GBP Chapter 173 Making the Boss Happy, Treating the Boss Like a Beast
Chapter 173 Making the Boss Happy, Treating the Boss Like a Beast
After breakfast, Yang Shaofeng led Empress Ma and the others directly to Daming Lake and Taizi Canal.
"This is Daming Lake. The water is diverted from the Da Wen River in the north by the Taizi Canal. There are some fish in the lake, but I don't know if it will work."
Yang Shaofeng began to take on the role of a tour guide.
"The water outlet is located to the south, connecting to the ditches of various villages in the west of the city. When irrigation is needed in the spring, this waterwheel will be lowered to draw water. Whichever village needs water, that village will send oxen or horses to pull the waterwheel."
Yang Shaofeng stopped at the "Daming Lake Stele" not far from the water outlet and said with a smile to Empress Ma and Zhu Biao, "Your Majesty, Your Highness, this is the Daming Lake Stele. The inscription was written by me, but the stele was carved out bit by bit by the people."
The inscription was devoid of any particularly ornate language. Compared to the writings of the high-ranking officials in the imperial court, it was far superior to any essay written by any random student from the Imperial Academy in the capital.
However, Zhu Biao showed no disdain for Yang Shaofeng's poor writing skills; on the contrary, he smiled very happily.
Zhu Biao always remembered a saying by Emperor Zhu Chongba: "Why do scholars write in such a convoluted and obscure way? Because they don't want the common people to understand what they're writing." Similarly, the more ornate and elaborate your imperial edicts, the less the common people understand, and the more room officials have to manipulate things. But if you write them simply and clearly, the common people will understand them immediately, and officials will find it harder to act recklessly.
The Daming Lake Stele in front of us simply and directly records the entire process of excavating and storing water for Daming Lake. It simply and directly mentions that thanks to Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang of the Ming Dynasty and Crown Prince Zhu Biao of the Ming Dynasty, various tools and cattle and horses were bestowed upon them, which enabled Daming Lake to be completed and stored water before the severe drought. The people of Ningyang County will never forget their kindness for generations.
That's enough!
After Zhu Biao reluctantly looked away from the inscription, Yang Shaofeng pointed to a vacant lot on the west side of Daming Lake and said, "This land was just cleared before winter. It's not too much, but it's not too little either. It should be enough for the people to grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms."
Zhu Biao smiled and agreed, "Farming and sericulture, that's exactly what it is. Farming solves the problem of food, and sericulture solves the problem of clothing. This makes the people's livelihood a little more secure."
Yang Shaofeng smiled and said, "Your Highness is right."
After praising Zhu Biao a few times, Yang Shaofeng led Empress Ma and Zhu Biao around the outlet of the artificial lake and pointed to a small open space near the artificial lake, saying, "After the spring, I plan to have a few shallow ponds dug near the four artificial lakes outside the city. After they are filled with water, they can be used to raise fish, shrimp, reeds, lotus roots and the like."
"If it works out, lotus roots and fish and shrimp can add a few more dishes to people's tables, reeds and lotus stems can be used to make paper, and lotus leaves and lotus seeds can be sent to clinics and processed into medicine. No matter what, it's a win-win situation."
"This is the inlet of Daming Lake."
Leading Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, and others to the northern water inlet, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "Thanks to the farming tools and oxen and horses bestowed by His Highness, this irrigation canal was able to be completed before the severe drought."
Taking leaders to visit projects that showcase their achievements and praising their accomplishments is an unwritten rule in officialdom. This makes it easier to deceive leaders or squeeze something out of them in the future.
Then, guided by the principle that "to please the leader, you must make him happy so that you can continue to treat him like a beast of burden in the future," Yang Shaofeng took Empress Ma and Zhu Biao back to the county town and visited the town's breeding farms and livestock ranches.
As soon as he arrived at the chicken farm, Zhu Biao asked with great curiosity, "Brother-in-law, I've often heard people say that when you're rich, you don't count livestock. Don't you have this concern about the chicken farm and livestock ranch you mentioned?"
Yang Shaofeng smiled and replied, "Of course I'm worried. A chicken plague could wipe out all the chickens in the whole village, or even the whole Ningyang County. A swine fever would have a similar result."
