Chapter 100: Development Plan

"The geographical advantage of Sanshui County is even better than I imagined!"

Over the past few days, having some free time, Shen Yu began to wander around Sanshui County, carefully observing the local customs and way of life.

As the County Magistrate of a region, he had to not only maintain public order but also ensure the people truly lived better lives.

Sanshui County is situated at the confluence of three waters, with five roads crisscrossing it; its transportation is so convenient that one can reach it directly from the north or south. Thus, merchants gather here, and it is wealthy and prosperous.

However, in Shen Yu's view, while the geographical advantage here is obvious, it has not been utilized perfectly. Most merchants simply treat this place as a transit point and have no intention of trading directly within Sanshui County.

As for the situation in the villages, it is much better than over in Baian County, yet most of the common people still struggle to get enough to eat, and those who can truly eat their fill are still in the minority.

After a period of investigation, upon returning, Shen Yu began to carefully contemplate a plan to develop Sanshui County, not stepping out for several days.

Little did he know that his actions over this period had left the major powers feeling panicked and uneasy. Not long ago, this County Magistrate went out for a stroll, and the Nanyu Sect was gone, and the Hu Family was gone.

Now that he was wandering the streets again for no reason, who was he looking to pick a fight with? Each family hurriedly restrained their disciples, acting with caution. At the very least, as things stood, none of them had the strength to go head-to-head with this County Magistrate.

Even Lu Ze, who maintains order on the streets, clearly felt much more relaxed during this time. Those wealthy playboys who usually didn't look at them at all had, for some reason, suddenly become polite and well-behaved.

Shen Yu was unaware of all this; if he had known, he would certainly have told these people: You are overthinking it; I really don't have the time to play mind games with you. Whether it was the Hu Family or the Nanyu Sect, they were only wiped out because they deserved to die.

Yet some things simply cannot withstand wild speculation; if people let their imaginations run wild, they can scare themselves to death.

Not long after, an invitation from the County Government Office was delivered to the hands of every power, large and small, in Sanshui County, leaving them immediately anxious and uneasy.

If such an invitation had been sent in the past, they wouldn't have even bothered to look at it. In their view, the County Government Office was just a decoration before. If we give you face, you are the County Government Office. If we don't, what can you do?

But now, this thin piece of invitation card weighed on them like a ten-thousand-ton boulder, leaving them without the slightest thought of resistance.

Upon receiving the invitation, the leading figures of all the powers immediately gathered at the County Government Office, which in turn put immense pressure on the Yamen Runners. These were all big shots, each one an existence they couldn't afford to provoke. If they did something wrong, their little lives would be in danger.

Yet, to the surprise of these Yamen Runners, those big shots who were usually arrogant and looked down on everyone were now all acting extremely polite, leaving them flattered and overwhelmed.

Later, they realized that what made these people truly polite was the County Magistrate behind the County Government Office.

After arriving at the County Government Office, everyone sat up straight, unable to fathom the intentions of this County Magistrate. A trace of worry was hidden in everyone's eyes; they just hoped this County Magistrate wouldn't suddenly have a fit.

"Sorry to trouble you all for making the trip. As a newly appointed official, I still need your strong support. I have invited you all here today mainly for two matters!"

"If the County Magistrate has any orders, please just say so; we will not refuse anything we can do!" It was coming, it was coming. At this moment, everyone was anxious and uneasy, but on the surface, they still pretended to be calm.

"Good!" Seeing these people were so cooperative, Shen Yu stopped wasting words. Regardless of whether these people were sincere or fake, since they had come, he couldn't let them run off easily.

"The first matter is the issue of public order in Sanshui County. Although our Sanshui County is wealthy and prosperous, there are many who bully the common people in their daily lives, and some passing martial artists often stir up trouble, causing a great impact on public order. Unfortunately, these people are not lacking in strength, and ordinary Constables are no match for them!"

"Therefore, I would like to ask you all to send your own elite experts to the County Government Office to take orders and form a Law Enforcement Team to apprehend those who do not follow the rules. At the same time, you must also restrain your own disciples; after all, I act impartially and will not give anyone face!"

After speaking, Shen Yu swept his cold gaze over everyone. "In short, I do not wish to see anyone in Sanshui County using their power to bully others or oppress the common people. I wonder if you all understand?"

"This..." Everyone looked at each other; they seemed to understand the meaning of this County Magistrate. The talk of sending experts to form a Law Enforcement Team was nothing more than a fig leaf.

The reason this young County Magistrate wanted them to send experts over was nothing more than to make them submit a 'letter of allegiance'. Just like the Bai Yu Sect and the Dajiang Sect, those who sent experts to take orders were his own people. Otherwise, you could just wait and see.

