When Li Yi returned to Anxin, many things needed to be adjusted and arranged, so he was in a hurry.

During this Gaoyang Rebellion, it can be said that the big families in Baoding were completely defeated by themselves in their self-confidence. If they want to deal with me in the future, they will think of the fate of the Wang family and will have a lot of fear.

But this time he also noticed two things. The first is that his strength in the cities of Baoding needs to be strengthened, and the second is that with the opening of trade routes, production also needs to be expanded.

Why are the big families in Baoding so arrogant? It's because they control the trade routes, have huge wealth, unfathomable connections, and have a huge number of servants and armed men.

Why can't they be arrogant when they encounter them? On the one hand, it's because they have bigger fists. In fact, it's their brutal methods that scare them, letting them know that it's far better to live peacefully with them than to fight against each other.

He beat them down and gave them the benefits of selling goods. With this combination, the Baoding officials and gentry accepted his existence.

However, today's cooperative relationships are still very fragile. Only with the backing of strong force can this kind of cooperation be stable and we can take the initiative.

Therefore, it is necessary to once again expand our power in the cities of Baoding.

Li Yi has already had some ideas, which is to use military training to train shop guards. Each shop in the city will be equipped with guards. Xunri will serve as a shop assistant to help manage goods and help with operations.

Once a conflict is encountered, he will become a guard to resolve the conflict and fight against some malicious plots.

Of course, the number of these guards will not be large, and the level of training cannot be compared with the brave men of the Iron Brigade. But as long as they are equipped with weapons and equipment newly produced by Shang'an, Li Yi is confident that ordinary wealthy servants and Jianghu people will definitely not be their opponents.

of.

This is a particularly important thing. It is to establish a guard team, equipped with muskets and steel weapons, and then focus on training in the art of attack and battle formation. In this way, it will be a large armed force, enough to fight in various cities.

, becoming the third largest force after the government and Jianghu gangs.

From now on, as long as there are shops, there will be escorts. They wear inner armor, use steel swords, and are equipped with firearms such as muskets and short muskets. When they are divided, they are like tigers, and when they are together, they are like wolves.

A painful lesson for those with bad intentions.

This cost is of course much higher than simply hiring a clerk, but these people are well-trained, loyal, and powerful, and can also protect shops and collect intelligence, so it is very worth it.

And An Xin has* this Jinyiwei Baihu, who is proficient in fighting, assassination, and intelligence gathering, so it is good to leave this matter to him.

As soon as he returned to the Railway Brigade and settled in a group of mechanically proficient talents from Momen, Li Yi hurriedly held a meeting.

The dean of the village nursing home and the patriarch in charge of civil affairs, Zhang Qianyi, the director of household housing, Zhao Youlin, the director of education, and Wan Lao, the director of craftsmen.

Zhang Mingde and Li Si from the Yong camp, Wang Kui and Zhao Youlin from the Hard camp, Zhang San from the private camp, and * from the Military Intelligence Bureau.

*Although on the surface he is one of the 100 Guards, he is actually one of the 100 Jinyi Guards. Although he is not well-known and not very respected in Baoding, he is the intelligence chief of Baoding.

Zhang Mingde and the others didn't quite understand the intervention of such a government official at first, so they were always resistant to it and didn't get along well with it.

However, Li Yi still trusted him very much. He not only handed over all of An Xin's intelligence work to him, but also spent considerable manpower and financial resources to help him develop intelligence routes. This incident, including the rural nursing home, was very surprised.

I know why Li Yi is so trusting*.

Of course, the placement of Baoding Jinyiwei's family members has been arranged secretly by Li Yi and the old patriarch.

On the one hand, these people are the new villagers of Anxin, and on the other hand, they are also the hostages left by Jinyiwei, so Li Yi and the old patriarch are so relieved.

Moreover, the progress of Anxin's intelligence work has been very slow. With the help of Jin Yiwei and others, we will get twice the result with half the effort.

"Let's all talk about the situation in the past ten days. This person has concerns, and after being away for a few days, I feel really uneasy." Li Yi knocked on the table and looked at An Xin Core in front of him.

"Old patriarch, please tell me about An Xin's situation." Li Yi said.

