Brother Zhu Youxiao

"I don't find it strange that people from Jiangnan do such a thing..."

"Woooo-"

On the second day of February, the dragon raised its head. When this day, known as the Spring Plowing Festival, came, farmers in various provinces of Ming Dynasty had already started working, and Zhu Youjian was also on his way to Ningxia.

The sound of the train's whistle indicated that they were not far from Ningxia. Zhu Youjian, who was on the seat, read the content of "Travel Notes" written by Zhu Ciran repeatedly, and got a general understanding of the situation in Zhejiang.

With a population of 3000 million and nearly 5000 million mu of land, it sounds impossible, because later generations only reached this population in the 70s, and the amount of arable land is even worse.

However, Zhu Youjian did not find it strange, because the population situation of later generations was caused by the massacres in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, as well as the massacres of the Qing army during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement in the middle and late periods.

Among them, the massacre of Zhejiang by the Qing army during the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement was the most serious.

With a population of more than 200 million, only less than 70 survived after the war, and because the corpses were not disposed of in time, a plague broke out in the local area. After the plague, the population of Huzhou was only 12.

This kind of population loss was not replenished in the Republic of China. A large number of northern population moved southward to the south of the Yangtze River. Henan people accounted for more than 40.00%, while local nationality accounted for less than 40.00%.

The influx of a large number of immigrants from the north has greatly impacted the local culture of Huzhou. The most typical example is the formation of the Mandarin area in the west of Huzhou.

However, after all, Huzhou is regarded as the core area of ​​Wu dialect, so some immigrants have been "Wu Hua".

It has only been 40 years of stable life, and the population has just improved a bit, but it has ushered in more than [-] years of war.

In this case, it is strange that the population of Zhejiang can increase.

As for the situation of cultivated land, not to mention the many lands that have been returned to forests, the urban area of ​​Zhejiang alone is as high as several million mu, while the Ming Dynasty did not have such a large urban area.

However, 5000 million mu of land sounds like a lot, but according to Zhu Ciran's "Travel Notes", more than half of it is planted with mulberry trees, cotton and various fruits, so the food supply problem for the local population in Zhejiang is very serious.

More than 2000 million mu of arable land is used to support 3000 million people. Even if Zhejiang produces two or even three shi per mu, the gap is as high as tens of millions of shi.

Last year's severe drought did not cause Zhejiang to relocate too many people. At least the population of 56 did not meet the standards that Zhu Youjian wanted.

Zhu Youjian knew who was blocking it.

If there are fewer cows and horses, the most anxious thing is naturally the country gentlemen who can drive them.

Zhu Youjian was also aware of the violations of the squires.

However, he is not going to clean up this group of people, at least for now he doesn't want to.

If they are dealt with, there will be problems in Zhejiang's economic closed loop.

In this case, unless the imperial court has the means to appease people's hearts and take care of the people's livelihood, troubles will easily arise.

What is Daming's method?Naturally, steam engines and tractors.

Right now, the production capacity of tractors is not enough. If the scale is larger enough to provide [-] tractors per year, then Zhu Youjian can do it.

The tractors of the Ming Dynasty are not difficult to produce. Unlike the tractors of later generations that can run and move, and plow hundreds or thousands of acres of land every day, it is actually a farming ox that can work continuously, but it is stronger than a farming ox.

The inadequacy of basic physics and mathematics made Daming's scientific and technological research reach a bottleneck, and it was unable to make improvements.

But the current Da Ming doesn't need him to improve more, because it is enough for now.

"At the end of this year, how many tractors will there be?"

Zhu Youjian put down the travel notes in his hands, and Lu Yuangao, who was sitting next door, also responded: "About [-] units..."

"Forty thousand..." Hearing this scale, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, and at this time the train's bell rang to arrive in Ningxia.

Soon, the train entered the Ningxia Railway Station outside the city of Ningxia.

After it stabilized, Zhu Youjian took Zhu Cihong and other four little ones and Zhou Sujie off the train, and the people who came to greet him were Man Gui, Mei Zhihuan and others whom Zhu Youjian had not seen for many years.

"Your Highness!"

Seeing Zhu Youjian, 60-year-old Man Gui and 62-year-old Mei Zhihuan came up to welcome them, followed by Cao Meng, Li Zicheng and other generals and officials.

