I, the Ming Dynasty, can still save me

Chapter 477 Reserve Granary
Most of the Ming Dynasty was in the Little Ice Age, which was rare in history.

During this period, extremely cold temperatures gradually intensified, leading to a sudden drop in grain production. Almost all parts of the country in the Ming Dynasty were hit by disasters year after year.

Zhu Youxiao had read a research paper in his previous life, indicating that in the 276-year history of the dynasty, there had been 1101 disasters, which on average was equivalent to at least three times a year.

This ratio is not too high. What’s even more deceiving is that during the 17 years of Chongzhen’s reign, natural disasters such as drought occurred with the highest frequency. Natural disasters and droughts occurred almost every year, which really made the Ming court unable to bear it.

The most serious one was the severe drought in the 17th to [-]th years of Chongzhen, which was accompanied by plague and so on, and finally collapsed the Ming Dynasty.

But when Emperor Chongzhen hanged himself, Li Zicheng conquered Beijing, and the Manchus settled in the Central Plains in the second year, the drought actually disappeared, and everything went smoothly in the following years.

Zhu Youxiao felt a pang of regret every time he thought of this. His younger brother Chongzhen really fell in the night before dawn. If he could carry on for a few more years, he might be able to survive.

Therefore, he was still a little afraid of the big natural disasters in the future, and he had already made up his mind to be fully prepared.Immigration is one method, and preparing for famine is the second method.

Ye Xianggao saw the emperor and asked, he sorted out his thoughts for a while, and then slowly expressed his opinions.

"Your Majesty, as the saying goes, no matter how the court prepares for famines, the most important thing is to have surplus food to relieve the victims. Therefore, Wei Chen suggested that the court should reset the reserve warehouse, promote new crops, and strictly evaluate officials. So Only with three strategies and two measures can we better make up for the losses caused by natural disasters."

Zhu Youxiao naturally understood the meaning of these three suggestions, but only the promotion of new crops sounded innovative.

The rest all sound like clichés, but I don’t know if they can be implemented in place.

"Resetting reserve warehouses and stricter official assessments are clichés. Emperors Sejong and Shenzong have done this before, but in the end they left it alone. Now the cabinet has raised it again, how to ensure that it will not become a waste of time in the future. What’s the situation?”

Listening to the emperor's inquiry, Xu Guangqi and others present also nodded silently.

This is an old problem in Ming Dynasty officialdom. If many policies cannot be fully implemented from top to bottom, then it will be easy for the lower-level officials to let them go and ignore them.

However, since Ye Xianggao dared to speak out, he naturally thought of this problem. He immediately looked at Zhao Nanxing, the Minister of Household Affairs, and then turned to Zhu Youxiao and said solemnly:
"Your Majesty, since the cabinet has said it, it can definitely be guaranteed. This method must be a two-pronged approach. I also said just now that the reason why these measures have not been successfully implemented before is because the rewards and punishments are unreasonable.

If the imperial court could include the establishment of reserve warehouses and the amount of surplus grain in external inspections, they would strictly assess them during their tenure, and those who excel would be promoted, while those who failed would be dismissed or punished.Even those who leave office must be inspected. For example, if the amount is met, they can be allowed to leave. Such a two-pronged approach will definitely greatly increase the enthusiasm of local officials. "

Listening to Ye Xianggao's words, Zhu Youxiao shook his head secretly, not quite agreeing with his remarks.This kind of thing is easier said than done. If it is really implemented, whether it is the identification of the authenticity of the warehouse amount or the reward and punishment of officials, it is extremely troublesome and cannot be done by ordinary people.

But before Ye Xianggao finished speaking, he continued:
"Your Majesty, although these assessment mechanisms may seem like a cliché, they are indispensable. Of course, the more important thing is to strictly assess and not engage in malpractice for personal gain. I suggest that Zhao Nanxing, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and Wei Dazhong, the supervisory censor, be responsible for this.

Especially Wei Dazhong, at the beginning of a few years, he was ordered by the emperor to inspect the prefectures and counties of Southern Zhili, and cooperated with Bi Zi, the governor of Southern Zhili, to severely punish corruption and recover arrears.Even Bi Ziyan wrote a letter to praise his upright character. If he were transferred to the household department to be responsible for the assessment of this matter, and with Zhao Nanxing supervising him, the officials below would be warned and would not dare to fool around. "

Listening to Ye Xianggao's words, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but think about it secretly. If he talked about other people, Zhu Youxiao would definitely be worried, but Ye Xianggao recommended Wei Dazhong to take charge of the matter. Zhu Youxiao was absolutely trustworthy. .He had heard from Ye Xianggao before that he was an honest official. Whenever he went on missions, he dressed lightly and never accepted bribes. Not only did he not accept bribes himself, he also repeatedly impeached others to the court for corruption and accepting bribes. This matter Everyone in the court knew it and thought he was an alien.

At the same time, he was not afraid of the powerful, spoke out and asked for orders for the people. When he was an official in Jiaxing, the people in Jiaxing praised him a lot, and everyone in Nanzhili knew it.

Afterwards, he followed the cabinet's advice and appointed him as the censor of Southern Zhili to deal with and punish the gentry who violated the law.Unexpectedly, when he went to patrol southern Zhili, just like Haigangfeng went to patrol Yingtian, the gentry were afraid of him like a tiger, but they had no choice but to bow their heads and obey orders without daring to complain.

Therefore, Zhu Youxiao would be very relieved if he was appointed to take charge of this matter, not to mention that there was Zhao Nanxing, the Minister of Civil Service, behind him.Zhao Nanxing's character is similar to that of Wei Dazhong. He is upright and hates evil as much as he hates evil. The two work well together.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Zhao Nanxing and said slowly:

"Zhao Aiqing, now Ye Xianggao is going to entrust you with this important task. I wonder if you are confident that you can do this well?"

After hearing this, Zhao Nanxing walked out slowly and bowed solemnly to Zhu Youxiao.

"Your Majesty, if there are other matters that I cannot guarantee, but if it is a move that benefits the country and the people, such as building a reserve warehouse, I dare to guarantee that the assessment on this matter will be done impartially, the assessment will be strict, and the rewards and punishments will be implemented. .”

When Zhu Youxiao heard this, he immediately felt relieved. The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of official assessment. If it can be properly controlled here, then officials will at least pay attention to it and will not dare to prevaricate.

"Since Aiqing said so, I will inform the cabinet and make Zhao Aiqing responsible for this matter. I will also order Wei Dazhong to be the doctor of the Examination Department of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and also be in charge of the construction of the reserve warehouse and the assessment."

As soon as these words came out, everyone present was slightly startled, and then quickly reacted and immediately bowed their heads in agreement.

Although the doctor was a fifth-rank official, he was not worth mentioning in the eyes of everyone present.

But the doctor in the Examination Department is unusual. He is responsible for civil and military officer examinations, surveys, promotions, seniority appointments, government orders, names and posthumous titles, steles, etc. He is also responsible for handling the capital inspection and major plans.

Therefore, Kao Gong Si Lang was a low-ranking official and could be said to be the most powerful fifth-rank official in the entire Ming Dynasty. He could indirectly determine the fate of many officials.

The emperor appointed Wei Dazhong to this position, which shows that the emperor attached great importance to Wei Dazhong and the construction of reserve warehouses.

As soon as the news is released, local officials in the future will not dare not take this matter to heart.

Otherwise, if you give me a lowly comment when the big plan comes up, the officialdom will probably be hopeless in the future.

(End of this chapter)