Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 488 Thriving
"The first thing to do is to vigorously produce chemical fertilizers. We must let the people not only tell the whole story, but at least people in high-yield areas must be able to use chemical fertilizers."

"Now that there are railways, as long as the grain production in the south is large enough, enough grain can be mobilized to the north to achieve the goal of south-to-north grain diversion."

In early April of the sixth year of Hongxi's reign, when Zhu Zhanhe was driving south to Yunnan, Zhu Gaoxu was walking in a rice field of thousands of acres in the south of Beijing. Behind him were more than ten people wearing ordinary clothes, like farmers in their thirties. Young adults.

It can be seen that this rice field is different from other rice fields of this era. They grow relatively thickly, and there are many "farmers" sowing granules in the field.

This is the experimental field of the Beijing Taixue Agricultural Research Institute, and the ones that were tested were all high-quality rice that they had screened and cultivated.

These fine rices are cultivated and then sown with natural guano fertilizer produced by a fertilizer factory.

With the addition of rich nutrients, their growth status is gratifying, and their output will not be too low.

"Currently, the fertilizer factories in Jiangnan mainly produce two types of fertilizers, one is guano fertilizer, and the other is bone meal and plant ash fertilizer."

Following Zhu Gaoxu, Yuan Zheng and Zhu Gaoxu, who are in charge of agricultural research, explained:

"The former can produce 120,000 tons per year through steam engine debugging and flow production. The latter can produce 300,000 tons per year due to frequent land reclamation."

Having enough to eat is the first step, and this first step takes a long time to achieve.

What he wants now is to increase grain production and at the same time add enough non-staple food so that the people can have enough food.

After listening to Yuan Zheng's lengthy report, Zhu Gaoxu was not satisfied. He said to Yuan Zheng:

Only when the people have enough to eat can the Ming Dynasty be able to have long-term peace and stability.

Productivity must achieve a breakthrough in order to continuously delay its arrival.

You can feel full by drinking porridge, and you can feel full by eating meat, but the difference is huge.

"In addition, the number of private breeding farms is also increasing, doubling in five years compared to Yongle."

In this case, people's lives will gradually decline over time, and a large number of middle classes will continue to disappear as the population increases over a long period of time.

Due to wars, all dynasties except the Song Dynasty had a vast land and sparsely populated areas when they were founded, so the per capita rations were naturally large.

After hearing Yuan Zheng's sincere explanation, Zhu Gaoxu said: "The people can't afford it, so the court subsidizes it, and every catty has to be sold at a reduced price."

At that time, it will either open up Southern Continent, or control Eastern Continent through economic or migration means.

Zhu Gaoxu stopped when he saw this, and Yuan Zheng also began to elaborate: "The Ministry of Agriculture made rough inferences and records about the fifth year of Yongle and the fifth year of Hongxi."

"Calculated as a whole, if the population situation of the Ministry of Household Affairs is correct, the per capita grain is 802 kilograms, the oil is eight kilograms and four taels, and the average of meat, eggs and milk is twenty kilograms."

Among them, whether it is chemical fertilizers, steam engines, breeding and breeding... these are all technologies and means to improve productivity.

"Your Majesty, if you want to promote it in high-yield areas such as Jiangnan and Huguang, this output is far from enough, but it has reached the limit of the imperial court."

He is doing something very inspiring. For the result of this thing, he can resist most temptations in the world... let the people of Ming Dynasty have enough to eat!

"Nothing to say, just something practical and useful." Zhu Gaoxu didn't want to hear these flattery words.

It is true that the people of the Ming Dynasty do not have enough to eat, but this is compared to the previous dynasty, not the present.

Normally, the dividends of such a vast land and sparse population can be reaped for about 80 years. If it exceeds this 80 years, it will fall into land annexation, or the economic trap of excessive accumulation of wealth at the top.

"There are more than 600,000 beef cattle and 120,000 farm cattle in the pastures in the north of the imperial court. More than 50,000 beef cattle can be slaughtered every year, and most of them are transported to the south. Eight thousand farm cattle can be supplied to the south."

"Besides, raising pigs..."

"This... this..." Yuan Zheng obviously did not expect that his majesty would pay so much attention to agriculture, so he gritted his teeth and said:
"I will definitely reduce the cost of fertilizers. Your Majesty, please rest assured."

