Daming Town Haiwang

Chapter 936, Common People's Yearning for a Better Life
After listening to Liu Jin's words, everyone pondered and nodded.

The matter of the income of the people in the capital has not been discussed once or twice, and these bigwigs in the court have also talked many times.

There are also factories, workshops, and commercial firms behind each of them, and they all know how much money it costs to hire a person in the capital.

After calculating the income and hard work of this kind of land, it is understandable that no one wants to farm the land. If it were me, I am afraid that I would not go to farm again.

"However, wouldn't it be a pity to grow cotton instead of grain in such a good field, not to mention that the grain can only be used to fill the stomach."

Liu Jian thought about it and said.

Looking at the fertile field in front of me, if winter wheat has been planted in previous years, but now it is full of cotton stalks, it is really a pity, it makes people feel distressed.

"Liu Gong, if it was a few years ago that the entire Beizhili field was planted with cotton instead of grain, what kind of things would Liu Gong think would have happened?"

Liu Jin thought for a while and asked.

"There is no doubt that there will be a great famine, the price of food will soar, the land will be starved, and the people will have to change their children for food."

Liu Jian replied immediately without even thinking about it.

"Then Liu Gong will look at the current Beizhili?"

Liu Jin nodded slightly, and asked again.

"Now?"

When Liu Jian heard it, he seemed to understand something immediately, and his eyes widened slightly.

"Now the price of grain in our northern Zhili has dropped to the lowest point in history. Whether it is white flour from Liaodong, rice from Nanyang, millet from Shanxi, corn from Shandong, sweet potatoes, potatoes from Henan, grain Prices are at an all-time low.”

"The price of a catty of grain is less than five renminbi. Based on the current income of ordinary people in the Beijing-Tianjin area, the couple's income of seven taels of silver a month is enough to last for several years."

Liu Jin smiled and finished speaking for Liu Jian.

Hearing Liu Jin's calculations, everyone immediately nodded. Even if there is no wheat field in Beizhili, the price of grain has not soared like it did during the famine, but has been falling continuously. The common people work casually. You can't finish it all.

"The reason why such an imagination appears, in fact, I think there are mainly the following reasons."

"The first one is that the grain output of my Ming Dynasty has been increasing year by year in the past few years. There is more and more grain, so the price of grain is getting lower and lower. The grain produced in the Liaodong region alone this year is enough for our entire Ming Dynasty to eat for two years. .”

"Coupled with the imperial court's promotion of high-yielding crops introduced from the Golden Continent, as well as supplements of corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, my Ming's food supply is unprecedentedly abundant, and I can't eat it all. Naturally, food prices are getting lower and lower."

"The second reason is because the traffic in Daming is getting more and more convenient."

"In the past two years, the imperial court has built cement roads in Daming from north to south, from east to west, and connecting the provinces, coupled with the rapid development of our shipping in Daming, our Daming has become more and more convenient in terms of land transportation, waterway, and sea transportation. It's getting more convenient."

"In addition, the promotion and rapid development of four-wheeled carriages, and the increasingly convenient and fast land transportation have all had a profound impact on my Ming Dynasty."

"Although it is difficult to find another wheat field in Beizhili, because of the convenient transportation, whether it is wheat from Liaodong, rice from Jiangnan, or fragrant rice from Nanyang, they can be transported to Beizhili in large quantities and quickly. Coming here fully guarantees the food supply in Northern Zhili."

"The third is the development of the marine fishing industry and animal husbandry. The marine fishing industry has developed rapidly in recent years. The seafood caught is tens of millions of catties, which greatly enriches the dining table of my Daming people. The demand for traditional food has become smaller."

"At the same time, because I, Ming Dynasty, obtained the northern grasslands, coupled with more and more food, the common people raise more chickens, ducks, geese, cattle and sheep, etc., which will also reduce the demand for food of the common people."

"The fourth is that my Ming Dynasty has been insisting on continuous foreign immigration and expansion in recent years. A large number of people have migrated outside the customs and overseas, not only reclaiming more fields and planting more food, but also reducing the number of my Ming Dynasty. Indigenous demand for food."

"These four factors are the factors summed up by the minister. Although it is difficult to find a wheat field in Beizhili now, it does not affect my Ming's food security."

After Liu Jin finished speaking, he also stopped slowly, his mouth was a little dry.

"Hmm~"

Everyone listened carefully and nodded.

The present Daming is no longer the Daming of a few years ago. Even if the grain output has increased greatly, the demand for grain is also constantly decreasing. The convenient transportation and the innovation of transportation tools have also accelerated the exchanges and supplies between various places. transportation.

