Chapter 7051 Just settle for the next best thing

Chapter 7051 Just settle for the next best thing
Chen Xi did not dwell on the issue of the workers and farmers in Yanzhou's agricultural sector, as Yi Ji claimed, because there was no point in doing so.

On the one hand, this thing is hard to explain clearly, and on the other hand, no matter how you discuss it, there is no solution that can convince everyone.

Chen Xi knew from the beginning that the ideal society was based on morality, not material things. Therefore, the so-called fairness was only relative, not complete. Complete fairness was impossible to achieve from the start.

Therefore, Chen Xi was unable to answer Yi Ji's question from a moral and fairness perspective, not to mention that Yi Ji's legal principles were not universally applicable!

Fortunately, problems in this world can be answered not only from the perspective of morality and fairness, but also from other perspectives, such as from the perspective of ability.

There is one point that no one else can avoid about Chen Xi: his strength has been verified by everyone. The ten years of Yuanfeng Dynasty were not only the golden age of the Han Dynasty, but also a platform for Chen Xi to demonstrate his abilities. Chen Xi's strength was fully demonstrated during these ten years.

At the very least, before Yuanfeng, there might have been some people who doubted Chen Xi's ability to govern, but now, ten years into Yuanfeng, no one doubts it anymore. Everyone who has absolute confidence in their own ability to govern will feel that there is a world of difference between them and Chen Xi when they stand in front of him.

Although Chen Xi himself admitted that things had come to this point, he was completely unable to examine what was wrong with his economic structure. Even if there were hidden dangers in some economic operations, as long as everyone thought there were no problems, this thing would definitely continue.

The core of financial magic, to put it bluntly, is market confidence. As long as the market has confidence, even a huge pitfall can be smoothed out. Just like ten years after the Olympics, the Chinese people had no confusion about the future and had an innate feeling that the future would only get better and better.

Although from a historical perspective, the upward spiral of history, whether moving forward or backward, is normal, at that stage, overall market confidence propelled the economy forward by leaps and bounds.

So at that time, no problem was a problem.

Chen Xi is now facing a situation even more exaggerated than that period. Chen Xi has transcended history. By integrating and allocating various resources and through technological innovation, he has managed to raise the extremely low output of the feudal era to the level of the modern post-industrial era, which has directly shocked everyone's understanding of this era.

This will make these people realize that humans can actually eat and drink their fill and live a life without suffering or exhaustion!

Therefore, no one doubts Chen Xi's direction now. Even if there are shortcomings, they cannot be detected under the premise of such public recognition and promotion.

This is a fatal flaw, but it can also be used as a weapon. At least when Chen Xi answered Yi Ji's question, he could answer from another angle without any problem, and no one else would think he was making excuses.

After all, fairness and ability are not the same answer, but Chen Xi can ignore the path that Yi Ji and everyone else present want and offer another option.

“You’re absolutely right. Although the workers in large state-owned factories and mines have relatively hard work, from the perspective of ordinary people, they don’t have to endure wind and sun. They can just do their own work every day and their lives can continue steadily. In addition, with various benefits, their living standards are indeed far higher than most people’s.” Chen Xi first reiterated the facts that he agreed with.

“But you need to consider this: I’ve already siphoned off the profits from large state-owned factories and mines, leaving only enough to maintain the social welfare level for these people. The money I’ve taken has been distributed by me, either invested in local development, road and logistics, or the welfare of veterans, etc. All of these require money.” Chen Xi looked calmly at everyone around him.

"I find the practice of local authorities intercepting the goods absolved of their rights unacceptable," Chen Xi said to Yi Ji earnestly. "When you ask whether the people of Yanzhou are human, I would answer yes. But then I ask you, are the people of the even poorer places like Bingzhou, Liangzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, and Jiaozhou human?"

“There is a big gap between ordinary people in Yanzhou and agricultural workers in Yanzhou, but there is also a gap between the people in these prefectures and counties and ordinary people in Yanzhou, and it is a more widespread gap.” Chen Xi sighed. “Prefect Yi, you asked a very good question, but there are many places that are more qualified to ask this question than you. To put it bluntly, many people in these prefectures and counties are still thinking about living the life of ordinary people in Yanzhou.”

Liao Li, Shi Xie, and Chen Deng all nodded. After all, many counties under their jurisdiction were still struggling to make ends meet, so they had to accept what Chen Xi said.

These people were quite clear about what level Yanzhou was. It was located in the heart of the Central Plains and was a major prefecture personally designated by Chen Xi to produce agricultural and sideline products. Everyone was envious of Yanzhou's agricultural output, and the people of Yanzhou had also benefited greatly from it.

Don't underestimate the difference that an extra month or two of income might seem like on average. Once you understand that the difference between an income of 5,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan in the real world is not just double, you should realize how much of a difference an extra month or two of income can make to your life.

