I want to be emperor

Chapter 942 Wang Tu’s confidence and ambition
The Spring Festival state banquet has been held in the Chu Empire for 40 years, and a complete set of process rules has long been formed.

Before the official state banquet was held, ministers, dignitaries, and outstanding civilians first worshiped in the Chengtian Palace, and the Minister of Rites and Education, as the representative of the officials, presented a congratulatory message to the emperor to see off the old and usher in the new. It was said to be a congratulatory message, but it was better to say that it was a congratulatory message. Summarize the work of the past year and look forward to the main work for next year.

Therefore, this congratulatory message is just a congratulatory message, but it is actually a work report with a very strong political meaning.
The main purpose is to tell the world what the empire officials have done in the past year, what achievements they have made, and what they plan to do and achieve in the next year.

This congratulatory message will be published in full in the next issue of Da Chu Chao Bao!

After the Minister of Etiquette and Etiquette delivered his congratulatory message, the other ministers reported their respective areas of responsibility to the emperor with relevant congratulatory messages... The nature was similar to the general congratulatory report of the Council of Ministers, but it was limited to the scope of their respective work.

When the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry issued a congratulatory report, he mentioned two very key data.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the per capita grain consumption level of the Chu Empire in the 40 years of Chengshun has reached a record high of 380 kilograms, only [-] kilograms away from the [-] kilogram mark!

The growth rate of per capita grain in the Chu Empire was actually not very fast in the past ten years. In the Chengshun decade, the per capita grain level in the Chu Empire had already reached the level of 20 kilograms. In the 350s It reached a level of about [-] kilograms.

After entering the 30s, it reached a level of more than 360, but it lingered at the level of 360 to 370 kilograms for many years.

It was only in the past two years that with the import of a large amount of overseas grain, the per capita grain level of the Chu Empire finally broke the 370 kilogram mark, and increased to 380 kilograms this year.

This achievement is mainly due to large-scale and effective overseas expansion, as well as the continuous development of cultivated land in Northeast China, Monan and other regions.

When the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry delivered a congratulatory message, he even boldly proposed that next year’s goal is to reach 390 kilograms of food per capita and move towards the major milestone of 390 kilograms. As the saying goes, strive for [-] kilograms and guarantee a minimum of [-] kilograms. Five kilograms.

Even though the difference is only a few kilograms, it seems very easy.

In fact, this is not the case at all. The Chu Empire has a population of more than 6 million. Ten kilograms more per capita means 60 billion kilograms of grain, which is 600 million tons...

What is the concept of so much grain?
If all this food needs to be imported from overseas and transported using the existing large cargo ships with a carrying capacity of [-] tons in the Chu Empire, then [-] ships will be needed!
After seeing these huge numbers, we can understand why the Chu Empire's industry and commerce has developed rapidly in the past 40 years. Ships, railways, breech-loaded rifled guns have all been built, and factories in Songjiang are everywhere. However, the growth of per capita grain is extremely difficult. It took more than [-] years to increase the level of just a few dozen kilograms.

For a country with a large population, any data related to per capita may seem small, but in fact it is an extremely huge number. This also makes it necessary to increase the per capita level, but the total amount required is extremely huge. of.

This is also the reason why the data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry are detailed to the decimal point.

In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry also said a very important data, that is, the per capita meat consumption level in Chengshun over the past 40 years has reached [-] kilograms.

This is also a very critical data, because according to the analysis and inference of researchers who have conducted long-term follow-up studies, people's per capita meat consumption level must reach [-] kilograms in order to achieve the level of fullness and good eating.

Although the current level of [-] kilograms is still quite far away from [-] kilograms, this data is actually growing relatively quickly.

You must know that in the early period of the imperial dynasty, about ten years before Chengshun, according to the data obtained from the original small-scale research and analysis, the empire's per capita meat consumption level was only two kilograms... which was simply appalling.

The following ten years were not so good either, only at the level of three or four kilograms.

It was better in the 20s and early 30s, but it has been hovering at the level of five or six kilograms for a long time.

