The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 123: Yingtian Prefecture in the Famine

When the heavy rain in Wuchang stopped for a while, the spies of the Eastern Depot stationed in Wuchang sorted out the information and took a steamship to Yingtianfu to deliver the letter.

The movement is faster than the gunboats of the Duke of E's Mansion.

On June 1782, the 7th year of Xianning (July 28, in the Western calendar), Zhu Zhonglin, the Ming Emperor of Yingtian Prefecture, received the news.

The emperor immediately summoned the chief manager of the East Factory.

They were asked to keep an eye on the passengers on ships coming from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and closely monitor the market trends of grain and water transport in areas directly under the imperial court.

Then order the royal trading companies to take immediate action to purchase and hire more ships, the more the better.

Immediately transport grain to Jiaozhi, South Vietnam, Siam, Java and other regions.

The sale of royal Nanyang grain coupons was stopped, and at the same time, private Nanyang grain coupons were purchased, which were the ownership tickets of Nanyang’s seasonal grain, equivalent to Nanyang grain futures certificates.

Zhu Zhonglin grew up in an era of great commercial development and was very familiar with the virtues of private businessmen.

Of course, merchants hated the feudal lords, but the real reason they hated them was that they would affect their ability to make money and would not allow them to make money properly.

Traditional feudal aristocrats occupied the land and did not allow them to engage in business operations.

The new feudal aristocrats who kept up with the times often used their status, power and violence to control the market, just like the Zuo family of Duke of E.

This situation, which occurs in both the East and the West, is the direct cause of the formation of Enlightenment thought.

Representatives of industry and commerce began to advocate the natural human rights, that all people are created equal, and that life and freedom are inherently inviolable.

They began to advocate the social contract theory, claiming that the state and the king were formed through a contract authorized by civilians, that all members of society must abide by the basic social contract, and that the king should also exist within the scope of the contract.

It advocates that private property is sacred and inviolable, and that kings and rulers cannot use state power to interfere with commercial operations, let alone directly plunder wealth.

The "social reality" of the great development of capitalism gave rise to "social consciousness" such as the Enlightenment.

These social consciousnesses require the construction of a "superstructure" that matches them, that is, the system and culture of the capitalist state.

Ultimately, it will serve the continued development of capitalism.

However, a fundamental reason for advocating these ideas is that social power is not in the hands of businessmen.

If there were no influence from the feudal lords and merchants could make money freely, they would definitely not be merciful when faced with a disaster.

When businessmen gain control of social power, they will do things similar to those done by feudal rulers.

They may just do it more covertly, because they cannot openly violate the principles they advocated in the first place.

Before the capitalist groups took control of social power, capitalist ideas were enlightenment ideas, which seemed and sounded particularly brilliant, beautiful and attractive.

But once the capitalist groups gained control of social power, the inherent evils of capitalism could no longer be hidden.

Therefore, as capitalism develops, another new social thought will emerge to replace the Enlightenment.

After Chongzhen's transformation, the Ming royal family has actually become a new aristocracy, directly operating a large number of businesses, farms, and factories.

It was only because of the guidance of Chongzhen, a modern man, and the fact that the royal family still had some dignity to maintain their sacred image.

Usually they make profits by taking advantage of information asymmetry, which is a more advanced form of commercial plunder brought about by Chongzhen. It is rare for them to engage in direct violent plunder like the Zuo family of Duke of E.

Therefore, there are obvious differences between the Eastern "Enlightenment" and the Western Enlightenment thought.

Eastern enlightenment basically did not oppose the emperor, because the Ming emperor seemed to be more law-abiding, especially in contrast with the feudal lords.

At the same time, the Ming imperial family after Emperor Chongzhen was usually the direct promoter and leader of industry and commerce.

The key is that Chongzhen reformed the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, opened up a path for the industrial and commercial groups of the Ming Dynasty to rise, and enabled the elites among them to legally grasp social power.

Therefore, the enlightenment in the East was more about opposing feudal lords and barbarians, and the corresponding demands were to reduce the power of the feudal lords and to march north, which had been called for for decades.

The East and West Factories renovated by Emperor Chongzhen and Zhu Jianxuan's steamships played a huge role in this disaster.

Allow the emperor to start making arrangements first.

Make money while maintaining imperial power and social stability.

When the imperial merchants began to act, private businesses were like beasts hearing wind, and they immediately and carefully tried to follow suit.

They began trying to acquire and hire ships and to buy food stamps.

Doing what the imperial merchants do is the business principle of many merchants in Yingtian Prefecture, and most of them will be successful.

Two days later, well-informed private businessmen also learned that a large-scale flood had occurred in Wuhan, and the markets in Yingtian Prefecture and surrounding areas immediately became busy.

At the same time, the Ming Emperor issued an imperial decree, clearly stipulating an upper limit on grain prices, which was about twice the average daily price.

The emperor's meaning was very clear. He allowed ordinary merchants to take the opportunity to make more money, but he did not allow them to go to the extent of subverting the market order.

On June 20th, the river water level showed a significant rise.

