Chapter 494: Making Contributions
Chapter 494: Making Contributions
Shen Guang was puzzled and asked, "Just because you solved a small charity granary problem, you can be called the second Sun Quan?"
"A small charity granary problem?"
Shen Qu glared at his nephew angrily. "Do you think the charity granary problem is easy to solve? This is a rotten abscess that has accumulated for many years, and it involves the vital interests of thousands of farmers. How many governors have been replaced in Danyang County, how many county magistrates have been replaced in Jiangning County, and who has ever asked about the charity granary? They all treat the charity granary as a fat sheep and slaughter it at will. It takes great courage to just propose to solve the charity granary problem, not to mention actually solving it, and solving it so beautifully."
Shen Guang scratched his head a little embarrassedly, "It seems that he does have some skills!"
Shen Qu shook his head and said, "This is not a question of ability, but a question of attitude. There are so many capable people. Xiao Daocheng, Liu Yu, and Chen Baxian are all talented people, but who can give benefits to the people?
The fundamental solution to the problem of the charity granary is to give benefits to the people and use real money to make up for the deficits of the charity granaries over the years. Either they turn a blind eye and push the charity granaries to the next person in charge, or they cut the Gordian knot and close the charity granaries with a single order, not caring about the lives of the people. In my opinion, the only person who can consider the interests of the people and let them take advantage of it is the King of Jin."
"Why should we let the people take advantage? Isn't it better to treat them fairly?"
"So you don't understand political wisdom. The best way to solve a problem like the charity granary, which involves the interests of thousands of households, is to benefit the people and let them solve the problem happily and go home satisfied. This way, not only will there be no sequelae, but you will also have a good reputation. I guarantee that everyone will praise the King of Jin for loving the people and being kind. I have never seen such a far-sighted and politically savvy ruler."
"How does he compare to Chen Houzhu?"
"Emperor Chen?"
Shen Qu snorted coldly and said, "Prince Jin and the last ruler Chen Shubao are two completely different people. Chen Shubao is greedy and stupid, and treats the people as grass. However, he is generous and wise, and loves the people like his own children. Silang, it is difficult for you to meet such a wise ruler, so I advise you to go to him and seek a bright future for yourself."
Shen Guang's heart was moved by his uncle's words.
He hid in Jiangning because he didn't want to join the Lan family's bandit army. He was skilled in martial arts, and if he could meet a famous master, it would be his chance to make great achievements.
The next morning, Xiao Xia went to the Jiangning Shipyard. The Jiangning Shipyard was the former military equipment shipyard of the Chen Dynasty. Like the Jingkou Shipyard, it was confiscated by the Sui Dynasty and became the official shipyard of the Sui Dynasty, directly under the management of the Ministry of Works. It has now been transferred to the Jiangnan Dao General Administration and is under the jurisdiction of the Military Shipyard. It is now mainly responsible for the maintenance and construction of military ships. In the future, it will be changed to focus on building civilian ships, and the Shipyard will be transferred to the Shangshu Xingtai.
Of course, this is just Xiao Xia’s long-term plan, and it is not known whether he can wait until that day!
The Jiangning Shipyard is very large, covering an area of three miles along the coast. Thousands of ship workers are busy in the shipyard. Currently, they no longer build civilian ships and instead focus on maintaining military ships. Nearly a hundred 3,000-stone warships have been towed to the slipway on the shore, and there are dozens of craftsmen busy around each warship.
The person in charge of the shipyard was named Wei, a native of Jiangning. He served as the manager of the shipyard for thirty years from the Chen Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty.
Steward Wei welcomed the Prince of Jin into the shipyard. Xiao Xia didn't have much time as he had to rush to Jingkou to check on the recruitment situation. He could only spare half an hour for the inspection.
Manager Wei didn't say much and directly took Xiao Xia to a 5,000-stone warship that was under maintenance.
"Your Highness, please take a look at this ship. It has never been maintained since it was launched in the eighth year of Kaihuang. The deck and the hull are cracked. If the wind and waves are strong, water will enter the cabin. We will perform a major maintenance on it. All cracked planks will be replaced, all mortise and tenon joints will be inspected, and all nails will be replaced with new ones. Three coats of primer and two coats of tung oil will be applied. It is estimated that it will take two months to complete."
