Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 528 People’s Well-Being and Things Fu
"Selling newspapers, the Jiangnan Railway is under construction, the wages are fifty cents per day, the recruitment location is..."

As time passed, with the publication of the third page of "Da Ming Bao" in the 10th year of Hongxi's reign, the news of the construction of the Jiangnan Railway also spread throughout the streets and alleys. Regardless of cities or towns, a large number of people bought the newspaper and went to the recruitment sites to apply for jobs.

In the 10th year of Hongxi's reign, the Pan-Jiangnan movement included four provinces including South Zhili, Zhejiang, Huguang, Jiangxi, and Fujian.

The population of these four provinces in Beijing has already exceeded 50 million, reaching 56 million. Among them, the largest population is more than 23 million in Nanzhili, and the smallest is 387 in Fujian. Ten thousand.

The cultivated land in the four provinces of Beijing and Beijing reaches more than 240 million acres. It can be said that on average, the per capita cultivated land in Jiangnan is about four acres.

Considering the grain yield per mu in Jiangnan, four mu per capita is still quite a lot, but even so, they do not intend to let go of any work during the slack period.

Since the Jiangnan Railway chose to excavate the roadbed at multiple points, and then lay the railways from Ningbo and Hangzhou respectively, the project required a huge amount of labor in the early stages.

More than half a million people were employed as a result, and sections of roadbed were excavated, filled, and consolidated in just two months.

Although the busy farming season has arrived and most people quit their jobs and start going home to harvest food in the autumn, Jiangnan's huge population base is here, and countless workers apply for jobs every day.

Since the official wages were much higher than the normal wages in Jiangnan, some shops had to raise the ordinary wages of Jiangnan people in order to recruit workers. The private market in Jiangnan ushered in a short-term prosperity.

In the thirteen months from last winter to October now, Dongzhou and Beizhou have mined a total of more than 200,000 taels of gold, more than 6 million taels of silver, and more than 6 million jins of copper ingots.

"It's... hard to say." Wang Wanzhe's words made Zhu Zhanji unable to hold back. With an uneasy mood, Zhu Zhanji could only ask Wang Wanzhe to check his pulse and check the situation.

Sitting in the Wuying Hall, Zhu Gaoxu simply flipped through the documents handed over by the Ministry of Revenue, nodded with slight satisfaction and said:
"The growth is similar to what I estimated. Even excluding gold income, more than 53 million yuan can be used."

After walking out of the courtyard, Zhu Zhanhe looked at Wang Wanzhe and asked. Wang Wanzhe shook his head and said:
"According to the project of Taixue School of Traditional Chinese Medicine, insulin can alleviate His Highness's condition, but Taixue does not yet have the means to extract insulin from the pancreas."

"Even if diabetes can be cured, other complications caused by the three highs cannot be solved."

Without raising his head, he asked Guo Zi, the Minister of Household Affairs. Guo Zi bowed his head and said:
"Your Majesty, just transfer more than 7,364,000 guan. If there are no changes in the current projects, with the current growth, the annual income will reach 60 million guan in four years."

"Your Highness, this is destiny, and my father and son have accepted their fate."

"Is it really difficult to cure a stone's disease?"

Apart from this regret, another regret is undoubtedly the recovery of the Western Regions.

"After the Northwest Railway reaches Hami, it will continue to be built westward. At the same time, food and military equipment from northern provinces will be mobilized to Hami."

"The Mobei Railway is expected to open to traffic in the 14th year of Hongxi's reign, and the Jiangnan Railway is expected to open to traffic in the 16th year of Hongxi's reign."

These railways were opened to traffic in the 18th year of Hongxi at the latest. Zhu Gaoxu was only fifty-six years old by then. However, many railways that served as the north-south artery of the Ming Dynasty had been completed. Only the southwest railway had not been completed, which was Zhu Gaoxu's regret.

"The minister will leave..."

"The Jilin-Changchun railway is expected to open to traffic in July next year, and the Haizhou-Dingliao railway is expected to open to traffic in the 15th year of Hongxi."

By the end of October, the tax revenue paid by the world had reached 5,600 yuan, and this was the tax revenue situation of the imperial court for the whole year.

Zhu Gaoxu must regain the Western Regions. Although Waisi Khan has not died for various reasons, his survival cannot prevent Zhu Gaoxu from regaining the Western Regions.

Zhu Gaoxu left many subjects for the Imperial Academy, which allowed Wang Wanzhe and other imperial doctors to know how to deal with the disease as long as they knew the pathology.

