"Xu Shuo, the prefect of Zunyi, has seen the ...... Senate"

In the cold winter season, when the snow was already falling in the south of the Yangtze River, outside the Zunyi Mansion in the southwest mountains, Xu Shuo, who served as the prefect of Zunyi, was making a gesture to a literati dressed in plain satin.

His actions are so far that there is no flattery, no flattery, no distancing.

The dismissal of the Senate by him was Xie Jin, who had been delegated to Guangxi three months ago to declare the political envoy department an official.

"Governor Xu, passing through here on the way, I don't know if there are any places with style that can be recommended for arrangement?"

At this moment, Xie Jin, who was wearing a plain satin, returned the salute, but his head did not lower a little.

"There is a temple built in the Tang Dynasty more than ten miles away in the south, the famous Huguo Temple (Xiangshan Temple), which has been passed down to more than 640 years now, if you are interested, you can go to have a look."

"It just so happens that there is an empty car in the government, if you don't dislike it, you can take this car to go."

Xu Shuo replied politely, and Xie Jin also smiled when he heard this: "Since this is the case, then it will be disrespectful." ”

"Zhao Tongzhi, let's shunt the car." Insight Jin was about to go, and Xu Shuo also spoke modestly to Zhao Liang beside him.

Zhao Liang responded expressionlessly, turned around and returned to the mansion, and after a while, he saw a carriage walking out of the side street of the mansion and stopping in front of the mansion.

"This is the senator Xie who went to Guangxi to take office, so he greets him, don't be lazy."

"Yes......" Seeing Xu Shuo say this, the groom got out of the car and put on a stool for Xie Jin, Xie Jin was not polite, and raised his legs to get into the carriage.

He had six or seven guards with him, all on horseback, so there was no need to huddle with him.

"This horse was taken from the post station in Chongqing Mansion, so let's stay in Zunyi Mansion."

Xie Jin pulled the window and left the horse he had ridden when he came, obviously very satisfied with the carriage and wanted to take it away.

Zhao Liang was angry when he heard this, but Xu Shuo took the first step in front of him: "Since Senator Xie likes it, give it to Senator Xie." ”

"This horse is precious, and it will be kept for the Senate for the time being, and then it will be presented with both hands after the Senate will pass through Zunyi Mansion in the future."

"No need, let's go!" Xie Jin closed the window, very generous.

Seeing him speak, the groom also shook the reins and drove the carriage towards the Huguo Temple.

When they walked away, Zhao Liang frowned and said: "Although this Xie Jin is generous, and riding a horse is more valuable than pulling a horse, this carriage is an official thing after all, how can it be given away at will." ”

"He's in the limelight, so it's better for you and me to avoid it." Xu Shuo chuckled and spoke, and Zhao Liang said angrily when he saw this: "Can you still laugh?" ”

Zhao Liang has worked with Xu Shuo for many years and is already familiar with his temper.

Although Xu Shuo is exquisite, he can tolerate some petty theft in secret, but he generally does not easily tolerate a situation like Xie Jin, who wants to go to the government carriage openly, but now he ......

"The situation is stronger than people, if people care, although you and I will not be affected, but we will also be targeted."

"The situation in Zunyi Mansion is slightly better, you and I are in the last year of the three-year assessment, so why bother with him."

Xu Shuo turned around and walked towards the palace, although Zhao Liang followed him, he was still not very happy.

The two were speechless all the way, and it was not until they returned to the study that Zhao Rail sat down and said:

"That Xie Jin was sent down by His Majesty at the end of August, and now it is the middle of the month, but he has only just come to Zunyi."

"Three months is not a long time, but it is not a short time, if you simply rush to take office, take the sea route and the Pearl River waterway, you can reach Guilin in a month and a half at most."

"Even if you take the land route, it will only take two and a half months to go south from Wuchang all the way to Guilin."

"Now he is advancing by land and water, but it took three and a half months, and he took a long detour to Zunyi."

"Although I didn't see his news in the "Di Bao", I also made a detour to Zunyi for three and a half months, thinking that he would go up the Yangtze River from Nanjing, touring the mountains and rivers along the way, and writing poems and inscriptions."

"Such a person, I'm afraid that if he is given another month, he may not be able to arrive in Guilin."

