The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Chapter 315 Nanjing Incident ([-])
Ni Sihui, the former left minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing during the Ming Dynasty, was a Jinshi in the 35th year of Wanli. He is now 70 years old and very old.

Ni Sihui surrendered to Wei mainly to preserve his relatives - he was from Qimen, Huizhou.

Because of his old age, he did not want to stand out too much even if he had lost his official integrity, so he followed Zhang Shenyan and said: "What Mr. Zhang said is true. Your Majesty only needs to strictly prohibit merchants from inflating grain prices and punish one or two unscrupulous merchants." That’s it.”

Liu Sheng was also disappointed with Ni Sihui. Seeing that his beard and hair were gray and he was dozing off when he stood in the palace, he decided to let this man go back to his hometown for retirement.

He then looked at Zhang Youyu, the former right minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs in Nanjing.

This man was from Jiangyin, Changzhou Prefecture. Although part of the reason for surrendering was for the clan, his attitude was more positive than Ni Sihui's.

The most important thing is that this man is still "young". He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianqi and is only 53 years old this year.

In addition, Zhang Youyu has a good resume. He has successively served as county magistrate, head of the household department, Wuhu tax collector, prefect, deputy envoy of the inspection, envoy of the inspection, and right minister of the Nanjing household department.

He has good political performance, has a reputation for integrity, and several official positions have the responsibility of "supervising food".

Previously, the Nanjing Household Department of the Ming Dynasty supervised the taxation, grain collection and other matters in Jiangnan, and this person was also responsible for the main affairs.

Liu Sheng vaguely remembered that Zhang Youyu seemed to be the Minister of Household Affairs of the Hongguang Court in history.

He is neither a member of the Donglin Party nor a member of the Eunuch Party. He can be recognized by both parties and hold the position of Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs. He must have some ability in supervising money and grain affairs.

Seeing Liu Sheng looking at him, Zhang Youyu said: "Of course what Mr. Zhang said is true on one side, but we still need to be careful of profiteers who stop delivering grain to Nanjing on the grounds of losses.

Nowadays, millions of people in Nanjing rely on many grain merchants for their food rations, which is really giving people a handle.Therefore, if we want to fundamentally solve the food crisis, we still need to control enough food. "

Liu Sheng said: "Now that our army has taken control of Huguang, there are also grain merchants in Sichuan going down the river. But before, Sichuan and Huguang mostly relied on grain merchants to transport grain to the southeast, and they may have colluded with Nanjing grain merchants.

Even if our army wants to control the food supplies of Sichuan and Huguang, it will take some time.If Nanjing grain merchants cause chaos during this period, they can only rely on Southeast grain for support.

I dare to ask Mr. Jinghan (Zhang Youyu), can the grain reserves in the Jiangnan area be enough for Nanjing to last for a month? "

Liu Sheng did not shy away from using force to obtain food.

What he was afraid of was that even if he used force, he wouldn't be able to collect enough food.

So he had to know the details of the food in Jiangnan (Jiangnan area of ​​​​South Zhili).

"It should be possible." Zhang Youyu gave an affirmative answer first, and then explained, "The five prefectures of Susong, Changjia and Lake around Taihu Lake were known as a land of plenty in the late Tang Dynasty.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, there was a saying that "if Suhu is cooked, the world will be satisfied".Before the Hongzhi Year of the Ming Dynasty, the areas around Taihu Lake were among the top three grain-producing areas of the Ming Dynasty.

Starting from the Hongzhi period, people in the south of the Yangtze River began to plant more mulberry trees and raise silkworms, resulting in a decrease in the number of grain-growing fields and people.

In addition, Sichuan and Huguang have experienced more than 100 years of reclamation, and their grain output has come from behind. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty relied heavily on Sichuan and Huguang for grain.

But this does not mean that grain is no longer produced around Taihu Lake. In fact, the grain output in Jiangnan is only lower than that of Huguang and Sichuan.

Therefore, even if the grain reserves in Jiangnan cannot meet the needs of the large population in Jiangnan throughout the year, they can at least sustain them for several months. "

After listening to Zhang Youyu's explanation, Liu Sheng finally understood the details of Jiangnan's food.

Influenced by later online novels, he knew that grain in Sichuan and Huguang in the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty was mainly sold to the capital and the Jiangnan region, so he believed that the grain output in Jiangnan was small.

Only now have I woke up and entered into a misunderstanding.

Jiangnan is a land of plenty. Even if the handicraft industry develops and there are more people planting mulberry and raising silkworms, how much more could it possibly be?

After all, the majority of people in Jiangnan are still mainly engaged in farming!
In addition, the planting level in Jiangnan was also the best in the country in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, and it was a place that paid the most attention to intensive farming.

The fundamental problem of food shortage in Jiangnan is that there are too many people!

Nanjing City alone has a population of over one million, Yangzhou City also has a population of 50 to 80, and the five prefectures of Changzhou, Suzhou, Songjiang, Jiaxing, and Huzhou are estimated to have a population of more than one million, or even several million!

This can be seen from the configuration of these prefectures, cities and counties.

The three prefectures of Suzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou are governed by two counties attached to Guo - indicating that these three prefectures have too many people and must be divided into two counties for easy governance.

Going south, the same goes for Hangzhou and Shaoxing.

Therefore, there is definitely a lot of food in Jiangnan, but it is not enough to meet the year-round needs of the large population, so it needs to be supplemented by buying food from Sichuan, Huguang and even overseas.

It is speculated that the landlords in the Jiangnan area will definitely have no shortage of grain.

After all, the Ming Dynasty has been plagued by natural disasters and wars over the years, and food is the hard currency. As long as the landlords are not stupid, they will definitely stockpile some of the food after the harvest every year.

