Brother Zhu Youxiao

Chapter 555 Encourage Rebellion
"Pension silver?"

"Yes, His Royal Highness Qi newly promulgated the new policy, and there is also the bank's interest-free loan policy for the people of Shanxi, which can be borrowed from 100 to [-] taels."

On the 21st of the first lunar month, when Zhu Youjian's new policy was passed back to the capital, Bi Ziyan immediately found Zhu Youxiao.

At this moment, Zhu Youzheng was eating in Qianqing Palace. On his table, there were only fresh shrimps with pepper and vinegar, goose meat, steamed fresh fish, mutton crystal dumplings, three delicacies soup, fragrant rice, tea and other meals.

The configuration of four meat and one soup is not very high for his status as an emperor, it can only be said to be barely enough.

"How many disabled soldiers are still registered? How much compensation money will the court allocate each year?"

While eating, Zhu Youxiao asked Bi Ziyan. Bi Ziyan stood by the dining table, lowered his head and responded respectfully:

"The last count was the tenth year of Tianqi. There were about [-] disabled veterans who survived the three dynasties of Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi in that year. It should be lower now. After all, the Guochao did not experience too many major wars, only the third time. Many soldiers were injured and disabled during the Northern Expedition's sweep of captives."

"More than 9 people...not too many." Hearing this, Zhu Youxiao responded:
"Just follow King Qi's new policy, and the bank will do the same."

"Minister Zunzhi..." Seeing that Zhu Youxiao had no objection, Bi Ziyan didn't say anything, but soon Zhu Youxiao asked again:
"How many people's deposits are there in this bank?"

"About 3000 million taels, of which there are 4000 million taels of silver in the imperial store, and about 9000 million taels of common people."

Bi Ziyan's timely response made Zhu Youxiao nod his head to express his understanding. The reason why he asked was to know how much money the people in Shanxi would borrow.

According to the policy of my younger brother's northern per capita paddy field of four acres, at most 70 million people will be relocated from Shanxi, and this group of people will borrow at least 3000 million taels of silver, and at most they can borrow 700 million taels of silver.

Of course, it is impossible for a bank to borrow 100 taels of silver from everyone, and the loan policy is calculated on a per-account basis. There are at most three 70+ households for 10,000 million people.

"Okay, back off."

After getting the answer, Zhu Youxiao also asked Bi Ziyan to retire.

Seeing this, Bi Ziyan saluted honestly, then withdrew from the Qianqing Palace, and walked out of the Qianqing Palace gate with a lonely back.

Zhu Youxiao also ate and drank enough after he left, and returned to sit on the dragon chair in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

He still has more than 500 memorials that have not been processed, and there are more than 400 memorials every day.

He was dealing with the memorial, and Bi Ziyan also returned to the household department.

In the Ministry of Household Affairs, he discussed with Li Changgeng and Dong Yingju how to implement the new policy, and then formally issued a memorial.

After Zhu Youxiao briefly read it, he circled the red seal and stamped it. By dusk, the Ministry of Household Affairs had already begun to prepare for the New Deal, and issued documents to the chief secretaries of each province.

Just when they promulgated the new policy, Zhu Youjian also arrived at Fengzhou County (Hohhot) in Shuofang Prefecture, Shaanxi Province by train.

Fengzhou County, as the ancient place where China set up Yunzhong County during the Warring States Period, the Ming Army in the early Ming Dynasty stationed here for a long time, and Zhu Yuanzhang also set up Dongshengwei in Fengzhou County.

It wasn't until Zhu Dijing's death that the population in the north suffered another blow, and the population here was relocated to North Zhili.

But even so, there are still Ming troops stationed here, and the Ming troops here were not withdrawn until the restoration of Emperor Yingzong during the Jingtai period.

After the withdrawal of the Ming army, the Mongolian Tatars in the north began to frequently invade Hetao. However, because Emperor Chenghua continued to attack the Mongolian tribes trying to occupy Hetao, no tribe was willing to stay here for a long time.

It wasn't until the Jiajing period that the temperature in the world warmed up slightly, and Alda Khan of the Tumed Department brought people to settle here and established Guihua City.

Today, Guihua City has been demolished, and Dingxiang County, the prefecture of Shuofang Mansion, has been re-established. Fengzhou County in the north has also become a de facto inland city after Mobei was acquired by Daming.