“So a major maintenance is very expensive?”
Manager Wei nodded and said, "Small boats are cheaper. A large boat of this size will cost nearly a thousand strings of cash."
"Where's the little maintenance?"
"Minor maintenance is usually done once every two years, about ten days, and costs a few dozen strings of cash for a small ship and two to three hundred strings of cash for a large ship."
Xiao Xia sighed, "A large fleet can easily have thousands of warships. The cost of maintenance alone is unimaginable!" "Not every dynasty is as powerful as the Sui Dynasty. For example, the Liang Dynasty and the Chen Dynasty both had thousands of warships. As a result, when a naval battle broke out between the two sides, the pole of the warship in front of Your Highness broke the warship of the Southern Dynasty in two with one stroke. Do you know why?"
"Is the other party a civilian ship?" Xiao Xia reacted immediately.
Manager Wei nodded. "This is the difference in national strength. The Sui Dynasty was very particular about the materials and construction techniques used in building warships. The ship walls were extremely thick and the nails were thick and long, so they could go out to sea. The Southern Dynasty did not have such a strong foundation, so they could only build ships as cheaply as possible. They were ordinary river ships disguised as military ships. Once a war broke out, their fragile foundation would be exposed."
Xiao Xia suddenly thought of something and asked hurriedly, "Are these more than a thousand warships from the Southern Dynasty or the Sui Dynasty?"
"Of course it's the warships of the Sui Dynasty. The warships of the Southern Dynasty were used for civilian purposes, so the imperial court would of course keep the good warships."
Xiao Xia simply looked at a few ships and ended his inspection of the shipyard, then took a boat to Jingkou for inspection.
Currently, there are six points for recruiting navy: one in Jiangdu, one in Jingkou, one in Liyang, one in Jiangxia, one in Xiangyang, and one in Jiangling.
Why are there three points in the Jingxiang area? The reason is that it is easier to recruit professional navy here. The income of the people here is much lower than that in the south of the Yangtze River, an average of one or two strings of cash per month. Recruiting soldiers can earn three strings of cash a month, and they are also provided with food, accommodation and clothing. Of course young people are willing to do so. After serving as a soldier for ten years and earning hundreds of strings of cash, they can go home and buy a business.
It was very difficult to recruit soldiers in the Jiangnan area, the income was not high, and they had to be away from home for ten years. Of course, the people in the Jiangnan area were unwilling to do so. Therefore, there has been a saying in the Jiangnan area since ancient times that "good iron is not used to make nails, and good men do not become soldiers." By the Song Dynasty, this saying had spread throughout the country.
Xiao Xia set up a recruitment point in Jingkou. He didn't expect to recruit many naval forces in the Jiangnan area.
The recruitment director of Jingkou and Jiangdu was Lai Huer. It was not necessary to observe mourning for the full three years. If the court summoned him, he could return early. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial.
The position that Xiao Xia promised Lai Huer was the deputy admiral of the navy. Xiao Xia himself served as the grand admiral concurrently, so the deputy admiral was the commander-in-chief.
Rebuilding the navy has always been Lai Huer's dream. This is his only chance. If he gives up, he will never have the opportunity to serve as the commander of the navy in the future.
So after considering for a month, Lai Huer kowtowed three times to his mother's spirit tablet and vowed to mourn for his mother for three years after retiring.
He put on his military uniform again, and Xiao Xia immediately appointed him as the deputy admiral of the navy, and reported to the emperor for approval, and at the same time asked the emperor for a group of naval generals.
The warship arrived at Jingkou, and Lai Huer came to the dock to welcome the Prince of Jin.
"How is the recruitment situation in Jingkou?" Xiao Xia asked.
Lai Huer was a little puzzled and asked, "We recruited 2,000 people at Jingkou, but today a large number of young and strong men from Danyang County suddenly came. I wonder why?"
Xiao Xia understood immediately, probably because of what he said at the meeting with the gentry.
"It's a good thing that someone has signed up. Let's go and take a look!"
Xiao Xia smiled and without any explanation, he mounted his horse and followed Lai Huer to the recruitment point in Jingkou.
(End of this chapter)