The most arrogant in history

Chapter 132 Soft power must be hard.

Ye Kun sighed and said, "For those who are willing to continue doing this, I respect your choice and will assign you to other brothels. In the future, you will serve the merchants who come and go."

This is the current environment in the Dading Kingdom.

If there are no women who can sing and dance on your territory, it means that your soft power is not good!

If soft power is weak, investment attraction will be affected.

So Ye Kun also intended to retain a few brothels.

Sure enough, three young ladies came forward and whispered:

"Master Ye, we can't turn back anymore. We can only continue to do this..."

"random."

Ye Kun asked County Magistrate Wang to register on the spot and handle each case one by one.

The situation was similar in several other brothels, where women of good character were forced into prostitution.

Tang Ruyi, whom Jiang Yourong mentioned, was indeed detained by one of the brothels and was found in the woodshed in the backyard.

Moreover, Tang Ruyi had been defiled by the thugs in the brothel and was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Ye Kun was furious and broke the hands and feet of the brothel owner and her thugs. He then detained them outside the South Gate, awaiting execution the next day.

After questioning all the brothels, Ye Kun whispered to Tan Bamao:

"Godson, I plan to keep three brothels to serve the merchants in the future. I'm doing you a favor. You can choose who to be with and keep the three brothels. However, I will never let go of the brothel owners and thugs who have committed serious crimes."

Tan Bamao nodded and selected three more honest ones.

Ye Kun closed down and banned all other brothels.

For those who committed the most heinous crimes, their property was confiscated, they were beaten and tattooed, and sent to hard labor camps; the madams sent them to Xiping Mountain and betrothed them to poor old bachelors.

All the young ladies who wanted to turn over a new leaf were arranged to have physical examinations and were sent to the military camp clinic and sewing camp to learn skills.

There were also some older ones, so Ye Kun assigned them to the midwifery team and found a dozen experienced midwives to take them for internship.

As a result, a large amount of property and several large houses were confiscated.

Ye Kun also gave a lecture to the three remaining brothels, reiterated the rules, and then issued licenses and registered all the practitioners. If there were newcomers, they had to go through a qualification review.

In addition, Ye Kun adjusted the locations of these three brothels, placing them all at the westernmost end of South Street.

The integrated houses continue to shelter orphans, provide them with food and clothing, teach them handicrafts, and allow them to learn cultural knowledge.

This time there is also a separate apartment specifically for accommodating boys and focusing on their training.

Some orphans are already in their teens and learn very quickly. After one or two years, they can play a role.

Jiang Yourong is now the director of an orphanage. She is very happy, leading a group of girls. She is busy all day long and leads a very fulfilling life.

Miss Yuejuan also gradually relaxed, and every morning, she taught everyone here together with Wen Axiu and Liu Hongyu.

There is also an elite disciple class in Beijie, where all students know more than a thousand characters. They are undergoing intensive training and are expected to be used as teachers in the future.

Ye Kun dealt with the mess in the brothel and theater, and called a meeting with Huang Sizhong, County Magistrate Wang and others, saying:

"I am about to start a large-scale construction project to develop handicrafts on a large scale. However, I am worried that the latest technology will be leaked. Everyone, think about it, is there any good solution?"

Huang Sizhong grinned and said, "Lord Ye, this isn't that easy. We will build a new fort and use it as a special craftsman camp. All the craftsmen will be locked up in the fort, with tattoos on their faces and soldiers guarding them strictly. Anyone who dares to leave the fort will be killed without mercy!"

"Old Huang, you are so cruel."

Ye Kun sighed and smiled, "However, this is also an idea. You can discuss it and classify the carpenters, blacksmiths, leatherworkers, and all the craftsmen into different categories, and think about how to tattoo. I will go to a meeting with the craftsmen and ask for everyone's opinions."

That night, Ye Kun called dozens of craftsmen and alchemists to hold a meeting.

Ye Kun said: "The Da Ding Kingdom is divided into four classes of people: scholars, farmers, merchants and artisans. Craftsmen and merchants have a very low status. But in my Pingye County, I respect craftsmen very much and decided to greatly improve their treatment!"

The craftsmen were all very happy and grinning.

Scholars, farmers, merchants, artisans and craftsmen are usually not respected.

Ye Kun said: "I want to classify craftsmen in all walks of life into four levels. From high to low, there are master craftsmen, great craftsmen, artisans, and apprentices."

The craftsmen asked, "How are these four levels determined?"

Ye Kun smiled and said:

“A master craftsman is someone who can lead an industry forward, introduce new technologies and tools, and produce high-quality products quickly. A great craftsman is someone who can design new products on his own and complete them. A craftsman is someone who can imitate the great craftsman’s products and make the same things. An apprentice is someone who can use basic tools and complete tasks assigned by the master.”

