Chu Yangtian was originally resting at home. Not resting late at night would shorten his lifespan, but he was protected by soldiers. He then learned about Shen Feng's assassination and was stunned. He never expected such a thing to happen in Yuzhou, nor that there would be such audacious individuals attempting to assassinate Shen Feng.
Professor Chu became frightened. If Shen Feng's family were truly assassinated, wouldn't Yuzhou be without a leader? Apart from Shen Feng and Chang Jianyi, no one else possessed sufficient prestige to lead Yuzhou. The ensuing chaos in Yuzhou would be unimaginable, and the thought sent a shiver down his spine.
With this in mind, Professor Chu immediately rushed to the prison. He wanted to understand the true motives of the culprits and, if possible, resolve the issue once and for all.
However, Professor Chu was ultimately disappointed. Upon arriving at the prison, he learned that the cook had been murdered to silence him, and the true culprit had not been found. He immediately felt the situation was difficult. The enemy was hidden, lurking in the shadows, making it impossible to find them.
Professor Chu then reviewed numerous interrogation reports in the prison. When he saw the actions of various gangs, he was astonished. In just over half a year, the situation had become so corrupt. What a joke!
Professor Chu considered himself well-versed in history, but he had never encountered such widespread chaos in historical records. In just over half a year, all sorts of nefarious elements had emerged. Kidnapping, gambling, extortion, and even cults had appeared in Yuzhou.
"This situation is a complete loss of order. What will happen if this continues?" Professor Chu was shocked. He had never imagined that what appeared to be a stable situation had devolved into this state; it was truly terrifying.
Soon, Shen Feng arrived at the prison and asked Professor Chu, "Professor, is there something important? Can't it wait until tomorrow morning?"
Professor Chu nodded, handed him the interrogation reports, and asked, "How do you plan to deal with the actions of these people?"
Shen Feng took the interrogation reports and began to read. The first case involved the canned meat. These insane workers, in order to make money, had ventured outside the city to capture mutated rats and use rat meat to make canned goods for sale. The sanitary conditions were also extremely poor. Several plagues that had occurred in the city were caused by people contracting diseases from eating rat meat.
Next, Shen Feng saw the other deeds of the gangs: theft, robbery, fraud, kidnapping. Their crimes were too numerous to list, and even cases of murder and arson were not uncommon. Describing them as heinous would be an understatement.
Shen Feng pondered for a moment and replied, "Professor Chu, if I were to handle this matter, I would first determine three types of punishment: first, beheading; second, hard labor; and third, fines. Those who commit murder, arson, and robbery must be executed. Failure to do so would not be enough to deter others. Second, for these illegal factories, I would sentence these people to serve terms of ten or twenty years. I believe they would rather serve hard labor than face death. Finally, for the insignificant individuals, pickpockets and those who extort protection fees, after a fine, they can be driven away."
Professor Chu listened to Shen Feng's proposed punishments and nodded at first, but then he began to shake his head.
Seeing Professor Chu's reaction, Shen Feng couldn't help but feel confused and quickly asked, "Professor Chu, am I wrong?"
Professor Chu asked Shen Feng to sit down slowly and then said in a low voice, "For the latter two categories of offenders, I think we should swap the punishments. Fining the people in the factories is acceptable, but those who extort protection fees must be dealt with strictly. Do you understand?"
"No!" Shen Feng answered honestly.
In Shen Feng's view, the people in the factories were either producing vulgar novels to cheat people out of money or selling rat meat to harm others. It was already lenient not to execute them. Yet, those who extorted protection fees, who hadn't physically assaulted anyone or harmed too many people, were to be dealt with strictly. He found this incomprehensible.
Professor Chu explained to Shen Feng, "Shen Feng, think about it. Under what circumstances can you make others willingly hand over their money?"
Shen Feng fell silent. He began to think carefully. He initially wanted to say protection fees, but upon reflection, he realized it wasn't that simple.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi also emerged from the interrogation room. Chu Zhaoyan brought the last batch of gang members to the prison. Both of them saw Shen Feng and Professor Chu talking and dared not interrupt, standing aside and listening quietly.
Shen Feng finally gave up thinking and said, "Professor, I don't know."
Professor Chu didn't say much more. If Shen Feng were his student, he would have reprimanded him at this point. However, he knew that Shen Feng was not someone who liked to be lectured. Such people could be guided, but not criticized.
"Shen Feng, do you know about collecting taxes?" Professor Chu asked.
Shen Feng suddenly understood but still had a lingering doubt. He quickly replied, "I understand collecting taxes. But isn't collecting taxes done with money? These people extorted grain, which seems different, doesn't it?"
"Have you heard of paying grain taxes?" Professor Chu continued to ask.
Shen Feng's heart tightened, and he instinctively looked to the sides. He was very familiar with this matter; he had to pay it every night.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi and Chu Zhaoyan involuntarily shifted their gazes, their faces slightly flushed, clearly recalling something embarrassing.
Professor Chu, unaware of his granddaughter's anomaly, continued to guide Shen Feng: "Since ancient times, human currency has been highly tied to grain. Therefore, the source of revenue for feudal dynasties was agricultural tax. In other words, grain is money. And these people extorting protection fees is equivalent to collecting taxes! Before you could even collect taxes, these people collected them first. Do you think this is appropriate?"
At this point, even a fool like Shen Feng understood. He quickly slapped his forehead and said, "I understand, Professor. These people stole the income of my City Lord's Mansion, so they must die. Is that the reasoning?"
Now Shen Feng completely understood the reason. It wasn't that Professor Chu disliked those who extorted protection fees, but rather that these people had stolen income that rightfully belonged to the City Lord's Mansion, and therefore, they had to be killed as a warning.