Zhu Gaoxu opened his mouth to signal, and upon hearing this, Guo Zi also bowed out of Wuying Hall respectfully.

In early October, the Dabao fleets from Dongzhou and Beizhou arrived in Tianjin.

"Please keep this in mind."

"This year we only need to transfer 7 million yuan from the national treasury, which is enough to cope with the current situation, right?"

Standing five feet and six inches tall, he weighed more than two hundred kilograms. Although he was proficient in riding and shooting, and had fought against the Mongols in the north, the comfortable life after returning to the Han Dynasty inevitably made him slightly obese.

Excluding gold, there are enough silver and copper ingots to mint and issue nearly 9 million Guantong Bao.

Zhu Zhanhe glanced at Zhu Zhanji after hearing this, and finally could only tell Wang Wanzhe: "Let's check the pulse of the eldest brother and the younger brothers. This shouldn't be a hereditary disease, right?"

Queen Xu is like this, and so is Zhu Gaochi now.

In addition to overseas, mainland governments have also begun to rely on banks to transfer local taxes to the national treasury.

In fact, in terms of body shape, even if Zhu Zhanji is not tall, he is probably not far away from being tall.

Just like Empress Xu back then, Zhu Gaoxu knew how to solve breast cancer, but in the end he could only watch Empress Xu die because of insufficient means.

The Eastern Chagatai Khanate only has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, and hundreds of thousands of tribesmen. As long as the supplies can keep up, it only takes 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers and horses to recover it.

"Okay, please step back."

Zhu Zhanji, who followed him out, sighed and bowed to Zhu Zhanhe.

When he returned to Kunming, Zhu Gaochi's condition still did not improve. He was still lying in bed and eating some physiotherapy food every day, barely keeping from getting sick.

No one cares how long this prosperity lasts. They only know that the imperial court invested a large amount of money and food in Jiangnan. After receiving the money and food, the people began to buy the goods they were in short supply. The merchants' goods were sold out, and the wealthy gentry and wealthy households from all over the country also accumulated fame. Local officials also received political achievements.

"By then, the annual engineering and maintenance costs will be reduced to about 8 million, and the strength of concrete will be improved through scientific research. The construction period of the Huguang Railway will be much faster than expected, and it will be opened to traffic in about the 18th year of Hongxi."

Guo Zi reported on the status of several railways built by the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Gaoxu nodded, probably already understanding the situation.

He has arrived in Yunnan for three months. In the past three months, he visited Zhu Gaochi, then went to the Duke's Mansion of Guizhou to reminisce with his father-in-law, and finally went to Manmo to meet Wang Xuan.

Leizhou Bo Zhang Chun submitted the "Yellow Album" and "Fish Scale Album" of Beizhou and Dongzhou to the imperial court, and handed over all the gold, silver and copper ingots transported by the treasure ship to the national treasury.

Although Guo Zi did not agree to recover the Western Regions, since the emperor had spoken, he naturally would not choose to sing a different tune, as he was not Xia Yuanji.

"In addition, the Northwest Railway has been built to Suzhou, and it is about a thousand miles away from Hami. The construction period is slightly ahead of schedule, and it will be completed around September of the twelfth year of Hongxi."

But you know, the most important thing is whether there is a way to cure the disease.

After he left, Zhu Gaojiu continued to be immersed in the world of governance. However, thousands of miles away in Kunming Mansion, Zhu Zhanhe looked at the red Zhu Gaochi on the hospital bed and sighed secretly.

"From today onwards, His Royal Highness should start eating the recipes prescribed by me."

After the inspection, Wang Wanzhe reminded Zhu Zhanji. Zhu Zhanji was shocked when he heard this and could only nod his head: "I remember."

As soon as the words fell, hurried footsteps came from outside the courtyard. When the three of them looked, they saw Mrs. Zhang walking in with joy and surprise.

"Born, born!"

Mrs. Zhang shouted that she was pregnant, which made Zhu Zhanji quickly ask: "Boy or girl?"

"Boy!" Mrs. Zhang smiled happily, and Zhu Zhanhe also smiled and bowed: "Congratulations to the elder brother for having his own heir."

"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness." Zhu Zhanji breathed a sigh of relief. Logically speaking, he should have had an heir with the Sun family as early as possible, but because Zhu Di called him on several northern expeditions, it was delayed a lot of time.