"We cannot stand still and there is a problem with the current per capita rations because you are not removing the feed grains that are being fed to the livestock."

"In the fifth year of Yongle, the output of staple grains in the Ming Dynasty was about 60 million tons, and the output of oils was about 250,000 tons. Although meat, eggs, and milk cannot be counted nationwide, according to data collected in Nanjing, Beijing, Chengdu, Liaoyang and other places, That’s about twelve pounds per person.”

"In addition, the output of new crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn has reached more than 4.6 million tons."

The amount of cultivated land cultivated in the Ming Dynasty can still greatly exceed the new population at the moment, but with the continuous reduction of effective land, this situation will eventually come to an end one day in the future.

It can be said that this economic trap will come later after Zhu Gaoxu's reasonable New Deal distribution, but it will always come.

"The Ministry of Household Affairs will allocate 500,000 taels every year to support agriculture and reduce the cost of fertilizers to 4 cents per catty."

"I can see the progress of the Agricultural College. Perhaps the current progress is better than that of the Hongwu and Yongle years. People's lives are getting better and better, but this is still not enough."

"In terms of increasing the yield per mu, the former can be stabilized at 20%, while the latter can be around 14%."

Yuan Zheng understood the meaning of his words, so he quickly took the booklet from the doctor behind him.

However, what Zhu Gaoxu is most concerned about is the most basic food issue.

"Besides, the cost of chemical fertilizer is five cents per catty, and one acre of land requires at least twenty catties. Ordinary people simply cannot afford it."

"Building water conservancy projects is an investment in agriculture, and the same goes for fertilizers."

What Zhu Gaoxu wants to hear is whether the Ming Dynasty's agriculture has progressed, or how far it has progressed.

On the ridge of the field, Zhu Gaoxu felt a lot of pride in his heart while listening to things that these scholars didn't like to hear.

"After seventeen years of introduction of new crops, livestock selection, and promotion of chemical fertilizers, the output of staple grains in the five years of Hongxi was approximately 74 million tons. Oils increased by 830,000 tons thanks to the promotion of peanuts. Meat, eggs, and milk were increased according to the Data collected along the Beijing-Beijing railway line shows that the average person in urban areas consumes 20 pounds per year.”

"In all cases, there has actually been an increase. Among them, new feed brought by new crops has begun to be used to feed livestock. After reasonable selection and breeding, the number of beef cattle has increased from 440 recorded by the national government in Yongle 5th year. The number of cattle has increased from 10,000 to 6.3 million, and the meat production of bulls has increased from 480 jins to 560 jins.”

It has been fifty-six years since the Ming Dynasty. After Zhu Gaoxu's series of reforms and redistribution, and with the investment of large amounts of resources, millions of acres of wasteland have been continuously reclaimed.

"If the planting area of ​​new crops in the north expands, the number of beef cattle and cattle produced per acre will also increase."

In just seventeen years, Zhu Gaoxu improved the rations, meat, eggs, and milk of the people of the Ming Dynasty. With the completion of the railway, meat, eggs, and milk from the north can continue to be transported to the south, and food from the south can continue to be transported to the north.

Because of this, Zhu Gaoxu established the Dongzhou and Beizhou Xuanwei Departments, but he didn't know how long these two Xuanwei Departments could last.

He intended to move the population to the local area, but now the Ming Dynasty needs people more from the vast southwest region.

Only when the homeland was stable could Ming Dynasty have the energy to take care of overseas affairs.

"You have to pay attention to the promotion of chemical fertilizers. The money from the Ministry of Revenue will be distributed when I return."

After leaving a few words, Zhu Gaoxu walked out of the experimental field, took a carriage and headed back towards the Forbidden City.

When he was returning to the Forbidden City, Zhu Zhanhe, who had been on the road for two and a half months, finally entered the border of Yunnan and arrived at the Hanwang Palace in Kunming Prefecture.

"Zhan He, your father really doesn't worry about you. There won't be any dangers along the way, right?"

In the palace of the Han Dynasty, the sound of melancholy came from the Chengyun Hall. The fat Zhu Gaochi was sitting on his throne. Below him were Zhu Zhanhe, Zhu Zhanji, Zhu Zhancheng, Zhu Zhanyong, Zhu Zhanyin, Zhu Zhanyang and other older people. Big prince.

Except for Zhu Zhanji, whose skin was dark due to years of training as a guard for the Han Dynasty, the others were all as white and fat as Zhu Gaochi.

