Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 526 Food is the Heart of the People
"Dang...dang...dang...dang..."

"Crackling-"

In the early morning, when the Beijing city bells and drums sounded, the eagerly awaited citizens of the capital began to light firecrackers one after another. For a while, the whole capital city was shrouded in lively atmosphere of the New Year.

Amidst the smell of sulfur and the sound of bells, six thousand officials gathered outside the Daming Gate.

With the opening of the Daming Gate, the prelude to the 15th year of Apocalypse officially kicked off.

Hundreds of officials flocked to enter the outer court, passed Duanmen, Meridian Gate, and Huangji Gate, and finally stood on the square of Huangji Hall according to their grades.

Only Beijing officials of the fifth rank and above climbed the steps towards the White Jade Terrace, and walked into the Huangji Hall amidst the whipping of the Great Han General.

All the officials were dressed in court clothes, but when they came in, there were two chairs placed under the dragon chair. This scene made people dumbfounded.

"Singing ceremony..."

"clang!"

Without waiting for everyone to discuss, the minister of Honglu Temple rang the bell and sang salutes, and all the officials also bowed and knelt down one after another: "Your Majesty, I respectfully ask for peace..."

Amidst the singing of the officials, the two men in crown robes walked up to the high platform, and sat on the chairs representing the position of the supervisor in front of the courtiers kneeling down.

Compared with Zhu Youjian, it was the first time for 13-year-old Zhu Ciran to watch the Great Court Meeting from this angle.

Sitting in this position, he experienced for the first time what it means to be under one person and above ten thousand people.

Even at his age, after enjoying it, he can't help but feel shaken.

At this time, he couldn't help looking at Zhu Youjian, who was calm and composed beside him.

"I really don't know how my uncle resisted..."

He muttered to himself in the bottom of his heart, and at this moment, the Minister of Honglu Temple also rang the bell again: "Get up..."

"Long live Long live Long live……"

The officials got up, and it was at this time that they saw the immature Zhu Ciran.

"It's...too much..."

As the crown prince, Zhu Ciran hadn't actually shown his face to the officials. Speaking of which, this was the first time he had shown his face in a place like the Dachaohui.

This kind of thing should have been done by the emperor Zhu Youxiao himself, but now Zhu Youjian is doing it for him.

For Zhu Ciran, the ministers actually did not report any expectations. Even the officials of the Zhejiang Party who had been looking forward to it, actually died after the siege of Emperor Yanshan broke out in the 11th year of Tianqi. Heart.

Because they all know that King Qi already has the ability to abolish the emperor.

Whether he wants to do it or not is up to him.

Before he leaves Daming completely, betting indiscriminately will lead to death...

However, although they did not report any expectations, many conservative officials who had seen Wanli, Taichang, Tianqi and King Qi still inevitably compared Zhu Ciran with these people.

Among the veterans, whether it is Gu Bingqian, Yuan Keli, or Zhu Xieyuan, Bi Ziyan, Shi Fenglai, Feng Quan...

In short, when they looked at Zhu Ciran, they felt that this was a child who hadn't grown up.

At the same age, Zhu Youjian is probably the most amazing person they have ever met.

This kind of amazement does not refer to Zhu Youjian's appearance, but refers to the things that the two of them have done at the same age.

What is 13-year-old Zhu Youjian doing?
While leading troops to sweep the White Lotus Sect and suppress the rebellion, he went to the palace to reprimand the officials and prepare for the campaign to restore the Liao Dynasty.

Where is 13-year-old Zhu Ciran?

"..." Looking at the immature face behind Mian Yan, and thinking of the news that had spread from the inner court over the years, they could only sigh.

The minister is strong and the master is weak, who can not sigh...

However, compared with the sighs of the conservative officials, the officials of the Yanshan faction are just sarcasm.

Sitting in his seat, Zhu Ciran could clearly see that all the courtiers in the palace below forty were looking at him with contemptuous eyes.

who is he?He is a prince!
How dare this group of people look at him with these eyes?

While Zhu Ciran was surprised, he also saw Chengde standing on the temple with his head bowed.

Cheng De is Zhu Ciran's second teacher, but for this teacher, Zhu Ciran knows very well that he is not willing to teach himself too many things.

It can be said that the feeling he taught and the feeling Jin Xuan taught are very different.

