August.

In fact, it is also an extremely important harvest season.

Compared with the major events of agricultural harvesting and grain storage, the others are trivial matters.

But Daming's situation is different this year.

The "Oriental Times" predicted in March this year that it was completely true.

There is a great drought in the north, and a great flood in the south!

Now in the harvest season in August, the grain output in the northern region has been seriously reduced, even though the imperial court attaches great importance to it, repeatedly reiterates orders, and has taken a lot of anti-drought measures, but it is roughly estimated that the grain output in Henan has decreased by about 80 percent, Shaanxi has decreased by 72 percent, Shanxi has decreased by 65 percent, Hebei has decreased by 45 percent, and Shandong has decreased by about 30 percent.

The total population of these five provinces is about 80 million, and the grain self-sufficiency rate in previous years was generally about 70 percent, but this year's overall grain output has decreased by more than 50 percent.

The food self-sufficiency rate is expected to fall to less than 40 percent.

Based on the fact that a normal person needs at least three stone (375 catties) of food rations per year.

There will be a food deficit of more than 144 million stones, and even if all measures are taken to reduce food consumption and barely ensure that one person does not starve to death, the food deficit will be at least 100 million stones.

As for the southern region, affected by the heavy floods, the grain output in Huguang, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and other places has been reduced by about one to two percent, but the south is warm, there is a lot of arable land, and the promotion of high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes can give full play to the potential of the dry land, so even if there is a reduction in grain production, there is no problem in ensuring self-sufficiency.

Sichuan, the land of abundance, and the land of Liangguang are all bumper harvests this year, so they have the spare capacity to output a lot of surplus grain, but because of the distance, there is no great profit in selling grain, and it belongs to the far water that cannot save the fire.

So, if there is no place, or some way to come up with a way to fill the food gap of at least 100 million stones.

In the northern region of the Ming Dynasty, there will be starvation everywhere, cannibalism will occur, and even some people will rise up and a large-scale peasant uprising will break out.

According to the normal historical trend, all of the above situations will happen, and it will be a heavy blow to the crumbling Ming Dynasty, making the situation more and more dangerous.

In this regard, the "Oriental Times" wrote a special article for deduction, writing all kinds of worst and tragic scenes, watching the emperor Zhu Youzhen is sweating profusely, his back is soaked, and he has nightmares for several nights in a row.

Fortunately, on August 30, the headline on the front page of the "Oriental Times" [Grain returns, Jiangnan has achieved a bumper harvest!] Finally, Zhu Youzhen's heart was settled, like taking a reassuring pill, curing the problem of being prone to nightmares.

Gangnam harvest!

According to the news report, through the unremitting efforts of Xujiazhuang and the hard work of countless peasants and people, the Jiangnan region has overcome all kinds of difficulties and achieved an unprecedented bumper harvest despite the mild drought in Nanzhili this year!

Not only has grain output not decreased, but has increased by more than 30% compared with last year!

Among them, the total output of rice is 272 million stone (planting area of about 50 million mu).

The total production of wheat is 168 million stone (about 40 million mu planted).

The total yield of corn is 151 million stone (about 30 million mu of planted area).

The total production of potatoes is 300 million stone (the planting area is about 10 million mu).

The total production of sweet potatoes is 200 million stone (planting area of about 8 million mu).

In addition, the total output of miscellaneous grains such as beans, sorghum, peanuts, and millet is 50 million stone (planting area of about 20 million mu).

All of the above grains are taken together, that is, the total grain output in the Jiangnan region this year is 1.141 billion stones.

The total population of Nanzhili is about 60 million, even if each person consumes 10 stone of grain per year, he will only eat 600 million stone of grain, and he can export 541 million stone of grain to the outside world, which can fully feed the population of the entire northern Ming Dynasty.

No matter how severe the drought in the north is, with the help of the Jiangnan region, it can also ensure the stability of the entire north, so that no one can starve to death, and even fill the stomach.

So when I saw this report, every reader was greatly relieved and felt reassured.

But!

The reality is far from being as simple as it seems; even if the grain output in the Jiangnan region is sufficient this year, there are three problems, and if they are not properly resolved, the situation of grain shortage in the north will still be extremely grim, and there is still the possibility of people dying of starvation in some grain-deficient areas.

