Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 935, the essence behind
On a vast field in Yanjiao, the capital city, heavy snow fell, the land was covered with white snow, and pedestrians were in a hurry.

However, under such weather, several four-wheeled carriages came from the direction of the capital, and then stopped at the edge of the field.

Emperor Hongzhi, Liu Jian, Zhang Mao, Liu Jin, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Zhang Mao, Qi Zhong and others in plain clothes got out of the carriage one after another and looked at the silver-covered field in front of them.

"Your Majesty, look, these fields are all planted with cotton, and these are the cotton stalks left after the cotton was harvested."

Liu Jian had no intention of admiring the snow scene at all, nor did he have any interest in reciting poems. Instead, he came to the field very directly, and peeled away the snow below, revealing some withered and dry cotton stalks.

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he went directly to the field, regardless of whether it was cold or not, he scraped the snow away with his hands, and also saw the cotton stalks.

Behind Emperor Hongzhi, Xiao Jing gave a look, and the guards and Xiao Huangmen around him immediately understood, and they immediately went down to the field, and quickly swept away the blood in a large field, revealing neat rows of cotton pole.

Liu Jin also went down to the field, picked up a cotton stalk and looked at it carefully, carefully counting the bolls on it, there were only a dozen of them, which was much worse than the cotton of later generations.

The cotton of the later generations can generally produce [-] to [-] bolls per plant, and some can even produce hundreds of bolls. The yield is very amazing.

The cotton in front of me doesn't have many bolls, and the bolls don't seem to be that big either. Obviously, the cotton production is still far behind that of later generations.

"Sure enough, as Liu Aiqing said, there is not a single wheat field in Beizhili, but cotton fields everywhere."

Emperor Hongzhi looked at the huge cotton field in front of him, couldn't help but shook his head and said, "This field is all planted with cotton, and no one is growing wheat. How can this continue?"

"Northern Zhili has always been a province with a large output, but suddenly it stops producing. I'm afraid there will be big problems with the food in the future."

"Your Majesty, I think so too. There was a famine that year, and the whole of Beizhili starved to death. It was just a few years ago, and everyone had forgotten that they were all planting cotton. Wheat is planted."

Liu Jian also said worriedly: "Food is the most important thing. People will not panic if they have food, so they will not be in chaos. Although this cotton can also be used to keep warm, it cannot be used to feed the hunger after all. Appropriate planting is enough. It’s ok, it is absolutely impossible to plant cotton on such a large scale and in such a large area.”

"Is the investigation clear?"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, thought for a while and asked again.

"The minister has already checked."

"The reason why everyone in Beizhili grows cotton instead of wheat is mainly because the price of cotton has remained high in the past few years. The demand for cotton and wool in the textile industry in Ming Dynasty has become stronger and stronger, which has pushed up the price of cotton. "

"The common people are short-sighted. For the sake of small profits, they plant cotton one after another and no one grows wheat. This is why it is difficult to find a wheat field in the whole of Northern Zhili."

Liu Jian also replied immediately.

"In your opinion, how should this matter be resolved?"

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. He also knew about the soaring cotton prices. The most direct reason for the Ming Dynasty to send troops to the Western Regions was to obtain cotton from the Western Regions.

Last winter, because of this incident, Emperor Hongzhi sent someone to investigate Daming's textile industry. He also knew something about it, and knew that the price of cotton was high.

"Your Majesty, I believe that cotton is related to the development of our Daming's textile industry, but now our Daming's textile industry has tens of thousands of large and small textile factories and workshops, and millions of employees. People depend on the textile industry for their livelihood."

"It is absolutely impossible to be affected by the cotton issue, and it is unrealistic to restrict the development of the textile industry, which will affect the employment and livelihood of a large number of people."

"But the food issue is a major issue related to the national economy and the people's livelihood. It is the foundation of the country's stability. Beizhili is at the core of our Ming Dynasty, and it must not be disturbed by the food issue. Therefore, the fields in Beizhili must be maintained no matter what. Grow food, not cotton."

"That's why I think that the imperial court should promulgate a decree to prohibit the cultivation of cotton in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of our Ming Dynasty. Cotton planting should be placed in the Western Regions, Hezhong, and overseas as much as possible to ensure the food safety of our Ming Dynasty. "

Liu Jian thought for a while and replied very seriously.

"Hmm~"

After listening, Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, and after thinking about it, he also asked Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Liu Jin, Zhang Mao and others: "What's your opinion, dear dear ones?"

"Your Majesty, I think it's wrong~"

Li Dongyang thought for a while and expressed his opposition.

"Go on."