The stability in the north has brought about population growth and stable production, and this is the same in Fengzhou County.

Since the fifth year of Tianqi, Shaanxi began to immigrate to various places on a large scale. As one of the few places with rich water resources, Hetao has become the first choice for Shaanxi immigrants.

The current Hetao is divided into Ningxia Mansion and Shuofang Mansion, while Ningxia Mansion supervises Ningxia in Xitao and Wuyuan in Houtao, while Shuofang Mansion manages Qiantao area alone.

As of the end of the twelfth lunar month in the 16th year of Tianqi, the number of Shaanxi people in Ningxia Prefecture reached more than 82, while the number of people in Shuofang Prefecture reached more than 130 million.

After 12 years of development, the arable land in the two prefectures has increased sharply, among which the arable land in Ningxia prefecture has reached 600 million mu, and that in Shuofang prefecture has reached 1000 million mu.

Since the tenth year of the apocalypse, the local area has been self-sufficient.

Thirteen years after the apocalypse, the annual land tax and grain in the local area was about 13 million shi, and it assumed the supply of stable grain for five prefectures including Yan'an, Qingyang, Pingliang, Gongchang, and Minzhou.

While this is very little, it is much better than historically producing nothing.

What's more, among the more than 400 million people in Shaanxi right now, there are less than 50 unproductive people living in the five prefectures. place of influence.

However, this is not to say that it is not affected at all, but that the impact is relatively small and does not affect life.

When Zhu Youjian came to Fengzhou County, he didn't tell everyone that he was coming with great fanfare. Instead, he wore ordinary clothes and took Zhu Cihong and his four little ones to the street together.

The scale of Fengzhou County is not large, the city wall is only one foot three feet high, and the circumference is only six miles.

But even so, there are still as many as 12 people living in the city, and 34 people living in the land under its jurisdiction.

The soil nutrient content in Fengzhou County is relatively low, so it is difficult to meet the needs of stable and high yields of various crops without fertilization, but even so, the local annual yield per mu can still average about eight buckets of rice.

The reason why Zhu Youjian came to Hetao first was because Zhu Ciran had never been to this place, and he wanted to see how the life of immigrants was going.

When he came to Fengzhou City, what he saw made him a little relieved.

The streets of Fengzhou City in this season are full of all kinds of people, most of them are doing business in the city and come to buy and sell things.

The streets here are not as ostentatious as those in Beijing and Jiangnan. Apart from some food stalls, there are some clothing stores, shoe and hat stores, blacksmith shops, and farm tool shops.

It can be said that Fengzhou City is not like a city at all, but like a large countryside.

There are almost no high-rise buildings with more than three floors in Fengzhou City. Even the "street market" that runs through the east and west is at most a two-story building with stalls in stores and rest on the second floor.

All the walls of the houses are made of adobe, the difference is that they are painted with white lime, and the roofs are made of cheap gray tiles.

The reason for this is mainly because the output of cement was not large ten years ago, and it could only be used for road construction, not for housing construction.

Even now, apart from provincial roads, government roads, county roads, and township roads, other places where cement can be used for construction must be approved by Zhu Youjian.

Therefore, most of the houses in this city are loess walls painted white.

Not just houses, but shops as well.

That's why Zhu Youjian said that this city was created for agriculture.

This can be seen from the fact that there are few shops and stalls such as flowers, tea shops, and theaters on the streets.

In Fengzhou City, the few entertainment stores for the common people are bookstores and various food stalls.

The cuisine of Shaanxi in the Ming Dynasty was quite different from that of later generations, but even so, Zhu Youjian could vaguely see some similarities.

Noodles due to geographical climate and soil restrictions are still engraved in the bones of Shaanxi people. The difference is that they could only eat rough noodles before, but now they can eat refined grains.

Snacks such as Liangpi, Roujiamo, Paomo, and oil cakes are placed on the street, as well as baked sweet potatoes, roasted potatoes, sugar balls, etc. They all have their own shops, rather than directly on the street.

The busy farming has not started yet, so many people in cotton clothes are walking on the street.

Their only characteristic is that they wear new clothes, and this is what Zhu Youjian is gratified about.

"Father, I want to eat this!"

"Father, I want to eat that!"

