sjar Chapter 682 The speaker is not guilty.
Chapter 682 The speaker is not guilty.
The emperor wears a sword, which symbolizes supreme authority.
Ye Kun bestowed the sword on the county magistrate so that he could enforce the law boldly.
The county magistrate was flattered and bowed to take the sword: "I obey your order. Thank you for the sword, Your Majesty!"
Ye Kun nodded and smiled, "The two ladies are visiting their relatives in their hometown, so please give them some face and don't try the case for now, lest they be unhappy. You can try it after we leave."
The county magistrate nodded: "I understand."
Ye Kun turned around and went out, taking the county magistrate to inspect the county town.
The two clan leaders were left behind.
The construction of Fuling County is obviously better than other places.
The county town wall has been demolished, and houses have been built on the site for expansion. It now has a population of more than 20,000 and is very lively.
Ye Kun asked: "After the city wall is demolished, will it have any impact on the lives of the people and the work of the government?"
"I've only been here for three months, and as far as I know, there has been no impact."
The county magistrate opened up and said, "I have read the county archives. After the city wall was demolished, the bricks were used to build more than 100 houses, which solved the housing problem for some people. It also made it much more convenient for merchants to travel.
As for theft, there has been no significant increase. Last year, there were only 15 thefts in the county, half of which were solved.
Ye Kun nodded: "As long as there is no war, it doesn't matter whether there is a city wall or not. I think the development of Fuling County is much better than other places."
The county magistrate said: "Fuling has developed rapidly, one reason being that it has been driven by Chongqing. Chongqing is now a water and land port with developed commerce. Many people in this county travel to Chongqing to do business or work to earn money.
Second, it is also the grace of the emperor, who has invested a lot of money in Fuling County; third, the Huang family and the Cheng family, because their children are outstanding, have been rewarded with military merits, and the gold and silver they sent back have also raised the local average level. "
Ye Kun was very surprised and said with a smile: "Mr. County Magistrate, you have a deep understanding of economics."
After only three months in office, he was able to analyze the economic situation of Fuling County to this extent, which shows how talented he is.
The county magistrate clasped his fists and said, "Your Majesty, thank you for your praise. I studied in the Economics and Finance class at Chengdu Tiangong University. I studied the economic theory edited by your Majesty, as well as books such as Salt and Iron Theory."
"So he's a top student at Tiangong University."
Ye Kun smiled and said, "I remember that the economics and finance class of Tiangong University is to provide talents for the Ministry of Finance and Taxation. Why didn't you work in the Ministry of Finance and Taxation, but became a county magistrate?"
"I was originally in Dongba County, where I was in charge of finance and taxation. Because the position of Fuling County Magistrate was vacant, I was transferred here."
"I see."
Ye Kun nodded and asked, "Tell me about the court's current policies. Which ones are good and need to be maintained? Which ones are not good and need to be adjusted? You can say whatever you want. You are not guilty of speaking."
The magistrate of Fuling County was named Chen Haoran. He pondered and said, "I don't know the situation in the city, so I'll talk about the countryside. The villages in the countryside are still too big. We need to build more small villages.
Because of the population increase in recent years, the originally planned village is no longer large enough to accommodate people. If people are concentrated together, there is a fire hazard. Once a fire breaks out, the whole village will be destroyed.
In addition, with the reclamation of wasteland, farming has become increasingly remote. People often have to travel ten miles to farm, wasting time on the road. It is very laborious to transport food from the fields and to transport compost from the front door to the fields.
The construction of new villages should be liberalized in an orderly manner, adapted to local conditions, and the number of natural villages should be increased to facilitate production for the people.
From a scientific point of view, the people’s fields should not be more than three miles away from their residence. If they are more than three miles away, farming will be exhausting.”
Ye Kun nodded and said, "Your proposal is very valuable. I also raised this issue in the past. The newly built Hundred Household Village also follows the principle of farming nearby. It's just that the development is too fast, and the previous planning can no longer keep up."
County Magistrate Chen Haoran said: "Your Majesty, planning a new village does not necessarily require a hundred households. A natural village with ten or eight households is also acceptable. Moreover, space must be reserved. Because our population is increasing too fast, as children grow up, the number of households will continue to increase."
“Yes, we need to reserve space and make long-term plans.”