However, the growth rate in the past ten years has been very fast. In 38, it had increased to the level of eight kilograms. Two years later, it has soared to [-] kilograms.

And with the continued development and progress of refrigerated transportation and storage, meat from the west, north, and overseas areas will be supplied on a large scale to the densely populated areas of Jiangnan, Central Plains and other eighteen provinces in Guanhai, which will further increase the supply of meat.

In addition, with the large-scale import of auxiliary grains such as corn and soybeans from the Americas in addition to wheat, rice and other staple grains, these auxiliary grains can also be processed into feed in the local area, further promoting the development of the breeding industry, and there will definitely be more meat supply.

In the future, the empire's meat supply will show explosive growth, reaching a level of [-] kilograms per capita within three to five years.

This time schedule is generally in line with the growth rate of the empire's overall food supply.

Why did the empire set the key point of per capita food consumption at [-] kilograms?Just because people have a limit to their food intake, when the average per capita reaches [-] kilograms, people's consumption of staple foods will not increase much, but they will begin to increase their consumption of meat, poultry, eggs, and even fruits and vegetables.

After having a full meal, I naturally wanted to eat better.

Therefore, if nothing unexpected happens, after the empire's per capita grain consumption reaches [-] kilograms, its growth rate will slow down, or even stabilize at this level for a long time.

But why should we still increase food production and expand food supply?
Because not only people eat food, but all kinds of livestock, chickens, ducks, pigs and even horses also need to consume various types of food. After these animals consume food, they will become meat for people's consumption.

This is why the empire's meat supply has increased significantly in recent years, and is getting higher and higher.

There is no special reason, just one: more food supply!

These two key situations proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry made Luo Zhixue smile. Although he had read relevant reports before and knew that these two data had grown very beautifully, now that they have been officially announced, Luo Zhixue is still very happy. .

As the various ministers came one after another with a report called a congratulatory message, which was actually a simple work briefing, Luo Zhixue spoke in person, mainly praising the departments and ministers who had made achievements, and encouraging them to do better in the future. .

There is no criticism of some departments whose performance is not outstanding.

After all, today is the Spring Festival state banquet, and the overall atmosphere is to be cheerful, typically reporting good news but not bad news.

This is also Luo Zhixue's consistent work attitude, which is to talk about good things and publicize them widely.

As for the bad thing, Luo Zhixue will demote the relevant person in charge, exile him overseas, and dismiss him from his post, but he will not publicize it publicly, let alone criticize it publicly in such an important political occasion...

Don't think that this kind of criticism in public is a good thing. To put it more seriously, this kind of criticism actually tells the world: come and see, all the princes in the court are a bunch of trash!
Think about it again, that is: Luo Zhixue is a waste!

So bad things can be dealt with privately, there is no need to talk about them.

This is why the people of the empire see all kinds of good things when they read the Chu Dynasty Newspaper, and there are almost no serious negative reports.

It's not that there are no negative things, nor that they haven't been dealt with, it's just that they didn't choose to report them publicly... In the Chu Empire, a group of high-ranking officials who committed crimes hanged themselves or drank poisoned wine and died every year... It's just that ordinary people didn't know it. .

Well, the Chu Empire rarely publicly executed or sentenced high-ranking officials who committed crimes. They basically let the offenders show their dignity... If you don't want to show your dignity, then someone will help you show your dignity.

Then the relevant news will be published in the internal Di newspaper... so that the officials can take a warning.

But it will basically not be published in the public-facing newspapers.

After all, the reputation of the empire's central institutions and important ministers still needs to be maintained... Otherwise, when the people see the empire's senior officials, their first reaction is: This bastard is either a corrupt official or a waste!

Do we still need the authority of the imperial center?

