Brother Zhu Youxiao

"Sorry..."

At the end of August, when the harvesting of grain had already begun in the northern provinces, truckloads of grain departed from Beizhili and were transported to the three prefectures of Taining and Shanxi respectively.

At the same time, Liaodong also began to receive a boatload of grain sent from Yingzhou.

The atmosphere of war was promoted by the Dudufu of the Five Armies and spread to the entire north.

For a while, grain prices in Liaodong began to fluctuate, but they were soon stabilized by the millions of shi rice and wheat released by the local imperial horse supervisor.

However, in order to stabilize the price of grain in Liaodong, it is necessary to supplement the army's rations, which is not a small challenge for the Yumajian.

Often times like this, the Yumajian will choose to purchase grain from other places to transfer grain from the south to the north. However, since Sichuan is responsible for supplying grain to Shaanxi this year, the Yumajian did not purchase grain locally, but put the grain for the Northern Expedition in Huguang. The same grain-producing province.

The grain in Huguang ushered in the autumn harvest period. At the same time as the new grain was on the market, nearly 900 million stones of rice and wheat were confiscated by the local imperial horse supervisor with land tax, purchased by normal means such as commercial purchases, and then shipped to Liaodong.

Similarly, rice and wheat from Liaodong were also shipped to Taining Prefecture.

This kind of thing that one province transports one province, and one province supplements one government is constantly happening.

The imperial court must store enough military rations for Liaodong and Taining Prefectures for half a year before winter.

After waiting for the beginning of spring, they have to deliver enough food for a year to the troops in Liaodong and Taining within four months.

Only in this way can the army logistics of the Third Northern Expedition be guaranteed...

"Only when Jianlu is put down, can the imperial court set up a provincial chief envoy to Nu'ergan, and the imperial court can develop the Northeast!"

Mentougou at the end of August resounded with the roar of the machine, and compared with this sound, Zhu Youjian's voice was more likely to inspire people's hearts.

At this moment, he was walking in the steam engine factory, looking at the workers on the assembly line, with mixed feelings.

The parts of the steam engine are being assembled. The speed is not fast, but it is enough to make Zhu Youjian feel proud.

"It's finally on the right track..."

Zhu Youjian sighed, but the factory owner beside him didn't dare to respond, so he could only nod repeatedly.

After strolling around the factory, Zhu Youjian turned around and rushed towards other factories.

Under his observation, the entire Mentougou Industrial Zone was seen clearly.

The tractors on the road groaned, and the man who operated this steel monster was three ordinary farmers, and beside them stood the factory craftsman who was in charge of explaining.

Under the command of the craftsmen, they hooked the wire rope to the winch of the tractor.

After repeatedly confirming that the safety device was closed, one of them pulled the plowshare far away with a wire rope, and the other supported it.

Seeing that the two were ready, the farmer in charge of the tractor immediately turned around and used a shovel to fill the tractor with coal from the coal wagon next to it.

Since the water had been poured in in advance, after half a stick of incense, the tractor began to make a whistle-like sound, and white water vapor came out from the exhaust port.

The winch started to move, and the two farmers in charge of the plowshare also started to pull the plowshare, driving it to plow the field.

The fields after autumn were plowed, and the actions of these three farmers represented that Ming Dynasty had officially entered the era of steam agriculture.

Standing on the road not far away, Zhu Youjian listened to the whistle of the steam tractor in his ears, and looked at the farmers in the fields who had panicked from the beginning to happy, and felt relieved.

"Next, we will start to form a Northeast Development Plan with the village collective as the unit."

"However, before this plan, we need to store enough machines and destroy Jianlu..."

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian turned and left.

He did not go south with Zhu Youxiao, but took the lead in riding southward on horseback.

The affairs of the Western Army's Governor's Mansion and the Southern Army's Governor's Mansion made Zhu Youxiao a lot of vigilant. He didn't leave the Midsummer Palace for half a month, but was studying how to protect himself.

But in his opinion, using Liu Ruoyu and Wang An to take charge of the two armies and three guards of the palace is already the best arrangement he can make.

He is unwilling to delegate power to some normal warriors who understand the military, which even Zhu Youjian cannot enlighten.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian went south to observe the industrial zone of Mentougou first, and planned to go to Fangshan and Zhu Youxiao to escape the winter in a few days.

After returning to the temporary residence outside the Mentougou Industrial Zone, Bi Ziyan, who didn't care about it, came to see him.

