Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 539 The good times don't last long
"Moo..."

At dusk, as the sun gradually set to the west, the villagers in Weiman Town also went back to their homes, and cooking smoke rose from every household in the town.

"Eat, eat!"

In the small stone courtyard that occupies five-tenths of the area, when a healthy woman in Shaomin costumes carries a pot of chicken into the courtyard and puts the chicken on the table, what Zhu Ciran presents in front of him is a more luxurious meal. dinner.

A pot of local chicken, a plate of wild vegetables that Zhu Ciran has never seen before, and a plate of bacon fried with garlic sprouts, and finally a pot of sauerkraut and potato soup.

Two meat dishes, one dish and one soup, the people who ate were Tiantou's old man and his wife, Zhu Ciran, Liu Shun, and translator Zhang Xiu.

Four meals for five people, it's not unreasonable, at least in so many places that Zhu Ciran has traveled, this meal is richer than the meals in Nanxi Village.

Zhu Ciran made a bowl full of rice and tasted it. It was a bit hard, not as good as Sichuan rice, but the aroma was more abundant.

After taking a bite of bacon, I don't know that the bacon that has been smoked for several years is fragrant, and a smell of firewood floods my nose.

"good to eat!"

Zhu Ciran, Liu Shun, and Zhang Xiu looked at each other, and old man Bao also smiled and said, "Is it delicious? I have smoked these cured pig's feet for five years."

"Eat more and eat more." Mr. Bao's wife also kept adding food to Zhu Ciran and the others.

Perhaps it was because of the wind, food and sleep all the way, the 14-year-old Zhu Ciran looked seventeen or eighteen years old, which reminded them of their own son.

"Enough, enough, enough..."

Looking at the bowl that was full, Zhu Ciran hurriedly said that it was all right, and at the same time looked at the yard.

There are three stone houses in the stone courtyard, the houses are filled with cement, and the roofs are the cheapest white gray tiles.

The backyard is similar to the villagers' homes in Nanxi Village, with cowsheds, huts, and woodsheds.

Looking at it as a whole, in Zhu Ciran's mind, the worst is Shanxi, which suffers from the most drought and the migrant population has been unable to go to Shanxi.

"Auntie, where did the juniors in your family go?"

Zhang Xiu looked a little fair, after all, he was an official from the Siyi Pavilion. As an envoy who might go on an envoy in the future, his appearance was very in line with the aesthetics of the people of the Ming Dynasty, so his inquiry made Old Man Bao and Aunt Bao not easily offended.

Aunt Bao, with a simple smile, held the bowl in one hand and the meat in the other hand to Zhang Xiu:

"Going out, the boss and the second child both went to serve in the army, and the third child and the fourth child went to study in a government school in Kunming."

"Soldier? When did you go?" Zhang Xiu asked curiously while eating.

"Tianqi's 14-year-old soldier has been away for more than two years. It seems that he has been sent to the old port, and he will be transferred back to Yunnan by the end of the year."

Old man Bao said, and at the same time ate the meat.

"Isn't this kind of food something you can eat every meal?" Liu Shun, as a Jin Yiwei, knew the situation in Yunnan quite well, so he asked Zhang Xiu to act as an interpreter to ask old man Bao for himself.

"It definitely can't be eaten every day. I usually eat fried potato cubes, and then kill a chicken to save some food. One chicken can last for two days."

"Kill a pig every Chinese New Year, and then eat a meal of bacon every six or seven days."

Mr. Bao talked about his life, and Zhu Ciran also asked curiously: "How many poultry and pigs are raised in the family, and how are the other villagers' homes?"

"There are twelve pigs, three pig houses, more than two dozen poultry, two cows and a draft horse."

"Our family has a little more, and there are basically seven or eight pigs in a normal family, and poultry, cattle and horses are about the same."

"So much?!" Liu Shun was a little surprised, but Old Man Bao said with a smile: "These days have improved, so naturally there will be more."

"The Huangdian in the town has fodder. It only costs [-] renminbi a stone, and almost [-] renminbi can raise a pig." Old man Bao calculated the accounts for them.