Of course, the so-called making officials decent and dealing with them privately is only limited to high-ranking officials... The empire protects the reputation of the center and high-ranking officials, but for middle- and low-ranking officials, it will not hide it, and sometimes make it public The report of how many corrupt officials were killed can also tell everyone about the imperial center's uncompromising attitude towards officials who committed crimes, gain a wave of public support, and then subtly strengthen a concept: the perpetrators are all low-level, middle and low-level officials, and the high-ranking officials of the empire are all loyal and patriotic. There are good officials, so if the people have any grudges, just blame the middle and low-level officials. Don't blame the imperial center.And going one step further, a concept will be extended, that is, no matter what bad things happened, it was all done by those ministers who deceived His Majesty, and Your Majesty is innocent!
In a sense, many of the starting points for these series of public opinion guidance phalanxes created by the Chaoyang Newspaper Department of the Ministry of Ethnic Education are to safeguard imperial power.

Under such a general environment, it is natural that there would be no discordant sounds at the Spring Festival State Banquet at the Chengtian Palace. It was all about singing praises.

After the court meeting in Chengtian Palace ended, it was almost noon, and the ministers began to sit down one after another for the official state banquet.

During the banquet, there is not that much political significance. There is no long speech, it is just eating and drinking... However, in this kind of occasion, few people really come to eat and drink.

Besides, for such a formal and large-scale state banquet, all the dishes are very delicate and very complicated and time-consuming to prepare.

Therefore, many dishes were prepared in advance by the imperial dining room yesterday, and were either frozen and stored until they were heated and served, or warmed until they were served... Anyway, don't expect fresh dishes just out of the pot.

Moreover, the weather is cold, so the food will get cold very quickly, and the people attending the state banquet are all respectable people, and they don’t know how to devour them in such an occasion. If you eat a little slower, you will find that the food is cold...

Therefore, the Spring Festival state banquet... was not a good meal for the powerful and senior officials attending the state banquet.

To put it bluntly, the food at this state banquet tastes worse than the daily food at home!

But at this time of year, there are still countless people looking forward to the stars and the moon, waiting for the royal invitation to attend the Spring Festival state banquet.

Of course, the food eaten by the ministers was overnight food, which does not mean that the heavyweights such as Luo Zhixue and the counselors also ate overnight food.

They all ate meals freshly prepared by top chefs. They all looked the same, but tasted different.

After drinking and eating, Luo Zhixue left first as usual... After Luo Zhixue left, you could see that many people breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed... It was probably similar to the feeling of getting off work.

Some were not full and some were hungry, so they quickly took a few bites before leaving.

Some people also start looking for other people to start chatting with each other and have a few simple words.

Then small groups began to move towards the outside of the palace.

At the same time, Queen Wang also ended the banquet at a certain point, allowing the ladies of Haoming to leave...

In this way, this year's Spring Festival state banquet is also over.

In the afternoon, as usual in previous years, Luo Zhixue returned to the harem to accompany the Queen and the other concubines. The children watched a play, and then in the evening the whole family had a New Year's Eve dinner together.

Early the next morning, Luo Zhixue took a group of important ministers to the Temple of Heaven to worship the heaven. This was an old traditional program, nothing special. After the sacrifice to the heaven, Luo Zhixue officially entered the holiday state...

However, although other important ministers can nominally take vacations, once they reach a certain level of officialdom, they basically don't expect to have vacations.

During this Chinese New Year period, those who are on duty and those who are not on duty have to go to the subordinate departments to offer condolences, etc.

The same is true for Wang Tu. As the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, he is also a person who does not have many holidays.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, I accompanied the emperor to worship heaven. Starting at noon, I personally went to the residences of several ministers and co-organizers with whom I had contacts, delivering gifts and postings.

Even though in fact these counselors and co-organizing ministers were all busier than him and were not in their respective mansions at all, Wang Tu still had to go there.

After all, if you go, you are bound to not see anyone, and you won’t get any benefits, but if you don’t go, then they might frown, or they might give you a favor one day when something happens. stumbling block.

Therefore, this kind of New Year's exchanges does not rely on building relationships, but on not offending others.

However, with Wang Tu's current status and his connections in the court, there were not many people who needed to visit in person, so it was enough to rush down here in an afternoon.

