After the announcement of the call for a one-year postponement of the imperial examination, it caused a lot of turmoil in the capital. People had come all the way to the capital a year ago, but the imperial court messed up the matter with an official document. Three
Three years after another, do you think it will be easy to wait for these three years?
It was only after the officials from the Ministry of Rites patiently explained that the officials reluctantly accepted it. At least the imperial court did not ignore the matter and introduced relevant remedial measures.
The most important thing for the candidates who were stranded in the capital was not the food and accommodation in the Imperial College and the monthly subsidy of one tael of silver, but the fact that the imperial court had added fifty more places for the imperial examination, and that they could occasionally see the emperor after going to Meishan.
What's the point of meeting the emperor? They can't take the lead! We, the candidates, will first become familiar with each other, and then jump to the dragon gate. If we have this casual acquaintance with the emperor, our official career will be smooth.
Already?
Regardless of whether it is a matter of the Customs Administration or the suspension of the conference, it is not the most critical focus to change the situation this year. The most critical thing this year is whether the people in the capital and Beizhili can have food to eat! The people have food to eat.
There is hope for everything. If there is nothing to eat, everything is idle.
To solve the problem of food rations for the people, the grains shipped from the south are unreliable. The grains shipped from the south are used to solve the problem of rations for officers and soldiers and are not used on the people. The maximum amount of grains shipped from the south in a year is two to three million shi. This amount of grain is the most
But it is just enough for the people in the capital. To solve the food shortage in Zhili, at least more than three million shi of food are needed.
The most realistic way to solve this problem is to build large-scale water conservancy projects and encourage people to use the fertile farmland that has been abandoned in recent years to grow food. At the same time, all the refugees who have flowed into Zhili will be allocated land so that they can also participate in production. However, this
There is no basis and conditions for the implementation of this method! The Qing troops are still raging in the belly, and the court and the inner treasury do not have the money to build water conservancy facilities and land reclamation. We do not have the time, space, and financial conditions to launch a woolen agricultural restoration movement.
There are no conditions, but you can't do nothing, so the idea can only be made in the inner palace! In addition to a large number of workshops and craftsmen in the palace, there are also a large number of imperial villages and farmers. The imperial village owns a lot of land, and there are many miscellaneous things.
Altogether, it covers one-fifth of the current land in Beizhili. Moreover, it is all good land and is basically irrigated land.
These imperial estates were concentrated in several prefectures and counties on the outskirts of Beijing. They were relatively less damaged by the Qing army. It was easier to organize production and directly control them, making them the most suitable place to start.
"Come here, call your eldest companion and the father-in-law who is at home in the Internal Affairs Hall. I have something important to do for them."
The little eunuch beside him quickly called Wang Chengen and the others to the inner hall. After seeing that everyone was almost there, Zhu Youjian began to assign tasks without any politeness: "As the saying goes, a day's plan begins in the morning, and a year's plan begins in the spring.
The Chinese New Year is coming to an end soon, and you have to put all your thoughts back into business. There are many things to do in the palace this year, but for the beginning of the new year, farming should be the most important thing. Therefore, your main focus during this period is
All the energy must be put into the production of Huangzhuang and Gongzhuang. I have a big goal for the operation of Huangzhuang this year, and the grain production will be at least four times higher than last year."
Four times? The emperor is crazy! Does he know what four times is? When Wang Chengen and others heard this, their eyes were as blind as bull’s eyes.
Without waiting for their reaction, Zhu Youjian waved his hand and continued: "This request is not without purpose, and I am not asking you to achieve such a large harvest in staple grains. This year, all the fields in Huangzhuang will be planted, and six of them will be planted.
If you are above 10%, you should plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and wheat. This type of cereals has a large yield and good drought resistance. It is a good crop that can produce more grains! You have to raise seeds now, and be sure to ensure that farmers have seeds available.
This is not a child's play, if you don't do it, be careful what you get on your neck."
"Your Majesty, it's useless to plant sweet potatoes, potatoes, jade and wheat, and you can't harvest grains. Farmers can't sell them, and they can't exchange them for money. It's useless to grow them. If 60% of the fields are grown into these grains,
, farmers can't even get enough grain of grain for a year." Wang Chengen waited for his master to finish speaking, and then hurriedly interjected. He felt that this kind of chaos that harmed the people and himself must be stopped in time, otherwise the whole country would be destroyed.
Huangzhuang's industries were all ruined.
"When the palace harvests grains, it will collect these miscellaneous grains. Except for the miscellaneous grains produced by the farmers this year, the jade and wheat palace will collect them at half the price of wheat, and sweet potatoes and potatoes will be collected at 30% of the price of staple grains.
, tell the farmers, whatever they produce, I will harvest!"
"Your Majesty, why do the palace collect these inedible grains? Jade and wheat are better, they can be stored! Sweet potatoes and potatoes are not easy to store. The palace has no use except wasting money. This order is for thousands of people.
Don't send it further!" At this time, Wang Cheng'en was really anxious. The emperor's order was really a crooked order that wasted money and harmed the country and the people!
"Who said we can't eat them anymore? These grains are of great use to me! They are used to save the country. You don't have to say anything, just implement them."
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being rude, but this order must not be carried out." Wang Chengen, who was anxious, took several other eunuchs and knelt in the hall. This is a major matter involving the safety of the country, and they must do their best.
Prevent.
"O friend! Do you know what I am going to do with these grains? Did you know that sweet potatoes and potatoes can be pressed into powder? The flour extraction rate of these grains is not worse than that of staple grains, and the flour extracted can completely replace rice and noodles to make canned meat. This is one of them
, the second is sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, and potatoes can also be used to make wine and alcohol, and the alcohol yield is higher than that of staple grains. The residue after crushing is also good for raising pigs, cattle, and sheep. In short, growing these grains has a large yield.
It has many uses and is the most suitable crop at the moment. You can plant it freely without fear of harming the country and the people."
Originally, Zhu Youjian was not prepared to elaborate on these things, but if he did not explain them clearly, these people could not change their minds. They always felt that growing miscellaneous grains was a waste of land, manpower and material resources.
Potatoes, sweet potatoes can be pressed into flour? Can they also be used to make wine? Wang Chengen and others were surprised when they heard this. How could the emperor know so clearly? It felt like he was less proficient than farmers who were good at farming! If what the emperor said was true,
?It really can be done well. If nothing else, it can be used as a substitute for rice and flour to make canned meat and wine. This will not be a loss, and the palace can make a lot of money from these things.
"Your Majesty, I am stupid, can the flour from potatoes and sweet potatoes really replace rice and noodles to make canned meat? Can it also make more alcohol?"
"Why did I lie to you? Collect some now and I will arrange for someone to demonstrate it to you and see how it works."
It seems that we still have to reason with these people with facts! It is not difficult to grind sweet potatoes and potatoes into powder, and it can be done manually! The main raw materials of liquid brewing are also these things, so it is not difficult to experiment. Just do some experiments first and let Wang Chengen
They also have some confidence! (One update today, more tomorrow!)