Ming Zuo

Chapter 1598 Food
"What do you think of this report?"

The three giants in the Northwest jointly wrote the letter, and the influence can be imagined.

The center attached great importance to it, and Zuo Menggeng personally presided over the joint meeting.

"Extremely daring."

Hou Xun gave an evaluation, but with a smile on his face.

"We wanted to separate Shaanxi and Gansu, but we didn't expect Xu Erdou to focus on Qinghai again."

Dang Huanchun smiled wryly again and again.

Since the Ming Dynasty, Shaanxi and Gansu have been connected as one, and it is also an important place to control the Northwest.

However, in order to check and balance, the empire will establish a province in each of the two places, and at the same time, it also has the idea of ​​letting the local government settle down more.

We must know that since ancient times, officials of all dynasties have been floating above, and it is almost difficult to take root in the grassroots.

However, in order to achieve the effect of governance, the regime must be downward.

If the area under your jurisdiction is too large and the energy at the top is scattered, it will be difficult to concentrate on working downward.

Unexpectedly, Gansu is facing too many difficulties and must rely on external support.

"Even if Qinghai is handed over to Gansu, it will be difficult to solve the problem of survival. After all, the conditions in these places are too bad to be developed."

For Xu Erdou's request, the center was not too embarrassed.

Qinghai is not merged into Gansu, and it does not affect the overall situation.Instead, it was the local conditions that made the center scratch its head.

Of course Zuo Menggeng understood what was going on in the Northwest.

Not to mention the present, even with the advanced science and technology in the future, the Northwest lags far behind other places.

This is not a situation that can be changed in a short period of time.

"A grain of grain is hard for a hero. Say a thousand, say ten thousand, without grain, there will be no future in the Northwest. And there is no way to solve it on their own."

He narrowed the scope of the topic and focused on the food field.

This is also very recognized by everyone.

As long as the food supply problem in the Northwest can be solved, the long-term peace and stability in the Northwest can be realized.

We must know that the peasant uprising in the late Ming Dynasty that just passed was caused by the lack of food due to natural and man-made disasters.

As long as the people have enough to eat, who will rebel?

But when it comes to the issue of food, everyone frowns tightly, feeling helpless.

"The road to the northwest is far away and the territory is vast. It would cost too much to transport food by land."

Chen Zhi explained the difficulties.

"If the Northwest can build a railway, it can solve this problem."

Wei Zihua is whimsical, but everyone knows that it will be difficult to build the railway to the northwest in at least 20 years.

Zuo Menggeng was thinking of ways while studying the map.

"I think we've all fallen into a misunderstanding."

He brought back everyone's thoughts and approached the Northwest issue from a completely different angle.

"It is recognized that there is a shortage of food in the Northwest at present. When the army enters the Western Regions, the food and grass needed is astronomical. In addition, it has to supply the local people, so it becomes a burden. But what if the local population is reduced?"

Everyone was taken aback for a moment, and then suddenly realized.

For a long time, the empire has been focusing on foreign immigration to relieve the pressure on the mainland.

It's just that in recent years, immigration has caused labor shortages in various places. Some economically developed areas, such as Shandong and Jiangnan, have become large households to absorb the population.

In addition, the population in the Northeast, Southeast Asia, and the New World has begun to multiply and the number has increased, so the intensity of immigration has dropped.

As a result, when encountering the problem in the Northwest, everyone did not turn around for a while, and even ignored this method.

However, everyone has another opinion on whether immigrants are needed in the Northwest.

Wang Yun said cautiously: "After years of wars and disasters in the northwest region, the population is not large. In addition to the burden of restoring the ecology, the current population may not be enough. If they emigrate again, they will Won’t it leave the region empty and the process slow?”

Another headache.

There was a moment of silence at the meeting.

Even Zuo Menggeng was stumped.

After all, the current situation is something he has never seen before, and there is no ready-made experience to learn from how to solve it.

But such a meeting has an advantage, that is, it can brainstorm ideas.

Mr. Wang Xiangjin, an environmental adviser to the Legislative Council, rarely spoke.

"The environmental problems in Northwest China cannot be solved in one go. This is a long-term project. As long as we understand this, we can minimize the difficulty."

Zuo Menggeng cheered up.

"Kang Yugong, what's your opinion?"

Wang Xiangjin stood up, walked to the map, and explained it with examples.

"When it comes to environmental issues in the Northwest, we only focus on the Yellow River and the desert. But as far as the Yellow River is concerned, if this large river is to be completely treated, it will not take a hundred years of work. If this is the case, why not expand and grasp the small ones, and start with What about the tributaries of the Yellow River?"

He also uses the analogy of medicine.

"The Yellow River is like the main artery, with surging water volume and a vast area. The cost of treatment is astronomical. Although its tributaries look inconspicuous, they are also the main source of sediment. In this way, we can Focus on these tributaries from the entire Northwest land, taking the river as the vein. If these small and medium-sized rivers are improved one by one, will it also reduce the difficulty of governing the Yellow River?"

Everyone's heart fluttered and they were inspired at the same time.

Wang Yun was overwhelmed.

"This has another advantage, that is, the human input is greatly reduced. In other words, environmental governance in the Northwest region no longer requires so many people."

He also went to the map and marked the small and medium-sized rivers in the northwest region one by one with a pen.

Let everyone see clearly at once.

Take Shaanxi as an example. After removing the Yellow River, the area that needs to be invested in governance has been reduced by more than three-quarters.

The Wei River, Jing River, Luo River, Yan River, Wuding River, and some smaller rivers are all sources of water for the Yellow River.

Just like what Wang Xiangjin said, if efforts are concentrated to control these rivers, the amount of sediment brought into the Yellow River from the northern Shaanxi plateau will definitely be greatly reduced.

Shanxi and Gansu adopted the same method, and the problem of the Yellow River was easily solved.

After all, after the source of the sediment is controlled, the banks of the Yellow River will be consolidated, and it seems that the Yellow River will become clear just around the corner.

The mind was opened, the meeting was silent, and everyone joined in to offer advice and suggestions, and gradually formed a unified opinion.

The final decision was to immigrate from the northwest, environmental governance should start with various small and medium-sized rivers, and at the same time, vigorously transport food to the northwest.

"If the waterway of the Sanmenxia section of the Yellow River can be dredged so that ships can enter Guanzhong through the Wei River, the cost of transporting grain will be greatly reduced."

Now there is one last question left.

That is how to transport food to the Northwest.

(Not today!)
(End of this chapter)