Wrap the grain into fine grains, lick it into flour, you can steam steamed buns and roast pot helmets, and you can eat a full stomach; One bag of dried red lettuce per person, the soldiers can eat while marching, and even save the time for cooking on the fire, which is the benefit of diversified crop planting. Of course, the biggest benefit is to feed more people with the same amount of land. What does this mean?

It means the back of the people's hearts and the belonging of the world!

The Mansion of the King of Shu, one of the many vassal kings under the Great Tomorrow. It is located in the southwest border, and is under the rule of Han and Yi miscellaneous. In just one season of autumn grain, Wangzhuang's grain income was as high as 2 million stones, close to half of the normal annual income of the central government of the Ming Dynasty.

This cannot but be said to be a miracle!

If it is a peaceful and prosperous era, Zhu Pingjian, as the prince of the Shu Domain, must be a rich N generation who spends all his time drinking and showing off his wealth everywhere, but unfortunately in the last days of the dynasty where the country and the nation, as well as himself and his wife live and die, he is not too much food, but too little. Because the grain is harvested a lot, it goes quickly, and people are opening their mouths and reaching out to ask for food in all directions!

……

The first major consumer of grain is Luzhou immigrants.

Since the Lu'an Rebellion, Luzhou has experienced more than 20 years of war. The number of people who have fled is serious, and there is an urgent need for new population replenishment. The palace has complete control over one state and one county in Luzhou, and the two counties of Hejiang and Jiang'an are in the process of taking it.

Li Chongwen and Gao Dengtai, who went to inspect the report, said that because there are few people and a lot of land, there is a large amount of wasteland in Luzhou, especially at the junction with Tusi in southern Sichuan, the area is vast and barbaric, and there is quite a lot of uncultivated raw land between the hills and valleys and on both sides of the river, and the potential for agricultural development is full. Among these wastelands, there are also serious imperial court tax fields, military fields of the guards, Ma Yingjiao, Ren Zhicai and other Luzhou gentry confiscated land, totaling about 400,000 mu. These so-called wastelands are all cooked land, and many of them still have crops, just waiting for people to go and harvest them, which is very similar to the situation at the beginning of Renshou.

Zhu Pingjin is not short of people at present, what is lacking is land. Li Chongwen's report made Zhu Pingjin immediately make a major strategic decision to "fill Luzhou in Sichuan."

"Sichuan fills Luzhou" means organizing displaced people and landless poor peasants from all over Sichuan to immigrate to Luzhou, so that these new immigrants can stay and take root with peace of mind with sufficient material support, use preferential tax policies to make these new immigrants burst out of production enthusiasm, and use a strict organizational system to make these new immigrants become a large army of soldiers and civilians integrated with the people.

As soon as Zhu Pingjin's will was issued, all units of the royal government immediately took action, soliciting (LAI) immigrants, allocating materials, requisitioning ships, and allocating cadres, and all affairs were in good order.

Of course, the most important targets of migration are the people who can be moved. The main body of Luzhou immigrants this time are displaced people from central and northern Sichuan who have fled their hometowns to escape the war and harsh taxes. These people have been without food for a long time, their bodies are weak, and they cannot be delayed for too long on the road, so they are listed as the first to set off, and the mode of transportation is also the fastest and most labor-saving water transportation.

Liumin west of the Longquan Mountains had to board ships in Hanzhou, Jintang County, and Deyang County, and pass through the main stream and several tributaries of the upper reaches of the Tuojiang River to Luzhou. Liumin east of the Longquan Mountains had to board ships in cities or ferries on both sides of the Tuojiang River, such as Jintang County, Jianzhou, Ziyang County, and Zixian County (now Zizhong City), which was not far from Luzhou.

In addition to the displaced people from various places, there are also many landless poor peasants in Chengdu, Jiading, Qiongzhou, Meizhou and other places. Under the open or covert mobilization organization of Wangzhuang, they gathered in Wangzhuang near the crossings of the Yangtze River, Minjiang River, Tsing Yi River, Dadu River and other rivers, and waited for the follow-up ships to transport them away. Because most of these poor peasants were long-term or domestic slaves of the gentry, the large-scale exodus of these people immediately provoked a strong reaction among the local gentry, especially in Qiongzhou and Meizhou.

Muddy waters can touch fish. Zhu Pingjin is not afraid of the gentry's reaction, but he is afraid that they will not react, and besides, this reaction is still a long way from Zhu Pingjin's hope. Zhu Pingjin turned a blind eye to the surging tide of the gentry, and issued several orders urging the personnel and grain to arrive as soon as possible, collect the remaining grain in the fields in Luzhou, and then quickly organize the planting of seeds, strive to harvest some summer grain, and reduce the transportation and consumption of rations and seed grains.

