Great Qing Dynasty talker

Chapter 429: Lessons from the past, Wu’s grain meeting!

After listening to this, Fushou was silent for a long time.

It turns out that my neighbor, Mr. Qing, is always beaming with joy when he goes out. This is how he gets all the money he needs.
Ugh!
He took out two taels of silver from his sleeve.

"Go through the small back door and quietly pass it to the neighbor next door. Although Mr. Qing and I are not familiar with each other, we are neighbors after all. Please give me a set of white gifts."

"Yes."

The servant's eyes were slightly red, and he felt that his master was kind and good.

You know, Lord Jueluo’s family doesn’t have any surplus food now.

Fushou listened to the high and low wails coming from next door through the courtyard wall, and slowly turned the ancestral jade ring on his hand.

Sinister tone:

"They all say that it is the prosperous era of Emperor Qianlong, the world is peaceful, and life is very good. As a member of the imperial family, my status is prominent enough. At the latest, I am afraid that I will have to taste the taste of Zheluocai by next year."

"Ring, do you think the smell of swill is authentic?"

……

Winter was also called the season of the dead in ancient times.

The thatched huts of the common people are simple and drafty. There is no coal and firewood is very expensive. Even straw with a very low calorific value cannot be burned as much as one wants.

By this time when agricultural civilization had developed, the fuel crisis had become very serious.

Every mountain in the north is bare.

The south is slightly better, but only slightly.

Limited by the backwardness of fossil fuel mining technology, an agricultural civilization of more than 3 million people relies on burning wood and dead leaves for food and heating.
Firewood is becoming more and more valuable.

The population grows more and more.

If this continues, civilization will collapse within 400 years.

……

Cotton clothes are important assets.

If every member of the family owns a 50% new cotton-padded jacket to keep warm, it is at least a middle-class household.

Ordinary people rely on their strong bones and tough lives.

Those that are not strong enough cannot survive the winter.

It snowed heavily.

What the literati saw was poetic and picturesque, but what the common people saw was the devils in the King of Hell’s palace collecting people.

Even in a normal year, hundreds of people would freeze to death in a single county.

In the winter of the 43rd year of Qianlong's reign, due to severe cold and food shortage, countless people froze to death or starved to death in Zhili and even the entire north.

……

Yanjin County, Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan Province.

The Yellow River flows not far away and is partially frozen.

There was one foot of snow on the streets of the county town.

In the fields outside the city, the snow depth even exceeded 3 feet.

The magistrate of Yanjin led dozens of people out of the city to welcome the new governor of Henan, Mr. Liu Yong.

Everyone wore warm hats and cotton jackets, with brass hand warmers in their sleeves.

Even so, people were still complaining in low voices about the horrible weather.

About 2 quarters of an hour later,

Scouts appeared in the snow, shouting, "Here they come, here they come."

The magistrate was excited and threw the hand warmer to the legal advisor beside him.

He walked quickly forward and looked around at everyone.

"Everyone, please show some energy and welcome the governor."

……

When Liu Yong's motorcade appeared one mile away from the crowd,

The magistrate decisively ordered:

"Set off firecrackers."

It made a crackling sound for half a quarter of an hour.

then,

Gongs, drums, suona, all kinds of harsh instruments make sounds together.

Everyone shouted:

"Welcome to the governor."

Liu Yong got out of the sedan chair and frowned slightly when he saw this scene.

Then he said gently:
"I am here on the emperor's order to inspect Henan and will be passing through your Yanjin County. It's freezing cold, so you don't have to do this. Let's go into the city together."

……

With the collapse of the canal transport system, the food problem in the north became increasingly serious.

It's serious.

Everyone in the six ministries, nine ministers, and imperial censors avoided talking about it. Everyone knew that the famine problem was inevitable and would break out sooner or later, and by then, there would be starving people all over the country.

Qianlong also realized it, but did not want to mention it, so he personally appointed Liu Yong as the governor of Henan.

His most important task as a governor is to collect grain!
Henan is the only major granary in the north, and it must be kept well guarded for the emperor.

……

A tributary of the Yellow River, with knots on the river surface.

A group of ragged fishermen are breaking ice to catch fish!

Bad luck today.