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he was slightly surprised. Li Dongyang and Liu Jian had always had the same political views, but he didn't expect to have different views on this matter.

"Your Majesty, as far as I know, because of the rapid development of factories, workshops, and commercial firms in the Beijing-Tianjin area, a large number of people have been attracted to work in the factories, workshops, and commercial firms in the Beijing-Tianjin area."

"This year alone, according to the statistics of major factories, workshops, commercial firms, etc., the total population of the cities in the Beijing-Tianjin area alone has exceeded [-] million."

"Such a large population, most of them are from the North Zhili area around the Beijing-Tianjin area, that is to say, the farmers who used to farm in the fields have now worked in factories, workshops, commercial firms, etc. , or opening a shop or setting up a stall in the Beijing-Tianjin area to do small business.”

"And the main reason why farmers choose to give up the farmland passed down from generation to generation to work in cities is because of income."

"In the Beijing-Tianjin area, it costs at least four taels of silver a month to hire anyone casually. Even female workers need at least three taels of silver to be hired."

"If a couple works together in the city, they can earn at least seven taels of silver a month, and their total income can exceed eighty taels of silver in a year. Moreover, factories and workshops generally include food and housing. Come down, you can earn dozens of taels of silver this year."

"However, if you farm the land at home like this, even if the husband and wife work hard for a year, they can only plant a few dozen acres of land. There are only a few dozen shi of grain left."

"The price of food is very low now. Calculated, there is not even a fraction of the work in the city. What's more, most of the farmers don't actually have their own fields. They are all farming for the landlords, and their income is even lower."

"This has led to fewer and fewer farmers in the whole of Northern Zhili, and even the surrounding Shanxi, Shandong, and Henan provinces. Everyone either chooses to immigrate outside the customs, overseas, or chooses to enter factories, workshops, and commercial firms. "

Li Dongyang thought for a while and said slowly.

He is a very talented person, and he is also good at thinking. He can also think about the cause and effect when observing affairs. If Liu Jian can be the chief assistant, it is because he is lucky. He has been the teacher of Emperor Hongzhi, and Li Dongyang is his own Really learned.

"I also remembered that at the beginning of this year, officials from various provinces wrote a letter saying that the imperial court moved a large number of people overseas and outside the customs, resulting in a population loss and no one to cultivate the land."

Emperor Hongzhi thought about it and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty~"

"Because there are better choices, better outlets, and better lives, farmers naturally know what to do."

Li Dongyang nodded and said.

"Because no one cultivated the fields, the landlords and gentry who used to live on rent and rent could no longer live as before."

"But this field must not be abandoned, so these landlords and gentry who have a large number of fields planted cotton, because the cultivation of cotton is relatively simple, and it does not require meticulous care like wheat."

"Relying on a steam tiller can plow the land well to grow cotton, and growing cotton is more profitable than growing wheat, which naturally makes it difficult to find a wheat field in the whole of Beizhili."

"This is also the reason why steam cultivators are the best seller in the Northern Zhili area."

After talking a lot, Li Dongyang explained the reasons for this incident in detail.

He talked more in-depth and detailed. Liu Jian just talked about the fact that everyone grows cotton because of the high price of cotton. This is just a superficial phenomenon.

The real phenomenon is that the farmers don’t plant land for the old rich landlords, and the old rich landlords who own the land plant cotton that is more expensive, more profitable, and easier to manage.

After all, this is a market phenomenon.

"That's it~"

After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi immediately nodded his head, and immediately became more aware of the reason behind this phenomenon.

"Your Majesty, I also think what Li Gong said is reasonable."

At this time Liu Jin also stood up and said.

"Yeah, tell me."

Emperor Hongzhi smiled and motioned Liu Jin to continue.

"In fact, the reason is very simple. It is nothing more than that people go to high places and water flows to low places."

"Common people feel that farming is not worthwhile, so they all go to work in factories, workshops, and commercial firms in the city, or set up small shops, set up stalls, etc., because this kind of life is simpler and more relaxed. more silver."

"This also shows that under the wise leadership of His Majesty and the virtuous assistance of the lords in the court, our Ming Dynasty is flourishing, and the lives of ordinary people are getting better and better. It is no longer necessary to face the loess and back to the sky like our ancestors did for generations. Live better, eat better, wear better clothes, and live a richer life."

Liu Jin thought about it and said it in very simple and easy-to-understand words.

Regardless of whether there are no farmers willing to plant the land, or the fields that were originally planted with wheat are changed to cotton, in the final analysis, it is still a trend of economic behavior.

(End of this chapter)