The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 355 Civil and Military Officials: Can We Not Talk About Corruption?

The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty hurriedly asked Bao Bu Tong why this was the case. It should be noted that corvee labor has always been something that the people have been very resistant to. Why has it become something that everyone is scrambling for when it comes to Murong Fu, and why are they even willing to submit a petition to the people requesting an increase in the duration of corvee labor?

Bao Bu Tong pointed to his mouth and did a few things to keep him from talking. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty couldn't help but frown when he saw this, but he still waved his hand and lifted the ban on Bao Bu Tong, allowing him to speak freely.

Bao Bu Tong took a deep breath and chuckled, "Officials serve the country and the people. Loving the people and serving the people are not mutually exclusive. Governance should be based on local conditions. Development of the people under rule is closely linked to their livelihoods. Logically speaking, why would the people resist something that benefits them? Haven't you gentlemen ever thought carefully about this?"

At this point, the ministers looked slightly puzzled, sensing that what Bao Bu Tong was about to say would be truly shocking. Sure enough, Bao Bu Tong chuckled strangely and said, "Corvée labor itself is a good thing. The original intention was to mobilize the people to complete the project and serve the country and the people. The order was correct and the original intention was good, but when it came to the local authorities, due to various selfish motives, it became a perfunctory job and an oppression of the people."

"What my young master did was actually very simple. He just restored the corvée to its original state and made some more humane improvements." Bao Bu Tong recounted the details of Murong Fu's implementation, and everyone in the court, including the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, listened with great interest.

In local areas, corvée labor is hard labor. Not only are people not paid, but they also have to provide their own food, clothing, and tools. In many places, people are even willing to pay without doing the labor. However, in the poor and remote Rongjing County, there are not many such people. The lower-class people do not have much money and still need to do corvée labor.

Murong Fu's corvée labor was enforced, but his methods were very clever. He used different reward methods according to different jobs, and there was one constant, which was the principle of proximity, to eliminate the practice of long-distance corvée labor.

Work such as building bridges and roads, and developing water conservancy projects often starts from nearby people, allowing them to build roads right to their doorsteps. They report for duty every day, calculate points based on their workload, and then exchange the points for food. Any leftovers can be taken away, and this method of "more work, more pay" is deeply popular.

The food enjoyed by those doing corvée labor was definitely not bad, and Murong Fu would not treat the people harshly in this regard. They had oily food for every meal and meat every day. All the cooks on the construction site had been trained by the maids of the Murong family and could only take up their posts after passing the assessment. There were also Beggar Gang disciples responsible for supervision, and those serving could also report, so naturally no one dared to do anything bad.

This method of "more work, more pay" was very popular. As long as a strong man was willing to work hard and not be lazy, he could earn enough food for his family for three days in a day. What's more, the food was very delicious. Even the landlords who paid to avoid corvee labor were willing to spend money to buy it from them. With such benefits, how could they not work hard?

What's more, this kind of corvee is beneficial to one's own family. It involves building bridges, roads and water conservancy projects at home. If one does not do a good job, one will be criticized.

However, the most popular corvée labor for many people was reclaiming wasteland and terraced fields, likely because it not only provided food but also provided crops. Newly reclaimed farmland was undeniably owned by the government, but whoever reclaimed it had priority to rent it for cultivation. While the government had the final say on what could be planted, the first year was tax-free, the next three years had a 20% rent, and thereafter a maximum of 40% was enough to keep them fighting for their lives.

It's a pity that the government has its own plan for land development. It has plans for how much land to reclaim each year, what areas to develop, and what crops to plant. There are even restrictions on the time they spend doing labor service. Many farmers who secretly work outside the stipulated time have been arrested.

Of course there is no punishment, but their working hours can be limited, and this alone can make them behave.

Upon hearing this, the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty and all the civil and military officials in the court looked slightly puzzled. Conscripts weren't allowed to work overtime? And those serving were actually afraid of not working enough hours? But after careful consideration, they understood: this was taking from the people and using it for the people. Even if it was only a small amount, it was enough to make the lower-class people happy.

This approach of having the government take the lion's share and the people take the smaller share is indeed a good one, but how can the local gentry agree to it?