The traditional method of catching fish resulted in zero harvest.

The chief clerk of Yanjin County Government personally attended the meeting despite the severe cold weather, and was sweating slightly due to anxiety in the middle of winter.

He waved his right arm:

"Listen carefully, if you catch a large Yellow River carp weighing more than 4 pounds, the county government will reward you with 50 pounds of grain. No, 100 pounds."

Under the reward, there must be a brave man.

An old fisherman drank a strong drink, took a deep breath and went into the ice hole.
After 300 breaths, the old fisherman still hadn't shown up, and his family members knelt by the river and cried.

……

"Again!"

"Again!"

Another person gritted his teeth and jumped into the ice hole ~ This is the fourth person.

The steaming ice hole looked like the entrance to hell.

Only people are swallowed, but no one is seen leaving.

The fishermen who were caught temporarily fell to their knees and kowtowed loudly. No one was willing to take on the job anymore.

No matter how high the reward is, you don't have this fate.

"Sir, the river god is angry. Anyone who goes down there will die."

The chief clerk paced back and forth in annoyance, his official boots squeaking as he stepped on the snow.

The cruel look in his eyes is like a lone wolf:

"The governor has come to Yanjin County in person, and the people of the county are eagerly waiting for him."

"I tell you, you must catch the carp today. Two stone of official grain will be given to you when you see the fish. If you fail to catch it, don't blame me for being cruel."

"Three shifts of yamen runners, listen up. Kill one person every 30 breaths and throw them into the Yellow River as a sacrifice. If one person is not sincere enough, kill ten. If ten are not enough, kill a hundred. If the governor cannot eat this big carp from the Yellow River, what will he think of Yanjin?"

……

The bailiffs all drew their swords.

The blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight, which was frightening.

The fisherman who jumped into the ice hole this time seemed to be a little lucky, as he actually caught a carp weighing about 1 kilograms.

He staggered forward a few steps holding the fish, and suddenly fell straight onto the ice.

From the crowd outside, mournful cries were heard again~
Even though Ping was a self-proclaimed ruthless chief clerk, he felt inexplicably moved and waved his hand:

"Reward your family with 70 kilograms of food."

"Yes."

The squad leader who usually whipped the people felt a little reluctant:

"Third Master, look~"

Looking at the carp jumping around in the wooden barrel, the clerk sighed.

"Small, too small."

"It is impossible to show the enthusiasm of the people of Yanjin County for the governor. Only a large carp weighing more than 4 kilograms can leave a deep impression on the governor."

……

Among the fishermen, a small man stood up tremblingly.

The chief clerk was stunned.

"Is this a girl?"

"Yes."

"That's fine. I just want to see fish."

"Nell~"

"Dad, Mom, I've been good at swimming since I was a child, just let me try."

Chunni, a 14-year-old fisherman's daughter, is extraordinarily calm.

She first grabbed some snow and rubbed her skin to warm it up, then she carried the bamboo basket on her back and crawled into the ice hole.

There was total silence on the shore.

After a long while, Chunni raised her head to breathe, then went back down again.

After 200 breaths, a hole was made in the bamboo basket.

A pair of thin and pale hands dug at the edge of the ice hole a few times, then slid down weakly, and the heart-wrenching cry sounded again.

……

There was a big carp in the basket, which was obviously more than 4 kilograms, with golden scales and red tail, and its mouth opened and closed.

The chief clerk was overjoyed when he saw this.

"I'm a man of my words. After the funeral, the family members should remember to go to the county government office to collect food."

"Someone, come here, deliver the carp on Pegasus."

"Whoo."

The express horseman who had been prepared took the bamboo basket, and the horse's hooves doubled, causing the accumulated snow to fly.

The fishermen were silent. Chunni's death was expected. Even if she didn't die, a girl who had been immersed in ice water for so long would definitely be unable to have children in her lifetime, which was equivalent to death.

……

County Government Flower Hall,

The chef served the finale and pointed the fish head at Liu Yong.

The magistrate nodded and bowed:

"Your Excellency, baked carp noodles, made in Yanjin."

Liu Yong's face darkened:

"In this year of great disaster, this is too much. If this gets out, the reputation of three generations of my Liu family will be ruined."

