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

Chapter 555: Propaganda for Colonization

October 32, 10nd year of the Han calendar, Yangshuli.

Liu Heng led the clerks to inspect Yangshuli. As he inspected, he said to his men, "This is a special period. Everyone should work harder. The meeting room must be staffed for 12 hours. During this period, we should recruit more elders and have them inspect Yangshuli in three shifts. We should arrange more people especially at night."

"Yes!" said the clerks around.

As soon as the economic crisis hit, all kinds of bankruptcies, shutdowns, and job losses followed one after another. There are more than 13000 households in Yangshuli, with a population of over 50. If it were placed in other parts of the Han Dynasty, this would be the population of a first-class county. Naturally, there is no shortage of all kinds of unlucky people. In the six months since the outbreak of the economic crisis, there have been hundreds of suicides in the small city of Yangshuli, of which only half were rescued, and the other people died.

In order to solve this problem, Liu Heng established a patrol system in Yangshuli, recruiting retired elderly people to wear red armbands to patrol, and try to persuade people who were depressed. This system has shown excellent results and has saved dozens of people in the past few months.

"You should go deep into the people and pay special attention to the young and strong families who have lost their jobs. Let them understand that losing their jobs is not the end of the world. We Han people still have many other ways to choose. Only by living can we have everything."

The clerks around nodded.

Fan Kang held an iron loudspeaker at a 45-degree elevation and shouted, "Attention all residents of Yangshuli. If you are unemployed, don't be pessimistic, and don't commit suicide. If you can't find a job, you can come to the meeting hall of the neighborhood leaders and sign up to go to the New World. This time you are going to Tang State. The travel expenses will be paid by Tang State. There is a gold mountain there. If you dig up a piece of nugget gold, you can get rich. No matter how much debt you owe, you can pay it off. If you don't want to mine, that's fine. Tang State will provide 500 acres of land. If you go to Tang State, you can become a local landlord. There are many choices in the world."

At this time, an old man who was sitting on a chair and resting said contemptuously: "Chief, you are so wicked. You don't want to serve the people of Chang'an City, but you mobilize them to go to a barbaric place like Tang State."

Liu Heng was not angry. Instead, he sat next to the old man and looked at the many old men around him and said, "Old man, do you know how many people in our Han Dynasty have lost their jobs during this economic crisis?"

The old man said, "There are so many young and strong people with nothing to do marching and demonstrating every day. I think there should be tens of thousands of them."

Liu Heng said solemnly: "I don't know about other places, but in the Internal Affairs Bureau, 10 young and strong men lost their jobs."

The old men around sighed and said, "What a sin!"

Those who had experienced the turbulent times understood that if it was during the Qin Dynasty, losing one's job was equivalent to losing one's job, and the destruction of one's family was inevitable. Even in the current Han Dynasty, many people died, especially since many of the things they had experienced personally.

Liu Heng continued, "The number of people who lost their jobs in the entire Han Dynasty exceeded one million. A crisis destroyed the jobs of millions of people. In order to ensure that these people who lost their jobs had food to eat, the court gave out 10 billion yuan every month to these unemployed people, and also gave out nearly 5 million yuan in rice, flour, grain and oil. This prevented unrest from occurring in the country."

The old man said excitedly, "This is the benevolence of the emperor. Throughout history, only His Majesty treats us common people as human beings. He gives relief to those who have lost their jobs and gives pensions to us old people."

"The Emperor is the most benevolent person throughout history." The old men of the Han Dynasty admired Xu Fan more than anyone else. The Han Dynasty's pension system not only saved them, but also gave them a relatively peaceful old age.

As the old saying goes, make up for what you lack. The feudal era ruled the world with filial piety, which shows how cruel the environment was for the elderly.

Liu Heng said: "All these things require money, and where does our Han Dynasty get its money from? Some of it comes from factories, and some of it comes from the continuous expansion of the court. If there were no overseas markets, our Han Dynasty's finances would be reduced by half. By then, let alone relief, we wouldn't even be able to pay your pension."

"A large part of your pension and the relief money for the people of Chang'an are due to the efforts of the pioneers. We cannot just stay in Chang'an City and enjoy the benefits without fulfilling our obligations."

