Chapter 171: Hundreds of Families Govern the Northeast After spending a few days wandering around the Baijia Pavilion, Tian Ze felt that he had gained a lot. Confucianism is studying social governance models and public order and good customs, improving moral standards, and exploring the art of order. The Legalists are studying and improving the laws under Tian Ze's current rule, checking for loopholes and shortcomings, and exploring the art of rule of law. Taoists are studying the techniques of self-cultivation and enlightenment of wisdom, and exploring the art of philosophy. The Yin-Yang School is studying astronomy, calendar, meteorology, geography, etc., exploring the art of nature. Famous experts are studying the definition of logical concepts, the art of communication, and exploring the art of name and reality. Farmers are studying soil and climate, breeding better varieties, improving farm tools, and the organization and management of rural areas at the grassroots level, exploring production techniques. The novelist is sorting out the folk culture of various places, perfecting the legends and allusions, planning the newspaper propaganda under Tian Zezhi, and exploring the art of culture. The diplomats are studying the current world situation, diplomatic strategies, verbal debates and political expediency, and exploring the art of diplomacy.
Military strategists are sorting out the military books of their predecessors, studying the laws of war, strategies and tactics, and military management, and exploring the art of war. Doctors are dissecting human bodies, studying medical techniques and some cheap prescriptions, preparing to curb the plague and exploring ways to save lives. The eclectic school is studying how to integrate the thoughts of various schools of thought, absorb all the best, seek a more perfect way of governing the world, and explore practical techniques. …… The exchange and improvement of ideas is necessary, which is the foundation of all schools of thought and the Tao. However, Tian Ze has always believed that how to apply theories into practice is equally important and is a skill. Both are indispensable. Therefore, when the Jixia Academy was first established, Tian Ze set this tone. We must both carry on the lost knowledge of the ancient sages and bring peace to the world for all time. It is not enough to just study the theory, it must be put into practice. The various systems under Tian Ze's rule can be improved with the help of hundreds of schools of thought, as they are professionals. This is also an important reference for the ranking of hundreds of companies. If it cannot benefit the people, how can you prove that your theory is of the highest value? Tian Ze has always felt that this is the real way to use Baijia. Otherwise, it would be meaningless to just bicker. It is better to do something practical. The Hundred Schools of Thought are responsible for improving theory and guiding practice, while the Aristocratic Families are responsible for expanding territory and developing integration. This is what they should do. If you want to roll, you have to roll on the basis of making the cake bigger, which is good for everyone. If you keep rolling on the same cake, it is meaningless and will only make it worse. Although he could not forcibly change the minds of these scholars, some of them might not want to work for him or even defect to other princes, but Tian Ze did not care. Since he had promised the Jixia Academy a superior status and handed over the authority to Lu Zhi, he was prepared for this. All the scholars in the Jixia Academy have received his favor, and most of them will definitely choose him. Those few who are unwilling to serve him will definitely be of great benefit to his future plans. After all, it will only take a few years to unify the world. What can these people change? The Central Plains princes were short of population, money and food, and a skilled cook could not cook without rice. The southern princes were all guard dogs, with no intention of changing the current situation.
