"Sigh the law ......"

At the end of August, when the northern provinces had already begun to harvest grain, truckloads of grain departed from Beizhili and were transported to Taining Sanfu and Shanxi respectively.

At the same time, Liaodong also began to receive a shipload of grain sent from Yingzhou.

The atmosphere of the war was promoted by the Governor's Office of the Five Armies and spread throughout the North.

For a time, the price of grain in Liaodong began to fluctuate, but it was soon stabilized by the millions of stone rice and wheat released by the local imperial horse supervisor.

However, in order to stabilize the price of grain in Liaodong, it is also necessary to replenish the army's military rations, which is a big challenge for the imperial horse supervisor.

Often, at this time, the Imperial Horse Supervisor would choose to buy grain from other places to transfer grain from the south to the north, but because Sichuan was responsible for supplying Shaanxi grain this year, the Imperial Horse Supervisor did not buy grain locally, but put the grain from the Northern Expedition in Huguang, a large grain producing province like Huguang.

Huguang's grain ushered in the autumn harvest period, and at the same time as the new grain was put on the market, nearly 9 million stone rice and wheat were purchased by normal means such as land confiscation and commercial purchase by the local imperial horse supervisor, and then loaded and shipped to Liaodong.

Similarly, rice and wheat from Liaodong were also shipped to Taining Province.

In this way, the matter of one province transporting one province and one province making up for one government is constantly being staged.

The imperial court had to store enough military rations for Liaodong and Taining for half a year before winter.

After waiting for the beginning of spring, they had to deliver enough food to the armies of Liaodong and Taining for four months to eat for a year.

Only in this way can the army logistics of the Third Northern Expedition be guaranteed......

"Only when Jianyu is pacified, can the imperial court set up a provincial political envoy to Nu'er, and the imperial court can develop the northeast!"

At the end of August, the mentougou resounded with the roar of the machine, and compared with this sound, Zhu Youzhen's voice was more uplifting.

At this moment, he walked in the steam engine factory, looking at the workers on the assembly line, with mixed feelings.

The parts of the steam engine are being assembled, which is not fast, but it is enough to make Zhu Youzhen feel proud in his heart.

"Finally on the right track......"

Zhu Youzhen opened his mouth and sighed, but the factory owner beside him didn't dare to respond, so he could only nod again and again.

After walking around the inside of the factory, Zhu Youzhen turned around and rushed to other factories.

Under his observation, the entire Mentougou Industrial Zone was seen clearly.

Tractors on the road rattle, and the steel monster was operated by three ordinary peasants, next to whom stood the factory craftsmen in charge of explaining.

Under the command of the craftsmen, they hung the wire rope on the winch of the tractor.

After repeatedly making sure that the safety device was closed, one of them used a wire rope to pull the ploughshare from a distance, and one of them held it.

When the farmer in charge of the tractor saw that the two were ready, he immediately turned around and used a shovel to fill the coal from the coal cart next to him into the tractor.

Since the water had been poured in advance, after half a stick of incense, the tractor began to make a whistle-like sound, and white water vapor came out of the exhaust port.

The winch began to move, and the two farmers in charge of the ploughshare also began to pull the ploughshare, harnessing it to plough the land.

The fields were ploughed after the autumn, and the actions of these three farmers represented that the Ming Dynasty had officially entered the era of steam agriculture.

Standing on the road not far away, Zhu Youzhen listened to the whistle of the steam tractor in his ears, and looked at the farmers in the field who were panicked and happy from the beginning, and he couldn't help but feel relieved.

"The next step is to start the formation of the Northeast Development Plan with the village collective as the unit."

"But before this plan, we need to store enough machines and destroy the ...... of the Jianyu."

Thinking of this, Zhu Youzhen turned around and left.

He did not go south with Zhu Youxiao, but took the lead in riding south.

The affairs of the Western Military Governor's Mansion and the Southern Military Governor's Mansion made Zhu Youxiao a lot more vigilant, and he didn't leave the Midsummer Palace for half a month, but was studying how to protect himself.

It's just that in his opinion, using Liu Ruoyu and Wang An to take charge of the two armies and three guards of the palace is already the best arrangement he can make.

He is unwilling to give power to some normal martial artists who understand military affairs, which even Zhu Youzhen can't enlighten.

Therefore, Zhu Youzhen first went south to observe the industrial area of Mentougou, and prepared to go to Fangshan and Zhu Youxiao to escape the winter in a few days.