Most of what Cheng De taught was the knowledge from books, and Jin Xuan's words such as "practice reveals the truth" and "hearing is believing, seeing is believing", etc., were often not spoken from Cheng De's mouth.

But even so, Zhu Ciran is still relatively close to Chengde, after all, he is a teacher for one day and a father for life, even if he is a prince, this theory does not apply to him, he is still very close to Chengde.

"Xiao Daogui, Zuoqian Capital Censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, has something to announce..."

The court meeting has just started, logically speaking, it should be Zhu Youjian speaking as the supervisor of the state, but Xiao Daogui directly interrupted the process.

"Quite..." Zhu Youjian sat firmly on the Diaoyutai with a calm face, but Xiao Daogui said in the next second:

"I would like to ask Jian Guo to forgive me. Since ancient times, even the crown prince, as long as he has not been granted the position of Jian Guo, has not been allowed to ascend the imperial platform. Now, His Royal Highness not only ascends the jade platform, but also sits on an equal footing with Jian Guo. This is against the law of etiquette!"

"Uncle Qi..." Xiao Daogui's words made Zhu Ciran feel like he was sitting on pins and needles for a moment, he turned his head to look at Zhu Youjian, but Zhu Youjian raised his hand to signal him not to speak.

Immediately afterwards, facing Xiao Daogui's questioning, Zhu Youjian's tone was very flat: "Can etiquette remain unchanged through the ages?"

"It can be changed, but it must be changed first before it can be implemented!" Xiao Daogui responded neither humble nor overbearing. This is the point that officials of the Yanshan faction are stronger than those of the conservative school.

They are good at using new rules and old rules to put themselves on the moral high ground. They can use the etiquette that the old school can use, and they can use the new law that the Yanshan school can use.

In a word, as long as they can be used to attack political opponents, they can use their strengths to make up for their weaknesses and make themselves invincible.

It's just that their methods are not bad against Zhu Youxiao and the conservative faction, but against Zhu Youjian...

"Since it violates the etiquette law, then change the etiquette law and implement it immediately. Is it feasible?"

Zhu Youjian's eyes were flat, looking at Xiao Daogui as if he was looking at cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered, Xiao Daogui couldn't help but bow his head: "This...although it is feasible, but the prince should..."

"Since it is feasible, there is no controversy!"

"Yes……"

Zhu Youjian accentuated his tone, which made Xiao Daogui shut up and replied: "Yes."

If it were Zhu Youxiao and Gu Bingqian, Xiao Daogui would not be so honest. After all, he is the most sophistry person in the Yanshan School, and Zhu Youxiao is often defeated by him.

It's a pity that this kind of sophistry depends on the person, and Zhu Youjian is obviously someone who cannot be subdued by sophistry, because he has something that no sophist can argue.

"rule……"

Xiao Daogui retreated to his position, while Zhu Youjian glanced around the group of officials. The sense of oppression that rose for no reason made the group of officials half a head shorter than him, and they could only dodge while his eyes were scanning. lowered his head.

This scene was seen by Zhu Ciran, and at the same time he also felt the aura of his uncle.

Judging from his aura, it is true that he is more like an emperor, or an emperor above an emperor...

"Old Gu Ge hasn't forgotten the things set by Guochao, right?"

As soon as Zhu Youjian opened his mouth, Gu Bingqian hurriedly stepped forward and held a wat board to return the salute: "I have not forgotten when I returned to the prison country. The 84 officials of the dynasty all voted to end it."

"Supporters, 230 people..."

"Opponents, 190 seven people..."

"The remaining 72 people abstained from voting..."

Gu Bingqian's words stopped at three points, because he knew that the next sentence, except for Zhu Youjian, everyone else, whoever said who died...

"Since this is the case, from now on, the title of Duke Yansheng will be abolished, and all the official land owned by the Confucian Mansion will be taken back. The private land will be checked by the Ministry of Household Affairs, and will be recorded in the "Fish Scale Atlas", and will be added to the tax collection list from now on!"

Zhu Youjian knew in his heart what Gu Bingqian, an old boy, thought, but he didn't care. To put it bluntly, he didn't care about his reputation.

"Your Highness Chitose..."

Despite 1 dissatisfaction in their hearts, many officials could only bow their heads in front of Zhu Youjian and shouted his sagehood.

This scene made Zhu Ciran feel the benefits of power, and also made him feel the danger in the court.

He had never felt that his uncle was such a person who could not follow his words, but today he saw another side of his uncle.

