kingnovel Chapter 127 Development Plan
Chapter 127 Development Plan
After handling affairs in the yamen for a day, Lu Xunhuan returned to the mansion with the Great Elder Yun Zhongzi.
He said to Yun Zhongzi, "His Majesty the King sent the Crown Prince to Baocheng. Firstly, he wanted him to help me take charge, and secondly, he wanted him to come for inspection. However, the struggle for power in the royal family has always been extremely fierce. When the Crown Prince comes to Baocheng, his safety is the top priority."
Yun Zhongzi said, "I have come here to protect the great sage. The life and death of the crown prince has nothing to do with me. Since he dared to come, he must have brought powerful guards with him. I don't think we need to worry about him."
Lu Xun Huan nodded. "He must have expert guards with him. But if someone really wants to harm him, it's easier to avoid an open attack than a hidden one. Let's let him stay with us. You can help protect him."
Yun Zhongzi said, "I'll do my best."
Ten days later, the county magistrates from all counties arrived.
Lu Xunhuan arranged for Lang Tongzhi and the new county magistrate of Yangshan County to tell everyone about the current development of Yangshan County.
The group of county magistrates listened with great interest and found many of the advanced concepts quite novel.
After the two of them had given their brief speeches, Lu Xun Huan said to everyone, "Our goal is to make this state the richest state in Southern Liang. The conditions in each county are different from Yangshan County, so we can't just copy everything. We need to adapt to local conditions."
He unfolded a map of the prefecture on the wall. "Yangshan is full of hills and valleys. If we want to grow crops on a large scale, the people will work hard and have low incomes. This does not mean that Yangshan County will not grow crops. Where conditions allow, we should still grow crops. Food is the basic material of people's lives and is indispensable."
He pointed his finger at Lianchuan County and said, "Lianchuan has many rivers and a flat terrain. Over the past millions of years, the rivers have brought a large amount of silt, which has formed a vast plain. We call it the Lianchuan Plain."
He drew a circle around the Lianchuan Plain with his finger. "This is a land of fish and rice, an important base for our grain production. However, in the past, everyone just focused on growing grain. It's a shame to waste such a large plain with so many rivers and lakes."
The magistrate of Lianchuan County stood up and saluted, saying, "Excuse me, sir, besides growing crops and fishing, what else can we grow?"
Lu Xunhuan said, "Grain farming is the most important industry. We need to set up a special seed department to cultivate high-quality grain seeds and maximize production."
He then changed the subject: "However, we can't just grow crops or focus on fish. We must also consciously raise aquatic products such as shrimp and crabs, and plant lotus roots in the lakes. This will increase people's income in many ways and enrich our dining tables."
The Lianchuan County Magistrate said, "Sir, these are not the problems, but who to sell them to is the big question. The county is breeding a lot of shrimp and crabs, and Lianchuan County cannot consume them all. Although we are only fifty miles away from Baocheng, the rivers are crisscrossed and the old bridges are old and dilapidated, making transportation very difficult."
Lu Xunhuan pointed to a location on the map and said, "See this? The two rivers are only ten miles apart. I have decided to dig a canal, open up the waterway, and build a large number of ships. From now on, all the products of Lianchuan County can be transported to Baocheng by water."
The Lianchuan County Magistrate opened his eyes wide and looked at it for a moment, then praised: "Great! We only need to dig through these ten miles to connect the entire water network. From now on, Lianchuan to Baocheng will be directly connected by a wide waterway."
Lu Xunhuan motioned him to sit down. He then pointed to Yanshui County and said, "Do you know why the water in Yanshui River is salty?"
The Yanshui County Magistrate stood up and said, "Your Excellency, there are salt mines upstream of the Yanshui River."
Lu Xunhuan asked, "Has the county government vigorously exploited the salt mines?"
The Yanshui County Magistrate said, "The upper reaches of the Yanshui River are surrounded by steep mountains and deep ravines. Building a road would require an immense amount of manpower and resources. Furthermore, the river is narrow and covered with mudflats, making it difficult for ships to penetrate. The county government has not mined the river, and only some local people are producing private salt."
Lu Xunhuan said, "It's a shame to leave a large salt mine unmined. Transportation isn't a problem. We can't get there by land or water, so let's build an air corridor."
Everyone was stunned. In the air?
What kind of transportation is used in the air? Can Lord Lu design a flying carriage or a flying ship?
Lu Xunhuan pointed to three points on the map. "Within Yanshui County, due to the many unique mountains, three immortal sects have established themselves here. These three sects, one medium-sized sect and two small-medium sects, have a total of 1,500 people."
