Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 1275
In 1655 A.D., the eighth year of Yongzhang of the Jin Kingdom, Hauge proclaimed himself emperor for eight years. During this period, the Jin Kingdom as a whole was still making continuous progress and development.

If it weren't for such a strong opponent like the Ming Dynasty, the Kingdom of Jin could be regarded as a very good emerging country in terms of politics, military affairs and people's livelihood.

However, this is not all due to Hauge and the bureaucrats of the Kingdom of Jin. It can be seen from history that after the old decadent interest groups are overthrown, the new regime will always show a vigorous side, and the new nobles have enough interests to Carve up, the common people can also share some, can gain self-cultivation, the country will naturally flourish, and when the new aristocrats expand into the old aristocrats, the number becomes extremely large, and start encroaching on the interests of the people, then the country will inevitably decline.

At this time, the Kingdom of Jin was in such a rising period. As long as the policy was better and the court of the Kingdom of Jin was more normal, then the national power of the Kingdom of Jin would go up all the way.

The Kingdom of Jin had been established for eight years. If it hadn’t been for Hauge’s miscalculation, he had fought against the Ming Dynasty in Sichuan and suffered a tragic defeat. The Kingdom of Jin would be at least twice as strong now.

In March, after the Ming Dynasty defeated Wu Keshan, Jin Guo's troops who harassed Tongguan and Pujin Pass immediately retreated to the pass, not daring to provoke the Ming army.

In July, secret spies reported that the Ming Dynasty's war in Nanyang had also achieved decisive progress.

Although there was no change in the Ming army in Henan and Sichuan according to the news from Jin Guo's detailed work, and there was no large-scale mobilization of supplies in the Ming Dynasty, the whole Jin Guo was still vigilant.

In the golden autumn of October, in Chang'an City, outside the imperial garden of the Jin Kingdom's palace, several officials from the Prime Minister and the Six Ministries gathered together, about twenty or so.

At this time, Wu Sangui, Meng Qiaofang, Han Chaoxuan and others were talking at the gate of the Imperial Garden. After a while, an eunuch came out from inside and saluted, "Your Majesty, your Majesty, let everyone in."

When everyone heard the words, Han Chaoxuan turned sideways immediately, "The two princes please first!"

Wu Sangui and Meng Qiaofang did not refuse and entered first.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Hauge in a yellow robe standing and waiting. A group of people hurriedly walked up to him and saluted, "Long live my ministers!"

"You don't need to be too polite!" Hauge raised his hand with a smile, and when everyone straightened up, he said with a smile: "Today, I called you here not to enjoy the flowers, but to invite you and me to witness Things! Well, Wu and Meng Erqing are with me, and all the ministers will go and have a look with me!"

At that moment, Wu Sangui and Meng Qiaofang stepped forward together, half a body behind Hauge, and led all the ministers to the depths of the imperial garden.

From this point of view, the Jin Kingdom seems to be in harmony, but the actual situation is not the case.

In fact, the Kingdom of Jin also has various problems, many of which are old problems of previous dynasties. For example, Wu Sangui was basically in the state of a feudal town in Hanzhong. Decentralization to the localities like the Ming Dynasty did not allow newcomers to be promoted, because these prime ministers have too many resources.

On the surface, Jin Guoming learned from the cabinet system of the Ming Dynasty, but in fact it was a gentry and aristocratic politics. If the imperial examinations were abolished, he could immediately return to aristocratic politics.

The contradictions between these places and the central government, the emperor and the ministers can be said to be very sharp, but because of the greater contradiction between Ming and Jin, the contradictions within the Jin Kingdom do not seem so obvious.

Hauge walked in front with Wu Sangui and Meng Qiaofang. He mainly talked to Wu Sangui and asked some questions about the military training in Hanzhong.

The court of the Kingdom of Jin, to a certain extent, ruled the weak and the strong, and Hauge, a foreign monarch, was not like the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. Being close and using foreign towns to check and balance Meng Qiaofang, Han Chaoxuan and others made his decisions in the court more weighty.

But at the same time, he is also very aware of Wu Sangui's danger. The feudal town can overthrow him, but the cabinet cannot, so he also uses the cabinet to contain the feudal town.

Having been the emperor for eight years, Hauge is now very good at using the art of the emperor to maintain the stability of his throne.

At this time they were walking and talking, when they arrived at the place suddenly, everyone saw a piece of dry land in front of them that was not in harmony with the surrounding flowers and plants.

Chinese garden art pays attention to changing scenery at every step, and the whole garden should be natural. This piece of dry land destroyed the beauty of the imperial garden at once, but many officials of the Kingdom of Jin saw that there were sorghum-like plants growing on the ridges above, but it was special. excited.

"Long live, is this Baogu?" Han Chaoxuan exclaimed.

This is exactly the corn seed that Fu Youchun stuffed into his butthole and brought back, and a field of corn that was planted.

Hauge attached great importance to this matter, so he directly planted them in the Royal Garden and ordered someone to take care of them, and he would come to the Royal Garden to see these corns almost every once in a while.

Fu Youchun brought back only [-] seedlings from the seeds. During the period, the officials of the Ministry of Industry treated these seedlings separately to understand the production habits of the corn and recorded them. In the end, half of the [-] seedlings were killed. Only ten grew up, and sprouted corn.

Hauge nodded, "That's right. This is corn corn. It's very drought-tolerant. Generally, it can grow one or two cobs, but if you fertilize a lot, it can grow three or four. The yield per mu is estimated to exceed that of wheat. It can grow more than wheat in a year. Planting two seasons, if it can be popularized, the land in Guanzhong that can produce grain will at least double!"

After speaking, Hauge turned back to the eunuch beside him and said, "Bring up the boiled corn and share it with all the ministers to taste."

