At the end of Qin, I became a son of the plane

Chapter 541: Recruiting Talents and Dominance
Chang'an, in the academy, as the name suggests, is a residential area outside the academy. Those who live here are either teachers or students, and they are all rich or noble.

As a professor at the Law School, Jia Yi was assigned a small courtyard. Otherwise, even if his family was not poor, it would be difficult for him to get a small courtyard in Chang'an.

At this time, Jia Yi, as the host, set out a set of tea sets to entertain Zhang Pijiang.

Jia Yi laughed and said, "Brother Zhang, have you taken refuge with the Crown Prince? How come you have time to come to my courtyard?"

Zhang Pijiang was also famous in the Han Dynasty academic community. His father Zhang Liang left him with extensive connections, and he published "Journey to the West" and became a master of Han Dynasty geography, so he was hired as a professor at the Mozi Academy at a young age. In terms of reputation alone, Zhang Pijiang was higher than Jia Yi, who only published one article. When Zhang Pijiang taught geography at Mozi Academy, Jia Yi also listened carefully for a few days.

Zhang Pijiang said, "I am here to represent the Crown Prince to recruit Brother Jia."

Jia Yi was a little excited and asked, "The prince also knows my name, Jia Yi?"

Jia Yi really had his own ambition. He wanted to enter the Han officialdom through the academic world and eventually become the prime minister and rule the world. For all scholars in the Han Dynasty, this was almost the ultimate goal. If he could join the prince, it would be no less than finding a shortcut to the end of the world.

Zhang Pijiang said: "A few days ago, the prince and I attended one of your lectures. The prince was very interested in your ideas on industrial development."

Jia Yi said: "The Han Dynasty's industry has been developing for nearly 30 years, and the development of various regions is unbalanced. The policy of laissez-faire is no longer suitable for the current development of the Han Dynasty. The path of the Han Dynasty's development must change. In fact, compared with land, industrial concentration is more conducive to development, easier to manage, and easier to make the best use of the land."

Zhang Pijiang hesitated and said, "But being as radical as the Legalists is probably not a good idea. The Qin Dynasty is a lesson for us."

Jia Yi said confidently: "I, the Legalists, have thoroughly reviewed the mistakes of the Qin Dynasty over the years. We will not make the same mistake twice. The Legalists in the past served one person, but now they serve all the people in the world. In the words of the emperor, as long as the direction is right, even if we take some detours, we will eventually reach our destination."

In Jia Yi's view, the theory that the emperor proposed that the world belongs to all people in the world finally made up for the shortcomings of the Legalists. Finally, no one was beyond the rules of the legal system. They dared to say that the emperor was subject to the same punishment as the common people when breaking the law, and that everyone was within the law, thus avoiding the mistakes of the pre-Qin period.

Zhang Pijiang could only leave Jia Yi's courtyard with a nervous mood. Through the conversation, he felt that the Legalists were even more radical than those in the pre-Qin period.
Zhang Pijiang thought about it and felt that he should recruit more people from various schools of thought, so as to dilute the influence of the Legalists.

On April 5th, the 30th year of the Han calendar, at Peihou Mansion.

After the meeting of princes last year, Liu Bang may have felt that he was really tired of playing, or he may have really wanted to enjoy his retirement, so he returned to Pei County with his wife and children.

Now Liu Fei is the head of Peihou Mansion, and Liu Bang's sons are all staying in Chang'an City.

That day, Liu Chang ran back and said, "Third brother, the prince wants to recruit talents. Are you willing to work under him?"

Liu Feiyou said excitedly: "Of course Brother Heng is willing."

The crown prince has become the Right Minister of Internal Affairs, and His Majesty has begun to let the crown prince handle government affairs. If nothing unexpected happens, the crown prince will eventually become the second emperor of the Han Dynasty. At this time, the crown prince's subordinates will have a worry-free future.

Liu Heng frowned and said, "I have been working as a teaching assistant since I graduated from Mozi Academy. I am not familiar with practical matters, so I am afraid it will be difficult for me to help the prince."

Liu Heng in this historical line did not live a bad life. His parents were both alive, and he got along well with his brothers. Life in the ivory tower was not full of intrigue. In addition, not many people dared to suppress him because of his background. The simple life in the academy was very suitable for his personality. But now he has to be a Han official, which makes him a little socially anxious.