The old patriarch was very clear about the overall situation of Anxin, and immediately said: "The construction project of Anxin is now being carried out steadily. The first phase of the construction plan will be completed within a year. By then, there will be a new town and five large docks.

, and thirty villages will be completed, as well as roads, irrigation projects, workshops, strongholds, military camps, docks, shipyards... These will also be completed within a year, and Anxinding will usher in a new era by then.

A new transformation.”

After hearing this, Li Yi was very satisfied with the progress of the project. Among them, the road from New Town to Baiyangdian has been almost completed. He is just waiting for the completion of various projects next year. All strongholds in Anxin will be connected together, and then New Town will provide

With the head and Wubao as the bones, a complete defense system and management system have been established.

As long as Baiyangdian is completely controlled by the new town and five forts, it will be difficult for some ruthless bandits and servants to shake Anxin's foundation unless a large army invades the territory.

Thinking of this, Li Yi said: "Then the old patriarch and other supervisors will continue to carry out the project, and pay attention to the capacity of the warehouse when distributing merits. There is also the matter of accepting refugees. How many people are absorbed each month now?"

The old patriarch said: "Our reputation in Anxin is getting louder and louder now, and refugees from all directions have begun to flock here. A few days ago, we also took in a group of refugees from Anqing Prefecture. However, because the natural disasters gradually subsided, the refugees

There are not many people there. The number of people we have taken in this month is about 2,300. They are all divided into various villages after checking and registering in accordance with the management regulations. It is estimated that next month, the number of people will be less than 2,000."

Hearing that the number of people was gradually decreasing, Li Yi also breathed a sigh of relief.

You must know that although the land in Anxin can support 100,000 people, that is the limit period. If it really reaches that point, Anxin will be overwhelmed and fall into chaos.

At present, there are more than 50,000 people in Anxin. Traditional farming relies on these manpower and is close to saturation. In order to effectively utilize manpower, the projects carried out by Li Yi have left Anxin with no idle labor force. The subsequent workshops have transformed these refugees from farmers.

Transformation into craftsmen greatly changed the traditional occupational structure of the Ming Dynasty.

As long as the one-year project is completed, most of the 50,000 people will become skilled craftsmen and be able to create a huge commercial economy. While these craftsmen will drive the economic development of Anxin, they will also make manufacturing

Technology has been improved, and huge wars rely on manufacturing. On that day, Anxin will definitely be able to support a war with staggering consumption from a small area. This is the potential of war, and it will also be Li Yi's capital to protect Anxin in the future.

Being able to go so smoothly, Li Yi also relaxed a lot. He looked at Zhang Qianyi and said, "Mr. Zhang, how is An Xin's warehouse?"

Zhang Qianyi was in charge of finance and understood this very well. He said: "The Anxin warehouse currently has 230,000 taels of silver and 200,000 shi of grain, which is very abundant. However, as the project progresses, merit is distributed very frequently, and the daily expenditure is also

It’s not a small number, but according to the current consumption, it can support two months. If the project is stopped and the money and food in the new warehouse are enough to support one year’s consumption.”

Two hundred thousand taels of silver, which is equivalent to hundreds of millions in future generations, is not a lot of money, but An Xin needs to spend money on everything now.

"How is the sales situation of the workshop's products? Our expenses and income must reach a good state." Li Yi asked.

Mr. Zhang nodded and said: "Now we have thirteen workshops, including three large ones and ten medium ones. Their monthly output of cloth, glass, cement, soap and other commodities, their income is about one thousand three hundred taels."

It’s about 800 taels of silver, so our expenses are generally profitable.”

Although Anxin's silver is still profitable, Li Yi did not feel relieved and instead frowned.

You must know that Anxin's current expenditures are generally expenditures on engineering and commodity materials. Because in the disaster years, the price of labor has been reduced to the extreme, which is equivalent to the expenditure on food.

In other words, the villagers of Anxin exchanged labor for food. Although there was a slight surplus, overall, Anxin's current income is still too little.

Zhang Qianyi seemed to have guessed Li Yi's thoughts and said: "Little benefactor, the current situation in Anxin will be improved soon, and the villagers' lives will be better by then."

Zhang Mingde and others looked at Mr. Zhang with some confusion.

