Chapter 327 The Fifth Qingli New Deal

The New Year of the sixth year of the Qingli calendar had just passed, and the people of the Song Dynasty were still immersed in the joy of the New Year in the first month of the year.

A special official document on "Song Dynasty's Sweeping Black and Evil" was sent by the Political System Institute to the Ministry of Police, the Imperial City Department and the Censorate.

The content mentioned that there was no upper limit and no lower limit for the umbrellas behind the local evil forces. Big tigers must be beaten, and small flies must also be swatted.

The heads of several departments did not dare to neglect and immediately began to move forward.

Various documents were passed down, from the court to the roads, and then from the roads to the states. The road and station offices, state government offices, and county offices in various places heard the news and arrested people everywhere.

In addition, the Censorates of various roads also sent people to monitor and inspect everywhere. The local Imperial City Department had both open guards and dark guards. The dark guards were like plainclothes, integrated into the people.

During their visits, a large number of evil forces and their backers were about to face a catastrophe.

However, after a government order was issued, it was not immediately effective, especially for a huge country, it would naturally take some time to ferment.

This time may be several months, half a year, or even one or two years.

So except for the Jingji Road, which has been officially led by the Ministry of Police and has begun to take action in the 18 counties of Jingji Road, the rest of the roads are only about to start work.

And in this process, in February of the sixth year of the Qingli period, the court once again issued a large number of new policies.

This new policy officially belongs to the fifth round of the Qingli New Policy.

From the first year of the Qingli period to now, there have been no less than a hundred policies of all sizes in the five rounds.

This new policy also covers all aspects, including supplements to previous policies and new policy guidance.

For example, at the official level, the court allowed various roads to establish state-owned enterprises on their own and build the steel, coal, cement, textile, and brick-burning industries of the road. The specific construction methods were guided by people sent by Wu'an Iron and Steel Plant.

Private merchants were allowed to participate in contracting coal mines and iron mines, and to build cement plants, spinning mills, brick factories, newspapers and other industries, further relaxing commercial controls.

Establish a postal system, set up the Postal Department, and incorporate the original post station system into the postal system. From then on, writing letters and entrusting them to be delivered are no longer exclusive to officials, but all people can deliver letters and send items.

In education, elementary schools, junior high schools, and high schools were officially established.

Elementary schools and junior high schools are distributed in all states and counties, while high schools are only in each road.

As for universities.

It is still in the preparation stage.

Don't think that it is very confusing to establish a university at this time.

In fact, the world's first university was established 42 years later, the University of Bologna in Italy.

Oxford University began to teach and study here in 1096, and was officially established in 1167 AD, only 121 years away from 1046 AD.

Therefore, under the condition that a relatively complete scientific system was established in the Song Dynasty, regardless of whether the universities established in the future can reach the height of later generations, it will at least provide countless students with a place to study and progress.

In medical care, promote medical construction, establish the Ministry of Health, establish Bianliang Hospital and its affiliated medical school, and call on doctors with rich business experience and high level from all over the country to serve as experts and professors to train students.

In addition to promoting traditional Chinese medicine, the development of Western medicine is also necessary. The court will give prisoners sentenced to death a chance to be cadaver teachers. If they voluntarily donate their bodies, their families will receive a national compensation fund so that medical schools can perform human dissections.

There are also cowpox vaccination, epidemic prevention manuals, boiling water theory, etc. I believe that in the near future, there will be basically no dispute between traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine in the future, because they are all traditional Chinese medicine.

In science and technology, we will increase investment in mathematics, physics and chemistry research, cultivate and pay attention to scientific talents, actively protect scientific research levels and achievements, and also establish scientific and technological journals, which will be distributed in a small range in Bianliang, and gradually increase the people's understanding of science.

In addition, the official system, military defense, economic development, agricultural construction, etc. have all been changed to varying degrees.

However, the overall changes are not big, because these things have basically become similar in the previous rounds of reforms, and there is no need to make drastic changes.

In addition to these aspects, what is closely related to the people is this year's major infrastructure projects.

With the funds allocated by the court and the surplus of the treasury of each road, state, and county, the national infrastructure construction was launched, and large-scale repair work was carried out on the official roads, canals, and wastelands of the county.

Originally, large-scale infrastructure construction must have design plans and drawings. For example, if you build a road, you always have to make a plan for where to build it and where to build it?

But this time the infrastructure construction is not to build a new road, but to renovate the old road so that it can play a role.

After all, if you want to build a factory, you have to build a road first. You can build a cement factory with a rammed earth road first, and you can build a cement road with a cement factory. You can build a steel plant with a cement road, and you can build a highway with a steel plant.

It is impossible to jump directly from a rammed earth road to a highway. That is unrealistic.

