Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 934, The Other Side of the Great Grain Harvest (Additional Meals)

At the end of October in the fifteenth year of Hongzhi, Nanyang was still as warm as summer. When people drank coconut milk, gnawed sugar cane, and directed slaves to work; Wool, for the delivery of cows and horses.

As for the Beijing-Tianjin region, the ruling center of the Ming Dynasty, the first snow fell in the [-]th year of Hongzhi with the howling cold wind.

"It's snowing, winter is here!"

Liu Jin, who was wearing a crimson robe, stood by the glass window, staring at the heavy snow outside, and was in a daze.

Before you know it, it's winter.

Time is passing faster and faster. Hongzhi has been fifteen years old. When I think about it carefully, I don't seem to have done anything. This year is almost over.

Last winter, I didn't have a New Year's Eve at home. I was supposed to be on vacation, but Emperor Hongzhi sent troops to the Western Regions. This lasted more than half a year, and I didn't return to the capital until this summer.

I thought I could rest at home for a few months, but Emperor Hongzhi was found to have intestinal ulcers, and I had to be busy with treating Emperor Hongzhi for several months.

Emperor Hongzhi recovered from his illness, and the fifteen years of Hongzhi seemed to be passing away soon, and the time passed too quickly.

Sighing slightly, Liu Jin went back to his desk.

There are a lot of things to do. This is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, in charge of officials all over the world. There are too many things. Since ancient times, the management of this person has been the most difficult thing to do, let alone an official.

"It's going to be November soon. At the end of October and the beginning of December, the big officials in the provinces of Ming Dynasty will return to Beijing to report on their duties. This is the most important event since I became Minister of the Ministry of Officials."

"In addition, the evaluation of officials at the end of the year is also a major event. Now the officials of Ming Dynasty are still too lazy. Basically, it can be said that many officials are doing nothing and eating nothing."

Liu Jin pondered carefully, and began to think about the major events to be done at the end of the year.

Now that he is the Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Liu Jin must make a difference. Emperor Hongzhi put himself in this position, and he must hope that he can reform the official administration of Ming Dynasty.

But it is certainly not an easy task, and it has been so since ancient times.

After dealing with the affairs of the Ministry of Officials, Liu Jin still had no way to rest. In Liu Jin's position, there were really too many things to pay attention to, and all aspects of Daming had to be paid attention to.

"The Ming Dynasty ushered in a bumper harvest year, and the price of grain fell to an unprecedented level. The wheat in Liaodong can be bought for five shi for one tael of silver!"

"Chen Xin, the chief envoy of Liaodong, asked the court to buy a large number of steam harvesters to complete the autumn harvest. There are too many fields reclaimed and planted in Liaodong this year."

"The river in the Western Regions has a bumper harvest, and the food is enough for the Western Regions and Hezhong areas for several years."

"Sugar cane harvests in various provinces in Nanyang are ushering in a bumper harvest. It is estimated that this year's sugar production will increase by [-]% compared to last year."

"Jiangnan, Jiangxi, Huguang, and Sichuan have bumper harvests, and the price of rice will drop to three pennies a catty, and coarse grains, corn, and sweet potatoes can buy three catties for one penny~"

"Cheap grain hurts farmers, and grain prices drop sharply, causing farmers to increase production but not income."

"Beizhili has always been a province with a large output, but in the [-]th year of Hongzhi, not only was there no output in Beizhili, but also a very large food gap. A large amount of land was used to grow cotton and vegetables."

Liu Jin couldn't help frowning as he watched the messages coming from all over the place.

Judging from all aspects of information, in the fifteenth year of Hongzhi, Daming ushered in an unprecedented bumper harvest, and the grain production in various places doubled.

Not only the traditional rice, wheat, millet, and sorghum, but also the production of corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes introduced from Huangjinzhou has also seen a direct increase.

The most direct result was that the price of grain in Ming Dynasty plummeted, and the grain merchants were all begging for food, because grain trading really didn't make money.

There is an inexhaustible amount of grain in all parts of Daming, and everyone is worried about how to sell the grain. There are no people buying grain at all, and the life of grain merchants is naturally difficult.

What they like most is naturally like the famine in the three northern provinces. The grain was sold at sky-high prices, so they could make money. If there was too much grain, they would not make money.

"Immigration in the past few years has still had an effect. A large number of people have migrated from densely populated and barren areas to Liaodong, Southeast Asia, the Western Regions, Australia and the Golden Island. A large number of immigrants have reclaimed land and food production has exploded."

"The high-yielding crops brought back from the Golden Continent have been rapidly spread throughout Daming under the promotion of the specially established Ministry of Agriculture. Last year, there was an explosion in various places. This year, it has been widely promoted in various places, and the production of this coarse grain has also increased dramatically. .”

"It's a good thing that there is more food. One year's food is enough for the people of Ming Dynasty to eat for several years."

Liu Jin tapped on the table lightly, thinking carefully about the cause and effect.

