Rule over Ming Dynasty

Chapter 145 Courteous Farming and Borrowing, the Emperor Sows New Seeds

In Beijing in February, spring is getting stronger.

With the recovery of all things and the melting of ice and snow, many farmers have appeared in the farmlands around Gyeonggi. Hardworking people have already started spring plowing, and even used spring seeds to cultivate spring seedlings.

This is not an isolated case, but the main theme that is being played out in the vast Chinese land. From south to north, it is full of the atmosphere of farming society.

At this time, the Ming Emperor Zhu Youtang, who lived in the magnificent palace, was not handling government affairs in Dongnuange, but had already come outside the palace, boarded the palace carriage and headed to the Shanchuan Altar outside the city.

When Zhu Youtang was reading novels, he also had fantasies about building airplanes, cannons and nuclear submarines, but when he came to this era, he found that technology can never be achieved overnight, even a spring is intentional but powerless.

It's cool to read the "Secret Box Straight Play" in some books, but when I really want to emulate it, I realize that my lock is lost in the damn 21st century.

As for the flintlock gun that I have been thinking about, even though there is a fairly complete sketch of the flintlock gun in my mind, the Ministry of Industry can't make it at all, and there is no news that it was handed over to Wang Zhidu in Nanjing.

At this moment, he finally understood why the Internet giants in his previous life spent money to grab the vegetable vendor's job. It is really not an easy task to want technological innovation.

Just like you think that the principle of nail clippers is simple to the naked eye, but you give the sketches to the officials and craftsmen of the Ministry of Industry, and they can only kowtow to you desperately.

Facts have proved that unless you have the skills of Edison to travel over, ordinary people have come to this era, still have to stand on the foundation of agriculture, and then slowly promote the progress of technology and manufacturing.

The Zhengyangmen Straight Street has been cleared, and the royal guard of honor came out of Zhengyangmen in mighty form, heading straight for the Shanchuan Altar on the west side of the official road.

If the extension line of Zhengyangmen is taken as the central axis, the east side is the Altar of Mountains and Rivers, and the west side is the Altar of Heaven and Earth.

It is worth mentioning that the altar of heaven and earth was originally separated in the form of north and south, but Zhu Yuanzhang had a whim, thinking that he was the son of heaven, the sky was the father, and the earth was the mother. .

The Shanchuan Altar is the predecessor of the Xiannong Altar. It has an altar wall outside, and inside is the Taisui Hall, the Divine Kitchen Storehouse, the Farming Loan Office, the Viewing Farm Terrace, the Hall of Fufu, the Qingcheng Palace, the Shencang and the sacrificial vessel storehouse, and the altar.

"Please respectfully invite Sheng'an!" Minister of the Ministry of Officials Li Yu and other important officials had already been waiting here, kneeling respectfully and saluting.

Although today is not a grand celebration, it is a special day. Many officials who came to participate in the plowing ceremony have changed into a set of make-up uniforms.

In this farming society, farming is the top priority of the times.

Zhu Youtang came this time wearing a dragon robe and a winged crown. He just needed to go to the Clothing Hall to change into the black Zhou King sacrificial clothing, and then offer incense to sacrifice to Xiannong, Tai Sui, Fengyun, Thunderstorm, Five Sacred Mountains, and Five Towns. , Sihai, Sidu and Zhongshan gods.

Sacrificial offerings of cattle, sheep, and pigs have already been placed on the altar, and the officials of the Ministry of Rituals, in accordance with Zhu Youtang's will, have greatly reduced the sacrificial speeches that have nothing to say.

After offering incense and offering sacrifices, Zhu Youtang took off his sacrificial attire at the Clothing Hall and replaced it with his own emperor's original attire, which is considered to be doing as the Romans do.

After the sacrifice, they came to the Farming Loan Office. To the south of the viewing platform, there was a field with an area of ​​"one mu and three parts of land".

"Come in!
"Into the whip!"

"Pro-plow!"

……

Jia Jun, Shangshu of the Ministry of Industry, and He Cong, Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of War, sent things one after another, and then two big Han generals pretended to be farmers and held the plow on both sides, while two elders led a docile old scalper with broken horns.

It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Rituals did not saw off the horns of the old scalper out of safety considerations, but used this as the standard when selecting them, and cotton silk was wrapped around the severed horns.

Zhu Youtang has become more and more proficient at riding horses in Xiyuan, so he is not worried about this old scalper going crazy.

Originally, it was just a matter of pretending, but it was actually a very interesting thing to step on the soft soil full of the smell of soil with bare feet.

Du Ming, Shangshu of the Ministry of Punishment and other officials saw that Zhu Youtang didn't look impatient, so they couldn't help but looked at each other in blank dismay.

Now the early dynasty has been changed to the eighth court, and the daily talk and the Jingyan are directly abolished, but he did not expect that the emperor would pay more attention to the unconventional plowing ceremony.