Liu Chang said: "Third brother, why are you being so hypocritical? My younger brother can join the prince, and you can be an assistant teacher. How can you be worse?"

Liu Fei also advised: "Although being a scholar in the Han Dynasty is not bad, being a Han official has a broader future, not to mention joining the crown prince now. You have studied for so many years, don't you want to put your knowledge into practice and rule the world?"

Ruling the world was the dream of hundreds of thousands of Han officials, and Liu Heng had naturally thought about it, so he nodded to agree.

April 8th, Prince’s Mansion.

After Xu Aimin was officially canonized as the crown prince, the Han court cleaned up the former Han Palace and transformed it into the crown prince's residence, and Xu Aimin then moved in with his two wives and children.

Xu Aimin was having breakfast with his wife and children when the guard came to report: "Your Highness, Minister Zhang is here to visit."

Xu Aimin said, "Clear it quickly."

Xu Aimin saw Zhang Pijiang and asked, "Have you had breakfast? Do you want to eat something?"

Zhang Pijiang said, "I have eaten. In the past few days, I have recruited 12 students from the Mohist, Legalist, Confucian and other schools of thought. Please review these names and resumes, Your Highness."

Xu Aimin took the list from Zhang Pijiang, and the first one was his favorite Jia Yi.

"Legalists Zhang Shizhi and Chao Cuo, Mohists Liu Heng and Li Qiang, Confucians Yuan Ang and Li Ji, Gongshuists Gongshuqi, Agriculturalists Li Hao and Gao Di, Militaryists Feng Tang and Fan Kang.

After reading the list, Xu Aimin laughed and said, "Pijiang, you have made it evenly distributed. There are two people from each of the Hundred Schools of Thought."

Zhang Pijiang said: "The whole country is promoting education, and the various schools of thought are more than a hundred times stronger than those in the pre-Qin period. The talents of the Han Dynasty are like the stars in the sky. I have only discovered this."

Xu Aimin said: "Bring these elites here tomorrow so that I can meet them. Then, Pijiang, you lead them to report and transcribe the data of the entire Neishi County, so that I, the Right Commander of Neishi, can have a clear idea before taking office."

Zhang Pijiang said: "Yes!"

After thinking for a while, Xu Aimin asked, "Pijiang, where do you think we should start to accept the order from the Internal History Department?"

Zhang Pijiang said, "The population of Chang'an City has been increasing over the years. In the past, the dormitories of students in the academy were four people per room, but now they are eight people per room. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for teaching assistants and professors to share housing. If the housing problem can be solved, it should be beneficial to the prestige of the prince."

The saying that rice is expensive in Chang'an has remained the same throughout history. People from the entire Han Dynasty flocked to Chang'an City, which naturally brought tremendous management pressure to Chang'an City. Among them, housing problem was the most serious of all problems.

During the ten years that Zhou Bo was in power, he always attached great importance to the housing issue and wanted to suppress rents below 25% so that more income could remain in the hands of workers.

In other counties and prefectures of the Han Dynasty, even big cities like Luoyang and Kuaiji basically achieved this goal after more than ten years of urban transformation and expansion.

However, Chang'an City has never been able to do this. Not only is the living environment crowded, but the rent is generally around 30% to 40% of the salary of a craftsman. Now even Han officials, school teachers, doctors and other middle-class Han people and above are affected.

People from all classes in Chang'an City complained about the housing problem. The Han court and the Internal History also attached great importance to this issue. The city blocks in Chang'an City had been undergoing renovation, from the initial single-family houses to three-story small buildings later on to accommodate more people. In recent years, few houses built in Chang'an City were less than five stories high. However, even so, the efficiency of increasing housing in Chang'an City still could not keep up with the rate of population growth.

Xu Aimin nodded and said, "When I was an official in the Ministry of Personnel, Zhang Yang and his people were complaining that it was becoming increasingly difficult to get housing from the court, and they could no longer afford to rent a house in Chang'an."