Since the Jiangnan region itself had enough food to last for several months, Liu Sheng felt confident.

He was going to take action on Nanjing Daming Xungui first.

Each of these people had a large amount of land, rich net worth, and was extremely wealthy. They also belonged to a special group and had little ability to resist the enemy. They were suitable for "killing" to deal with difficulties.

As for the gentry and landlords in the Jiangnan area, they are a large group and have great influence. They cannot act too hastily. They can first let the Yi army confiscate the property of a few evil gentry and bullies step by step.

Thinking of this, Liu Sheng smiled at Zhang Youyu and said, "Mr. Jinghan is familiar with Jiangnan's money and grain affairs, so please first take up the post of right minister of our army's household department and take charge of Jiangnan's money and grain affairs. How about that?" Zhang Youyu immediately bowed and said, "My lord, sir." Thank you!"

Ni Sihui was still drowsy.

Zhang Shenyan snorted coldly, but didn't say much - there were so many officials in Nanjing, so what's the use of scolding one or two people?Besides, he has already had enough scolding these days.

Less than half an hour after Zhang Kuang, Zhang Youyu and others left Fengtian Palace, guards came to report that the Hou family and his son, Liang Yizhang and others had arrived in Nanjing.

Liu Sheng did not rush to summon them, but asked a few people to rest first and see them again in the afternoon...

After lunch break.

Liang Yizhang was in high spirits and went with the Hou family and his son to the Forbidden City to meet King Xingmei.

A few people went to Xihua Gate nearby.

When I arrived outside the door, I happened to encounter a large group of personal guards dispatched.

Hou Fangyu was young and not calm enough, so he couldn't help but ask: "Why do these guards feel so murderous? What are they going to do?"

Hou Xun walked forward without squinting and shouted: "Don't look around, don't meddle in other people's business!"

Several people arrived at Fengtian Hall and bowed to the sky to pay homage to Liu Sheng.

"See Your Majesty!"

"Flat body."

"Thank you king!"

Li Bi.

Liu Sheng first said to Hou Xun: "Mr. Hou, you have had a hard time on this trip."

Hou Xun said: "It is only thanks to the guidance of the king that I can complete my mission. Although it is a little thrilling, it cannot be called hard work."

Liu Sheng smiled slightly, "I have always been clear about rewards and punishments. Mr. Hou has made great achievements in his two missions since he joined our army. It is not appropriate to continue to serve as a counselor in the Military Academy.

Our Ministry also needs to establish Honglu Temple, so Mr. Hou will be appointed as the minister of Honglu Temple. How about that? "

When Hou Xun heard this, his face suddenly fell.

Liang Yizhang behind him also showed an unexpected look.

Because in the Ming Dynasty, although the minister of Honglu Temple was the chief official of the department, he was only a fourth-rank official, which was equivalent to a leisure position.

Although Hou Xun's previous position as Military Counselor was of unknown rank, he was able to always be by Liu Sheng's side. He was the counselor of military aircraft, somewhat similar to the Ming Dynasty cabinet minister.

Hou Xun was not given a reward for his meritorious service, but was instead given a leisurely position as a fourth-rank official. How can people not be surprised?
Liu Sheng noticed the change in Hou Xun's expression and knew that there had been a misunderstanding, so he explained with a smile: "Unlike the Ming Dynasty, our department attaches great importance to diplomacy, so the status of Honglu Temple will also be greatly improved.

Apart from anything else, the rank of Honglu Temple Minister will be compared to the six ministers of the Ming Dynasty, and will be the second rank.Mr. Hou looked unhappy. Could it be that he was dissatisfied with the position? "

When Hou Xun heard this, he realized that he had misunderstood. He immediately bowed and said loudly: "I accept the order and thank you!"

Liu Sheng looked at Hou Fangyu again, "Hou Fangyu also has merit. I will give you two choices. One is to serve as a regimental staff officer in the Nanjing Garrison Army, and the other is to serve as a civil servant in Honglu Temple. Which one do you want to choose?"

Hou Fangyu originally thought that he had some military strategies and might be able to rule the world, but after experiencing two incidents of persuading surrender in Maoshan and Guide, he had to travel hard each time and risk his life. This had long since frightened him, and he realized that he Not suitable for military service.

Then he said: "Wei Chen wants to serve in Honglu Temple."

"Then let's serve as the Chief Secretary of Honglu Temple first."

Hou Fangyu remembered that the Secretary of the Ming Dynasty was only a low-ranking official of the ninth rank. Although he did not know how many ranks the official position was mentioned in the Weibu, he thought he was not much higher, and he felt a little unhappy.

But he absolutely didn't dare to show it in front of Liu Sheng, and he didn't want to be a staff officer of the security corps, so he bowed and said, "I accept the order."

Liu Sheng added: "There should be a Honglu Temple in Nanjing, right? Mr. Hou will then recruit useful talents from the Honglu Temple in Nanjing - especially those officials and staff who are familiar with the conditions of various countries and understand the languages ​​​​of each country."

Hou Xun heard that Liu Sheng really valued Honglu Temple, and immediately responded loudly: "I obey the decree!"

A considerable part of the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic relations with overseas countries were conducted in Nanjing.

Therefore, there are definitely many talents in Honglu Temple in Nanjing, but these talents may have been just low-ranking officials or even officials in the Ming Dynasty in the past, and were not taken seriously.

In addition, most of these petty officials and officials are from the south, even from Nanjing.

Liu Sheng believed that as long as these people knew the importance he attached to Honglu Temple, coupled with the improvement in salary and official rank, most of them would serve the Weibu without hesitation.

After giving instructions about Honglu Temple, Liu Sheng asked Hou Xun and Hou Fangyu to retreat, and then looked at Liang Yizhang.

　First more.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)