On June 23, the first batch of Hubei disaster victims arrived in Yingtian Prefecture.

The grain price in Yingtian directly exceeded the price ceiling just set by the emperor. The East Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard entered the major grain stores to control the situation, and the grain merchants cooperated honestly for a day.

On the morning of June 24, some grain merchants did not open their doors.

At noon, the Ming Dynasty Central Court Granary, the Ming Dynasty Royal Commercial Bank Granary, and the Yingtian Prefecture Granary started distributing porridge on the main streets inside and outside Yingtian Prefecture.

The emperor issued another decree, asking officials to post and read it everywhere inside and outside the city, stating that from that day on, unlimited free porridge would be provided twice a day.

The emperor knew that as long as he continued to provide the victims with free meals, he could keep them calm and prevent them from causing trouble.

Once more grain from Southeast Asia is shipped up, the merchants will stop causing trouble.

In the past, it might have taken three to four months, but now the court has a large number of steamships, so it only needs to last one to two months.

Afterwards, the victims were gathered and gradually sent overseas, and the natural disaster was overcome.

This is the standard procedure formed during the Chongzhen era.

But the prerequisite for doing so is that the court and the emperor can get enough food.

Large-scale development of Nanyang and establishment of large-scale farms there are prerequisites for the implementation of this process.

At the same time, it was also required that the grassroots agencies of the central court have basic execution capabilities so as not to embezzle most of the grain.

This is done relatively well in Yingtian Prefecture and several nearby prefectures under the feet of the emperor.

The farther away, the more difficult it is to implement.

However, Yingtian Prefecture controls the throat of the Yangtze River and was originally the trade center of the Ming Dynasty.

The victims also knew that they could survive in Yingtian Prefecture, and that only in Yingtian Prefecture would they have the opportunity to open up wasteland overseas, so they would spontaneously gather in Yingtian Prefecture.

Private businesses are also very experienced.

After discovering that the imperial court had begun distributing porridge without limit, many closed grain stores began to open one after another.

If we don't sell grain now, we may not make any money at all.

If you open a store and sell it now, you can at least make a lot more money than usual.

Everything seems to be going according to plan.

Time soon came to the end of the month, and more and more victims continued to pour into Yingtian Prefecture, and victims from Sichuan also began to appear in the crowd.

Many private factories announced at the same time:
"There are floods in Hubei and Sichuan right now, so the market is naturally not doing well. Factories and businesses are not making money. Next month, wages will be cut in half, but meals will be provided free of charge..."

Some workers accepted the reality with a sigh.

Some workers couldn't understand and were immediately looked down upon by their boss and the manager.

Some shopkeepers told the workers very directly:

"The boss is kind-hearted and still willing to consider our past friendship and pay you the wages." "Go to the street and ask those Hubei people yourself."

"Cut half of your wages and provide food and lodging for the other half, and see if they are willing to come to work?"

The workers had to accept this reality.

There is no other way. The disaster victims really only have one life left, so as long as we can feed them, we will let them do anything.

There were also a large number of factories that directly laid off one-third or even more of their workers because a large number of contract workers were sent to Hubei and Sichuan due to the floods.

If not many jobs require skilled workers, or at least require experienced workers to teach new workers how to do their jobs, there would probably be more layoffs.

Some old shopkeepers were kindhearted and reminded the workers:

"Everyone, stop complaining. It's all because of the natural disaster. The whole of Sichuan and Hubei were flooded. Who would buy things?
"So we have to wait for the court to send the victims away, wait for the floods upstream to recede, and wait for the market to recover, then the wages can naturally be restored."

Some clever workers quickly figured it out.

After the imperial court sent all the disaster victims away, there were fewer workers willing to work in the factories, and wages would naturally increase again.

Otherwise, the workers would also follow the court to go out to sea to open up wasteland.

Everyone began to be patient and perseverant, hoping that the damage from the flood would be healed soon.

The rapid development of industry and commerce in the Ming Dynasty lasted for more than a hundred years, and the intensive development of the Jiangnan and Nanyang regions also lasted for more than a hundred years.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty's ability to withstand natural disasters far exceeded that of any other dynasty.

The floods in Sichuan and Hubei were not enough to destroy the industrial and commercial order of the imperial court and the local governors, and society was able to maintain basic stability.

But now no one knows that this disaster will continue intermittently for five years, and its scope will affect the entire Central Plains from north to south.

During this period, news about the Ming Dynasty's King Wu, the living Lu Ban, the natural born sage, His Highness Zhu Jianxuan, who was exiled for supporting the reduction of the power of the princes, inexplicably began to spread.

There are also more bizarre rumors that the imperial court exiled His Royal Highness the King of Wu, who supported the reduction of the power of the princes, and this caused the wrath of heaven and a warning, which led to this great flood.

The Ming Emperor Zhu Zhonglin learned about these rumors among the people through intelligence collected by the East Factory, and subconsciously wanted to let them go.

But after a little consideration, he ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Embroidered Uniform Guard to prohibit publicly operated newspapers from publishing similar news, and at the same time confiscated similar tabloids circulated among the public.

