Daming Crazy Emperor

Chapter 330
Can the problem of the Little Ice River natural disaster be solved?

This difficulty is really not ordinary.

Because this natural disaster lasted for too long, the Northwest has been dry for decades.

In history, if it hadn't been for the great wars at the end of the Ming Dynasty that consumed too many people, the impact of this natural disaster would probably not end until the end of Kangxi's reign.

At this time, I want to solve it, it is easier said than done!
Nan Juyi was a little confused at the moment.

The emperor actually wants to form the Ministry of Agriculture to be responsible for solving the disaster situation in the Northwest, and he is the first minister of the Ministry of Agriculture!
How about this?

He didn't even know what to say.

Because he doesn't even know what the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for, what should I say?
He just stood there blankly, without saying a word for a long time.

Seeing this, Taichang couldn't help asking curiously: "What's the matter, Sishou?"

Nan Juyi quickly replied: "Your Majesty, forgive me. At this time, my mind is full of thoughts, and I don't know what to say. Your Majesty, I dare to ask, is the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for solving the disaster situation in the Northwest? Where is the yamen of the Ministry of Agriculture located? How many officials does the Ministry of Agriculture have?"

Uh, I forgot to mention all this!

Taichang said embarrassingly: "The Ministry of Agriculture has similar functions to the previous six yamen. All farmers and agricultural affairs are under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture. It's just that disaster relief is the most important right now. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for solving the disaster situation in the northwest first. As for the location of the yamen , Official configuration and specific functions, these can all be done slowly.”

It turned out to be the case.

Nan Ju Yi repeatedly nodded and said, "I understand."

Taichang immediately asked: "Have you ever been to the Northwest? Do you know the drought there?"

This?
The emperor didn't even know where I was from, so he brought me up here!
Nan Juyi was quite surprised and said: "Your Majesty, this humble minister is from Weinan."

Uh, okay.

He was indeed a little anxious, because it was spring now.

If it hadn't been for too much time spent on the general examination and palace examination, disaster relief would have started by now.

Therefore, he didn't ask Bi Ziyan about the specific situation of Nan Juyi. He hurriedly summoned Nan Juyi to the Imperial Study Room just after the discussion at the Wenhua Hall.

Nan Juyi turned out to be from Weinan, this is simply a slap in the face!
Taichang couldn't help but nodded again and again: "Okay, since you are from Weinan, I don't need to tell you about the disaster situation in detail, you must know it better than me. You have returned to your hometown these years, have you considered how to relieve the disaster?" ?”

Nan Juyi nodded quickly and said: "Yes, Your Majesty, I have been sick at home during the years when the Eunuch Party was in power. As for how to provide disaster relief, I have also thought about it. I also bought a piece of wasteland by the Wei River and tried to reclaim it. Land. Weichen thinks that as long as water conservancy projects can be built and the water from the Yellow River, Wei River and other river systems can be diverted ashore, the disaster situation can still be solved. However, because the drought has lasted for too long, most of the water in the big and small rivers has dried up. It’s kind of hard to bring it in.”

Oh, this is really the right person!
Nan Juyi even thought of this, and even practiced it himself, so there is no need to introduce the solution to the disaster in detail.

Taichang said straightforwardly: "I have already figured out a solution to this problem. You know the steam engine? I have ordered the Ministry of Industry to build thousands of sets of water wheels driven by steam engines. There is no problem in diverting the river water to the shore. You only need to think about how to let the people open up wasteland. Cultivate the land and be self-sufficient.”

And a waterwheel driven by a steam engine?

With this thing, it should be no problem to lead the river to the shore.

The problem is that it is really difficult to make the victims self-sufficient!
Nan Juyi thought for a while, then said carefully: "Your Majesty, most of the cultivated land in Shaanxi is along the Weihe River, and most of the fertile land along the Weihe River is under the name of Prince Qin's mansion. Well, now that King Qin has cut off the vassal and left the country, the land has returned to the state. With the household department under the name, can these lands be allocated to ordinary people for planting?"

Aren't these lands reserved for ordinary people to plant?

Taichang nodded without hesitation and said: "Yes, the eighteen vassal kings who cut their vassals and the ten vassal kings who did not cut their vassals have hundreds of millions of acres of land. You can distribute these to the common people first. However, this The land cannot be given for free, because people will be jealous of what is given for free, and it is impossible to distribute the hundreds of millions of acres of land to all the common people, so this land still has to be counted as money.”

It's really not appropriate to give in vain.

Don't give up things for free!
What's more, these days, we don't worry about scarcity, but about inequality. If you give something more or less to someone else, it will be a big deal.