Zhao Liang is not good at words, and he hates flattery, and he only thinks that he and Xu Shuo are friends before he says this to him.

Xu Shuo also knew that Zhao Liang hated those so-called clear streams the most, so he personally poured tea for him and comforted: "Relax a little, it's only more than half a month before the end of the assessment." ”

"When the assessment is over, you and I will be able to get a two-month long break, and we will be able to relax and rest at that time."

"Humph!" Zhao Liang snorted coldly, his eyes were cold: "According to what you and I said before, both of us will go to Guangxi at that time, and maybe we will become colleagues with this Xie Jin." ”

"Becoming a colleague with this kind of person, I'm afraid you and I will have a hard time."

Zhao Liang was worried that Xie Jin was pointing fingers at government affairs, but Xu Shuo chuckled.

His laughter made Zhao Liang frown and stunned, but Xu Shuo said confidently: "I guess, if you and I don't take office, there will be a lot of trouble in this Xie Jin." ”

"How so?" Zhao Liang asked subconsciously, but Xu Shuo raised his chin and said:

"With his style, coupled with the style of the group of people behind him in the temple, it is not easy for His Highness to let him live until now."

"I estimate that if His Majesty hadn't opened his mouth this time, this Xie Jin would have been imprisoned for his disciples."

"At the moment, His Majesty forgives him, but he is just delegated to be an official, and not only does he not have a correct attitude, but he also travels along the way."

"After going to Guangxi, it is estimated that he can't wait to return to Jiangnan when the land reform begins."

"Once he returns to Jiangnan, His Majesty will be furious when he finds out, so his life ......"

Xu Shuo's qualifications are indeed not deep, and he has not waded through the muddy waters of the temple, but he can't stand the fact that there is righteousness behind him.

Jian Yi is sophisticated but not sophisticated, and if he wants to mention Xu Shuo, it is still easy.

Although Jian Yi served as the political envoy of Sichuan, Xu Shuo also knew that Jian Yi might be transferred back to the capital in a few days.

At that time, there will be a lack of important ministers in the southwest, and he may be the official who can be on top.

Of course, whether this matter can succeed depends on Donggong's opinion.

Thinking of this, Xu Shuo tidied up the hem of his clothes: "As far as the situation recorded by the yamen this year, it is not far from me to be promoted." ”

"Next, as long as you wait for the officials to pass the assessment, you can be transferred to Guangxi if you want to come, and continue to make meritorious contributions in Guangxi."

At the same time as his words fell, Zhao Liang also nodded in approval.

At the same time, thousands of miles away, Zhu Gaoxu also obtained the "Yellow Book" and the "Fish Scale Atlas" of this year's 20 Beijing and 15 Political Envoys, 20 Capital Divisions, and Three Propaganda Comfort Divisions.

They were placed in front of Zhu Gaoxu and let Zhu Gaoxu look at them.

"Eight thousand, three hundred and sixty-five thousand, nine hundred and twenty-seven, the increase is considerable."

Sitting in the Chunhe Palace, Zhu Gaoxu looked at the increase in population by more than 1.54 million compared with last year, and he did not express any dissatisfaction, but was very happy.

His actions made Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi, who were given seats in the palace, a little embarrassed.

"At present, there are nine political departments that have implemented the new policy, five places in the capital department, and three places in the propaganda department......"

"Except for the political envoys and capital departments in Nanzhili, Zhejiang, Huguang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, and Yunnan, only the two prefectures of Wusizang and Duogan in the west have not implemented new policies."

"In this year's "Yellow Book", most of the new mouths were handed over to the places where the new policies were implemented, and the places that did not implement them not only did not add new mouths, but reduced the number of mouths by more than 400,000, which is not at all in line with common sense."

"In the opinion of the ministers, after the Lantern Festival, we must first start with the six prefectures in Jiangdong and implement a new policy for Jiangnan."

Xia Yuanji said straight to the point, with some temper in his words.

This is not surprising, after all, although the current Ming Dynasty has undergone repeated migrations, the total number of mouths in the New Deal is only 40 million.

The remaining 43 million people are the data of those in Jiangnan who have not implemented the new policy.

It may seem like there are too many people in Gangnam, but in fact there are more people in Gangnam.