"father……"

Walking on the street, the four little ones stared at many Shaanxi snacks, and Zhu Youjian would ask them to buy them one by one.

He is not afraid of someone poisoning him, after all these shops have been secretly inspected by Jin Yiwei in advance, and no one will come to poison him stupidly.

On a sunny day, the cement paved road is not as comfortable to walk on as the dirt road, but it is easy to clean, so the entire Toyosu City looks very clean.

The streets are clean, and the people on the street are wearing new clothes. People don't say they are fat, but at least they have some flesh on their bodies, and they won't be as hungry and skinny as they were ten years ago.

"How do you sell this?"

"Three Wen, one bowl..."

The Shaanxi dialect coming from all around made Zhu Youjian feel friendly, but he didn't stay long, but went to the place where the residents lived after walking through the market.

The houses these residents lived in were also supervised by the Ministry of Industry. Like the shops in the market, they were made of loess bricks painted with white lime and gray tiles.

Compared with Zhangjiakou, the houses here are clean and tidy, the courtyard walls are seven feet high, and the wooden doors are painted with tree varnish.

Although he couldn't see what was going on inside, he knew that these people were not living a bad life when he heard the sound of cows, horses and mules from the alleys.

Zhu Youjian checked the life of the people in the city, and then he took the four cubs and went down to the outside of Fengzhou City under the escort of Jin Yiwei.

They found a small village, and after briefly notifying the village officials, they began to walk around the village.

As the Lantern Festival had just passed, there were some children setting off firecrackers around the village.

They wore new clothes, held firecrackers, and looked for all kinds of things that could show the power of firecrackers.

Puddles, cow dung, thin mud, mounds...

After they found all kinds of things, they put firecrackers on them, lit them with a stick of incense, and ran out happily.

With a "pop", the water in the pool was blown up, and the cow dung was blown away... A group of children clapped their hands and continued to search for the next target.

The behavior of these village children can make Zhu Youjian guess that the village is not bad, and the facts are just as he thought.

Although it is a rural area, the houses here are similar to those in Fengzhou City, with limestone white walls and gray tiles of loess adobe.

Zhu Youjian walked into the courtyard of some folk houses, which were divided into three rooms in the front yard and two rooms in the back yard.

The three rooms in the front yard are the main house and the side room, and the backyard is the hut, pigsty, and cowshed.

The twenty-square-meter side room is divided into two halves, one side is the kitchen for cooking, and the other side is the bedroom.

In the kitchen, the clay pots for oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea were more than half full, and the rice pot, which was enough to hold a year's grain, was also filled to the brim with rice, and there was a noodle pot of more than [-] kilograms beside it, which was also filled to the brim. It's full.

There are some smoked bacon hanging above the stove in the kitchen. Judging from the color of the meat, it is divided into old bacon and new bacon just hung on the new year.

There are seven or eight strips of old bacon, each weighing more than a dozen catties, while there are more new bacon, with a total of a dozen strips.

Just from the kitchen, Zhu Youjian had a general understanding of the living standards of the people in Fengzhou, but he still went to the backyard to have a look.

In the pigsty, two big white pigs and a dozen small white pigs were sleeping in the pigsty, grunting from time to time.

"Are these big white pigs issued by the court okay?"

Zhu Youjian looked sideways at the thirty-year-old man who was following him cautiously, and the man in the house also nodded desperately when he heard the words:
"Good! It grows a lot of meat. Although the meat is not as delicious as the Bamei pig, it grows big and the food is not pretentious. It can grow to 500 catties of meat after one and a half years. It grew to more than [-] catties."

This simple farmer used the best words he knew and could praise, and Zhu Youjian smiled when he heard this:
"Grow big, but also eat a lot, food consumption is also a lot?"

Although the Ming Dynasty used Indian Sidang rice as feed, those who could use the feed were basically the southwest and coastal areas. Northwest regions like Fengzhou had no chance to use the feed, and could only use rice bran as the feed.

"Some have a lot, but they also grow a lot of meat. As long as they can eat enough, sometimes they can gain a catty of meat every day."

"Selling this meat to butchers makes more money than selling grain directly."

The man smiled plainly, and Zhu Youjian nodded in approval.

He walked out of the pig house and saw the two cattle raised in captivity in the backyard: "How much land do you have at home? Can the two cattle grow it?"