Ye Kun admired Chen Haoran's vision and said with a smile, "I will give you the power. Let's start the new plan from Fuling County."
"The minister obeys the order."
"Also... the Huang and Cheng families, although they have committed minor crimes, they are not unforgivable. When you deal with them, please show some leniency, let them apologize to the victim, pay compensation, and then give them a lighter sentence. Don't say it was my idea."
"Your Majesty, I understand."
"Once you have completed these two tasks, I will propose to the Nine Departments to appoint you as the governor of Dongba County for three years. I will see your performance in Dongba County. Don't let me down."
"Thank you for your cultivation, Your Majesty. I will do my best."
Chen Haoran bowed again.
Ye Kun only stayed in Fuling for one day.
Chunhua Yulian spent money lavishly and gave many gifts to the villagers, and returned home happily.
Ye Kun also led everyone to leave Chongqing and head to Chengdu.
This time we took the Sichuan Central Expressway.
Guo Ping has attached great importance to transportation in recent years and has worked with Chongqing to maintain the Central Sichuan Highway very well. Many places have been straightened, widened and reinforced.
Coupled with the developed water transportation in central Sichuan, the transportation in the Yizhou Basin is among the best in the country, second only to the flat Central Plains region.
Walking on the road, Ye Kun saw that many villages had been built on both sides of the Sichuan Avenue.
There are also wine shops and inns to serve traveling merchants.
Ye Kun asked, "Do all these small wine shops and inns pay taxes?"
"The tax is very low, which is a good idea, no more than one hundred coins a year. This is also the will of the court, to encourage small businesses to start up."
"Yes, small fish and shrimp don't make much money. But you can't let the big merchants off. The government's finances mainly rely on commercial taxes."
The current grain collection rate from farmers is still 20%.
But there are also many tax-exempt groups, including Gonglie Village, girls, disabled people, and grassroots officials.
Commercial taxes accounted for half of the court's income, foreign trade and plunder accounted for 20%, and the taxes paid by farmers accounted for less than 30% of the court's total income.
The Grand Canal contributed half of the court’s commercial taxes.
So Ye Kun was keen on building roads and digging canals, which was really profitable and reduced the amount of tax evasion.
The carriage passed through parallel ridges and valleys, and there was a large village on the roadside ahead.
Ye Kun asked the convoy to stop and went to the big village to take a look.
Unexpectedly, two families in the village were fighting, with each other bruised and swollen, crying and cursing!
Guo Ping was furious and quickly ordered his guards to control the fighting parties.
Ye Kun stepped forward and asked, "Why are your two families fighting? We are all from the same village, what can't we discuss?"
Guo Ping shouted, "The one who is questioning you is the Emperor of the Han Dynasty. Be careful!"
Both the fighting parties and the onlookers were shocked.
Ye Kun waved his hand: "The emperor doesn't eat people, don't be afraid, tell me what's going on."
The village chief came over, bowed to Ye Kun, and explained the reason:
"They had a fight last night, and they had another fight today. Zhang Chenghu's son and Li Wenlong's son are both in primary school. Zhang's son called Li's son Zhang Chenghu's name. Li's son felt that his father's name was being called randomly, so he was dissatisfied and also called him Zhang Chenghu's son... Then the children started fighting, and the adults of the two families also started fighting..."
Ye Kun frowned: "What a mess, why don't I understand?"
Guo Ping smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is a question of taboo. When naughty boys curse at each other, they often call out the other's father's name to insult the other. The other party feels that it is a great humiliation to have his father's name called out, so he retaliates."
So that's how it is. I understand.
Ye Kun couldn't help but smile and glared at him, "Zhang Chenghu, Li Wenlong, the children are ignorant. You are also old, so you are also ignorant, right?"
The two farmers wiped the blood from their noses, covered their eyes, and dared not speak.
Ye Kun called Ye Shusheng over and said loudly, "This is my son, Ye Shusheng. I am his father, Ye Kun. Now, Ye Shusheng, tell everyone loudly, what is your father's name."
Ye Shusheng chuckled: "My father's name is Ye Kun, Ye of tree leaf, Kun of heaven and earth, Ye Kun!"
Everyone was silent.
Ye Kun ordered the guards: "Guards, everyone!"
"Here!" The guards lined up, stood at attention and saluted.