In the "Yellow Book" of the 14th year of Hongwu alone, the six provinces in Beijing that Xia Yuanji mentioned that the new policy had not been implemented had a population of 40 million in that year.

Now, 29 years later, how can we only add 3 million people?

Moreover, these 3 million people were found out from Yingtianfu, Songjiang Prefecture, and Suzhou Prefecture, and other places not only did not increase their population, but reported less.

In the case of Sanfu, the population of the entire Jiangnan region should be conservatively estimated to be no less than 50 million.

"According to what you said, after the Lantern Festival, let's implement a new policy for the six governments."

Zhu Gaoxu approved of it, and the reason why he didn't care so much was because Yang Xian was training the navy in Changzhou Mansion, with more than 40,000 of them.

This time, the implementation of the new policy of the six prefectures in Jiangdong was attended not only by tens of thousands of officials, but also by 40,000 navies and 20,000 soldiers and horses of Zhili.

Military-political cooperation, it's strange that you can't eat it.

As long as you eat it, it will be easier for the entire Nanzhili to implement the new policy.

"The number of acres has not increased much, mainly in Sichuan and Guizhou."

Zhu Gaoxu looked down at the "Fish Scale Atlas" and told the situation.

Seeing this, Guo Zi also hurriedly made a gesture, brushed his face and said: "This dynasty is very concerned about the registration of the "Fish Scale Atlas", and the north is dominated by military tuns, so after the elimination of the northern tuntian soldiers, the measured situation is not exaggerated. ”

"Compared with last year, the increase of more than 7 million mu of cultivated land this year is mostly the result of the relocation of Guizhou people to Sichuan for reclamation, and the spontaneous reclamation within the jurisdiction of Guizhou."

"If there are 90 million mouths in the imperial court, then 630 million mu of cultivated land can be planted."

Guo Zi still knows about farming, and he uses manpower to sow seeds, even if he is a strong man, he can take care of five acres of land at most.

The 630 million mu of cultivated land is mainly due to the extensive management outside the customs and the animal power of a large number of ploughing cattle and horses.

"After the investigation of the six prefectures in Jiangdong, I estimate that many people will be convicted......"

Zhu Gaoxu closed the "Yellow Book" and said to Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi: "These people, the most heinous criminals were exiled to Ryukyu Prefecture in Fujian, followed by exile in Guizhou, and finally exiled to the land of Gansu, Su, melon, and sand. ”

"Your Highness......" Hearing Zhu Gaoxu's direction of exile, Xia Yuanji said:

"The ministers of other places have no opinions, mainly in the northwest of Guasha, have too many people moved there?"

"This year, the imperial court has already transferred more than 200,000 stones of grain just to maintain the existing more than 40,000 people in Guasha Prefecture, and the local situation may be difficult to be self-sufficient."

Thousands of years have passed, and the environmental degradation of the Northwest has been even worse than that of later generations.

In later generations, Dunhuang and Guazhou can still see a lot of green, but in this era, that kind of scene is simply impossible.

Even near the river, there is at most some green grass, and there are not many trees at all, after all, trees are not only building materials, but also heating fuel.

If Zhu Gaoxu hadn't pointed out the coal mines in the land of Guasha, the more than 40,000 people in the two prefectures would have had a huge problem just to boil water and cook fuel.

"Although Erzhou costs a lot, it is a springboard for the imperial court to enter Hami after all."

"This time, taking advantage of my father's northward journey, I am going to send Guo Yong to lead 3,000 cavalry to escort Tokh to Hami, and serve as the imperial court's guard commander in Hami, canonize Anke Timur as a loyal and obedient uncle, move it to Lanzhou, and reward 3,000 acres of farmland."

Zhu Gaoxu wanted to attack Hamiwei, even if the local Ankh Timur had a good attitude towards the Ming, but this place was always in their hands, not the Ming army.

The only way to get the Ming army to be stationed in the local area, to use cement to build underground water canals and qanats, and to restore the ecology in Hami little by little, and to cultivate crops.

Hami also has coal mines, coal mines and concrete, so the construction and fuel of trees are not very useful.

It is much easier to plant crops on this basis, turn the straw into grass squares to fix sand, and then plant a sand control forest.

