Daming Military Empire

Chapter 59 Food Issues
After Qian Qianyi and others were dispatched to Shaanxi, the entire imperial court was finally quiet. Without these villains who only knew about fighting for power and profit, the Donglin Party became much more honest, and Zhu Cijiong could finally calm down and do some practical things.

First of all, it is natural to collect transaction tax. Don't look at the Donglin Party's claim that the tax per mu can be increased by three points. After that, an extra tax of 1000 million taels can be collected every year. That is an ideal state. The severe drought in the four provinces and one Beijing will continue for more than ten years. Don’t expect to receive much tax in a small half of the area. The rest of the provinces can receive five or six million taels, which is not bad. Use this money to relieve 600 million disaster victims, and each person can drink a bowl of porridge every day.

What is the concept of a bowl of porridge per person per day? It can hang your life, and the hunger will be stronger, and people who can be hungry will go crazy!Therefore, this transaction tax must be collected. Although the total collection is only 1000 million taels, which is enough for each person to drink three bowls of porridge a day, but at least people will have a fake full drink, and will not go crazy and want to rebel.

Of course, drinking porridge every day is not a problem. You may not go crazy if you drink it for a year or two. Problems must be solved.

After all, Zhu Cijiong came through time travel, and he came up with a solution to the matter that all the emperors in the past would be desperate when they came.

In fact, the method is very simple, that is, migration, an unprecedented large migration.

Shaanxi, Shanxi, Henan, and Sichuan, which are the hardest-hit areas, will suffer continuous severe drought for more than ten years. The land can no longer support so many people. They must relocate. Most of the population will be relocated to places with sufficient rainfall. There is no way to survive, otherwise ten years later, as recorded in the history books, there will be no one in ten!

Of course, migration alone is not enough. Even if you move to a place with plenty of rain, you must have something to eat. It is definitely unrealistic to grow rice and wheat. All the population of Jiangsu and Zhejiang moved to other places, otherwise the food grown would not be enough for these disaster victims and aborigines to eat.

In order to resettle the disaster victims and remove all the original residents, those aborigines would have to rebel, which is obviously unrealistic.

After much deliberation, the only way to grow food crops with higher yields is to plant food crops with higher yields. Ancient people didn’t know what yields high, but modern people do. Potatoes and sweet potatoes are all that Zhu Cijiong knows. These two things are incredible, as long as the planting method is correct , the minimum yield per mu is four to five thousand catties. If the land is fertile and managed properly, the yield of tens of thousands of catties per mu is not a problem!
In fact, these two things had been introduced to the inland during the Ming Dynasty, but because of improper planting methods, the output was not high.In addition, North China has always been mainly planted with rice and wheat. It is good to be able to grow a new thing suddenly. As for the yield, it can only depend on luck. After all, it takes time to explore everything.

Zhu Cijiong has no time to explore, and he doesn't know how to increase the production of this thing, but he knows that Europeans are experts in this field.Although these two things came from the Americas, Europeans had more experience in planting them. Potatoes were already the main food crops in Europe in the Ming Dynasty.

It's so good to be an emperor, you don't have to do anything yourself, as long as you say a word, someone will do it for him immediately.

If you want samples of potatoes and sweet potatoes, you don't need to look for them in person, as long as you give an oral order, someone will send them to him in a hurry.It's easy to meet foreigners, as long as there is one word, foreigners will rush to the capital to see them.At that time, the Europeans were trying their best to build a relationship with Daming. If you didn’t want to see them, they all wanted to get together.

Soon, samples of potatoes and sweet potatoes were sent over. Since I didn't know how much the emperor wanted, I made several sacks of each.Zhu Cijiong checked it himself, and it was true, it was potatoes and sweet potatoes, but the appearance was really bad.The largest potato is the size of an egg, the smallest is the size of a quail egg, and the sweet potato is only as thick as a finger. How high can this yield be? It is probably worse than rice and wheat!

