books44 Chapter 653 is overcrowded.
Chapter 653 is overcrowded.
Song Kai blushed:
"The road the emperor took was not the main road between Yanzhou and Jizhou, but a county-level road, so the road surface was not very good... If it was a state-level road, it would be much better."
In recent years, the Ministry of Transport and Water Resources has graded roads in various places.
It is also divided into national highways, state highways, county roads, and township roads, and mandatory standards are stipulated for each level of roads.
For example, county roads are required to be nine feet wide for 95 percent of the distance.
Only in high mountain canyons or bridges with complex terrain is the width reduced to six feet.
Moreover, every road has someone responsible for maintenance and supervision, and responsibilities are implemented layer by layer.
Ye Kun looked at the road and nodded, "It's pretty good for a county-level highway to be like this. However, it seems that there are not many road signs, which makes it inconvenient for business travelers to find their way."
Song Kai nodded: "We will add more road sign stone tablets immediately."
Ye Kun also had a good rest and continued to move forward, leaving Song Kai and relevant officials to accompany him.
After a night's rest on the road, Ye Kun did not cause any harm.
All personnel lived in their own carriages or set up small tents for the night.
Ye Kun also brought the guards and princes to hunt game and barbecue in the camp, allowing everyone to experience life.
These princes are all very smart, but they were born in the deep palace and raised by women, so they don’t have good hands-on skills.
Ye Kun smiled and said, "If I send you to the special forces unit for seven days of field survival training, I don't think you will last until the second day."
Ye Shusheng asked: "Father, is the wilderness survival training difficult?"
"All you're allowed to bring is a sleeping bag, a dagger, a musket, twenty rounds of bullets, and one meal of dry food. You're required to survive in the mountains for seven days. Do you think it's difficult?"
Ye Shusheng thought about it and said, "It doesn't seem that difficult. I can hunt to satisfy my hunger and find water to quench my thirst."
Cheng Yulong smiled and said, "Generally speaking, the training area will be cleaned up, and there will be very few prey left. The drinking water source will also be sprinkled with poison, and you won't be allowed to drink it casually."
Ye Shusheng stuck out his tongue and said, "It's not easy to say that. You have to eat raw meat and drink blood to survive."
Ye Kun ate barbecue and chatted casually with the prince's guards.
Song Kai was also there to accompany him.
Before I knew it, it was already late at night.
Ye Kun asked everyone to take a rest and continue their journey tomorrow.
The next afternoon, Ye Kun brought everyone to Yanzhou City.
Yanzhou is also a big city with a population of over 100,000.
There has been some construction in recent years, but the progress is not ideal.
All the post houses in the city have been vacated to accommodate Jiang Yourong and others.
Ye Kun summoned officials from Yanzhou in the prefectural hall, asked them about government affairs, and checked the reports from various departments.
After briefly listening to the report, Ye Kun asked, "What do you think is the biggest problem facing Yanzhou's development right now?"
The chief clerk of Yanzhou said: "Because the court has implemented a new policy that does not prohibit the movement of people, more and more people and merchants have moved into the city. Now, not only Yanzhou City, but also counties everywhere are crowded. If this continues, the city will be overcrowded."
The other officials nodded in unison.
In the past, ordinary people were not allowed to travel across states or provinces at will.
Even if you go out of the county or town, you need a travel permit, which is an official letter of introduction.
Without a pass, you are a refugee.
After Ye Kun ascended the throne, he completely abolished the regulations prohibiting the movement of people.
Citizens all over the country are the same, they can go wherever they want, but they must have an ID card.
If you want to settle in a new place, you need to be approved by the local authorities and allocated land.
If you are doing business, it’s up to you, just buy the house yourself and pay the taxes.
As a result, common people all relied on their relatives and friends and moved into the city to do business.
Some people do business in the city and rent a house to live in, while letting their family members cultivate the fields in their hometown, without disrupting either business.
Ye Kun smiled and said, "The overcrowding in the city is a sign of rapid economic development, which is a good thing. When the city is overcrowded, we have to expand the city, which is also inevitable in the development of the times.
The struggle of the imperial court and all grassroots officials is to make the people live a good life.
For example, a city like Yanzhou can be expanded and built into a large city with a population of 200,000. Of course, the expansion of the city requires the approval of the court and requires reasonable planning. "
Song Kai smiled and said, "Your Majesty is right, but we have no money. Under the current fiscal and taxation system, all revenues go to the court, and then the court approves our construction funds. Our annual urban construction fund is not enough to cover our expenses. We dare not cut back on road construction and school medical investment, so we can only sigh at the money."
In recent years, finance and taxation have been highly centralized, enriching the imperial court and causing hardship to local governments.
"Then I will reassure you that the imperial court is rich." Ye Kun smiled and said to everyone:
"Money is earned to be spent, and the same is true for the court. As long as there is actual demand and reasonable planning in the local area, the court will definitely support it.
You guys sort it out, reflect on the actual situation, come up with the city plan, and go to the Ninth Ministry to apply. The Ninth Ministry will send people, directly with money and technical personnel, to help you expand the new city. "
Song Kai was very happy and asked, "Your Majesty, the county town below also needs to be expanded. Can I apply for it?"
"No."
Ye Kun waved his hand and said, "Many years ago, I suggested that the walls of small inland counties should be demolished. The moats should be filled or bridges should be built. The demolished bricks should be used to build houses and sold to the people and vendors.
Since there is no war now, the city wall of the small county town is just a decoration. It restricts the development of the county town and wastes maintenance costs.
In the end, the proposal was rejected by the Nine Departments, who were worried that the people would have no shelter in the future wars. In addition, they were also worried that thieves would run rampant and it would be difficult to catch them without city walls.
I am still upset about the veto of the nine ministries. I think that now the public security is very good, the customs and social morality are also very good, people do not lock their doors at night, and people do not pick up things on the road. It is time to demolish the city wall of the small county town.
The demolition of the city walls of the small county town will naturally increase the area, and planning residential land outside the city will solve the problem of overcrowding in the county town. "
Ye Kun always felt that the city wall of the small county town was useless.
There is no war in the country now, so for some counties in non-strategic locations, it makes little difference whether they have city walls or not.
But the common people were afraid, and the local officials were afraid too.
Without city walls, there is no sense of security.
Qin Shihuang and Emperor Wu of Han also needed a Great Wall so that they could eat and sleep.
Ye Kun, however, has the thinking of a modern person. Before traveling through time, he had traveled frequently, but he had never seen many county towns that still had city walls preserved.
Over the years, hundreds of small county towns have been demolished. According to experiments, the results are good and no major problems have occurred.
Moreover, under the same basic and other conditions, the economic development of county towns that have demolished their city walls is significantly better than that of closed county towns.
Therefore, Ye Kun insisted that the small county town did not need to be expanded and the city wall could be demolished.
Song Kai was also very conservative and said thoughtfully:
"Once the county wall is demolished, it will be difficult to catch the thieves. Your Majesty, can we compromise and build a new village near the county without walls? This way, it will be convenient for everyone and the old county will be preserved."