In the main worship hall, Zhu Youzhen was discussing government affairs with Guo Yunhou, Di Jiliang, and Huo Weihua of the household department, and after nearly a year of preparation, the grain bureau finally entered the formalization of the formalities.

However, in this year's preparations, Ji Jiliang also found a lot of problems, so he reported to the emperor: "... From the above data, it can be seen that if the price of grain is too high, the people in the north will not be able to buy it; But if food prices are too low, then farmers in the south are reluctant to grow food.

Therefore, the question today is not how much grain is produced in the south, but whether the people in the north can get food. Judging from the current situation, if you want to transport grain from the south to the north, you must subsidize the price of grain, otherwise you will not be able to let ordinary people buy grain from the south.

According to the calculations of the ministers and the officials of the Food Bureau, five cents per stone should be subsidized for rice, and five cents per dime for miscellaneous grains. Based on the 15 million stone of grain shipped north last year, we probably subsidized the price difference of nearly 4 million yuan. After deducting 1.5 million yuan in freight relief, we actually subsidized nearly 2.5 million yuan, of which 70 percent came from commercial tax and 30 percent from salt tax subsidies.

According to the calculations of the bureaucrats of the Grain Bureau, the amount of grain transported to the north last year did not exceed the average line, and generally speaking, the amount of grain transported to the north was basically around 20 million stones, and if there was a catastrophe in the north, it would rise to 30 million stones. In other words, the difference in the price of grain that we subsidize every year is about 2.5 million yuan to 5 million yuan..."

After Ji Jiliang finished his report, Guo Yunhou said: "According to the discussion of the household officials, if we want to solve the grain shortage in the north, it is best to vigorously build water conservancy projects in the northern provinces and increase the grain output in the north, mainly wheat." The other is to promote corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes and other grains.

Potatoes are suitable for the climate of the northern mountainous areas and the Gansu-Shaanxi region, while corn and sweet potatoes are drought tolerant, and most importantly, corn stalks can feed large livestock, and the vines of sweet potatoes can be used not only to feed livestock, but also to be eaten by humans. If you can harvest one more stone of grain in the north, it is equivalent to harvesting five or six stones of grain in the south..."

After listening to the report of the two, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but nod and said, "As far as the part of grain production is concerned, the two of you are doing a good job. No matter how much arable land is exploited in the south, it is better to ensure grain production in the north.

Of course, there is also a way to solve the problem of grain price difference between the north and the south by increasing the income of peasant households in the north. For example, the development of the handicraft industry in the north or the cotton industry and so on. After you go back, you will redraw a grain planting plan in the north, and a cotton planting plan in the north..."

After Guo Yunhou and Di Jiliang retreated, Huo Weihua, who didn't say much, advised Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, today's grain production in the south is insufficient, and after all, it is still a struggle for grain and cotton and a struggle for grain and mulberry.

We can also use large-scale cotton cultivation in the north, or overseas cotton planting to suppress cotton fields in the south. But Sangtian is different, except for the south, there seems to be no place with better quality than Jiangnan raw silk. Even if the swamps in Huguang and Guangxi continue to expand, the local people planting mulberry trees and rice and cotton are only blooming.

Therefore, the minister believes that in order to ensure the grain production in the south, it is not enough to protect the price of grain, but also to crack down on the price of raw silk, so that these southern farmers feel that it is unprofitable to plant mulberry trees..."

Although Huo Weihua's suggestion was quite reasonable, Chongzhen did not express his position. After all, the raw silk trade is now the biggest input of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and Zheng Zhilong and other maritime merchants and the southern gentry will not give up the profits from the raw silk trade.

However, Guo Yunhou and Di Jiliang proposed to restore agricultural production in the north, and in the current unfavorable climate, replace wheat with miscellaneous grains to become the main grain item in the north, which was still listened to by Chongzhen. The cultivation of corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, which had already been somewhat basic in various places, became the main crops of grain planting in the north promoted by Chongzhen in the past four years.

On the other side of the capital, the household officials finally heard about Cambodia's food development plan, so Guo Yunhou, Di Jiliang and other household officials immediately wrote to Chongzhen, believing that the economic development planning agency stationed in Cambodia should be managed by officials sent by the household department.

The Ministry of Rites and the Prime Minister's Yamen, who had quarreled in the dark, quickly reached a settlement after the officials of the household department raised objections. It was decided that the two sides would jointly appoint officials to manage the Economic Development Planning Agency based in Cambodia.

The Cambodian envoys who came to the capital to convey their sincerity to the Ming Dynasty finally agreed to the Ming Dynasty's mediation plan for them under the joint pressure of the Ministry of Rites and the Prime Minister's Yamen.

The throne of Cambodia is vested in Po Ninu, Prince Udie has the power of regent of the kingdom, and the son of Gizheta II has the right to inherit the throne. The three parties should swear under the witness of the Ming envoy that they would not attack each other again.