When a kind of ministers were walking around the corn and observing, the eunuch came out with a plate, and a few sticks of the corn were cut into several sections.

This is cooking by the imperial chef, and everyone ate it fresh again, and they all thought it was very delicious.

The yield is high, and it tastes better, Wu Sangui immediately said: "Long live, this product must be promoted in Hanzhong!"

Hauge nodded, but said: "As long as there are enough seeds, Hanzhong will definitely plant them. However, there are only so many seeds at the moment, and there will be enough seeds to distribute to Hanzhong after planting two more seasons next year, so Wu Qing has to Wait a minute."

Then it will take at least two years before this kind of corn can be popularized in Guanzhong.

In today's world, although the Ming Dynasty has undergone changes in various aspects, the organization of society has improved production efficiency, but before technological breakthroughs, the gap in productivity between countries is not that big.

The comparison between countries is still military strength, weapons and food.

Meng Qiaofang felt that this promotion took too long, so she said, "Long live, if we wait for these seeds to germinate and mature before continuing to sow, it will be a bit slower. I think that every second counts now, and Wang Yan can chase after the person who introduced sweet potatoes. For the title, I should promise a lot of money, confer a title and reward silver, attract Ming people, and send corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes to my court."

The current war with the Ming Dynasty will break out without knowing when. Jin Guo really needs to race against the clock to store as much food as possible.

Because once a war breaks out, more than [-] troops plus hundreds of thousands of young and strong will be transferred, which will inevitably affect production. If the Jin Kingdom does not have enough reserves, the entire country will easily be dragged down, and it can only be heavily taxed and searched for people. , Follow the old path of the Ming Dynasty, and this will aggravate the defeat of the Jin Kingdom.

Hauge was willing to give up the title and gold and silver, and he was even willing to find someone to exchange the silver for seeds of the same weight.

"Meng Qing is right. In addition to breeding by myself, we still need to find a way to get some seeds back from Nanming!" Haoge said in a deep voice, "Fu Youchun has made meritorious service this time, so let him be named Uncle Loyalty! Others who sent seeds, How to confer rewards is up to the cabinet to decide!"

Meng Qiaofang took the order immediately.At this time, everyone looked around Baogu for a while, and finally arrived at a pavilion in the imperial garden. The eunuchs and maids prepared sweet-scented osmanthus cakes and tea, and Hauge made it easy for everyone to rest in the pavilion.

After they talked about Huibaogu again, Hauge suddenly asked, "Is there anything new in the cabinet recently?"

Han Chaoxuan put down the sweet-scented osmanthus cake, quickly wiped his mouth, and saluted: "Long live, I have something to do here! The envoy sent by Da Jin to Dongyu Kingdom has arrived in Chang'an, and brought back the letter of credentials of King Dongyu. King Yu expressed his willingness to form an alliance with us, but he failed to contact the Dutch!"

The disease of the Kingdom of Jin went to the doctor indiscriminately, preaching that the Ming Dynasty is ruthless, intending to find allies, form a siege network, and jointly fight against the Ming Dynasty, but his allies are basically crooked. Not long ago, he just gave Wu Keshan [-] matchlock guns , that guy didn't do much, and was wiped out by the Ming Dynasty.

When facing a powerful opponent, people always want to find a companion to strengthen their courage, and Jin Guo is no exception.

Hauge was delighted when he heard that Toungoo was willing to form an alliance. "This is a good thing. The cabinet cannot neglect it. We must establish a good relationship with Toungoo."

Now there are still countries that dare to challenge the Ming Dynasty, but there are not many countries. This Dongyu is willing to come out, and Hauge is naturally happy.

"Long live, don't worry, I will definitely handle this matter well!" Han Chaoxuan obviously also attached great importance to this matter.

After he finished speaking, Meng Qiaofang said again: "Long live, I have something to do here!"

Haoge was in a good mood, and said with a smile: "What's the matter with the Qing family, just tell me!"

"Long live! Anxi Wang Sun Kewang sent a beating report to Beijing yesterday, saying that the Zhungeer tribe, which was once defeated by our dynasty and the Qing army, is now fighting the Raksha people in the west. Its leader, Sage, entrusted Yuzi Khan, I hope to buy a batch of firecrackers and cannons from us at a high price to fight against the Raksha Kingdom." Meng Qiaofang said: "Because before we made a big deal with Zhungeer, I was worried that the sale of the weapons would cause future troubles, so Indecision."

"Oh?" Haug was a little surprised by this news, because Zhungeer had already blurred in his mind. They thought that this Mongolian tribe that had disappeared for a few years had collapsed again, and he was also a little confused about it. , So he asked: "What do you think, gentlemen?"

Wu Sangui thought for a while and asked, "What did King Anxi say?"

Meng Qiaofang said: "King Anxi said that the Raksha people are very fierce, and Zhungeer is completely at a disadvantage in the battle. If they lose, the power of the Raksha Kingdom may enter the Yuzi Khanate. King Anxi also believes that, It stands to reason that it should be a long-distance attack, but it is not appropriate for me to cooperate with Yuzi, and it is not appropriate for me to back away from the alliance. Moreover, this Raksha man, facing Zhungeer, Turhut, and the big and small Yuzi Khanates, unexpectedly Gaining the upper hand, King Anxi is worried that it may be a repeat of the former Jin attacking the Liao Dynasty and Mongolia destroying the former Jin..."

Wu Sangui frowned after hearing this, "I think that if you want to help the weak but not the strong, then sell it to Zhungeer. First, you can make a fortune. Second, you can let Zhungeer and the Raksha people consume each other. Bird blunderbusses are eliminated, so it’s okay to sell them.”

(End of this chapter)