Due to the higher latitude, crops in the north mature several days to ten days later than those in the south.
September 5th.
North Zhili, Shuntian Prefecture, Wanping County, Royal Farm No. 1.
After three consecutive days of intense harvesting, about 8,000 acres of wheat were harvested and threshed, turning into mountains of grain on the drying field.
Because all over the world, Fang Yizhi, who is now about to turn into a black man, uses a voice as rough as gravel to organize workers to weigh grains and count the output.
Even the usual tyrannical eunuchs in charge were now following Fang Yizhi's instructions and doing the hard work of moving grain. They also went to the fields to cut wheat with sickles these days, and their waists were almost broken from exhaustion.
.
The eunuchs must have been angry and dissatisfied with Fang Yizhi, and complained more than once or twice, but now they are all convinced by the scholar-general and have no complaints anymore.
The reason is very simple. Fang Yizhi never plays with words. He also works hard every day, demonstrates by himself, and practices the unity of knowledge and action. Even he, the general manager of the Imperial Manor, works hard. Does anyone else have an excuse to be lazy and slow down?
Not to mention, this scholar is really good at management. He has come up with a lot of new and useful things, and he has conquered all the old farmers. He is also ruthless and has made many thunderous attacks. He has overturned many serious corruptions.
The eunuchs not only play a role in establishing authority, but also solve the problem of insufficient money and food.
However, the emperor still had great trust in him. No matter how drastic and bold Fang Yizhi was, he always turned a blind eye and acquiesced. Chongzhen did not care about the process, only the result.
It is precisely because of this that the Royal Farm can achieve the bumper harvest it has today.
soon.
The statistical results are out.
"Manager Fang, I have calculated it. The total is more than 6,587,200 kilograms, which is equivalent to 52,700 shi. It is a great harvest. This is a huge harvest. We have never seen such a high yield. Manager Fang is really a god!
"
An accounting clerk trotted over and reported the total wheat output data with excitement.
"52,700 stones?"
Fang Yizhi muttered, and then divided this data by 8,000 acres of wheat land, and found that the yield per mu was about 6.6 shi, that is, the average yield per mu was 820 kilograms.
Compared with the wheat yield in the north, which is generally only one or two dan, in good years it can be up to three dan, and in famine years, the yield per mu is only a few bushels. It is definitely a super bumper harvest, and even gods and ghosts help, which can be regarded as a rare auspiciousness in a thousand years.
Fang Yizhi was not very satisfied.
Because the Shannong No. 38 wheat seed he bought from Xujiazhuang has the characteristics of strong adaptability, resistance to lodging and disease, stable and high yield, and the maximum yield per mu can reach 1,700 kilograms. However, the yield was less than half, leaving Fang Fang
I am quite disappointed in my wisdom.
But there was no way. Although he bought the best seeds, he had limited funds and could not afford chemical fertilizers, so he could only use homemade farmyard manure instead. He also did not buy much pesticides, so he could only spray them once; pumping water was used in every royal farm.
You can only purchase one so that you can consume precious diesel fuel when there is an obvious water shortage.
The daily maintenance is all done by manpower and animals, which requires a huge amount of muscle work.
There is no capital to implement a "combined agriculture and animal husbandry" business model, which is mainly based on agriculture, with 80% of the land used for agriculture.
Under such circumstances, achieving a wheat yield of 820 kilograms per mu and having a quality close to that of pure green food can be said to have created a miracle.
So when the total output and yield per mu data are released.
The entire No. 1 Royal Farm was boiling.
"There is so much food that all of us can't eat it all in two years."
"No more starving, I can finally fill my stomach!"
"General Manager Fang is the divine man sent by the Holy Spirit to save us. Thank you Manager Fang for leading us to achieve such a good harvest. Please pay your respects to me."
"Long live your Majesty! A thousand years old, Manager Fang!"
"Under the leadership of General Manager Fang, if we manage the king's affairs so beautifully, His Majesty will definitely be delighted and reward us well."
"..."
The young and old tenant farmers of the royal farm, as well as the eunuchs who helped manage the farm, all cheered, hugged each other, or held handfuls of wheat in their hands and couldn't help crying.
Fang Yizhi also received countless thanks and thanks, and his personal prestige reached a peak.
…
The bumper harvest at Royal Farm No. 1 is just the beginning.
You must know that under Fang Yizhi’s leadership and advice, Chongzhen sent people and funds to plan and build dozens of royal farms in Shuntian Prefecture, Baoding Prefecture, Yongping Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and other places. In addition to the original
There are dozens of royal estates, and a total of 100 royal farms have been set up and renovated.
Encircling millions of acres of land - in the second year of Chongzhen's reign, the slaves ravaged the capital, killing so many people that they fled in large numbers and left a lot of land vacant. Therefore, the land acquisition met with minimal resistance.
Hundreds of thousands more refugees were gathered and all were placed to work in the royal farms.
After more than a year of busy work, now the 100 royal farms have basically achieved a bumper harvest, except for a few that have reduced production due to various circumstances.
A total of 518.3 shi of wheat were harvested.
Excluding the farmers' own food consumption, 3 million shi of wheat can be transferred to the emperor's internal treasury, thus having 3 million shi of usable grain.
So when these grains were transported into the palace in batches, Fang Yizhi also wrote a letter reporting the significant results achieved by the "Royal Farm Plan".