The old man continued, "Even if someone is needed to open up the land, it should be farmers. Recruiting people from Chang'an City is nothing. The young and strong people here have grown up in the city and can't even tell the difference between wheat and leeks."

Liu Heng said patiently, "You are just shirking your responsibility. According to what you said, Han officials only manage the people, so the sons of Han officials don't need to go to open up the country. Similarly, the sons of nobles don't need to go to open up the country. The sons of rich people don't need to go to open up the country because they make a lot of money. If these powerful people are unwilling to go to open up the country, then this obligation will fall on ordinary people like us. According to your age, you should have experienced the Qin Dynasty."

The old man nodded.

Liu Heng said: "During the Qin Dynasty, the First Emperor recruited 30 troops to march north to resist the Xiongnu. This march lasted for several years. You should know who served in the military."

The old man said helplessly: "Of course it's us poor people."

Liu Heng said: "You see, as long as the system design is a little unfair, then under the layers of pressure, we ordinary people will definitely be the ones who suffer in the end."

The old man nodded in agreement.

Liu Heng continued, "The living conditions in Chang'an are naturally good, but for ordinary people like us, what are the iron crops? You see, after this crisis, more than 20 people lost their jobs and their rice bowls were smashed. Those wealthy bosses even hid in prison to avoid debt. People in the city are not having a good time, and the countryside is not much different. You see, Guanzhong has not had equal distribution of land for nearly 30 years, and now every family has two or three children. If the land is divided, each family will only get mu of land, which can barely get enough food. If the next generation divides it again, I'm afraid they won't even have enough to eat.

The young and strong who lost their jobs may not be a bad way out to go to the New World. Now going to the New World does mean suffering, but as long as the New World is developed, 500 acres of land can guarantee the prosperity of a family for three generations. There is an old saying that goes, parents who love their children should think long-term for them. One generation suffers for a few years in exchange for the prosperity of three generations. Isn't this a good deal?
The old men around were really convinced by Liu Heng. People in this era were not afraid of hardship, or the lower-class people had no other choice but to endure hardship. They were afraid of suffering without any benefits, or even losing their lives. But if they could get 500 acres of land by enduring a few years of hardship, it was all worth it in their opinion.

"We are going to arrange for a few guys to go to the New World. There is no such good thing in Guanzhong with 500 acres of land."

But one old man said, "But if we go to the New World, I'm afraid we won't even be able to meet each other."

"If we can't see them, then we can't see them. Letting them take their ancestors' ranks to the New World can be considered as a way to disband their business."

There are still many people who think seriously about Liu Heng's words.

Liu Heng and his team inspected for a long time, and Fan Kang's voice became a little hoarse from shouting. They returned to the conference room to rest at noon.

After lunch, they had a lot of government affairs to do, such as approving the number of people receiving pensions in Yangshuli and reporting their signatures and seals, approving craftsmen receiving unemployment benefits, and ensuring that no one was drawing a salary without working.

There are also trivial matters such as dealing with disputes between neighbors, reporting damaged infrastructure and other chores.

The Han Dynasty also required them to apply for settlement and reclamation personnel every year. According to the population ratio, 100 in 1 was selected. The quota for settlement and reclamation in Chang'an City was 15000 people each year. Those who took the initiative to apply for settlement and reclamation would be required to draw lots for young and strong people aged 18. There were 10 people in Yangshuli and 1000 people needed to be arranged for settlement and reclamation this year. If the number of people who took the initiative to apply did not reach this number, the local people would have to hold a lottery ceremony.

Fan Kang complained after a while: "They are paid as clerks but they are worried about the county magistrate. They want to use us to do things but they don't trust us to control the money. They want us to report everything. If I had known this earlier, I would have gone to guard the prince."

After graduating from the Military Academy, Liu Chang has become Xu Aimin's full-time bodyguard. Except for holidays, he eats and lives in the Prince's Mansion.

Although Yangshuli is a county with a large population and complicated government affairs, they do not have the right to collect taxes. Even the allocation and delivery of various materials do not go through their hands. The money is directly transferred to the unemployed's passbook through the bank system, and the relief materials are distributed by the warehouse system.

