I

  Chapter 613 610 [Yangzhou, a city with a population of one million]

  Jiangsu Zuobuzhengshi is also the emperor's old friend, although the relationship was not so good at the beginning.

  Outside Yangzhou City, a fast boat came.

   Before the boat came to a complete stop, he jumped off an official messenger, and handed over his hands to report: "Fang Bo, the Son of Heaven is driving, and we have arrived more than ten miles away. There are sailors clearing the way ahead, and small ones can't get through, but I guess there will be no mistakes."

   "Thank you." Fei Yuanjian nodded with a smile.

  The young master of the Fei family who was domineering and domineering when he was young has long since become calm and restrained. His knowledge is still not good, his articles are rough and simple, but he does things very methodically, he is not the kind of Huang Shunde who relies on his qualifications and connections to get promoted.

  The right chief envoy is called Han Chengxuan, who was originally the county magistrate of Nanchang in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, those anti-thieves are good at governing the people, so they turned a blind eye and closed their eyes, traveling around the mountains and rivers to have fun. Facing the great flood, he fought against the flood together with the rebels. It was not until the entire province of Jiangxi fell that he took advantage of the situation and joined Zhao Tianwang.

   "Brother Fei, who will tell you when you see His Majesty?" Han Chengxuan asked.

  Fei Yuanjian said, "I'll do it."

  Han Chengxuan said: "That's fine."

   In fact, there is nothing else, but the population of Yangzhou is too large. Although they have immigrated to the north one after another, more and more residents in the city have moved. It is almost overcrowded. Either a large number of people will immigrate to the north, or build a new city quickly.

  Yangzhou Old City covers an area of ​​2 square kilometers. The new city built during the Jiajing period covers an area of ​​3 square kilometers.

  The urban area of ​​5 square kilometers was not enough by the time of Chongzhen. In the eleventh year of Chongzhen, the **** Yang Xianming, the governor of salt, planned to build an outer city, but he gave up because of the funds and the war.

  After the establishment of the Datong New Dynasty, more than 50,000 urban residents of Yangzhou immigrated to the north. However, there are still more than 500,000 local hukou, more than 100,000 permanent resident and registered non-local hukou, and a large floating population that cannot be counted. These do not include children under the age of 12.

  Including children, the resident population is estimated to be more than 800,000, and the floating population may be close to 1 million.

   Waiting and waiting, Yu Jia finally came.

   Both sides of the canal were densely packed with common people, all of whom came to see the emperor together.

   Zhao Han stood on the deck and frowned, because the closer to Yangzhou City, the more small and simple shacks on both sides of the river, many of which were even built directly on the river embankment. Are the people of Yangzhou so poor?

   "Your Majesty, the local officials are waiting at the pier, do you want to call for an audience?"

   "Call the left and right chief ministers to board the boat, and leave the rest alone. There are too many people on the shore. If I get off the boat, I will definitely clear the place and disturb the people."

   Not long after, the fleet docked.

  Fei Yuanjian and Han Chengxuan were brought to the boat, and they bowed to each other immediately.

  Zhao Han didn't make any detours, and asked directly: "Why are there so many simple shacks on the embankment along the river?"

Fei Yuanjian said: "I am going to report to Your Majesty that there are too many people in Yangzhou city, so they can only live in sheds outside the city. And the farmers in the nearby villages and towns are used to doing odd jobs in the city. During the slack season, there are people everywhere inside and outside the city. Recently, a factory was opened outside the city, but no dormitories were built for the workers, and the shacks on the embankment were all workers’ residence.”

   "Is there no Yishe (affordable housing) in Yangzhou City?" Zhao Han asked.

  Han Chengxuan explained: "Your Majesty, there is no land to build houses in Yangzhou City. It was already full a hundred years ago."

  There is a description of the streets and alleys in Yangzhou in the Ming Dynasty: the alleys are narrow and winding, and there are secret houses and secret households... There are hundreds of them in the alleys.

   That is to say, the alleys in Yangzhou are narrow and winding, and the houses are densely built. Whenever there is an open space, it is used to build houses. There are at least a hundred families living in the front, back, left and right of an alley.

   There are five square kilometers, all of which are so crowded, and there are still many people living outside the city.