Zhu Youjian summoned him in the study, and the first sentence he spoke caught Zhu Youjian's heart.

"Your Highness, since June, Northern Zhili has moved to Duoyan Mansion, Kaiping Mansion, and Taining Mansion, a total of 16 households, with a total of more than 160 people, and the imperial court has issued [-] shi of food stamps..."

"Well... well done." Zhu Youjian rarely praised, but Bi Ziyan said seriously:
"Your Highness, although some people have moved to the north, according to the policy of the imperial court, these 3 households need to raise cattle..."

Zhu Youjian thought that Bi Ziyan was here to announce the good news, but he didn't think that Bi Ziyan hadn't changed and was still here to ask for things.

"I'll let the Yuma supervisor transfer it to you." Zhu Youjian agreed.

"In addition, Your Highness..." Bi Ziyan didn't dare to play with Zhu Youjian's thoughts, or in Zhu Youjian's place, he often said directly:
"Northern Zhili and Liaodong's food supplies to Taining Prefecture, and Yingzhou and Huguang's food supplies to Liaodong. There is no problem..."

"Only in this way, there will not be enough food on the market in Beizhili."

"Xiaguan originally wanted to use Shandong to transport grain to support Beizhili, but Shandong does not have enough grain this year."

To say the least, Bi Ziyan did not continue, and this also meant that Daming had no provinces where he could allocate grain.

The "South-to-North Grain Transfer" policy designated by Zhu Youjian was based on the premise of ensuring the stability of grain prices in grain provinces before the imperial court carried out the North-North Transfer policy.

Although Shandong has undergone many investigations and relocations, due to the influx of people from the South Zhili, the population of Shandong is still more than 800 million, and only [-] million mu of cultivated land has been found.

With the advent of the Little Ice Age, the global temperature dropped and food production decreased.

Up to now, the yield of grain per mu in the north has dropped by [-]%. Shandong, which used to be able to produce an acre of two and a half stones, now only has an yield of one stone and seven buckets per mu.

"How much food can Shandong support for North Zhili?"

Zhu Youjian knew the reason for the decrease in grain yield per mu, so he asked Bi Ziyan in a reasonable manner.

"Shandong people themselves need about 7000 million shi rice and wheat, but only less than 4000 million shi can be delivered to Beizhili." Bi Ziyan responded.

"How much food does Beizhili need?"

Zhu Youjian asked again, and Bi Ziyan bowed again and replied:
"There is a gap of more than 400 million shi for the common people, 200 million shi for the officialdom, and there is still a gap of [-] million shi."

"However, in order to stabilize the grain price in Northern Zhili, at least an additional 1000 million shi is needed, so there is a shortfall of 200 million shi..."

After Bi Ziyan finished speaking, Zhu Youjian frowned.

He did not expect that the severe drought was over, but the problem of reduced grain production was not resolved.

Although chemical fertilizers are strong, their output is limited and can only satisfy one province, but the reduction in food production is happening all over the world.

Twenty to thirty percent doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot in the whole of Daming.

Even if it was only [-]%, hundreds of millions of shimimai would disappear in the entire Ming Dynasty, which is enough food for tens of millions of people for a year.

If Zhu Youjian hadn't relocated the population and opened up hundreds of millions of mu of overseas granaries, the current Ming Dynasty would have been like history, with wars raging and the population reduced.

"Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi are also short of about 1000 million shi..."

Just as Zhu Youjian was about to transport grain from Jiaozhi to Beizhili, Bi Ziyan's words dealt him another heavy blow.

"Collection of Jiaozhi, the old port to Fujian, Guangdong, and then transfer to South Zhili, Zhejiang, and then transfer to the north, can it be implemented?"

Zhu Youjian asked calmly, while Bi Ziyan shook his head subconsciously:

"If Jiaozhi wants to stabilize grain prices this year, it can only ship 500 million shi, while Yunnan needs to adjust 400 million, so Jiaozhi can only ship 100 million shi."

"There is only Luzon in the old port province, and the food from the two prefectures of Zhongshan can be transported to Guangdong. However, there is a severe drought in Guangdong this year. Even if it needs to be transferred, it is only 300 million shi..."

"The total of the two provinces is only 400 million shi..."

Bi Ziyan's words made Zhu Youjian silent, and Bi Ziyan himself was silent.

