My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 397 Innate Urban Management Saint Body
Li Defu has extensive experience in handling such matters; if he doesn't make an example of someone to deter others, these kinds of incidents will only increase.

He waved his hand and said:
"take away!"

Several constables stepped forward and took the foreign merchant, who was posing as a tribute envoy, away.

"Sir, spare my life! Sir, spare my life!"

Old Hu shouted, and Li Defu glanced at Zhang Yuanbian and the others. With the keen eyesight he had honed in the police camp, he knew these young men were extraordinary. He quickly said:
"My lords, be careful, there are quite a few swindlers in this market."

Yao Chunchen, who was observing government affairs at the Ministry of Revenue, frowned and said:
"Since this patrolman knows there are many swindlers in the market, why does he let them cheat him?"

Li Defu frowned, but Zhang Yuanbian stopped his companion and said to Li Defu:
"Thank you for your help, officer."

Li Defu rarely encountered such a polite scholar, so he quickly returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute.

Zhang Yuanbian pulled his companion away.

Yao Chunchen frowned and said:
“Brother Zijin, why are you being so polite to that constable? He must be colluding with the unscrupulous merchants in this market! We can talk to our fellow officials who are observing politics at the Censorate about this matter and have them investigate this constable thoroughly!”

Zhang Yuanbian sighed softly.

He finally understood why Su Fangshi had agreed with him at the time, wanting the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) to go and observe government affairs for training.

It seems that even observing politics in the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers' offices is not enough!

If someone passes the imperial examination and becomes a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), they will at least be considered a parent. If they still cannot understand the affairs of ordinary people, they will ultimately remain aloof and unable to handle matters concerning the people's livelihood.

Zhang Yuanbian said:
"Brother Chunren (Yao Chunchen's courtesy name), that patrolman just helped us out."

Yao Chunchen, however, said:

"This Crystal Palace Market is under the jurisdiction of their patrol camp. Who knows how many people Old Hu has cheated here? Why is he only showing up now?"

Those present joined in the chant.

Zhang Yuanbian said with a wry smile:
“Brother Chunren, this old Hu merchant was originally just using Fangshan glass to impersonate Western Region glass. If we hadn’t accidentally broken his things, this business would have been done willingly.”

"If it weren't for what happened today, what reason would the police have used to arrest that old Hu merchant?"

Yao Chunchen was stunned for a moment.

Zhang Yuanbian then said:

"With so many merchants at the Crystal Palace Market, it can't all be the police's fault when something goes wrong, can it?"

"this.."

Zhang Yuanbian said:
"Yes, the patrol battalion has the responsibility to maintain public order, but with such a large area outside the capital, it is impossible for the patrol battalion to cover everything. If we are too demanding because of this, who would be willing to work for the court?"

Zhang Yuanbian only came to understand this principle after spending time on the construction site these past few days.

While on the construction site, he often found that some craftsmen were slacking off. He once consulted Wan Jing, the head of the Ministry of Works, about this matter.

Wan Jing suggested that he should only punish a few artisans who led the way in slacking off or who were slacking off in key positions, while strengthening supervision over other artisans.

Zhang Yuanbian also didn't understand. He believed that these craftsmen had violated the Ministry of Works' regulations and should be severely punished.

But Wan Jing told him that people are inherently lazy, and everyone will slack off.

Meeting deadlines was something only the officials in the Ministry of Works worried about, while ordinary craftsmen only received a fixed salary, and even if they did a good job, they might not receive much reward.

If it's a new project, that's fine. The workshop has already built many large steel mills, so it's routine work for the craftsmen.

If the craftsmen slack off at this point, it's the supervisory officials' fault.

If all the craftsmen are severely punished because of this, then the Ministry of Works will never be able to handle its affairs properly again.

After all, there are ways for craftsmen to put in the effort without actually working.

After listening to Wan Jing's words, Zhang Yuanbian thought for a long time before he understood his problem.

Having studied for many years, scholars like Zhang Yuanbian always believed that rules were eternal truths, and that rules written in books could be strictly enforced.

But in reality, any system is made up of individuals.

Every individual has their own thoughts; they are not just cogs in a factory machine.

Therefore, Zhang Yuanbian had a good impression of Li Defu. This patrolman was efficient and decisive in resolving the problem, and he resolved their dispute and dealt with the illegal vendors in an instant.

However, it would be unfair to blame all the problems that occurred at the Crystal Palace Market on the police force's inaction.

After Zhang Yuanbian and the others had gone far away, Li Defu was also about to leave when he suddenly saw Su Ze in the crowd.

Li Defu was startled. After thinking for a moment, he still gritted his teeth and walked over.

