Go back to the Ming Dynasty to be a thousand households

Chapter 180 Experience Exchange Begins Siege

Huang Laifu changed into casual clothes and came to Zhu Zhengse's camp. Even if Huang Laifu was the deputy commander, he had to go through various complicated investigations before finally arriving in Zhu Zhengse's tent. Moreover, Jiang Dazhong and his family members had to stay in the tent. outside.

Sure enough, the treatment of high-ranking civil servants is different. In Zhu Zhengse's camp, there is also a study room, which is antique, with thick carpets on the floor, and the atmosphere is different.

There was no one else in the tent, only Zhu Zhengse was sitting at a desk with a smile and looked at Huang Laifu. He also changed into casual clothes, with a long beard and three lines, which looked like a refined scholar.

At this time in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, even the chief soldier of a town had to kneel and kowtow when meeting civil officials such as governors and governors, not to mention that Huang Laifu was just a deputy chief soldier.Huang Laifu did not hesitate, he knelt down and kowtowed to Zhu Zhengse: "The last general, Huang Laifu, has met Governor Zhu."

Zhu Zhengse waited for Huang Laifu to kowtow a few times, then stretched out his hand and said, "We're not talking about military affairs at this time, why should General Huang be so polite, please get up."

Huang Laifu cursed in his heart: "I didn't talk about military affairs...you don't need to be polite, so you still look at me and kowtow?"

On the face, Huang Laifu stood up with a smile all over his face, and said: "Your Excellency, the governor, is generous, but the last general must not be rude."

When Zhu Zhengse nodded approvingly, Huang Laifu changed his mind and said, "I don't know if Mr. Zhu is recruiting the future, what's the matter?"

Zhu Zhengse stroked his beard and said with a smile: "It's nothing, I just invited General Huang to come and have a chat."

He pointed to the chair next to him and said: "Come on, sit down, here with the old man, General Huang must not be restrained."

After Huang Laifu thanked him and sat down, Zhu Zhengse said: "The old man has also seen the soldiers and horses led by General Huang, and they are indeed the division of tigers and wolves. It is really a blessing for the court to have soldiers and horses like General Huang."

Huang Laifu said: "My lord, I'm overwhelmed by the award. It's the duty of the last general to be diligent in doing things and train soldiers and horses hard."

Zhu Zhengse nodded, and changed the tone of the conversation, and said, "I don't know what General Huang thinks about the current battle?"

Huang Laifu said: "The army of the imperial court is gathered. It won't take long for the Ningxia thieves to be calmed down. The most important thing is to rebuild their homes after the chaos."

Zhu Zhengse felt that Huang Laifu's words were very fresh, he pointed at Huang Laifu and said with a smile: "Well said, General Huang is talking about the old man's heart."

He sighed: "Looking at the chaos of the frontier army in Ningxia this time, the reason is the lack of food and wages in Ningxia town. If the food and wages of the frontier army are sufficient, there will be no chaos this time. It's just that Ningxia is dilapidated and the court And the cost is tight, and the allocation of food and salaries is also powerless. As the governor of Ningxia, the old man will also have a headache if he wants to take over this mess in the future."

As he said that, he patted his head, and Huang Laifu also pondered.As a latecomer, he certainly knew about the financial situation of Daming.From about the middle of Ming Dynasty, the total financial revenue of Ming Dynasty was about 3000 million taels of silver a year, which seemed quite a lot.Among them, only a few million taels of silver are controlled by the central government, and the rest is distributed by the local government and various military towns.

Especially the border towns are big money eaters.There were many border towns in the north. In the Wanli year, there was no war at ordinary times, and the annual expenditures such as food and salaries cost more than 800 million taels of silver.Among them, more than 300 million taels were paid by the central government, and the other several million taels were settled by local provinces and military settlements.

For example, in Ningxia Town, there are more than 180 Ma Bu officers and soldiers, and the annual salary is more than 14 taels, but the food and salary here refers to the annual silver of the Beijing Games.If there are only tens of thousands of taels of silver for a town of officers and soldiers, it will definitely not be enough.For the rest, there are more than [-] taels of folded silver, more than [-] million bunches of grass transported by the people, and more than [-] stones of grain and materials, all of which are transported and supplied by the counties and counties near Ningxia Town.

There is also Shanxi Town where Huang Laifu is located. The main soldier and the guest soldier silver need 20 taels of silver for a year, which refers to the annual silver of the Beijing Games.In addition, there are more than 32 stones of grain, more than [-] taels of colored silver, more than [-] bundles of grass, more than [-] stones of natural color rice beans, and more than [-] taels of colored silver. Wait.These are all food and salaries brought in by local people in Shanxi Province or escorted from many states and counties in other distant provinces.