"It makes sense~"

"I still remember that when there was a famine in Beizhili, it took at least half a month to transfer grain from the south to Beizhili, but now, relying on the concrete road that runs through the north and the south, and using a four-wheeled carriage, a few days is enough Yes, it can also be shipped directly by sea.”

Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and nodded, saying that the benefits of cement roads and carriages are constantly emerging, which is why he is keen on building bridges and paving roads.

"Yes, Your Majesty~"

"People who eat meat need much less food than people who eat only food, because there is oil in their stomachs and they don't need to eat too much rice and flour."

Liu Jin also nodded with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the fields in Northern Zhili grow cotton instead of grain. In fact, it has no impact on our Ming Dynasty. In fact, this is actually a good thing. This shows that our Ming Dynasty is getting more and more prosperous and prosperous."

"As far as I know, the fields in Beizhili are not only used to grow cotton, but also many fields are used to grow vegetables and fruits, and there are also many fields used to raise cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, geese, etc. "

"These all show that the life of the people in Ming Dynasty is getting better and better, and the food is getting better and better. Everyone is no longer the same as before. It is enough to have white rice and white noodles to fill their stomachs. pursue a better life.”

"There must be meat and vegetables for eating. Clothing is not only warm, but also better-looking and decent. Living is not just about sheltering from the wind and rain, but slowly changing. more beautiful and more comfortable."

"All this shows that my Ming Dynasty is becoming more and more prosperous, more prosperous, and more powerful."

Liu Jin thought for a while and continued.

"Really?"

Hearing Liu Jin's words, Emperor Hongzhi laughed happily.

Well, this is what he likes to hear the most. For him, the biggest pursuit is to make the lives of the common people better, to make Daming prosperous, and to make the old Zhu's family flourish.

"Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, let's go to the surrounding villages and have a look."

Liu Jin thought about it and suggested to Emperor Hongzhi.

"Okay, they've all come out anyway, so I just went to have a look and see how the common people in my Daming are doing now."

When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately agreed happily.

The people around also nodded one after another, and they all wanted to see the living conditions of the common people in Daming. Some things had to be seen in person to have the most intuitive feeling.

This is also the reason why Emperor Hongzhi often visits privately in micro-services. From the height of the temple, you can only see the situation at the top of the Ming Dynasty, and it is difficult to see the lives of the people at the bottom.

Only by entering the bottom layer can we see the real life of the common people in Ming Dynasty, know how the common people live and what their needs are.

The group of people also quickly got into the four-wheeled carriage again, chose a road very casually, and walked towards a village.

Nanzhuang Village, a large village with more than one hundred households.

The four-wheeled carriage of Emperor Hongzhi and his party also drove slowly towards Nanzhuang Village.

"Oh, this Nanzhuang Village even built a concrete road. I don't know if it was built by the government or the villagers paid for it themselves."

The four-wheeled carriage was driving on the smooth concrete road. Emperor Hongzhi lifted the curtain to look at the concrete road in front of him, smiled and said to Liu Jian and Li Dong beside him.

"Your Majesty, this should be built by the villagers themselves. Generally speaking, if it is a concrete road built by the imperial court, there are strict regulations, such as how wide it should be, how thick it should be, the size of the slope, etc. There are strict rules."

"In the past, the road we took was built by the government, but the road leading to this village is neither wide nor thick. This should be a cement road built by their village with their own funds."

Li Dongyang looked at the concrete road under the wheels and replied.

"Then it seems that their village is quite rich. Since ancient times, the cost of building bridges and paving roads is not small."

Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly. Cement roads are very common in Beijing and Tianjin, almost everywhere, and concrete roads also lead to all directions.

There are also small concrete roads connected to the cement roads built by the imperial court, forming a network covering all areas, connecting towns, villages, etc. around the Beijing-Tianjin area, and the transportation is extremely convenient.

"Looking at the houses in this village, I think this village should be pretty good."

Liu Jian looked at Nanzhuang Village in front of him and said.

In his field of vision, the houses in Nanzhuang Village were neatly built, and the rows of houses were all built of reinforced concrete. It was difficult to see the brick houses that could be seen everywhere before, and the houses were paved cement.

The white powder of the exterior wall of the house looks very beautiful, giving people a different feeling.

This is completely different from the countryside in Liu Jian's memory. I can't find the countryside in my memory at all. Is this still the countryside of Daming?
(End of this chapter)