“Li Defu, a student in the first class of the police training program, met with Dean Su.”

When the police training course was mentioned, Su Ze suddenly remembered that he seemed to have seen this chubby police inspector at the opening ceremony.

Su Ze secretly praised the other person's good memory.

"Even on his days off, Inspector Li is diligent in his duties. Next time I meet Censor Wang, I must bring this up properly."

Hearing Su Ze say this, Li Defu became even more excited.

Wang Renzhong is his direct superior, and if Su Ze speaks up for him, it will be of great benefit to his work in the police camp.

Just as Li Defu was about to continue flattering him, a sharp whistle sounded from not far away.

Li Defu's expression changed. He hesitated for a moment, then said to Su Ze:

"Dean Su, there's a fire in the market, and the students need to go put it out."

Li Defu gritted his teeth, gave up the opportunity to get closer to Su Ze, and led his men back to the place where the whistle had sounded.

If a catastrophic fire were to occur in such a large market as the Crystal Palace, both the police force and the Shuntian Prefecture government would be severely punished.

Therefore, Li Defu also established fire prevention regulations in the market.

He requested that the market be divided into several areas, with isolation zones between each area, so that even if a fire broke out, the entire market would not be set on fire.

Li Defu also stipulated that shops with open flames could only be located on the outskirts of the market, near water sources, so that fires could be easily extinguished in case of fire.

Li Defu then had the resident merchants gather enough money to purchase large water tanks, so that the water in the tanks could be used to extinguish fires in the event of one.

Finally, Li Defu set up part-time sentry posts, allowing some shop owners to keep the whistles. In the event of a fire, the whistles would be sounded, and nearby patrol officers and volunteer firefighters would rush to put out the fire.

Thanks to Li Defu's measures, by the time he arrived with his men, the fire had already been extinguished, and only a few neighboring shops were destroyed.

Li Defu waved his hand and instructed his men to investigate the cause of the fire to facilitate future claims.

Li Defu was already dizzy from being so busy when he spotted Su Ze in the crowd.

"Dean Su!?"

Su Ze looked at Li Defu with a smile, his eyes shining.

What a talent!

In fact, cities were very rare things in ancient times.

Most cities in Chinese history were actually walled fortresses. These cities primarily served military and administrative functions and were not cities in the modern sense.

Historically, megacities were capital cities like Chang'an, Luoyang, and Bianjing.

The capital of the Ming Dynasty could be considered the world's first megacity. Managing such a city was extremely difficult.

Public security, fire prevention, and medical care—municipal services that seem self-evident in modern times—were all in their infancy in the Ming Dynasty.

With the development of the times, the capital has become the number one city in the world, with a population of one million, trade routes leading to all parts of the world, and the most advanced industrial system of the era outside the city. It is a political, cultural and economic center!
The entire Ming Dynasty had no experience in managing such a megacity.

In Su Ze's view, the governance of the capital is now very backward.

The most typical example is that the Ming Dynasty still has a curfew.

In the capital, the time was indicated by bells and drums, and a curfew was enforced between the first and fifth watches of the night.

In addition, the capital city would be locked at sunset and would not be opened until dawn the next day.

During the curfew, the Five City Garrison, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Patrol Battalion would patrol the streets. Anyone found wandering the streets without a pass would be arrested and imprisoned.

Of course, the curfew during the Longqing era had been relaxed considerably.

For example, during the Lunar New Year period, from the first to the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, as well as the Lantern Festival, there is no curfew.

The imperial court would lift the curfew on most holidays.

Even during holidays, the government has relaxed its enforcement of the curfew.

In Su Ze's view, curfews are actually a necessary measure to address the city's inadequate governance capabilities.

The curfew was not lifted during the Song Dynasty.

Unfortunately, many administrative techniques were lost during the transition from the Song to the Yuan dynasty.

The curfew, including the maritime ban in the early Ming Dynasty, was also due to a lack of technical personnel in this area, ultimately leaving no choice but to impose a ban.

There are actually calls within the court to lift the curfew.

With the development of the capital, many nighttime jobs also emerged.

For example, steel mills and chemical plants need to work day and night.

Large factories are better off, as dormitories can be built for the craftsmen to rest.

Small factories are in a worse situation, as they can only have their craftsmen work a full night shift.

The booming commerce also required cities to open earlier, as merchants inside the city needed to open the city gates as soon as possible to transport goods into the city.

Meanwhile, the city also needs to transport its household waste out of the city to avoid the congestion when the city gates are open.

In addition, there was a fire.

The biggest threat to large cities is fire.