Zhang Pijiang said: "There are indeed too many people in Chang'an City. A large number of people pour in every year. Now some say that there are 150 million people in Chang'an City, and some say 200 million people. The outer periphery of Chang'an City has been building inner quarters, but it has not kept up with the speed of population growth. This is a big problem that can only be solved by comprehensive decision-making."

The next day, in the main hall of the Han Palace, 12 elites from the Hundred Schools came neatly in front of Xu Aimin. Xu Aimin looked at them and said with a smile: "Everyone can relax a little. Some of you are my senior brothers, some are my junior brothers, and we are all family. I asked you to come here today just to get to know each other."

Xu Aimin looked at Jia Yi and said, "Mr. Jia's lecture touched me deeply. My father often said that in the Han Dynasty, the Legalists were the ones who could keep up with the Han era the most."

Jia Yi bowed and said, "Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty."

Then Xu Aimin called out again: "Fan Kang!"

"Prince, I'm here!" a strong man stepped out and said.

Xu Aimin smiled and said, "I remember Marquis Wuyang. He was always the first to attack the city, beheaded the generals and captured the flags. He captured two kings in a battle with the Huns, which shocked the entire Han Dynasty. He is a top-notch general of our Han Dynasty, as famous as the Duke of Ying of our Han Dynasty. I wonder how Marquis Wuyang is doing now?"

Fan Kang discovered that the prince remembered his father very clearly, and said excitedly: "Father often went hunting with the Duke of Mobei, and he was in very good health. Last year, he gave me a younger brother."

Xu Aimin nodded with a smile and said, "You are the descendant of a great Han hero. You must work hard and live up to my expectations!"

Among this group of people, the ones with the highest social status besides Zhang Pijiang are Fan Kang, Li Shang, and Liu Heng. Zhang Pijiang selected them into the list because of their meritorious backgrounds.

"Yes!" Fan Kuai said.

Then Xu Aimin called out a few more names and talked to each of them for a few words until they became familiar with each other.

Then Xu Aimin clapped his hands, and a dozen personal guards came here with a lot of data.

Xu Aimin said: "Starting this year, all of you will be busy. These are the books on internal history in the report. You should copy them out. At the same time, you should be clear about your data and summarize the important data to prepare for the estimated decision."

Led by Zhang Pijiang, these people saluted and said, "Yes!"

Then, under the leadership of Zhang Pijiang, they began to collect data from the Internal History. These people were young and energetic, and they were proactive and daring. In just one day, they compiled for Xu Aimin the tax revenue and growth situation, population growth, factory increase, number of craftsmen increase, etc. of the Internal History over the years.

Through these data, Xu Aimin also had a certain understanding of Neishi. Neishi was indeed the first county of the Han Dynasty. Its annual tax revenue was as high as 70 billion coins, almost twice that of the pre-Qin period. However, such high taxes still could not meet the needs of Neishi's development. The court had to transfer about 10 billion coins every year to make the current development of Chang'an City possible. The expenses for education and medical care were huge, and the housing expenses exceeded twice the sum of these two items.

April 10th, Neishi Mansion.

All the main officials of Neishi County gathered together to hold the first Han official meeting when Xu Aimin became the Right Minister of Neishi.

Xu Aimin stood up and said, "My dear colleagues, this is not my first time to be a Han official. Ten years ago, my father asked me to serve as a minor official in the Shaofu. You are my predecessors. Later, my father asked me to become the governor of Beiyinzhou. Although the population under the jurisdiction of the new continent is far less than that of Chang'an City, I have been the chief official for several years and have some understanding of local government affairs."

"My father asked me to be the right minister of internal affairs because he wanted me to understand the government affairs of the Han Dynasty. I also want to make achievements and impress my father."

"But how to achieve results? I think it is what our Han Dynasty has been doing for decades, that is, to develop the industry, so that the people of Chang'an City can have a job to do, all the factories can prosper and create a lot of wealth, so that Chang'an City can become more prosperous."

Therefore, after I took office, my job was to focus on the development of Chang'an City, boost the development of various industries in Neishi, eliminate obstacles to industrial development, and rationally plan industries so that all counties can develop in a balanced manner. Chang'an City must prosper, and the other 40-odd counties in Neishi must also develop. "

Zhou Chang listened silently to Xu Aimin's speech. As a veteran who had experienced the founding of the Han Dynasty and had fought for the Han Dynasty for 30 years.