The role of these people will mostly only be played when expanding territory in the future, which will be beneficial to Tian Ze with no harm. What's more, Tianze has already taken enough advantage of them. The petty officials, grassroots officials and generals under their rule all studied under these people. In order to study and borrow books, almost every scholar helped several "apprentices". Even if it was just for credits, they spent a lot of energy. “They are all treasures!” Looking at the scholars in the Military Pavilion who were directing the fighting on various simple sand tables, as well as the garrison commanders and military marquises who were serving tea, helping to move small flags and convey information, Tian Ze sighed with heartfelt emotion. After leaving the Jixia Academy, Tian Ze began to think about the development of the Northeast Plain. Originally, he just wanted to find those tested families under his command to handle this matter. But after visiting the Jixia Academy, he suddenly felt that since he had created the Hundred Schools Inheritance List, in addition to fame, he could definitely make some profit! The aristocratic families in the world were inexplicably pried into the hands of the Jixia Academy, and all of them were divided, which greatly reduced the pressure on him to seize the world and control the aristocratic families in the future, but he seemed to be able to go further. Anyway, the Northeast Plain is so large that it doesn't matter who develops it. These newly arrived branches of the aristocratic families are obviously all academic, and most of them have real abilities, otherwise they would not have been sent to the Jixia Academy. They have never thought about taking the Tibetans under the rule of Tian Ze, and their minds are relatively simple. In that case, why not make use of this free and easy-to-use labor? Directly follow the ranking of the Hundred Families Inheritance List, get a piece of land in the Northeast, cooperate with the Golden List that is going to be built, give it a ten-year usage period, and then secretly leak some information, what will be the result? Tian Ze's reputation is quite good in the world. Although his methods are tough and his actions are disgusting, he has never done anything to go against his promise. Even for the aristocratic families under his rule who had become slaves, when the land was completely nationalized, it was purchased at a premium according to the market price, and not a penny was lost. Moreover, there was no prejudice against the children of aristocratic families participating in politics or joining the military, and all the money and food benefits that were due to the aristocratic families in various places were given without any reduction. Although he paid a lot for this, a good reputation was extremely important to Tian Ze. Like Liu Bei's reputation for benevolence, it was a hidden wealth and the foundation of his life. Tian Ze felt that most of these noble families would believe what he said. As long as they have even a little faith in it, these noble families will definitely come forward for it. Although the Northeast Plain is a bit remote, it is a fertile land, and the whole world knows it now. Moreover, Tian Ze's wasteful behavior of large-scale construction projects had long been noticed by the princes and aristocratic families. The Xingdong Grand Canal, which was completed during the second five-year plan and runs through Liaozhou, Gaozhou, Jizhou and Anzhou, was unknown to the aristocratic families. However, the Youliao Grand Canal under construction in Youzhou is clearly visible. By connecting the major rivers in Youzhou, Tian Ze was following the same standard as Yang Guang used to build the Grand Canal in later generations. Of course, in terms of manpower and treatment, it is definitely impossible to be as cruel as Yang Guang. The main force of these projects are all foreigners, and they have complete tools and equipment and good treatment. The millions of foreigners who worked day and night and the millions of Han people in various parts of Youzhou consumed more than hundreds of millions of dollars in money and grain every year. It was an astronomical figure and always accounted for the bulk of Tianze's fiscal expenditure. The construction of the Youliao Grand Canal began when Tian Ze took over Youzhou, and it has been more than two years now, and the work has never stopped for a moment. During the busy farming season, millions of foreigners worked there, and after the busy farming season, local people helped out. Because the project was cleverly planned and designed, and carried out in stages, people from all counties could work nearby. Food and accommodation are provided, and the wages are quite good. Even women can get a lot of money based on their work results. Most people are happy about it since they are just sitting around anyway.
With a massive amount of manpower and Tian Ze's tireless investment, the project is now almost completed. Once completed, all the counties in Youzhou will be connected through this canal, which will provide unimaginable help in the allocation of supplies, military forces, and commercial agriculture. And this is not the end. Even if those aliens leave, the local people will not stop building water conservancy projects. They would use their spare time, under the organization of local officials, to continue to improve the local water system layout along the canal and local water veins to facilitate transportation and agricultural development. Among them, Tian Ze played a great role. His talent and practiced skills made him very sensitive to the water veins and climate of various places. Water conservancy projects cannot be built casually. They may very likely change the local water vapor cycle, leading to temperature changes, greater droughts or ecological damage in surrounding areas. However, the problems that Chen Gong and Guo Yuan were most worried about, such as the large-scale development of water conservancy projects would change the local climate and affect the ecology, were easily solved in front of Tian Ze. Tian Ze knew exactly where the water veins were, how they should be developed, what effects and impacts the development would have, whether it would affect water vapor and ecology, etc. During the second five-year plan, Tian Ze spent a long time and his craftsmen planning the water veins of the entire Northeast region. Taking into account the climate, ecology, social economy, maintenance costs and technical safety of various regions, a scientific design was carried out to avoid adverse effects and maximize comprehensive benefits. And now, Tian Ze has started the second major project. The Grand Canal that runs through Youzhou and the Northeast Plain! This project is even more massive and must be carried out in several stages. However, many ethnic minorities have been arranged to go north to start construction, and all these aristocratic families know about this. After seeing the magnificent wonder of the Youzhou Grand Canal, they no longer had any doubts about Tian Ze's strength. As long as the traffic problem can be solved, the future of the Northeast Plain will definitely have unlimited potential. This is a big cake that is almost comparable to the entire Central Plains. Who can not be tempted? (End of this chapter)