Many houses today are made of wood, which makes them prone to rapid fire spread. The Song Dynasty painting "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" depicts a scene of a city fire.

Not only were cities frequently burned down in the Ming Dynasty, but the imperial palace was also burned down several times.

The losses caused by the fire were enormous and would greatly impact urban development.

Li Defu, standing before us, is a master of urban governance!

It can maintain public order, prevent and fight fires, and handle matters smoothly and flexibly. In later generations, wouldn't it be a divine body of innate urban management?
In fact, Su Ze also favored lifting the curfew.

Nighttime lighting can be considered a precursor technology for popularizing knowledge.

Ordinary working people need to work during the day. In any country that has just been established in the original timeline, it is a time of rapid development, and people need to work and build during the day.

Only by utilizing nighttime hours can night schools be established to provide literacy education for ordinary people.

Nighttime activities can also boost nighttime consumption, which is beneficial to the economy.

However, this is contingent on the security situation not deteriorating after the curfew is lifted.

In other words, Su Ze believes that the curfew should be lifted only after the city's governance level has improved.

However, Su Ze has never discovered any talent with a knack for urban governance.

Only now does Su Ze realize that he has been looking in the wrong place all along.

The people around me are all scholars; they have all emerged from the mountains of books, having studied diligently for over a decade. In reality, they have very little connection with the common people.

The real talent in urban governance comes from people like Li Defu, who come from humble backgrounds and have worked their way up from the bottom.

Su Ze exchanged a few more pleasantries with Li Defu before returning to his family. He was already thinking about his memorial to the throne the next day.
-
The next day, Su Ze went to the Office of Transmission and handed his memorial to Xu Shuli.

A memorial requesting the establishment of a City Security Bureau to specifically handle fire prevention.

"Your subject respectfully submits this memorial: In order to clarify the administrative authority of the capital, a special agency should be established to prioritize fire prevention and ensure the well-being of the people."

"The capital city has over a million households, and merchants flock here, especially to the Crystal Palace market. However, with its densely packed houses and abundant goods, fire hazards are a serious problem."

"However, these important tasks are now being handled by the patrol battalion, whose primary duty is to apprehend thieves and keep the people safe. It is difficult for them to specialize in fire prevention. Moreover, the capital is becoming increasingly busy, with the curfew being relaxed, workshops operating at night, and goods flowing day and night. The old system is no longer adequate."

This is typical of Su Ze's style of writing memorials: first, he explains the predicament of urban governance, and then he proposes countermeasures.

"Your Majesty, I request that, following the precedent of the 'Inspectorate of Police and Constables,' a 'City Security Division' be established within the Police and Constable camp, specifically responsible for three duties:"

Fire control coordination: supervise the construction of fire-resistant alleyways, strictly investigate open flames in shops; modeled after Li Defu's law, require shops to jointly set up fire tanks, sentry posts, and rotating guards; promulgate the "Fire Prohibition Ordinance" and promulgate it to the whole city.

Urban beautification: Regulations for the construction of stalls were established, and street blockages were cleared; the dredging of ditches and the removal of sewage were supervised to prevent the spread of disease.

Workshop supervisor: Verify fire prevention measures for nighttime workshops, issue nighttime transport permits, and assist in staggered freight flow.

Su Ze then explained the benefits of the new policy:
"Firstly, it can reduce the frequency of fires, protect people's property and consolidate the foundation of the country; secondly, with municipal administration focused, the police can devote themselves to cracking down on thieves, without neglecting either task; thirdly, it can ensure the well-being of the city, promote the development of night markets, and facilitate the trade of goods."

To be on the safe side, Su Ze still sent the memorial to the "Handheld Ming Dynasty Court".

——[Simulation Start]——

The memorial requesting the establishment of an Urban Security Department to specifically handle fire prevention was sent to the Cabinet, which reached a consensus and approved the memorial.

The Longqing Emperor agreed to establish the "Urban Security Bureau".

The memorial was approved, but the Urban Security Division was clearly a complex and demanding department, and if anything went wrong, they would be held responsible. No one in the Censorate was willing to take on the role of head of the division.

——[Simulation End]——

[Remaining Prestige: 1680.]

This simulation has passed and does not need to be forced to run.

[Simulation passed. This simulation will not consume a monthly simulation attempt.]

As expected, this memorial encountered no resistance and was passed directly.

But Su Ze frowned.

Li Defu is currently a clerk and cannot serve as the chief clerk, but judging from the simulation results, no one is willing to take on the role of chief clerk.

That's normal; no one in later generations would want to be a city management officer.

Su Ze thought about it and decided that he still needed to find someone to help him.

(End of this chapter)