In fact, Bi Ziyan came to ask Zhu Youjian for help because there was no other way, and according to his thinking, only by temporarily suspending the Northern Expedition can the provinces pass this year safely.

It's a pity that Bi Ziyan used common sense thinking, while Zhu Youjian...

"Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yingzhou, Jiugang, and Jiaozhi, the six provinces of grain, if a quarter of the rations for labor reformers are reduced, how much will the surplus be?"

"This..." Bi Ziyan was stunned. He didn't expect Zhu Youjian to think about reducing the rations of the labor camp workers, so he bowed after he had done the math:
"There are 630 million reform-through-labour workers in the six provinces. If we reduce it by a quarter, we can make a surplus of 800 million shi, but..."

"That's enough!"

Bi Ziyan wanted to say, "But this will make the reform-through-labour workers dissatisfied and even cause riots," but Zhu Youjian made the case without waiting for him to say it.

"Reduce the rations of labor reformers in the six provinces by a quarter, or replace them with sweet potatoes and potatoes. In short, 600 million shimi will be spared to support Jiangnan."

Zhu Youjian ordered with a calm face: "Counting the 400 million, there is enough food in Jiangnan."

"As for the grain in the north, if the provinces squeeze again, the price of grain can be slightly increased by [-]%."

"This year, the people have suffered a lot. Next year, the imperial court will permanently exempt some miscellaneous items, which will benefit the people."

Zhu Youjian knew how much a [-]% increase in food prices would affect the lives of the people, but he couldn't help it.

One year has passed since the three-year drought buffer period, and next year will be the second year, and Zhu Youjian will prepare for the second round of severe drought in the year after next and stockpile food.

Therefore, the time to destroy Jianlu is only next year. Next year will be a year of hardship, and the year after will be able to develop the Northeast, preparing for the second wave of 11-year drought.

"The labor camp over there..."

When Bi Ziyan heard that Zhu Youjian wanted to reduce miscellaneous items, he didn't have any objection to raising the price of grain for a year.

The price of food for a year of hardship will be exchanged for a few miscellaneous items for the people in the next ten years or even decades. I believe that even the people can understand and even be happy.

After all, during the [-]-odd years when Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Youjian were in power, the imperial court didn't care much about local food prices, and occasionally they rose several times a year, let alone a mere one.

However, Bi Ziyan was still a little worried that the laborers would riot. After all, in his opinion, it was extremely cheap labor.

"No matter how hard it is, I will recite it..."

Facing Bi Ziyan's worries, Zhu Youjian replied calmly, and what he said meant that whenever someone rioted, the place could only suppress it.

"This..." Bi Ziyan felt a little pity, but then he bowed in response.

It is better to work hard than to work hard for the common people...

"Then the officer is fine..."

As before, after dealing with everything, Bi Ziyan wanted to leave.

But his matter is finished, but Zhu Youjian has something to ask him.

"How many people moved northward from Liaodong and Shanxi? How about the distribution of cattle?"

"Shanxi is about 12, Liaodong is about [-]..." Bi Ziyan responded without thinking and explained:
"I've already talked to Admiral Cao about the cattle farming."

"Hmm..." Zhu Youjian hadn't heard Cao Huachun's name for a long time, since the incident in Sichuan.

A year has passed, and thinking about it now, Zhu Youjian also felt that he was too harsh on Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun manages the two major stalls of Huangdian and Juntian by himself, especially the affairs of Huangdian are the most complicated.

Huangdian is still the yamen that contributes the most taxes, and during the past few years that Cao Huachun has been in charge, Huangdian has not had any major corruption cases, which shows that the Huangdian under Cao Huachun's management is very good.

It can only be said that while managing the imperial store, Cao Huachun really had no spare energy to take care of the army and farmland, so he gave Sichuan Yumajian officials a chance to embezzle.

"It is necessary to speed up the merger of military farmland and civilian farmland, then cancel all miscellaneous items, and simplify the land tax to reduce the pressure on the people..."

Zhu Youjian thought about it, but there was no expression on his face, but he said to Bi Ziyan:
"Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan's official schools must be implemented in accordance with the original household registration of the Ministry of Households."

"Take advantage of this opportunity to clear the population of the three provinces, and the fields are the same."

Zhu Youjian is confident that he has made a general survey of the fields in these three provinces, but it is always a good thing to take precautions before they happen.

"Your Majesty takes orders, please rest assured..."