  On the 10th day in Yangzhou, the Manchu Qing massacred 800,000 people. In terms of population, there is no loophole. Those who want to question must question it from other places.

Fei Yuanjian said: "Your Majesty, please immigrate 30,000 residents of Yangzhou city to the north at one time. Or, please allocate funds to build the outer city of Yangzhou. These two proposals have been applied for since last year, but the court has always refused to accept them." approve."

  Zhao Han nodded and said: "Immigration by the imperial court focuses on the whole country. All provinces, prefectures, villages and towns are all allocated quotas. It is normal that the Ministry of Households does not approve more immigrants in Yangzhou."

   "Guo Shangshu is always strict in politics and doesn't know how to be flexible." Han Chengxuan couldn't help complaining.

  Zhao Han laughed and said, "He was frightened."

  The current Minister of the Household Department is Guo Shunyu, the son of a medicine merchant in Zhangshu Town. After the Linjiang water battle, seeing that the officers and soldiers were dying, the Guo family completely turned to the rebel army and donated medicines, food and ships to the Datong army. And Guo Shunyu, who also worked under Zhao Han, was responsible for transporting supplies.

  In the past two years, a major case broke out in Henan, and the transfer system collectively embezzled resettlement food for immigrants. Guo Shunyu was terrified, because several of the chief officials under investigation were his old subordinates.

  Since then, Guo Shunyu has been timid, following the policies and systems in everything, and never talking about flexible ways to do things. Anyway, let's put his own responsibility first.

   There are obvious advantages and disadvantages in doing this, but Zhao Han has no reason to punish him.

  Zhao Han thought for a while: "Inside and outside of Yangzhou City, 20,000 people will immigrate to Hebei this year. Those who do not have a regular livelihood, and those whose houses are too crowded can give priority to resettlement."

   "Follow the order!"

  Fei Yuanjian and Han Chengxuan cupped their hands together.

  Zhao Han really wanted to go to Yangzhou City, but after careful consideration, he decided to forget it. There are no skinny horses in Yangzhou, and the city is very crowded. Security work can drive the guards crazy.

  Actually, the Yangzhou skinny horse has reappeared, but it is not as crazy as before.

  Specially buy little girls from Japan and North Korea, and select the handsome ones for training. It will be out of the cabinet in three to five years. The quality is definitely not as good as before, but it can still barely satisfy the tastes of wealthy businessmen.

  The top-notch Yangzhou skinny horse was bought by wealthy businessmen and given to high-ranking officials in the past.

  Nowadays, no one dares to send any more. Once discovered, those who give and accept bribes will be investigated together. As a result, the price has dropped sharply, losing the attribute of bribery, and the Yangzhou thin horse has completely become a tool for businessmen to show off their wealth.

   On the contrary, it is a Persian girl, and the price has been rising all the way.

  Why do you say that nobles like Gu Jianshan can’t afford a Persian girl? Because it costs thousands of taels of silver at every turn, and the price of a top-quality Persian girl is even inflated by more than ten thousand taels. Gu Jianshan has the money to buy one, but can't he survive the rest of the day? It's like if you have a deposit of 100,000, why spend 50,000 to buy a pet dog?

   Speaking of these, Zhao Han has always been curious, where did Chen Yuanyuan go?

   After all, he is a historical celebrity, but now he has disappeared, as if he does not exist. It is not easy for Emperor Zhao to send someone to inquire about it.

  The biggest possibility is that she was semi-forced to immigrate to the north, changed her name and surname, and married an honest man.

  Chen Yuanyuan was originally a singer, a famous actor in Yiyang tune, if he was still in the south, now that Yiyang tune is popular, he must still be famous far and wide.

  Among the eight beauties of the Qinhuai River, three of them are currently working as court ladies, namely Li Xiangjun, Dong Xiaowan and Bian Yujing.

   It's not that Zhao Han did it deliberately, but that all three of them are talented. When recruiting female officials in the palace, there were a lot of applicants in Nanjing, and even more in Qinhuaihe. Talented girls were easy to be selected—after all, the humble status had been abolished, and they were still young and had not yet formally engaged in the **** industry.

  Especially Dong Xiaowan, who was asked to be dispatched by Pan Qimei.