The food supply system in Daming Border Town is very complicated, it can be said that it is intertwined. A county may transport food and silver to more than a dozen different military fortresses.A guard may also accept food and silver from more than a dozen prefectures and counties.However, over the past hundred years, a stable food supply system has been formed.

If the weather is good and the border town can have some military settlements, there will be no problem with the border town's food and payment supply system.However, with natural disasters, land mergers, and various reasons, the finances of the northern provinces and border towns became more and more dependent on the central government. In the end, the Ming central government was unable to make ends meet and eventually went bankrupt.

Huang Laifu knew the history, and it would only become more and more difficult to allocate funds from the Ministry of Household Affairs in the future. Only when the economies in the northern provinces recovered, or the border towns could solve the problem by themselves, could they get out of this vicious cycle.

Moreover, Huang Laifu knew that the geographical environment of Ningxia Town was good. It was close to the Yellow River, had many plain lakes, and was convenient for irrigation.As far as Huang Laifu knows, the area around the town of Ningxia, later called Yinchuan City, has more than 100 million mu of arable land.There is also Lingzhou City on the south bank of the Yellow River, later called Lingwu City, which also has more than 40 mu of cultivated land.

These places are the essence of the Yellow River irrigation area in Ningxia. Since the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, various generations have been operating and have a very complete and developed irrigation system.As long as it can be used well, it will not be a problem to feed the entire army and civilians in Ningxia Town, and there is no need for the court to allocate such a small amount of money.

Thinking of this, Huang Laifu said: "Master Zhu, Ningxia is in chaos and the place is dilapidated, but this is also an opportunity. After the reconstruction in the future, many things can be reshuffled. Maybe it can solve the problem of lack of food and wages in Ningxia Town."

Zhu Zhengse said: "General Huang thinks the same as the old man. I have heard for a long time that General Huang is effective in farming in Shanxi Town, so I have my own experience. I don't know what good method General Huang has for farming in Ningxia Town?"

Huang Laifu pondered and said: "The last general once had a report from the mansion in the past, saying that when Ningxia Town was at its peak, it could store 730 stones of grain and 23 bunches of grass a year. In addition, the folks in various provinces Taxes and food are brought in, as well as the annual Beijing annual silver."

Huang Laifu smiled slightly: "The whole town of Ningxia Town has a lot of land and is convenient for irrigation and water diversion. At its peak, only 17 million shi of grain was collected, which is the land of Wuzhaibao in Shanxi Town. The annual grain storage is several times that. .”

Zhu Zhengse coughed lightly, but did not speak.

Huang Laifu said: "Since then, Ningxia's towns and villages have become worse and worse. Of course, there are many reasons for this. In the past, when the border was at its height, the barbarians did not dare to invade. Therefore, the old people were able to use their farms and harvest a lot. When salt was introduced in the middle of the market, it was easy to pay for grain and grass, and it was convenient for officials and businessmen. In the future, the frontiers will gradually weaken, and the barbarians will invade from time to time, so that the unemployed fields will be abandoned, and the amount of grain will be owed. In addition, the tax and grain transported by the people will not be able to recover. There is a lot of debts accumulated every year, and the shortage of frontier grain is getting worse."

Zhu Zhengse listened very carefully. He looked at Huang Laifu's face with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Huang Laifu said: "Of course, we can't blame the common people for the lack of food transportation among the people. The current situation is not good, and the ordinary people are also living a difficult life. It is also difficult to count on the government to allocate funds. The most important thing is that the army must keep up. It is the most fundamental problem of solving the army's food and pay."

Zhu Zhengse nodded.

Huang Laifu said: "I think that all the border towns in the Ming Dynasty have developed to the present, and they are all the same as the Shanxi town where the last general is located. Or it has been drought for many years, so that a large number of military fields have been abandoned. Or the good land of military households has been occupied by various officers. Or The good land of military households is occupied by civilian households. Or the good land of military households is occupied by local tyrants. If the military fields are not returned to the hands of the military households, there is no hope of collecting food."

Zhu Zhengse frowned and was speechless.

Huang Laifu smiled and said: "Of course, it is very difficult to get back the military land occupied by civilian households and local tyrants. But this time the Ningxia frontier army rebelled. , most of the officers’ fields will be confiscated, and there is also the bandit leader, I heard that his family owns 10,000+ acres of fertile land from the Ningxia frontier army. In the future, these lands can be redistributed to the sergeants, so that They collect food. Of course, this is far from enough. The end of the day came all the way from Ningxia Town and found that there are many wastelands everywhere. As long as they are reclaimed and irrigated with water, these wastelands can become good fields. Along the Yellow River, at least one hundred Thousands of acres of fertile land."

After Huang Laifu talked so much, Zhu Zhengse finally said: "What General Huang said is true. Reclaiming wasteland is what I have long wanted to do. However, the rain has been scarce in recent years, and water sources have become more and more scarce. Water can lead to..."

