strictlysupreme Chapter 2229 Li Shen's Initial Plan
Chapter 2229 Li Shen's Initial Plan
Since the goal is to assimilate the barbarians, the sooner the better. The education of children is the focus, but adults cannot be neglected either.
Li Shen felt that both adults and children should be grasped with both hands, and both hands must be strong.
"Your Highness, do you mean that adults can also enroll in school?" Qu Zhiping asked in confusion after hearing this.
Isn’t it a little late for adults to start school? And I’m afraid not many people would be willing to come and study.
Nowadays, it is good enough if everyone can speak Tang language, so who has the time to learn characters?
Li Shen nodded:
"Yes, adults should learn too, but not for us, but for yourselves."
"Well... May I ask what you mean by that, Prince Ji?" What do you mean by "for our own sake"? Can they still take the imperial examination at such an old age?
Li Shen leaned back in his chair calmly, crossing his legs.
"Sir, to be honest, our Ji Palace will invest more manpower and resources in this place.
It not only includes Xizhou, but also the entire Anxi, and will even extend to the small countries of Yanqi, Qiuci, Shule, Khotan, and Suiye.
So a lot of manpower will be needed.
It is too troublesome to dispatch personnel from the interior. I have already considered recruiting personnel from Xizhou.
But the prerequisite is that you must have been educated, know how to read, and have a flexible mind.
Let's start with the workshop in Prince Ji's mansion. I plan to open a night school and let the craftsmen come to learn to read and write at night.
Those who know more than 1,000 characters will have their wages increased by 30%, and those who know more than 3,000 characters will have their wages increased by 50%. Those who are proficient in mathematics and familiar with classics and history will have their wages increased by 50%.
Promoted to foreman and trained as the next manager, salary doubled.
Regardless of whether it is a man or a woman, as long as they can be of use to me, I will never be stingy with money. "
Li Shen plans to set up an elite reserve plan here, just like in Chang'an City.
Chang'an City also has a similar plan, but the selection is much stricter than this one. It is a cadre reserve plan.
Wang Hongfu would select elites from the grassroots level and train them by his side, so as to examine their ability and level of doing things.
Secondly, it can also make him feel much more relaxed.
When the Ji Palace lacks a manager, the outstanding people can be sent there. This is what Xu Jinyuan did just now.
The northwest was too far away, so a stone tablet was erected in front of Kaiyuan Gate in Chang'an City, on which a sentence was written by Yu Shinan: It is nine thousand nine hundred miles west to Anxi.
The meaning is to tell everyone not to be afraid because the journey to Anxi is only 9,900 miles away, less than 10,000 miles.
Although this proves the Tang Dynasty's confidence, it also shows how long the road is.
If Li Shen wants to continue developing westward, he can go all the way west.
That's more than ten thousand miles away. It's not cost-effective to transfer personnel from the Central Plains. Not only is the journey long, but it also requires people to leave their homes and it takes several months to go home.
Half a year passed in total.
It is for this reason that Li Shen felt it would be better to use local people.
There was excitement in Qu Zhiping's eyes. Being able to become the manager of Prince Ji's Mansion would be much better than being a prefect.
To be honest, few Tang officials respected him as a prefect. Even Guo Xiaoke did not inform him of the meeting.
Qu Zhiping could also understand that the people of the Tang Dynasty were arrogant and looked down on these barbarians.
But if he became the shopkeeper of Prince Ji's Mansion, not only ordinary people, but even officials of the Tang Dynasty would have to show him respect.
Although you are a remnant, the one standing behind you is Prince Ji. Among the officials here, including Guo Xiaoke, who can afford to offend Prince Ji?
“Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji, for your care. Your Highness Prince Ji is very thoughtful and far-sighted, which is truly admirable.
We will always remember your kindness to our tribe, and if you have any mission in the future, we will do our best."
Qu Zhiping bowed deeply and said that as long as the tribe could board the ship of Prince Ji's palace, they would not be bullied from now on.
With the support of Prince Ji's Mansion, their lives will get better and better.
"Okay, you don't have to be so polite. This is a win-win situation. If you work for me, I will not treat you unfairly.
Although I may not be a good person, I will never be stingy with my own people.
Oh, I have one more thing to ask you." Li Shen changed the subject.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please give your instructions."
Li Shen adjusted his posture and said:
"I also plan to build a farm here. As you can see, there are still large tracts of wasteland that have not been reclaimed.
It's a waste to put it here.
These are all fertile fields. No matter what you grow on them, they are better than those grown elsewhere.
Therefore, I plan to have people open up the land for planting. If crops are planted, the imperial court will take 10% of the tax revenue.
If you grow cotton, the tax rate will be the same as before, 1% of 40%.
Moreover, here, you are exempt from corvée labor. When you go back, please tell the people in your tribe,
If anyone wants to come over, just come over directly."
The taxes on the people here are different from those on the Tang dynasty, and they are not subject to rent, commission, or taxation, because they do not have the skills to make silk and linen.
That is to say, people would only be conscripted for labor when there was a war, and this was not the case at other times.
Therefore, Li Shen proposed to collect 10% tax on grain to offset rent and commissions, while the tax rate inside the Great Wall was 40% to 1%.
But even if the tax rate is one tenth, it is still a happy event for these survivors.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will tell them when I get back."
Qu Zhiping quickly agreed, but he still had some resistance in his heart. If he brought all the people in the tribe here,
Wouldn’t his position as a prefect become a hollow shell?
But since King Ji spoke, he dared not disobey.
Li Shen also knew that it would not be easy. People could still graze in other places, but if they settled here, they would lose a source of income.
But for the Tang Dynasty, the best way to control these nomadic peoples was to let them settle down.
They will linger around only after they have property and will not be willing to go out to fight.
Take it slow, Li Shen sighed in his heart.
“There is one last thing. Since I want to build an academy, I need manpower. When you go back, ask who is willing to come and work.
Anyway, the cotton has been harvested and it’s autumn, so there’s nothing much to do.
If anyone is willing to come and earn some money, let them come and work for a few months.
Three hundred coins a month, including food and lodging."
Li Shen said the last thing. It would be more convenient to find local people to do the work when building a school, and the master craftsmen could be mobilized from inside the country.
Qu Zhiping thought this was a good thing. The people in the tribe could earn more money and naturally live a better life.
"Yes, I will inform the people when I return. I believe many people will come."
"Okay, then I have nothing to do. It's still the same old rules. You can ask for money or supplies.
I will have someone count the number later and then tell you the price, you can decide for yourself."
There is no head manager here yet, so Li Shen has to come in person to handle such small matters. The other workshops are just managers, each in charge of their own affairs.
(Current status: 40 years old, 60 years old body, 10 years old financially, 3 years old IQ.)