Since the cabinet minister Zhou Yanru was ordered to leave Beijing to supervise and suppress the thieves, although the rebellion that shook the world was far from subsided, with the two thieves of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong entering Shaanxi, other thieves were in a state of dormancy or begging, and the situation in Henan, Hubei, Nanzhili and other provinces ravaged by rebels and thieves finally gradually stabilized. And the Jingshi, who was far away from the battlefield, began to gradually return to the order and prosperity of the past as the spring returned to the earth.

As Xuzhou and Yangzhou were lifted one after another, the Grand Canal was thawed, and the long-interrupted "transportation of grain from the south to the north" was resumed, and the Jingshi Division soon lifted the control of grain trading. Grain, the most important commodity of this era, can finally circulate as freely as before.

As the so-called "no traitors and no business", on the day of the lifting of the ban, the price of grain in Beijing soared, and several major merchants and gangs who had held back for a winter did not want to raise the price of rice and make up for the previous losses. If it is placed in the past, several major merchant gangs have joined forces to raise the price, and within a few days, the price of rice can be doubled by a few somersaults. Now it is the time of "green and yellow" in spring, the common people have no grain at home, and the price of rice is no matter how expensive it is, they have to buy it, and the merchants can make a lot of money. Moreover, since the expansion of Jingshi last year, the population of Jingshi has increased by at least hundreds of thousands, and the demand for grain is even greater, so it stands to reason that the price of rice can be raised even higher.

But the current Jingshi is no longer what it used to be. After the new monarch Chongzhen ascended the throne, he began to use domestic money to purchase a large amount of grain from the spring of last year and fill it into the inner treasury. These grains are directly purchased from Jiangnan, the place of origin, so the price is low, and the average cost is more than one tael of silver and one stone, plus the transportation cost is less than three taels.

After the implementation of grain control in Jingshi last winter, Emperor Chongzhen opened a strategic reserve grain depot and set up dozens of porridge factories in the inner and outer cities of Beijing. The porridge factory is open to all people, with registered invoices, admission by ticket, limited supply, twice a day in the morning and evening. Although the ration is low enough to feed people, it is not enough to starve to death.

But these two porridge meals are not eaten in vain, except for the old, weak, sick and disabled children, the porridge ticket needs to be exchanged for labor, that is, "work for relief". Men's labor includes digging soil, burning bricks, carrying them, etc., which is basically all manual work; Women also have to do laundry, cooking, and taking care of the elderly and children. It is not easy for these laborers to do a good job, and some people who are lazy to eat, or people whose families are well-off and have not eaten at all, also want to eat for nothing in the porridge factory, and with these measures, these people are scared away.

All labor is assigned by the Ministry of Labor, and the specific organization is contracted to the private merchants, and the Ministry of Labor is only responsible for the acceptance and payment of rice and silver. At the beginning, only Wuzhou trading companies participated, and later the Shaanxi merchant gang also joined in, and then the Fujian and Guangdong merchant gangs felt that it was profitable and also got a piece of the pie. Several major business gangs are well-staffed and experienced, and they have also done a good job.

In addition to the porridge factory, there were also a large number of craftsmen and workers in Kyoshi. Since the expansion of the Kyoto Division last year, the number of craftsmen and workers has increased dramatically, and now the number has exceeded 200,000. In addition to the production bureaus, military factories, brick factories, steel mills, and coking factories under the Ministry of War and Industry, Gosu Trading Company also opened large factories such as coal factories, paper mills, porcelain factories, and textile factories. At the same time, due to the large increase in the population of Beijing and the strong consumer demand, the amount of labor in various folk handicraft workshops has also increased a lot. Of course, the largest number of workers is the newly established Construction Bureau of the Ministry of Industry, which was the main force for the expansion of the Beijing Division and the rebuilding of the Tonghui River last year, with more than 30,000 registered workers alone.

All craftsmen and workers who belong to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Industry can receive a full monthly salary, including cash and grain. Even for the most basic workers, the grain and rice in their salaries alone are enough to feed a few families. The workers of the Wuzhou trading company are treated similarly. Therefore, these workers basically do not need to buy grain from the market.

As a result, it will be more difficult for grain merchants to raise grain prices. In addition, the two major commercial organizations of Wuzhou Trading Company and Shaanxi Commercial Gang insist on selling rice at a flat price, and the price per stone is a little more than three taels, but the price is limited to sell every day. With this price comparison, several other major merchants reluctantly raised the price of rice to seven taels and one stone, and they could no longer rise, because if it rose again, not a grain of rice could be sold.

After the resumption of grain circulation, all walks of life have gradually returned to normal, and the prosperity is even greater than in previous years. It's just that while the common people live and work in peace and contentment, they can't help but worry a little about the future of the country and individuals. They learned from the "Beijing Times" and other newspapers that although the main force of the rebel army has been defeated, the thieves have re-entered Shaanxi, and the world is still not peaceful; At the same time, as the spring flowers bloom, the tartars that have been dormant for a winter begin to move again, and they may make a mistake at any time.

In the past, there were no newspapers, and the lives of ordinary people were just like this. Now that I have a newspaper, I know that in addition to my own firewood, rice, oil and salt, the world is so big, and what happens thousands of miles away is likely to have an impact on me in a short time. Therefore, the discussion on the streets and alleys is no longer just a short and trivial matter for parents, and they talk about the general trend of the world at every turn. Originally, there were many illiterate people among the ordinary people, but now they find that if they don't read the newspaper, they will be timidly when they talk to others for a few days. What's more, if you are illiterate, the factories will not accept it, and you will not be able to become a worker. As a result, more and more people are learning to read and write, and there is even a spectacle of grandfathers and grandchildren sitting in the same school to study.

Still, the atmosphere inside the Forbidden City is slightly oppressive. Since he issued the edict, Zhu Youzhen has always been depressed. Moreover, although the power of the cabinet has been expanded, and the cabinet votes are almost unanimously approved, Zhu Youzhen still reads every piece of music very carefully, and is often busy in the Palace of Nourishing Heart until late at night.

Several imperial concubines knew that the emperor was in a bad mood and did not dare to disturb him. But seeing that Zhu Youzhen was getting thinner and thinner, they saw it in their eyes and were anxious, and often got together to think of a way, thinking about how to make Zhu Youzhen open his heart knot and regain his former glory.

In the end, everyone finally came up with a way, and brought Queen Rui'er to Zhu Youzhen and said: "Long live, it will be February in a few days." All dynasties have taken the Son of Heaven to plough, the concubine to the silkworm for the country's important affairs, our dynasty since the Emperor Taizu, every year in February, the emperor has to take the concubine and the hundred officials to the first agricultural altar to worship the god of agriculture, and personally plough, called the 'pro-farming ceremony', in order to show the meaning of heavy agriculture. However, in the Wanli period, this ceremony was not held often. The concubine felt that long live in the palace for a long time, so it was better to return to the old system, and she could also take this opportunity to walk around the palace and move her muscles and bones. ”

Zhu You listened and said with a long-lost smile: "Rui'er, your proposal is too good." In fact, the husband is also worried about this matter in his heart, but he has been exhausted recently and almost forgot. ”

"Hooray, you've given permission? It's great, but you have to take all the sisters with you, everyone is in the palace every day, and they are all stuffy! Rui'er saw that Zhu Youzhen was happy, and she also smiled brightly.

"But it's not interesting to just go to Xiannongtan," Zhu Youzhen said with great interest, "Do you want to play outside the palace for a few more days?" ”