As a result, major newspapers and magazines did stop publishing the article, but tabloids circulated it more widely.

On July 12, the 36th year of Xianning, the first batch of immigrants consisting of disaster victims set off for Australia.

After sending away the immigrants originally recruited, no ordinary immigrants will be recruited in the short term, and priority will be given to sending away all the victims.

The imperial court officially led the effort and with the cooperation of the people, a total of more than 200 large and small steamships were organized, carrying a total of more than 100,000 immigrants.

Also traveling on board the ship were a large number of commodities, including the latest advanced industrial equipment such as steam engines and machine tools, as well as a large number of industrial materials that Australia was temporarily unable to produce on its own.

Australian gold mines have been in stable production for several years and are already a very wealthy place in the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, Australia was still focusing on industrial and agricultural construction, and was open to purchasing various machinery and equipment from the Ming Dynasty.

Agricultural tools, grain seeds, and various livestock are no longer imported and may even become exports in the next few years.

Nauru's guano phosphate mines have been developed and can be spread on the fields once to produce crops for several years.

Australia also has large areas of grassland, which is the only place in the Ming-controlled area suitable for large-scale grazing, and the number of large livestock is increasing.

In the eastern coastal areas of Shenzhou, the wind direction and ocean currents are from south to north in summer, and the sailing ship goes against the wind and current throughout the journey to Australia.

It’s not that the Shenzhou sailboat cannot sail against the wind, but it is slow and very difficult to operate.

By the time the sailboat reaches Australia, it is already winter. When it comes back, the direction of the monsoon has reversed, and the sailboat has to sail against the wind and current again.

So now the only way to go to Australia in summer is by steamship.

The journey from Yingtianfu to the capital of Wu was powered by steam engines, and it would take one month to arrive and two months to return.

The value of all ordinary sailing ships was decreasing, but they were also ordered anxiously and in advance by the court.

On September 1, the 36th year of Xianning, more than 500 traditional sailing ships set sail from the southeast coast of Daming.

They carried nearly 200,000 new immigrants on their journey to North America.

These 200,000 immigrants are basically disaster victims from Hubei and Sichuan, and almost half of them are young and middle-aged people.

Because a large number of elderly and weak people were abandoned on the way to Yingtian Prefecture.

At about the same time, the steamship that went to Australia returned, bringing back a large amount of grain from Southeast Asia.

After a simple overhaul and preparation, the fleet set off again with more than 100,000 immigrants on board.

These Australian immigrants are all disaster victims.

The Ming Dynasty court, both inside and outside, and the people spent the second half of the 36th year of Xianning extremely busy.

Shortly after the beginning of the 37th year of Xianning, news came from the north.

In February, unusually strong winds occurred in the Jiaodong area on the border of the Qing Dynasty, directly overturning a large number of houses and uprooting many trees.

At the same time, there was a continuous drought in Jiaodong and Shaanxi regions.

In May, there was a severe flood in Xuanping, Zhejiang, which submerged crops in the fields.

In June, there was a major epidemic in Rui'an, Zhejiang, and floods in Wuchang, Hanyang, Jiangxia, Huangmei, Huanggang and Guangji.

On June 24, Typhoon Wuchuan made landfall in Guangdong, destroying a large number of county offices, city walls, and houses.

Shandong and Shaanxi now belong to the Qing Dynasty, and the local famine has nothing to do with the Ming court.

The biggest problem is that the Hubei region of Ming Dynasty was flooded again this year!
The damage from last year's flood has not yet been recovered, and last year's refugees have not yet been sent away.

There are millions of disaster victims in Sichuan and Hubei, and the imperial court can only send away 100,000 people every two months.

It might have taken two or three years to absorb all these victims.

This is already the speed of a steamship.

Otherwise, you can only go out to sea once a year, and the speed will be even slower.

In addition, Xuanping and Rui'an belong to Zhejiang, and Wuchuan belongs to Guangdong, all of which are under the jurisdiction of the central court.

Direct rescue is necessary and cannot be left to its own devices.

If it were in previous years, neither ordinary people, officials, businessmen, nor the emperor of the Ming Dynasty would have any special associations.

But when the famine started last year, rumors of a natural disaster warning appeared in the market.

Except for some superstitious people, the emperors and businessmen at that time did not care too much about these things.

If last year's natural disasters ended and this year's weather turned good, people would gradually ignore this information.

However, a large-scale famine has struck again this year, and the most critical area is Hubei, where floods have once again hit, directly triggering many people's already blurred memories.

This made them suddenly realize that there seemed to be more natural disasters occurring in various parts of Shenzhou this year.

Ordinary people living in one place may not realize that natural disasters are everywhere, but well-informed officials and businessmen have gradually discovered it.

The Ming Emperor also discovered this through court documents and reports from the East Factory.

"This should be a coincidence, right?"

The only slightly better news was that the fleet that went to North America in the fall of the previous year finally returned safely after a long tour of Europe.

Brought back intelligence that everything was going well in North America and Europe.

(End of this chapter)