The new year is approaching, and the implementation of the first phase of the Southern New Deal is finally completed.
Obviously without Zhu Cixiang personally in charge, the pressure on the eight central ministries and local government agencies has plummeted. Coupled with the geographical expansion, unchanged communications, and the impact of the war, it took a full year to consolidate the provinces.
The paddy and dry fields have been measured and verified.
As for the statistical measurement of shops and land, it is obvious that it will definitely not be completed this year.
"For the Queen Mother, this is the latest land area data verified by the Ministry of Agriculture. There are more than 10 million acres of mulberry fields in the seven provinces, more than 10 and 60 million acres of paddy fields, and more than 40 million acres of dry fields..."
Holding the brochure, Ma Shiying said with some shame that although there were various reasons, it took a full year to complete the statistics and measurement of paddy and dry fields in the seven provinces. It was really a bit of a delay.
Even he, the second-in-command in the cabinet, can do nothing about this.
Zhang Yan didn't mean to blame. After all, this year's war is going on. It's human nature to seek stability and slow down.
Therefore, for a whole year, I never urged the advancement of the New Deal. Now that I have finally completed the measurement of paddy and dry land at the end of the year, I am relieved.
After listening to Ma Shiying's report, he took the booklet again, read it carefully, and then said: "Ma Aiqing, the paddy fields in Hunan and Hubei provinces alone account for more than half of the total. Is the data accurate?"
Zhang Yan couldn't help but doubt it.
Huguang actually has more than 80 million acres of paddy fields, while the five provinces of Guangdong, Guangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi only have more than 70 million acres combined.
Among them, Jiangxi and Zhejiang account for more than 50 million acres, and the other three provinces combined only account for more than 20 million acres. This gap is really huge.
"Reporting to the Queen Mother, the data has been verified and there will not be too much discrepancy. Since ancient times, Huguang has been well cultivated in the world. It is reasonable for the paddy fields in the two provinces to be more than 80 million acres. The other five provinces, Fujian, have been more mountainous and less farmland since ancient times. Guangdong and Guangxi have a vast territory and few people.
, it is really difficult to compare with Zhejiang and Jiangxi.”
Ma Shiying quickly explained that he still believed in this data. It was normal for the Queen Mother to have doubts. After all, she did not understand the geography and population of each province.
Zhang Yan really didn't know much about the geography and population of each province, so she took out the map of the southern provinces and looked at it carefully for a while. She found that the areas of each province were similar, but the prefectures and counties in Guangdong and Guangxi were obviously much sparser.
Also relieved.
"Well, in that case, let's pay the land tax this year. The commercial tax and land tax can only be exempted."
Zhang Yan nodded and said helplessly.
Fortunately, this year, the two provinces of Southern Zhili and the five municipal shipping companies have collected nearly 40 million taels in taxes. If the floods, droughts and mulberry fields in the seven provinces are also included, the total tax collection can reach more than 40 million taels.
, the southern taxes this year totaled more than 80 million taels, which is more than enough no matter what we do next year.
"yes!"
Seeing that Zhang Yan didn't say anything about checking again, and started collecting taxes directly, Ma Shiying also breathed a sigh of relief. Seven provinces are no better than two provinces. If they really check them one by one, then this year's New Year will not be celebrated again.
The ministers on the side also felt relieved, secretly saying that the Queen Mother was indeed much easier to talk to than the Emperor.
"To report to the Queen Mother, there is one more matter that needs to be decided by the Queen Mother. The Governor of Guangdong recently wrote a letter saying that south of Xin'an County, Guangzhou Prefecture, a promontory called Haojing has been leased by the Frankie people all year round. So far, tens of thousands of people have rented it.
Those Franji people built houses and harbors here, established government offices and officials, and banned ordinary Han people from entering and exiting. Their scale is no less than that of an ordinary county town. Please tell me how to deal with it!"
"It's unreasonable. Those Franji people built houses and harbors and came to our Ming Dynasty to trade, but they even set up private government offices and banned Han people from entering and leaving. It's simply lawless!"
After Ma Shiying finished speaking, before other civil servants could speak, Zuo Liangyu was the first to jump out and curse with indignation.
Zhang Yan also frowned, obviously she didn't expect such a thing to happen, it was no different from a country within a country, so she asked in a slightly stern tone: "Ma Aiqing, there should be a lot of those Franji people here."
Come on, why has such a ridiculous thing been reported until now?"
"This... I would like to report to the Queen Mother. According to my understanding, when those Franji people came to Daming from thousands of miles away, their ship ran aground when it arrived in Haojing waters. They communicated with the local fishermen and rented a place for drying their goods. Later, they
We negotiated with the local government and rented that place for a long time, but I don’t know why it developed into what it is today.”
Ma Shiying had no choice but to answer honestly. He hurriedly searched for relevant information after writing a letter from the governor of Guangdong. After getting a general understanding, he did not dare to make decisions on his own.
As for why officials at all levels in Guangdong have not reported it, he can guess one or two. The relevant officials must have benefited from the Franji people every year, plus a piece of wasteland, so they turned a blind eye.
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In fact, the reason why the Portuguese were able to establish a state within a state there and overwhelm the Ming and Qing dynasties without anyone taking care of it for hundreds of years was due to interests.