"Have you thought about the name of the child?" Zhu Zhanhe asked curiously. Zhu Zhanji smiled and nodded: "I have thought about it. It will be called Qi Zhen."

"Town?" Zhu Zhanhe nodded when he heard the words: "What a good name. I hope this child can guard it well in Yunnan and let the reputation of the Han Palace spread."

After the words fell, Zhu Zhanhe continued: "Okay, since uncle's condition is stable, I will return to Beijing tomorrow."

"Yi Wang and the others will stay in Kunming to take care of my uncle. You don't have to be polite about this, brother."

"Qi Zhen has just been born, and my uncle is sick again. You'd better get busy first, and I'll take my leave first."

After Zhu Zhanhe said this, Zhu Zhanji took the initiative and said, "Then I will see your Highness off."

"No need, brother, stay here." Zhu Zhanhe smiled bitterly and signaled Zhu Zhanji to be busy first, and then took the initiative to leave the courtyard.

After he left, Zhu Zhanji told his mother Zhang, and then rushed to the nursery.

At the same time, Zhu Zhanhe went to the Duke of Guizhou's Mansion, preparing to have a good chat with Muchun before leaving.

The hospital is some distance away from the Duke of Guizhou's mansion, and Zhu Zhanhe can also take this opportunity to observe the situation in Kunming City.

After nearly forty years of development during the Ming Dynasty, Kunming has now become a thoroughly Chinese and prosperous place.

More than 200,000 Han people live here, and many Han people have also migrated from many areas in the west and south.

Yunnan currently has a population of more than four million, of which Hankou accounts for two million, reaching a proportion of ethnic groups that was only achieved in modern times.

Except for the slight imbalance in the proportion of ethnic groups in southwest Yunnan, generally speaking, the Sinicization of Yunnan and Guizhou has stabilized the territory through migration.

Compared with them, Sichuan's sinicization is more difficult.

As more than two million ethnic minorities from Yunnan, Guizhou and Uzbekistan moved inland to Sichuan, the ratio of Han people to minority ethnic groups in Sichuan has basically remained at the level of the June Fourth ratio.

This was impossible in the past thousands of years, but the terrain of Sichuan was much flatter than that of Yunnan and Guizhou, making it easier to suppress rebellions, so a large number of small people were moved to Sichuan.

Although there are more than two million minority people in number, as they migrate to hilly and plain areas, many of the minority people's former habits are gradually disappearing.

After the migration, the three generations of young people basically can no longer speak the national dialect and only know the Ming Dynasty Mandarin they learned.

In addition, their habits are also biased towards the Han people, and the local people are happy to see this.

"Selling newspapers and selling newspapers..."

"Do not miss passing through……"

"Glasses, glasses produced in Beijing..."

In the city of Kunming, due to the stability of the place and the increase in population, Kunming had to build a square outer city. The outer city was mainly a residential area, and both roads and neighborhoods were built in accordance with imperial standards.

On the wide main road, horse-drawn carriages, Western horses, Yunnan horses, and rickshaws come and go. People on the streets often wear silk cloth. The existing cloth cloth shows that animal power is used frequently and the local economy is prosperous.

This scene was simply unimaginable during the Hongwu period.

After twenty-seven years of horse administration reform, the Ming Dynasty has become a country with no shortage of horses. At least from a national level, the Ming Dynasty has no shortage of horses. Although the Oara and Tatars in the north were conquered, and Mobei was included in the territory of the Ming Dynasty, the number of cavalry in the Ming Dynasty not only did not decrease with the stability of the north, but instead increased in number.

Zhu Zhanhe remembered that the military register of the Sixth Army Governor's Office he read at the beginning of the year had an introduction to the military situation in the north. There are now more than 160,000 cavalry in the north, 60,000 of which are gathered in Beizhili, and the remaining 100,000 are stationed in Gansu and Mobei. , Shaanxi, Daning and Bohai and other places.

The number of troops north of the Huaihe River in the Qinling Mountains is as many as 350,000, nearly half of which are cavalry, and the rest are basically horse infantry.

The ability to use horses to such an extent is inseparable from the promotion of chemical fertilizers and new crops.

It is precisely because of this that a southwest place like Kunming can have so much horsepower.

All carriages will wear a bag for the horses to hold excrement. Of course, many wealthy households and rich farmers will choose to feed the horses soybean feed so that the horses will not digest and excrete all the time.

"I heard that the Kunming government's taxes have reached more than 30,000 yuan?"

Zhu Zhanhe looked at the Kunming street scene outside the glass window and asked Wang Huan who was sitting in front of him.

