bayedsolid First Minister Section 535
First Minister Section 535
For example, the one Lao Zhu met, he colluded with other people's daughter-in-law, and after being accused, he was also assigned to Peiping.
Like him, a family of bad people, although it is contemptible to say it, was sentenced to be assigned, which shows that there is not much politeness in the current harsh punishment of Ming Dynasty.
Not only this kind of random collusion case, but also too many monks and nuns were sent to Peiping.
Among the three aunts and six wives, there are nuns and Taoist nuns, but in general, Zhu Yuanzhang is not polite to monks.
He didn't show any mercy to his old colleagues just because he had been in the job before.
Even harsher.
The result of this is that prisoners are sent to Peiping every day, ranging from a few hundred to over a thousand.
Throughout the Ming Dynasty, there was no such a place with such a high proportion of prisoners.
Thinking about it, Lao Zhu felt that his scalp was numb, how to deal with it?
It can't be a decree, it's all clicked, right?
The more Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it, the more he felt sorry for his fourth son. It was really embarrassing for him to be thrown into such a place of tigers and wolves when he was still young.
"Sir, apart from the large number of prisoners, Peking also has a lot of soldiers and horses, right?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "My lord, the current number of soldiers and horses under the Beiping Remaining Division should exceed 20."
"There are so many?" Old Zhu was startled, and then he did the calculations silently. As the Son of Heaven, he has the tightest grip on military power, so it's impossible for him not to know about this.
Lao Zhu calculated carefully, and there was only a lot more.
The first is Zhu Wenzheng and Li Wenzhong. They have been stationed in northern Xinjiang after the recovery of Beiping. The two troops finally totaled more than [-], and their peak period exceeded [-].
There are six guards and horses under the commander of Beiping, about [-].
There are more than [-] soldiers and horses under the direct control of Zhu Di's palace.
In addition, the soldiers and horses of Liaodong, Guan Duo's troops, are also counted under Zhu Di's name, and there are as many as [-] to [-] troops.
There are also military households led by Hu Dahai, who are mainly on the front line of the Great Wall. Although these people can only be counted as militiamen, they cannot support too many people, there are more than a hundred thousand people.
This is not counting the navy of Dagukou.
Anyway, according to a rough calculation, there are definitely 30 to [-] soldiers and horses under Zhu Di's command.
Although the imperial court will bear most of the expenses among these soldiers and horses, Zhu Di is naturally duty-bound to provide various conveniences for the soldiers and horses stationed in Beiping.
Moreover, such as the soldiers and horses of the palace, and the militiamen who repaired the Great Wall, all of them are soldiers and horses. These are Zhu Di's responsibilities.Military pay, military rations, and expenses are like running water, so I won’t talk about it.
In the west of Liaoning, there is also a horse farm planned by Li Wenzhong, with more than [-] war horses, which must also be supported!
In addition to the large number of soldiers and horses, there are also many students in Peking.
When Zhang Ximeng came, he witnessed the first batch of freshmen entering Peking University Hall, and now it is the second batch, with more than 1000 students.
It is still those promises, the clothes that should be given, the teaching materials that should be prepared, the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, and the famous teachers that should be hired.
Zhu Di has worked hard in the past few years, and finally evolved from being poor to heavily in debt.
"Is it so difficult?"
Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but said: "Then how does Beiping survive? Can it still survive?"
"Now it mainly relies on two things. One is strict taxation... I guess my lord has already learned about this point, right?"
Old Zhu's face was very dark, "The tax collectors in Peiping do have a stern and selfless side!"
Unselfish?
Zhang Ximeng couldn't help chuckling, "My lord, maybe you don't know yet? They can get one-tenth of the reward if they catch tax evaders, and the upper limit is [-] guan notes at a time."
That is to say, if you smuggle 50 guan of goods and are caught by tax collectors, you can get 100 guan as a reward. If you find out [-] million guan, due to the upper limit, there will only be [-] guan.
But even so, it is quite impressive. If you are lucky enough to catch one, it will be worth decades of salary, and you will reach the sky in one step.
In addition to tax collectors, ordinary people can also report.
The reason is the same, the upper limit is still [-].
But if there is a tax collector to cover up, after the report is confirmed, the tax collector will be removed from office and questioned.And the person who provides the information has the opportunity to take over as a tax collector.
It's just a chance, because you still need to pass the test, if you can't even write, you still won't succeed.
But in any case, whether it is taxation or rewards, Beiping is far ahead of other places in Ming Dynasty. Many measures in it were invented by Fang Xiaoru and Qi Tai recently.
These few people often say that they have lost the kindness of Confucian disciples, and only left with the scheming of Legalist disciples.
Severe punishments and strict laws everywhere, plotting against the common people everywhere.
