I, Zhu Youjian: the first prodigal son of the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 30 Selling Officials, Selling Land and Selling Money!
In the seventh year of the apocalypse, in November, the day of Wangshuo.

A heavy snow fell in the north and northwest of the Ming Dynasty. While giving people hope, it also made the already unbelievably cold world even colder.

Most of the work-for-work projects were forced to suspend work. Tens of thousands of peasants nested in earthen kilns dug on the sunny hillside, ate and slept, slept and ate, and lived a good life.

Because Wei Zhongxian, Qian Qianyi, Yang He and others had anticipated in advance and organized manpower to transport a large amount of coal to various construction sites, braziers were set up in every earthen kiln.

Even coal was used in the kang, and the surface of the kang was so hot that it was almost ready for pancakes.

From the current point of view, Zhu Youjian's prodigal behavior in the previous stage has indeed solved many problems. At least in the winter of the seventh year of the apocalypse, the number of people who died of freezing and starvation was at least [-]% to [-]% less than expected.

But the problems exposed are even more troublesome.

The first is food.

Gathering all the refugees together, the food and coal they ate every day made Wei Zhongxian, Yang He, Qian Qianyi and others terrified.

This is equivalent to the fact that the imperial court raised hundreds of thousands of food out of thin air, which is similar to raising hundreds of thousands of soldiers, except that they do not pay money.

Moreover, because most of them are young and middle-aged civilian husbands, there are some old, weak, sick and disabled among them, and management is not like soldiers. At least there is a military law and discipline...

These people are simply too difficult to manage.

In just over a month, dozens of riots occurred one after another, which made Wei Zhongxian choked up.

According to his idea, those troublemakers would be killed on the spot, and the rest of the common people would be obedient, and they would not dare to have any more thoughts.

But thinking of Zhu Youjian, that idiot emperor, he could only hold back his anger...

……

"Long Live Lord, if things go on like this, something will happen sooner or later, you'd better think of a way." On this day, Wei Zhongxian waited on Zhu Youjian, and said with a sad face:
"It's freezing cold, the rivers and lakes in the south are frozen, and the water transportation has basically stopped. Even if the grain collected there, it will not be able to be transported for a while."

Zhu Youjian was also in a hurry, but in front of Wei Zhongxian, he still couldn't be cowardly, so he could only slap his swollen face and pretend to be fat with a smile: "There are always more ways than difficulties."

Food, food!
There is no food, those local peasants gather together, carry hoes and sticks, and they directly become an army of peasant uprisings!

If there are a few more Zhao Zicheng, Wang Xianzhong and so on, it will be too terrible.

"How long can the relief food in the north last?" Zhu Youjian asked indifferently.

"In about 20 days, there should be no food on most construction sites..." Wei Zhongxian said with a bitter face: "Besides, in some places in Gansu and Shaanxi, it is too difficult to transport food because of the impassable roads. There will be no food for two days."

He regrets it a little now. Zhu Youjian ordered him to take out the only two or three million taels of silver left in the treasury to build bridges and roads in the Gansu-Shaanxi area, but he found a way to perfunctory it.

Thinking about it this time, I can only secretly regret it.

Unexpectedly, it was just a simple repair of bridges and roads. Did this idiot emperor think of it in advance?

"Wei Zhongxian, tell me the truth, how much food can the court mobilize for the Ming Dynasty?" Zhu Youjian asked suddenly.

"Don't tell me the exact figures, I don't understand," he immediately added, "Just tell me how many days we can feed the common people in the north by doing everything we can to get food."

Wei Zhongxian pondered for a few moments, then said hesitantly, "It will last for less than half a year."

The half-year period is still relatively optimistic.

Wei Zhongxian knew in his heart that with the current strength of the Ming court, the grain that could be raised and transported to the north could only last for about three months.

In other words, before the spring of next year, a large-scale famine in the north will break out again.

When ordinary people have a mouthful to eat and a glimmer of hope to survive, they will be as shy as a group of lambs. Even if they are whipped occasionally, or dragged out to slaughter a few, it seems that there is no problem.

They will resign themselves to it and accept their fate.

However, when they start to starve and cannot think of any way to survive, they will turn into a pack of wolves in minutes.

A group of hungry wolves roamed the land, and when they gathered together, they became the ever-horrifying army of rebels...

"No matter what, the common people should not be starved to death. This is the last line," Zhu Youjian thought again and again, sighed, and said, "There are still more than 100 million taels of silver in the treasury?"

Wei Zhongxian nodded and said with a wry smile, "More than one million taels of silver can't buy much grain."

On this point, the treacherous minister did not lie.

In the Wanli, Taichang, and Tianqi dynasties of the Ming Dynasty, the tax revenue collected included two types of "true color" and "zhe color".

Among them, the original color refers to the collected grain, silk, horse grass and other objects, which are mainly used for grain; and the folded color is the part after the actual taxes collected are converted into silver coins and copper coins, mainly silver.

In a normal year, one stone of rice can be equivalent to two taels of silver, but in a famine year, it may be worth one price a day, and the silver will depreciate unbearably.

Therefore, in the process of tax collection by the imperial court, some shrewd officials will find ways to make money between their true colors and their colors.

Money is collected in famine years, and grain is collected in good years, so how to collect money in such a way as to make farmers suffer.

Over the past few years, those officials and big families from all over the country naturally have both food and money. The court knew the tricks, but never pursued the matter.

Anyway, in the past few years, as long as those big officials in the borderlands can turn in how much to the court, whether the food or silver is turned in, it is not the court that has the final say, but the officials from all over the place.

For example, this year, the taxes and taxes in various places would rather pay tens of thousands of taels more than to pay an extra grain to the imperial court. An 'Excellent'.

"Long Live Lord, this servant also knows what you're thinking," Wei Zhongxian said worriedly, "Long Live Lord wants those big households to provide food for disaster relief? My servant would like to advise that it's not easy for those people to pick up their food..."

Zhu Youjian smiled, shook his head, and said, "Shooting local tyrants and dividing the land requires a certain social foundation, and the time is not yet ripe."

Wei Zhongxian was stunned for a moment, it was the first time he had heard the term 'beating local tyrants to divide the land', but he generally understood the meaning of it.

It seems that this idiot emperor has a dark heart.

"Zhongxian, what do you think those rich households want most in the year of great famine?" Zhu Youjian took a bowl of tea, took a sip, and asked thoughtfully:

"Do you think they want silver most or land?"

Wei Zhongxian pondered for a while, and said: "They want officials most, and land next."

"As for silver, anyone wants it at any time," the treacherous minister paused, and continued, "However, in front of me, black hats and land are much more expensive than silver and gold."

The words were so thorough that Zhu Youjian could understand them at once.

With Wushamao and a large area of ​​land, is there still a shortage of money?

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, and suddenly said with a smile: "Zhongxian, then find a way to sell officials, land, and money!"

"As long as it can be exchanged for food, sell it all!"

"I'm going to be defeated...cough, I'm going to do a big job!"

(End of this chapter)