I

   Chapter 628 625 [Jiahe Xiangrui]

  The details of the tax reform plan have been drawn up, but there is no time to formally promote it.

  Zhao Han went to work as usual today, but found that the female officials, maids of honor, and living historians all had joyful expressions on their faces.

   "Did you go out and pick up money?" Zhao Han joked.

  Li Xiangjun replied with a smile: "Your Majesty, the local officials report auspiciousness."

  The smile on Zhao Han's face disappeared, replaced by a bored expression.

  Li Xiangjun quickly explained: "Your Majesty, this auspiciousness is not fake, it is in the lacquered wooden box on the desk."

  Zhao Han walked over and sat down, and opened the box, and there was a stalk of rice lying inside. And one rice with two ears is extremely rare. This kind is called Jiahe, which has been regarded as auspicious since ancient times.

   Zhao Han said: "Give it to the Secretary of Agriculture and let them use it for breeding. If it doesn't produce any tricks, forget it. As for the local officials, let them be kind to the government and love the people. Next time you meet Jiahe, you don't have to make a fuss."

Ding Shijing, the official historian who recorded the notes on daily life, couldn't help but say at this moment: "Your Majesty, Jiahe is the leader of the five grains. If the king is prosperous, two seedlings will show together. In Zhou De, three seedlings share the same ear; in Shangde, the same root and different ears "Yu Xia De, different origins but the same show. This Jiahe plant has two seedlings that show together, which is the reason for your majesty's virtue and prosperity."

  Zhao Han glanced at him, and asked: "When rice grows double ears, my virtue is prosperous. Is it because my virtue is weak because of natural disasters? You don't talk about strange powers, you don't want to speculate."

   "Your Majesty is wise."

  Ding Shijing no longer spoke, but wrote down: On August 5th, Chizhou Mansion offered auspiciousness. One rice has two ears, and two seedlings compete for beauty. The left and right said: This son of heaven is victorious. The above statement: If Jiahe is the virtue of the king, wouldn't disasters be the loss of the king? Don't speak strange powers, don't speculate on God's will.

  One rice with two ears is most likely due to a genetic mutation. Anyway, after hundreds of years, no research results have been found.

   Regardless of whether they are flattering the emperor or not, local officials will definitely offer Jiahe when encountering this matter, and they dare not keep it by themselves. Zhao Han can't reward, otherwise it will bring a crooked atmosphere; nor can he punish, otherwise it will discourage the enthusiasm of officials.

   In the afternoon, Chen Xisong, who advises agriculture, was ordered to have an audience.

   This guy deliberately didn't change his clothes, and there was still mud on his trouser legs. He knew that the emperor liked such images.

  Zhao Han pointed to the lacquer box and said: "There is a Jiahe plant, you can use it to breed, and you can play with it however you want. If you don't grow something famous, it's not your fault."

   "Follow the order!" Chen Xisong carefully took the box away.

  Zhao Han asked: "How about promoting new crops?"

Chen Xisong said: "Your Majesty, sweet potatoes and corn have spread all over the southern provinces. Especially in the mountains and hills, every family grows them. Farmers found that planting corn every year will reduce the fertility of the land. Interplanting beans, but there is no such concern Therefore, if you want to plant corn in the middle field, it is best to interplant corn and beans. After the ears of corn are fruitful, there is no need for too much water and fertilizer, and sweet potatoes can be interplanted at this time. Then a piece of land can be planted with corn, sweet potatoes, and beans at the same time. Yields are doubled without compromising the fertility of the land.”

   "This method is very good." Zhao Han praised.

Chen Xisong said: "It has been implemented in various provinces, and the farmers are very happy. Therefore, despite years of disasters, there is always enough food. Even when there is no harvest, the price of rice has never exceeded 11 yuan per catty. When the harvest is good in some areas, rice The price is even only two yuan per catty."

   "Biliteracy?"

Zhao Han frowned, and immediately said to Li Xiangjun: "I forgot about this matter, and immediately ordered the cabinet to spread it to the local counties. Datong Bank sets the lowest price for money and grain exchange every year. Two cents per catty is allowed. Otherwise, once the natural collection is cancelled, the land tax will only be collected in silver in the future, and farmers will inevitably suffer heavy losses. In addition, the lowest price of grain in each county must be reported to the imperial court every year. Inspectors of clean government will draw a few Counties, check whether the pricing is arbitrary."

  In all dynasties, there have been times when there were two coins and one catty of rice.

  But it is different now. Due to the influx of silver and copper, silver dollars and copper coins are minted every year. In some economically developed regions, there are already signs of inflation, and the price of rice at two pennies is really too low.

  After Zhao Han ordered, he said, "You continue."

Chen Xisong said: "As for the barren mountainous areas, corn and sweet potatoes are everywhere. Countless mountain people rely on these two crops for their livelihood. Last year, Guangxi's corn production far exceeded that of wheat, sorghum and other grains, becoming second only to wheat and sorghum. Rice is the second largest crop.”

  The high yield of corn is certain, and the advantages are not to choose the land.

   It is nonsense to say that ancient corn was not that powerful, and the yield was actually very small, because farmers voted with their stomachs. Take Guangxi as an example. In the early Qing Dynasty, corn was only grown for children to eat and play. But after 20 or 30 years, the mountains and plains were full of corn, and farmers spontaneously planted it widely.

  Chen Xisong also said: "Sunflowers are spreading rapidly in the north. This plant likes cold and dry, which is especially suitable for planting in the north. Nowadays, the northern provinces have vast land and few people, so it doesn't take much manpower to grow sunflowers."