So all in all, the construction in various aspects is actually slowly establishing a prototype for the Song Dynasty to enter industrialization development, which is equivalent to laying a foundation, and officially transforming from a feudal society to a scientific society.

Fortunately, the feudal ethics had not yet developed to the extent of the Ming and Qing dynasties in later generations, and the entire social atmosphere was still in the relatively open era of the Tang and Song dynasties.

For example, women were not allowed to be maids, but could go out, remarry, and divorce. Men were not allowed to be slaves, merchants could participate in the imperial examinations, and traditional lowly classes such as musicians, prostitutes, beggars, and boatmen did not exist, and all belonged to the category of free people.

Therefore, in such a social background, from another perspective, as long as the direction of reform is adjusted, the difficulty of reform is actually lower than that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Otherwise, just allowing human dissection would be considered a great rebellion and would be unacceptable to the world.

In early March, Bianliang.

It was the first month of spring, and the spring sunshine was just right, warmly spreading on the ground, making the world full of vitality.

At this time, the Song Dynasty's Tokyo was no longer what it was ten years ago.

Tall buildings rose from the ground, rows of tree shades swayed in the wind, and painted boats swayed gently on the river.

In a world full of two- and three-story wooden houses, these five- and six-story reinforced concrete buildings are particularly dazzling.

But this combination of modern and classical does not feel out of place, because these buildings are full of soft lines and beautiful oriental elements.

Between the white walls and gray tiles, there are touches of beautiful style.

The criss-crossing streets come and go, and rows of signs sway in the wind. As the weather warms up and the temperature rises, peddlers wipe their sweat and walk through the streets.

"Spices, spices, spices from the Western Regions, good quality and cheap."

"Come on, the wontons just out of the pot are delicious."

"Take a walk and have a look, the best Hangzhou silk satin, only two strings of money for one piece, only two strings of money!"

All kinds of hawking sounds, all kinds of fragrant and smelly smells, and people of all kinds are like fish swarming into the sea with the river, full of excitement.

At the intersection of Xiaozhifang Street in the inner city, several scholars are eating in the Zhuangyuan Building next to it.

They are students of Bianliang Academy.

Since the fourth year of Jingyou, the court has established a school in Bianliang and named it Bianliang Academy.

Different from the Imperial College, in addition to Confucianism, this school also teaches science.

The students admitted are not based on family conditions, but only on learning ability, moral character, and whether they can endure hardships.

In short, this school is a pilot school for science education in the Song Dynasty, and it is also the first batch of children to be exposed to science, except for the students taught by Zhao Jun at the beginning.

The extracurricular books such as "Interesting Physics Experiments", "Basic Chemical Reactions", and "Elementary Mathematics" that Zhao Jun brought from the future have also become textbooks here.

Nine years have passed, and many students here have successfully graduated and participated in the imperial examination last year.

In February this year, the spring examination, because the court officially included mathematics, physics, and chemistry into the imperial examination this year, Bianliang Academy became the biggest beneficiary. More than 200 Jinshi, more than 120 of them came from Bianliang Academy.

For a time, Bianliang Academy became famous in the capital, making this school, which originally existed only in legends and had basically no reputation, a household name overnight.

At this moment, several people toasted each other in the Zhuangyuan Building.

"Everyone, we have passed the imperial examination this spring, and we have wiped out the shame before. No one dares to say that the science we learned is useless anymore."

"Yes, after years of hard work, it has paid off."

"After passing the imperial examination, you will be selected as an official. Brother Wang, Brother Li, Brother Zhang, what are your plans for the future?"

"I want to join the Academy of Sciences, what about you?"

"Brother Wang, you too?"

"What a coincidence, me too."

"The principal said that science is the way of the future. What's good about being an official? Who doesn't respect the academicians of the Academy of Sciences when they walk around?"

"Am I the only one who wants to be an official?"

Several classmates who passed the imperial examination together talked to each other, and most of them actually wanted to join the Academy of Sciences to do scientific research, which was also a strange thing.

However, the threshold of the Academy of Sciences is indeed very high at present. In addition to professional qualities, they must also have academic level and the background of the imperial scholars. Unless the former two are very capable and the court grants the same status of the imperial scholars, it is difficult to enter.

There is no way. The Academy of Sciences is still linked to the official rank. It can be understood that the Academy of Sciences is not a scientific research institution, but an official residence under the court to study science.

The senior experts and professors inside are all of the fifth rank and above, and the president of the Academy of Sciences is even the third rank.

Although Zhao Zhen is now the president of the Academy of Sciences in name only, and the three vice presidents Jia Xian, Wan Zhichen, and Yan Su preside over the work on weekdays, as the court attaches importance to science, their status is higher than that of ordinary ministers and their treatment is more generous.

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers. The court has a new policy again. Take a look. This is another major reform that concerns every one of us ordinary people."

At this time, the newspaper boy came in waving the newspaper in his hand.

