Outside the Hanyang Gate, there are several grain depots made of wood, occupying the most convenient transportation area. There are also several grain depots of the same size, which are under intense construction. However, these huge grain depots are empty.

At this time in previous years, grain ships from all over Huguang had already crowded the wharves in Hankou and Wuchang. Horse-drawn wagons and man-powered trailers were piled high with heavy rice bales, grain traffickers, coolies loading and unloading ships, and boatmen sailing and sailing, all busy around the wharves of Hankou and Wuchang.

But from last winter to now, it has been deserted, and there is not much stone grain to be transported!

"The lake is wide and the world is full...... Now that the lake is insufficient, can there be more than enough in the southeast? ”

Zhu Cihong, who was about to leave in a few days, stood on the tower of Hanyangmen City, watching the situation at the Hanyangmen Wharf while whispering to himself.

Li Zicheng did pick a good day to send troops to Jianghan, which happened to be the point after the autumn harvest of Chongzhen's eighteenth year and before the rice grain was trafficked to Hankou and Wuchang.

At present, there are many people in the southeast and there is little land, and too many cash crops are planted, so grain cannot be self-sufficient, and it is necessary to buy it from Huguang, which is rich in rice and grain.

From an economic point of view, this is no problem. Huguang has 200 million mu of land, of which nearly half is paddy fields, and the population is not too dense, so even if the harvest of the land is not very good, there is enough rich grain to sell to the southeast.

The population in the southeast is too much, the land is not wide, and along the big rivers and seas, the water transportation is convenient, and after catching up with the Age of Discovery, it is just right to export a large number of silk cotton tea in exchange for silver, and then buy Huguang rice to raise people.

This is the inevitable choice of the southern market economy at the end of the Ming Dynasty!

After Zhu Cihong ruled the southeast, although he knew that this economic cycle was risky, the Huguang region was not firmly under Zhu Cihong's control, and it was threatened by hostile forces! But what power does he have to counter the liberalized markets of the Southeast?

Can he use a piece of paper to force the following to change mulberry to rice? This is taking people's money and killing their parents......

Moreover, once the southeast is changed from mulberry to rice, Nanjing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Songjiang and other five major textile centers will have a large number of unemployed people. The urban poor have to make a fuss again...... They are the proletariat that Zhu Cihong, the feudal crown prince, fears the most!

Qiu Yu, the governor of Hubei who was standing behind Zhu Cihong, listened to the words of the prince and had no good advice, so he had to comfort him and said: "Master Chitose, now there are many rice merchants who are willing to go to Hubei to collect rice under the protection of the navy...... By next month, millions of stones should be shipped to Jiangnan. ”

Last year's harvest in Hubei was actually okay, if it weren't for Li Zicheng's time to send troops too well, Zuo Mengeng's killing of a thousand knives and plundered the merchant ships of Hankou and Wuchang, and now tens of millions of Shihubei rice would have been transported to Jiangnan.

These days, because of the rise in the price of rice in the south of the Yangtze River, many merchants in the southeast have been searching for wooden boats, and now they are coming to Wuchang and Hankou one after another, ready to sell rice, and they have made a big deal.

Zhu Cihong glanced back at Qiu Yu, and then set his eyes on He Tengjiao, the governor of Hunan, and Du Yinxi, the governor of Jingzhou.

"He Qing, Du Qing, you two have been officials in Huguang for many years, understand the local situation, let's talk about it!"

He Tengjiao said: "Qiu Shibo (Qiu Yu is the earl) is reasonable, now as long as the Hubei region can settle down, and the grain merchants dare to go down to collect rice, there will always be millions of stones." Although it is not as good as in previous years, it can also slightly solve the dilemma of food shortage in the southeast.

In addition, Hunan's harvest last year was also good, but it was only because of the fall of Wuchang and Hanyang, and most of the Yangtze River grain ships were plundered by Zuo Mengeng, so the grain could not be transported out. As long as the imperial court can open up the channel between the Xiangjiang River and the Yangtze River, Hunan will be able to transport at least 10 million stone white rice! ”

Du Yinxi shook his head, his face solemn: "Chitose Lord, the people take food as the sky!" There can be no negligence in the matter of food. At present, the southeast is densely populated, and it is not self-sufficient in food, thanks to the efforts of Huguang to supply. Although Huguang has wide fields, it has been disturbed by rogues in the past two years, and its output is not as good as before. It is possible for Hunan to purchase 10 million stone white rice, but Hubei ...... The minister thinks no! ”

Zhu Cihong asked, "Why?" ”

Plug Yinxi said: "Because of Jikou Juntian!" ”

Zhu Cihong was silent. This issue has been debated for a long time on the side of Wuchang Xinggong, and there is no final conclusion until now.