In southern Jingzhou, Yizhou (excluding the Chengdu Plain), western Jiaozhou, most of Bingzhou, western Youzhou, and other vast areas, the people are now at best able to eat. And they are only able to eat because Chen Xi forcibly promoted the consolidation of villages and hamlets, pulling these people out of the mire and then making arrangements for them.

To put it bluntly, there might still be people in the mountains that Chen Xi hasn't found yet. Even after the snow disaster, the population is probably still around 100,000 to 200,000. These people are definitely not out of poverty, but to be honest, they are certainly living better than they did during the Lingdi Dynasty.

In any case, those people really don't have to pay taxes anymore.

Compared to the people who merged villages, they were far inferior. Even after paying taxes, the people who merged villages could still eat their fill, which was actually very difficult in feudal society.

Chen Xi can now at least confidently say that, at the turn of spring and summer before the summer harvest, the people of the Han Dynasty still had food to eat, which is an improvement compared to any other time in official history.

However, even with Chen Xi's immense power, these places can only achieve this much. Further progress is beyond what the local areas can solve through their own development.

After Chen Xi completed the consolidation of villages, dredged waterways, solved basic management issues, invested in a small amount of agricultural equipment, and set up a minimal supply and marketing cooperative, the local maximum output was basically exhausted. Any money that could be squeezed from the surrounding area had been spent. If they wanted to continue developing, they would have to rely on external forces.

It's like there's a gold mine in the mountains, but the machinery and equipment needed to mine it, as well as the roads needed to transport the machinery and equipment, all require money. Only with money to open up these links can the gold mine be developed and a positive cycle be entered. Without money to open up these links, even if there is a gold mine, it's meaningless. And this is the actual situation faced by many villages.

The site selection for the merger of Chenxiji Village was based on the logic of agricultural production, that is, to solve the problem of food first, so that everyone has food to eat and can survive.

After having enough to eat and having a foundation, we should start thinking about how to develop this area.

At this point, apart from a few villages that already have a certain foundation, or possess innate resources, or are particularly lucky to be close to the main road, most villages in the world still need to invest some external forces in order to break free from their agricultural society and earn money beyond the understanding of the agricultural population.

Only in this way can we truly escape poverty and become wealthy, instead of just staying at the level of having enough to eat.

Although in feudal society, being able to eat one's fill was considered a sign of a prosperous era, from Chen Xi's perspective as a transmigrator, what kind of prosperous era is this! If this is the prosperous era I've been hoping for, then why have I put in all this effort? This world, I'll show you the limits of what Chen Xi can achieve!

Do you understand what it means to be a strong person? Do you understand what it means to mend the sky with one hand? This is it.

Of course, this is just the public image; in reality, it's all about throwing money at it.

At least until the roads are fully built and these scattered villages are connected by the transportation network, the essence of each region is still to rely on the mountains and rivers for sustenance. It will take time to completely reverse this situation, and the scale is terrifying. Just saying it is enough to make everyone present gasp and feel that they could never raise the money in their lifetime.

To be honest, in any other era, for a high-ranking official like Yi Ji, who is morally upright and responsible, to take the initiative to promote this matter would indeed be considered a good policy. He truly puts himself in the best interests of the people under his rule, setting aside issues such as local and national taxes, and focusing solely on the moral aspects, which is quite commendable.

However, in the present context, Chen Xi himself is continuously pushing for solutions to these issues, and he is addressing them at the national level. It's fine for Yi Ji to only focus on Yanzhou, but Chen Xi sees it as going too far if Yi Ji wants to obtain more profits from Yanzhou's agricultural products to develop Yanzhou.

Simply put, the significance of roads, logistics, and transportation lies in optimizing resource allocation across regions and promoting coordination within those regions. This applies not only to the third century but also to the 21st century.
Chen Xi is currently living in the third century. Considering that poverty will not be completely eliminated until 2022, Chen Xi has always been skeptical of the reports from various places that the people can eat their fill. Of course, he still believes that the general situation, and even the vast majority of normal families, can eat well and be well-fed if they do not suffer from disease, after all, he has done some practical things over the years.

However, Chen Xi also knew that in this era, this level of situation was beyond everyone's imagination. People in this era would not think that the loss of their family's breadwinner due to illness, leading to their family not having enough to eat, was a problem of the country. Even the government and bureaucrats would not think that way.

In those days, getting sick was more like a matter of fate. After all, doctors were extremely rare in this era. The fact that Hua Tuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and even Galen from Rome were able to be enshrined in the Temple of Heaven was not only due to their ability to suppress the plague at the end of the Han Dynasty, but also, importantly, to the widespread availability of traditional Chinese medicine.