"Six parts, let's briefly talk about the situation last year."

After all, the Grand Court Meeting is mainly about celebrating the Spring Festival, so you shouldn't talk about too many serious matters, but it is a Great Court Meeting after all, and all officials in Beijing will participate, so it's not a bad thing to talk about things that will increase the confidence of all officials.

In this regard, Gu Bingqian, who is the elder of the pavilion and also the minister of the Ministry of Rites, stepped forward and bowed:

"Last year, foreign vassals Korea, Siam, Gan Bozhi, Nanzhang, Boni, Sulu, and 32 princes and vassal states in the world, 230 seven counties and vassal states all sent people to pay tribute to the court. The tribute was 320 nine boxes of treasures, gold and silver. More than 23 taels."

"In addition, the four countries of Europe, including Big Franz, Petit Franz, Franz, and Anelia, all sent tribute to the Little Western Ocean to inspect and envoys, presenting twelve boxes of treasures, more than eight thousand taels of gold and silver. .”

With the canonization of feudal vassals at home and abroad by the Ming Dynasty, the Ministry of Rites still plays a very important role, and it is also the head of the six departments.

After he finished speaking and took a step back, Yuan Keli, who was the second Minister of the Ministry of Officials and the second assistant of the cabinet, stepped out as an official of Shangshu.

"Last year, the Ministry of Officials added 450 officials, all of whom were appointed."

What the Ministry of Officials said sounds like good news, but it is not good news for the officials.

More than 9 officials have been assigned, which means that there are many officials who have been implicated and sacked, and everyone has a toothache for a while.

According to the "Law of the Ming Dynasty", at least ninety-nine percent of these thousands of Beijing officials will be exiled to Uzang and Nanzhou.

"The Ministry of Households had a balance of income and expenditure last year, and the salaries of the yamen such as Baiguan, Guanxue, Bingmasi, and the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies have all been distributed into the passbook."

"In addition, last year, a total of 330 people moved overseas and outside the customs, and 350 people were found in hidden households, with 230 acres of land."

“天启15年正旦新春，国朝共有百姓三千260九万五千320九户，有口一万万六千390一万730五口。”

"Apocalypse 15 years Zhengdan new spring, the country has a total of 720 acres of arable land, divided into two waters, four irrigations and four droughts."

"Apocalypse 15 years Zhengdan New Year, the territory of the kingdom starts from Qizhou in the east, Kunlun in the west, Nanzhou in the south, and Beihai in the north. It is [-] miles to the east and [-] miles to the north and south."

"In terms of arable land, population, and territory, it surpasses the previous dynasty, far away from the Han and Tang Dynasties!"

While talking about the situation of Daming, Bi Ziyan bragged about the vast territory of Ming.

Of course, what he said is basically true. Except for the current Ming Dynasty not planting flags in Antarctica, South America, and Europe, all other continents have Ming territory.

Calculated according to the suzerainty and vassal system of the Ming Dynasty, the outer and inner vassals are actually part of "Tomorrow", so the territory of the Ming Dynasty actually reached 500 million square kilometers.

Of course, according to the legal system, North and South America are already called Qizhou, and the south of the Sahara Desert in Levia is also called Nankunlun. Therefore, as long as Daming thinks, these three states can be counted as within the sphere of influence. Anyway, pay attention It is a "since ancient times".

However, if the trick of "since ancient times" was used, under the suzerain-vassal system of the Ming Dynasty, its territory would be close to 7000 million square kilometers.

Of course, the people of the Ming Dynasty also knew that it was not advisable to open up the map. Therefore, in terms of actual control, excluding the feudal vassals, the territory of the Ming Dynasty should reach Yingzhou in the east, Kunlun in the west, Nanzhou in the south, and Beihai in the north, with an area of ​​about 200. More than [-] million square kilometers.

Even so, this is quite enough. Calculated on average, each commoner in Daming can own [-] mu of land, while later generations only have [-] mu...

That is to say, under the condition of maintaining this territory unchanged, even if the people of Ming Dynasty skyrocketed by ten times, the resources per capita would be more than that of later generations.

However, resources that cannot be developed are not considered resources, and land that cannot be used is not considered land.

Right now, Daming looks like a lot of people, but in fact there are very few people.

To sum up, the population inside the customs is too large, and the population outside the customs and overseas is too small.