Someone hurriedly said, "Come over here."

"I want one here too."

"Brother, give me two here."

"Okay."

The newspaper boy went back and forth to sell newspapers, and soon there were more than ten fewer newspapers in his pocket.

"The court is going to build science schools in an all-round way. Each county should have a primary school and a junior high school, and each road should have a high school."

"Great, there will be countless students who will be able to learn science."

"I've changed my mind. I want to go to the Ministry of Education."

"Why do you want to go to the Ministry of Education, Brother Liu?"

"Science schools are being established all over the country now. There must be a shortage of people in teaching. I want to participate."

"Brother Liu, you want to be a teacher? I don't know if the salary is generous."

"Well, that's something I really need to ask."

The Jinshi named Liu who was interested in entering the education field also hesitated.

He was born in poverty, but he was eager to learn since childhood. He studied hard for nine years before becoming a Jinshi.

Although he knew that he had no background and no one to support him, it would be difficult for him to enter the officialdom. It was better to find another way and find a better way.

For example, it is possible to go to the Ministry of Education, to be transferred to the local education bureau in the future, or to be the principal of a high school.

But I am also worried about the poor treatment from the court. Is it like being an official, who not only allocates houses but also pays high salaries?

But after a moment, he said firmly: "The imperial court attaches so much importance to science now, and it will definitely not treat educators harshly. I am a Jinshi and have devoted myself to education. I must have started directly as a principal, so the salary will not be too bad."

"Then I wish Brother Liu a world full of success."

Everyone gave their blessings.

In fact, not long after, the Ministry of Education issued a new notice.

For newly promoted Jinshi who are willing to go to various places, it is true that they start as deputy principals of primary and junior high schools in various places. They all start from the seventh-grade level, which is equivalent to the level of the local county magistrate.

The principal of Yiyi High School is not a newly promoted Jinshi, but a group of doctors selected from the Academy of Sciences, with a rank of 5th grade.

At this time when science is just beginning to enlightenment, the principals of primary and junior high schools who teach new science must have at least a diploma from the imperial examination and Jinshi, and the teacher must also be a civil servant. You can know how much the imperial court values ​​education.

In the restaurant at the moment.

In addition to a few new Jinshi, there were many businessmen in the restaurant. In fact, they were also very concerned about the court's policies, and they seemed to be buying newspapers one after another.

There is a table next to the table, and the Ma family, who makes paper in Bianliang, is hosting a banquet for the Meng family, who is in the grain and oil business. The eldest son of the Ma family is in his thirties, about the same age as the eldest son of the Meng family, and it is time to take over the family business.

When Boss Meng saw in the newspaper that the imperial court had opened up industries such as steel, cement, and textiles, he immediately said excitedly: "Brother Ma, the imperial court finally allows us to operate steel and cement."

Boss Ma wondered: "Brother Meng, given the relationship between your family and the Imperial Academy, you still only found out about this by reading the newspaper?"

Many people in the Bianliang business district knew that the Meng family was originally just a middle-class grain merchant family, but later they fell in love with the Zhiyuan and bought shares in a state-owned commercial bank. Only then did they become prosperous and squeezed into the top circles.

Mr. Meng shook his head and said: "The Imperial Academy has always been upright, and my second uncle is not a man who is good at maneuvering. He only knows that as long as the court allows us to contribute, even if it means bankrupting our family, we must help. Only in this way can we gain the favor of the court. How could we be given to him in advance?" Where’s the inside information?”

Boss Ma said with admiration: "Shu Meng is really the contemporary Lord Mengchang."

"Since this steel plant and cement plant are what the imperial court wants everyone to build, then our Meng family must not fall behind. I plan to register a business myself to respond to the imperial court's call."

Mr. Meng said righteously.

Boss Ma thought for a while and then said: "Brother Meng dares to be the first, which makes me admire you very much. Since Brother Xian is in such a mood, Brother Fool naturally can't just watch. He is willing to share stocks with brother. What do you think?"

"That's a good feeling."

Mr. Meng nodded repeatedly.

In fact, although many businessmen are already inquiring about steel plants and cement plants, most of them are waiting and watching.

Everyone in the steel factory can see profits. Private steel demand is huge and there will be no shortage of sales in the future.

But the cost of setting up such a factory is unknown. Ordinary businessmen will definitely not be able to run it. Only those wealthy businessmen are qualified.

The cement factory does not know whether there will be a market in the future or whether it will lose money.

However, there are inherent risks in doing business for merchants. The imperial court has given out the future development direction of the cement factory, so there is naturally no shortage of people who are willing to be the first to eat crabs.

Soon after the news came out, many businessmen in Bianliang planned to go to the Industrial and Commercial Bureau to inquire about the establishment of these factories.

It caused quite an earthquake in both the education and business circles.

