My life skills in Daming Liver

It was already February when the order of the imperial court to change rice to mulberry came to Zhejiang.

Hu Zongxian, who received the urgent official document, still held two letters in his hand.

One of them is a letter written by his teacher Yan Song, and the other is a letter written by Yan Song's son Yan Shifan.

Hu Zongxian walked into the study with official documents and two letters from the court. He handed these three things to Xu Wei and said with a sigh:

"The imperial court is going to set Zhejiang on fire!"

Xu Wei opened the letter, and after reading the three letters carefully, he also sighed and said:

"You are so prosperous that you will suffer from this chaos. Mr. Hu relied on Mr. Yan Ge to rectify Zhejiang. Now it's time for Yan's family to collect their rewards."

Hu Zongxian sighed and said: "Everyone in the world says I am a strict party, and the change of rice into mulberry can only fall in Zhejiang, Wen Chang, can this change of rice into mulberry be done?"

Xu Wei has failed in the imperial examinations for a long time, and he still understands the folks and the grassroots of the Ming Dynasty. He shook his head and said, "It will definitely not be changed."

Xu Wei said: "Changing rice into mulberry, asking people to change rice fields into mulberry fields, and asking people to raise silkworms and sell raw silk in exchange for grain sounds very good, but in fact there is no way to implement it well."

"First of all, not every family can raise silkworms well, and they are forced to take over across the board. Those who originally raised silkworms resented the imperial court because the price of raw silk has fallen, and the people who don't know how to raise silkworms because If you can't raise silkworms and get silk well, you will resent the court."

"Then the silkworms are really producing silk. What price will the imperial court use to buy them?"

"The government collects spring and summer grain, and there are subordinate officials who exploit it, and there are tricks of kicking and fighting. Now they have to collect raw silk from the whole of Zhejiang. There is a big difference in the price of this silk product. Well, the loss is the imperial court, if it is good, then the people will be unlucky."

"There is another one, which is food."

"Even if the people have sold the raw silk, they still have to buy food from the market."

"There is no grain production in Zhejiang in the whole of Zhejiang. The price of grain will inevitably rise, and there will definitely be grain merchants hoarding it. When the price of grain rises, even if the rice is converted into mulberry, it will make more money than selling grain in the past, but the grain bought is still low." It’s not necessarily more than what you grow, wouldn’t that lead to a civil uprising?”

Xu Wei paused and said:

"Also, changing rice to mulberry requires capital. Whether it is buying silkworm seeds or buying mulberry trees, ordinary farmers cannot afford it. If rice is forcibly changed to mulberry, the people will inevitably have to sell their fields in the end. "

"Hu Gong, if rice is changed to mulberry, Zhejiang will be in chaos."

After hearing Xu Wei's words, Hu Zongxian sighed and said:

"Mr. Wen, you are right, but Mr. Yan Ge and Mr. Xiao Ge both wrote letters. I have no position to oppose the national policy of changing rice to mulberry."

Hu Zongxian still didn't say half of what he said. After the proposal of changing rice to mulberry from the court, among the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, only Taichang Temple Minister Gao Gong clearly expressed his opposition, and all the ministers of Qingliu did not speak out against it.

Qingliu remained silent on Yan Party's proposal, which has never happened since the dispute between the two parties worsened.

As the backbone of the strict party, Hu Zongxian has no position to oppose it.

Xu Wei once again thought of the words "the king is happy with this", he was silent for a while and said:

"Hu Butang, do you really want to promote the transformation of rice into mulberry?"

Hu Zongxian thought for a while and said: "The current strategy is only one word dragging formula."

"drag?"

"Yes, Zhejiang is too big, and not everywhere is suitable for planting mulberry trees and raising silkworms. Let's start with the Hangzhou government, and go to the imperial court to wait for the Hangzhou government to produce silk, and then promote the whole Zhejiang."

"Why Hangzhou Mansion?"

Hu Zongxian said: "Hangzhou's trade is developed, and there are many mulberry fields. Even if rice is changed to mulberry, it will have little impact on grain prices. If it doesn't work, Hangzhou Prefecture, like Suzhou Prefecture, buys grain from Ryukyu to stabilize grain prices."

Xu Wei immediately said: "The department's plan is wonderful!"

Hu Zongxian shook his head and said: "If there are no troubles in Hangzhou, you can slowly promote it. If there are troubles in Hangzhou, I will write a letter to ask for a delay in changing rice to mulberry. Elder Yan Ge will not say anything about me."

Hu Zongxian's calculations are good, but like all superiors, their biggest problem is that they treat subordinates as political tools without selfish desires. Maybe there are too many flatterers around, and they always feel that what they say can be as good as they say. The execution of the buckle.

Hangzhou magistrate Ma Ningyuan, like Hai Rui, was born in Juren. Normally speaking, with his background, it is very difficult for him to become a magistrate, especially in a big prefecture like Hangzhou.