There are two main reasons for the explosive growth of Ming's grain. One is that more land is cultivated, and the growth is all fertile land. The other is the promotion of introduced high-yielding crops.

Under these two reasons, it is difficult for Daming's grain not to increase.

"My lord, His Majesty sent someone to announce you into the palace for discussion!"

At this time, the servants of Liu Jin's mansion hurriedly came to Liu Jin's study and said.

"Well, prepare the car~"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jin said quickly.

I hurriedly took the car to the study of Emperor Hongzhi’s Qianqing Palace. In the study, there were not only Emperor Hongzhi, but also the elders of the three cabinets, Zhang Mao, Shangshu Zhong of the Ministry of Households, and Zhang Mao, Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture. people) and others were also present.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty, Congratulations to Your Majesty, this year my Ming Dynasty has a good weather, great harvests have been welcomed in the north and south, inside and outside the customs, and overseas, and this year's grain production is enough to feed our Ming Dynasty for five years!"

Zhang Mao reported this year's grain production to Emperor Hongzhi with a smile on his face. The increase in Ming's grain production was due to his contribution as Minister of Agriculture, and promotion must be indispensable.

It's just a pity that Liu Jinge took the position of Minister of the Ministry of Officials first. It is estimated that he will take over Liu Jin's original position as the left servant of the Ministry of Households, and in the future he will take over the position of Minister of the Ministry of Households as Zhong Zhong.

"Are you sure how much food there is?"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded in satisfaction. Since ancient times, all dynasties have attached great importance to farming, and food production is the most important thing. As long as the people have enough to eat, the country will be stable.

"Your Majesty, this can also be confirmed by the news from the government offices at all levels in my Ming Dynasty. This year, the food tax collected from various places in Daming is more than five times that of last year. You must know that Your Majesty has also exempted Liaodong, Hezhong, Hexi, and Nanyang. The grain tax that has been saved for several years, under this circumstance, can still receive more than five times that of last year. It can be seen that the grain harvest is indeed a bumper harvest. The official warehouses in various places can no longer hold it, and more granaries have to be built .”

He Zhong also stood up and said that he is the Minister of the Ministry of Households, in charge of the money and food in the world, and he is in charge of the taxation of the court. Every year in autumn, the grain paid by various places must be counted and randomly checked. The number must not be wrong. of.

"Okay, okay~"

"Of course, the more food the better, the common people have food to eat, and if they are full, I, the emperor, can sleep soundly."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded happily. The importance of food is self-evident. A bumper harvest means that the common people have more food to eat. At least in these days, there is food to eat no matter what.

"Your Majesty, increasing grain income is certainly a good thing, but judging from reports from various places, although the grain harvest has been bumper this year, the price of grain has dropped to an unprecedented land price. In Liaodong, five shi of wheat can only be sold for one tael of silver."

"In Nanyang, six stones of rice can only be sold for one tael of silver. Farmers increased production but did not increase income, and grain prices plummeted."

"In addition, because of the large increase in grain production and the drop in grain prices in the past two years, coupled with the impact of the Beijing-Tianjin region, Beizhili, which was originally a major grain-producing province, has no grain to harvest this year. "

"Almost all the land in Northern Zhili is planted with cotton and vegetables, and there are also a lot of fertile land for raising cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, ducks, fish and so on."

At this time, Liu Jian, the chief assistant of the cabinet, also stood up and reported to Emperor Hongzhi the other side of the bumper grain harvest.

"Five stones of wheat can only be sold for one tael of silver?"

"Is this six shi of rice only selling for a tael of silver?"

When everyone present heard this, they couldn't help but be dumbfounded. The price of this food must be too low.

"Is cotton grown in all the fertile fields in Northern Zhili?"

Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jian and asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty~"

"If Your Majesty doesn't believe it, you can go out of the capital to see it together."

"In the whole of Northern Zhili, the closer to the Beijing-Tianjin area, the less people grow food. Almost all the land is used to grow cotton, vegetables, and raise chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, cattle, sheep and horses. The whole of Northern Zhili can It is said that there is no food to harvest."

"If things go on like this for a long time, wouldn't it be a pity that the fertile land will be barren?"

"In addition, if Beizhili does not produce grain, it means that large-scale transportation of grain from various parts of Daming to Beizhili will be required. There is nothing in a short period of time. Over time, it will inevitably form a kind of dependence. If the grain transportation fails If it is in time, it is very likely that there will be another famine in Beizhili a few years ago."

Liu Jian said very excitedly.

All over the Ming Dynasty, there was a bumper harvest, but in Beizhili, there was no one to grow grain, and the best land was used to grow cotton. Can this cotton be eaten?
If the common people had no food to eat, wouldn't there be another famine in Beizhili by then, and how many people would die? The tragic scene of the great famine that year might be repeated.

Hearing Liu Jian's words, Emperor Hongzhi frowned immediately. This food is a major matter, which is related to the national economy and people's livelihood. No one in Beizhili grows food. This is not possible.

(End of this chapter)