He was not only full of affection for the Han Dynasty, but also extremely proud of his career. The most prosperous era in Chinese history was accomplished by his efforts. His name will be recorded in history forever along with this unprecedented prosperity of China.

The emperor always said that the cause of the Han Dynasty was the cause of everyone. Zhou Chang and other founding veterans agreed with this. The Han Dynasty not only belonged to the emperor, but also to him. Now his only worry was whether there would be a successor to this cause. The prince would decide the length of this prosperous era, so he also had high hopes for Xu Aimin.

Of course, Xu Aimin's speech has both advantages and disadvantages for the other Han officials in the Internal History. The advantage is that they can work beside the future emperor. As long as they make some achievements, the probability of promotion will be dozens or hundreds of times higher than before. They may even be regarded as confidants by the prince. Then maybe they can break through the limit and become a prefect with a salary of 2000 stones, or even one of the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers in the Han court.

The downside, of course, is that many people who know the limits of their abilities will feel tremendous pressure to work in front of the future emperor. They will have to do things with trepidation, and it is unknown how long this will last.

Xu Aimin naturally ignored the complicated thoughts of the Han officials below. He directly started to call out the names and said, "Has the fire official arrived?"

Five Han officials stood up and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince."

"It's a title in the Neishi Mansion!" Xu Aimin shouted.

"The Right Secretary!" All five of them felt puzzled.

As the name suggests, Sihuo is someone who specializes in extinguishing fires, and they are the firefighters of this era. The population of Chang'an City has long exceeded one million, and is now heading towards the number of two million.

It can be said that the population of this city is equivalent to the population of more than 90% of the countries in the world.

Fire prevention has become the top priority of this city. Even now there are still many thatched houses and wooden houses in Chang'an. Such building materials, coupled with the increasingly crowded housing in Chang'an, lead to frequent fires. That is, a fire that spreads throughout the camp and directly burns down one or two houses. Especially after the rapid development of industry, factories have become the key areas for fires to occur, and fires occur almost every few years. The fire prevention task in Chang'an can be said to be extremely arduous.

Xu Aimin said, "It has only been more than half a year since I returned to Chang'an from the New World, and I have heard of 3-4 fires that have caused casualties among more than a dozen people. To be honest, I am extremely dissatisfied with such things. Parents raise their children for more than ten years and finally let them grow up, but in the end, a fire burned someone's son to death. What a tragedy."

"Especially the Han Dynasty workshops and warehouses, which are all filled with goods. A fire can cause a factory to suffer heavy losses or even go bankrupt. If this situation is not resolved, how can the economy of Chang'an City develop? These things happened because the court did not do its job properly, which caused the people to suffer losses."

Wu Jia, the fire officer, explained, "Sir, it's not that we don't do anything. It's just that these natural and man-made disasters are hard to prevent. A single spark can burn down a house. We can only put out the fire once it starts, but it's often too late by then."

Xu Aimin said: "It is also your responsibility to improve the system and take preventive measures. The court gives you salaries not because you say you have no solution, but because it wants you to find a way to solve the problem. If you cannot do this, you should simply abdicate and give your position to someone who can solve the problem."

Wu Jia said helplessly: "I have already investigated the hidden circumstances of the fire, made fire prevention measures, and vigorously promoted it to the people. But the fire will still break out. After all, Chang'an is a big city with a population of one million."

"This concerns the lives and property of the people of Chang'an City. No matter how difficult it is, you must find a way to do it. By this time next year, if you can reduce the fire rate in Chang'an City by half, I will personally report to my father and ask for your credit."

Wu Jia said with a bitter face: "Right Commander, according to what you said, we need to build a beacon tower, arrange lookouts, and expand the fire brigade. The additional personnel expenses will be considerable. The court has to set a fixed number of personnel every year."

Xu Aimin said, "This is for the benefit of the people. I agree to expand the number of people in your fire brigade. I will approve the cost of building fire prevention facilities no matter how much you report. But I will say this in advance. If you give me the money and the manpower, but the work is not done well, don't blame me for punishing you."

After saying this, Xu Aimin said, "Okay, let's talk about the next question."

(End of this chapter)