The former prefect of Hangzhou was impeached and dismissed because of the Hangzhou fire last year. Ma Ningyuan was recommended by Hu Zongxian, so he was also considered by Hu Zongxian as a loyal subordinate. Ma Ningyuan's trust.

It's just that Hu Zongxian still underestimated the "motivation" of his subordinates. When he said that Hu Zongxian handed over the change of rice to mulberry, which the entire court was very concerned about, Ma Ningyuan quickly summoned his subordinates as if he had been beaten. next meeting.

From the discussion during the day to the night, candles were lit in the lobby, and the prefect Ma was still on the verge of being overwhelmed, and was still urgently deploying and researching the national policy of "changing rice into mulberry".

In the seat next to him, Yu Zongyuan, then a general in Zhejiang, was yawning.

Yu Zongyuan was recommended by Su Ze and transferred from Fuzhou Zuowei to Zhejiang.

Originally, Hu Zongxian didn't trust Yu Zongyuan that much, but after meeting the Second Young Master once, he was soon convinced by him.

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Before meeting Governor Hu, Yu Zongyuan listened carefully to the teaching of his adjutant Lin Deyang, and ruthlessly exaggerated the advantages of the bird gun in front of Governor Hu.

In fact, in the thirty-ninth year of Jiajing, the Ministry of War began to manufacture large-scale bird guns, which were mainly shipped to the southeast coastal areas. Hu Zongxian also had some understanding of the power of bird guns.

In particular, Qi Jiguang admired the bird gun very much, and his right and left men praised it so much, and Hu Zongxian also knew the advantages of the bird gun.

Yu Zongyuan talked to Hu Zongxian with eloquence, talking about the battle of bird guns, which made Hu Zongxian stunned for a while.

It's just that Hu Zongxian only listened to Qi Jiguang's words halfway. Although Qi Jiguang felt that the bird guns were powerful, they were limited to imported and seized bird guns from Japanese pirates.

The bird guns produced by Daming are not included in this list. This is naturally because the quality of Daming's bird guns is really poor. They often explode and misfire, and the soldiers are afraid to use them.

The second son Yu talked about the benefits of bird guns, and even said that he would form a new army of bird guns, which was even more to Hu Zongxian's appetite.

The blunderbuss issued by the Ministry of War need not be discarded, and then spent money to buy imported blunderbusses. For this matter, Hu Zongxian was often impeached by the officials.

Now the second son is taking care of everything, and he can help remove the stock of bird guns issued by the Ministry of War, and ensure that these bird guns can be used to train the new army. For Hu Zongxian, it is naturally a win-win situation.

Therefore, Yu Zongyuan was immediately reused by Hu Zongxian, and he was appointed as a general in Zhejiang to train the new army.

After passing the interview, Second Young Master Yu also made a request to his boss.

He took the initiative to ask to be stationed near Hangzhou, of course, in order not to delay enjoying the prosperity of Hangzhou.

Hu Zongxian agreed to his request and asked him to recruit troops near Hangzhou, and set up his barracks outside Hangzhou.

The Second Young Master Yu, who got his wish, naturally left all the military training tasks to Lin Deyang, and he himself spent the whole day in the city of Hangzhou.

This time, Ma Ningyuan, the prefect of Hangzhou, wanted to promote the transformation of rice into mulberry. The prefect Ma, who was promoted from Juren and has rich grassroots experience, understood that it was impossible to implement the transformation of rice into mulberry only by relying on the subordinate officials and servants of the county government.

So he set his sights on Yu Zongyuan's army.

The Hangzhou new army under Yu Zongyuan has a total of 3,000 people, one thousand of them are equipped with Daming Bird guns issued by the Ministry of War, and there are two general banners of fifty men equipped with Flang cannons cast by the court.

The rest of the battalions also practiced in the mandarin duck formation, because Yu Zongyuan was not interested in embezzling food and salaries, and Lin Deyang and other key officers were trained by Su Ze. The Hangzhou New Army can say Because the food and salary are sufficient and the training is sufficient, Ma Ningyuan can also see that this is an elite.

Ma Zhifu said: "General Yu, I need your help in changing rice to mulberry this time."

Yu Zongyuan had just heard it in a daze, and almost fell asleep, when Ma Ningyuan called his name suddenly, and he looked up blankly.

But Second Young Master Yu is not a fool, he immediately said: "Hangzhou New Army is under the command of Governor Hu, without Governor Hu's warrant, I dare not act without authorization!"

Although the Second Young Master Yu is a dude, he knows that the land matter is the most difficult thing to do.

Although he couldn't tell what was wrong with changing rice to mulberry, he also knew that the people would definitely not want it.

The Hangzhou recruits he led were all recruited from the vicinity of Hangzhou. Naturally, it would be no problem to defend the country and fight Japanese pirates, but let him suppress the local people. Everyone is from the village. Yu Zongyuan also knows that this is a hot potato.