"To prevent outbreaks of diseases such as poultry and pig disease, farms and livestock farms must clean their poultry and livestock manure twice a day. After cleaning once, they must sprinkle lime. The water used to feed the poultry and livestock must also be boiled and cooled."
"Especially the chicken coop and duck coop, they need to be inspected several times a day. If any chicken or duck looks unwell, it has to be taken out and raised separately in another yard. If it is really sick, it is killed and thrown into the fire to be burned. It is not for human consumption, and it is not allowed to have a chance to infect other chickens and ducks."
"Fortunately, the farm has always been strictly managed. Although a few chickens have occasionally gotten sick in the past six months, they have been detected early and dealt with promptly, preventing the spread of diseases such as fowl plague. The chicken farm has also gradually grown in scale."
As Yang Shaofeng left the farm, he said with a smile, "Back then, those village chiefs and commune leaders searched all over Ningyang County, and even went to some villages in other nearby prefectures and counties, before they finally managed to gather more than 30 chicks and two piglets."
"Unfortunately, we couldn't find any tusked pigs at the time, only two sows. I didn't think about raising pigs for a moment, so I had someone come and castrate both sows. If it weren't for His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince bestowing some boars and sows upon Ningyang County, and the fact that Minister Xu and Minister Chang Pingzhang also sent some, I'm afraid this pig farm wouldn't have been able to get started."
“This livestock farm will be used as a breeding farm in the future. After all, the livestock that will be bred are all precious, while the people are busy with farm work all year round. It would be better to send the livestock that will be bred here and let someone take care of them in the breeding farm.”
After touring the breeding farm and livestock ranch, Zhu Biao suddenly asked thoughtfully, "Brother-in-law, if I had someone buy a batch of chicks and piglets from your Ningyang County and then send them to the neighboring Yanzhou Prefecture or Wenshang County for the people to raise, do you think the livelihoods of the people in Yanzhou Prefecture and Wenshang County would be much better? By extension, if the northern regions and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun all did this, wouldn't the livelihoods of the people in the north also improve?"
Yang Shaofeng shook his head slightly and said, "The counties near Ningyang County are fine, and the Yan and Zhao regions a little further away are also fine, but places further away are not suitable, because as long as there is no swine fever or chicken plague, the canneries in Ningyang County can buy the chickens, ducks and pigs raised by the people. The people will not lose money no matter what, and may even make a profit."
“But transporting livestock to Ningyang County from further away is too costly. If the price is too high, Ningyang County will lose money, and if the price is too low, the people will lose money. So it is no longer suitable to do this.”
Zhu Biao nodded, then asked, "What if canneries were set up in other prefectures and counties as well?"
Just as he finished speaking, Zhu Biao smiled and shook his head.
"I was oversimplifying things."
The fact that Ningyang County could operate in this way is because Magistrate Yang Shaofeng knew how to manage things. If it were a magistrate from another place, a responsible one would be better off, but an irresponsible one would likely cause the people to suffer even more as the schemes escalated.
However, just as Zhu Biao was having some trouble, Yang Shaofeng said with a smile, "If we can't set up canneries, can't we at least build roads? I once heard a saying, 'To get rich, build roads first.' As long as we don't forcibly conscript laborers but pay them wages, the people and related workshops can make money. When the people make money, the merchants make money, and when the merchants make money, the government can collect taxes."
Zhu Biao's eyes lit up, but then he sighed and said, "What my brother-in-law said is quite good, but if the court wants to pay the people's wages, it needs to have money first. Even if the court takes out money to repair the roads, the people will have wages, and each workshop can make money. But the people and workshops can't spend all the money. The money that the merchants earn will definitely be less in taxes than the money that the court takes out. In the end, the court still won't have money."
"The most important thing is the commercial tax. If it is set too high, the court's revenue will be high, but fewer people will be willing to do business. If it is set too low, the merchants will be happy, but the court will lose money."
“Right now, our Ming Dynasty is short of money and cannot collect too high commercial taxes. If the court uses the money to repair roads, the final result will definitely be that merchants will be happy while the court loses money, and the people will not benefit at all.”
Seeing that Zhu Biao had fallen into a vicious cycle of conflict between increasing commerce and increasing the court's revenue, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Your Highness, commerce is commerce, and commercial tax is commercial tax. These two things are not the same thing."