It only benefited officials a little, but mainly the gentry and businessmen in Guangdong almost all benefited from this.
Because the Portuguese built a trade port in Macau, it greatly facilitated the trade between the two countries. Every year, they would bring boatloads of silver to Macau, trade large quantities of porcelain and silk with Chinese merchants, and then sell them to Europe. Both parties made profits.
The pots are full.
Even when the Qing Dynasty closed the country, this kind of trade was never interrupted. Compared with the maritime merchants in Jiangsu and Zhejiang who had to take great risks to transport silk and porcelain to Manila in Luzon to trade with the Spanish, the merchants in Guangdong had to do it more conveniently.
Many people have always acquiesced in the behavior of the Portuguese.
If it weren't for this new policy, all the fields would have to be measured, so that no matter the magistrate of Xin'an County, the prefect of Guangzhou, or the governor of Guangdong, they would not dare to pretend to turn a blind eye anymore, for fear that if this matter was discovered by the inspectors and held accountable by the court,
I'm afraid most of them won't be reported.
Both the Spaniards and the Dutch were extremely envious of the fact that the Portuguese had a port in the Ming Dynasty where they could trade directly.
However, the impressions of both countries in the Ming Dynasty were extremely poor, and coupled with the Portuguese's instigation of discord, the two countries had never been able to directly start trade with the Ming Dynasty, let alone renting land to build a port.
The Dutch were still greedy for a time and sent a fleet to fight the Portuguese, hoping to seize Macau. However, they failed to win in the end, so they settled in Taiwan. As a result, they fought fiercely with the Spanish to compete for Taiwan.
.
Regarding the conflicts and interest entanglements between the three countries, I am afraid that only some maritime merchants on the coast and Zheng Zhilong knew clearly. Most of the other Ming officials could not even tell the difference between the Portuguese and the Spanish.
This is the case for Zhang Yan. She has naturally heard of and seen the Franji people, and her impression is not bad. She once helped the Ming Dynasty train firearms soldiers and build artillery. Who would have thought that they would be so lawless and set up official positions privately?
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"Ma Aiqing, what do you think about this matter?"
Although Zhang Yan was very angry, she still planned to let the cabinet vote and then report it to Xun'er for the final decision.
Although Xinger trusted her very much and allowed her to handle all military and political affairs in the south, the more this happened, the more she cherished this trust in her heart.
She would never make the decision unless absolutely necessary. After all, it was not an urgent matter.
After being in contact for so long, Ma Shiying also knew Zhang Yan's temperament. Zhang Yan could avoid suspicion and shirk, but as the second minister of the cabinet, he did not need to shirk. After thinking about it, he said: "Let me report to the Queen Mother, those Franji people are not interested in shirk."
Our Ming Dynasty has always been very respectful. Most of the private government offices do not know the laws of our Ming Dynasty. Now that your majesty has imposed a sea ban and promoted maritime trade, if we completely expel them from our territory in the Ming Dynasty, it will inevitably affect the maritime trade.
The old minister suggested that we could add a city shipping department in Haojing, or even directly control the county and send officials to manage it. As for those Franji people, as long as they abide by the law, abide by the laws of the Ming Dynasty, and pay rent and taxes on time, they can continue to live there.
Doing business in a wealthy environment."
"Mr. MacGe, setting up an official office privately is a serious crime of treason. Wouldn't it be too easy for those Franji people?"
"Your Majesty, I think we should send troops to directly suppress them, capture them all and bring them to the capital, and behead them in public to serve as a warning to others. I am willing to lead the army there myself."
But Zuo Liangyu was afraid that the world would not be in chaos, so after taunting Ma Shiying, he asked Zhang Yan for help.
"Humph, this is a government matter, does General Zuo want to intervene? Besides, the two thieves Sun and Ai have not yet been brought to justice. General Zuo should think more about how to arrest them as soon as possible!"
When Ma Shiying saw that this guy had gone to Jiangbei and was promoted to general by His Majesty, his buttocks were raised to the sky. Now, relying on the favor of the Queen Mother, he was ignored, and he suddenly became a little angry.
"The Flangji people forcibly occupied our land in the Ming Dynasty and set up official offices. It is no different from the invasion of foreign enemies. As a general of the Ming Dynasty, Zuo has the responsibility to defend the land and naturally has no shirk."
Zuo Liangyu said righteously. Obviously, as the only general of the Ming Dynasty, he was a little overwhelmed. He also wanted to achieve some real results.
"You are obviously using strong words to make excuses. Although this move by the Franji people is illegal, the land was indeed rented from the Ming Dynasty. This matter was reported to the court and approved by Emperor Sejong. How can it be done?
Have foreign enemies invaded our powerful land of the Ming Dynasty?"
"Well, Zuo Aiqing is commendable for his dedication and bravery, but to say that those Franji people invaded our Ming territory is indeed an exaggeration. This matter will be drafted by the cabinet as soon as possible. A complete memorial will be reviewed by the Aijia.
, then report it to His Majesty for your decision!”
Seeing that the two of them were still arguing, Zhang Yan could only wave her hands, first praised Zuo Liangyu, and then said to Ma Shiying.
"I obey the decree!"
Ma Shiying hurriedly replied, and Zuo Liangyu said no more.