Professor Chu nodded gently. While the words were crude, the logic was sound. Shen Feng had finally grasped the concept.
Shen Feng immediately decided to change his mind and add those who extorted protection fees to the list of those to be beheaded.
At this moment, Chang Jianyi also served Professor Chu a cup of tea and said in a low voice, "Professor Chu, please continue to guide us in the future. My husband and I are young and easily go astray."
"Yes, yes, Grandpa, please give them more advice," Chu Zhaoyan couldn't help but add.
Professor Chu nodded. He was feeling his health decline and knew his time was limited. It was good to be able to guide Shen Feng as quickly as possible. In any case, he could not stand by and watch Shen Feng remain ignorant. At the very least, he wanted Shen Feng to learn to understand the current situation.
"Shen Feng, if you don't mind, why don't you become my student? I'll teach you history first. Once you understand ancient and modern history, you'll be able to understand the development of the current situation. All ancient history is modern history."
Shen Feng quickly nodded and said, "Yes, yes, yes. If the teacher doesn't mind, I will be your student."
Professor Chu nodded with satisfaction, but thinking about the current situation in Yuzhou, he quickly said to Shen Feng, "Let's put aside studying history for now. You have one important thing to do right now, which is to eliminate the unemployed."
Shen Feng immediately waved his hand and sternly refused, "Professor, what are you talking about? Unemployed people are still people. We can't kill all of them, can we? I am a person with a conscience and cannot do something so inhumane."
Professor Chu frowned and asked in surprise, "Are you serious?"
Shen Feng smiled and said, "I was just joking. The atmosphere is so serious right now, a joke can help ease the tension."
Professor Chu shook his head helplessly and sighed. He didn't know if Shen Feng was carefree or simple-minded, to still be in the mood for jokes at such a time.
Chu Zhaoyan also couldn't stand it any longer. She walked over to Shen Feng, pinched him, and whispered, "What time is it, and you're still joking? Hurry up and find a way to eliminate the unemployed."
"Slap," Chang Jianyi couldn't stand it. "Is my man someone you can pinch?" she said, swatting Chu Zhaoyan's hand away. Chu Zhaoyan stuck out her tongue and made a face.
Chang Jianyi was annoyed. She was now certain that Chu Zhaoyan and Shen Feng were involved, otherwise, their relationship wouldn't be so intimate.
Shen Feng, trying to change the subject, quickly asked, "Professor, what do you mean by eliminating the unemployed?"
Professor Chu then explained, "Why are there so many gangs in the city? I've thought about it, and there's a reason: there are too many unemployed people, which has led to the current situation!"
Throughout history, the end of dynasties was always accompanied by uprisings. And where did these uprisings come from? Naturally, they transformed from the unemployed. To explain this using the theory of blood compensation, it means that at critical moments, the populace can become refugees, refugees can become bandits, and bandits can become officials. A successful uprising makes them officials; a failed uprising makes them bandits.
Therefore, the primary goal of every dynasty was to reduce the number of refugees. The simplest method was to distribute land so that farmers could cultivate it.
Those without property have no steadfastness of mind. Rulers understood this principle very well: the barefoot are not afraid of the shod.
There is a saying among bandits: "Dare to skin oneself to pull down the emperor."
The reason is simple: bandits are fearless. After all, this is their situation. How much worse can it get? Therefore, they might as well die, and they can do anything else.
To deal with people who are barefoot, mere military force is not enough. First, they must be given shoes. Once they have shoes, they will have something to consider and be willing to behave properly.
Back to the point, Professor Chu asked Shen Feng, "Now, I want to ask you, how do you plan to solve the problem of the unemployed?"
Shen Feng's head began to ache. This was not something he should be considering. He could talk about anime or even a little about medicine, but now he was being asked about the unemployed, and he was completely at a loss.
Professor Chu continued to guide him, "Shen Feng, you've studied history. You must know that both domestically and internationally, there have been ways to deal with this."
Shen Feng suddenly had an epiphany, his mind clearing up. He felt as if he had received divine enlightenment. In an instant, he understood.
With his thoughts clarified, Shen Feng said seriously, "Teacher, then I must combine my experiences and observations to suggest solutions. Please guide me!"
Chu Yangtian was also surprised. He hadn't expected Shen Feng to come up with a solution so quickly. Had he really recruited a good student?
Not to mention the ancient elites who racked their brains to find solutions, even modern people don't have many good ways to solve employment issues. Yet, Shen Feng could come up with a solution with a simple thought, which truly shocked Professor Chu.
"Tell me, let me see if it makes sense," Professor Chu said quickly.
Shen Feng pretended to ponder and then replied, "How about this, Professor? We can change the name of these unemployed people, for example, call them 'freelancers,' and their work status can be called 'flexible employment.' Professor, don't you think this problem is perfectly solved?"
Upon hearing this, Professor Chu helplessly shook his head and sighed, "Are you treating me like an idiot?"
Not only was Professor Chu speechless at Shen Feng's answer, but Chang Jianyi and Chu Zhaoyan also felt he was talking nonsense. If a problem could be solved by changing its name, it wouldn't be a problem.
Shen Feng spread his hands and smiled, "You can't blame me for this. Who told me I've seen this kind of thing before? I've been thinking, after I graduate from college, I'll also be a freelancer and have flexible employment. Won't that mean no one will solve this problem?"
Professor Chu patted Shen Feng's shoulder and said solemnly, "Your method is nothing more than deceiving oneself, like covering one's ears while stealing a bell. This will not solve the problem. In history, it might just be a casual mention of taking a wrong turn, but on that wrong turn, there were countless people's blood and tears. As the ruler of Yuzhou, you cannot think like this."
Shen Feng finally became serious and said, "Professor, I really don't know what to do. Please enlighten me."