When Tian Fuzhen learned that he had been appointed as the prefect of Taiyuan, he was so shocked that his jaw almost dropped, he didn't think that the court and the emperor really thought that his merits should be promoted. However, when he privately asked Li Xin whether he had helped the emperor in this matter, Li Xin replied with a smile: "Li Xin is a martial artist, how can he decide on the candidate for the Taiyuan prefect?" ”

This is reasonable, although Li Xin is currently in Shanxi with only one hand to cover the sky, it is because the thieves have rebelled and wiped out the original government office team, only the situation is calm, and the imperial court will repeatedly complete all the officials of the yamen. At that time, Li Xin's power will be tied to the death, and his power will be limited to the training and command of soldiers.

As long as it is not recommended by Li Xin, a martial artist, he can be the prefect of this mansion with a clear conscience and take care of the civil affairs of this mansion.

In view of this, Tian Fuzhen didn't think much about it, but he was still surprised by this unbelievable appointment, and what was even more strange was that this term of office was only one year. But in any case, this has fulfilled his long-cherished wish for many years, studying, studying, family and country, if he is not a parent, wouldn't he have been an official for more than ten years?

Since this year, he has been the prefect of Taiyuan Mansion, and the government of this government has been proclaimed and the wealth and power are all in one hand, although it is only one year, but it can also show its strength.

The first person to come to him was Li Xin, but instead of congratulating him on his promotion, he had a problem.

"Lord Fuzun, Li Xin is looking for you to ask for food!"

This is not a joke, the Three Guards Army and the new army recruited from all over the country will face the situation of running out of food, and the Taiyuan Annex's field and mine supervised by the General Military Office have recruited a large number of workers, all of whom need a large amount of food, in addition to the disaster victims everywhere waiting every day to open warehouses to release grain and receive relief. No matter how much grain Liu Guoneng has set up, he can't withstand such a toss, and now that the Taiyuan prefect already has a master, Li Xin will of course come to him to ask for food.

But Tian Fuzhen is now poor and white, with no one under him and no money, where did he come up with these urgently needed grains to plug the gap? He Li Xincai is rich, and he is really rich and crying poor.

"Don't be joking, general, how many goods Tian has in his hands, don't you know? Speaking of which, there is a lot of construction, and the government accepts it one by one! ”

Although Tian Fuzhen has become a noble Huangtang, he is still the same as before, speaking and acting without any restraint, and he does not see the general arrogance of scholars.

"Lord Fuzun is really fast-talking, Li Xin has a way, but he is on the top of the elegant hall."

Tian Fuzhen had a sincere attitude.

"This is a hurry, how long will the general be sold?"

"Okay, don't sell it, just say it!" Seeing that Tian Fuzhen was serious, Li Xin no longer sold to him, so he said his thoughts directly.

"Raise agriculture with business, and feed business with war?"

Tian Fuzhen was puzzled.

"Would you like to explain in detail from the general?"

"Shanxi has few lands and many mountains, and grain production is low, so if there is a disaster year, famine is almost a certainty."

Tian Fuzhen nodded, this naturally does not need to be said by Li Xin, it has been the case for many years, what he wants to know is how to explain the so-called two raising, only to listen to Li Xin and say: "So, I decided to introduce a number of new high-yield crops?" ”

As soon as these words came out, Tian Fuzhen almost didn't laugh, Li Xin didn't know anything about farming, this was the conclusion he had already come to after a deep conversation with him on the way back, how could he work hard in a few days to make him like an old connoisseur with many years of experience. But seeing that he was very serious, he continued to listen patiently.

"Li Xin once heard that there are many kinds of jade wheat in Shandong and Henan, this crop is not only high-yielding, but also very adaptable, especially in the mountainous areas to grow this thing is very suitable, so I am ready to introduce a batch of it and popularize it generally!"

"What? Yumai? ”

Tian Fuzhen was holding a tea bowl to moisten his throat, and when he heard Li Xin say that he was going to introduce Yumai to promote planting, he couldn't hold back anymore, and a mouthful of water squirted out.

Yumai is not an ordinary food, this thing comes from the West, it is a tribute, so it is called Yumai, and it has been called Yumai in recent years. And although this thing is not a delicacy, but it is definitely not something that ordinary people can eat casually, when he was an official in Nanjing, he was also an official of the four products, and the number of times he ate this jade wheat can be counted. Why, Li Xin actually wanted to introduce such extravagant food as a staple food?

After several confirmations, Tian Fuzhen was convinced that Li Xin was not talking nonsense, nor was he joking. But what does this have to do with using business to feed farmers?

Li Xin has not been idle in the past few days, and has done a lot of investigation work in private, consulting many local farmers who have fled from other provinces, and found that there was already a certain amount of corn planting in China during the Chongzhen period. It's just that what made him stunned, this kind of coarse grain in later generations was only eaten on the table of rich families in the last years of the Ming Dynasty, and it was an authentic luxury.