Bi Ziyan bowed respectfully in return, and Zhu Youjian also took the opportunity to ask:

"When you came, how was the construction of the Jingmen Railway going?"

"The railroad track will be laid nine miles away, a few days faster than expected. It is estimated that the laying will be completed before the seventh day of September, and then the test run and opening to traffic will begin." Bi Ziyan responded.

"You have seen the train that has been tried out, right? How is it?" Zhu Youjian sat in his seat and asked curiously.

He wanted to know how people in the Ming Dynasty viewed trains differently from officials in the late Qing Dynasty.

"The train is so ingenious that I can't calm down after looking at it for a long time."

"Until I saw it, I didn't know why His Highness insisted on building the railway."

Bi Ziyan bowed from the bottom of his heart, expressing his unrest in return.

Thanks to the spread of Western learning to the east and the openness of the late Ming Dynasty, Bi Ziyan, a scholar-official class, only lamented the trains, not the coquettish operation of the late Qing Dynasty where officials all exclaimed that the trains were monsters.

Maybe some trains were built by the Ming Dynasty itself, and the trains in the late Qing Dynasty were built by foreigners, but in general, the scholar-bureaucrat class of the Han court is generally open.

For Bi Ziyan's exclamation, Zhu Youjian expressed his satisfaction.

"Trains are beneficial to the country and the people, not only for the imperial court to control the frontiers and remote provinces, but also for commercial trade."

"When household registration books and ID cards become popular in the future, the imperial court will be able to open up roads and allow people to freely enter and exit the provinces."

Zhu Youjian's words made Bi Ziyan nod repeatedly. In this regard, Zhu Youjian inevitably said some benefits of the train, and he didn't let Bi Ziyan leave until two quarters of an hour later.

But after Bi Ziyan walked out of Zhu Youjian's residence, he took a look at the concrete wall of the industrial area poured with cement.

The concrete wall made of reinforced concrete is four feet high and twenty miles in circumference, enclosing tens of thousands of acres of land.

The roaring sound represented its difficulty, and as far as Bi Ziyan knew, the last place with such strict defenses was the Armament Academy five miles away.

In other words, the things in this city are at the same level as those in the Armament Academy, and there are still five such cities currently under construction...

Thinking of this, Bi Ziyan turned and left.

He took the four-wheeled carriage made of natural rubber, and under the guard of a group of soldiers from the Bingma Division, he set foot on the road back to the capital.

This road adopts the standard of the government road, so the carriage is very stable without too much shaking.

The convoy drove for about two quarters of an hour, and then heard the sound of work in full swing.

Bi Ziyan looked out the window of the carriage, and could clearly see the faces of the laborers on the construction site.

On the train tracks, they wield hammers and sweat, just to earn the thirty cents a day's wages.

Thirty Wen is a lot, and it can buy ten catties of rice, or one catty of mutton, and two chickens and ducks.

Thirty Wen is also very little, it can only eat a bowl of food in the ordinary shop on the roadside of the capital, can only buy three cups of sour plum soup in front of the ice drink shop, and can only buy two taels of tribute rice.

When Bi Ziyan looked at them, he couldn't help thinking, like himself, the annual salary of 2000 taels of silver may be the money that the hundreds of people in front of him can only earn by working together without sleep for two years.

2000 taels of silver...

What a huge salary, but even so, some people are still dissatisfied.

For example, those people who live in remote areas and earn less than ten renminbi a day may never imagine how a person can spend the annual salary of 2000 taels of silver...

If His Royal Highness King Qi hadn't actively raised money and food to relieve the disaster, I am afraid that these people would not be able to survive the three-year drought, and would have already turned into withered bones.

"Ugh……"

With a long sigh, Bi Ziyan couldn't bear to look at those peasants again, and slowly closed the car window...

"The common people have jobs, I am very relieved..."

When Bi Ziyan closed the car window, Zhu Youxiao, who was traveling south with many entourages, also opened the window and sighed to the laborers.

"It's all thanks to Long Live that you are at the helm of the world, so that the common people have jobs, officials have salaries, and farmers have food..."

On the six-wheeled carriage with three feet and six horses, Wei Zhongxian knelt in the carriage like a small palace, flattering Zhu Youxiao.

"Thanks to my brother." Zhu Youxiao was very happy to be praised by Wei Zhongxian, but he did not lose himself.

Although he felt that he had a great role to play, the main thing was that his younger brother planned well.