First, in recent years, the animal husbandry and breeding industry in the south of the Yangtze River have developed rapidly, and a large amount of grain needs to be consumed, and the consumption of feed grain for various pigs, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, geese and other livestock this year has exceeded 200 million stones, and it will only be more next year, and it is likely to increase to 300 million stones.

This has reduced the amount of surplus grain that can be exported to less than 300 million stones.

The second is the loss during transportation.

The so-called thousand-mile feeding of grain, the loss should reach twice the amount of transportation, that is, to transport three stones of grain, two stones will be consumed on the way.

Of course, now Xujiazhuang is overhauling the road, the road traffic situation has been greatly improved, and there are four-wheeled carriages such as transportation weapons, which can reduce the loss to less than half.

That is, now thousands of miles of grain are transported, and for every two stones of grain transported, a maximum of one stone is lost.

This means that more than 100 million stone of grain can still be transported to the north, which can just solve the problem of food shortage in the north and ensure that there is enough food to eat.

But here comes the big question in the end.

Assignment!

If in the process of grain distribution, there are unscrupulous profiteers who hoard a large number of people and sell grain at sky-high prices; There was corruption among officials, embezzling food rations belonging to the people; If the grain does not arrive in time, or the gentry do not allow it to be sold at a low price, the people will still be in a hellish situation.

Even if the food transported by Jiangnan is enough, and even doubled, the people in the north may still starve to death, fall into extreme poverty, and be forced to rise up, because the heart is so black that things that are not human are everywhere!

"Slander, this is slander and slander!"

The content of this paragraph made Zhu Youzhen very angry, and countless officials and gentry also turned red and felt dissatisfied, but after calming down, they all had to admit that what was said in the article was right, although it was very harsh and ugly, but it was the true situation of Daming.

In the distribution link, such a situation will indeed occur, and the interests of the people at the bottom cannot be guaranteed.

It's just that what is said in the article is too ugly, too uneuphemistic, and it doesn't even talk about any emotion!

What's more, the profiteers, corrupt officials, and inferior gentry in the article are only a handful of them, and most of them still have conscience and morality, and they will never do anything that will make matters worse, but the meaning of the article is as black as a crow in the world, like a rod overturning a boatload of people, which is really too one-sided.

However, at the end of this report, there was no expectation for the officials and gentry of the Ming Dynasty, but proposed a solution to the famine in the north in Xujiazhuang.

One is that Xujiazhuang will play a leading role, trying to find a way to the north of the Ming Dynasty, transporting about 150 million stone of grain (except for the loss on the road), and at a relatively low price, supply to the merchants who have a cooperative relationship with Xujiazhuang, but there is a condition, that is, the merchants who cooperate with Xujiazhuang will sell the grain to the outside world, and the price shall not exceed the maximum price stipulated by Xujiazhuang, that is, the price of grain shall be limited.

If a partner violates the regulations and wants to make huge profits in food, Xujiazhuang will cancel the cooperation with it and put it on the blacklist, and there will never be any possibility of cooperation in the future, and the whistleblower can become a new collaborator!

Xujiazhuang is not omnipotent, he can't control those profiteers, but the partners can still be reluctantly restrained, and in order to let the hungry people in the north have something to eat, Xujiazhuang is willing to be a bad guy and sing a black face, even if he offends some partners.

Secondly, a "Recruitment Plan for Ten Million Hungry People" was formulated.

Xujiazhuang will set up hundreds of rescue teams to go deep into the northern parts of the Ming Dynasty, such as Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, intending to recruit and help about 10 million hungry refugees, arrange jobs and provide livelihoods for them, and get out of the current predicament.

If it is difficult to leave the homeland and do not want to leave too far, you can join the infrastructure project of building bridges and roads.

If you feel that it is not easy to survive in your hometown and want to change the development environment, you can consider going to Shanxi to mine and become a free miner.

If you have an adventurous spirit, can take risks, and are willing to fight for a great fortune, you can go to Jiangnan Xujiazhuang first, participate in relevant training, and then you will get follow-up arrangements.

That is, Xujiazhuang provided three roads, which were placed in front of tens of millions of hungry people, and it was up to them to decide how to choose.