"Haha, you may have forgotten that the autumn harvest is coming soon. When the villagers collect the grain, in addition to the taxes paid to the warehouse, there will be a lot left. By then, they will not need to spend their merits in exchange for grain, and they will naturally exchange it.

Other items, in this way, life will naturally get better." Mr. Zhang explained.

Li Yi also reacted after hearing this. He still thought that the villagers earned merit from the project and then exchanged it for food to support their families. They forgot that after the autumn harvest, they would have surplus grain, and merit was naturally equivalent to silver, which could be used to buy other things.

thing.

In this way, the quality of life of Anxin villagers will definitely make a qualitative leap.

"Despite this, the production volume of the workshop must also be increased. Soon, Baoding's trade routes will sell a large amount of our products. We must seize this opportunity to sell Anxin's products and create our own brand."

Fame." Li Yi said solemnly.

The sales of goods can be said to be the lifeblood of Anxin in the future.

In troubled times, only food and money are the biggest means of survival. Now that the land in Anxin has been reclaimed and the food is hoarded, it can last for at least a year. And as long as the trade routes are opened and the goods are sold, money will continue to be obtained.

It can be said that Anxin as a whole can sit back and relax.

Thinking of this, Li Yi said: "Mr. Zhang, the autumn harvest is around the corner. It looks like a bumper harvest this year, and there will be mountains of food by then. You'd better make preparations early, build more granaries, and stock up on food."

Mr. Zhang said with a smile: "My dear benefactor is very thoughtful. I will go and do it tomorrow."

As long as Mr. Zhang can manage An Xin's money and food well, Li Yi won't worry.

He looked at Zhao Renchang, who was in charge of Anxin's sociology and craftsmanship. Although this position was junior to that of the patriarch and Wang Lao, it was the most important for the long-term development of Anxin.

You must know that most of the villagers in Anxin are refugees and there are not many talents. Many positions such as the township chief are filled with the tallest among the shortest. Although Li Yi asked Mr. Zhao to conduct a large-scale inspection of Anxin's stewards and Yongding

They need to be re-educated to learn literacy and etiquette, but these adults have become hardened and difficult to change.

Therefore, Li Yi has talked to Mr. Zhao many times about Anxin's children's education, and Anxin's expenditure on education is also a large amount.

Li Yi said: "Mr. Zhao, how is the situation in social studies?"

Mr. Zhao had known for a long time that Li Yi would ask him. Although he didn't know why the young benefactor attached so much importance to education, he was still very happy that his work was valued.

Zhao Laodao: "Nowadays, Anxin's education is divided into two aspects. One is the establishment of social studies, and the other is the training of managers. Now Anxin New Town has established small social studies and middle social studies. Five Wubao have also been established.

A small community school has been established, and all children over the age of five and under the age of 16 within the jurisdiction have enrolled."

"Little benefactor, I also want to ask about this matter. Why do you let boys under the age of sixteen go to social schools? Dozens of my subordinates are forced to go to social schools to study every day." Li Si

A complaint was made.

You must know that in ancient times, teenagers over the age of fourteen have long been the main labor force of the family, and there are also many young brave men in Li Yi's iron brigade. They can earn merit whether they are training or doing work, but if

Reading means reducing one labor force.

However, Li Yi attaches great importance to education and stipulates that children over five and under sixteen, regardless of gender, must enter the society. This caused many complaints from the villagers, and Li Si also joined the society because of his subordinates.

I was also full of complaints.

Of course Li Yi understands their thoughts. These children are already able to work, and it is every parent's idea to let them earn merit to subsidize the family.

But for the sake of Anxin's future, Li Yi could not comply with their wishes, so he used coercive measures.

Fortunately, Li Yi's reputation is very high, and the villagers are also a little bit dissatisfied and dare not criticize what is right or wrong. Moreover, social studies are not restricted and he is responsible for two meals a day. There are still many parents who are willing to do such a good thing as free education.

.

"You have such a reckless style. Although your boys are going to social schools to study, can't they go back after they finish their studies? I will let them leave today and teach them to be able to read, read and understand the art of war.

Yong Ding, if you let them go back again, your profit will not be in vain, why are you complaining?" Li Yi scolded.

Li Si was still dissatisfied and said: "They are just soldiers. They just know how to charge and fight. Why do they read so many books?"
Chapter completed!