The forty-six-year-old Zhu Gaochi has given birth to sixteen sons and seven daughters. However, because the Zonglu system of the Ming Dynasty was changed by Zhu Gaoxu, no matter how many children he has, the money allocated by the court is only so little, and whether he can support them or not is his business.

Zhu Gaochi was not worried at all about this, because Zhu Gaoxu allocated him two overseas copper mines, and these two copper mines could produce 6,000 copper mines per year. Counting his salary, it was completely enough to support his family.

Not to mention twenty-three children, he could raise two hundred and thirty children very well.

Of course, whether his body can tolerate it is another matter.

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhanhe looked at his uncle. He was fat and fair, and he didn't look like people living in Yunnan at all.

Zhu Zhanhe rode all the way from Wumeng Prefecture to Kunming Prefecture. Most of the people in Yunnan he saw were emaciated and dark, but they were not emaciated because they didn't have enough to eat, but were emaciated caused by working too much.

According to the knowledge Zhu Zhanhe learned in middle school, the land of Xifan belongs to the Zhongzhou Water Tower, while Yunnan is the Water Tower of Indochina.

Because of the high altitude, the ultraviolet rays are strong and it is easy to get tanned.

Zhu Zhanhe didn't understand the meaning at first, but when he walked into Yunnan, he realized what strong ultraviolet rays meant.

At least within two days, the skin on his face had been peeled by the sun, and he had no choice but to change to a carriage.

Although the peeling areas have healed, my face is inevitably darker than before.

"Uncle, it looks like he doesn't like going out?"

Zhu Zhanhe looked at the fair-skinned Zhu Gaochi curiously, and Zhu Gaochi also waved his hand and said: "Although Kunming Mansion is flat, there are some hills, which makes walking tiring. I just want to stay at home and take a leisurely walk."

Zhu Gaochi's words made Zhu Zhanji shake his head for a while. His father knew very well that the biggest exercise was probably dancing with a dancer.

"You still need to move around more." Zhu Zhanhe didn't know what Zhu Gaochi's movements were, but he still reminded:

"This time when I go south, whether it's grandpa, father, or mother, they all asked me to come and see you."

"Grandpa just said it during the family dinner. When I finish studying and go north, I hope to take my uncle and third uncle with me to go north together."

"Grandpa will march north in three years. My eldest brother and I will be the pioneers. We will have a family reunion dinner before departure."

"Northern Expedition?" Zhu Gaochi lost his voice and said: "Your grandfather will be sixty-six or seven in three years, why are you still letting him go to the North Expedition?"

"Grandpa asked for it himself." Zhu Zhanhe said with a smile, "Grandpa will definitely be unhappy if my father doesn't fulfill grandpa's wish. It's better to agree to him first and make him happy."

"Having said that, is Your Majesty really prepared to let the Supreme Emperor march to the north?"

Zhu Gaochi changed his title, but Zhu Zhanhe didn't take it seriously and continued to smile: "If grandpa insists on asking, there is nothing we can do."

"But uncle, you can rest assured. In three years' time, railways and waterways will lead to Hailar. Grandpa will only need to be in charge of Hailar."

"It would be okay if that's the case..." Although Zhu Gaochi did not agree with the policies of his father and second brother, he still cared about them. He was relieved to learn that he could take trains and ships to Hailar.

Zhu Di's armor weighs more than sixty kilograms. If a man in his sixties were to wear more than sixty kilograms of armor and ride a horse to Mobei, Zhu Gaochi would really not be relieved.

"Okay, let's eat first. Yunnan is full of delicacies and game, not to mention anything else."

After talking about the business, Zhu Gaochi turned his attention to his dining table, picked up his chopsticks and started to eat happily.

Zhu Zhanhe also looked at the many dishes he had never seen before on the table, and carefully picked up his chopsticks to taste them.

An hour passed, and the banquet ended with talk and laughter.

Zhu Zhanhe was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, he wanted to rest in the Hanwang Mansion for three days before going to Longchuan Mansion to take up his post.

Early the next morning, Zhu Zhanhe got up and went to the Duke of Guizhou's Mansion, not far from the Han Palace.

After all, Mu Chun was his father-in-law. If he didn't meet him when he came to Kunming, he would inevitably be complained by Mu.