Liu Heng and his men only had supervisory rights, and they also had to prepare materials and report them to Chang'an County, so Fan Kang had some complaints. First, he felt that the court did not trust them, and second, without financial power, their rights were much less, and no matter how many people they were in charge of, they were still minor officials.

"Instead of complaining, it is better to finish these things as soon as possible. The reason why the people of the Han Dynasty are worried about reclamation is that they are not familiar with the situation in the New World. We will prepare the information about the New World and let them know the situation. Given the richness of the New World, it is indeed better than staying in Chang'an." Liu Heng said calmly. During this period, Liu Heng tried to compile the geography, environment, and resources of the vassal states of the various countries in the New World into books, in order to let the people in Yangshuli know more about the situation in the New World. In his opinion, the prospects of going to the New World may not be worse than Chang'an City.

Fan Kang said, "My family established vassal states too early. If we had known that a new continent would be discovered, we would not have gone to a place like the desert." Under Xu Fan's guidance, Xu Aiguo discovered the largest gold mine in Yinzhou, with more than 20 kilograms of gold mined each year. This further deepened the impression that Yinzhou was a continent of gold and silver. In Fan Kang's view, the vassal states in all parts of the Han Dynasty had their own specialties, but they in the desert had only wind and sand, which was too unlucky.

Fan Kang said: "This economic crisis should be over soon. It is said that the emperor has launched an unprecedented infrastructure project. The princes in Jiangnan, Western Regions and Liaodong will lay a railway network. It is said that the total mileage has reached 3 miles. The business of Dahan Steel Plant in the next 10 years has been found."

Liu Heng said: "I am afraid that they are greedy. Ten years ago, the Han Dynasty replaced wooden rails with iron rails. Those steel merchants thought that this business could last for decades. In ten years, the production capacity of steel increased fivefold. In the end, the supply exceeded the demand and this crisis broke out. If those merchants do not learn from the lesson and increase the production capacity fivefold like the previous ten years, I am afraid that even if all the land in the world is built with railways, it will not be able to satisfy their greed."

Fan Kang said: "Who can predict what will happen ten years from now?"

Then he said a little aggrievedly: "Other princes have railway network plans, but we, the princes of the desert, don't."

Liu Heng smiled and said, "There are three small railways going deep into the southern desert. We have to take it step by step. The princes of the desert are indeed a little bit inferior to the princes of other regions."

On the afternoon of October 32, 10nd year of the Han calendar, in the Yangshuli meeting hall.

Hundreds of young men who had lost their jobs gathered together, and then some Han officials gave them some books about the New World.

Liu Heng then took out the book in his hand and said, "The New World is not as desolate as everyone imagines. Not to mention the gold and silver mines that are rich in wealth, the local land is very fertile, with high grain production capacity and a variety of precious specialties. You can read the contents of this book, and I guarantee you will gain something."

However, some young and strong people still worried: "We are craftsmen. I am afraid it will be difficult for us to adapt to farming in the New World."

Liu Heng smiled and said, "The New World is even more in need of craftsmen. The vassal states in the New World are in need of iron plows, carpenters, and stonemasons. As long as you have a skill, you don't have to worry about having no food to eat. The salary of craftsmen is generally twice as high as that of our Han mainland. And you can return to the New World with a 2-coin boat ticket. This amount of money is only a few months' salary in the New World. Go to the New World to find a way out. If you can't stand it, you can come back. You have legs on your body. Can the court forbid you to go home?
After listening to Liu Heng's words, the unemployed young man began to read the books written by Liu Heng. He wrote in great detail, describing the characteristics of various specialties of dozens of vassal states in the New World clearly and distinctly.

Those with families were still hesitant, but the young people were more willing to go to the New World. After more than half a month of propaganda and persuasion, 2000 young and strong people in Yangshu were willing to go to the New World. However, most of them went to Tang State for a very simple reason. Tang State had gold mines, and they also wanted to go to pan for gold. After all, few ordinary people would refuse the dream of getting rich. In this half month, more than 2000 young and strong people in Yangshu chose to immigrate to the New World.

October 32, 10nd year of the Han calendar, Xinfengli.

Yuan Ang and others came to the drying yard with a huge curtain and then summoned all the villagers.