At this moment, Shen Yu truly did not know they were thinking so much. The reason he did this was, on one hand, because the patrol Constables had limited strength and couldn't beat those troublemaking wandering martial artists.

On the other hand, he also wanted to re-educate these experts from various families and subsequently influence their families through them. If everyone followed the law, wouldn't that be better!

"Magistrate, my Jiang Family will definitely support you with all our strength!" After a brief commotion, someone immediately expressed their stance. When one is under the eaves, how can one not bow their head? Didn't they see that the Bai Yu Sect and the Dajiang Sect had already cowered?

"My Fan Family is also willing to support you!"

Soon, voices rose one after another. Shen Yu hadn't expected these people to be so cooperative; he still had plans for coercion and inducement that he hadn't used yet—why had they already cowered?

"Good, very good. Next is the second matter!" Nodding with satisfaction, Shen Yu waved at the Yamen Runner beside him. Soon, these Yamen Runners took a pile of papers and distributed them to everyone present.

"This is... the Sanshui County Commercial Integration Plan?" Holding the items distributed by the Yamen Runners, everyone looked at each other. What on earth was this?

However, when they read it carefully, they understood the County Magistrate's idea and immediately gasped. He wanted to integrate the commerce of Sanshui County—what a grand move!

In the past, when everyone did business, it was often you fighting your own battles and me fighting mine, occasionally even fighting each other. But now, on these few pages of paper in their hands, they only saw one thing: rules!

This County Magistrate really had some substance in his belly; he wanted to integrate everyone to develop together through a new method. If things went according to his line of thought, the prosperity of Sanshui County would surely reach a higher level.

It wasn't that no one had thought of these things before, but no one could do it; no one had the prestige and strength to suppress everyone. Even the Three Great Merchant Associations were just fighting their own battles.

Moreover, back then, they only wanted to unite a few families. Relatively speaking, this County Magistrate's move and courage were much greater.

Everyone looked at each other and saw the fire in each other's eyes. This plan was written in great detail, and those present were all big shots, so naturally, they could see through it at a glance. For them, this was undoubtedly a good thing!

In fact, Shen Yu still had many ideas in his heart, such as setting up a Free Trade Zone in Sanshui County to attract merchants to trade by utilizing the geographical convenience.

For example, he could also build a Small Commodity Wholesale Market, collecting the exquisite little trinkets from the common people of Sanshui County and gathering them together to form a large market for unified sales. With countless merchants coming and going here, there would always be someone interested.

If they sold well, these small commodities would form workshops, and they would hire workers to expand their scale. In this way, there would be more places to earn wages, and the lives of the common people would also improve significantly.

Of course, these were just ideas. Whether they could be realized was uncertain; it would still require a bit of exploration. Even this plan was just his idea; it hadn't been put into practice and still needed to be improved according to the actual situation.

"What do you all think of this plan?"

"This, Magistrate Shen, our merchant association fully agrees with your idea!" Among the Three Great Merchant Associations, He Yuanchang was the first to express his stance. Just kidding, for a merchant association like his that operated docks, this plan brought the greatest benefits; whoever didn't agree was a fool.

Joining it brought many benefits. But if one didn't join, they could just wait to be completely squeezed out of market share and be eliminated. At this moment, everyone nodded in unison.

"By the way, everyone, there is one more thing. Take a look at what is written on the very last page!"

"Ah? There's more?" Following Shen Yu's lead, they flipped to the last page, and everyone's expression became very strange.

Rent and interest reduction, minimum wages—what on earth was written here!

"Magistrate, this rent and interest reduction, and this minimum wage, etc. —these are things that have never happened before!"

"They haven't happened before, so starting from today, they will!" Interrupting the person's words without ceremony, Shen Yu looked at everyone quietly, his gaze enough to make them tremble with fear.

"You are all wealthy gentry and merchants. You can earn more money in the future. A little bit of land rent and wages is nothing more than a drop in the bucket for you, but for the ordinary common people, it can allow them to eat their fill and be warmly clothed."

"I do not ask for much; I only hope that the people of my Sanshui County can all eat their fill!"

"Eat their fill?" Hearing Shen Yu's words, a person below raised their eyebrows slightly. This County Magistrate seemed quite different from what they had imagined!

"I am not making things difficult for you. If you don't agree, you are free to leave, but then you won't be participating in the matters mentioned above!"

"This..." At this moment, everyone's heart trembled; the threat was almost written on his face. Who the hell dared to leave? Try leaving and see what happens; the fate of the Hu Family was still fresh in their memories!

"Good, it seems you are all people who understand the greater good. However, I will say the ugly words first: if anyone acts one way to my face and another behind my back, I will kill!"