I am one year older than Chongzhen

Chapter 84

Xu Guangqi's efforts to promote new crops encountered resistance and finally failed.

Why is it so?
It is the common people who are hungry, not the scholar-bureaucrats and the landlord class.

The Ming Dynasty was managed in a rough way, and it was impossible to do what the later generations did, only at the county level.

The vast countryside is controlled by clan gentry.

Whenever natural disasters reduce food production, it is the day when the scholar-bureaucrats and landlords hoard and annex land on a large scale!

If the small people in Shengdou grow high-yield sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, they will no longer be hungry, and no longer face the dilemma of starving to death. Who will sell the land cheaply?
It can be ignored that farmers do not have the right to speak, and the country gentry not only does not support the promotion of new crops, but also hinders it. Xu Guangqi's efforts are of course in vain.

Huang Yi is different. His goal is to get food as soon as possible, and the more the better.

Therefore, he is considering whether he can ask Li Dong's family to send someone to Gyeonggi to find Xu Guangqi's servant who is responsible for cultivating new crops.

No matter what variety the Xu family cultivated, they bought some seeds and copied back the method of growing new crops.

It's just that the current Gyeonggi land is being ravaged by Jianshou, and whether the Li Dong family is willing to send someone there is another matter.

I have to find a way to trick Li Dong's family into helping me with this matter.
One thing Huang Yi didn't know was that Dong Li's family was anxious to find him.

In the twelfth lunar month, servants and assistants were dispatched to write the five characters of Baota Zhenhe Yao in conspicuous places on several main roads outside Zhangjiakou.

Li Weida, the owner of Li's family, used the heads of Jiannu and Tartars in his hands to seek promotions for several civil and military generals, not only making money, but also making connections.

There is no impenetrable wall, and scarce goods such as Jiannu heads can be obtained, and Li Dong's family has become a legendary merchant.

Someone actually found out about the magic of Li Dong's house, and came to Zhangjiakou to ask Li Weida for a tailor-made order.

Both of them were surnamed Geng, they came from Taiyuan, and they were the two sons of the former Shanxi governor's family.

Master Geng and his brother had a big accident in their family, and they urgently needed military service to rescue their father, Geng Ruqi, who had already been imprisoned.

Lao Geng was very powerful before he was imprisoned. His official position was Taipu Siqing, and Youqiandu Yushi was the governor of Shanxi.

The territories of Shanxi and Xuanda overlap, and of course the merchants in Zhangjiakou have to give face to the governor of Shanxi.

The Li family is a family of officials and officials, and they are close friends with the Geng family.

Therefore, the two sons of the Geng family, Geng Zhangguang and Geng Zhanghua, made a detour to Zhangjiakou when they accompanied their mother back to their hometown.

Called for help that day.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, including eunuchs, can be compared with fewer people and more animals.

Officials and businessmen are in collusion, and most honorable and high-ranking officials have nephews or family-born children who are doing business.

Li Weida's parents and grandparents were also high-ranking officials who were born in the imperial examinations, and there are still several elders and peers who hold official positions in the court.

Of course he wants to receive the two Mr. Geng.

After all, Geng Ruqi used to be a high-ranking member of one party, and his official position was at the third rank, so his family would never fail.

The two sons were surrounded by seventeen servants, all of whom were dressed in fresh clothes and equipped with fine iron chain mail.

Li Weida went in without knowing it, and warmly received the two Mr. Geng. After hearing the explanation of the intention of the two Geng and Zhangguang brothers, he smiled wryly.

Geng Zhangguang is the eldest son of Geng. He is 27 years old and has a reputation as a scholar. He will definitely be able to enter the imperial examination in the future.

Li Weida couldn't do it anymore. He failed to pass the exam many times as a scholar, so he had to spend money to donate a supervisor.

With the fame of supervising students, the status is different, at least you don't need to kneel when you meet the magistrate.

If it was three months ago, it would not have been easy for Li Weida to invite Geng Zhangguang to have a drink. The eldest son of the feudal official has a reputation and is very honorable.

It is impossible for Li Weida to pass the imperial examination to become an official, he can only be a big merchant.

Merchants in the feudal dynasty must have hands and eyes, and making good friends with officials is a must.

Geng Ruqi's imprisonment does not explain anything.

The officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is very interesting.

Today there are prisoners in the ranks, and tomorrow the civil servants of the border officials were still in prison yesterday. Today, there are many generals who command thousands or tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.

Something happened to the Geng family, so giving help at this time is like helping the Geng family turn around, and the rewards in the future will be limitless.

Of course Li Weida was willing to help.

He knew how urgent the Geng family was at this moment, and he didn't dare to overspeak.Tell the truth:

"To tell you the truth, Brother Geng, in November last year, I did bring in dozens of slaves and heads of Tartars.

It's a pity that the whereabouts of the hero who can fight Jiannu and Tartar are uncertain, and there is no way to contact him. "

The Geng family is a big family, Geng Ruqi has four sons and three daughters, the eldest Geng Zhangguang and the third Geng Zhanghua are legitimate sons.

In fact, they were not sure that Li Weida could get the heads of Jiannu and Tartars.

It was entirely because the situation was grim, and the family couldn't think of any good solution.

Based on hearsay, Li Weida, the owner of the Zhangjiakou firm managed by the Li family, was able to get the heads of Jiannu and Tartars, so he came here with the idea of ​​giving it a try.

It's just a medical emergency. I didn't expect Li Weida to admit it very readily. Both of them are very happy. Geng Zhangguang said:

"Brother Li, nothing is difficult in the world, as long as there is a heart, as long as you are willing to look for the hero, you can always find it!"

Geng Zhanghua is six years younger than Geng Zhangguang. He is 21 this year and is also a scholar.

He has an active nature. He has practiced martial arts since he was a child and practiced riding and archery. He thinks he is proficient in bow and horse.

He said: "That strong man can get so many Jiannu and Tartar heads, there must be a lot of people under him, and the movements are bound to be insignificant.

Brother Li, please let me know the general scope of that hero's activities. I will take a few servants to look for it tomorrow. "

Geng Ruji is a great official in the frontier, and of course there are many servants with strong military skills under his command.

Most of the servants who act as guards are more capable of fighting. They only recognize the patriarch and not the court, and dare to fight to the death to protect the patriarch.

This is not a lie. The governors in the late Ming Dynasty had more power than the provincial officials in later generations, and they were simply grasped by the military, civil affairs, and justice.

With such power, in Daming where corruption is prevalent, it is of course possible to make a lot of money.

For their own safety, and for the availability of confidantes, they must support servants.

Geng Ruji's family members are all from Geng Ruji's hometown in Liaocheng, Shandong, and most of them are the sons and nephews of Geng's tenant farmers.

It is impossible to know whether the fighting power of the servants is very strong, because they have never really fought.

But to be sure, their loyalty is not in question.

So Geng Zhanghua wanted to take a dozen of the strongest armored servants to find heroes who could fight Jiannu and Tartars.

This is actually the main reason for the corruption of civil servants and generals.

It is very expensive to raise servants, the monthly fee is not less than two taels of silver, and the food and expenses for a month cost at least one tael of silver.

Rewards during the New Year and festivals, clothes for all seasons, etc., it costs four to fifty taels a year to raise a servant.

Guards and soldiers cost more. Equipped with iron armor and weapons, they cost 60 taels of silver, and a pair of high-quality bows and arrows cost more than a dozen or 20 taels of silver.

There are many officials who support dozens or even hundreds of family members, and their salaries are not enough. Where does the money come from?

Of course you have to reach out everywhere!
(End of this chapter)