It has to be said that the emperor's behavior has made them unpredictable, even if they want to flatter him, it is not an easy task.

"Three pushes and three returns!"

With the beginning of the most solemn farming ceremony, the palace music handed down from the Western Zhou Dynasty sounded next to it, chime bells and bronze chimes, Huang Zhong Da Lu, Xiao Sheng and reed flute played together, as if to take everyone back to the ancient times through time.

Every period has its own social form, and in the view of the scholar-bureaucrats in the feudal era, as long as the Zhou Li era is restored, the world can be governed.

Just like this, Tang, Song, and Ming tried their best to imitate the etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty, hoping that the emperor would follow the example of the Zhou king, and now they are asking the emperor to cultivate and teach the world.

Naturally, Zhu Youtang would not believe in this, nor would he believe in the slavery of the Zhou Dynasty. Even if he really believed in it, he would only believe in communism.

Not to mention whether the Zhou Dynasty was as beautiful as the scholar-bureaucrats described it, and it has long been proven that if you fall behind, you will be beaten. The great man advocated that "development is the last word" is the most reasonable saying.

Although Zhu Youtang really wants to change things about ideas and beliefs, it is easy for a person to donate 100 million yuan, but it is difficult for him to donate 100 yuan, because he really has [-] yuan.

It is not feasible for you to preach a socialist society where everyone is equal to the slave owners. They are living a very good life, so why should they change it?
Zhu Youtang knew that if he wanted to change all this, he had to become a real emperor who could take life and death, otherwise he would be playing a one-man show by throwing out "Das Kapital".

"The emperor's ceremony is over!"

Xu Qiong, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, was already standing by the field, and hurriedly helped Zhu Youtang up and said.

In fact, not all the officials present were happy. Liu Jian, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, seemed very depressed, and now he and Xu Pu, the two emperor teachers, were reduced to marginal figures in the court.

Especially in the latest Jingcha, which is presided over by Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, no longer regards virtue as the first standard of assessment, but puts more emphasis on officials' practical affairs. Their etiquette has always been stable and superior, but now it has become a To wait.

Originally, he wanted to use his reputation in the Ministry of Rites to overwhelm Xu Ming, but the team he had won over was already in jeopardy, and he was facing the risk of dismissal or release.

After Zhu Youtang came up from the soft field, he saw that his clothes and feet were covered with mud, so he went back to the clothing hall to wash his feet, and at the same time changed into a new dragon robe according to the procedure.

In this ceremony, he had to change clothes three times, but it was a relatively frequent thing for the emperor to get dressed.

Zhu Youtang was sitting on a chair enjoying the warm water foot bath. Fan Jinling still accompanied him this time, and was carefully helping Zhu Youtang's tender and white feet to wash off the field mud.

Although she is still a maid in the Qianqing Palace, due to the frequent favors recently, her status can be said to have risen, and the hanging bell on her feet has been replaced with a veritable golden bell.

"Your Majesty, isn't it fun to step on the mud barefoot in the fields?" Niu Mengmeng was favored by his loyalty, and he asked curiously as he presented Zhu Youtang with a teacup.

Zhu Youtang looked at this lively girl with a red face and sharp eyes, and said helplessly: "I will get potatoes from overseas one day, open up a field in Xiyuan, and let you take care of it!"

"What are potatoes? Are they edible?" Niu Mengmeng's eyes lighted up slightly, but he asked in confusion.

Zhu Youtang ignored this curious girl, and began to dress under the guidance of Fan Jinling. Today, Fan Jinling has been upgraded to a palace lady who fits the bed.

The plowing ceremony is not over yet, you still need to watch the plowing ceremony on the throne of the farming platform in the north.

When Zhu Youtang returned here, the "Nine Pushes and Nine Returns" by Shangshu and Jiuqing officials was coming to an end, and it was Xu Qiong, the last left servant of the Ministry of Rites, who performed the plowing and borrowing ceremony.

Xu Qiong's old face turned red, not because she was urinating, but because En Zhun was able to participate, which proved that she was only half a step away from the position of Minister of Rites.

It was a dream to go from Nanjing Guozijian to the Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites, but now he sees the throne of the Minister of Rites beckoning to him, how can he not be excited?

Following the results of Jiuqing's "Nine Pushes and Nine Rewards", Song Cheng, Yin Songcheng of Shuntian Prefecture, led dozens of old farmers to plow the remaining farmland within one mu and three parts of the land.

Liu Jian, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, became a resentful woman. Seeing the proud sycophant Xu Qiong's face flushed, she felt the injustice of this world.

It is obvious that he is a righteous gentleman with noble moral character, the mainstay of Qingliu, and the emperor teacher of the new monarch, but he is not reused.

"sowing!"