And this is the limit of what Xujiazhuang can do, if after providing 150 million stone grain and saving tens of millions of hungry people, there are still a large number of people in the north of the Ming Dynasty who starved to death and rebelled, then the question of who it is, I am afraid it is self-evident.

So after reading this article.

Among the bureaucrats, gentry, literati and landlords of the Ming Dynasty, there was a lot of anger and dissatisfaction:

"Why does Xu Jiazhuang look at us so badly?"

"Even without the help of Xu Jiazhuang, Daming will not starve to death many people, we have the ability to solve problems."

"Slander and slander me too much, and I will never read this "Oriental Times" again."

"Is it only you who Xu Jiazhuang can do, and we must not be able to? I don't believe in this evil! ”

"We must work hard to act, not only to prove that Xu Jiazhuang is wrong, but also very wrong!"

"The imperial court must also act immediately to formulate a "30 million hungry people relief plan", and transfer grain from Sichuan, Liangguang and other places with more grain, and must not fall behind Xujiazhuang!"

"That's right, Xu Jiazhuang slandered the court, but also wanted to invite people to buy people's hearts and pull away tens of millions of people? This matter must not allow Xu Jiazhuang to succeed! These people belong to the Ming Dynasty, and none of them are allowed to be abducted, and they must find a way to stop them! ”

……

September 1.

Harbour City, White Castle.

High-level meetings.

Xu Yuan asked Li Jindao, the person in charge of agriculture: "How much grain have we collected so far?" Have you achieved the food stockpiling target set at the beginning of the year? ”

"The grain we have collected and hoarded has reached 533 million stones, far exceeding the target of 300 million stones, and the total grain reserves have reached 600 million stones! In other words, almost half of the grain in the entire Jiangnan region is in our hands! ”

Li Jin said with excitement in his tone.

600 million stones?

This number made Xu Yuan's eyes light up and he was very satisfied.

That's enough.

This food is completely enough, which can support the implementation of all plans, and makes him feel much more at ease.

However, Li Jin also introduced some not very good situations, that is, there are always so few farmers in various places who cooperate with Xujiazhuang who cannot withstand the temptation of high prices offered by other grain buyers, or keep too much grain in private, and do not abide by the cooperation agreement with Xujiazhuang, and sell all the surplus grain to Xujiazhuang.

And the proportion of such farmers is not low, probably accounting for about 20%.

"Owner, do you want to block these defaulting farmers and stop cooperating with them next year."

Li Jin said angrily: "We provide them with improved seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides at low prices, help them solve the problem of irrigation, and even sell farm tools to them on credit. And the purchase price of grain is not low, but these peasants have no conscience at all, only greed and cunning! If they are not punished severely, there will be more farmers who will learn from them next year, and in the end, there will be no way to collect the grain, and all of them will be snapped up by those profiteers. ”

These words made Xu Yuan silent for a moment.

Are the peasants cunning? There will definitely be cunning presences, but definitely only a minority.

Are farmers greedy? There is certainly greed, but it is not mainstream.

But it cannot be denied that these two types of peasants are absolutely universal, even a little numerous, and in some cases they may occupy the majority and the mainstream, and even create astonishing ignorance and evil.

Even so.

Xu Yuan was also reluctant to punish these peasants, not because of his Virgin, but because of the limitations of the working people, which could not be solved by punishment.

After thinking about it, he said: "Now after all, grain is more important, can not lead to a reduction in grain production, so let's go, for those farmers who cooperate with the active performance of honesty, you can sign a long-term cooperation agreement with them, provide them with insurance services, even if they encounter a poor harvest, they will be given an income equivalent to a bumper year, and for the best performing farmers, they can be included in the priority list, and when Xujiazhuang expands the village, they can be given priority to join the collective estate." ”

"In short, it is better to adopt positive incentives than to impose any punishment, and to understand the limitations of these low-level workers."

"It's the owner, I see."

Li Jin said helplessly, hey, the owner of the village is too merciful, if you have more contact with those cunning farmers, I am afraid that this practice will be changed immediately, some people are poor, they are really poor, they are really hopelessly short-sighted.

"The Evil God"

But the owner of the village has arranged it like this, so he can only do what he said, and he only hopes that the grain collected next year will not be much less than this year, otherwise it will really be a big reflection and adjustment.