…
Forbidden City, in the Imperial Palace.
While reading the contents of the letter in his hand, he paced back and forth excitedly in the hall.
Chongzhen Zhu Youjian smiled, and his always sullen face suddenly blossomed into laughter.
"Three million stones, a full three million stones!"
"Fang Aiqing has lived up to my trust and brought me such a big surprise in just over a year."
"Three million shi of grain. At today's grain prices in the capital, this batch of grain can be exchanged for five million taels of silver, which is equivalent to the Ming Dynasty's annual tax revenue!"
"I am rich, I am rich! Finally, I have no shortage of money and food in my hands!"
That's right.
Chongzhen, who was used to living a life of poverty, had recently turned around and finally made a fortune and became a sudden millionaire.
Fang Yizhi's three million stones of grain was just part of all the surprises.
Due to the widespread popularization of drought-resistant and high-yielding crops, the Jiangnan region has had a bumper harvest this year. The taxes collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs have increased by 50% compared with last year, reaching as much as 6 million taels of silver. This is also related to the heightened consciousness of some gentry.
, it is no longer related to tax evasion. After all, the imperial court is too weak and poor. When Xujiazhuang expands next time, no one can save them. The imperial court does not have the strength to control their life and death.
In areas such as Huguang, Jiangxi, etc., high-yielding crops have also been spread in the past, and they also achieved bumper harvests this year. The taxes collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs increased by 30%, reaching as much as 4 million.
Adding these two core areas together, the taxes collected by the Ministry of Household Affairs of the Ming Dynasty this year have exceeded 10 million for the first time, setting a record in the past fifty years. Although the Ming Dynasty has many places to spend money and has accumulated countless arrears over the years,
But if you save some money, there will be no problem in balancing your expenditures this year.
In addition, Xujiazhuang in the south of the Yangtze River also uses cargo ships to transport by sea (the reason for using sea transport is that Xujiazhuang’s canal fleet was attacked on the Cao Canal Road last year. Although the attackers were repelled, nearly 30% of the money and food were lost).
All taxes and duties have arrived at Tianjin Port and will soon be sent to the capital.
The taxes for this batch include:
1 million shi of grain (one-third each of rice, wheat, and coarse grains)
500,000 silver dollars (including 200,000 yuan for Ding tax and 300,000 yuan for salt tax)
Special supply of 20,000 stones of snow salt (valued over 100,000 taels)
All of the above together are worth at least two million taels.
All the money that will go into Chongzhen's possessions belongs to his personal wealth, and he can spend it however he wants.
In addition to the three million stones of grain brought to him by Fang Yizhi, it is equivalent to five million taels of silver.
The total is a terrifying figure of 7 million taels.
Even if the price of grain falls this year, according to a more conservative price estimate, it will not be less than 5 million taels, which is equivalent to half of the income of the Ministry of Household Affairs - this does not include the more than 100,000 taels per month brought by Huangdian's operation of Xujiazhuang goods.
profit.
Got rich.
For Chongzhen, the wealth he holds for a long time rarely exceeds one million. If this is not considered getting rich, then what is?
And the income from the Ministry of Household Affairs this year is also very good, so there is no reason to think about his internal funds anymore. He can use these properties according to his own will.
For example, a powerful army loyal to the emperor could be formed, with a number of no less than 100,000, well-equipped with weapons, and then undergo rigorous training to finally clarify the world, cleanse the world, and eliminate all disobedient forces.
For example, we should send money and food to strengthen the forces of the government and the army that are encircling and suppressing the bandits in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Henan and other places. We can no longer tolerate Gao Yingxiang, Ma Guangyu, Zhang Xianzhong, Li Zicheng and other bandits to continue to wreak havoc in the Central Plains! This time there must be a thunderous strike.
Capture these bandits, big and small, in a single net, kill them all, eradicate them at their root, eliminate future troubles forever, and make these bandits disappear forever.
And Xu Jiazhuang cannot be let go. Although this generation seems to be submissive and takes the initiative to pay taxes, but he is just submissive on the surface. In fact, he hides a terrifying evil intention. He is growing and growing, and contains unimaginable strength, but it will not explode for the time being.
, once it breaks out, the threat and destructive power will be a hundred times that of rogue bandits, and it is completely possible to overturn the Ming Dynasty.
Finally, there is the Jiannu in the north. This is always the Sword of Bodhidharma hanging over the head. Not only is its development no longer subject to any restrictions, but it may invade the Pass again at any time, which makes people have to guard against it. Therefore, Guan Ning
The strength of Jinhe's nine-border defense line must be strengthened. He did not want to see the nightmare scenario of Jiannu entering the border again.
Chongzhen looked around and found that there were so many enemies to deal with, and it was difficult to deal with them all. The money and food on hand only seemed to be around 5 million, which seemed like a lot. After spending it like pepper, he was afraid that every enemy would be wiped out.
If not, nothing big can be done.
Therefore, Zhu Youjian quickly calmed down and got out of his bloated state. He still planned to work steadily and solve the problems one by one.
Rogue bandits.
The persimmons have to be picked at the weak ones. Jiannu can't beat them. Xujiazhuang can't touch them. How can they not deal with mere rogue bandits?
He plans to make a big move, and is willing to spend all his money, even if he spends all the money and food on hand, to completely eliminate the bandits within a year, and to end it once and for all!