"Do you think that today's Daming can still support a new reform?"

"Of course not. It would be better for the Ming Dynasty to have less turmoil now, and the minister would naturally not mention any reforms at this time. When the minister mentioned to Feng Nian how to help the disaster, he told the minister that he needed the help of these rich people. At the beginning, the minister was worried that he didn't know the severity, and what he wanted was to persuade the minister to directly force the squire to pay for food by force. Later, Fengnian explained that it was possible to come up with profitable things and attract businessmen to compete for cooperation, and then the imperial court only needed to propose to exchange grain for the right to cooperate, as long as it was profitable, they would not worry about not taking out food. ”

"Profitable?" Chongzhen thought about it, his face turned blue, "Salt? ”

Chen Hongmi hurriedly shook his head, what are you kidding, salt can also be regarded as the lifeblood of the country, how can it be moved lightly?

"Feng Nian is talking about the sea ban."

"Sea forbidden?" Chongzhen thought for a moment and asked, "I remember, during the Longqing period, the sea ban has been opened, right?" ”

"Exactly. But it's only in Moon Harbor, and there are a lot of restrictions. After all, Yuegang is too far south, and the operation of materials is inconvenient. ”

Chongzhen glanced at Chen Hongmi: "There is no seaport in Suzhou. ”

"There is no Suzhou but Songjiang and Hangzhou. Songjiang is located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and Hangzhou has the Grand Canal, both of which are the best places for material transit. ”

"It's true that both of these places are close enough to Suzhou, and if both places are open to the sea, Suzhou will benefit. However, if the sea is opened, will it cause grain outflow and lead to higher grain prices in Daming? ”

"Quite the opposite. For the southern seas are not short of food. Chen Hongmi looked a little excited, "Regarding this, Feng Nian specially explained it to the minister. This natural disaster, not only the Ming Dynasty was affected, but also the north flooded and the south drought, and even the distant Europa countries such as Francois were difficult to avoid. However, due to the differences in the terrain, the severity of the damage varies. Because natural disasters are caused by the overall cooling of the climate, and the farther north you go, the colder it gets, so the farther north you go, the greater the impact. Your Majesty, you think, the south will become as cold as the north at most, and the north will be unbearably cold if it is colder. ”

Chongzhen thought about it and nodded to understand.

Chen Hongmi continued: "Therefore, with the Ming Dynasty as the boundary, the countries to the north are short of food. And to the south, it is just that the original year is abundant, and it has become the current ordinary year. ”

"Jianyu is also short of food?"

"Jianyu is also short of food." Chen Hongmi paused, gritted his teeth and said, "But Jianyu will supply all the food to the army and grab grain everywhere, and then there will be no shortage of food." What's more, Jianyu doesn't grow much food in the first place, and has always done so. ”

"Yuegang is far away from Jianyu, while Songjiang is close to Jianyu. Once Songjiang is also open to the sea, will there be more fornication? ”

"The land territory between Jianyu and the Ming is enough for some people to collaborate with the enemy, and there is no need for the sea. And the Ming Dynasty couldn't stop Jianyu from opening the sea. After another pause, Chen Hongmi made a lot of determination and said, "On the other hand, if Jianyu is accustomed to obtaining materials through trading, once they settle down, they may be war-weary and lose the heart of going south." ”

Chongzhen was stunned for a long time before he understood what Chen Hongmian meant, shook his head, and said, "Although what you said is not unreasonable, I really can't take the risk of being captured by the enemy. The opening of the sea is not a trivial matter, and it will only come to a conclusion after the cabinet has deliberated after returning to the DPRK. Are you sure that the southern countries of the Ming Dynasty are not short of food? ”

Chen Hongmi was not disappointed, he didn't expect Chongzhen to make a decision directly, and today he just gave Chongzhen a wake-up call, so that he would have a tendency when discussing in the court in the future. Moreover, the topic of Jianyu was completely introduced by Chongzhen himself, and the key he was about to talk about was that the southern countries were not short of food.

"Back to Your Majesty, this is what Feng Nian told the minister. With his astronomical attainments, he must not be fake. Your Majesty may wish to wait for a few predictions of the good year to be verified before choosing whether to believe it or not. However, this statement is said by the minister, and the minister feels that he must first explain it to His Majesty. ”

"Yes, tell me more."

"Fengnian said that in the southern sea, many countries, because they are more southerly than Daming, have a warmer climate, and there are many places where grain is ripened three times a year. Even if it becomes cold because of the general trend of heaven and earth, it will only become two crops a year, and there is no shortage of food. In fact, it is not for nothing that Longqing opened the sea election in Yuegang. Sailing north on the Daming Sea, the only places to go are Jianyu, Goryeo and Waguo. And if you want to communicate with Europa, Tianzhu, Dashi and other countries, you have to sail south. That's why the place to open the sea was chosen in the south. However, the scale of the port limits the content of the transaction, so it is difficult to have a large grain transaction. In the future, the country is in a time of food shortage, and the maritime countries are not short of grain, as long as it is stipulated that the ship needs to transport back the corresponding amount of grain when returning to China, and open a larger scale of ports, there will be people of insight to go forward one after another, and the grain of the maritime countries will continue to be transported back to the Ming Dynasty, which will greatly alleviate the current situation of food shortage in our Ming Dynasty. ”

Chongzhen was obviously moved, if a large amount of grain can flow in from the sea, instead of a large amount of grain flowing out, then it is imperative to open the sea on a large scale. "After I go back, I will definitely go all out to promote this matter, as long as Mr. Fengnian's predictions are accurate, there should be no opposition from the DPRK and China."

Chen Hongmi has great confidence in Hua Xue, so in his heart, this matter is done. And after the opening of the sea in Longqing, the princes of the court basically enjoyed the benefits of opening the sea, but it was limited to the scale, and many people did not participate in the share, and they were red one by one.

Chongzhen was full of expectations for the prospect of opening the sea that Chen Hongmi told him, and he was a little eager to try, fortunately, he had experienced strong winds and waves, and soon calmed down, this matter had to wait for Hua Xue's abnormal weather prediction to be verified anyway, and it was useless to think about it now.

Turning back to his mind and seeing Ruiyun Peak again, Chongzhen remembered the previous question again, and asked, "You said that this Ruiyun Peak was salvaged with the surname Chen, what is his relationship with the Xu family?" ”

Chen Hongmi recalled the information he had read and replied: "The two have nothing to do with each other. Ruiyunfeng was the dowry when Xu Taishi married his wife. ”

Chongzhen was dumbfounded: "Dowry? Song Huizong's Huashi Gang as a dowry? Who is so generous? ”

"The Jiajing Dynasty Rites Department is still the secretary of the Dong Fen. His family is rich and crowned with three Wu, and Tianlian Suhu Zhuyi is thousands of acres. There are more than 100 quality houses, each with a large businessman, and the interest is millions. There were no less than 1,000 domestic animals and servants, and more than 300 ships. ”

Chongzhen was a little stunned by the wealth of these squires, and asked, "He is also from Suzhou?" ”

Chen Hongmi shook his head: "From Wucheng County, Zhejiang. ”

"How did you get to Suzhou?"

Chen Hongmi knew that Chongzhen was asking Ruiyunfeng about the transportation, and replied: "Carry it to Wuxiatang, and the broken bridge is unknown." ”