The magistrate was not in a hurry and explained:

"It's a big mistake to govern the country."

"Li Ni is a disaster in the south of the Yangtze River. There are rumors among the people that he is a giant carp in the Yellow River that turned into a spirit. When the Yellow River burst its banks, he swam into the Grand Canal and then swam to Suzhou."

"Carp is named after its homonym - Li Yu. Fry Li Yu, cook Li Yu, eat Li Yu. Futai is eating fish for the peace of the world!"

Liu Yong was stunned for a while, then said with emotion:
"Good, a good sign."

"Everyone, pick up your chopsticks together. We must eat thoroughly today."

……

The magistrate laughed and said:

"Don't worry, Governor. Not even the fish bones will be left. I will chew them all up~"

The social atmosphere is instantly relaxed.
The guests and hosts ate with their mouths wide open. What they were eating today was not fish, but loyalty.

A great story, absolutely a great story.

Not long after,

There was one more dish in Qianlong's imperial cuisine.

Recommended by He Shen, a dish of Yanjin carp with a light red color, soft and fresh fragrance, with the baked noodles as thin as hair, fluffy and crispy, and paired with a thick sauce, sweet and sour~
The emperor is very pleased!

It is said that

Emperor Qianlong drank three bowls of rice at that time, praising the fish as being as good as Suzhou's famous dish, squirrel mandarin fish, and even better than West Lake vinegar fish.

The magistrate of Yanjin County was evaluated as outstanding and was promoted to the grain commissioner of Henan Province.
……

Beijing.

"Everyone, do it!"

It was a rare occasion that the personnel from the Wu State Intelligence Agency's Beijing Intelligence Station gathered together.

From being upgraded from an overseas intelligence group to an intelligence station, the person in charge Jiang Tianmu also made a solid step forward and was in charge of the intelligence group and the action group.

The action team hid in Jiufeng, a suburb in the north of the city.

The intelligence team operates openly in the main city disguised as merchants.

This round of food price surge in the north was caused by various external factors as well as human factors.

1 years ago,

The gods with far-sighted vision began to quietly stockpile food. He Shen, Yu Minzhong, many princes, officials from the six ministries, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs were all involved.
The intelligence station also contributed to the situation.
At the dinner table, he got in touch with several minor officials from the Ministry of Revenue. One party provided investment and the other provided connections, and they partnered to store grain in Tongzhou.

If you resell it now, you can make 3 times the profit!
Although the storage conditions were a bit poor, the rice was slightly moldy.

But who cares about new rice or old rice these days? The Eight Banners descendants in the capital city are not rich enough to be particular, so they just eat the rice they see.

……

"All of you brothers have made great contributions. You have worked hard in overseas missions for a long time. The Director-General has approved a reward of 300 taels of silver for each of you. I will personally give you an additional 100 taels of silver."

"Thank you, Station Master."

"Be careful when spending money, try to eat, drink and have fun on our own turf, and don't cause trouble."

"As ordered."

Everyone was grinning from ear to ear, thinking that the five hundred taels were enough to live a carefree life for a while.

Jiang Tianmu was in a good mood.

Intelligence work was carried out well during this period, and commendations came from Suzhou Prefecture.

It is said that

The city defense map I drew was praised by His Majesty for its detailed content.

Jian is in the emperor's favor and is free when he is stationed abroad.

Jiang Tianmu continued to let himself go, had no shortage of money, and lived a carefree and easy life.

……

After successfully destroying the relationship between Qing and Sa,

He was busy drawing the defense map of the capital city (including data on city walls, city gates, troop distribution, firearms deployment, distribution of military camps and government offices, and surrounding roads leading into the city).

A lot of the information was purchased directly from government offices.

wine table,
Through friends' introductions, you can buy all kinds of information by spending money if you find the right person.

The Qing court always lacked a sense of confidentiality.

The scribes didn't take it seriously at all.

If you pay enough money, you can go directly to the archive room and look for it yourself.

Intelligence personnel even found the engineering minutes of the city wall repair during the reign of Emperor Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty from the dusty archives of the former Ming Dynasty which were three fingers thick.
……

There are many people who raise pigeons in Beijing.