"If you take Hami, then the household is ...... here"

Xia Yuanji was a little hesitant, after all, it was so difficult to maintain Guasha, and it was even more difficult for Hami, who was five or six hundred miles away from Guasha.

"After the internal relocation of Hami, it is enough for the imperial court to keep only 1,000 soldiers and horses in the local area, although there are 600 miles of Gobi Desert, but after that, Guasha's soldiers and horses can be transferred to the east of Suzhou, and only one thousand households need to be retained each."

Zhu Gaoxu explained to Xia Yuanji, and Xia Yuanji was also relieved when he heard this.

According to what Zhu Gaoxu said, after the war, Guasha plus Hami had at most 3,000 soldiers and horses, although the logistical pressure increased, but at least it was not as much pressure as expected.

"In that case, the minister will not say more."

Xia Yuanji put down his hand, and Zhu Gaoxu asked when he saw this: "How much does the household department owe this year, and how much is there in each library?" ”

"This year, the household department owes about 7 million guan of money and grain after it is turned into color, and there are still more than 27 million guan of money, grain and spices in the treasury after it is turned into color, but more than 8 million guan of it is gold."

Guo Zi reminded Zhu Gaoxu that there is now a lot of gold in Daming's inventory, more than 840,000 taels.

This is still the case that the household department did not collect very carefully, and if the household department collected carefully, it could be more.

"Although gold is important, it can also be used when necessary, and there is no need for special reminders."

Zhu Gaoxu is not ready to engage in the gold standard now, so gold is also an emergency for him.

The financial pressure in the next three years will be very great, but once these three years are over, the financial pressure of the Ming Dynasty will gradually become smaller, and the final balance will be reached.

"Has the household department calculated how much Yongle Tongbao has been issued over the years, and how many coins have been collected and minted?"

Zhu Gaoxu leaned back in his chair and asked Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi, the reason why he asked the two was because Yongle Tongbao began to be distributed on a large scale in the third year of Yongle, and Guo Zi was not a household secretary at that time.

"In eight years, about 86 million pieces have been issued, and the specific situation can only be understood by taking the document."

Xia Yuanji opened his mouth without thinking, and at the same time continued: "As for the amount of new money handed over, it is about 50 million yuan. ”

"In these cases, the household department has a book, after all, every year the old money mints new money, and there will always be different quality of coins, which will lead to a lot of fire consumption."

Needless to say, the quality of Yongle Tongbao is too good, which leads to the rarity of workshops on the market that dare to imitate Yongle Tongbao.

Instead of imitating Yongle Tongbao, it is better to imitate Hongwu and those ancient coins of the previous dynasty.

"Judging from the situation in the market, how many years do you think it will take for the imperial court to completely make Yongle Tongbao become the mainstream?"

Zhu Gaoxu's words can always pop up new words, which Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi are used to.

Guo Zi calculated for a while, and then said: "Last month, Luzon found a few copper mines, according to the words of the local propaganda envoy Xu Chailao, at this time next year, hundreds of thousands of catties of copper ingots can be stably mined to transport to the capital, and one million catties can be mined in a few years." ”

"If this news is true, then the imperial court will be able to mint an additional two or three hundred thousand guan a year, counting the silver and copper ingots from overseas and southwest, it will not be a problem to mint seven million guan a year, and it will be able to occupy the mainstream market in twenty years at most."

"Millions?" Zhu Gaoxu was surprised, although he knew that the reserves of copper mines in Luzon were very high, but with the productivity of the current era, it was not a simple matter to mine millions of catties of copper ore in Luzon every year.

"Your Highness, there have been many people in the temple who have impeached Xu Chai Lao recently......"

Before Zhu Gaoxu was surprised, Xia Yuanji on the side said the content of the temple's impeachment of Xu Chailao.

After all, Xu Chai Lao was a businessman before, and businessmen are profit-seeking.

At this time in history, Luzon did not produce anything, so the Ming Dynasty did not give Xu Chai Lao any resources.

Xu returned to his hometown of Fujian from Luzon in old age, and the Ming rule in Luzon fell apart when he led his fellow villagers away.

Now it is different, Zhu Gaoxu pointed out the gold and copper mines in Luzon, and Xu Chai Lao naturally has a head.

Coupled with the tens of thousands of soldiers and horses under the two guards under Jiang Gui, Xu Chailao's ambition was naturally magnified.