Even now, the population of Daming overseas and outside the customs is only 4000 million, while the population inside the customs is 2000 million.

However, it is worth noting that among the 4000 million people overseas and outside customs, the proportion of Han Chinese has only reached 37%.

This is still on the whole. In fact, this proportion will be even lower, especially after excluding the three provinces outside the northern customs, the proportion of Han people has even dropped to 20%.

It can be said that if there is no continuous immigration, then these territories will be depopulated if they are not careful.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian still needs to consolidate the territory he has conquered, at least let the Han people become the main ethnic group in the area, so as not to cause chaos at every turn.

"Last year's severe drought made it doomed that even if there is no drought this year, it will not be a good year, and the relocation will continue."

"The Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households must increase the relocation of Guanwai, Yingzhou, Jiaozhi, Luchuan, Nanzhou and other places. At the same time, they must also encourage Yingzhou males to relocate to South Kunlun and Xiaoxiyang."

Zhu Youjian sat in his seat and talked eloquently, but what he said was remembered by the officials one after another. After all, what would happen if he didn't do anything, and the tragedy of tens of thousands of officials who were dismissed last year is still vivid.

"Before June this year, the Ministry of Households has to estimate the tax. In addition, how much grain is there in Changping this year?"

Zhu Youjian asked Bi Ziyan, and the servant of the household department who was in charge of Changping warehouse affairs among the officials also came out, holding a wat board and bowing in response:
"Except for Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Luchuan, Jiaozhi, and Jiugang, the Changping warehouses in the 24 provinces of the two capitals of the country and the dynasty are all empty..."

"It is the Changping warehouse in the seven provinces. Except for the three provinces of Luchuan, Jiaozhi, and Jiugang, the other four provinces only have half of the grain stored, and the total is no more than 900 million shi."

"The reason why the quantity is so small is that the price of grain in the north and south of the Yangtze River soared last year, and grain prices in all provinces also rose accordingly. Except for Jiugang, Jiaozhi, and Luchuan, which were not affected, the government offices of other provinces were unable to purchase grain at all."

Shiro Tobe's explanation made many officials pessimistic about this year, because everyone can see that although the scale of the drought has been reduced due to the winter snow, in fact it still affects a wide range.

Under such a situation, the Changping warehouse, which is used to stabilize grain prices, only has 900 million shi of grain stored. How can people not be pessimistic?

You know, after the autumn harvest in Tianqi 13, the Changping warehouse had stored 3000 million stones of stabilized grain, but it was exhausted in May. The only way to get through it was to transfer the grain from Cochin and Jiugang to the north by steam ships. Difficulties of last year.

Many people in the court have calculated that to stabilize the grain price last year, the court spent more than 6000 million shi of grain, but even so, the final grain price was still unsatisfactory.

When the situation was worst in Shanxi and Henan, grain prices rose to [-] cents a stone, which is the amount of money that ordinary people can earn by working for at least eight months, and a stone of rice is only enough for a family of five to eat gruel for a month.

This is why so many people migrated last year.

"Right now, how many people are there in Shanxi and Henan provinces?"

Zhu Youjian did not directly blame the household department, but asked about the number of people in Shanxi and Henan.

Before the disaster, the population of Shanxi was about 780 million, and that of Henan was about 620 million to 50.

Right now, Shanxi is suffering from a year of no harvest, half of it for a year, and Henan is also suffering from a year and a half of no harvest. Zhu Youjian must first understand the population of the two provinces before he can issue policies to deal with it.

Faced with his thoughts, Bi Ziyan also bowed in response:

"By the 14th day of the twelfth lunar month in the 530th year of the Apocalypse, the population of Shanxi was 550, and that of Henan was [-]."

"In addition, there are more than 470 million people in Shaanxi, more than 860 million people in Shandong, and more than 690 million people in Beizhili."

Bi Ziyan reported the population of each province. Generally speaking, the main population of this emigration is mainly in the north that has suffered severe drought.

Although the floods in the south of the Yangtze River also caused many fields to fail, but due to the developed handicraft industry and economic development in the south of the Yangtze River, there was a lot of work to accommodate the hungry people.

In this way, the people in Jiangnan will naturally not leave Jiangnan too much. The group of people who really leave are the group of people who live on the line of food and clothing.

This is like a first-tier city in later generations. Even if something happens, there will still be a large number of people who are unwilling to leave.