Gu Yinxi said, "The gentry and the businessman are one, and the gentry will not exist if the gentry dies!" If His Royal Highness wants to restore the Hubei grain route as soon as possible, then please ask His Highness to set things right immediately after restoring the entire territory of Jingxiang, and return Hubei to a bright future! ”

Of course, there is some truth in plugging Yinxi's point of view! Zhu Cihong is not a rogue, nor a Tartar, he is the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, representing the old world, not the new order that is rebuilt after smashing.

Therefore, after recovering Jingzhou, Chengtian, Xiangyang, De'an, Hanyang and other prefectures in Hubei, it is natural to return the land to the old owner.

Gu Yinxi said again: "His Royal Highness the Prince, the government of the court must be clear between public and private!" Public land is public land, and private land is private land. Otherwise, it is not the Hubei gentry who will suffer, but also the strong men of the north who follow His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to the south! ”

Many of the northerners who followed Zhu Cihong to the south of the Yangtze River are also landlords, if Zhu Cihong can't set things right for the Hubei gentry, how can he set things right in the north? If he acknowledges Li Zicheng's "land reform achievements" in Hubei, he will of course also recognize the results of Dolgon's land in the Central Plains.

In this way, what motivation does Zhu Cihong's Beifu generals have for the Northern Expedition to the Central Plains?

Zhu Cihong glanced at the military advisor Li Yan, he is from Henan, of course he is a big landlord!

"His Royal Highness the Prince," Li Yan certainly understood Zhu Cihong's thoughts, and hurriedly said, "There are more than 40 million acres of banner land in the north, which is enough to raise the merits of strong men. As for the land that the Eastern Captives gave to the common people...... If you want to return to the original owner, then more than 10 million northerners are probably the hearts of the Eastern Captives! ”

Zhu Cihong smiled slightly, this Li Yan has been a rogue, and his consciousness is high!

"yes!" Liu Kongzhao, who was already a sincere man who had overcome difficulties, echoed, "Tens of millions of northerners should have millions of strong men, if they are all the pioneers of the Eastern Captives, there will be a day when the Central Plains will recover?" The minister thought that the imperial court should recognize the land of the Liukou as owned by the cultivators! ”

Although Liu Kongzhao was born in the noble landlord class in the south, he has now completely taken refuge in Zhu Cihong, and of course his ass will have to move to another place.

"But where does the food come from?" "If we don't put things right, the grain road in Hubei will not be able to be fully restored, and at least a few million stones will be reduced a year, and the people in the southeast will starve...... It's not a matter of a year or two! ”

"This ......" Zhu Cihong smiled, "Has the left class supervisor Yushi Jikun and the official member Huang Zongxi arrived?" ”

Ji Kun and Huang Zongxi came to report to Zhu Cihong on behalf of the Inspectorate and the cabinet, and the Generalissimo's Office also sent someone to report to Zhu Cihong, Zhang Dingbian, the commander of the Xiaolingwei New Army.

Li Yan replied, "Ji Kun and Huang Zongxi arrived in Wuhan yesterday. ”

Zhu Cihong nodded and smiled: "These two people have some ideas, you can ask them to participate in tomorrow's palace collegiate meeting, everyone listen to their opinions." ”

In fact, Zhu Cihong already had an idea in his heart that it was impossible to return the land of Hubei to the so-called "original owners" - not to mention what would happen to the millions of people living in the four major agricultural prefectures of Jingzhou, De'an, Chengtian and Hanyang, just how many taxes those "original owners" had paid for the Ming Dynasty in the past so many years determined that their private property could not be protected.

Huguang is such a boss, the total amount of tax and grain is only more than 2 million stone a year, which is this amount, and how many years has it been collected? And how is it that the rice and grain exported from Huguang to Jiangnan every year are 10 or 20 million stones, and how much does the Ming court collect on the Yangtze River?

These Hubei landlords didn't give money, and they still wanted Prince Zhu to send a new army to protect them? Think beautifully!