"No matter what, it's enough to make up the shortfall." Zhu Yuanzhang said again: "Aside from taxation, is there any other way?"
"That's the workshop." Zhang Ximeng said: "I heard that the lord is in Yingtian, have you discussed these things?"
Old Zhu sighed softly, "Sir, we didn't like your idea of developing business in the past...but now that we think about it, we must not only develop business, but also develop it well. Stop putting in labor, and everyone will earn hard money, working hard all day, all year round, it will not help!"
Zhang Ximeng was very surprised. He really didn't expect that Lao Zhu saw through it. It was really not easy!
Intensive farming is a kind of volume, firing ordinary porcelain into a work of art, that is also a volume, as well as various textiles, embroidery... The exquisite craftsmanship is amazing, but behind it is the result of the extreme involution of thousands of years.
People outside only feel that it is so miraculous, and they wish to kneel down and worship.
But those who really mastered the technique know how difficult this thing is.
Perhaps this is the reason why many intangible cultural heritage items are facing loss. After all, who wants to make life difficult for themselves?
"Sir, is there anything Beiping can do now?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in a low voice. As the emperor, he naturally hoped to embark on an unprecedented path.
Zhang Ximeng said: "There are indeed breakthroughs. Since last year, breakthroughs in looms have been happening continuously. The situation is very good, but..."
"Just what? Is there any trouble?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.
Zhang Ximeng said: "It's not a trouble, but in the workshop, workers die of exhaustion and illness every day."
Zhu Yuanzhang was taken aback for a while before he said, "Are there many?"
"There are not many wool spinning workshops here, mainly at the logging camp. In the past month, there have been more than 230 prisoners who were killed by falling, crushing, or exhaustion!"
Zhang Ximeng made it very clear that these people were prisoners who had been assigned, and they could not be regarded as good people.
But even so, it was shocking to see so many deaths.
Logging is not only tiring, but also life-threatening!
Old Zhu sighed for a long time, "We know!" After finishing speaking, Old Zhu paused, "Go back, is fourth child waiting?"
Zhang Ximeng nodded, "Naturally, His Royal Highness King Yan is probably worried that the lord will spank his ass!"
Lao Zhu shook his head, "What are you beating, we want to reward him!"
Chapter 742 The Way Out of Beiping
After Lao Zhu learned about the two major sources of income in Peking, he suddenly became curious again.
"Sir, Beiping has a lot of land and few people, and the land is not bad. Back then, we looked inside and outside Yanshan, and it was able to farm and produce crops. How is the grain output in Beiping now? Can it be eaten? Is there any grain left?"
After all, Zhu Yuanzhang is still very concerned about food despite his true nature as an old farmer.
Hearing this, Zhang Ximeng couldn't help sighing.
"My lord, I originally wanted to talk about this matter in the future. Beiping's food is not so easy to explain clearly...Since the lord asked, let's talk about it slowly while we go camping!"
Lao Zhu frowned slightly, saying that he might not understand other things, especially business, Lao Zhu was willing to be a student and listened carefully, but he didn't know anything about farming?
Who do you underestimate?
Zhu Yuanzhang asked decisively, and Zhang Ximeng could only tell Zhu Yuanzhang his own research experience... This time he was in Beiping, and the lecture time was extraordinarily long, and he had no intention of responding to Tian. He was actually studying these issues.
Agriculture and animal husbandry are the top priority.
After all, no matter what you do, you have to eat.Moreover, agriculture and animal husbandry also provide raw materials for industry and commerce. If this foundation is not resolved, the development of industry and commerce is a joke.
But when Zhang Ximeng started to study, he immediately realized that this matter was troublesome, and it was not as easy as he imagined.
He even had a new understanding of the eventual collapse of the northern military household system.
First of all, the line of the Great Wall can be cultivated and farmed. This line basically coincides with the [-]mm precipitation line. Obviously, this is not because the person who presided over the repair of the Great Wall is a traverser, nor is it a coincidence, but this line The line divides the boundary between farming and nomadism.
If there is a lot of precipitation, you can farm, but if there is not enough precipitation, you can only graze.
However, it can be planted and can be planted, but because it is stuck on this line, it is more likely to encounter drought. Once the precipitation is not enough in any year, the north will definitely suffer disaster.
When the seasons change between spring and autumn, there are sandy days, and locusts often fly over the grassland.
Generally speaking, the farming conditions on the front line of the Great Wall are far inferior to the blessed land in the south of the Yangtze River, and the grain output is much less.
Some fertile fields in the south of the Yangtze River can harvest five stones for one season, three stones for two seasons a year, and even more for irrigated land.
But the first line of the Great Wall is not good. Generally, it can be planted for a season, and the output is less than one stone.
