My Brother-in-law is the Prince

  Chapter 330 Yang Rong's ultimate move

  Zhu Di was worried, and at the same time very upset. At this time, he really needed someone to give him some advice.

  Especially this Yang Rong, who often has great insights, and acts cautiously and prudently, he is a person who takes the overall situation into consideration.

   Afterwards, the **** led Yang Rong and Hu Guang to an audience.

  When Zhu Di saw them, he looked haggard and dusty.

  The anger just now dissipated a lot.

   "There is no need to salute, the Qing family has worked hard." Immediately, Zhu Di said bluntly: "The two Qing family have not been on duty recently, and many of the things that they want to come to court are not known."

Zhu Di paused, and then said: "The disaster in Nanzhili is more serious than I imagined. I thought it was just a few days of drought. After all, Jiangnan is a water town, and there is always a way to solve it. But now the reports from various governments The situation, the situation is very critical...Come, take the memorials from various prefectures in Nanzhili and show it to the two Qing families first."

  The **** who was accompanying him bowed and went to fetch the memorial.

  Yang Rong suddenly said: "Your Majesty, don't read it."

  As soon as this statement came out, many people were surprised.

  Because it would not be surprising if someone else said this.

   But Yang Rong is very vigilant and cautious, and rarely directly violates Zhu Di.

  Zhu Di wanted to show you the memorial, but you flatly refused. Is this... still Yang Rong?

  Zhu Di frowned, a little angry, so he continued to stare at Yang Rong, and said, "Yang Qing's family... why did you say that?"

Yang Rongdao: "Your Majesty learned that all the prefectures have reduced production on a large scale, but when I went to Taiping Mansion with Mr. Hu, I found that the situation was very different. In this way...then I was thinking...this matter may not be a natural disaster. It's a disaster."

  These words were undoubtedly like dropping a bomb here, and everyone shook their bodies in unison.

  Jin Youzi, Xia Yuanji, Jin Zhong, Jin Chunren, etc., each of them had different expressions on their faces.

  Natural disasters are the responsibility of the imperial court, and you can even say that it is the responsibility of the emperor. After all, from the perspective of the relationship between heaven and man, this must be something the ruler has done that angered the heavens.

   Therefore, what the emperor has to do is to pinch his nose, honestly amnesty the world, or reduce or exempt food, and this matter can be covered up.

  But if it is a man-made disaster, it is the responsibility of the specific person.

  If these words were spoken by ordinary people, they might just vent their anger.

   But if it comes from the mouth of the Wenyuange University scholar, it may mean that a big prison has quietly begun.

  Zhu Di frowned and said, "Could it be that this drought...isn't it true?"

  Zhu Di took a few steps, with a protective look on his face, he said again: "Nanzhili is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, it is not the end of the world, whether it is a drought, everyone knows it."

  Yang Rong took a deep breath, he was indeed cautious, he was organizing his own words in his mind.

   Hu Guang smiled wryly in his heart, because he found that Yang Rong could have chosen other explanations, because the same fact, with different expressions, gives people a completely different feeling.

  For example, Yang Rong can use the method of announcing good news to report what happened in Taiping Mansion.

  Yang Rong did not, he only regarded what happened in Taiping Mansion as normal governance.

  Since it is normal governance, then other provinces...

  Mr. Yang... usually treats people kindly and never offends others, but today...it's like a sword suddenly showing its edge, like a big docile cat suddenly showing its fangs. In an instant, Hu Guang realized that he was actually a fierce tiger.

  Yang Rongdao: "The land in the south of the Yangtze River, why are you afraid of drought?"

   Zhu Di said: "The Qing family means..."

  Yang Rong asked calmly: "Dare to ask Your Majesty, how much has each government reduced production?"

  Zhu Di said: "The serious ones are the Huai'an and Fengyang prefectures, which have reduced production by more than 40%. Other prefectures have also reduced production by 20 to 30 percent."