After returning to his temporary residence outside the Mentougou Industrial Zone, Bi Ziyan, who couldn't care about it, came to the door to ask for a meeting.

Zhu Youzhen summoned him in the study, and the first words he said made Zhu Youzhen take his heart to heart.

"Your Highness, since June, Beizhili has moved to Duoyan Mansion, Kaiping Mansion, and Taining Mansion with a total of 32,000 households, totaling more than 164,000 people, and the imperial court has issued 1,640,000 stone ...... of food stamps."

"Hmm...... Well done. Zhu Youzhen rarely praised it, but Bi Ziyan said solemnly:

"Your Highness, although there are people moving north, according to the policy of the imperial court, these 32,000 households need to farm cattle......"

Zhu Youzhen thought that Bi Ziyan was here to report the good news, but he didn't want Bi Ziyan to change, and he still came to ask for things.

"I'll have the Imperial Horse Warden transfer it to you." Zhu Youzhen agreed.

In addition, His Royal Highness ...... "Bi Ziyan doesn't dare to play any thoughts here with Zhu Youzhen, or here with Zhu Youzhen, he often has something to say:

"There is no ......problem with the grain supply of Beizhili and Liaodong to Taining Fu, and the grain of Yingzhou and Huguang to Liaodong."

"It's just that in this way, there is not enough food on the market in Beizhili."

"Xiaguan originally wanted to support Beizhili by transporting grain from Shandong, but Shandong did not have enough grain this year."

Saying three points, Bi Ziyan did not continue, and this also means that the Ming Dynasty has no provinces that can draw grain.

The policy of "transferring grain from the south to the north" designated by Zhu Youzhen was carried out by the imperial court on the premise of ensuring the stability of grain prices in grain provinces.

Although Shandong has undergone many inventories and relocations, due to the influx of the population of Nanzhili, the population of Shandong still has more than 8 million people, and only more than 68 million mu of cultivated land has been found.

The Xiaoice period has fallen, global temperatures have dropped, and food production has decreased.

At present, the grain yield per mu in the north has been reduced by 30 percent, and Shandong, which used to be able to produce two and a half stones per mu, now has only one stone and seven buckets per mu.

"How much grain can Shandong support to Beizhili?"

Zhu Youzhen knew the reason for the decrease in grain yield per mu, so he asked Bi Ziyan reasonably.

"The people of Shandong themselves need about 70 million stone rice and wheat, and only less than 40 million stone can be delivered to Beizhili." Bi Ziyan responded.

"How much grain does Beizhili need?"

Zhu Youzhen asked again, and Bi Ziyan also replied again:

"There is a shortage of more than 19 million stones for the common people, 24 million stones for officialdom, and there is still a gap of 2 million stones."

"However, if you want to stabilize the grain price in Beizhili, you need to import at least 10 million additional stones, so there is a shortage of 12 million stones......"

After Bi Ziyan finished speaking, Zhu Youzhen frowned.

He did not expect that the drought would have passed, but the problem of reduced grain production had not been solved.

Although chemical fertilizers are strong, the production is limited, which can only meet the needs of one province, but the reduction of food production is a global phenomenon.

Two or three percent doesn't seem like much, but it's a lot in the whole territory of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if it is only 20%, hundreds of millions of stone rice and wheat will disappear in the entire territory of Daming, which is enough food for tens of millions of people to eat for a year.

If it weren't for Zhu Youzhen's relocation of the population and the development of hundreds of millions of acres of overseas granaries, the current Ming Dynasty would probably have been like history, with smoke everywhere and the population reduced.

"Nanzhili and Zhejiang, Jiangxi provinces also lack about 10 million stones......"

Zhu Youzhen was just about to transport grain from Jiaozhi to Beizhili, but Bi Ziyan's words gave him another heavy blow.

"Can it be implemented by collecting Jiaozhi, transporting Fujian and Guangdong from the old port, and then transshipment to Nanzhili, Zhejiang, and then transshipment to the north?"

Zhu Youzhen asked calmly, but Bi Ziyan subconsciously shook his head:

"If Jiaozhi wants to stabilize grain prices this year, it can only ship 5 million stones, while Yunnan needs to transfer 4 million, and Jiaozhi can only produce 1 million stones."

"There is only Luzon and Zhongshan grain in the old port province that can support the transportation to Guangdong, but this year's drought in Guangdong, even if it is to be adjusted, there are only 3 million stone ......."

"The two provinces combined, only four million stone ......"

Bi Ziyan's words made Zhu Youzhen silent, and Bi Ziyan himself was silent.