He asked the Yanshui County Magistrate, "How do the three sects survive in such a poor county?"
The Yanshui County Magistrate replied, "They cultivate their own crops within their sect, and also collect valuable herbs to open a clinic in Yanshui County to make money."
Lu Xun Huan said, "I believe their lives must be very difficult. I have checked and found that there are more than 300 people in the three sects who are above the Soaring Cloud Realm and can control magic weapons to fly."
The Yanshui County Magistrate asked, "Could it be that they want us to negotiate with the three major sects and ask them to help us transport salt?"
Lu Xun Huan shook his head: "No, we want them to help us open a corridor."
He crossed out a line on the map: "The road from Yanshui County can lead to Xianling Town. We will build the remaining fifty miles ourselves."
He continued, "It's only about thirty miles from Xianling Town to the Big Salt Mine, but the mountains are too steep, with cliffs everywhere, making it difficult for ordinary people to build a road."
He smiled and said, "I want to build a road on the cliff for carriages to run on."
Everyone's eyes widened. To build a road between the cliffs for horse-drawn carriages to run on, how deep would the excavation have to be? Even if it was only those two sections, it would be a huge project.
Lu Xunhuan slid his finger across the map. "This section... this section, we cut down century-old trees and built a wide plank road."
"As for this place," he pointed to a high mountain road that separated the two sections, "we've dug a tunnel three meters wide and several miles long. The road is flat and straight, leading directly to the salt mining area."
"Huh!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, as if everything was going extremely hard.
Lu Xunhuan said to the Yanshui County Magistrate, "The provincial government will discuss the construction of the plank road and the tunnel with all the immortal sects in the province and offer them generous rewards. Immortal disciples above the Soaring Cloud Realm can fly with magical weapons and possess great abilities. They are a hundred times more efficient than ordinary people in digging holes for piles and excavating tunnels in rock walls."
"After you return, immediately organize the relevant personnel and come up with a series of plans for mining, boiling, packaging, etc. For example, how many boiling workshops should be built in the mining area, how many skilled workers are needed, and what the salary and benefits should be. These are all things that need to be considered."
The Yanshui County Magistrate saluted and said, "Yes."
Lu Xunhuan said, "If this salt mine can be mined vigorously and sold nationwide, your Yanshui County will become rich thanks to this mine."
The Yanshui County Magistrate saluted again and said, "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I will do my best."
Lu Xun Huan gestured for him to sit down, and then said to Lang Tongzhi, "The development of the surrounding counties and districts cannot be separated from the support of Baocheng."
He turned the map over, revealing the next page.
"Mr. Lang, our top priority right now is to allow all industries in Baocheng to flourish and boost consumption. We should renovate the old areas in the city and build new neighborhoods to attract people with purchasing power from outside the city or other counties to buy houses in Baocheng."
Lang Tongzhi asked, "Sir, how will the original residents of the old area be resettled?"
Lu Xun Huan replied, "We'll find another place in the city to build resettlement housing. We'll give everyone more space and better conditions than before. Everyone will definitely be happy to move."
Lang Tongzhi stroked his beard and said, "In this case, the state government will have to pay for it."
Lu Xunhuan smiled slightly. "When I entered the city, I saw a large piece of vacant land in the north. We'll measure it and put it out to public bidding. Whoever offers the highest price will get the right to use the land for a hundred years. However, the land can only be used to build real estate, some for ordinary residences and some for wealthy villas."
Lang Tongzhi's brain was a little insufficient: "This..."
Lu Xunhuan said, "This is called real estate, and it's also a business."
He added: "In addition, all industries should refer to the methods of Yangshan County to encourage technological innovation and invention, so as to attract talents from all walks of life to Baocheng and attract more people to settle down in Baocheng."
"Based on the current size of Baocheng, it will be no problem for the population to increase fivefold."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this.
Baocheng currently has a population of 300,000. Five times that would be 1.5 million, almost catching up with Yingzhou City, which has a population of 2 million?
Lu Xunhuan picked up the tea and took a sip. "If a country only has one large city, its development will be uneven. We need more large cities to benefit the entire country."
"As long as we can develop Baocheng, make the people prosperous, and make the state government wealthy, nothing will be a problem."
"That's all I'll tell you about today. We'll discuss the specific plans tomorrow."
At this moment, an official came hurriedly and said, "Sir, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has arrived."
Lu Xun Huan put down his teacup and said, "Today's meeting ends here. Come with me to see the Crown Prince."