  Yang Rong said directly and neatly: "However, according to the investigation of the minister in Taiping Mansion, Taiping Mansion has increased production by more than 70%."

  As soon as this remark came out, the whole palace of monarchs and ministers were dumbfounded.

  Increase production by 70%...more than that.

  But I heard Yang Rong continue: "This does not include the reason for the new grain. These new grains also occupy the land. But for the sake of fairness, I only calculated the output of 6 meters from the rice society."

  Zhu Di thought he heard it wrong.

  Even Xia Yuanji was confused: "What did you say, 70%? Is it to increase or decrease production?"

"Increase production." Yang Rong raised his tone, and then said firmly: "It is also a drought, and Taiping Prefecture has not reduced the drought as much as other prefectures, but why is there such a big difference? If it is said that there is a severe drought in the north, all the rivers are dry and there are no lakes. , This makes sense. However, in the south of the Yangtze River, there are water towns everywhere, and the rivers have not stopped flowing. Although the lakes everywhere have shrunk, there is still a lot of water."

"After the beginning of spring, there were signs of a severe drought. The spring rain that was supposed to fall has not fallen for a long time. Therefore, since then, the Taiping Mansion has organized countless labors, started digging irrigation canals, and tried every means to store water. Construction of reservoirs. In the nine counties of Taiping Prefecture, hundreds of miles of irrigation canals were built in just half a year. For places with higher terrain, water trucks were also built to divert water. There are sixteen large and small reservoirs in the nine counties. , Coping with such a small drought is easy."

  As soon as this remark came out, everyone couldn't help being shocked.

Yang Rong obviously didn't finish his sentence, he continued: "During the investigation process, Chen and Hu Gong hardly heard about the water shortage situation, even if there are some places, which are originally dry land, there is indeed a lack of water, but this year Take this opportunity to solve the problem together. The chiefs of each village will be contacted by special county civil servants. For villages with difficulties in water diversion, the county officials will be responsible for contacting them. .”

"This kind of drought, in the eyes of the Taiping Mansion, is nothing more than mediocrity, not only that, the chiefs of each village also dig cesspools for fertilizer, and the pig manure and cow dung raised by each village can also be used as fertile land. Among them. Encouraging the people to use farming tools and providing grain seeds not only easily coped with the drought, but also greatly increased the grain production. The original ten mu of land could produce thirty stones of grain, but now it can produce as much as fifty. This is what I saw, so I dare to ask Your Majesty...whether the other prefectures were caused by man-made disasters."

  After Zhu Di heard this, his eyes widened slightly, his face seemed a little stiff, and he was greatly shocked.

  Xia Yuanji and the others also frowned, but remained silent.

Yang Rongdao: "Actually, if it is said that the disasters in the various prefectures are serious, I...in fact, I don't agree with it, because...the other prefectures also have irrigation, so how can they reduce their production so much? In my opinion, I am afraid that the ones who have reduced production are the self-cultivating farmers. When the drought comes, their land cannot be irrigated at all, and large-scale irrigation measures cannot be undertaken by their small farmers with a few acres of land."

"As for people with a thousand hectares of fertile land, they have enough manpower and material resources, and they can definitely build water conservancy projects. They can bring water to their own fields. How dare small farmers who cultivate themselves dare to rob them? So on the way back, I , I also checked with some nearby prefectures and counties, and I got a general idea. It is not that the grain production has decreased a lot, but that the grain production has indeed decreased. The ordinary self-cultivating small farmers have suffered heavy losses. family, the loss is very light, but these lands... As far as I know, there is no clearing at all, it is the so-called hidden land, so the government reports from various places appear to report a reduction in production, but in their reports, there is no land at all. It is impossible to mention the situation of Yin Tian."

   Zhu Di was furious after hearing this.

  He sneered, feeling extremely funny at this moment.

  Xia Yuanji said aside: "Is this all the truth?"

