Daming: The most ruthless tyrant in history

Chapter 623 Bloodbath in the Huaihe River

A light rain came quietly.

It's raining.

It was gray.

The wind blowing was cool.

"When will the Ming Dynasty be able to achieve self-sufficiency in food?" Zhu Youxiao stopped at the small pavilion, looked up at the gray sky, and said with a hint of emotion in his words.

"For the Ming Dynasty, in the face of turbulent changes, war is an unavoidable fact. I also know that no matter how big a country is, if it likes war, it will perish, but I also know that no matter how big the country is, it will be in danger if it forgets to fight!!"

"Your Majesty, I firmly believe that Ming Dynasty can achieve self-sufficiency in food!"

Xu Guangqi, who was standing nearby, had a slightly complicated expression and bowed his head slightly: "It may take three years, or it may take five years. Our government's food cultivation in the northern provinces will definitely undergo earth-shaking changes!"

"At that time, the hinterland of the capital, including the capital, and even the entire Northern Zhili, can gradually change the situation of relying solely on water transportation for grain supply. This is good for the country and the court."

"So, the Qing family has great confidence in the water diversion and rice planting in Liaodong?" Zhu Youxiao raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Xu Guangqi and said.

"I have confidence!"

Xu Guangqi nodded heavily and said: "In the second year of Tianqi, the growth conditions of the selected water-diversion rice planting experimental fields in various places under the jurisdiction of Liaodong Dusi, although there are differences from the rice grown in the southeastern provinces, the results collected from various places in Liaodong all illustrate a point. Objective fact."

"Although the climate in Liaodong is cold, the land in Liaodong is very fertile. This breaks the world's inherent view of Liaodong being barren. And the most important point is that rice cultivation can increase the yield per mu of rice by cultivating improved varieties that adapt to the climate in Liaodong. Then it was gradually promoted in large areas in Liaodong.”

"And in the land of Liaodong, it is possible to increase the scale of crop production areas through the rotation of rice, corn, soybeans, cotton and other crops. His Majesty's previous opinions are very forward-looking, which will be beneficial to the development of Ming Dynasty agriculture. , is of great significance as a foundation!”

Zhu Youxiao laughed.

He didn't expect that Xu Guangqi had learned to say these words after his trip to Liaodong. However, seeing Xu Guangqi's serious expression, Zhu Youxiao also knew that these were Xu Guangqi's heartfelt words.

"For the counter-insurgency war in Liaodong, and even the stalemate with Jianlu, there was a lot of criticism and criticism from both the government and the public." Zhu Youxiao sighed, and the smile on his face disappeared.

"As far as I know, some of the main points are nothing more than the fact that the imperial court can execute the chief culprits and let Jianlu suffer heavy losses. How ridiculous is this!!"

"The three guards of Jianzhou who were stolen by the Eight Banners of Jianlu, including Nuergandusi who was previously abandoned by the imperial court, actually have a large amount of fertile land within their territory. The key is that these lands are located in the plains. However, the climate in the above-mentioned areas is a bit harsh. , the cold winter lasts longer than in the hinterland of the Central Plains.”

"However, I always feel that there is no unsuitable place in this world. There are always more solutions than difficulties. The way to truly solve the Ming Dynasty's border problems is to conquer all the lands close to the Ming Dynasty. And conquest is only the beginning. We must take root and take root. To reproduce, to integrate, only by doing this can the Ming Dynasty be free from border troubles, at least in the pan-northeast region of the Ming Dynasty!”

Xu Guangqi's expression was a little complicated.

If he had heard such remarks before, Xu Guangqi would not agree. After all, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is already large enough, and there is no need to increase the territory. After all, if it really increases, it may not be a good thing for the country. The territory is not beyond the borders. Bigger is better, the key is whether it can be effectively controlled.

However, after a trip to Liaodong, Xu Guangqi's idea gradually changed after he conducted corresponding inspections on diversion of water to plant rice in Liaodong's territory, and trial planting of potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, etc. During this period, he learned some of the situation in Liaodong.

From the early Ming Dynasty, when the main border troubles were concentrated in the grasslands of northern Xinjiang, to the border troubles in Liaodong, which continued to affect the Ming Dynasty, and now Liaodong needs to be developed and managed, Liaodong has actually been ignored by the central government and the people for a long time in the past. , people living in Liaodong are also citizens of the Ming Dynasty! !
If the Ming Dynasty can one day realize a stable pan-northeast structure with Liaodong as its core hinterland, then Liaodong will usher in great development, and people living here will be able to get corresponding rewards for their labor. and change. This is how a prosperous age should behave! !
Xu Guangqi doesn't like war, but he also knows that sometimes war is beyond the control of people. This is catalyzed by changes in the current situation.