"The grain in the field can be sold for about five or six hundred cash, and fourteen or five pigs can be raised on about ten acres of land."

"Every family in the village now has [-] to [-] acres of land. My family mainly has two sons who serve as soldiers and send money to the family every year, so they can raise more."

Chatting at the dinner table can always make the dinner table last longer, Zhu Ciran deliberately wanted to know more, so he asked:
"According to the count, old man, your family has [-] mu of land, right?"

"No, there is a shortage of fields in the town, and there is not enough land. Now everyone has a gap of one mu of land, so we have to reclaim wasteland to prevent the government from moving people away. No one knows if we will be moved away. Same."

Old man Bao talked about relocation again, every time he heard about it, Zhu Ciran felt a little sad, but he knew that relocation is a labor pain, and staying is a long-term pain.

"My family now has 52 mu of land. Except for the winter and summer vacations when the third and fourth children will go home, the rest of the time it is just the two of us, leaving enough food for the family, which can be sold to the Huangdian for about [-] shi every year."

"After selling the grain, I received the money from the eldest and the second, and then bought some feed for the family's livestock, and bought paper and ink for the third and fourth to read. I can get almost 36 taels of silver."

"We are not bad. If the children in the family are not selected as soldiers, they can only help farm at home. Even if the number of acres is similar to ours, we can only save less than 20 taels."

"If the children in the family are still studying, they can only save fifteen or six taels of silver."

Since Zhu Ciran said that he was an official, and they also promised that Mr. Bao would give five hundred Wen as a thank-you gift after answering the questions in this way, Mr. Bao tried his best to answer their questions.

He was not afraid that Zhu Ciran and the others were villains, not to mention that he hadn't provoked them in the past few years. After all, in a place like Yunnan, every household has dozens of acres of land, so there is no need to end up decapitated for dozens of taels of silver.

"Men in the village, why don't you go out to work? This year's income can buy a cow, right?"

Liu Shun asked Mr. Bao, and Zhang Xiu also conveyed it to him when he saw it, but Mr. Bao acted as if he had seen a ghost:
"I'm afraid of being cheated, who dares to work? Except for government jobs, we dare not do other jobs."

"Why?"

Zhang Xiu asked a question, and then passed the answer to Zhu Ciran and the others, which made Zhu Ciran and the others curious.

"I used to go out to work, and the employers in the city often lowered our wages because they saw that we were not Han Chinese, and then settled the money every month. However, many employers were businessmen, and they often worked one day and disappeared the next day. Yes, we help with work for nothing."

"It's not just us, many Han people have also been deceived."

Mr. Bao and Mrs. Bao explained successively, which made Zhang Xiu a little dumbfounded, so he could only tell Zhu Ciran.

When Zhu Ciran heard this, he was also speechless by this shameless behavior, but Liu Shun asked, "Didn't you report it to the authorities?"

"All report to the officials, but these people are using fake identities and false leads, and the government can't find them." Old man Bao said helplessly, and Zhang Xiu followed suit.

However, after Zhang Xiu translated, Liu Shun immediately explained to Zhu Ciran: "His Royal Highness, at present, the country has begun to register households for all people and issue household registration books. I think this situation will become less in the future."

"Hmm..." Zhu Ciran nodded slightly to express his approval, but he felt in his heart that this kind of thing might not be completely eliminated for a long time.

When he was thinking this way, everyone was also full.

Zhu Ciran and the others planned to rest at old man Bao for an extra night, while the rest of Jin Yiwei paid ten yuan for accommodation and rested at the homes of nearby townspeople.

It is Zhu Ciran's habit to take a walk after meals.

Loaded with a handful of peanuts, Zhu Ciran walked out of Mr. Bao's house under the guard of two Jinyi guards, and walked on the cement-paved market town road.

He didn't take the big road, but walked on the small road.

As he walked, he recalled what old man Bao said at the dinner table just now, and turned his head uncomfortably, looking at Weiman Town in the distance.

Here, he could vaguely hear the dogs barking in the town, the children playing, and the talking and laughing of many adults in the town.