Those ten or so kinds of traditional Chinese medicine, after being boiled, can treat most common diseases, and the cure rate can reach 90%. Many minor colds that can be fatal in autumn and winter can be toughed out with this stuff, plus a heated kang bed and enough food.

However, a 90% cure rate still means that 10% of people will die. It's just that in ancient times, dying from illness was extremely common. Even a minor cold could be fatal.

This situation only improved after the founding of the People's Republic of China and the widespread use of antibiotics. Before that, there was a high probability of dying from the disease, regardless of one's background.

Consider the Qing Dynasty: Emperor Qianlong had 27 children, but only 14 survived to adulthood, a roughly 50/50 chance. This gives you an idea of ​​how high the mortality rate was in ancient times. And this was the imperial family, with excellent medical care. If that was the case, the mortality rate for ordinary families was self-evident.

Therefore, poverty caused by disease is not accounted for by the government in this era. In fact, if someone gets sick and recovers, it is something to celebrate.

Chen Xi's existence changed many things, but Chen Xi was not invincible. It has only been 17 years since Liu Bei took control of Yanzhou. Despite the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the war between the warlords, the population has increased by 40% in the last population count compiled by Emperor Huan.

According to Chen Xi's own estimate, the population of Yanzhou should have doubled since he took control, which is an extremely exaggerated figure.

This means that food, medical care, and other aspects have been greatly improved.

Conversely, Jiaozhou has grown by less than 20% over the years, Liangzhou by less than 30%, and other places such as Bingzhou, Youzhou, and Jingzhou have also hovered around 30%.

While population outflow is a problem in all regions, the actual situation is not that different. In this case, the population growth rate can tell a lot. Regions with higher growth rates are more likely to have better living conditions and healthcare.

Chen Xi's inquiry was echoed by many governors of impoverished prefectures, especially Liao Li, who had studied Yanzhou extensively and wanted the people of Jingzhou to live the same life as the people of Yanzhou.

Despite Yi Ji's claim that there is a huge gap in living standards between ordinary people in Yanzhou and workers in Yanzhou Agriculture and Food, as well as differences in the cost of living, the benefits brought by Yanzhou Agriculture and Food not only directly affect ordinary people, but also benefit the entire population of Yanzhou. They generally rely on the upstream and downstream industries of Yanzhou Agriculture and Food, either reducing their living costs or earning an extra 1,000 to 2,000 coins a year.

This amount of money isn't much, but Liao Li also wants this kind of welfare that benefits the entire state.

“But the obvious difference is right there, can we just ignore it?” Yi Ji did not refute Chen Xi’s words. He could not see the situation in other prefectures and counties, but he could feel the gazes of Liao Li and others. Clearly, Chen Xi was not lying.

"The agricultural products of Yanzhou do not belong to Yanzhou, but to the state. They are simply located in the heart of the Central Plains by me to receive supplies from all directions, process them into various food products locally, and then, taking advantage of the Central Plains, distribute them to various places. In terms of rank, the agricultural products of Yanzhou are only half a rank lower than those of a governor." Chen Xi shook his head and said that he would not answer that question.

“Management personnel in state-owned factories, mines, workshops, and ranches have official ranks,” Liu Bei said to Yi Ji. “The Ji Province case has already proven this enough. They are just not in the same system as you. Fundamentally, you are not subordinate to each other.”

Chen Xi inwardly applauded Liu Bei. It was perfect for Liu Bei to say these words. Although the agricultural and grain products of Yanzhou were located in the Yanzhou region, the Yanzhou governor only had the power to supervise them, not the authority to handle them.

“This is not your responsibility. Your responsibility is to monitor and develop various parts of Yanzhou. It is correct to consider the interests of the people of Yanzhou, but you cannot set your sights on agriculture and food. Apart from keeping a portion of the profits from agriculture and food for business operations, the rest should be bought back by the state and invested in more impoverished areas.” Chen Xi did not mean to blame Yi Ji. The other party was just arguing from the perspective of the people of Yanzhou.

“But Yanzhou has ceded huge profits for agricultural and grain production, and even relinquished some of the powers that belong to the government.” Yi Ji frowned deeply.

He didn't say much more after that, but everyone present was a fool. Yi Ji's words were essentially a showdown. Admittedly, the state had relinquished some power and benefits, but the Yanzhou agricultural and grain projects, from the moment they landed in Yanzhou, were also eroding the power of the Yanzhou local government.

To put it bluntly, what Yi Ji wanted to say was that since they couldn't directly extract profits to benefit the people of Yanzhou and narrow the gap between ordinary people and agricultural workers, they should at least be reasonable and release some welfare benefits to balance the relationship between the two sides. Yanzhou can't just invest without reaping any benefits, after all, the power of local governments at all levels has been eroded by agricultural production.

Please, God, save the author!