"Of course it is the truth." Yang Rong said: "Just to prevent what we learned is not the truth, so I and Mr. Hu not only went to the grain station in Taiping Mansion to find out the situation, but also found a way to go deep into the village and have a chat with the farmers. And...the minister here, there is also the latest grain requisition amount released by the Taiping Mansion...the start of this year's summer grain levy is well organized in the Taiping Mansion..."

   "Why didn't you say it earlier!" Zhu Di asked anxiously, "How much is the summer grain in Taiping Mansion this year?"

  Yang Rong was silent for a moment, and then he reported a number: "2.67 million stone..."

   "..."

   All of a sudden, everyone was silenced.

  Everyone was silent.

   What is the concept of 2.67 million stones?

  In the entire summer grain taxation system of the Ming Dynasty, Nanzhili had the most taxation, accounting for 20% of the world's taxation. In the past, when there was no Taiping Mansion, it was around 2.23 million shi.

  Now, the Taiping Prefecture has expanded to become nine counties, but it has collected more than the entire Eleven Prefectures of Nanzhili.

  Although it is said that the nine counties of Taiping Prefecture are indeed the major grain producing areas in Southern Zhili. It can be said that the taxes of these two prefectures are at most about four or five million shi, accounting for 20 to 30 percent of that in Nanzhili.

  And now... more than 20% of the world's food and taxes... come from the nine counties of Taiping Prefecture.

Yang Rong said earnestly: "I checked it out. On the one hand, Taiping Mansion has found a large number of hidden fields. The number of hidden fields in the nine counties is extremely impressive. On the other hand, the food and tax in Taiping Mansion have very little loss. In this case, A few percent more. What’s more, after the land was distributed, the Taiping Mansion added 10% tax to all the allocated land. The common people don’t have to pay the rent, but only 10% more tax, which can be fully supplied. , plus this year's Taiping Mansion's bumper harvest, under various measures, the summer grain in Nanzhili, the official has calculated, if calculated according to the land tax of the world in previous years, the land tax of the nine counties in the district will account for 20% of the whole world. two."

   This is an extremely scary number.

   It has far exceeded everyone's imagination.

  The hall fell into deathly silence.

  Zhu Di felt as if he was dreaming.

  At the beginning, the three counties of Taiping Prefecture were enough to impress him, but in this year of drought, such achievements can no longer be described as capable officials.

  Between his mother, this is Guan Zhong and Le Yi.

   I'm afraid... I'm afraid it's Guan Zhong and Le Yi, that's all.

  Zhu Di's pupils constricted, but he couldn't speak, and he fell down on the imperial chair.

  But at this time, Xia Yuanji, as the secretary of the household department, felt that he still needed to ask clearly.

  Because this is different from what other household departments know about grain collection.

  So he said: "Mr. Yang, I have some questions, and I hope you can answer them."

Xia Yuanji paused for a moment, then said again: "Just now what Duke Yang said was that in this Taiping Mansion, water conservancy was being built on a large scale, and so much labor was collected. Isn't this... increasing the burden on the people? The people are serving corvee , how can you care about your own fields? Judging from the past situation, this may cause complaints from the people. Besides, after collecting so much food, will the people be overburdened? , and cause chaos. The old man doesn't know much about the situation in Taiping Mansion, so I have this question."

  Yang Rong seems to have a plan in mind.

  Actually, Xia Yuanji's question is probably the question of everyone in the hall.

  Zhu Di also looked at Yang Rong with doubts.

  Yeah...the collection is too much. Although Zhu Di has always felt that the taxes are insufficient, but now that so many taxes have suddenly come, Zhu Di feels a little hot.

  After all, the previous dynasty had too many lessons from corvee and excessive collection.

  Yang Rongdao: "What Duke Xia said is true... that's right, large-scale construction of water conservancy projects appeared at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, for example, people in the Yuan Dynasty built the Yellow River."

  When it comes to this...everyone laughs.

  Speaking of which, without the Tartars building the Yellow River, this Ming Dynasty might not have the world yet.