It's a hobby, just like raising crickets or keeping bird cages, it's an elegant interest.

recent,
The pigeon industry suddenly became much quieter.

Several experts and their pigeons suddenly disappeared, reportedly having moved away with their families.

Such trivial matters naturally would not attract the attention of the government.

It just caused a little stir in a small circle, but nothing came of it.

In ancient times, carrier pigeons were definitely the fastest way to deliver messages, no doubt about it.

Internal regulations of the Intelligence Agency.

To transmit information, two birds must be released at the same time.
Very important information, release 3 at a time.

……

"Your Majesty, Director Liu requests to see you."

After a while,
Liu Qian hurried in and handed over a note.

"Your Majesty, I have important information and I dare not delay."

After reading it, Li Yu was very suspicious.

"That shouldn't be the case. I can guess that there is a food shortage in the north, but no matter how serious the shortage is, the capital city won't sell 1 dan of rice for 6 taels of silver."

Liu Qian replied respectfully:
"As far as I know, the price of grain at the border of Jiangsu and Shandong is about 4 taels per stone. 4 taels is already an outrageously high price, and 6 taels is a bit unbelievable."

"What do you think?"

"I think the sky-high price of six taels of silver is half natural disaster and half man-made disaster."

"Humph!"

Li Yu couldn't help but sneer.

Let's make trouble. The soaring grain prices are not a bad thing for the Wu Kingdom. However, isn't the Qing court afraid of forcing out Li Zicheng?

Li Yu shook his head, somewhat puzzled.

……

"Your Majesty, I also did some research and found that the current grain price in the Wu market is roughly 2 to 5 taels."

"so tall?"

Li Yu ordered his guards to find past reports from the Agriculture Bureau and discovered that Director Fan Zhongmo had actually made a formal report.

but,

I don't have time to look closely.

The Secretariat did not specifically bring this up to remind myself.

Li Yu was very unhappy for a moment and his face was gloomy.

Liu Qian guessed something, but he just stood there respectfully, bending slightly with a respectful attitude.

"You gave a good reminder. If there is nothing else, please go down first."

"Yes."

……

The next day,

Li Yu convened a closed-door meeting of important officials in the meeting hall on Daoqian Street with the theme of "suppressing food prices and increasing production and imports."

Ministers and directors offered suggestions one after another.

Commerce Minister Hu Xueyu has a clear mind:

"High grain prices mean that there is less grain and more people. The fundamental problem facing the Wu State is how to increase grain."

Deputy Minister Fu Cheng:
"Spend money to import. Siamese rice has always been cheap in large quantities. Since the reign of Emperor Kangxi, more and more Siamese rice has been imported into the market. Otherwise, the price of grain in the north would have skyrocketed."

Minister of Economy Fan Kyung:

"Resume farming in Jiangxi as soon as possible. Ma Zhongyi's bandits have been wiped out. As long as the local government is effective, Jiangxi's grain harvest this year will be good. If we can get through the next few months, grain prices will surely come down."

Seeing Li Yu pondering, he added:

"I think it is safer to control the grain channels in our own hands. There are too many uncontrollable factors in maritime trade."

……

Li Yu nodded silently.

There are indeed too many "uncontrollable factors" - the attitude of the Siamese, pirates, Southeast Asian colonists, and even the Fujian Navy.

Liu Wu, the navy commander-in-chief, also spoke:

"If the Dutch and Saxons can intercept the Qing Dynasty's rice-importing ships today, they may be able to intercept our merchant ships one day in the future. Your Majesty, the navy is still too weak. I have learned a lot from the naturalized Saxon sailors under my command. Our main battleships, the Jiangnan-class, are not even as good as their Level 5 ships."

Everyone laughed.

Unexpectedly, the ultimate purpose of Commander Liu's remarks was to ask for funds for shipbuilding.

During this time,

The army is very dazzling, but the navy has a low presence.

Li Yu also smiled and looked at Liu Wu:

"It won't be long before I send troops to directly control western Guangdong and western Hunan, and control some hardwood producing areas, such as ironwood and jujube. However, it is still a long way to go before we can build large-scale naval warships. Navy officers and soldiers should train diligently, actively learn about the ocean, and be patient. There is a promising future ahead."

"Yes."

……

(End of this chapter)