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Text Chapter 47 Redemption (Part 1)

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    The last time he came to Chengdu was many years ago. Feng Shuangli still had an impression of the city gate tower in the provincial capital, but the appearance of Chengdu now was completely different from what he had imagined. There were also large buildings outside the city walls.  At dusk, there were still many people active around these buildings, and they didn't look like farmers.  There were no fully armed soldiers in front of the city gate, and the security was not as strict as the outside of Chengdu. A large number of pedestrians walked through the gate tower. Feng Shuangli looked at the setting sun and found that Chengdu seemed to have no signs of closing the city gate.  Many people in Jianchang curiously asked Di Sanxi why this was happening, but the latter said that the last time he came to Chengdu for reinforcements, Chengdu had to close the city gates at night.

    He Daoning, the chief executioner of the empire, lived in the city, but his residence did not coincide with his official residence. He invited Feng Shuangli and his party to his home, and told the latter that this residence belonged to him privately, even if one day he was not the chief of Sichuan.  Even if the executioner is mentioned, the imperial government has no right to take back He Daoning's residence.

    The food served to Feng Shuangli and others was sumptuous. King Qingyang still remembered that when Yang Youcai went to Jianchang many years ago, he was overjoyed when he saw the privately brewed wine. At that time, Feng Shuangli was convinced that the living conditions in Jianchang were much better than those in Chengdu; but now  Looking at the vegetables on the table, Feng Shuangli knew that the richness of Chengdu's products was far greater than that of Jianchang, and the provincial capital had returned to its old appearance.

    "Now the land price around Chunxi Road is too expensive, and it has completely become a business place. Except for the Imperial Bank, all other yamen have moved away from there." After hearing Feng Shuangli's question, the host replied enthusiastically: "And  Most of the workshops have moved outside the city walls, where land prices and rents are relatively cheap, and no one wants to waste money, right?"

    "Don't you close the city gate at night?" At first, Feng Shuangli thought that He Daoning was a prodigal son who wanted to give up the warlord legacy left to him by his father, but now through a simple observation of He Daoning's living conditions, Feng Shuangli realized that He Daoning had his reasons.  Even He Daoning's warlord father Qi Hou He Zhen may not be qualified to speak loudly in front of King Qingyang, let alone speak loudly. Their original strength comparison is probably even greater than the disparity between the prince and the marquis.

    But now He Daoning is the chief executioner of the empire. Although he is young, he actually has a kind of dignity that Feng Shuangli needs to look up to.  In addition to his identity, the other party was also full of confidence, and his movements seemed to reveal the power of the huge force behind him.  Obviously, if He Daoning was just a small warlord in northern Hubei, there would be no need for Feng Shuangli to make a special trip to visit him, and there would be no need to pay so much attention to his opinions.

    "There are no thieves around at all. There are also Tingshi patrolling around the capital. Besides, the number of Tingshi inside the city is several times that outside the city. Even if there are thieves, they don't dare to come in." He Daoning replied easily. Obviously, Chengdu people are very used to the city gate.  The mode of being open all night has changed, and it seems that they no longer regard the inside and outside of the city wall as completely different areas - the concept of urban area in their minds is no longer limited to the city walls of Chengdu, although the vast majority of Chengdu residents are still within the city walls.  However, many people have to go to work outside the city walls, sometimes working for several days, and do not return to the city until the rest day to celebrate. Now the rest day is very important to Sichuan fellow students. They train in the military in the morning and spend time with friends in the afternoon.  Three years ago, a business bank adopted a new five-day wage payment model. In recent years, some business banks have also followed suit, which has made Chengdu's taverns prosperous on holidays.

    Gao Mingzhan's attack on Chengdu had no chance of getting close to the city wall. Since then, the Qing army has never had a chance to pose a threat to Chengdu, and the imperial government has become increasingly confident in protecting its capital.  Nowadays, public security around Chengdu basically relies on Tingshi, and the station of the standing army is getting further and further away from the city center.  There is still a standing cavalry company stationed in the city. Liu Jinge feels that this cavalry team that can be used at any time is enough to deal with sudden large groups of thieves. In fact, such large thieves gangs have disappeared for many years, and the fight in front of the tavern has long escalated to  The most serious public security problem in Chengdu.

    It was already dark after dinner, and He Daoning did not light candles or oil lamps immediately. He had already ordered his servants to solemnly carry out a wooden cabinet and carefully connected it to the line leading to He's house.

    When he looked at the brilliance of the mass in the glass on the top of the cabinet, which was not much brighter than a candle and far from comparable to that of an oil lamp, the well-informed King Qingyang was so surprised that he was speechless. Di Sanxi and other Jianchang officials  Everyone secretly suspected that this was a kind of witchcraft.

    "This is called an electric lamp." After He Daoning showed off for dozens of seconds, he hurriedly turned it off and lit the traditional oil lamp.  This kind of thing that is almost comparable to magic can only be used by people in a few nearby houses. Their owners are either the president and deputy speaker of the Senate, the prefect, or the governor.