The voice floater merged with the sunset glow in the sky, and the quiet and peaceful atmosphere covered the entire town.

This is a feeling that cannot be experienced in the capital, Zhu Ciran enjoys it very much.

Turning around, he continued to walk, once again blending into the quiet rural mood.

The setting sun, which was about to completely set, was frantically burying his last gold like an old miser, and the surrounding light became even darker.

The woods in the distance seemed to be covered with a layer of black veil, hazy and graceful.

But even so, when he came back from a circle, there were still a few carefree children sitting in the small river in the middle of Weiman Town.

They sat on the rocks above the water and played in the water, waiting for their mother who was washing dishes and clothes to take them home.

Looking into the distance, the cement road and small stone courtyards contrast with some abandoned old-fashioned rammed earth cottages, as if the present and the past are blending together.

As the sun gradually set, Zhu Ciran, who had been sitting by the river for a long time, also stood up, and returned to Mr. Bao's home with two guards in brocade clothes.

Back to the ear room where I was resting, I don't know if it was Mr. Bao or Liu Shun. They lit some mosquito-repelling herbs in the ear room, making the room smell of herbs.

After a simple wash, Zhu Ciran was unable to fall asleep for a long time lying in the side room which was only eight or nine square meters.

I don't know if it's because the quilts in the countryside are too heavy, making him breathless, or Zhu Ciran's own recall of what old man Bao said today, making him breathless.

"If you want to govern the world, do you have to abandon the small and go after the big?"

Remembering old man Bao's worry about the government's move to move them, Zhu Ciran turned over and looked at the slightly lit window with complicated emotions.

He now understands why his uncle said he ruled the world, and then let his father rule the world, and he stabilized the world.

It seems that he is talking to his father and son, but in fact he is talking to himself alone.

Zhu Ciran knew better than anyone else his father's attitude towards the common people.

In fact, Zhu Ciran understood that if his uncle asked his father to organize the relocation after the Northeast War, then his father would emigrate following the example of the Hongwu dynasty.

His father would not care about the consequences of such immigration, only the result.

It looks good like this, but in fact, my father's reputation will plummet.

Because of this, my uncle did not delegate power, but used his own method to relocate the people.

When the relocation of the people is done, he should leave...

"If you leave, what should the Ming Dynasty do..."

Zhu Ciran murmured, although he also knew that his uncle would be able to solve most of the current problems, but the captain left, can the remaining helmsman control the navigation route?
"call……"

Exhaling a foul breath, Zhu Ciran had no choice but to close his eyes and force himself to fall asleep, but the unresolved brows betrayed his heart.

Having trouble sleeping all night, Zhu Ciran almost forgot how he fell asleep.

When he woke up, it was already three o'clock (9:45).

Mr. Bao went to open up wasteland, and Mrs. Bao was cooking a big pot of rice noodles in the kitchen.

After Zhu Ciran finished washing, he was sitting with Liu Shun and Yang Xiu on the chairs in the yard, and a bowl of ordinary farm rice noodles appeared in front of them.

The thin rice noodles are boiled in white water, then clamped out, and placed in a bowl aside.

On the table are leeks, smashed tomatoes, chili oil and a bowl of minced meat sauce, as well as fine salt, pepper, soy sauce and other condiments produced by Huangdian.

At first glance, it seems that this meal is very ordinary, but the full amount of seasoning is expensive.

The price of fine salt in Yunnan is fifteen yuan a catty, pepper is forty yuan, and soy sauce is slightly cheaper, but there are also twenty yuan.

The four of them couldn't eat much, but this meal cost thirty or forty cents.

It's expensive to do it at home.

"Eat eggs."

Aunt Bao fried three eggs for Zhu Ciran and the three of them, and after eating this bowl of rice noodles, the three of them also had their mouths full of oil.

"It's a pity that my stomach can't hold it, otherwise I will definitely eat two more bowls."

Rubbing his belly, Zhu Ci smiled and said, the melancholy of last night was gone.

"Not enough, there are more here."

"Enough is enough."