When he returned home in the evening, he also took over from the housekeeper a list of officials who came to visit him today and a gift list... He needed to visit his superior, and the officials from the Ministry of Industry under him naturally had to come to visit him, even if Obviously knowing that he can't be at home.

After a brief glance, most of the people who were supposed to come were here, and the gifts were ordinary. There was nothing to pay attention to, so I ordered the butler to send someone back to return the gifts appropriately.

That night, after Wang Tu had dinner with his family, Wang Tu started his special Spring Festival holiday early the next morning.

On the second day of the Lunar New Year, Wang Tu, as the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, led a team to Songjiang Prefecture to send New Year condolences to several important enterprises directly under the Ministry of Industry in Songjiang Prefecture who stayed at their jobs during the New Year holiday.

In addition to Wang Tu, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Industry also set out eastward to visit several industrial areas in the north of the Yangtze River and even in the north to visit employees of key enterprises directly under the Ministry of Industry.

The Ministry of Industry of the Dachu Empire has developed into a very large government-owned capital group company. The departments under the Ministry of Industry are actually equivalent to a business department in the group company. Each department manages a large number of related industries. Enterprises directly under the Ministry of Industry.

Wang Tu, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, is roughly equivalent to the vice president of the group company. He is mainly in charge of light industry, finance, agriculture, forestry, fishery, people's livelihood facilities and other businesses. It seems that there are many, but in fact, there are many enterprises directly under the Ministry of Industry. Eight out of ten companies are typical heavy industry companies, concentrated in the three major fields of mining, manufacturing, and transportation.

Therefore, the power of Wang Tu, the right minister of the Ministry of Industry, is only average... But who told him that he had only been in office for more than a month. Naturally, when he first came to the Ministry of Industry, he could only start with the scrap business, familiarize himself with the business first, and then get involved in the core business later. mining, manufacturing and transportation sectors.

But Wang Tu is confident and ambitious. In the past few years during the transition of the Ministry of Industry, he will not be satisfied with making small fuss. He is bound to make some achievements and set a good example for the governor when he is transferred to other places in a few years. Foundation.

After all, they are both overseas governors... but the differences between the governors are huge. The governors of the overseas territories are also second-level governors, such as the governors of Africa, while the local governors of Jiangnan and Guangdong are also governors... But Jiangnan and Guangdong and Guangdong are important industrial and wealth centers. It is no surprise that the governors of these two places will enter the Council of Ministers after their term of office is over.

But Governor of Africa?Not many people know who he is...

Although the governors of overseas regions are of high rank, they are actually not even among the top three hundred in the ranking of civil power in the empire...

Overseas governors either failed in political battles and were kicked out of the capital. For example, the current governor of India, who was previously the right minister of the Jiangbei Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, not only failed when he ran for the governor of Shandong, but was also caught in a pigtail by his opponent. In the end, he was kicked to India and became a governor... There was basically no hope of returning to his homeland to serve in this life.

There is another type of governors in overseas regions who want to go overseas to try their luck in order to cross the threshold of the second rank. After reaching the second rank, they plan to return to their homeland to serve as the right minister of a disadvantaged department... But this has to be done by people with connections. Otherwise, if you go overseas, you may not be able to come back... Even if you come back, you will be given a false title and taken a back seat.

These situations are not just a phenomenon among overseas governors, but are actually a common situation among middle- and high-level officials serving in many overseas regions.

To be honest, few middle- and high-level officials are willing to serve overseas as long as they can survive at home.

The overseas territories and colonies in the early years were not a good place for Chu officials. It did not mean that the living conditions were difficult... In fact, there were many poor places in the empire, and the conditions were also very difficult.

The point is that overseas areas are too far away from the mainland... In today's era where information transmission is slow, once you go overseas, the exchange of information will take several months!

If the emperor dies in Jinling City one day, they will not know about it until several months later. How can they survive under such circumstances?

When the time comes, even if you want to eat shit, you won’t be able to keep up with the heat!
(End of this chapter)