Not long after, a foreigner also came. The foreigner’s name was Ovalo Semedo, and his Chinese name was Zeng Dezhao. He was a Portuguese and a missionary. He came here in the 41st year of Wanli (1613 AD). Daming, who has been living in Nanjing, his capital, has studied Chinese for more than ten years, and can already communicate with people in a simple way.

In order to promote the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Cijiong specially summoned him in the main hall of Qianqing Palace, and also summoned more than [-] officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry to accompany him on both sides.

Zeng Dezhao did some research on the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty. As soon as he entered the hall, he immediately prostrated and said, "See His Majesty the Great Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."

Hearing this poor Chinese, Zhu Cijiong only felt a long-lost sense of intimacy welling up in his heart. When he was in college, several of his classmates were foreigners. Isn't Chinese just that bad?Of course, this is not the time to be nostalgic, he shook his head slightly, expelling the memories of his previous life from his mind, his face straightened, and he said with a little dignity: "North body."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Dezhao replied in broken Chinese: "Thank you, Your Majesty, Emperor." Then he got up from the ground.

Zhu Cijiong didn't bother to be polite to him, and directly ordered: "Bring up the things and show him."

Immediately, two eunuchs each brought a pot of potatoes and sweet potatoes and put them in front of Zeng Dezhao. Zeng Dezhao squatted down curiously, and then nodded thoughtfully.

Seeing him like this, Zhu Cijiong asked hopefully, "Do you know these two things?"

Zeng Dezhao thought for a while, and then replied hesitantly: "These two things, Daming's name, are called potatoes and sweet potatoes?"

It's good to know each other, Zhu Cijiong nodded in relief, and continued to ask: "Do you think there is something wrong with them?"

Hearing this, Zeng Dezhao replied hesitantly: "This, this, it seems a bit unkind."

Zhu Cijiong originally wanted him to introduce some agricultural experts to teach people how to plant, but from his tone, it seemed that he would know how to plant, so Zhu Cijiong asked tentatively: "Can you plant?"

Zeng Dezhao nodded proudly, and replied: "I will, the ones I planted in my hometown are so big."

Zhu Cijiong saw that what he was gesturing was the size of normal potatoes and sweet potatoes, and immediately asked with great hope: "Can you grow such a big one in Daming?"

Zeng Dezhao thought for a while, then nodded confidently: "I can."

Zhu Cijiong was overjoyed when he heard the words, and asked excitedly, "Are you willing to be an official in Daming?"

Zeng Dezhao was naturally willing to be an official, as it would be more convenient to preach, so he nodded without hesitation.

As long as you are willing, Zhu Cijiong immediately ordered: "Come here, draw up an order, and give Zeng Dezhao the title of Wailang, a member of the Ministry of Industry's Tuntian Cleaning Department, responsible for teaching how to grow potatoes and sweet potatoes."

When Zeng Dezhao heard that he was really an official, and he seemed to be a big one, he immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "I thank the Emperor for your kindness."

Hearing this, Zhu Cijiong laughed and said, "Hahahaha, you're not a villain anymore, you should be a humble minister, work hard, as long as you can grow potatoes and sweet potatoes as big as you predicted, I will reward you ten thousand taels of silver!"

Zhu Cijiong was in a good mood. He thought he could only pass on the news this time, but he never thought that Zeng Dezhao himself could grow potatoes and sweet potatoes.If it is just a messenger, then it will take at least one or two years to pass the word back and forth, plus bargaining, and then arrange someone from Europe to come over.Now it's all right, someone who knows how to plant will come directly, saving him a lot of time.

He did not doubt Zeng Dezhao's words. The missionaries at that time were learned and talented people, and their teachings did not allow them to lie.

With Zeng Dezhao's guidance, the relocation plan can be prepared. At that time, Chongzhen didn't know that the severe drought in North China would last for more than ten years. If he knew, he would probably relocate people.

Letting nearly 3000 million people stay in arid areas where there is no grass for more than ten years is a disease of the brain. It is not bad if they don’t all die. Disaster relief is a joke. All the tax revenues of Ming Dynasty are not enough. Only relocation can save them. People from five provinces!

(End of this chapter)