"Sichuan fills Luzhou" sounds very magnificent, but the initiators of the plan, Zhu Pingjin and Luo Yuhong, know that this is actually a big test of the resource mobilization ability of the Shu Palace. They calculated that the number of immigrants arriving in Luzhou could eventually reach 100,000 to 150,000. So how much food do these people need?

For 100,000 people, plus the wear and tear during transportation, at least 350,000 stone of rations are needed every year. According to the amount of four or five acres of one stone, 100,000 stone of seed grain is needed, and the sum of the two is 450,000 stone!

In addition, large-scale immigration required a large number of farm tools and cattle. Ploughing cattle are not like farm tools, they can be produced overtime. The existing cattle herd in Wangzhuang is far from enough, and it must be bought in the market, and it may not be possible to buy it, these are all silver. According to the experience of Renshou County, these 100,000 people will plant 400,000 mu of cooked land, and then reclaim 200,000 to 300,000 mu of raw land, and it will take at least two years to earn back the grain and silver invested in the early stage. That is to say, within two years, whether it is food or silver, the Shu Wangfu needs to make continuous investment.

Comparatively speaking, the solution to the problems of transportation and cadres is much easier. The Tuojiang River was looted by Zhang Xianzhong, with fewer ships and more people and less goods, mainly transporting people; Along the Minjiang River, the Yangtze River, the Tsing Yi River and the Dadu River, there are many people on the boat, and there are many goods, mainly transporting goods.

Tao Xiansheng and Grand Steward Qiu collected two or three hundred boats in the upper reaches of the Tuojiang River in advance, and the boats in the upper reaches of the Tuojiang River were empty. The boat went down the river at a high speed. Transporting people first, then transporting goods, using the maximum loading capacity, is tens of thousands of people at a time. These displaced people went to Luzhou, first ate the granaries left by the gentry such as Ma Yingjiao and the ripe crops in the fields, and then waited until the grain ships of the palace came from the Yangtze River.

As for the allocation of cadres, Li Chongwen's deputy in Renshou County, You Xigui, served as the head of the big village in Luzhou Wangzhuang, he had managed the displaced people, divided the fields, understood agricultural affairs, had old qualifications, and escaped with the people.

The head of the big village in Naxi is concurrently served by Shu Guoxin of Yinzhi County, who has full authority to deal with the affairs of Naxi. Naxi County is the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Naxi River (Yongning River) originating from the Sichuan-Yunnan border, connecting Xuyong, with developed commerce and many mountain goods, but less developed land and less developed agriculture. The head of Zhongzhuang and other officials in the village, the newly hired Shu examination students and some little eunuchs in the palace happened to be sent for exercise.

The second largest consumer of grain is the military and the semi-full-time personnel.

The four battalions of the caravan and the trainee troops under training, plus the Chengdu and Luzhou Tianquan Tusi soldiers, have more than 6,000 troops. The annual consumption of grain is 35,000 stones.

The strength of the village protection team increased faster, and the Chengdu village protection team added a Jintang County village protection brigade, with a total strength of about 3,050. The Qiongmei Zhuang Guardian Corps is forming a Zhuangzhuang Guardian Team in the two counties of Jianzhou and Zixian County, with a total strength of about 1,005. The Yajia Huzhuang Corps has increased a lot, and the total strength has reached 2,000 people, but some of them are being transferred to Luzhou. The Luzhou Guardian Brigade and the newly established Tongchuan Guardian Brigade together have about 1,000 people. The total number of troops is 13,000. The annual consumption of grain is another 35,000 stones.

Zhu Pingjin has always been careful to increase the strength of his army, and always trains a batch and recruits a batch to avoid being like a greedy snake that can't digest it and finally rises to death. On the surface, the army did not consume much, and it was only 70,000 stone of grain a year. But if you add up the civil and military officials under Zhu Pingjin, the off-duty cadres in Wangzhuang Wangdian, the engineering and technical personnel and workers of the Firearms Bureau, the Weaving Bureau, the Soap Bureau, etc., the tea farmers in the tea estate, the eunuchs and palace maids of the Shu Palace, and the more than 10,000 captives who also have to eat, the food consumption will increase tenfold!

The third largest consumer of grain is the agricultural interest-free loan system implemented by the Shu Wangfu this year.

Finally, there is a big consumer, that is, Zhu Pingjin's relatives.

……

Luo Yuhong walked into Zhu Pingjian's office quickly, and just saw her husband lying on the table. She smiled, and was about to speak, when she suddenly noticed a big fan on his head fanning the wind, and the two eunuchs next to him were loosening and pulling the rope.