Speaking of this, he thought about it, he said: "According to the newspaper in the residence, General Huang is in Shanxi Town, he is relying on underground irrigation wells, right?"

Huang Laifu said: "Yes, although the rainfall has decreased in recent years and there is no water on the surface, there are still abundant water sources underground, especially in the area around Ningxia Town. I am sure that the groundwater here is very rich. As long as the corresponding irrigation wells are dug, it will be enough Irrigate many fields."

He thought for a while and said, "If Master Zhu needs it, after the general returns to Shanxi Town, he can send some skilled craftsmen who make wells to help Master Zhu dig wells."

Zhu Zhengse smiled and said, "That's a good thing."

He sighed and said: "Building irrigation wells is one aspect. The most important thing is how to use the water from the Yellow River. There are many wastelands on both sides of the Yellow River. If they are irrigated with river water, these wastelands can become good fields in the future."

He frowned and said, "It's just that the river is two feet above the ground, and it's inconvenient to divert water. What should we do?"

Huang Laifu's heart moved. He knew the situation of the Yellow River entering Ningxia Town. When the Yellow River entered the plains of Yinchuan and other places, the riverbed was wide and flat, the water flow was slow, and a large amount of sediment was deposited, making the riverbed a few meters above the ground on both banks on average. River, similar to Kaifeng, North China Plain and other places.

After the above-ground river was formed, the riverbed continued to rise, and the areas on both sides of the river faced the threat of floods during the flood season.In addition to the constant floods, water diversion for irrigation is also very inconvenient.However, in history, Zhu Zhengse found his own way to control the floods of the Yellow River in Ningxia and divert water for irrigation.Maybe there is no such inspiration yet.

At that moment, Huang Laifu said: "The general has thought of a method, but I don't know if it will work."

Zhu Zhengse said, "General Huang, please tell me."

Huang Laifu said: "At the end of the day, let's imagine that the Yellow River in Ningxia is an aboveground river with a certain water pressure. Is it possible to use porcelain urns containing grain to pierce the bottom of the urn and connect them to build a siphon pipeline across the Yellow River, so that the Yellow River can be drained. The water has moved out of the embankment, turning countless wastelands into fertile fields."

Zhu Zhengse frowned and thought about it, and suddenly his eyes lit up, he didn't understand what Huang Laifu was talking about about water pressure, what about siphon pipes, but he did understand the connection with the bottom of the urn to divert the water out of the embankment.In the Ming Dynasty, this knowledge also had a corresponding Ming Dynasty statement. Huang Laifu didn't know it, but it didn't mean Zhu Zhengse didn't know it.

Immediately he said happily: "Wonderful, wonderful, this method is good, this method is feasible."

Unable to contain the excitement in his heart, he stood up, rubbed his hands and walked back and forth in the tent. Finally, he came to Huang Laifu and said, "Huang Laifu, with your method, there are countless living people. No wonder people call you bread." God, it really is full of whimsy."

Having said that, he laughed out loud.

Huang Laifu thought to himself: "You don't know, this method, in history, is what you came up with."

He said sternly: "Why did Lord Zhu say such a thing? Isn't this good recipe for living people thought up by the Lord himself?"

He exaggeratedly said: "At the end of the day, it is conceivable that Master Zhu will transfer water out of the embankment after the law is implemented in the future, so that countless wastelands will be turned into fertile fields. The common people will praise you for being a Buddha for thousands of families, and build a shrine for you. To leave a name in history is now.”

Zhu Zhengse was even more excited, which civil servant has a bad reputation?Especially the names left in history.

Seeing Huang Laifu being modest and low-key, and giving the benefits to himself without hesitation, Zhu Zhengse choked up for a while, he couldn't say anything at once, he just patted Huang Laifu on the shoulder, and said: "Okay, okay, General Huang is really... ...I am very optimistic about you..."

That night, Zhu Zhengse insisted on keeping Huang Laifu in the tent for dinner, even if the army under the city often couldn't get enough to eat, but at Master Zhu's level, this problem naturally didn't exist.

The dinner was sumptuous and elegant.During the banquet, Master Zhu tried to persuade him to drink again and again, and Huang Laifu also drank freely.

Finally, when Huang Laifu left and came out, he was blown by the wind, and most of his alcohol dissipated. He let out a cry and thought to himself: "Damn it, dealing with these guys is more difficult than fighting a war."

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万历20年六月27日，公元1592年8月4日。

Seven days after Huang Laifu led the army to the town, on this day, Wei Xuezeng, the governor of the three sides, and Ye Mengxiong, the governor of Gansu, finally decided whether to win or lose. Out of anger, he didn't dare to insist on the resolution of appeasement, but decided to continue to attack the city.

(End of this chapter)