Seeing the old appearance of Man Gui and Mei Zhihuan, Zhu Youjian was in a trance for a while.

It seems that the first Northern Expedition's sweeping campaign was still yesterday, but when I think about it carefully, it was already 13 years ago.

"Thanks for your hard work……"

Thousands of words are not worth the act of raising his hand and patting his shoulder.

Such a move may seem vulgar, but for the person being photographed, it is extremely honorable.

Generals such as Man Gui, Cao Meng, and Li Zicheng all straightened their backs, and even the civil servant Mei Zhihuan readily accepted this vulgar move.

In the crowd, Zhu Youjian saw a strange face and couldn't help asking Man Gui: "This is..."

"Returning to Your Highness, this is Zhu Fuju, the newly promoted General of the Ningxia Camp this year. He is a descendant of the five-servant clan from the Qin Palace. He participated in the bloody battle in Beishan."

"Your Highness Chitose..."

Man Gui introduced Zhu Fuju, and Zhu Fuju also bowed and saluted.

Zhu Youjian looked at him. He didn't expect that the old Zhu's family could produce a few generals. This only shows that as long as there is soil, seeds can germinate.

"Lead the troops well." After leaving a word of encouragement, Zhu Youjian and Man Gui walked out of the train station in Ningxia.

The wind in the northwest is very strong, and there is still a bit of chill in the Ningxia wind in early February.

Walking out of the train station, Ningxia city stands on the horizon in the distance, and the city is surrounded by reclaimed paddy fields, which can't be seen at a glance.

In the past, Ningxia was an important military town of Ming Dynasty. Since it was an important military town, it is impossible to have too many people.

Before the Tianqi Dynasty, the peak population of Ningxia was more than 4 households in the Zhengde period, but after the Jiajing period, the military equipment in the northwest became weaker and it became difficult to protect the people, so many people continued to flee south.

By the 47th year of Wanli, the population of Ningxia was only [-] households, which was less than half of that during the Zhengde period.

The turning point came after Tianqi’s first Northern Expedition. Zhu Youjian led his troops to destroy the three major parts of Hetao, and set up prefectures and counties in Houtao, Qiantao, and Juyanhai in Xitao. Since then, Ningxia has become an inland .

In addition to the snowstorm in northern Shaanxi in the same year, and the continuous severe drought in the following 13 years, Ningxia, with its water network, ushered in its second spring.

The current Ningxia government not only controls the Xitao area, but also controls the Houtao area of ​​Wuyuan County. Two of the three sets are in its hands, so the number of people has reached 82, and the cultivated land is more than 660 million mu.

Because it is an important military town, after the abolition of the guards, all the fields and pastures of the guards belonged to the imperial court, so Ningxia can actually reach eight acres of land per capita.

"Ningxia Prefecture currently has 240 million mu of paddy fields and 420 million mu of irrigated land."

"Based on the local conditions, we can continue to reclaim more than 2000 million mu of irrigated land and more than 300 million mu of paddy fields."

Walking on the top of the city of Ningxia, Zhu Youjian looked at the people outside the city who were plowing in the spring, and the people were also looking at the top of the city, as if thinking "it seems that a big man has come".

"If dry land is included, Ningxia Prefecture can reclaim at least 4000 million mu of arable land."

Mei Zhihuan reported the situation in Ningxia, Zhu Youjian also stopped, turned around and asked, "Sun Chuanting is still in Lhasa?"

"Returning to Your Highness, Sun Jinglue is currently busy with immigration in Xining." Man Gui bowed in reply:

"This month, more than 1 exiled laborers have arrived. Sun Jinglue plans to arrange them to live in the Bolu Mansion, and to send troops to recover the Western Regions in the future."

"How's the situation in the three Uzang prefectures?" Zhu Youjian asked, and Mei Zhihuan replied familiarly:

"The population is more than 32, the arable land is more than 360 million mu, and the grassland is no less than 15 billion mu."

"Sun Jinglue tried to let the labor camp workers build concrete roads from Xining to Lhasa and Bolu, but after implementing it, it was found that it was impossible."

"Therefore, at the moment, we can only clear some gravel and widen the road along the way while the original post road is in place."

Mei Zhihuan briefly described the situation of the three Tibetan prefectures in Uzbekistan, among which the population is the main one.