After preparing the palace gifts to go south, Zhu Zhanhe walked into the Duke of Qian's Mansion with his guards.

In the Duke of Guizhou's mansion, sixty-year-old Muchun and his family bowed and knelt before Zhu Zhanhe who entered the mansion.

Seeing this, Zhu Zhanhe hurriedly stepped forward to help: "Father-in-law, no, there is no reason for an elder to salute a junior."

"His Royal Highness is the crown prince after all, and it is appropriate for an old minister to salute." Muchun paid Zhu Zhanhe a respectful look, and Zhu Zhanhe lifted him up with a chuckle: "Today we will only talk about family affairs, not state affairs."

Muchun was the foreign aid that Zhu Gaoxu found for Zhu Zhanhe. Although he was already sixty years old, his two sons also knew etiquette well due to the Mu family knowledge he had cultivated.

"Your Highness..."

Two young men aged 18 or 19 bowed to Zhu Zhanhe. Zhu Zhanhe looked back at them and smiled: "These must be Mu Yi and Mu Jing, right?"

Mu is the eldest sister, Mu Yi is less than a year old, and Mu Jing is two years younger.

Facing the two of them, Zhu Zhanhe also praised: "I have heard of the achievements of the two of you. At this age, you dare to lead 500 cavalry with your father-in-law to attack more than 10,000 barbarians. Your courage is commendable!"

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness." Although Mu Jing was still calling His Highness, it was not difficult to see that he was out of temper.

If Muchun hadn't been here, he might have changed his name to brother-in-law.

In comparison, Mu Yi was very steady. He bowed in return and said some compliments, then kept silent.

"Your Highness, please go in and sit down first."

Muchun was only three years younger than Zhu Di. He had met Zhu Yuanzhang, Queen Ma, Zhu Biao, Zhu Yunwen, Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu.

From his first glance at Zhu Zhanhe, he felt that Zhu Zhanhe was definitely not as good as Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di, let alone Zhu Gaoxu, but he was definitely much better than Zhu Yunwen.

In order to observe his son-in-law, Muchun began to inquire about Zhu Zhanhe from various aspects in the following conversation.

Zhu Zhanhe may have known about it, or he may not have thought about it that much, but he spoke everything he knew about these issues.

After getting along with him overall, he gave Muchun a very open-minded and open-minded feeling.

If he wanted to evaluate, he felt that Zhu Zhanhe was the kind of person who knew that he was strong but did not bully the weak.

He is very heroic, but being an emperor is not just a matter of being heroic enough.

With just a simple test, Mu Chun knew why Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Zhanhe to hide his identity and come to Yunnan as a subordinate official.

It's a pity that Zhu Zhanhe didn't understand the meaning, otherwise he wouldn't have come to him openly.

Although he did not reveal his identity, judging from the attitude of the Han Palace and the Duke of Guizhou towards him, it would be difficult for others to guess his identity.

Thinking of this, Muchun couldn't help but shook his head and sighed secretly in his heart.

After the family dinner, Muchun took Zhu Zhanhe to Cuihu Liuying and watched the training in the military camp in the distance.

It has to be said that Muchun's military capabilities are obvious to all.

Except for Li Wenzhong, Mu Ying, and Zhu Gaoxu, there were few generals in the Ming Dynasty who could completely defeat him.

All four of them joined the army as young men and had made great achievements in battle before they were crowned weak.

Compared with the three Zhu Gaoxu, Muchun may be slightly inferior, but he went on an expedition at the age of seventeen and fought from the northwest to the southwest. He was excellent in plains, mountains, cavalry, and infantry.

Because of his outstanding ability, after Mu Ying's death, Zhu Yuanzhang never thought of letting others guard Yunnan and directly appointed Mu Chun.

Zhu Zhanhe was very familiar with Mu Chun's experience. After all, since his birth, he had often heard his father say that Song Sheng in the northwest and Mu Chun in the southwest were the two pillars of the western frontier of the Ming Dynasty.

Song Sheng died too early and he had no chance to see him, but when he saw Muchun now, it was indeed not much different from the legend.

From a few words, Zhu Zhanhe could feel Muchun's sense of belonging to the Ming Dynasty and the Zhu family. When he occasionally mentioned Zhu Yuanzhang and Queen Ma, his voice became choked, obviously thinking of some things in the past.

Even Zhu Zhanhe himself felt that he was very lucky to have such a person as his father-in-law.