Everyone looked at each other.

The master's requirements are too high.

As for the master craftsman, there are still people who can do the job.

Ye Kun added: "The treatment for the master craftsman is a large house with at least twenty rooms, a complete kitchen and toilet, and all furniture. One hundred dan of rice, one hundred taels of silver, and five hundred kilograms of pork or dried meat are provided every year. When going out, he is provided with a carriage, attendants, and maids."

Everyone was amazed and asked, "Isn't that more glorious than being a county magistrate?"

"Yes, the treatment of a master craftsman is equal to that of a county magistrate!"

Ye Kun continued to throw out high salary bait: "The monthly salary of the master craftsman is one stone of rice, two taels of silver, fifteen catties of meat, and five catties of fine salt. In addition, four houses will be provided. At the end of the year, a piece of silk and a piece of fine linen will be awarded... If there is a significant contribution, you will be promoted to a master craftsman."

The craftsmen in the audience were all eager to get started.

After Ye Kun finished talking about the treatment, he changed the topic:

"However, all the craftsmen are under closed management and live in the fort with their families. They are not allowed to go out on weekdays. If they want to go out, they have to ask for leave."

The craftsmen laughed and said, "As long as we have food and meat, we can stay here forever."

"There is food and meat. If you don't have a wife, I will introduce you to a wife. If you have children, we will also take care of their upbringing. If you are sick, there are special doctors for you to take care of."

Ye Kun nodded: "However, there is one last request, which is to have a tattoo on the arm."

Tattooing on the arm is harmless because it is invisible when you wear clothes and it does not affect your self-esteem.

The craftsmen actually agreed immediately and shouted, "Master Ye, we are willing to tattoo!"

Nowadays, as long as you have food to eat, it doesn’t matter if you have a tattoo on your arm.

Ye Kun nodded and smiled:

"Okay, everyone can vote for each other. This time, I will select three blacksmiths, coppersmiths, carpenters, leatherworkers, kiln makers and alchemy masters, that is, master craftsmen. Other industries such as bamboo craftsmen, gold and silversmiths, carving, papermaking, winemaking, sugar boiling, road and bridge construction, house construction, etc. will each select a master craftsman... In the future, we will continue to select and increase talents."

Skilled craftsmen will promote the progress of the times.

Ye Kun is well aware of the importance of technical personnel, so he is willing to invest in them.

The craftsmen were also very happy and very motivated.

Ye Kun also cleared the land and planned a 300-acre industrial park on a large sloping land at the southern foot of Xiping Mountain, forming an independent dock divided into several large areas where different industries can divide the work and cooperate and communicate.

But Rome was not built in a day, and it will take some time to build the dock and put the industrial park into use.

On the nineteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, the winter sun is bright.

Ye Kun was in the lobby of the county government office, working on official business with County Magistrate Wang, when there was a commotion outside.

The personal guard came to report: "Master Ye, there is a nobleman outside who must see you."

Ye Kun stood up and went outside to check.

In front of the county government office, there stood a young man with a sword, about seventeen or eighteen years old, not very tall, but tall and graceful, dressed in gorgeous clothes and with a haughty look.

Behind the young master, there were eight attendants, four men and four women.

The men were all around forty years old, mature and steady, or smart and capable; the four maids were two large and two small, the oldest was in her early twenties, and the youngest was sixteen or seventeen years old, all as beautiful as flowers.

Seeing Ye Kun, the noble young man clasped his fists and said, "Excuse me, are you Lord Ye from Pingye County?"

The voice sounded nice when he spoke.

Ye Kun clasped his fists and said, "My name is Ye Kun. I wonder where you are from, what is your name, and what can I teach you?"

"That's easy." The nobleman said in a very mature manner:

"I am Qin Caiwei, a merchant from Jingzhou. I came to Pingye County to purchase soap and perfume. Unexpectedly, I lost 100 taels of gold in the county. I came here to report the case. I hope Lord Ye can investigate and return the gold to me."

"Your gold was stolen, and you want me to return it to you?"

Ye Kun frowned and was about to get angry, but suddenly he smiled.

His sister, this young man has a bulging chest and big hips, it seems like a woman dressed as a man!

Looking more closely, she indeed has the charm of young Brigitte Lin, with beautiful eyes and heroic demeanor.

Whose girl is so bold as to disguise herself as a man and come to Pingye County to cause trouble?

The nobleman snorted, "I've always heard that Lord Ye governs Pingye County, and no one picks up things on the road and leaves their doors unlocked at night, so I came here with confidence. Now that I've lost the gold, shouldn't Lord Ye compensate me?"

This expression, both arrogant and coquettish, is indeed a little girl!