Of the 32 people in Uzbek, 25 are Han Chinese, and the remaining [-] are nomadic Heshuot Mongols living in Qinghai.

Zhu Youjian was very satisfied with this ethnic ratio, and Hexi was gradually sinicized under his religious restraint.

Compared with the more than 500 million Han Chinese, the hundreds of thousands of minorities in Hexi are really insignificant.

"The grasslands in Uzbek are a great resource. We should use them to stock enough cattle for the dynasty, and then export them to the provinces that need to be reclaimed."

"How to say, how to do it I don't ask, you tell Sun Chuanting."

Zhu Youjian explained his attitude towards U-Tsang. After all, for Ming Dynasty, more than 60% of U-Tsang is grassland, which is more suitable for animal husbandry than Mongolia.

Of course, this refers to the situation when Mobei has not been fully recovered.

If Mobei and the Western Regions were recovered, then Daming would have three large pastures that could raise tens of millions of cattle and sheep.

Man Gui and Mei Zhihuan responded to Zhu Youjian's words, and Zhu Youjian also took them to the streets in Ningxia.

Similar to what they said, the people of Ningxia are indeed living happily.

Many men in the field are working the land, and almost every family of them has at least one cattle or draft horse.

Walking in the city, a strong northwest style is displayed in front of Zhu Youjian.

When it comes to Northwest, many people have words such as desert, few people, and vast land in their minds.

Ningxia is a standard ancient city in Northwest China. Walking inside the ancient city, most of the houses inside are built with local mud, not even painted with white lime.

The yellow mud of the house is inlaid with the color of the surrounding land, which is very natural.

Although relying on the Yellow River, the situation here is even more serious than Shuofang Mansion due to the fact that it has not rained for several years.

Shuofang mansion can at least see some dry moss on the roof of the house, but here in Ningxia, there are almost no plants in the city, only some withered dry grass can be seen, growing sparsely on the ground.

Although the situation of the green plants in the city looks miserable, if Zhu Youjian passes by the houses of local residents and looks into the courtyard through the open door, he finds that the inside and outside are completely different.

The potted plants planted in the courtyard are eye-catching, and the small courtyard is well-organized by the owner. Compared with the wind and sand blowing, dead branches and leaves outside, the indoor scene undoubtedly makes people feel comfortable.

"How long has it been since it rained in Ningxia?" Zhu Youjian asked after smelling the smell of rice coming from a small courtyard, and Mei Zhihuan said without hesitation: "The last rain was in June last year."

"Hmm..." Hearing that it only rained last June, Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, thinking that the situation in Ningxia was more serious than that in Shuofang.

The last rain in Shuofang was in September last year, and then a thin layer of snow fell, while Ningxia not only had no snow last year, but also had very little rain, so it is no wonder that this is the case.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian asked the officials to ask if they could enter the house for observation, and the officials also knocked on the door and waited for the owner of the house to respond.

Soon, a woman in common clothes walked out of the room.

When she saw so many officials surrounding her door, she almost fell to her knees in fright, thinking that the man in the family had committed something.

After the official's explanation, she quickly packed her things and welcomed Zhu Youjian and the others into the house.

Zhu Youjian didn't bring many people in, but took Zhu Cihong's four cubs, Man Gui, Mei Zhihuan, and Li Zicheng in.

Zhou Sujie was arranged to go to the post station to rest, so they could walk around unscrupulously. With the energy of the four little ones, even if they finished walking around Ningxia City, they would not be too tired.

"Your Highness, this is the only thing at home, don't hold it against you..."

The woman cautiously served tea for everyone, and brought out a plate of brown sugar pancakes to entertain everyone.

"Don't be nervous, I'm here this time to see how the people of Ningxia are doing, and by the way, eat the same food as you usually do."

"You just cook us a meal as usual, don't be nervous, no matter whether it's delicious or not, the ingredients will be paid for, and we won't embarrass you."

"This this this..."

Zhu Youjian spoke kindly, but the woman blushed nervously when she heard the words.

Many people have never seen King Qi. In their eyes, King Qi should be the same as those officials they can see, with a big belly and very bloated.

However, when they see Zhu Youjian, it is often difficult to speak.

This is not because of his aura, but because Zhu Youjian is only 27 years old, and it is the time when he is young and handsome.