Yang Rongdao: "But... the situation that Duke Xia said, if it is in other places, it is indeed correct. Excessive taxation will cause civil chaos. It is a pity... this Taiping Mansion is very different, because... Taiping Mansion Latin... really gives money and food. "

  When Yang Rong said the word "true", he deliberately accentuated the accent.

  Everyone: "..."

Yang Rongdao: "The minister has also carefully found out that for a strong man, he will be given three coins a day, two catties of grain, one tael of bacon, and three coins of salt, and the settlement will be settled on the same day. If it can be completed on time and in accordance with the amount, at the end of the completion, each strong man will be rewarded with a reward of 100 to 500 Wen. Your Majesty, gentlemen... This price... the people who apply for the recruitment are enough to eat and drink for themselves, and they can barely get some money, to subsidize the family. Because of this, the people are willing to go and go to build water conservancy projects.”

"Of course, in fact, if this amount is included in the price of the work, it is not much, especially in the case of no reward, it is just barely... enough to eat, and it is not bad. There is definitely no savings. But On the other hand, these water conservancy projects built by Taiping Prefecture are not intended to benefit one family, but to be spread in all counties of Taiping Prefecture. Almost every farmer in Taiping Prefecture has land, and the common people are well aware of the water. The benefit of irrigation, if it is not repaired, there will be no water to irrigate the land of your own home, and all of this is closely related to them!"

"Thus, although some people occasionally complain about the government's recruitment, the vast majority of them are very enthusiastic during the slack season and are willing to contribute and work hard. Even when the project is urgent, the strong men are still building water conservancy. The land at home, even if During the busy farming season, the strong men are often away, and the women and old people at home are working with the crops, so they have to take a few days off to go home.”

"The third is the government. The government has drawn the water conservancy situation in various places as blueprints and posted them to the villages. After the water conservancy is completed, the conditions of the fields that will benefit are mostly explained clearly. Everyone sees it. This water conservancy has also benefited my own family. With a reservoir, I can store water in the reservoir during days of heavy rain, so that my crops will not be flooded. With irrigation canals, my land can be irrigated during droughts, so that there will be no water shortage. , even more morale."

"Your Majesty, during the rise of the Han Dynasty, there was a system in which Liangjiazi from the six counties of Longxi, Tianshui, Anding Shangjun, and Xihe were selected to Yulin and Qimen, and officials were appointed by their talents. Therefore, there are more famous generals. Most of these good families have little wealth and land. Once they are selected to join the army, they will all be ordered and prohibited, and they will work together. Therefore, there is a great Han to quell the civil strife, conquer the South Vietnam, punish the Huns in the north, and the four barbarians of the world. Wen Han In the name of war, there are always two battles. In the end of the Han Dynasty, the prosperity of the army did not decline even at the end of the Han Dynasty."

"When I read Han Shu, I still had doubts in my heart. I always felt that the names of the good families of the six counties were probably exaggerated. But today I know that the names of the good families of the six counties are by no means in vain. Whether they are in the army , or migrant workers, most of them don’t want to violate laws and regulations, and they can work together, once they are expropriated by the government, they rarely complain, and when they contribute, they are all brave, and there are very few treacherous people.”

"And this Taiping Mansion actually turned hundreds of thousands of households in the entire Taiping Mansion into good families with property and business. Not only when the government was organized, everyone was enthusiastic, and when paying money, food, taxes , without any complaints, and rarely opportunistic, mostly pragmatic. These hundreds of thousands of strong men only took half a year to complete all the nine counties that have not been completed in decades since Emperor Taizu Gao founded the country. Water conservancy, and the quality is far beyond imagination. There are very few bandits in the Taiping Mansion when the ministers are in the countryside. I am also willing to take out the good wine and meat at home to entertain."