Yuan Ang said excitedly, "Fellow villagers, the court has brought you benefits again. As long as you go to the New World, you can get 6 acres of land. All of them are 7 acres of the best land. According to the data of the first batch of farmers in the court, the yield per mu has reached 3000-100 dan. acres of land can harvest dan of grain a year. What's more important is that grain in the New World is more expensive than our Han Dynasty. One dan is coins. If you are lucky, you can earn coins a year. The life of a big landlord is no more than this."

"Wow!" The villagers in Xinfengli couldn't believe that this was true.

But Yuan Ang pointed to a cow on the screen and said, "This is a cow from the New World. Look, isn't it about the same size as an elephant? I tell you, this cow weighs more than 5000 catties, and this is the new catty. If we use our old catty, a New World ox would weigh more than catties."

On the curtain is a huge cow, which is pulling an eight-ox plow. The farmers behind it are the same as the residents of Lilliput. There is also a saying written on the curtain that one cow is better than eight.

Farmers around were all attracted by the painting. For farmers, such a huge cow is really eye-catching.

“Are the new cattle really that big?”

"This is two or three times bigger than my big man's yellow cattle. How is it possible that there is such a big cattle?"

Yuan Ang said: "Of course there are. Think about the yaks on the plateau. They are twice as big as cattle. Why can't there be cattle that are two or three times bigger than cattle?"

The plateau yak is one of the main beef cattle in Chang'an City. Many of the villagers present have seen it. Thinking about it this way, it seems that the New World cattle in the curtain is not too exaggerated.

Gao Di in the audience was a little dissatisfied and said, "Isn't this a lie? Where in the world can you make 30 yuan a year?"

He wanted to go up to the platform to stop Yuan Ang from bragging, but was stopped by Gongshu Qi and others.

Everything Yuan Ang said was true, but they were facts that were transplanted and there was no internal causal relationship between these facts.

"People who go to the New World can get 500 acres of land. Is this true?"

Gao Di said: "I'm not lying. How can 500 acres of wasteland be the same as 500 acres of farmland? Can we reclaim all this land in less than ten years?"

"As long as we cultivate the land, we can make money. Besides, the New World produces 6 dan per mu, which is a fact. It is possible to sell 3000 dan of grain for 30 coins."

"You are just transplanting flowers and trees. Unless you find a gold mine, it is impossible to make 30 yuan. Not to mention 30 yuan, even 3 yuan is very difficult. It is impossible to make that much money by farming. In the New World, potatoes have a high production capacity, but they are not valuable. Valuable grains do not have such high production capacity."

"Then what can we do? They say there is nothing in the New World, only a bunch of savages. Should we still complete the list of settlements?"

This time even the straightforward Feng Tang said: "Although there is a bit of deception, reclamation is beneficial to the court and to them. No matter how hard it is, the 500 acres of land are real. If they stay in Guanzhong, these farmers will never have land. If they go to Chang'an, they will squeeze out the living space of the craftsmen."

"Then why not tell the truth to the farmers?" Gao Di said.

"Farmers have no foresight!" said Gongshu Qi.

"I think you just want to save trouble. It takes time and effort to explain things clearly to the farmers, but it's easy to deceive them." Gao Di said angrily.

Gongshu Qi said: "Let the facts speak for themselves. Go to another village and see how many people you can recruit by speaking the truth."

"I'll go right away!" Gao Di left here angrily.

This year's Princes and the Han Dynasty also ended very late, and it was not over until November.

Because even with the support of the court, the planning of the railway network is extremely important, and the interests of all parties must be taken into account. The location of a line alone is enough for these princes to quarrel over. Balancing the interests of more than 300 princes is indeed not something that can be done in a short period of time.

On the contrary, the railway plan of Tianzhu Trading Company was quickly approved, and the goal of 300 miles of railway construction per year is also good news for the current Han steel market.

The princes of the New World basically just played a supporting role this year, but of course they did not gain nothing. The imperial court expected 15 people to go to the New World this year, which was three times as many as in previous years. The most important thing was that the imperial court also covered half of the travel expenses. For these princes of the New World, it was a huge profit.

(End of this chapter)