Just like Zhu Youxiao's ridicule of Zhu Youjian, like his younger brother's appearance, if it is an imperial examination, even if his literary talent is not good, as long as he can enter the palace examination, he can win the champion by virtue of his appearance.

This sounds a bit ironic, but in this era where face is more important than later generations, Zhu Youjian does have a great advantage.

The woman blushed and went to cook. This scene made Man Gui and the others couldn't help but look at their highness.

I have to say that the 27-year-old Zhu Youjian said that he looks impeccable, and his figure and temperament are also outstanding.

Normally, with such appearance and figure, he should be a happy prince, but he became the pillar of the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Man Gui looked at the four little ones next to him.

Although they are all boys, but the pink and jade-carved appearance makes people want to knead them, especially Zhu Cihong who is so white that he shines.

It's okay to be pretty, but the key is that Zhu Cihong still looks like a big brother, and he doesn't cry or make trouble, he is very obedient.

Therefore, when they saw Zhu Cihong, Man Gui, Mei Zhihuan and others all thought of their own children and grandchildren, and couldn't help gnashing their teeth for a while.

Just as they were gnashing their teeth, the woman who was already cooking brought trays of meals to the table.

Sauerkraut and potato soup, fried cabbage, minced meat with chili, fried bacon with cabbage...

As soon as these four dishes were served, Zhu Youjian knew without even looking at them that the last meat dish must be an extra dish, because bacon, no matter where it is, is only eaten when entertaining guests and during festivals.

Although today is the Farming Festival, one chili minced meat is enough for the festival. It is impossible to eat two meat dishes in one festival.

"Is the bacon a side dish?"

Zhu Youjian looked up at the reserved woman, who could only smile awkwardly.

"If it's not the Farming Festival, can we have these two meat dishes? What should we eat on weekdays?"

Zhu Youjian asked kindly, and the woman looked around at the officials, especially the officials in charge of the neighborhood.

After seeing the man winking and telling her to tell the truth, she hesitated and said:

"On weekdays, there is only one soup and one pot of stewed vegetables. The food is a bit rough. I only make a meat dish during the festival, and I eat it like this during the New Year."

"Hmm..." Hearing this, Zhu Youjian also moved his chopsticks, but instead of eating, he opened the food box that the woman had prepared for the laborers in the fields.

As he expected, there were less than one tael of chili minced meat in each of the three food boxes, and most of the fried cabbage and bottomed rice.

Even Zhu Cizhao, who was only four years old, couldn't get enough of that one tael of minced meat, let alone a man who worked in the fields.

Unsurprisingly, the minced meat on the plate now should have been placed in this food box.

Thinking of this, Zhu Youjian picked up the bacon, and put the bacon and minced meat into three food boxes respectively, leaving only a stir-fried cabbage and sauerkraut and potato soup on the table that people in Ningxia Prefecture usually eat.

"That's all right, don't be nervous, go and deliver food to the family in the field first."

Zhu Youjian covered the food box, smiled and signaled the woman to leave.

The woman is really restrained here, so she doesn't care if the things in the house will be lost, so she can only put three food boxes and three bags of water into the basket, and walk out of the house with the basket on her back.

After he left, Mei Zhihuan also said: "Your Highness, why don't you ask the accompanying cook to buy some vegetables? This is too shabby."

"Yes, Your Highness!" Mei Zhihuan's words won Li Zicheng's approval. He could accept himself eating like this, but he couldn't accept King Qi eating like this.

After the two of them spoke, many people in the crowd also opened their mouths, just to persuade Zhu Youjian to add some meat and vegetables, even if not for himself, but also for the four little ones.

The only three people who did not speak were Man Gui who knew Zhu Youjian well, Lu Yuangao who witnessed the journey with his own eyes, and Zhu Fuju who stood in the corner.

If Man Gui and Lu Yuangao knew Zhu Youjian, then Zhu Fuju felt it was false.

He didn't think Zhu Youjian was fake, but that this scene was too fake.

Even the last time Zhu Fuju ate such a meal was six years ago.

After he was promoted in the bloody battle in Beishan, his meals often included a meat dish.

Even so, he was known for his simplicity in the army.

It is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. If Zhu Fuju eats such a meal, unless he is very hungry, he will have no appetite.

But different from what he thought, in front of everyone, Zhu Youjian moved his chopsticks, and he not only ate, but also tasted delicious.

"This dish is not as bad as it looks, and it tastes good."