After the plowing is over, the plowing ceremony is not limited to the ceremony, but also to cultivate the one-third of an acre of land, and then to take care of it and harvest it.

"rice!"

"Milk!"

"millet!"

"wheat!"

"Shu!"

"cotton!"

……

Originally, according to the usual plowing etiquette, five grains were to be planted, but Zhu Youtang made a small request specifically to plant cotton among the five grains.

"Cotton, which song is this?"

"It seems that there was no such thing as cotton in the Zhou Dynasty?"

"Isn't it recommended by Liu Mianmian to be known as Liu Mianmian?"

"The emperor cares about the people's clothes to keep out the cold, this is benevolent government!"

……

Although many officials were surprised when they learned that Hongzhi had planted cotton in this grand plowing ceremony, they all silently accepted the result and even directly praised Hongzhi's move.

Li Yu, Minister of the Ministry of Officials, Du Ming, Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and Li Si, Minister of the Ministry of Households, are all members of the sect, while Jia Jun, Minister of Industry, Xu Ming, the left servant of the Ministry of Rites, and He Cong, the left servant of the Ministry of War, are all trying to hug Zhu Youtang tightly. thigh.

After the court struggle last year, Xu Pu, the left servant of the Qingliu Ministry of Officials, and Liu Jian, the right servant of the Ministry of Rites, who dared to sing against Zhu Youtang, were all suppressed, and now the imperial power has gradually been demonstrated.

In particular, Zhu Youtang kicked both Wen Chen and Wu Xun out of the [-]th Battalion, and now the [-]th Battalion has completely fallen on Zhu Youtang, and it is already difficult for them to challenge Zhu Youtang in the capital.

As for Li Yu and other important ministers, after this period of contact, they have already abandoned the impression of the prince in the closet earlier, but they know that Zhu Youtang is a monarch with great talents.

Judging from the effectiveness of the Salt Administration alone, the government system that had been invaded by hundreds of insects, Kaizhongfa once became precarious, but the young emperor caught a glimpse of the crux.

It can only be said to be Huigen who can see it, but if it can be resolved, then it is the real Mingjun, and Zhu Youtang has officially surpassed Xianzong.

The latest news came from Yangzhou just now, Wang Yue and Wang Zhi teamed up again in Yangzhou to dig out a nest of maggots in Yangzhou, and even officials from the military and political system were involved.

If it was said that the court still had voices of protection for the officials of the Yangzhou salt administration system earlier, but they all shut their mouths when they got the fact that the salt administration officials headed by Li Zhiqing were able to divide up hundreds of thousands of silver every year.

With this nest of maggots being dug out, once Daming's salt tax can be restored to half of the tax level in Song Dynasty, Daming's finances will be greatly improved.

Now that Hongzhi added cotton to this plowing ceremony, it cannot be a nonsense, presumably there is another deep meaning.

The seeds of grains and cotton were buried in the soil one after another, and there will be a lot of vitality here, and cotton was the first seed Zhu Youtang planted in the first year of Hongzhi.

In the following activities, everyone held a banquet as usual, and Zhu Youtang rewarded all the officials and common people who participated in the farming.

When Zhu Youtang was rewarding, he seriously told Liu Zhong, the right servant of the household department and the governor of grain storage: "Liu Qing, you must pay attention to the matter of cotton!"

The road to a strong army is inseparable from strong financial support, and the textile industry is undoubtedly the best choice.

Take the United Kingdom as an example. In 1802, its textile exports exceeded 780 million pounds.

After the Second World War, the reason why Britain weakened was that the United States, Japan, West Germany and Italy took the opportunity to develop the textile industry, thereby seizing the world's textile industry market.

As for why the emphasis on cotton, rather than silk?

Although silk is also the best in the world, it is a luxury after all.Not to mention overseas, even in Daming, not many people can afford it.

In addition, cotton cloth is a large-scale product that requires a large number of textile workers. Now it is not the ultimate goal to deliver textiles to the world, but laying the industrial foundation of China is more important.

This is exactly the case, as long as Daming can become the textile center of the world, then his road to a strong army will have a steady stream of bullets, and he can fight whoever he wants on the world map.

"Your Majesty will live up to your Majesty's expectations!" Liu Zhong, a very traditional loyal minister, said solemnly.

After returning from Yongcheng County with the huge amount of stolen silver embezzled by Li Min, Ye Qi resigned because he could not complete the errand of buying the silver. The grace is to be grateful.

After all this was over, Zhu Youtang returned to Beijing in a grandiose imperial chariot, but instead of returning to the Forbidden City, he turned to Xiyuan.

A slight deviation occurred in history. With the rise of a palace called the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the power center of the Ming Dynasty would move from the Qianqing Palace to the east and the Nuan Pavilion to the west, and the imperial power would inevitably become more centralized.

(End of this chapter)