Aunt Bao couldn't understand, she thought it was not enough, so she was going to add another bowl for the three of them, but Zhang Xiu hurriedly stopped them.

Immediately afterwards, they helped Aunt Bao clean up the table before saying goodbye to Aunt Bao.

Mrs. Bao carried a food box containing rice noodles and went to the field with two bags of water on her back. Zhu Ciran and the others watched her walk away before getting in the car and continuing to pedal the bicycle.

As they trampled on, Weiman Town became farther and farther away from them, and when it was about to disappear, Zhu Ciran couldn't help but look back.

He didn't know if he could come to Weiman Town for the second time in his life, let alone what Weiman Town would look like next time.

Although he is a prince, he is not as free as outsiders imagined.

He also has his own hobbies, but as he grows up and becomes sensible, he gradually understands his uncle's expectations for him.

It was a big burden, but he had to bear it.

Compared with his uncle who led the army to fight at the age of 12 and was the general consul of state affairs at the age of 14, he is very lucky to be able to play at the same age at the same age.

At least my uncle can stay in Ming Dynasty for a few more years, and I still have time to study and rest. If my uncle leaves...

Zhu Ciran was a little silent, he couldn't imagine that if his uncle left, who would he be able to rely on by his side.

He gradually understood his father's entanglements, because such entanglements also appeared in his heart many times.

It is a full 230 miles from Weiman Town to Boai Pass on the edge of Yungui. Considering the speed of the four-wheeled bicycle developed by Zhu Ciran, it is actually not difficult to travel fifty miles per hour.

It's just that if you just ride like this, it will consume Jin Yiwei a bit...

But in order to rush to Boai Pass, Zhu Ciran didn't care too much.

Under his order, the Jin Yiwei began to take turns. Although he and Liu Shun had been riding on the bike, the speed was not fast, so it was not tiring to step on it.

The scenery along the road along the way is not bad, especially after crossing the [-]-mile long slope behind Weiman Town, Zhu Ciran is greeted by a long downhill.

The breeze blows on the face, blowing away the heat, but at the same time, Zhu Ciran discovers the population problem in Yunnan.

"From yesterday until now, we haven't met a single person on this road..."

There are very few rural roads in Yunnan. The reason is that many villages are in the mountains, and the villages in the mountains were all forced to relocate by Hong Chengchou.

Therefore, there are only three government roads leading from Yunnan to Guangxi, and two of them go to Guizhou and Jiaozhi, and only the southeast one goes directly to Guangxi.

After riding for more than 200 miles, I didn't even meet a single person on the road, which undoubtedly made Zhu Ciran very unhappy.

This kind of unhappiness is like the kind of unhappiness that children know that the parents are doing it for their own good, but they still feel a little uncomfortable.

He knew that Hong Chengchou was carrying out his uncle's edict, and he also knew that Hong Chengchou had done nothing wrong, but when he faced Yunnan, which had become sparsely populated because of the policy, he still couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

"With so many people relocated, if Guochao distributed tractors to the people in Yunnan, it might be able to reclaim tens of millions of acres of arable land."

"Even if the people in Yunnan reproduce for several generations, it may be difficult for them to digest."

Liu Shun was very optimistic. After all, he was Jin Yiwei, and he knew that labor pains are better than long pains.

It is true that Yunnan has a large land area and few people, but as long as the imperial court's policies are tilted, Yunnan's fields may not be divided up for hundreds of years.

Of course, the premise is that the court's policy on the field remains unchanged.

Regarding the land policy, whether it is newly reclaimed land or the more than 4 million mu of land previously acquired by the imperial court, these lands are all state-owned land and cannot be bought or sold. Farmers only have the right to cultivate and have unlimited inheritance rights.

That is to say, these lands belong to the farmers all their lives, but the farmers are not allowed to sell them, even if they are sold to relatives.

If the whole family dies, the land will be taken back to the court and distributed to the new people.

Of course, it is very rare for a family to be wiped out. In this era without cars, trains, and so much gas, except for plague, military disasters, and famine, other disasters rarely lead to the phenomenon of family extinction.