Wang Huan nodded when he heard this and said: "After the discount, it is more than 38,000 guan. The current tax revenue of the entire Yunnan is nearly 2.6 million guan, which is mainly based on gold, silver and copper mining."

"This kind of taxation can also be ranked among the top ten of the seventeen chief secretaries of the two capitals in the country." Zhu Zhanhe sighed slightly:

"It's a pity that the terrain is complex and it is not easy to build a railway."

"That's true." Wang Huan nodded, and the carriage slowly drove into the inner city.

Entering the inner city, the city once built by Mu Ying seemed to have narrow roads.

However, this city was originally used to defend against local rebellion, so it is understandable that it was built in this way.

The carriage swerved and quickly came to a stop in front of the Duke of Guizhou's Mansion.

Zhu Zhanhe got off the carriage and walked into the Duke's Mansion with ease. The guards on both sides saluted respectfully, which showed that Zhu Zhanhe had been here frequently in the past three months.

According to time and Muchun's habit, he walked to the entrance of a small courtyard in the front yard.

Seeing Zhu Zhanhe coming, the soldier at the door quickly walked in to inform Muchun, and another soldier opened the door for Zhu Zhanhe.

Zhu Zhanhe walked into it, and then saw Muchun lying on the rocking chair with his eyes closed to relax.

"Father-in-law, I will return to Beijing tomorrow and I came here specifically to talk to you."

"Well, it would be better to go back early." Mu Chun did not take any stand. Perhaps for him, who had witnessed the four major cases, not taking sides was the best way to protect the Mu family.

"I left all the imperial doctors in the hospital. Father-in-law, you are very old. I don't know if I will see you again next time after I leave this time."

"If you are feeling sick, please remember to call the doctors from the hospital for diagnosis. Don't be brave."

Although Muchun never takes sides, his failure to take sides does not mean that his two brothers-in-law do not take sides either, so Zhu Zhanhe still has to do a good job in the work that needs to be done.

He had carefully observed that Mu Yi, Mu Jing, and Mu Sheng's son Mu Bin all had good abilities. Although they were not as good as Mu Chun, they were rare generals in the entire southwest.

After being well trained by Muchun, he may not be able to become a famous general in the future.

As for his eldest brother Zhu Zhanji, he is also a capable person. Together with Wang Xuan from western Yunnan, King Gu and Min from Qujing and Lin'an, and Fu Mao from Guangnan, he is not worried about the dominance of the Mu family. .

Compared with the Mu family, he was more worried about Fu Rang, the Duke of Yingguo in Jiaozhi.

Although Fu Rang is currently performing well, it is said that several of his heirs have unclear relationships with his second brother.

This news was something that Wang Huan only found out after he came to Yunnan and made some inquiries.

He didn't expect that his second brother could actually have a relationship with the Fu family as a commander.

Although he didn't think that the Fu family would spend all their money to support his second brother, it was good to be somewhat defensive.

"Okay, you can go back and rest early."

Mu Chun had no intention of leaving Zhu Zhanhe to eat. This was also to avoid suspicion. After all, the Mu family was already powerful enough.

If there were not three vassal kings and one Wang Xuan in Yunnan, he would not even dare to meet Zhu Zhanhe, even though Zhu Zhanhe was the prince.

"That kid has to leave now. You can take care of yourself."

After bowing respectfully in return, Zhu Zhanhe left the Duke of Guizhou's Mansion.

After he got on the bus, Wang Huan took the initiative to ask: "Do you want to go back to Prince Han's Mansion to rest?"

"Go back to the palace and rest. It's time to return to Beijing tomorrow."

Zhu Zhanhe said, and at the same time he said, "Is there any news from Beizhou?"

"Not yet, and it shouldn't be that fast. After all, Beizhou is vast and thousands of miles away from east to west. Even if Meng Mao is quite capable, he won't be able to get things done so quickly."

Wang Huan responded, Zhu Zhanhe responded and closed his eyes to rest.

The next day, after going to the hospital to take a final look at Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Zhanhe left Kunming by car.

But this time he did not take the overland route, but chose to take the direction of Cochin.

He went to Qujing Mansion and went to see the Valley King Zhu Su on behalf of his father. When he learned that Zhu Zhanhe was coming, he immediately burst into tears and said that he knew he was wrong and hoped that the court could restore his 15,000-guan clan. salary.

Zhu Zhanhe pretended to agree, but in fact he only stayed for a few days before turning to Lin'an Mansion in the south.

