unclear

Chapter 812 Food is the most important thing for the people

Shandong Left Governor Yin Yingyuan is already old. In another two or three years, Yao Guangshan will become a real frontier official of the Ming Dynasty when he is less than 30 years old.

It also marks the official emergence of the Haihusi system. Every year, several young faces will appear in the chief positions of various prefectures. The first transition from old to new in the Ming Dynasty's political arena has begun!

Oppose? Whether it is the officialdom or the gentry and landlord groups, they are only now feeling uneasy, and even if they want to stop it, it is too late.

At this time, the emperor was fully fledged, in power, and had a high reputation. The royalists were advancing at full speed and with great momentum. Anyone who dared to stand in their way would be crushed to pieces.

Traditional forces can only tremble in fear and pray that the machete will not fall on their heads. They can only change course quickly and see if they can catch the last train. Even if they can only hang on to a ticket, it is better than being abandoned by the times.

According to convention, local officials who were promoted and transferred had to return to Beijing first. In addition to expressing their gratitude in person, they would also receive instructions from the emperor and find out the focus of their future work.

The last person to enter the palace was Zhou Daodeng, who was closest to the capital. This guy served as the governor of Shandong for several years. Not only did he not get tired or tanned, but he became even more prosperous. If you don't know his background, he would be portrayed as a negative corrupt official in any movie or TV series in the future.

"This is my first time taking on such an important responsibility and I am extremely nervous. I beg Your Majesty to give me some advice before I take up the position!" Zhou Daodeng did not seem very excited about the promotion and his words sounded a bit reluctant.

"I won't go into the details. You've done a great job in Shandong. Just follow your example. I only have three requests: food, food, and more food!
In recent years, the northern provinces have been building water conservancy projects, and the annual drought has eased. After you take office, you should focus on agriculture and encourage farmers to open up more wasteland, build more farms and food processing plants. "

Different from the past when he advocated the development of economy and industry, this time the emperor seemed to have suddenly returned to tradition, repeating the old tune and putting the agricultural issues of Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces first.

Is it conservative? Definitely not. Hong Tao just strictly abided by the rule of adapting measures to local conditions. The four provinces that received the New Deal were all close to the sea and had good shipping conditions, so they encouraged the development of local industry and commerce, and the products they made were more convenient to transport.

Now all three provinces are inland, and it is neither realistic nor economical to use the Yellow River for shipping. The simplest and most reliable way is to develop agriculture, feed the hungry first, and be self-sufficient if there is no particularly serious natural disaster.

If we can pay taxes in full on this basis and provide some military supplies to the northern border, it will be a great contribution to the court and the country!
For industry, especially heavy industry, there are two heavy industrial bases in Luanzhou and Handan, which are sufficient at the current stage. Further large-scale investment can only boost the economy in the short term. In the long run, there will not be much return and may even lead to waste.

What is needed now is not scale, but improvement and innovation in technology, as well as the training of technical personnel. As long as there are technology and personnel, heavy industry can be expanded at any time.

"I would like to ask Your Majesty for one person..." Upon hearing the emperor's request, Zhou Daodeng's eyes turned and he began to put forward conditions.

"tell me the story!"

"The current Langzhong of the Yuheng Qingli Division of the Ministry of Construction, Song Yingxing, the top scholar in the imperial examination! He knows about water conservancy, farming, and the use of fertilizers. With his help, I will be more confident in completing the tasks entrusted by Your Majesty."

"...How did you know that Doctor Song has so many abilities?"

Of course Hong Tao knew who Song Yingxing was, and he did not deny his abilities. However, one was a Beijing official working in the Ministry of Construction, and the other was a provincial governor. There was a big age gap between them, and they were not even from the same hometown or the same major in the same department, so it was interesting that he knew him so clearly.

"Two years ago, Doctor Song visited Dongchang Prefecture, Jinan Prefecture, and Qingzhou Prefecture to inspect the old course of the Yellow River. I had some contact with him for a period of time. I witnessed with my own eyes his ability to repair the river course and improve farm tools. I also talked with him many times about cotton planting and was deeply inspired." Faced with the emperor's obvious doubtful questions, Zhou Daodeng pretended not to hear them and dryly recounted the important parts of how the two met and got to know each other.