The population of Luzon is not large, and it has only developed to more than 130,000 people, so naturally there is not enough manpower to mine mineral deposits.

Not only is there not enough manpower to exploit the land, but even the land is very slow.

Because of this, Xu Chai bewitched Jiang Gui to arrest the natives, and used the natives to reclaim wasteland and develop mineral deposits.

Jiang Gui didn't talk nonsense, as long as he could do good things to the local people, he had nothing to hesitate about.

Therefore, in the past few years, large tracts of arable land have been cleared and many minerals have been excavated.

Today's Luzon is not only self-sufficient, but also pays tens of thousands of taels of gold and tens of thousands of stone taxes and grain to the imperial court every year.

As a consolation envoy, although Xu Chai Lao is not under the control of the Ministry of Officials, the Governor's Office of the Six Armies also has its own examiners.

In the past few years, most of the military attachés who went to Luzon and returned from the Governor's Office of the Six Armies would be distracted from Luzon, fearing that they would criticize the natives too much and cause rebellion.

In fact, their fears were not unfounded, as there had been seventy-nine rebellions in Luzon over the past seven years.

You must know that even in Annam, which has culture, there have only been 62 rebellions in the past few years, and as time goes by, the scale of rebellions has become smaller and smaller.

But Luzon is different, and the scale of Luzon is getting bigger and bigger, and the largest scale is the Huangshan Rebellion that occurred three months ago.

More than 30 native tribes formed a coalition of 40,000 and launched an attack on the town of Huangshan in the eastern part of Luzon.

However, this massive attack was trampled by Jiang Gui with 600 cavalry and broken by 3,000 musketeers.

After the war, Jiang Gui successfully killed more than 7,000 natives and captured more than 20,000 people with a record of 52 killed and 336 wounded, and the rest fled into the mountains.

Although they did not approve of Jiang Gui's use of oppression to govern Luzon, the Governor's Office of the Six Armies still gave Jiang Gui a credit appraisal and presented it to Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu was very familiar with Jiang Gui, and he didn't think there was a problem with his ways, and even promoted him to the position of the governor of the navy.

Every era has its own rules, and the rules before the twentieth century were the law of the jungle.

Compared with the Western colonizers, Xu Chai Lao's little thing in Luzon was nothing at all.

Not to mention the current historical background of the early fifteenth century, even in the eighteenth century.

If the whites only asked the blacks to work for three years to return their freedom, and give them food to reclaim their own land, then the blacks would probably be moved to tears.

In comparison, what Xu Chai did in Luzon, Zhu Gaoxu didn't pay attention to it at all.

Because of this, in the face of Xia Yuanji's words, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but shake his head and said:

"We Han people have a habit of looking at each other pitifully, and there will be a group of people who will feel pity, which will lead to disasters in the future."

"There are too many examples like this in the history books."

"We can't make such mistakes to avoid repeating them."

Zhu Gaoxu picked up the teacup and took a sip, Xia Yuanji frowned when he heard this:

"This kind of thing just happened in one place, it's okay to say, but if you ignore it, and even add officials to Xu Chai Lao and Jiang Gui, Nachen is worried that all places will follow suit......"

Xia Yuanji is not worried about the affairs of Luzon alone, he is worried that Luzon's practices will be imitated by various places, and this kind of atmosphere is not very suitable for governing complex places.

If it is better to say at sea, there are many Ming feudal states, and there are many places to supply, and for the rebellion of some coastal towns, it can also be suppressed by relying on strong ships and artillery.

However, if this kind of thing happens in areas with complex terrain, such as Sanxuan and Liuwei, Yungui, etc., it will be a different matter.

"There's some truth to what you say......"

Zhu Gaoxu put down the teacup and said after thinking: "Use this as an excuse to evaluate Xu Chai Lao and Jiang Gui as second class in this year's assessment." ”

"This ...... Too light, right? Guo Zi couldn't help but speak, and Xia Yuanji also frowned.

"Under their management, both the imperial court and the people of Luzon have benefited, and it is not good to criticize too much."

Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to continue this topic, and Xia Yuanji and Guo Zi, who saw this, could only sigh helplessly.

After a short time, they changed direction and discussed the issue of the southwest......

(End of chapter)