"We all know these things, but the north is vast and sparsely populated, and there are few people in the fields. Every household can share a lot of fields. Even if the production is low, the land can make up for it."
Lao Zhu said seriously: "We don't think it's a problem."
Zhang Ximeng smiled unabated, "My lord is right, but I can't stand to get to the bottom of it... It is true that the north can plant widely and reap a small harvest, but if you want to plant widely, you need to consume more seeds, labor, and time. My lord has planted the fields. The situation, what it means, should be very clear!"
Old Zhu was taken aback for a moment. It was true. Farming is the most seasonal thing. There is no delay from planting to harvesting. Often the difference is a few days, and the harvest is very different.
This is especially true in the north.
You said to increase the number of fields to make up for the lack of production, but how to calculate the extra seeds, labor, and time?
There is another layer in this, even if there is a bumper harvest, it is necessary to rush to harvest the grain, threshing it and returning it to the warehouse.
With a vast land and sparsely populated areas, roads, carriages, and granaries are needed... Without sufficient infrastructure, even if more grain is harvested, it cannot be smoothly put into the warehouse.
If it can't be put into the warehouse, if it is thrown in the field, it will rot in a short time. The food that has been planted so hard is thrown away in vain.
This kind of situation, even in later generations, is not uncommon.
Zhang Ximeng and Lao Zhu analyzed all the way, basically explaining clearly the problem of growing food in Beiping and the Great Wall.
To sum it up, limited by natural conditions, droughts are frequent here, planting is difficult, and yields are low, requiring several times the hard work and greater investment.
The final harvest is very limited.
"My lord, thanks to our strong army, we can drive away the Mongolian soldiers and horses. If the Mongols make a comeback, harass the frontier, and rob the people of food. Natural disasters and man-made disasters are all together. I am afraid that the frontier will collapse again. The personnel guarding here , and had to give up the land and flee back to the mainland.”
Zhang Ximeng said: "In fact, there is no need for the land to be barren and unable to cultivate. As long as the investment in farming is too large, the risks to be borne are too much, and the harvest is very little, it will cause the people to abandon the land and abandon the land. After all, everyone must survive. "
Lao Zhu frowned, very worried, a matter of farming really stumped him.
"Mr. Zhang, if this is the case, then recruit more people, lower the land tax for the people, give them livestock, mobilize soldiers, and assist the people in farming... Isn't that all right?"
Zhang Ximeng smiled helplessly, "Of course all of these are fine, but they have to be counted in the court's expenditure. And they are all temporary measures. They only treat the symptoms but not the root cause!"
Old Zhu gritted his teeth, "Then what's the solution, sir?"
Zhang Ximeng said: "I don't know how to solve the root cause, but I feel that we can start with these two problems and confront each other, and maybe we can come up with a solution."
"you say!"
"The first one is about the cost of farming. Can criminals be used to farm or even hire labor from outside...to reduce this cost first. Then we need to build roads and bridges, build granaries, and help the people solve their urgent needs."
Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, "All of these are fine, but it sounds like we are treating the symptoms rather than the root cause, which is pretty much the same as we thought!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "This is about how to overcome the risks... I think that a single farmer can no longer do it."
Old Zhu was stunned for a moment, "What do you mean, sir? You need the common people to unite, just like in Henan, to cultivate the fields with the cooperation of villages and communes?"
Zhang Ximeng shook his head, "It still doesn't work. Henan is recovering for a short time, and the land will be handed over to the people in the future. Secondly, Beiping is infested by Hu Feng, and there is no stable village community at all. It is not feasible to expect to follow Henan."
Zhu Yuanzhang thought for a while, then suddenly smiled and said: "Listen to Mr.'s words, there must be another way, let's hear it."
Zhang Ximeng said: "There is indeed a way, and that is to establish a reclamation company."
"Reclamation Company?"
"That's right! With the current situation in Beiping, small farmers can't survive, and village communities can't be talked about. We need a larger-scale reclamation company with a stronger ability to bear risks!"
Zhang Ximeng analyzed to Zhu Yuanzhang that it must be strong enough, with more personnel, and a larger scale. In this way, many problems will be solved easily.
For example, in the case of drought, a single farmer can't do it, and the imperial court takes action, and because of the slow response, the cost is huge, and the gain outweighs the loss.
But if there is a company with thousands of people, it can divert water and dig wells to solve the problem.Even if it can't be solved, it won't go bankrupt all at once.
Moreover, the reclamation company can build roads, build granaries, raise livestock, and hire labor by itself.
This is very important, and Zhang Ximeng said it very implicitly... But Zhu Yuanzhang understood it. If it was just a farmer, it would be really difficult for you to ask him to hire someone to work for him.