"There are 26 acres of land, and there are six people in the family, who can plant it."

The man answered with a smile, and Zhu Youjian also nodded:
"Is the tax collected according to ten Fu?"

"It's one out of ten."

"Are all the people in the village the same as your family?"

"the same……"

The two asked and answered, and there were not many words for whitewashing. It was not until Zhu Youjian walked out of this family and looked at several other families that he finally believed the words of these people.

Just like in Zhangjiakou Town, he stayed for a light meal, and the food on the table was very different from that in Zhangjiakou Town.

A plate of fried chili fried bacon, a bowl of fried chicken offal, and a pot of stewed chicken. These three meat dishes plus fried Chinese cabbage and a bowl of tofu soup. This is the meal that the villagers made for Zhu Youjian and the six of them. .

"Do you usually eat like this?" Zhu Youjian asked the dozens of villagers crowded at the door with a smile.

"Just eat like this!" They responded loudly, but Zhu Youjian smiled and shook his head and said:
"Although you say so, you must not be willing to eat such a good meal on weekdays."

"Be honest, don't be afraid of the village official talking about you, if he dares to talk about you, I will deal with him."

As soon as Zhu Youjian said this, the village official next to him quickly explained to the villagers: "To be honest, if you hide it, you will kill me."

"..." The words of the village official and Zhu Youjian caused the villagers to look at each other in blank dismay. In the end, the man who was the first to be seen by Zhu Youjian said:

"It's really not that rich. This smoked bacon, we can only eat one meal in seven or eight days."

"It's like an old hen, which can only be eaten by sick people, and it is kept to lay eggs on weekdays."

"Normally, it's eggs scrambled with tomatoes and leeks, served with two soups."

Scrambled eggs, this is the only meat dish that people in Hetao can eat constantly on weekdays, such as stewed chicken and bacon, these are only for entertaining distinguished guests, and they are rarely eaten occasionally.

As soon as the man said what he said, the other villagers also started to chatter, and Zhu Youjian also looked at the village official who had been wiping his sweat after listening:
"Don't be afraid and worry, you have to listen to what the people say. Besides, the people here also eat well, so why are you guilty?"

"Student... student..." The village official didn't know what to say for a while, but Zhu Youjian patted him and told him to continue eating, don't be nervous.

It was himself, after patting the village official, he said to the crowd of people at the gate: "How is your life now compared to when you were in the pass?"

"That's incomparable!"

"Incomparable!"

"We didn't even have enough to eat before, but now we are fine."

"In the past, it was a life that only country gentlemen could live."

"very good already……"

The common people talked in a hurry, and Zhu Youjian kept smiling and listening. After they finished speaking, Zhu Youjian said:
"The imperial court will work hard in the future. When the trains in other places are repaired, even in winter, Toyosu will be able to eat fresh fruits and vegetables."

"There are still millions of acres of land in Fengzhou waiting for you to reclaim. How much you can reclaim is up to you. The more you reclaim, the more days you can eat meat every day..."

"Your Highness! The imperial court will not increase taxes!"

"who said it?!"

Before Zhu Youjian finished speaking, someone in the crowd yelled loudly, which made the village official feel that his blood was cold for a moment, and hurriedly yelled loudly.

But for this, Zhu Youjian raised his hand to stop him, and turned to look at the villagers at the door.

It seemed that the village official's scolding made the villagers realize that they had said something wrong, and they all lowered their heads when facing Zhu Youjian's gaze.

"This question is nothing, why can't it be asked?" Zhu Youjian asked the villagers.

Yeah, why not ask?Some villagers raised their heads, but quickly lowered them again.

It's not that this question cannot be asked, but that it cannot be asked by them, they are just common people.

"The taxation of the imperial court has never been constant..."

Zhu Youjian began to answer this question, but he was as tactful as possible: "Now that the imperial court is rich, the land tax can be reduced to one ten. If the imperial court becomes richer in the future, the land tax may be exempted."

"It's just that if the court runs out of money, it will naturally increase taxes at that time."

"Tax increases and tax cuts are normal, but this increase or decrease cannot affect your food problems."

"For example, if the northern captives come here now, the court will have no money, and the soldiers in the north will have no military pay. At this time, the court will increase the land tax of three catties of rice per mu to each of your families. What do you think?"

