the dragon, which shows the weight of this stone tablet.

The top of the stone tablet is engraved with the three characters "Stele of Merit and Virtue", with a blank space below.

According to the announcement issued by Xia Yuanji, whoever donated money, no matter how much, would have his name engraved on the stone tablet on the spot.

Hundreds of businessmen gathered below.

Xia Yuanji went directly to the stage and introduced the disaster situation in Suxian County around Lishui County straight to the point. He talked about it based on his own personal experience and the misery of the people he saw.

He is worthy of being a scholar, and his emotions are so passionate that many people are saddened by his words.

Then Xia Yuanji said directly: "In the pre-Qin and Qin Dynasties, Shang Yang's reforms established a tree for trust. Now, the Ming Dynasty wants to restore the credibility of the court and make traders believe that the court is sincere and will treat you preferentially. I will erect a monument here. For faith.

Anyone who donates more than [-] guan today will have their name engraved on the stone tablet and cashed in on the spot. Who is willing to be the first donor? "

After he finished speaking, there was a lot of discussion below, like a wasp passing by.

No one believed that such an easy thing could happen.

Donate [-] guan and leave your name on the stone tablet. Is it so cheap?

After about half a quarter of an hour, a fat businessman finally stood up.

He smiled and said, "Sir Xia, we have all heard the story of Shang Yang's trust in a tree. Today I will be the first donor. I hope you can do what you say."

As he said that, he took out a stack of treasure banknotes. The highest denomination of the treasure banknotes was Yiguan. He directly took out a hundred pieces, which was one hundred Guan.

"I have heard about the disasters around Lishui County. Several of my colleagues have also seen people affected by the disaster. I will donate this hundred yuan as a gesture of charity."

As he said that, he showed the money. Xia Yuanji waved his hand, and someone came to pick it up with a tray.

Then Xia Yuanji asked: "How do you call this member? What is your business name?"

The fat man also said, "My name is Xinglong, Song Changming."

Xia Yuanji asked about the situation and immediately wrote something on the red paper.

After writing it, he picked it up and said to Song Changming: "Song member, but these words?"

Song Changming took a look and said, "Yes, that's right!!"

Xia Yuanji immediately handed the red paper to the subordinate who had just collected the money, "Okay, Member Song, the first donation, come on, engrave it on the monument, at the top, with the largest characters."

The subordinate handed the paper to the craftsman. The craftsman took the paper and took out the ladder in front of everyone and climbed up.

Then at the very top, jingle and engraved on the spot.

Soon, the name 'Song Changming', the company name and the amount of money donated were engraved in letters as big as a fist.

Song Changming, a businessman, never dreamed that the court would be so open in its affairs.

He originally thought that if he donated the one hundred guan, he would just donate it. It didn't matter. To him, one hundred guan was a small amount.

But he didn't expect that Xia Yuanji would keep his word and engrave his name as he said.

Moreover, it was engraved at the very top, and his business name, Xinglong, was written on it.

Xia Yuanji just said that this time the stone tablet would be erected on the official road for everyone to admire.

The scene of the donation ceremony will be written on the back of the stone tablet to praise all the donors.

As a businessman, Song Changming was not popular in this era.

Everyone feels that the money they earn as traders is not clean and they have little status.

But I didn't expect that this time the court was really doing things to give face, and to establish a tree as a letter, and now to build a monument as a letter, it really did it.

When Song Changming's name was written at the top, Song Changming immediately regretted it.

He slapped his thigh and said, "Mr. Xia, if I had known that you were so trustworthy, I should have donated more. One hundred guan is written here. It's embarrassing. Can I donate another [-] guan?"

Xia Yuanji smiled and said: "Of course, I can engrave it on you directly later."

……

(End of this chapter)