"By the fifth year of Tianqi, whether it is the diversion of water to plant rice in Liaodong, or the gradual increase in the rotation area of ​​potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, etc., we must achieve remarkable results!"

While Xu Guangqi was sighing with emotion, Zhu Youxiao said with firm eyes: "There is already a regional food shortage in the Ming Dynasty. Now I can still be cruel and make some people suffer. After all, the evils and cancers that have grown in the Ming Dynasty for a long time will not happen overnight. It will be effective within a short period of time.”

"But one moment of suffering cannot become a lifetime of suffering or two lifetimes of suffering. If this is really the case, then even if there is a wave of uprising in the local area, it is normal!!"

"Even without the blessing of war, the food gap in the Ming Dynasty will only gradually increase. The root cause lies in the intensive handmade manufacturing industry that I clearly understand will continue to expand over time, which will make more and more people become unemployed. This group of people are not engaged in agriculture.”

Xu Guangqi felt great pressure.

The development and breakthrough of agriculture are not as simple as in other fields. The sentence "Grain production per acre must be increased" may seem like just a few words, but the hard work and sweat behind it are unimaginable by ordinary people, and the most critical thing is One thing, these efforts may not necessarily bring rewards.

"I will try my best..."

Xu Guangqi bowed solemnly and saluted.

“It’s not about trying your best, it’s about having to!!”

But Xu Guangqi's words were interrupted by Zhu Youxiao.

"The minister obeys the order!"

Xu Guangqi bowed again.

The development and expansion of intensive handmade manufacturing was actually an extremely novel existence in the era of Ming Dynasty. Its emergence would break many inherent patterns. Zhu Youxiao knew what kind of existence the era he started was like, and In order for Ming Dynasty to adapt to this era, a lot of underlying logic must be solved.

To be self-sufficient in food, in addition to relying on one's own agricultural development, we must also carry out large-scale grain trade with the outside world. In this era, there are still many people who are still struggling to have enough food and clothing, and even go hungry many times. Faced with such national conditions, Ignoring the red line of food supply and blindly attracting more people to join the unemployed group, tomorrow will be doomed sooner or later.

When people are really hungry, order, morality, dignity, and folk customs can all be forgotten. Let alone murder, cannibalism will occur.

Not to mention that if you want to develop intensive handmade manufacturing, in addition to ensuring the red line of food supply, there are still many things to solve. The most intuitive one, literacy is imminent!
The Ming Dynasty had a prosperous cultural heritage. On the premise of respecting Confucianism and promoting science, the number of scholars in the Ming Dynasty was very large. But if you really put it into the whole world, especially among the lower class groups, there are many people who are blind. Born in the place of origin, grew up in the place of origin, grew old and died in the place of origin, and spent his whole life living underground in that one-third of an acre. If there are some literate people in the place of origin, they can help solve some problems.

However, we need to absorb some people from among them and move them into the post-employment group. Let them work in various fields. If they don't know the words and can't understand pictures, how can we promote standardized assembly operations?
"Your Majesty! Urgent delivery from Huaihe River!"

Just as Zhu Youxiao was sighing with emotion, a voice sounded, which brought Zhu Youxiao back to his senses, and Xu Guangqi, who was standing nearby, looked at Wang Tiqian, the eunuch and eunuch in charge of etiquette and eunuch, who was running towards him in surprise.

Under Xu Guangqi's gaze, Wang Tiqian respectfully held up the urgent memorial, and Zhu Youxiao reached out to take it. The moment he opened it and saw it, a smile appeared on Zhu Youxiao's lips, "This Qi Jin is a killer in Lianghuai." Crazy.”

hum.

When Xu Guangqi heard this, his heart suddenly tightened. During this period, the places where the Ming Dynasty was not calm were not only Liaodong, Sichuan, Guizhou, Jiubian, North Korea and other places, but also Lianghuai and Zhejiang in the Ming Dynasty. It's not peaceful. Both places are very wealthy, but they are too wealthy, which makes some people become dishonest and always want to go against the court to ensure that their interests are not damaged...

(End of this chapter)