Lin'an Mansion is the place where Min King Zhu Chun came to serve as a vassal. It is slightly hotter than Kunming, but since it is already winter, the climate is just right and there is no chill at all.

Compared to King Gu, King Min Zhu Chu appears to be much more honest.

Perhaps because he saw people such as King Qi and King Gu being punished in this way, he did not dare to cause trouble, but stayed in the palace honestly.

However, he was in good health. When Zhu Zhanhe saw him, he was one year older than his father and had black hair. His physical condition looked like he was in his early forties at most.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Zhu Zhanhe continued on his way to the southeast. Finally, when the carriage arrived at Lihua Horse Station, he boarded the train on the Yunnan-Vietnam Railway and rushed to Jiaozhi City.

This is Zhu Zhanhe's first time to Jiaozhi, and for him, the climate in Jiaozhi is as if he has returned to Longchuan, sultry and humid.

The train traveled through the Red River Delta, which, although fertile in later generations, was still dominated by siltation in this era.

The migrating Han people have been developing northern Jiaozhi for more than 20 years, and they have only improved more than 2 million acres of silt land into paddy fields.

"This place has three crops a year. It's not a problem. It's a good place. It is worthy of being one of the two major granaries in the southwest of the imperial court."

On the train, Zhu Zhanhe praised Jiaozhi's agricultural situation, and Wang Huan, who was sitting next to him, nodded in approval.

Not long after, as the train entered Jiaozhi Railway Station and stopped, Wang Huan immediately went to find the local Xichang officials to understand the situation as soon as he got off the train.

After waiting in the carriage for two quarters of an hour, Wang Huan returned to the carriage and bowed to Zhu Zhanhe:
"I have inquired clearly. His Royal Highness serves in the Cochin Capital Division and is currently the commander of the Cochin Guards."

"Go to his residence and wait for him."

After Zhu Zhanhe explained, he closed his eyes and rested his mind, while Wang Huan arranged a carriage to go to Zhu Zhanqi's residence.

From the train station to Jiaozhi City, many people along the way are dressed as Han Chinese, mainly wearing commoners. However, considering that most of the people outside the city are farmers, it is not a bad day.

During the Hongwu period, farmers were definitely reluctant to wear clothes to work, and they were basically shirtless.

Because there were troops clearing the way, the troops at Jiaozhi City Gate did not check Zhu Zhanhe's team.

After the carriage entered Cochin City, the surrounding scene immediately became prosperous.

There are many people wearing silk cloth, and many beauty lovers also wear wide robes and long sleeves made of silk and satin.

Clothes like this can probably only be worn in winter.

The streets are busy with traffic, and few of the people are skinny. Most of them are rosy after eating. From time to time, you can see some farmers who don't even take off their common clothes, and go to wine shops in groups to drink and eat meat.

There are also more women on the streets, which shows that the public security in Jiaozhi is still very good.

"It seems that Duke Ying has managed Jiaozhi well."

Zhu Zhanhe gave a sound of approval, and the carriage drove towards Zhu Zhanqi's residence.

Not long after, the carriage stopped in front of a mansion. Wang Huan just got out of the car and gave instructions. The two guards at the door opened the door and knelt on the ground to salute.

Zhu Zhanhe got off the carriage and walked inside, looking around constantly.

Zhu Zhanqi's mansion had pavilions and towers. The front yard alone covered no less than five acres. Zhu Zhanhe did not rush to the backyard to avoid suspicion.

After wandering around for a while, he returned to the main hall and sat down, holding tea and sitting at the main seat. His sitting posture was like a golden sword, looking like a master.

"Screw rustle..."

Less than half an hour after he sat down, he heard the rustling sound of armor plates, and a figure suddenly walked out of the screen wall in front of him, walking towards him in a hurry.

Zhu Zhanqi walked into the main hall and bowed without even taking off his armor. His voice was slightly breathy and he said, "My dear brother, see you, Your Highness!"

At this moment, he no longer acted as unruly as when he was alone. Facing his eldest brother who brought him up, although he longed for the throne in his heart, he still did not dare to show it.

Zhu Zhanhe did not say anything immediately, but looked up and down at his second brother.

Feeling Zhu Zhanhe's gaze, Zhu Zhanqi was slightly nervous, and even thought of the showdown between his eldest brother and himself.

However, while he was waiting anxiously, he suddenly heard a sigh in front of him.

"Thin……"

(End of this chapter)