Compared with many scholars with scientific backgrounds and businessmen who value steel and cement, the situation among the people is another.

In fact, there are not many lower-class people in Bianliang who actually read newspapers. Most of the people who read newspapers are Bianliang citizens.

These Bianliang citizens were just like the citizens of Beijing in later generations. They owned real estate and industry in the local area, and they all had small family assets, so they could read and read newspapers, and their literacy rate was also high.

But the people at the bottom don't understand. Most of them don't live in the inner city, not even in the outer city, but outside the city.

At this moment, the wilderness outside the city is no longer the same as before.

In recent years, there has been a lot of construction work in Bianliang. A large number of houses have been built in the east and west suburbs outside the city and are filled with people.

The lowest housing prices are in the eastern suburbs. The eastern suburbs are close to the city and to the canal docks such as Bianhe River, Caihe River, Wuzhanghe River, and Jinhe River. You can walk to the docks within a stone's throw, so it should be the most sought-after place.

However, the housing price outside Xincaomen is as low as less than 300 Wen per month, which is more than 100 Wen cheaper than the public housing built by the government. Compared with the rent in the outer city near Xincaomen, it is five times worse.

The rent outside Chaoyangmen and Datongmen is slightly more expensive, about 500 cents a month, which is about the same as two to three days' wages for dock workers today. However, compared with the houses in the city near Chaoyang Gate and Datong Gate, it is still very cheap.

The reason why rents are low in the eastern suburbs is not only that most of these houses were built by the imperial court to provide housing for people outside the city, but the most important reason is because tens of thousands of people died outside the east city.

Zhao Jun was dealing with Wuyou Cave and Ghost Tower, as well as investigating the filth in the entire Kaifeng. Whether they were corrupt officials or evil forces, they were arrested one after another and imprisoned in the Imperial City Division and Kaifeng Mansion Prisons. The prisons were overcrowded for a period of time. , there are more than ten prisoners in a six-square-meter cell.

Then, after being interrogated by the Imperial City Department, batches of prisoners were taken to the East City for execution. The execution lasted for more than half a year. The East City was still a wasteland at that time. At one point, the grass there turned red, and the small hills there became mass graves.

As a result, in just seven or eight years, the urban circle of Bianliang began to expand outside the city, and the mass graves outside the East City were also razed to the ground. It was transformed into a new urban area, and a large number of buildings rose from the ground.

Therefore, the East Suburbs are far superior to the West Suburbs in terms of geography, environment, and distance from work units, but the housing prices in the West Suburbs are more expensive than those in the East Suburbs.

Who can explain this?

Compared with the city, which was in the era of transformation from buildings to bungalows, the East City was much simpler.

Like a criss-crossing town, going out of the city along the Xincao Gate, after crossing the bridge, you will step into the riverside road. On one side of the road is the moat surrounding the outer city of Bianliang, and on the other side is the street.

There are three- and four-story houses, four- and five-story houses, and two- and three-story houses - what they have in common is that they are basically not made of wood, but reinforced concrete houses.

There were many wooden houses in the eastern suburbs, but now they have been expropriated and demolished by the court. According to the plan, a market town extending one mile outside the city has been built.

Although the town is not as prosperous as the city, it has everything, and all kinds of shops are operating, which is not much worse than the city.

There are notices at various intersections and outside some government offices outside the city.

The eastern suburbs are under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture. At the intersections leading to Xincao Gate, Datong Gate and Chaoyang Gate, and crossing the bridge into the city, several yamen runners came over with notices and rice paste.

Seeing this scene, the people around stopped immediately. Some shop owners in the nearby shops stopped watching the shops, and some workers who went to work in the city chose to be late. Even the children who did not go to school and ran barefoot nearby gathered around to join in the fun.

"Another notice."

"Let's see what new policies the court has in place?"

"Good news. The court is going to recruit workers on a large scale to build roads and canals."

"Really? Many places in the city are full now. Only the eldest son in my family has found a job. The second and third sons have nothing to do every day. I am almost worried to death."

"It says here that if you want to go, you can directly sign up with the local government. You will go to build roads and canals, and the salary is generous."

"That's great."

Many people immediately talked about it.

In recent years, Bianliang has become increasingly prosperous and its economy has become more and more developed, attracting countless people to come and work.

The problem is that in the non-industrial era, even if your economy is developing rapidly, where are there so many jobs?

So with the increasing number of people in recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to find jobs in Bianliang.

Although this problem will be easily solved in the future as the first industrial revolution unfolds, at least there is still a great shortage of labor.

Now the court has started recruiting workers again, which is definitely very good news for Bianliang's excess labor force.

For a time, common people rushed to tell each other, and long queues formed outside the Kaifeng government office and the Ministry of Works office, which was responsible for recruiting workers, all of whom were people who came to sign up to participate.