Soon, everyone understood that Murong Fu was restoring the original intention of corvee labor and seizing the interests belonging to the gentry and redistributing them. The bulk of the profits went to the government, and the leftovers were given to the people. But even so, a win-win situation could be achieved.

Everyone fell into deep thought. Compared to corvée labor elsewhere, it was the common people who did the work, the gentry took a small advantage, and the government, while controlling the situation, saw little benefit. Many local officials even ignored it, merely maintaining stability. But Murong Fu, on the other hand, was able to increase taxes in Rongjing County by five times within a single year.

To this question, Bao Bu Tong’s answer is: be attentive!

These two words also encompass intention. Only with intention can one be attentive. If the mind isn't there, how can one be attentive? Furthermore, there's the ability. It's possible, even quite possible, for good intentions to lead to bad outcomes. Incompetent individuals in high positions will only be deceived by those below them, prioritizing personal gain over public service. The more they do, the more mistakes they make.

"Governors must coordinate efforts from top to bottom, understanding the various sectors of society, including scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans. As the saying goes, without agriculture, there's no stability; without industry, there's no strength; and without commerce, there's no prosperity. Rongjing County has been able to improve so rapidly precisely because of the reclamation of terraced fields, which has increased the amount of farmland several times over. The repair of official roads has also opened up trade routes, attracting many merchants to settle in. All of this has been made possible by the improvement and utilization of tools, and the students of Gusu College have contributed the most."

Bao Bu Tong said calmly, "Professional matters should be left to professionals. The superiors should know how to use people and make overall plans. Then they should do a good job of supervision to avoid being deceived. This will basically ensure that things do not get out of control."

"However, people are selfish, and nepotism and greed are deeply rooted in their hearts. This is a taboo. If this continues, even the best plans will fail to materialize." Bao Bu Tong launched into a venomous attack: "How much money does the imperial court spend annually on repairing and maintaining official roads? So much is levied on corvée labor, costing the people money and time, yet the roads continue to become more dilapidated. Funds are allocated annually for the repair of the Yellow River embankments, yet the river breaches once or even several times every few years. Why is that?"

The ministers hurriedly interrupted him and told him not to go off topic. What they were discussing now was the successful experience of Rongjing County, and they should not talk about past failure cases for the time being. The links involved were complicated and could not be explained clearly in just a few words.

"With the development of Rongjing County, once the water conservancy terraces are completed and the official roads and bridges are completely unobstructed, there will be fewer places requiring large-scale corvée labor. To improve the environment, my son will definitely start a large-scale construction project. However, at this time, the civilians who can serve must not only have physical strength, but also have skills. Otherwise, they can't help at all. Or, in other words, they can't do the job well."

Build cultural landscapes with local characteristics, renovate government offices, and re-plan the county's commercial streets, with a unified style that is gorgeous and solid. Five years later, Rongjing County may not be comparable to Yazhou Prefecture, and may even be far inferior.

"Wouldn't this be too costly and labor-intensive?" An old official stepped forward to express his concerns. Bao Bu Tong curled his lips and said, "We'll source all the materials locally, buy them from the people at market prices, levy corvée labor, recruit professionals, and then sell or rent them out to wealthy local and foreign merchants. The government will provide the personnel and plans, and in the end, not only won't we lose money, we'll actually make a killing. The people will be paid for their labor, and they'll definitely earn more than usual. Merchants, you'll spend a lot of money, but it will promote business development and lead to better financial prospects. It's a win-win situation for everyone. As long as we don't have amateurs leading experts who are plagued by corruption, there won't be any problems."

Civil and military officials: Can we not talk about corruption?

Bao Bu Tong: No, apart from ability, this is probably the biggest difference between my young master and you guys. My young master is not short of money!

The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty also asked about the things that needed to be paid attention to in the development of Rongjing. After becoming rich, it was necessary to prevent fire and theft, so the number of constables and yamen runners needed to be strengthened. Rongjing County was located in the frontier, not far from the frontier, and foreign enemies often sneaked in, so the quality of the county soldiers must be improved.

What he said was actually good things about Cao Yi, and if possible, he wanted to raise the official rank of this county lieutenant.

The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty waved his hand and refused! He only said that in two years, if Rongjing County really developed as expected, he would promote Murong Fu to be the prefect of Yazhou, and Cao Yi would also be promoted to the prefectural capital to lead the troops, which could be regarded as a bundled sale.