Hey? Luo Yuhong suddenly became curious. She waved the eunuch away. The rope loosened, and the fan immediately drooped.

The two eunuchs closed the door and went out without a sound. When Shizi and Miss Luo are together, no one is allowed to eavesdrop on what they are talking about, otherwise they will ...... In short, the end is more tragic, this is a death order given by Zhu Pingjin. Fortunately, the prince is with Miss Luo, and he never wants anyone around him to wait, which avoids many tragedies.

"It's so much fun!" Luo Yuhong tugged on the rope, and the fan immediately shook, sending out a hot air.

"I patronized myself and enjoyed it, and I don't know that my heart hurts your wife!" Luo Yuhong vented her dissatisfaction nakedly.

"The experimental specimen that was only installed last night doesn't know if it's safe. What if such a big fan falls? As the first pioneer to eat crabs, I am willing to sacrifice myself for the comfort and happiness of my wife! ”

"Humph! It's better to say than to sing! His wife sneered and sat down across from him, "What are you in a daze?" Want to be beautiful again? ”

"Such a big beauty is alive and beautiful, will I be so low-level and interesting? I'm a CP, it's made of special materials, it's indestructible ......"

"Okay, let's start talking nonsense again! What do you think? ”

Zhu Pingjin pushed the grain consumption table calculated by himself to his wife, with a helpless expression: "The grain store applied to sell grain, I want to sell a little less, and reserve 500,000 stone of grain for next year." But it can't be enough, at most 450,000. Li Chongwen wants to recruit people to open up the wasteland in Tongchuan enclosure, which will cost food. Oops, what to do! ”

Luo Yuhong just had a meeting and was very familiar with the food situation. She pushed Zhu Pingjian's calculation table back, "We harvest a lot of grain, but we also have a lot of people, so the consumption can't be reduced." ”

"Downsizing and increasing efficiency again?" Zhu Pingjin asked. But his eyes clearly disagreed.

"These people can't be minus." Luo Yuhong explained his opinion, "You see that these people under us are either fighting wars, or engaged in scientific research, and they are the predecessors of industrial workers. These people can't cut it, if you want to cut it, cut your relatives. ”

From the Hongwu year to the present, the King of Shu has developed a special group of 10,000 people, plus the eunuchs and palace maids who are waiting for them, the number will expand three times. After his father died, Zhu Pingjin took advantage of the two major incidents of King Fushun and King Deyang to beat and pull the kings of Xiaozong County, and finally obtained the right to govern Wang Zhuang. According to the agreement with the county kings, Zhu Pingjin obtained the right to manage about one million mu of land from the county kings, excluding the share of the villagers and the donors, and the rest of the rent was divided in half between the Shu Wangfu and the county king's mansion, about 500,000 stones. As compensation, Zhu Pingjin had to reissue three years of Zonglu and pay it off in ten years. But the grain was collected, but Zhu Pingjin did not subrent the son Zonglu for a long time. His relatives are already in a hurry.

"Relatives can't cut it, at least not now!" Zhu Pingjin directly vetoed his wife's joke, "They are both useful politically and economically." We can't just be blinded and rush for quick success! I want to give them 200,000 stones, and buy the rest at the market price, so that I can save 300,000 stones. An average of two stones per person is not enough to eat, and he takes the silver to buy it in the market. For this we will pay four hundred and fifty thousand taels of silver. Zonglu also paid in silver, or at the ratio of one stone and one tael and five, and paid 150,000 taels this year. Fifteen taels per person should be enough to feed themselves and their families. ”

"It's actually buying food with silver, and I think it's okay. Fifty percent of the peasants' income cannot be moved, and if one person grows five acres of land and ten stone of grain, they can only receive five stones, which is the minimum level of subsistence guarantee and the limit of hunger and cold (Note 1). If you want to buy grain, you should find the landlord and force you to buy it. Didn't the manager of your uncle's family, Wang Zhuang, propose a compulsory takeover? Why are you delaying approval? Luo Yuhong kicked the ball to Zhu Pingjian's side.

"I'd like to approve it!" Zhu Pingjin rolled his eyes at his wife, "This is not a matter of five hundred taels, but six hundred thousand taels!" How much more money will it cost to make a full compulsory acquisition? How do I know if you have enough money on hand? Don't forget, once the Shu exam is passed, there will be hundreds of people who will be paid!"

Note 1: Modern historians have recognized that the ratio of cultivated land to population in ancient times was four to one, that is, the per capita cultivated land was four mu, also known as the "food and clothing constant".