Sighing lightly, Liu Mingju said: "In the past few years, there have been Tatar invasions in the north, Xiongnu chaos in the west, Japanese pirates in the east, and refugee riots in the southwest. The country is not peaceful!"
"Every year, the military salary expenditure alone is an astronomical figure!"
"Under such circumstances, the palace is still carrying out large-scale construction projects. Just rebuilding the three main halls and Tsinghua Garden cost more than 5 million taels of silver! This is an open account! No one knows how much expenditure is hidden behind the scenes!
"
"There is also the Baima River embankment that we built in Zhejiang last year. Originally, 1 million taels of silver was enough to repair the project, but in the end it cost 2.5 million!"
"How can the national treasury withstand such a torment? There has already been a huge deficit!"
"To be honest, sir, I don't know how much energy it takes just to ask for military pay from the court every year!"
"The imperial court proposed changing rice to mulberry at this time to increase income. It is indeed a good idea! If it can be implemented smoothly, it can indeed fill the national treasury and enrich the country and benefit the people!"
“It’s no exaggeration to call it a national policy!”
"It's a pity that although the court's plan was good, it went wrong when it came to actual implementation!"
At this point, Liu Mingju's anger surged, he stood up, put his hands behind his back, and walked around and said: "You just asked, why are these people unwilling to change rice to mulberry? This is a very good question!"
"If the normal market price is used, one acre of mulberry field can indeed earn five cents more profit!"
"But, do you think ordinary people can easily get these five points of profit?"
"In addition, the seedlings in the fields are already more than half a meter high and will be ready for harvest in one or two months! If we destroy the seedlings now and plant mulberry trees instead, what will the people eat in the second half of the year?"
"Zhejiang Province has seven mountains, two rivers and one farmland. The people have very little arable land per capita. After working hard for a year, after excluding various taxes, the per capita rice is less than 200 kilograms. Even if it is replaced by coarse grains, it will still be
It’s just enough to barely satisfy our hunger, there’s no surplus food at all!”
"If we change rice to mulberry now, we will lose one harvest. In autumn, when people have no food to eat, they will definitely borrow food from large households! Borrowing food requires a mortgage! What mortgage can the people take? Only farmland!"
"Those big households have figured out that farmers have to borrow grain to survive, and the interest rates will naturally go up!"
"Interest is like a snowball. The longer the time goes by, the harder it is for ordinary people to pay. In the end, they can only sell their land to large households at extremely low prices, and they become tenant farmers from then on!"
Liu Mingju was actually a mature and prudent person who did not want to talk much. But regarding the matter of converting rice into mulberry, he was caught in the middle and tried to mediate in many ways, which made him very angry!
Although he had known Lin Xu for a short time, he felt like a close friend that he had not met for a long time!
Under the influence of various factors, he let out the suffocation that had been accumulated in his heart for many days in one breath!
After hearing these words, Lin Xu finally understood the crux of the matter!
"The imperial court urged the conversion of rice into mulberry to make up for the national treasury deficit; the cabinet urged the conversion of rice into mulberry to cater to the superior's wishes; officials at all levels urged the conversion of rice into mulberry, which is both a political achievement and a way to make profits; big households urged the conversion of rice into mulberry
, I want to buy land cheaply from the people!"
"Only the common people are unwilling to change rice into mulberry, but if they try to stop it, they will be labeled as anti-people and even killed on the spot!"
Speaking of this, a sneer appeared on Lin Xu's face: "But those in power have never thought that if such oppression triggers a civil uprising, can they deal with the situation? Water can carry a boat, and so can it.
Can capsize a boat!"
Liu Mingju suddenly turned his head and looked at Lin Xu intently with complicated eyes.
Lin Xu did not dodge at all, facing Liu Mingju's gaze, he continued: "Mr. Liu, after all, you are the governor of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and you are also the governor of Zhejiang! I wonder if you have ever thought about it, if Jiangsu and Zhejiang are really aroused
In the civil uprising, I’m afraid you will be the first to be held accountable!”
"I've thought of it."
Liu Mingju looked solemn and said in a deep voice.
"Now that you have thought about it, you should write to the court and postpone the conversion of rice to mulberry! Step by step is the best strategy!" This chapter has been completed!