  Because Dong Xiaowan is particularly good at making desserts, it is said that she invented "Dong Tang", which coincides with Pan Qimei's hobby.

  At night, the fleet docked at the shore, and Fei Yuanjian and Han Chengxuan had already left.

  Zhao Han is meeting the leader of the Black Guards in Yangzhou. Nanjing and Yangzhou are the two bases of the Black Guards.

  The most famous cook in Yangzhou was also called to the boat.

   "What is the most famous dish in Yangzhou?" Dong Xiaowan asked standing beside Pan Qimei.

  The cook wanted to say that there are many famous dishes in Yangzhou. She thought about it for a few seconds and replied, "Yangzhou Red Goose."

  Yangzhou Red Goose is the rouge goose in "Dream of Red Mansions".

  Pan Qimei smiled and said, "Xiaowan, take notes."

Dong Xiaowan took out a pen and paper, and heard the cook say: "Kill the goose, remove the feathers and wash it, and don't leave the internal organs. Butcher the goose in half, add water to boil, and boil the blood...Add rice wine, green onion, bay leaves ,apple…"

"wait!"

   Pan Qimei interrupted and asked, "What kind of fruit is an apple?"

  The cook said: "It's Shaguo, Catalpa, Pingpo. If you don't have apples, you can use them instead of them."

  Pan Qimei asked with interest: "Are the apples delicious?"

   "It's delicious, but it's expensive." The cook said.

  Pan Qimei asked again: "Is there any sale in Yangzhou City?"

The cook said: "There is no season at this time, and it will take another two or three months. When there are no apples, you can use other fruits instead, and you can also make Yangzhou red goose, which has the fragrance and sweetness of the fruits. However, it is best to use apples." Well, the taste of the red goose is corrected."

  In another cabin, two concubines, Liu Rushi and Tian Xiuying, also attracted female poets and painters from Yangzhou City.

   This is the case along the way. It is not convenient for the concubines to disembark, so they send someone to summon the local female celebrities. Those who were summoned were very excited, and even their husbands felt that their faces were radiant, and even bought outfits for their wives in advance, and dressed up to meet the nobles.

  Emperors and concubines generally do not engage in surprise attacks when they go on tour. Basically, they have to send people to make arrangements along the way two or three months in advance.

  After the black-clothed guard disembarked, Zhao Han leaned back on the chair and closed his eyes to rest, while Li Xiangjun began to pack his pen, ink, paper and inkstone.

   "When the tour returns to Beijing, this year there will be another group of court ladies who will be released to the people to marry," Zhao Han said to Li Xiangjun, "How old are you this year, should you get married?"

   Li Xiangjun replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, I am twenty-three this year. I have no relatives and no reason in the folk. I only want to serve Your Majesty, and I have no intention of going out of the palace to marry someone."

  Zhao Han didn't speak any more, but Li Xiangjun's heart was beating wildly, thinking that the emperor wanted to take her into the harem, otherwise why would he suddenly bring up this matter?

   Li Xiangjun has been by his side for several years, and Zhao Han is indeed very comfortable with it.

   For some things, Zhao Han doesn't need to open his mouth, as long as he shows his intention, Li Xiangjun will take the initiative to do it.

  At this moment, Zhao Han was thinking, no wonder the previous emperors used eunuchs instead of female officials.

  If a beautiful female official works for the emperor for a long time, she must have feelings when she gets along day and night. One day I can't help it, I guess I will be taken into the harem, and the work will be done smoothly, will I let her do things after I canonize the concubine, or ask her for her opinion. So, isn't the harem meddling in politics?

  If you continue to use female officials, there must be an emperor who will do so in future generations. It is not likely that Wu Zetian will appear, but it is normal for Cixi to appear.

  After thinking about it carefully, I feel that it can be avoided. It is enough to set up a system to prevent the relatives from becoming bigger.

   Without the help of relatives, without the power of her natal family, no matter how well the concubine has means, it is impossible to become Cixi.

   (Haha, recommend two books that you probably won’t read. "Da Ming: My Grandpa is Hongwu Emperor!" "Da Qin: Prince Wushuang, Guarding Hangu for Ten Years!". To be honest, I don’t even want to read these titles.)

  (end of this chapter)