"These chemical fertilizers are not widely used in Yunnan. When there are chemical fertilizers, two acres of land can probably support one person."

"According to the situation of Mr. Bao's family, 52 mu of land is enough to feed 26 people."

Listening to Liu Shun's words, Zhu Ciran briefly explained the agricultural development of Ming Dynasty, and then retorted:

"If all four children of the Bao family return home, marry wives and have children, within ten years, the Bao family may change from six to twenty or thirty people."

"At the beginning of the founding of all dynasties, there were many people and little land. During the Zhenguan period, a bucket of rice was only three or four renminbi. According to my calculations in Ming Dynasty, each stone of rice was only [-] to [-] renminbi. What happened?"

"From the first year of Zhenguan to the second year of Qianfeng, in just 40 years, the land in the former Tang Dynasty was already uneven."

"By the tenth year of Kaiyuan, not even a hundred years, the Fubing system will be unsustainable."

"If the government soldiers are like this, what about the common people?"

"Immigration is a must, and land reclamation is also a must."

"Uncle said that if all the arable land in the country is developed, more than four billion mu of land can be acquired, and ten billion mu of grassland can be obtained."

"It seems like a lot of land, but how does it compare to the population?"

No matter how emotionally Zhu Ciran favors the common people, he actually knows what to do and what not to do.

Especially along the way, many of his ideas have been overturned, and he knows how to relieve the pressure on the people.

Alleviating the pressure on the common people means prolonging the Ming dynasty, which is not a conflict.

With the current arable land of Daming, at most, it can only maintain a population of about [-] million.

If oil, salt and meat food can be guaranteed, then [-] catties of rice per capita is a threshold. If it is insufficient, any famine may turn into an uprising.

If oil, salt and meat cannot be guaranteed, then the per capita rice cannot be lower than [-] catties.

Small glaciers, droughts, floods...

These various natural disasters will reduce food production, and once the food is low, there will be uprisings.

Another phenomenon is that the tax is too high, so that the farmers who originally earn two thousand catties of rice have less than one thousand catty of rice to eat after paying the tax.

At this time, the people can still live, but if it drops below [-] catties, they will rebel.

According to the current population growth of Daming, Zhu Ciran himself does not know how many people Daming will have in ten years.

"Two hundred million? Or three hundred million?"

If it's [-] million, it's okay, if it's [-] million, then Daming will face land annexation again.

Land annexation is not terrible, because people can at least become tenant farmers.

The most frightening thing is that as the population continues to grow, many people cannot become tenant farmers, but can only become refugees.

This is only [-] million people. If it reaches [-] million, then Daming must find a way to reclaim [-] million mu of arable land and distribute it to hundreds of millions of people. Rise a new dynasty.

Against this background, Zhu Youjian left a way for the Ming Dynasty to survive, that is, when there are too many refugees in the country, the vassal state will become an existence that accepts them.

Qi State, South Kunlun, Xiaoxiyang...

Give these vassal states more than ten or twenty years, and they can support tens of millions of people, especially the state of Qi.

As for the natives?Compared with the natives, the lives of the citizens are more important.

Zhu Ciran can understand this bloody truth, which is why Zhu Youjian wanted him to supervise the country in the future.

To put it bluntly, it was to allow Daming to have a blood transfusion while releasing blood to relieve stress.

A body can only bear so much blood. Once there is too much blood, the result of not bleeding is that the body will explode and die.

At the same time of bloodletting, the body is continuously strengthened and the blood vessels are widened, so the person can live for a longer period of time.

People are like this, so is Daming.

When the land is really insufficient, tens of millions of refugees can only be released to stabilize the country for several years or even ten years, and use this time to continuously cultivate the land.

However, the land of the vassal state is also limited. How long can Daming rely on the vassal state? Zhu Youjian cannot answer this question, only Zhu Ciran can answer it.

If Zhu Ciran didn't have one, then he could only place his hopes on the descendants of his lineage.

After sorting out the general situation, Zhu Ciran also raised his head.

When the sun was about to set, they finally saw the Bo Pass standing between the valleys...

(End of this chapter)