In order to ensure that there is no civil strife in Cambodia, the Ming Dynasty will set up a yamen in Wudong, the royal capital of Cambodia, to mediate the contradictions between the three parties. The division of the three forces will be confirmed in order to prevent new contradictions from arising.

The representatives of the three parties in Cambodia also swore an oath to the Ming Dynasty, saying that they would only obey the Ming Dynasty, a suzerain, and that any act of invoking other forces to enter Cambodia would be punished by God and the Ming Dynasty.

The waves set off by the Cambodian tripartite envoys in the capital finally tended to calm down under the suppression of the Ministry of Rites and the Prime Minister's Yamen. The only thing that feels lost is the household officials who can't intervene. Today, when the powers and responsibilities of the six ministries are becoming more and more distinct, whoever can expand the power in their hands can make a lot of benefits for their own departments, and this is also the reason why the officials of the household department feel regretful.

And after entering March, the case of the rebellion of the relatives personally presided over by the British public has gradually come to an end. These lords, who do not want any changes in their lives, but are bent on passing on their current titles, wealth, and lifestyles, have encountered the biggest twists and turns in their lives.

Under Chongzhen's previous reforms, the relatives with a little ability have begun to change their lifestyles. They reduced the size of the land in their hands and converted this land capital into industrial capital, thus obtaining higher profits than land rent.

But there are also some nobles who have no other idea of making profits except for annexing land and collecting land rent from farmers. Occasionally, one or two nobles, seeing the fierce ups and downs in the stock market, wanted to take advantage of it, but failed without exception, and had to come back to be a stable landlord.

But now, under the double threat of the British Gong and the Imperial Prison Torture Instruments, these nobles who did not want to make any changes had to take the initiative to make changes in March of the fourth year of Chongzhen. The land in his possession was given to the British Duke to form an organization similar to the Clan Foundation.

Of course, not all people can be saved. After the last seven men remained, the British duke no longer sent people to persuade them, but told them that only two of them could be released from prison, and that the rest would be tried as traitors.

After hesitating for a quarter of an hour, some of the remaining seven people who were still dead began to beg for forgiveness from the British duke. The British public chose the two people who had the most interest in exposing others as witnesses in the treason.

Then he told the remaining five that those who confessed their guilt would be exiled abroad; Those who insist on not admitting it will be sentenced to death.

On March 27, the remaining five all pleaded guilty. Their land and mansions were confiscated, but their belongings were preserved. Men and women over the age of 60 and under 16 were allowed to return to their places of origin, while the rest were sent to Sakhalin, Fuso, Vladivostok, Temple Street, etc.

On March 29, after the British public had written the closing letter of the treason, he died in his sleep that night. And just seven days ago, Zhang Zhiji, the prince of the British Dynasty, had gone to Borneo to serve as the governor of Borneo.

As a result, Zhang Shize, the grandson of the British princess, replaced his father for the funeral. After the funeral, Zhang Shize handed over to Chongzhen the testament of the Duke of England, which asked the emperor to allow Zhang Shize to take over the position of Duke of England.

Although he skipped the prince and let Zhang Shize take over the position of British duke, the relatives and officials were a little shocked. However, the case of the rebellion of the British Duke before his death was really strange, and it also made the British Government lose the trust of many nobles and ministers, so in the end no one expressed any opinion on this matter.

On March 29, Xia Yunyi finally set off and returned to the capital from Xi'an. In the past few months in Shaanxi, he finally understood what the ancients said: what you get on paper is shallow, and you never know that you have to do it.

Xia Yunyi really recognized it at this time, and every time Chongzhen went to Yenching University, he had to tell them: instead of reading ten books in a quiet study, it is better to talk to ten farmers in person, and understand the reality of this world better.

In the past few months in Shaanxi, Xia Yunyi found that those famous gentlemen and gentlemen who once made him feel admired, and the gentry who kept saying that they wanted to put the people first, once they touched their own interests, they would become completely different people.

When he traveled to various places in Shaanxi, there were some people in almost every county who had insight into the world. These people also unabashedly said in front of him that the entire Ming Dynasty is very rotten from top to bottom, and if the officials continue to be like this, the people will despair of the court sooner or later.

These people also know that land annexation will drive the peasants at the bottom to a dead end, and these landless displaced people will become the spark that ignites the local people's revolt when they cannot survive.

But these are the same people. When they have even a modicum of power, they use it to oppress and extort the uncapable people for their own benefit.

As long as there is an opportunity to annex land, they will never give up, trying to turn the surrounding land into their own farmland.

Before seeing these people, Xia Yunyi really couldn't believe that there would be such a brazen and duplicitous person in this world. Many of them are also well-known local gentlemen and village sages. The values erected by Xia Yunyi more than 30 years ago were smashed this winter.