In fact, because there was no way to ask for help from Zhu Youzhen, and according to what he thought, only by temporarily suspending the Northern Expedition could the provinces get through this year safely.

It's a pity that Bi Ziyan uses common sense thinking, and Zhu Youzhen ......

"How much can the grain of the six provinces of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou, Yingzhou, Jiugang, and Jiaozhi be surplus if they reduce one-quarter of the rations of the labor reform workers?"

"This ......" Bi Ziyan was stunned, he didn't expect Zhu Youzhen to think about reducing the rations of the labor campers, so he made a pretentious statement after calculating:

"There are 6.3 million labor reformers in the six provinces, if they are reduced by a quarter, they can probably make a surplus of 8 million stones, which can be ......"

"That's enough!"

Bi Ziyan wanted to say, "But this will make the labor reformers dissatisfied, and even a riot will break out," but Zhu Youzhen didn't wait for him to say anything.

"Reduce the ration of a quarter of the labor camp workers in the six provinces, or replace it with sweet potatoes and potatoes, in short, we must surplus 6 million stone rice to support Jiangnan."

Zhu Youzhen ordered with a calm face: "Counting the four million, the grain in Jiangnan is enough." ”

"As for grain in the north, if the provinces squeeze it any further, the grain price can rise by 10 percent slightly."

"This year, the people will suffer, and next year the court will permanently exempt some miscellaneous items to benefit the people."

Zhu Youzhen knew how much the rise in grain prices would affect the lives of the people, but he couldn't help it.

One year has passed since the three-year buffer period for the severe drought, and next year will be the second year, and the year after that, Zhu Youzhen will have to prepare for the second round of the drought and reserve grain.

Therefore, the time to destroy Jianyu is only next year, and next year will be a year of hardship, and the year after next year will be able to develop the northeast in preparation for the second wave of 11-year drought.

"...... the labor camp over there"

When Bi Ziyan heard that Zhu Youzhen wanted to reduce miscellaneous items, he did not resist the increase in grain prices for a year.

I believe that even the people can understand and even be happy if they suffer the price of grain for a year or so in the future.

After all, in the more than 30 years that Zhang Juzheng and Zhu Youzhen were in power, the imperial court did not care much about local grain prices at all, and occasionally they rose several times a year, let alone a mere success.

It's just that Bi Ziyan is still a little worried that the workers will riot, after all, in his opinion, it is an excellent and cheap labor.

"If you suffer a little harder, I will carry the ...... by infamy"

Faced with Bi Ziyan's worries, Zhu Youzhen replied calmly, and what he said meant that if anyone rioted, the place could only be suppressed.

"This ......" Bi Ziyan felt a little pity, but then he still responded.

It is better to work hard than to suffer the people......

"Then the official is fine......

As before, after everything was dealt with, Bi Ziyan wanted to leave.

However, his matter has been dealt with, but Zhu Youzhen has something to ask him.

"How many people have migrated from Liaodong and Shanxi? How about the distribution of ploughing cattle? ”

"There are about 120,000 in Shanxi and about 90,000 ......in Liaodong," Bi Ziyan responded without thinking and explained:

"I've already talked to Admiral Cao about ploughing cattle."

"Well......" Zhu Youzhen hasn't heard Cao Huachun's name for a long time, since he came out of Sichuan.

A year has passed, and now that I think about it, Zhu Youzhen also feels that he is too harsh on Cao Huachun.

Cao Huachun managed the two major stalls of Huangdian and Juntuntian alone, especially the most complicated affairs in Huangdian.

Huangdian is still the yamen that contributes the most taxes, and in the past few years that Cao Huachun has been in charge, Huangdian has not had much corruption, which shows that Huangdian under Cao Huachun's management is very good.

】

It can only be said that while managing the imperial store, Cao Huachun really did not have the spare energy to take care of the military tuntian, so he gave the Sichuan imperial horse supervisor officials the opportunity to embezzle.

"We have to speed up the merger of the military tuntian and the mintuntian, and then cancel all miscellaneous items, and simplify the land endowment to reduce the pressure on the people......"

Zhu Youzhen thought about it, but there was no expression on his face, but said to Bi Ziyan:

"The government schools in Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan provinces should be implemented in accordance with the household registration book."

"Take advantage of this opportunity to make the population of the three provinces clear, and the same is true for the fields."

Zhu Youzhen is confident that he has already checked the acres of land in these three provinces, but it is always a good thing to take precautions.