"That's right, I also learned that after getting the land, many people's life has leapt a thousand miles compared to what they were last year. In the past, the people had good tastes, but in this Taiping Mansion, most of them are relatively healthy. Now most of them Not only can the family support the family, but also the government recruits men, or works in the county magistrate or Qixia during the slack season. Every family has surplus money this year, and the markets everywhere are generally prosperous. Women's rouge, combs, hairpins, Printed cloth sells well, and there are pigs, chickens, farm tools, and cattle markets, which are many times better than other prefectures. Such a situation is very rare, not to mention other, often in nine counties. In the beginning, middle, and end of each month, there will be markets in each township, but now, there are many merchants in each township, and the permanent market, on January 30th, sells goods , Such situations are almost rare in the countryside, but they have become common practice in the townships of Taiping Prefecture."

Speaking of this, Yang Rong seemed to hear something, paused, and then continued: "I also heard that the young and strong in each township have a strong willingness to join the army, just like the good families of the six counties, although they are also honest and responsible. They are willing to enter model camps and government schools to make contributions... This is almost impossible in other prefectures. Most people in other prefectures are only thinking about the next meal today, let alone ambition Even for tomorrow's affairs, they are rarely willing to plan, but this situation is completely opposite to the Taiping Mansion."

  Yang Rong talked eloquently.

  The others looked at Yang Rong in a daze, as if they were listening to heaven.

Yang Rong obviously didn't care about other people's reactions, and continued: "If I hadn't seen it in person, it would be hard to imagine. The changes in Taiping Mansion are so great. I walked around the counties of Taiping Mansion for six or seven days. I understand the situation, but I can hereby guarantee to His Majesty that there will be no poor people in Taiping Mansion, nor will there be any resentment from the people because of excessive expropriation. I dare to guarantee that there will be no bandits, no starvation, no crimes in the nine counties of Taiping Mansion. resentment."

   These three nothings are really like a fantasy.

   At this point, Yang Rong is really a talent. On the one hand, he understands the situation, on the other hand, he is a top scholar and has rich experience in government affairs.

  Because of this, he was able to describe what he heard and saw very vividly, especially by citing scriptures and using the analogy of Liujun Liangjiazi.

   is more intuitive.

  Yang Rong said again: "If your majesty and the princes don't believe it, you can ask Hu Gong."

  Hu Guang: "..."

  Hu Guang, whose name was called, twitched, and a look of helplessness flashed across his eyes.

  Hu Guang felt that he was really... rash when he joined in.

  I thought I followed Yang Rong as a supervisor.

  Who would have thought that today he was pulled to endorse Yang Rong. His role as a tool man is a proper rhythm of backing up.

  Yang Rong's remarks can be regarded as direct and full affirmation of Taiping Mansion. And this affirmation... In a sense, it is like a sword that goes straight to the other prefectures of Zhili, accusing them of causing 'man-made disasters. '

   This is a very serious accusation, and it may kill people.

  On the other hand, the praise for Taiping Mansion is tantamount to directly and firmly standing on the side of Taiping Mansion. Since then, he, the Wenyuange University scholar Yang Rong, has vouched for the new policies of Taiping Mansion.

  As far as Hu Guang is concerned, these are indeed what he saw with his own eyes, and he has to admire Zhang Anshi, but...he still feels sour in his heart, because...the prosperity of Taiping Mansion has to pay a price.

  This price...is precisely the community of interests that Hu Guang himself was born into.

  Thinking of this, Hu Guang couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

  Hu Guang is not stupid at all. Of course he knows that if he also affirms Yang Rong, it means that he has completely cut off from many people in the past, and he has turned against each other.

  Can... make him deny it?

  Hu Guang is an honest man. If he didn't see what he saw with his own eyes, he could still pretend to ignore it, but now... how can he lie to others?

  After sighing faintly, Hu Guang felt aggrieved as if a good woman went into a brothel to sell her laughter, but he still said honestly: "What Mr. Yang saw...everything is true, and what I see...is similar to what he saw!"

   This time, buy and leave.

  (end of this chapter)