    In order to show off the mentality of this group of people, a small power station was specially built next to this high-end residence. A windmill is used to lift water into the reservoir for backup every day, and then the output is controlled by controlling the flow rate. If any owner has important informationWhen people come, they can ask the person in charge to energize their lines for a short time in advance - although it has been improved several times this year, if it takes a little longer, their lights will still burn out.

    "Electricity can not only be used to produce light, but can also be used to saw wood, boil pig iron, and drill gun barrels." Under the oil lamp, He Daoning proudly informed Feng Shuangli about Chengdu's recent progress in magic. He spent money to activate the service today.  Performance time now.  This year the academy has just compiled a textbook on electric magic. Needless to say, the young officials in Chengdu, including Liu Yao and Yang Youcai, listened to several classes with curiosity in their spare time.

    He Daoning also told Feng Shuangli that someone in Chengdu has already proposed a night lighting construction plan. One is to lay natural gas pipelines and use the gas in the fire wells to illuminate, which can also reduce the use of firewood.  At first, most officials thought this idea was great and an unprecedented initiative. Tavern owners were also waiting to see if the cost could be reduced, and they also wanted to introduce pipes to their restaurants.

    But after the emergence of electric lamps that can shine for at least a few minutes this year, almost all fashionable Chengdu officials have become electric lamp fans. They hope that mature lamps will soon appear to make their neighborhoods look different. He Daoning gave the bumpkin a serious look  Feng Shuangli explained: "The fire in the fire well is poisonous. If the doors and windows are closed, it is likely to suffocate people to death, and it may explode. The fire can be used to generate electricity like water flow, but this lamp is too expensive. The set just now can do it."  I only have half a month's salary, and I will be satisfied as long as the electric light can be on for a month in the future - I can't spend all my salary on buying lights, right? Then what should I use to buy electricity?"

    After finishing the electric spell, He Daoning led Feng Shuangli to the courtyard, where there was another valuable toy belonging to the empire's highest executioner.

    "This is a telescope. It cost me several months of salary."

    Not long ago, the British returned to China and brought back some important scientific works by Deng Mingming, some of which were written by professors and students at Cambridge University. These works will be studied at Chengdu Academy and further translated into Chinese.  The work of one of them, a twenty-year-old Bachelor of Arts student who was studying philosophy, caught Deng Ming's special attention. This student named Newton was studying optics and published some papers.  The Sichuan admiral instructed that this student's paper should be translated first and included in the textbooks of Chengdu Academy, and that British businessmen should continue to purchase the student's works - in Deng Ming's previous life, while Newton received his Bachelor of Arts degree a year later, the system  He published the results of his research on the wavelength and refraction law of sunlight, so Deng Ming has not yet obtained all the information, but Chengdu Academy has begun repeated experiments.

    "This magic weapon proves some conclusions of light magic." He Daoning invited Feng Shuangli to use it to observe today's bright moon.

    Various kinds of magical research are deeply loved by young officials in Chengdu. Even when Feng Shuangli saw the huge moon through this telescope, he felt an unusual excitement.

    The name of the company that produced this equipment was too inappropriate, "Caishi." After looking at the moon for a long time, Feng Shuangli returned the telescope to its owner and silently recited the name of the company that He Daoning told him. He estimated that this  The boss of the trading house was also an auxiliary soldier who had been unable to earn a living, so he was still thinking about it when he came up with the name.

    ¡­¡­

    Regarding the exchange of Jianchang's land for He Zhen's land, He Daoning and Feng Shuangli did not have any major differences.  At present, He Zhen's territory is still basically controlled by his old troops. After Di Sanxi takes over, He Daoning will bring all his father's old troops to Chengdu - this will also help He Daoning continue to expand his territory in the imperial political territory.  , he urgently needs a group of helpers to help him support the empire's judicial sky.

    But when it comes to the future development of Jianchang, He Daoning and Feng Shuangli have different views, and the first big difference is how to deal with their auxiliary troops.

    It is impossible for Di Sanxi and other generals to bring all the auxiliary troops from Jianchang to Xiangyang, so He Daoning will use his father's auxiliary troops to exchange the personal ownership of Di Sanxi and others' strong men.

    "I will give them freedom and then receive compensation from the Council. The military serfs in the new territory are not our problem, but a legacy issue. The Council will pay compensation to the owners, and the freed people will need to pay special payments to the Council in the future.  I have to pay taxes to pay the ransom fee advanced by the institute. This rule was originally formulated by me." When asked by Feng Shuangli how to deal with the large number of military serfs, He Daoning replied without hesitation: "I don't want a lot either, five per person.  One thousand or three thousand, the compensation price can be obtained through negotiation."

    He Daoning has been in charge of the empire's judiciary over the years. When Deng Ming was away, He Daoning would make Deng Ming's plan concrete. He understood Deng Ming's judicial views better than his former executioner Yuan Xiang: "The empire will not admit that fellow scholars can be punished."  Someone was raised as a domestic slave, and now I'm pushing for a law that says husbands can't sell their wives.Children, parents cannot sell their children.  King Qingyang might as well think about it. In the future, if an imperial person cannot even sell his biological parents, will he be allowed to be sold by others?  "
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