"Your Majesty has received orders, please rest assured that Your Highness ......"

Bi Ziyan bowed respectfully in return, and Zhu Youzhen also took the opportunity to ask:

"When you came, how was the construction of the Jingmen Railway?"

"The track will be laid in nine miles, a few days faster than expected, and it is estimated that it will be laid before the seventh day of September, followed by the test run and opening to traffic." Bi Ziyan responded.

"You've seen the trains that have already been piloted, right? How is it? Zhu Youzhen sat in his position and asked curiously.

He wanted to know how the Ming Dynasty people thought about trains differently from the officials of the late Qing Dynasty.

"The train is ingenious, and the lower officials can't calm down after watching it for a long time."

"It wasn't until I saw it that I didn't know why His Highness insisted on building a railway."

Bi Ziyan acted from the bottom of his heart, and returned the gift to express the unpeace in his heart.

Thanks to the eastward trend of Western learning and the opening up of the late Ming Dynasty, Bi Ziyan, as a scholar class, only sighed at the train, and did not have the kind of sassy operation that officials in the late Qing Dynasty exclaimed that the train was a monster.

There may be trains built by the Ming Dynasty themselves, and the reason why the trains of the late Qing Dynasty were built by foreigners, but in general, the scholar class of the Han court was generally open.

Regarding Bi Ziyan's exclamation, Zhu Youzhen expressed great satisfaction.

"Trains benefit the country and the people, not only for the imperial court to control the frontiers and remote provinces, but also for commerce and trade."

"In the future, when the household registration book and ID card are popularized, the imperial court will be able to open up the road and let the people enter and leave the provinces freely."

Zhu Youzhen's words made Bi Ziyan nod again and again, and in this regard, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but say some more benefits of the train, and it wasn't until two quarters of an hour later that he let Bi Ziyan leave.

However, after Bi Ziyan walked out of Zhu Youzhen's residence, he glanced at the cement wall of the industrial zone made of cement.

The cement wall made of reinforced concrete is four feet high, with a circumference of 20 miles, enclosing tens of thousands of acres of land.

The roaring sound represented that it was not simple, and as far as Bi Ziyan knew, the last place where such a strong garrison was the Armament Yard five miles away.

In other words, the things in this city are at the same level as the things in the armament courtyard, and there are still five such cities under construction......

Thinking of this, Bi Ziyan turned around and left.

He got on the four-wheeled carriage made of natural rubber, and under the guard of a team of soldiers and horses, he set out on the road back to the capital.

The road is based on the standard of the prefectural road, so the carriage walks very steadily and does not feel too shaky.

The convoy traveled for about two quarters of an hour, and then the sound of work was heard in full swing.

Bi Ziyan looked out of the carriage window and could clearly see the faces of the people working on the construction site.

They were on the train tracks, wielding hammers and sweating, just to earn the thirty dollars a day's wages.

Thirty is a lot, and it can buy ten catties of rice, or one catty of mutton, and two chickens and ducks.

Thirty Wen is also very few, it can only eat a bowl of rice in an ordinary roadside shop in the capital, can only buy three cups of sour plum soup in front of the ice drink shop, and can only buy two taels of tribute rice.

When Bi Ziyan looked at them, he couldn't help but think that the amount of 2,000 taels of silver a year like himself might be the silver that the hundreds of people in front of him could only earn by working together for two years.

Two thousand taels of silver......

What a huge sum of money, but even so, there are still some people who are dissatisfied.

For example, those people who live in remote areas and earn less than 10 cents a day may not be able to imagine how a person can spend 2,000 taels of silver in his annual salary......

If it weren't for His Royal Highness King Qi's food and clothing, and actively raising money and food for disaster relief, I am afraid that these people would not have been able to survive the three-year drought at all, and they would have already turned into dry bones.

"Alas......"

With a long sigh, Bi Ziyan couldn't bear to look at those people anymore, and slowly closed the car window......

"The people have work to do, and my heart is very gratified..."

When Bi Ziyan closed the window, Zhu Youxiao, who was accompanying many people south, also opened the window and sighed to the people who were working.

"Long live you at the helm of the world, so that the people have work, the officials have money, and the farmers have food ......"

On the six-wheeled carriage of three zhang and six horses, Wei Zhongxian knelt in the carriage like a small palace, flattering Zhu Youxiao.

"It's still thanks to my brother." Zhu Youxiao was very happy to be praised by Wei Zhongxian, but he did not lose himself.

Although he felt that he had a great role, it was mainly his younger brother who planned appropriately.