"I did ask him to inspect the old course of the Yellow River, hoping to completely solve this thousand-year-old scourge, but unfortunately he is still unable to do so. Since you have nominated him, I will lend him to you first. His original position will remain unchanged, and he will be given the title of Imperial Inspector of Henan, Shanxi, and Shaanxi."

Speaking of Song Yingxing, Hong Tao couldn't help but think of the Yellow River. The current Yellow River is very different from that of later times, especially the lower reaches. Since it took over the Huai River and flowed into the sea, it has been swinging back and forth between Sishui, Yingshui, Bianshui, and Woshui for hundreds of years, seriously affecting the safety of the lower reaches of the Yellow River and Huai River, and also threatening the canal.

Hong Tao originally wanted to build a large water conservancy project, so that the Yellow River could focus on flowing into the sea from the Huai River instead of flowing back and forth between the south and the north. However, after the Ministry of Construction conducted a survey, they finally came to the conclusion that it was technically feasible but difficult in practice.

Hong Tao was confused by what he said. He took the memorial to Wang An and realized that it was not that the officials from the Ministry of Construction were just being perfunctory, but that they really had something to hide.

There is a place called Fengyangfu in the lower reaches of the Huai River, where there is an imperial mausoleum for the parents of Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. There is also a place called Hongze Lake, where there is also an imperial mausoleum on the west bank of the lake, where Zhu Yuanzhang's grandfather is buried.

If the Yellow River flows southward into the Huai River, Fengyang Prefecture and the west bank of Hongze Lake may be flooded when the water volume is high. No matter how bold the officials of the Ministry of Construction are, they would not dare to flood the ancestral tombs of the current emperor in order to control the Yellow River.

In fact, they said Hong Tao would not blame them directly. It didn't matter who had ancestors or not. For the sake of the living, any tomb that was in the way should be moved away. But such an order could not be issued. No matter how the new policy changed people's lives, in the eyes of the ancients, ancestral tombs were very important and could not be touched easily.

There was no other way, the plan to control the Yellow River on a large scale had to be shelved. Because of the two tombs, millions of people had to live in fear every year, and no one from the emperor to the county magistrate could do anything about it. This culture had been formed over thousands of years, which made Hong Tao angry and ashamed.

"I obey your order..." Seeing that the emperor agreed, Zhou Daodeng hurriedly thanked him, fearing that something might change if he delayed.

"Don't thank me yet. I have something else to entrust to you and Doctor Song. In addition to oil, there is a lot of coal in Shanxi and Shaanxi. By the way, explore it and report back."

It's not a bad thing that Zhou Daodeng wants to use Song Yingxing's ability to help revitalize the agriculture of the three provinces, but he can't borrow it for free. A mosquito would drop two leg hairs when flying past his eyes, let alone a human.

When mentioning Shanxi and Shaanxi, Hong Tao would think of the coal bosses of later generations. In recent years, many factories have been built in various places, and the price of coal has been increasing. It is time to have some coal bosses. If you can burn coal, cut down as few trees as possible.

"Ah... I don't quite understand this..." Only then did Zhou Daodeng understand why the emperor agreed so readily. The deal came with conditions, and these conditions were a bit difficult for him.

"I'm not trying to harm you. If you find coal, you can mine it. As long as you can transport it, you can exchange it for a large sum of silver no matter it is in Zhili or Yingtianfu. Go and find out what the price of coal is now. You have to take a long-term view!"

They are happy when they are given benefits, but hide when they see difficulties. How can such an easy job be found? Hong Tao not only wants Zhou Daodeng to develop coal resources, but also has to trick him into building roads. Otherwise, he will only be able to dig out coal but not transport it, and he will not see any money.

As for whether one has the ability to do it or not, that is not important. As long as there is money in the way, not to mention a high-ranking official in the imperial court, even a small trader appointed as the governor of three provinces would be able to come up with a way to have the best of both worlds.

(End of this chapter)