But Ma Ningyuan still said unrelentingly:

"It's not that you have to send out all the recruits from Hangzhou. You only need General Yu to lead the elite personal guards, and follow me to inspect the situation in various places. Isn't it difficult?"

Yu Zongyuan thought about it for a while, but he also felt that it was feasible. It would not be good to offend this magistrate because he was unrestrained all day long in the boundary of Hangzhou.

The government in Hangzhou is busy promulgating policies to promote the transformation of rice into mulberry, and Su Ze in Nanjing has also received the imperial court's decree.

He was a little stunned. There was no such thing as changing rice to mulberry in the history of the Ming Dynasty.

But think about it, it seems that there is nothing wrong with changing rice to mulberry now.

The Ryukyu tribute trade in the Fuzhou Ships Division is in full swing. In fact, from the emperor to the ministers, no one knows the tricks in it.

How could such a small Ryukyu country be able to eat so much silk, buy so many commodities, and trade so much silver?

From the emperor to the ministers, everyone knew who the Ryukyu tribute was doing business with.

But they all kept silent, the reason is naturally very simple, the court has no money.

In the past few years, the south and the north have used troops, the Guanzhong earthquake, the three main halls have been burned, and the emperor has to build Taoist temples all over the world.

In addition, the emperor also gave various rewards. For example, when Princess Yu gave birth to the emperor's grandson, the emperor rewarded her with 50,000 taels of silk on the spot.

Such excessive rewards are naturally not in line with the ancestral system, but the emperor still suppressed the objections of the household department with the sentence "This is my family matter".

The imperial court had no money, and the Fuzhou Shipping Department could send money every year. The Ryukyu merchants proposed to accept as much silk as they had, and it seemed normal to propose changing rice into mulberry?

Since time travel, Su Ze has not been able to change the context of history, and now history has finally changed.

Fang Wanghai came back from the Yamen worriedly, summoned Su Ze to the mansion and said:

"The imperial court promotes the transformation of rice into mulberry in Zhejiang. If it succeeds, it must be extended to the southern Zhili area. Now the people will suffer disaster!"

When the tariff law was adopted in Zhejiang, Fang Wanghai knew better about the virtues of the officials below than Hu Zongxian.

The tyrants must collude with subordinate officials, first raise the price of mulberry trees, and then force the people to change rice into mulberry. Those who cannot afford mulberry seedlings will be forced to sell their fields by subordinate officials, or simply prohibit them from farming, and let the land fall into wasteland. The people finally sold their fields to survive.

Fang Wanghai has already guessed that the core of the Yan Party must have rushed to Zhejiang, and is going to benefit from this change of rice to mulberry.

Fang Wanghai looked at Su Ze expectantly, but Su Ze shook his head this time.

"Changing rice to mulberry is a national policy, and I can't shake it. The only advantage is that Hu Zongxian is a mature and prudent man, and he didn't cater to Yan Ge's father and son to force it forward. Now the Hangzhou government has a buffer time for the pilot project."

"I'm worried about Japanese pirates."

"Since Wang Zhi's death, Japanese riots in Fujian and Guangxi have continued. Now the imperial court has added factions to the point where the people are in dire straits. From last year to this year, civil unrest broke out in Fujian and Guangdong several times. If this continues, the spring sowing in Fujian and Guangdong will also be delayed. .”

"Zhejiang is also harassed by Japanese pirates every year. If rice is replaced by mulberry in Zhejiang, the entire southeast coastal provinces will not have enough food."

Su Ze still didn't say a word, the lack of food in the southeast also has his "credit".

Because of the promotion of new spinning machines, the cotton textile workshops in the entire Jiangnan are now facing a problem, that is, there is not enough cotton.

Originally, the cotton in Songjiang Prefecture was purchased by businessmen from the north and Hunan and Hubei regions. In the Jiangnan region, only a small part of it was planted on the ridges of the fields, and it was not climate-friendly.

But since last year, workshops using new machines have made money. After the machines have equalized human capital, as long as there is cotton, they can make money. You must know that cotton cloth is too expensive in the colder and colder north. Good sale!

This year, Jiangnan merchants even contacted overseas merchant ships to try to buy cotton from overseas.

As for those who cannot buy cotton, they can only find a way to grow it by themselves.

This year in the south of the Yangtze River, some dry fields have begun to grow cotton.

Cotton and silk, the profits of these two economic crops, began to make the entire Jiangnan region take the initiative to "change rice into mulberry" and "change rice into cotton". Jiangnan, as a land of fish and rice, is actually short of food.

At the same time, the capital, Prince Yu's Mansion.

Zhang Juzheng said to Xu Jie:

"The key to changing rice into mulberry is not mulberry, but rice!"

"It is easy for the strict party to promote the transformation of rice into mulberry, but it is difficult not to make troubles in Zhejiang."

"Fujian and Guangzhou are in trouble, and only Nanzhili will be able to support Zhejiang at that time."

"With the food in Nanzhili in our hands, we will be invincible!"