Zhu Youjian ate with relish, and the four little ones moved their chopsticks respectively when they saw this.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, the four little ones ate deliciously, and they were no longer picky as they were in Zhangjiakou Town.

In front of everyone, Zhu Youjian, father and son, ate up all the dishes and soup, and after Zhu Youjian finished wiping his mouth, he said:
"I will come back four years later, and I hope that the people of Ningxia can enjoy the two meat, one vegetable and one soup meals just now."

"Even if it doesn't work, it's not difficult to eat a meat dish every day, right?"

Zhu Youjian looked at Mei Zhihuan, but Mei Zhihuan smiled bitterly and said, "Your Highness, it's a bit embarrassing for you to step down."

"If you give tens of thousands of tractors to the lower officials, then the lower officials can definitely guarantee it, but as far as the moment is concerned, I'm afraid it won't work."

"There is no tractor, but there are [-] cattle. Do you want it?" Zhu Youjian rarely joked, and Mei Zhihuan immediately smiled when he heard the words; "Yes! Of course!"

"That's the deal. I'll come back four years later. I hope that the people will be able to eat a meat dish every day."

After finishing speaking, Zhu Youjian stood up, asked Lu Yuangao to leave a hundred-wen coin on the table, and then left with all the officials. When he left, he didn't forget to close the door for the woman, and it could be opened with a push.

After eating and drinking enough, they started walking around the city, but compared to Toyosu where there were still some merchants and travelers, there were very few people in Ningxia who were not engaged in agriculture.

Because there were too few people, after a few laps, Zhu Youjian came to the top of the city and looked at the people sitting and eating on the ridge.

Maybe it was not fun to look at it like this, Zhu Youjian changed into a short jacket and blue trousers for busy farming, and asked Lu Yuangao to send the four little ones to the post station, and at the same time, he took Mangui and the others out of the city with farm tools on their shoulders.

These few people have dark skin, so they didn't attract others' attention.

Those who noticed them all opened their mouths to tease them that they only went out for farming at this time, fearing that they would not grow much food in the autumn harvest.

In this regard, Zhu Youjian just smiled, and led the people around a few times, found a group of farmers who were chatting, and sat down next to them.

The reason they chatted openly was because a literate farmer was holding the "Da Ming Pao" and talking about various things on it.

When talking about King Qi's encouragement of peasants to rebel, and citing the civil uprising in Shaanxi, they all couldn't help but say hello.

Perhaps for the people in the south of the Yangtze River, they don't know why they rebelled and why they can't live a busy life.

But for this group of people who migrated from northern Shaanxi, they only hated why they didn't rebel in advance. In that case, maybe they could live a good life earlier.

Of course, while applauding, many people also talked about King Qi, and wondered whether King Qi would come to Ningxia to see them.

Those who said these words did not know that King Qi was sitting behind them, laughing from time to time.

It wasn't until the hottest time of noon passed and the farmers were ready to go back to work in the fields that Zhu Youjian got up and took Man Gui and the others back to the city.

He returned to the city gate tower, continued to look down at the busy people, smiled, changed his clothes and returned to the post house.

This process had a great impact on Zhu Fuju, who had been following him all the time. He recalled the journey he had come, and those new recruits who asked him if he had seen King Qi at Zhenyuan Pass.

"Junior Zhu, what do you think King Qi looks like..."

"Military Zhu, have you met King Qi?"

"Military Zhu, you..."

For a while, the faces from the past appeared one by one in Zhu Fuju's mind, and even when he went home during the Chinese New Year, the scenes of his parents asking him about King Qi also appeared one after another.

At that time, his answer was very vague, because he didn't know what King Qi was like.

He only felt the cruelty of the war, the struggle of the rulers, and the sorrow of every family after the war in the bloody battle in Beishan.

But now, time has passed, and he has also seen the more real King Qi up close as a bystander.

There is no domineering of high-ranking people, nor corruption of high-ranking officials, but only an ordinary behavior except for appearance.

He doesn't seem to be the king of Qi, but a commoner with more power...

With this feeling, if someone still asks him what King Qi is like, then Zhu Fuju's answer may change.

"King Qi..."

Looking at the back of King Qi who was walking down the city wall and drifting away, Zhu Fuju unconsciously looked at the people working outside the city.

Perhaps it is their blessing to have such a virtuous king in power...