After five years of teaching support, Daming became an empire on which the sun never sets.

Chapter 542 The Secret of Ancient Logistics Management
"The soldiers in Zhu Yuanzhang's team are all human beings, not immortals. As long as they are human beings, they have to eat and pay. People are iron rice and steel. If soldiers don't eat twice, they can't hold swords and guns."

"Besides, the sergeants must have a good meal on the eve of the war, a big bowl of meat and a big bowl of wine. You can't even eat a meal of rice, and you can't eat enough meat. Who will go to attack the city for you? ?”

"You must know that siege is a near-death job, and it is very likely that once you go there, you will never return. Therefore, the meal on the eve of the war may be their last meal."

"In the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, people were starving to death everywhere. There were starving people everywhere on the roads, and there were no people living in thousands of miles."

"However, in such a cruel environment, Zhu Yuanzhang was able to make the soldiers under him not hungry and eat well before the war. How did he do it?"

Qin Yu said:
"Don't tell me that the food is grown by the soldiers themselves. It can be farmed when there is no war. It is impossible to farm when the war continues."

"It's Li Shanchang." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Li Shanchang is a good hand in handling logistics. After Zhu Yuanzhang occupies a state or county, he will let Li Shanchang manage it."

"He encourages farming in state capitals, recalls displaced people..."

"Li Shanchang is Zhu Yuanzhang's Xiao He."

"Li Shanchang is indeed an expert in this field, and it is precisely for this reason that he has established his position as the number one civil servant of the Ming Dynasty." Qin Yudao, "When people watch wars, they like to watch vigorous battles on the battlefield. Sufficiency of food and wages is the key to determining the outcome of a war."

"It is precisely because of this that those who are engaged in logistics are the biggest contributors to the court. Because the soldiers cannot do without food for a day."

"However, you said that Li Shanchang raised a large amount of military rations for Zhu Yuanzhang by recalling the displaced people and encouraging farming. Obviously, you are deceiving those who don't understand."

"Why?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked in surprise.

"Because a large number of people have been displaced, the fields are destined to be barren." Qin Yu said, "It will take at least half a year for food to be harvested. There will be a long period of time. Soldiers or people can leave in a day. How can we solve this gap period without food supply?"

"In addition, if the fields that have been barren for a long time are cultivated again, there will never be a good harvest in the coming year. What's more, the grain production in ancient times was very low. In addition, it was a disaster year, locust plagues, droughts, and the climate It’s also not good for food production.”

"The little food he encourages farming to produce may not even be enough for the people's rations. How can we provide a large amount of food for the team?"

"Therefore, the grain harvested by the common people can only be regarded as an auxiliary source of military rations, not the main source."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression froze when he heard the words. He had always thought that the food that Li Shanchang raised for him was all grown from the land.It is the result of his good governance of the jurisdiction.

However, it is clear that this is not the case.

"Since the food cultivated by the people in the occupied prefectures and counties is not the main source of military rations, how did Li Shanchang meet the needs of the army's food and salary in the first place?"

The secret among them is probably only known by Li Shanchang himself, Zhu Yuanzhang thought to himself.

"Let me tell you one more thing, so you can understand where Li Shanchang got his grain." Qin Yu said, "In ancient times, most of the grain was in the hands of the gentry."

"They're the second layer of the pyramid, and when the pyramid fell, they were very little affected."

"There is another thing, I think you know it better than anyone else. That is, people don't have their own land at all."

"Since the common people do not have their own land, why are so many people displaced during famines and wars? Can they continue to depend on the landlords and gentry?"

"Because of the chaos in the years of war, the gentry and landowners were afraid of being robbed by the rebels, so they immediately shrunk their feathers and drove away the tenants they hired."

"As for the famine year, the food output cannot meet their rations, and the tenant farmers will also be driven away.",

"Thus, in the years of famine and war, a large number of refugees appeared."

"What I mean by this passage is that the refugees in ancient times were actually driven out of their homes by landlords and gentry. The reason why I say this passage is that many people don't know the details. They think that the ancient The reason for the refugees at that time was the famine and the corruption of the imperial court, and it had nothing to do with the landlords and gentry."

"That's right." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "In fact, the landlords don't have to come forward to drive away the tenant farmers at all. They just need to take back the land and not rent it to those tenant farmers. Then the imperial court will collect various exorbitant taxes from the tenant farmers. The people can't pay the taxes and are squeezed out. To the last drop of blood one must leave one's homeland and become a refugee."

"The landlord is the owner of the tenant farmers. Without the protection of the owner, the tenant farmers will be driven out of their homes in minutes."

"Since the common people have no land at all, how can Li Shanchang encourage the common people to farm?" Qin Yu asked.

"Sir, what do you mean..." Zhu Yuanzhang was enlightened when he heard the words, "The main source of the military rations that Li Shanchang raised for Zhu Yuanzhang was actually the local gentry and landlords?"

"You finally understand." Qin Yu said,

"And if he wants to encourage farming, he must also deal with the local landlords and gentry. The fields belong to the landlords and gentry. If the gentry and landlords disagree, the people have no land to plant."

"also,"

"Li Shanchang is in the rear, and it is absolutely impossible to use force to grab food from the landlords and gentry. He has no army, but the landlords and gentry have their own armed forces. Moreover, the gentry and landlords everywhere are not a single entity. If there is contact, the collective power they form cannot be underestimated."

"So if he uses strong means to raise food from the landlords and gentry, it will inevitably cause a fire in the rear. Li Shanchang, who is smart and smart, will not do this kind of thing."

"That's right!" Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Since Li Shanchang managed the logistics, there has never been a fire in the backyard of the counties in the rear that Zhu Yuanzhang occupied."

"Since you can't use force, you have to raise food and pay from others, how did Li Shanchang achieve a balance?" Qin Yu asked again, "He can't give lessons to landlords every day to make them noble and give them food and wages for free. Him, they are very realistic, if Li Shanchang can't give them enough benefits, he won't be able to raise food and wages."

"So they must have reached some kind of tacit agreement, some kind of deal." Zhu Yuanzhang said with a concentrated expression.

(End of this chapter)