"In the past three years, there hasn't been a civil uprising in the country. I'm afraid it's all thanks to the cooperation between His Royal Highness and Long Live, and the unity of brothers."

As an expert flatterer, Wei Zhongxian naturally knew how to please the emperor.

He knew that after he praised the emperor, the emperor would mention King Qi, but he still praised it.

After all, he is a slave after all, only slaves praise their masters, how can they praise others?

You have to praise the master first, and then follow the master's words to praise others. This is the primary and secondary way.

"Ha ha……"

Sure enough, Zhu Youxiao was very useful when he heard Wei Zhongxian's words.

Looking at the peasants outside the window, he couldn't help feeling proud:
"Throughout the ages, it may be rare to see a royal family as brotherly and respectful as my two brothers."

"It's really rare to see a wise emperor like Long Live, and a prince like His Royal Highness." Wei Zhongxian echoed.

"People like them can earn eight or nine taels of silver if they only work for ten months every year in their leisure time."

Zhu Youxiao turned around to ask the people in the car with great interest, but all the servants kept their mouths shut and dared not answer.

"It's natural. In the prosperous age of Tianqi, as long as you are willing to sell some labor, it is not a problem for a person to earn ten taels of silver a year."

Wei Zhongxian said with a smile, but when some servants heard this, they felt uncomfortable.

In this dialogue that does not know the sufferings of the people, it is already dusk, and the peasants are all receiving their wages.

Compared with the great achievements they said, the per capita ten taels, the small sling of thirty copper coins in the hands of the peasants is particularly ironic.

"After finishing the work, the sleepers will be laid in Miyun next month. It is estimated that when they are laid in Miyun, you and I will have to go home."

"Why do you think so much? It's not bad to be able to work for two and a half months a year. At least you can save two taels of silver."

The dialogue between the two civilian husbands is embarrassing. It is different from Wei Zhongxian's saying that as long as he is willing to sell his labor, he can earn twelve years a year. The reality is often more cruel.

The city of Beijing, with a population of 130 million, only needs more than 700 laborers, while the city of Beizhili, which has a population of more than 60 million, only needs [-] million people.

Compared with the more than 200 million adult males, this demand can only make a small number of people live well. Most people should still farm and farm, guarding the few acres of Susukida at home, earning two or three taels that can only be earned once a year silver.

Moreover, even if there is a job, not every job can have a salary of [-] yuan a day.

Most of the work is basically about fifteen to twenty yuan.

The ten taels of silver in Wei Zhongxian's mouth is the "annual income" that these people can only earn after working for two or three years.

But what's the deal?
How could Wei Zhongxian not know the folk situation?He was the one who eunuched himself into the palace precisely because he couldn't find a job and couldn't pay off his gambling debts.

He knows more about folk affairs than many people, but the truth is often not what the people above want to hear.

He didn't care whether the people could earn ten taels of silver in a year, in short, he had to convince the emperor of the "Apocalyptic Prosperity".

"By the way, long live." Wei Zhongxian remembered the memorial sent by the capital this morning, so he turned around and took out the memorial from the dragon case, and presented it with both hands:
"This is the list of six concubines sent by His Majesty the Palace and the Dowager Empress and the amount of His Royal Highness Qi's wedding expenses."

"The middle palace said that the state money is divided into families, and the marriage of King Qi is a family matter, so it should come from the inner money."

"The amount given by the two of you is 130 million taels. Long live, please set a date for your wedding..."

"130 million taels?" Zhu Youxiao frowned, making Wei Zhongxian think that the amount was too much.

"Too few!" Zhu Youxiao didn't even read the memorial, so he threw it back to Wei Zhongxian:

"Isn't the money in October an annual income of 200 million gold flowers and silver?"

"Yes..." Wei Zhongxian almost guessed the number Zhu Youxiao wanted to say in his heart.

"My younger brother's wedding is scheduled for late October, and 300 million taels of silver will be allocated from the internal funds to let the 24 yamen each purchase."

"The maidservant takes orders..." Zhu Youxiao sat back in his seat, and Wei Zhongxian could only bow his head in response.

At this moment, he only felt that his heart was being sliced ​​by a knife, and his flesh was cut and blood dripped.

Seeing other people spend money lavishly is more uncomfortable than killing him.

He has been greedy for money for ten years, and he has not spent as much as King Qi's wedding...

Wishing everyone a "Happy New Year" in advance!