"Counting that there has not been a civil uprising in the country for three years, I am afraid it is also due to the cooperation of His Highness and Banzai and the unity of brothers."

Wei Zhongxian, as an expert in sycophancy, naturally knows how to please the emperor.

He knew that after he praised the emperor, the emperor would mention the king of Qi, but he still praised it.

In the final analysis, he is a slave after all, and only the slave and the maid praise their master, how can anyone praise others?

You have to praise the master first, and then follow the master's words to praise others, this is the way of priority.

"Hehe......"

Sure enough, hearing Wei Zhongxian's words, Zhu Youxiao was very useful.

He looked at the people outside the window, and he couldn't help but be proud in his chest:

"Throughout the ages, the royal family has been as brother and brother as my two brothers, I am afraid it is rare to see it in the past."

"A wise emperor like Banzai, a prince like His Royal Highness, who is about to enter the prime minister, is indeed rare to see in the past few thousand years." Wei Zhongxian chimed in.

"If they are the people, who have a break every year and only work for ten months, I am afraid they can earn eight or nine taels of silver."

Zhu Youxiao turned around with interest and asked the people in the car, but all the slaves and maids kept their mouths shut and did not dare to answer.

"This is natural, in the current apocalypse is prosperous, as long as you are willing to sell some labor, a person can be ten taels of silver a year."

Wei Zhongxian said with a smile, but some slaves and maids heard about it, but they didn't feel good in their hearts.

In this dialogue that does not know the suffering of the people, the hour is already dusk, and the people are receiving their wages.

Compared with the great deeds in their mouths, ten taels per capita, the small hanging of thirty copper coins in the hands of the people is particularly ironic.

"After finishing next month, the sleepers will be laid to Miyun, and it is estimated that when they are laid to Miyun, you and I will have to go home."

"Why do you want to do so much? It's not bad to be able to work for two and a half months a year, so I can save two taels of silver. ”

The dialogue between the two people is embarrassing, and unlike Wei Zhongxian's words, as long as you are willing to sell your labor, you can earn ten taels a year, the reality is often more cruel.

The city of Beijing, with a population of 1.3 million, needs only more than 100,000 laborers, while looking at the more than 7 million people in Beizhili, its labor demand is only 500,000 or 600,000.

Compared with more than 2 million adult men, this demand can only make a small number of people live a nourishing life, and most people should still farm and farm, guard the few acres of thin fields at home, and earn two or three taels of silver that can only be earned once a year.

Moreover, even if there is a job, not every job can be paid 30 wen a day.

Most of the workers are basically about 15 to 20 yuan.

The ten taels of silver in Wei Zhongxian's mouth are the "annual income" that these people can only earn after two or three years of busyness.

But what about it?

How could Wei Zhongxian not know about the civil situation? He was a person who castrated himself into the palace because he couldn't find a job and couldn't pay off his gambling debts.

He knows more about folk affairs than too many people, but the true words are often not what the people above want to hear.

He didn't care if the people could earn ten taels of silver in a year, in short, he had to make the emperor believe in the "Apocalypse Prosperous Age".

"Oh no, hooray." Wei Zhongxian remembered the note sent by the capital this morning, so he turned around and took out the note from the dragon eucalyptus, and presented it with both hands:

"This is the list of six concubines sent by His Majesty and the Concubine Niangniang and the amount of wedding expenses sent by His Royal Highness King Qi."

"The middle palace said that the state funds are separated, and the marriage of the king of Qi is a family matter, and the silver should be taken out from the inside."

"The amount given by the two is 1.3 million taels, please long live you to set a wedding date......

"One million three thousand taels?" Zhu Youxiao frowned, making Wei Zhongxian think that this was too much.

"Too little!" Zhu Youxiao didn't even look at the recital, so he threw it back to Wei Zhongxian:

"Isn't there an annual income of two million gold and silver in October?"

"Yes......" Wei Zhongxian almost guessed the amount Zhu Youxiao was going to say.

"My brother's wedding date is set for the end of October, and the internal treasury will allocate three million taels of silver for the twenty-four yamen to purchase each."

"The slave maid takes the order......" Zhu Youxiao sat back in his place, and Wei Zhongxian could only bow his head and respond.

At this moment, he only felt that his heart was gouged by a knife, and his flesh was cut and blood was dripping.

Watching others spend money lavishly is more uncomfortable than killing him.

He has been greedy for silver for ten years, and he has not spent as much as King Qi's wedding......