In this regard, Zhu Youjian is very clear in his heart that only the severe drought in the south starting next year can make the people in Jiangnan further understand the reality.

Let's not mention the matter in the south of the Yangtze River for the time being. Just this time, the method of using the drought to relocate the population, the results in front of Zhu Youjian are really good.

Tens of thousands of people dropped sharply in Shanxi, more than 250 in Henan, and hundreds of thousands in Shandong and North Zhili.

In the provinces north of the Huaihe River and south of the Great Wall, except for Hexi and Shaanxi, other provinces have relocated a lot of people.

In just two years, the distribution of the population of 5000 million in the north has gradually become even.

"What is the population of the five provinces of Hexi, Guanwai, and Liaodong?"

Zhu Youjian asked about Bi Ziyan, and Bi Ziyan bowed unhurriedly when he heard the words and replied:

"There are more than 570 million in Hexi, more than 290 million in Modong, more than 320 million in East China Sea, more than 680 million in Liaodong, and 40 in Beishan."

"The population of the northern provinces of Beijing and Jiuzhou totals over 39 and [-]..."

Bi Ziyan's report allowed Zhu Youjian to see the situation in the northern provinces more intuitively. In terms of arable land area, Shandong is still densely populated.

But Zhu Youjian is not worried, because the next Shandong will start two years later, and will suffer from severe drought in which half of the province's harvest will be lost for four consecutive years.

According to the number of fields in the north, it is still a bit difficult to feed 6000 million people with less than 5000 million mu of land.

In history, the Manchu Qing massacred the north to a population of about 2000 million, and Zhu Youjian naturally couldn't do that.

However, he can also grasp an average value from it, that is, based on the 3000 million mu of land in the north in the early Qing Dynasty and the population of more than 2000 million, it is basically one to ten.

Even in the Kangxi period, this ratio still reached one to nine.

Right now, the land-to-population ratio of Daming in the north is one to five, so if the people in the north want to have a stable production, they must continue to increase this ratio.

For the north, Zhu Youjian has no other way except to use machinery for reclamation, and to open up the Western Regions and Mobei.

Fortunately, as long as there are enough machines, Zhu Youjian should be able to increase the area of ​​cultivated land in the north to more than [-] million mu before leaving Daming.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian nodded to Bi Ziyan with a little satisfaction:
"According to the drought situation in the northern provinces of Beijing and Jiuzhou, the provinces can be exempted from the drought, which is nothing more than the loss of more than [-] million stone fields and grain."

"As for how the provinces stabilize the grain, don't worry about it. Luchuan will import more than [-] million stone rice and wheat to Yunnan this year. The grain from Yunnan will be sent to Huguang along the Yangtze River, and the grain from Huguang will also be sent to the south of the Yangtze River. .”

"After the grain in the south of the Yangtze River became rich, the Ministry of Household Affairs made overall arrangements to transport the extra grain in the south of the Yangtze River to Shandong and Henan, so as to stabilize the grain prices in the two places."

"As for the price of grain in Shanxi, it can be stabilized with grain from Beizhili first, and Huangdian will then transport more than [-] million shimi and wheat from Yingzhou, Jiaozhi, and Jiugang to the three provinces of Beizhili, Donghai, and Modong. .”

"In the end, the food prices in Hexi and Shaanxi will be stabilized by the food in Sichuan."

Zhu Youjian decided the matter, and Bi Ziyan and Cao Huachun were to complete the specific details.

After hearing his words, all the officials breathed a sigh of relief, and Zhu Youjian himself breathed a sigh of relief.

If Daming hadn’t had the three granaries of Jiaozhi, Luchuan, and Jiugang, and steamships that could transport grain from the three provinces to the north, I’m afraid that this year and next year, millions of people would starve to death...

Millions of people were starved to death, and the resulting plague would kill tens of millions.

In other words, as long as people have food to eat, the plague will not be so frequent, and even if there is, it will only be limited to some areas, and it will not spread to the entire north as it did in history.

Food cannot be created out of thin air. If you want food, you can only grow it yourself.

The three provinces in central and southern China, plus Siam, Ganbo, and Zhi, could not run out of grain. As long as Daming had enough steam ships, the grain would be sent back to the north of Daming in a steady stream, allowing Daming to endure round after round of drought.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian's eyes after the crown became more calm.

"Only by holding food in your hands can you hold the hearts of the people..."

　Meeting this afternoon, update estimated at [-]:[-]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)