He suddenly realized that there were a lot of business opportunities and profits involved. As we all know, corn has a strong ability to adapt to survival, and it is perfect for growing it in a mountainous place like Shanxi.

As long as a batch of seeds are introduced and handed over to experienced farmers to carefully cultivate within a few years, there is no need to worry about the small scale, and after large-scale planting, it can not only meet the local grain demand with its high-yield characteristics, but also take advantage of the lag of the ancient region to sell this kind of food to the south of the Yangtze River with a hundredfold and thousand-fold profit, and the wealth will roll in one round and forth. Li Xin described the prospect as full of flowers, and Tian Fuzhen's intuition was like falling into a dream, is this a bit too child's play.

But Li Xin had money in his hand, and just yesterday, the first batch of money borrowed by Jiannu arrived, and the two trading companies gave a total of 600,000 taels of silver to buy shares. According to the method previously discussed, the general military government accounted for 50 percent of the total shares, and the 18 merchants accounted for 4 percent of the shares, of which the largest one could monopolize 20 percent, and the smallest one only had a few points. This proportion is naturally divided according to the strength of each family according to the convention, and only the Huang family accounts for Li Xin's light and has a single percent, becoming the second largest shareholder among the merchants.

After the silver is credited to the account, the merchant's due shares will be considered effective, and he can enjoy various tax exemption certificates issued by the General Military Office, which means that there is no need to pay a single cent of toll tax in Shanxi Province until beyond the border wall. And part of the money invested in the mine was invested, and even Tian Fuzhen was greedy.

"It's already the end of April, and without further ado, we have to buy Yumai seeds immediately, and this year's planting period will be over."

Hearing what Li Xinyi said, Tian Fuzhen was also anxious, "Does it take Tian to issue an official document from the government to collect it?" As long as you can, you can't refuse it. ”

Who said that Li Xin said his ultimate goal, which made Tian Fuzhen feel embarrassed.

"The Fuzun only needs to invest in the trading company in the name of the Taiyuan prefect yamen! Fifty percent of the shares of the General Military Office can be sold to the prefect Yamen Twenty percent"

After making trouble for a long time, Li Xin actually hit this idea, in the mainstream consciousness of orthodoxy in the Ming Dynasty, doing business is to compete with the people for profit, the court can't do it, and the government can do it. And Li Xin invited him to join the shares, isn't this risking the world's condemnation? Although he doesn't care about any official reputation, he still has some scruples about competing with the people.

Tian Fuzhen is still quite honest and straightforward about his concerns.

"After all, business is competing with the people for profit, and the General Military Mansion is involved, Tian can open his eyes and close his eyes, but after all, the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion is the people of the First Mansion, if he also becomes a shareholder, won't it make the people of Taiyuan feel cold?"

Li Xindao is easy to do if there is a reason, and competing with the people for profit is just a way to take things for granted.

"Fuzun, listen to Li Xin's detailed explanation of the pros and cons, and it's not too late to make an assertion!"

"I want to hear about it!"

"There are two main income items planned by the trading company, one is to send salt, iron and leather to the Manchu Qing Dynasty to earn silver, which provides a large number of jobs at the source, which can solve the problem of displaced people who have been a headache for officials at all levels over the years.

Tian Fuzhen nodded, this is barely counted!

"The second is that the current Yumai business, although the effect is slow, but it contains a lot of profit margins. Moreover, once the popularization of Yumai is popularized, it will be able to solve the grain pressure in Shanxi Province in the first place. Secondly, it is sold to the provinces south of the Yangtze River, and the rich can take out the silver in their hands to solve the embarrassing situation of lack of silver in the market. ”

Tian Fuzhen also nodded in agreement, which was barely counted, but he always felt that something was wrong, and suddenly slapped his head, yes, this is it!

"The government can also do all of this, so why should businessmen do it?"

Li Xin sneered.

"Not to mention the prefect's yamen, even the dignified Shanxi political envoy can't do this!"

Why? On the one hand, there are too many bad rules in the government, and officials at all levels are greedy for ink and demand, and the entire officialdom is rotten to the bone. All interests are exploited layer by layer, and these are all unwritten rules, hundreds of thousands of taels of silver are scattered, and there is no one in ten who can really spend it.

Li Xin's bad rules of the government are also true, Tian Fuzhen sighed, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty is rotten to the bone, is there still salvation in this world? He was hurt.

Tian Fuzhen suddenly thought of his term of office this year, and a sense of urgency followed, if he fought alone, this year's term of office may only encourage and support the situation, let alone make a difference. The prospect outlined by Li Xin is brilliant, and this temptation is like a person with an empty stomach full of delicacies.

Li Xin saw that Tian Fuzhen's expression changed, and he was obviously still struggling to think, so he struck while the iron was hot.

"Although Fuzun only has a one-year term, as long as the trading company is successfully operated, it can provide Shanxi with the ability to absorb a large number of displaced people, and also alleviate the impact of the disaster on the people, and by today next year, Shanxi's population will surely increase unabated."