No matter what basis you have.

If you can't give it in vain, you will naturally have to collect money.

Question, where did the disaster victims in the Northwest get the money at this moment?

Nan Juyi couldn't help wondering: "Your Majesty, there has been a severe drought in the Northwest for years, and the common people are almost unable to solve the problem. They have no money at all right now. Tell me, what should I do?"

This is easy to handle!
Taichang said without hesitation: "You know the installment payment, just let the common people pay back a little every year."

installment?

This Nan Juyi really didn't know.

A little more every year, but he understands it.

The problem is that the common people can't afford it!

Nan Juyi thought for a while, and then carefully estimated: "Your Majesty, because of the drought, the grain production in the Northwest is not high at the moment. Even if water trucks can be used to irrigate, the production of those lands will probably be halved. A stone of grain will reach the sky.

In other words, a family of five must plant at least 1000 to [-] mu of land to be self-sufficient, and the market price of [-] to [-] mu of land is nearly [-] taels of silver!
With so much silver, ordinary people would not be able to pay it back even in a few lifetimes! "

This is not a problem either.

Taichang said without hesitation: "Don't worry, the common people can afford it, as long as they grow sweet potatoes and potatoes."

Sweet potatoes and potatoes?
Nan Juyi was stunned again, because Xu Ji's sweet potatoes and potatoes were grown in Liaodong, and he had never been to Liaodong. Moreover, he was not familiar with Xu Ji, so how could he know about sweet potatoes and potatoes.

He couldn't help asking: "Your Majesty, what are sweet potatoes and potatoes?"

Taichang explained in detail: "The sweet potatoes and potatoes are new varieties introduced from Fanguo, and their yields are quite astonishing.

After Xu Ji improved the seedlings for several years in Liaodong, the yield per mu of sweet potatoes and potatoes has exceeded [-] jin.

According to what you said, the grain output in Northwest China will be halved due to successive years of severe drought, which is [-] catties per mu. That is to say, a family of five only needs to plant about ten mu of land. Of course, you Twenty acres of land can be allocated to them, and the sweet potatoes and potatoes grown in the remaining ten acres can be sold to pay off debts. "

My God, the yield per mu is three thousand catties!
What is this weird thing?
Nan Juyi couldn't help but asked curiously: "Forgive me, Your Majesty, I have never seen sweet potatoes and potatoes. Are these two things eaten?"

This seems to be impossible.

It doesn't matter though.

Taichang thought for a while, and then slowly said: "These two things are still different from ordinary food. Sweet potatoes are not bad for snacks, but potatoes are basically used for cooking. We can organize some water transport ships from Nanzhili transported a large amount of grain to the banks of the Yellow River to exchange for sweet potatoes and potatoes, and the people along the coast would eat sweet potatoes if they wanted to eat potatoes, potatoes if they wanted to eat potatoes, grain if they wanted to eat grain, whatever they wanted.”

And one last question.

Nan Juyi asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, are these sweet potatoes and potatoes worth much? How much grain can [-] catties of sweet potatoes and potatoes be exchanged for?"

This is not easy to say.

Rare things are expensive, and if there are too many of them, they may not be worth much.

However, at the beginning, everyone took a fresh picture, which should be more valuable.

Taichang estimated: "In the first few years, sweet potatoes, potatoes and grain should be roughly equivalent, that is, one catty for one catty. As long as we don't vigorously promote planting in the south, this price should be maintained for more than ten years."

that's enough.

Nan Juyi immediately cupped his hands and said without hesitation: "Your Majesty, as long as the waterwheels, sweet potatoes and potatoes you mentioned are sufficient, I will be able to solve the disaster in the Northwest."

it is good!
Taichang also said without hesitation: "Then you will temporarily serve as the governor of the three provinces, fully responsible for the military and civilian affairs of the three northwestern provinces, and do your best to relieve the disaster!

I have assigned two servants for you, one is Xu Ji, he can go to the northwest with you, and he is responsible for promoting the cultivation of sweet potatoes and potatoes.

The other is Chen Zilong. For the time being, he wants to stay in Qiongzhou Prefecture to plant rubber trees, so he won't go to the northwest with you.

I will assign you three more governors. Wen Zhenmeng, Ni Yuanlu and Huang Daozhou will serve as governors of Shaanxi, Shanxi and Henan respectively to help you with disaster relief.

In addition, you can apply directly to the household department for the money and food needed for disaster relief, and you can apply for as much as you think you need.

In short, we must do our best to resolve the disaster in the Northwest as soon as possible. "

Nan Juyi hurriedly cupped his hands and said: "I understand, thank you for your kindness!"

(End of this chapter)