"Pay it...three catties per mu is not too much." Some villagers replied, after all, they have experienced the situation of paying twenty or thirty catties per mu.

"What if it's ten catties?" Zhu Youjian asked again, and at this time the common people hesitated.

"What if it's thirty catties?" Zhu Youjian asked again, and this time the villagers all lowered their heads.

"Thirty catties per mu, ten mu is three hundred catties. According to the situation in Fengzhou, ten mu is only more than 200 catties of rice."

"Let you take out a quarter of the grain and hand it over to the imperial court. This will affect your life, right?"

"..." The villagers did not dare to answer, Zhu Youjian also took the opportunity to say:

"If the imperial court asks you to hand over a quarter, or even a third, or a half of your rations, then you don't have to worry about it, just rebel."

Zhu Youjian's words were astonishing, causing all the people to raise their heads, and the village official and Lu Yuangao next to him were also taken aback.

"You are the subjects of the emperor, the subjects of the Ming Dynasty. If the subjects are unable to eat, then it is a problem for the imperial court and the emperor."

"I thought it was a good job in the civil uprising in Shaanxi back then."

"The folks say that children who don't cry don't have milk, and you are actually the same."

"If it wasn't for the civil uprising in Shaanxi, how would the imperial court know that the officials in Shaanxi were so greedy that they exploited your rations?"

"If you are wronged, you should sue the officials. If the village officials have problems, you can go to the town officials. If the town officials can't solve it, you can go to the county magistrate. If the county magistrate can't solve it, you can go to the magistrate, the chief envoy, and the capital."

"If you are honest, the corrupt officials in that place will exploit you even harder. If you become tough, they will not dare to bully you."

Zhu Youjian talked eloquently, but these words made the villagers swallow their mouths.

They had never heard of an official who would teach them how to rebel, and most importantly, when Zhu Youjian finished speaking, he turned to the officials behind him and said:

"Write down all these things and report them in Da Ming Pao."

"This... This... Your Highness... Is this not very good?" The official was sweating coldly at Zhu Youjian's order, but Zhu Youjian asked:
"If you don't even dare to listen to the needs of the people, and don't even know why the people are rebelling, then what's the point of such a court?"

"If the Ming Dynasty became full of corrupt officials, and the emperor only knew how to enjoy the blessings, only knew how to extort money, regardless of the life and death of the people, then even if such a Ming Dynasty was overthrown, it would not be a pity."

"Emperor Taizu Gao made tenants and landlords equal, so why can't officials become equal to common people?"

"The imperial court is supported by the people. If the imperial court cannot make the people's life better, then the imperial court should review itself."

"If the court can't even solve the problem of food and clothing for the people, then the people should overthrow the court. That's what I want to say."

"Only when the common people speak out their voices, let the emperor and the princes of the court hear them, and solve the problem, the Ming Dynasty can continue unceasingly."

"It is said that the dynasty has no national destiny for 300 years, but now my Ming Dynasty has been established for 260 years."

"The Song Dynasty and the Han Dynasty have long been destroyed by this time, and the Tang Dynasty has already faded away, but my Ming Dynasty is still there."

"If you don't innovate, don't admit your mistakes, and don't give the people a way to live, how long can the country last even if it is prosperous now?"

"After the prosperity of Kaiyuan, there was the Anshi Rebellion. If you want to avoid the prosperity and decline, you need to introspect our country three times a day."

"All these words were published in the "Da Ming Pao". Since Gu dared to speak out, he would not be afraid that some people would take the opportunity to make trouble."

Zhu Youjian stared straight at the official responsible for the record. Under his pressure, the official could only record what he said in the next issue of "Da Ming Pao".

This scene was seen by Lu Yuangao, and the image of King Qi in his heart became fuller.

It's just that Lu Yuangao is extremely self-interested. The things Zhu Youjian said are good for the common people, but for people with his status and family, they don't have much benefit.

But even so, Lu Yuangao still admired Zhu Youjian from the bottom of his heart. At least in this era, in terms of his identity and status, these words were the least likely to come out of his mouth.

Yet he not only said it, but said it bolder than one would think.

Today's words will definitely be recorded in the annals of history, but it is impossible to know whether they are commendatory or derogatory.

At least from the perspective of someone like Lu Yuangao, his words are not conducive to the rule of the court...

(End of this chapter)