  There is still a lot of land in the north, and the government has not allocated it, but by default farmers can cultivate unowned land. This kind of unowned land does not need to pay taxes, the ownership is in the government, and it can be distributed to new immigrants at any time. There is too much land, too few people, and the common people can't cultivate it, so they can grow crops that are not too laborious in large tracts.

  The rapid popularity of sunflowers has led to many counties in the north, and melon seeds have become a local specialty, and a large number of them are shipped to the south every year for sale.

   Sunflowers were introduced to China in the Ming Dynasty, this is for sure, and it should have been during the Zhengde period at the earliest.

   But this thing has always been an ornamental plant, cultivated in gardens by literati and refined scholars, and now it has finally spread to farmland.

Chen Xisong said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the sunflower is not the only crop that grows from the garden to the farmland. There are also farmers growing tomatoes, which are similar to watermelons and are quite refreshing. Every summer, there are farmers carrying tomatoes. Tomatoes, sell them in the city of Nanjing to make a profit."

  Tomato is a tomato, and it was called tomato at the end of Ming Dynasty.

   Zhao Han suddenly became interested: "Are tomatoes only sold as fruits? Has anyone fried them? Have you ever eaten scrambled eggs with tomatoes?"

   "Can tomatoes be fried?" Chen Xisong was a little confused.

   This is beyond everyone's cognition, because they regard tomatoes as fruits. Have you ever seen eggs scrambled with apples?

  Zhao Han asked: "Are there still tomatoes for sale now?"

Chen Xisong said: "Your Majesty, tomatoes are also called tomatoes and June persimmons. Now it is August, and tomatoes are already out of season. If Your Majesty likes it, you can plant some in the farm and present them to the palace in June next year." middle."

   "Plant as many ridges as you want, don't plant too many," Zhao Han said with a smile, "When the time comes, I will treat you to scrambled eggs with tomatoes."

  It is always pleasant to talk about farming. Corn, sweet potatoes, and Chinese cabbage have been promoted, and tomatoes and sunflowers have also changed from ornamental to edible. Kelp is studying artificial planting, and has some clues. Peanuts became popular by themselves, and the court did not need to push them hard.

  These crops not only enrich the people's table, but also make the people full in the disaster year.

  If it weren't for the support of high-yield crops, how could Zhao Han afford to support so many troops in the face of such a climate of continuous natural disasters? You know, every year we have to use food to relieve disasters, and the north is still in a state of land tax relief.

  Fine-wool sheep are already multiplying, and future grassland herdsmen can also have a stable income.

  By the way, speaking of fine-wool sheep, the fine-wool sheep of the Datong New Dynasty were introduced from Spain. And the Spanish royal family declared bankruptcy again. This is the fifth time that the Spanish royal family has gone bankrupt in the past century.

  What does royal bankruptcy mean?

  I didn’t repay the money I borrowed.

  If Spain had not gone bankrupt several times, the Netherlands would not have been so easy to become independent. Because the Dutch banker was once the largest creditor of the Spanish royal family. Those lenders in the Netherlands are all very influential, and they will not easily fall out with Spain for the money they have lent.

  Spain's industrial, agricultural and commercial policies are set like crazy.

  Because wool is better taxed, Spain restricts grain planting, and a large amount of good land is used for grazing sheep. Spain has become the largest grain importer in Europe. In order to monopolize business, the nobles formulated policies to crack down on merchants, which prevented the industry and commerce in Spain from rising.

   As a result, agriculture, industry and commerce all collapsed, and they survived by overseas colonial exploitation.

  Colonial oppression has become more brutal, leading to a sharp decline in the population of the Americas, and the once-great American market has also shrunk.

  Now the king of Spain, the huge debt left after his death is about 50 million taels in silver. If there are too many lice, it doesn't itch, and if there are too many debts, it doesn't worry, it's just like that anyway. As for the financiers who were cheated, they should hang themselves and jump into the river.

  Spain declared bankruptcy this time, which means that the Thirty Years War in Europe is coming to an end.

  The Thirty Years' War was the beginning of modern European history. The Westphalian system established after the war lasted until the First World War. Of course, we have to ask whether Datong China agrees to this kind of international order system.

  In addition, France became the overlord of the land, and the Netherlands became the overlord of the sea.

  Britain had ended its civil war, and the king fled to Scotland, where he was redeemed by Parliament for £500,000 and brought back under house arrest. The king, who was under house arrest, ran away again, and was trying to persuade the Scottish army to come to the king's rescue.

  The British civil war is not a bourgeois revolution.

  The distribution of spoils after the war is the bourgeois revolution—the Lord Protector Cromwell first wins over the army and civilians, and resists the king's counterattack. Then they broke their promises and attacked the army and civilian parties. The fruits of the revolution were stolen by the gentry and nobles, which is very similar to the 1911 Revolution in China.

   Having said so much, I just want to express one meaning, the big battles that Europe should fight are all over.

  The next European countries will pay more attention to overseas colonization. In the future, even if there is a war, it will be based on maritime interests, and exchanges between China and Europe will become more frequent and closer.

  The overseas sales of Chinese products will reach another peak, and the customers are those Europeans!

  Zhao Han traveled to a hellish period of successive years of natural disasters, and it was also a heyday of maritime trade.

   (Chapter 614 has been released, you can take a look if you are interested.)

  (end of this chapter)