"Your Highness is going to Longchuan this time. I hope that His Highness will come back with a changed attitude."

Looking at the barracks, Muchun also said the same thing as Zhu Gaoxu.

He also saw that Zhu Zhanhe's temperament was too clear-cut between right and wrong. This temperament was not what an emperor should have.

He only hoped that Zhu Zhanhe's temper could be tempered, otherwise it might not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

"The boy will definitely do it. Then the boy will come to see his father-in-law again."

Zhu Zhanhe said this, Mu Chun didn't say anything more when he saw this, and just took him to play around Dianchi Lake for three days.

During this period, Zhu Zhanji also came to see Zhu Zhanhe, but he did not communicate much with Muchun.

The Palace of the Prince of Han, the Third Division of Yunnan, the Duke of Guizhou…

This is a tripartite force in Yunnan, and Wang Xuan basically does not participate. After all, he is more familiar with Muchun than others.

Just because he helped Fu Mao block Mu Chun's food route and reinforcements back then, he and Muchun changed from confidants to strangers now.

Although Muchun thought that Ming Dynasty was very good after Zhu Di and Zhu Gaoxu came to power, he still couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart, and the same was true for Wang Xuan.

After briefly staying in Kunming Mansion for three days, Zhu Zhanhe went to Longchuan Mansion in the west.

On the way, he went to Dali and wanted to know how beautiful Cangshan and Erhai Lake were in his father's mouth.

Perhaps because the climate was too cold at this time and the population of Dali was not large, there were many trees in Cangshan Mountain at this time and the Erhai Lake was crystal clear.

Zhu Zhanhe was not interested in seeing the relics left by Nanzhao. His eyes were mainly on the people living in Cangshan and Erhai.

Although he didn't understand the language, Zhu Zhanhe was willing to spend money to find a translator, so he knew a lot about southwest China.

It can be said that before the Ming army liberated them, most people living under the rule of the chieftains were unhappy.

They didn't have enough to eat or warm clothes. Since they had been bound to the chieftains for generations, they did not dare to resist when faced with the cruelty of some chieftains.

Even if they meet kind-hearted toasts, they will be affected by the battles between toasts, and their lives will not be stable.

During the Hongwu period, the Han people could still wear straw sandals and coarse linen clothes, but they were barefoot. At most, they used some cloth to barely cover their important parts.

Since Yunnan's agrarian reform in the Yongle period, their lives gradually began to improve.

The land that used to belong to the chieftains was divided equally among them, and the court also distributed grain to them to encourage them to cultivate new land in large quantities.

Not only that, their children can also read and write, and in the context of large-scale infrastructure construction, they can apply for workers near the official road and earn wages by repairing the official road.

In Zhu Zhanhe's view, the official salary of twenty cents per day was extremely low, but whenever he wanted to get angry, the people with smiles on their faces would drive away his anger.

"You are from the capital. Have you ever met Emperor Yongle and Emperor Hongxi?"

An old lady in her seventies wearing Bai costume asked Zhu Zhanhe. Her eyes were gray and she seemed to be blind.

A young man sitting next to Zhu Zhanhe heard this and immediately started to translate for Zhu Zhanhe.

"I've seen it before, but far away..."

Zhu Zhanhe was sitting on a low stool less than a foot high. He didn't understand why this 70-year-old woman, who lived in a mud house, could still smile so happily.

"They must look very kind, like bodhisattvas."

"Kind..." Zhu Zhanhe didn't know what to say. His grandfather was quite kind, but his father...

"Ci Xiang, if the emperor hadn't sent troops, I would still be a slave and I wouldn't be alive until this time."

The old lady stretched out her feet. There were scars on her feet where she had been shackled. Zhu Zhanhe could tell because he had seen the fleeing Mongolian slaves in Hailar City.

Their legs also had scars similar to shackles and wooden shackles.

"Now my life is getting better and I can have enough to eat... I really envy you for having such a good life. I don't even know how long I can live."

The old lady had obviously gone blind very early, but Zhu Zhanhe didn't know why, but he always felt that he could see the scene of the so-called "good old days" on his face.

Maybe if the country is peaceful and the people are safe, you don't need to travel all over the mountains and rivers. You only need to look at the faces of the people and their expressions to understand everything.

Thinking of this, Zhu Zhanhe nodded: "It will get better and better!"

(End of this chapter)