?Although this inspection of Beijing was completely on land, it was still walking along the canal, because the food, materials supplied by the army, as well as the muskets, artillery and other materials used were still transported through water, which could also reduce the burden on the troops.--.
Shang Yi and his team set out from Nanjing, crossed the Yangtze River at Jinchuanmen, then headed north, crossed the Huai River in Fengyang, crossed the Yellow River in Xuzhou, entered the boundary of Shandong Province, then passed Jinan, and entered the boundary of Hebei from Dezhou.
Although the team was walking along the official road, most sections of the road were still traveling between the fields and the countryside. It was the end of August and the beginning of September, and it was the time of harvest. Therefore, in the fields along the road, there were all the growing and mature rice and wheat, as well as farmers who worked hard to harvest in the farmland. The villages along the road were very dense, with neat houses, green halls and tiles, and green smoke was curling. You could hear the sound of chickens crowing and dogs barking everywhere. Many children were chasing the team and running and jumping and cheering.
Because when he was in Jiangsu and Shandong Province, Shang Yi had ruled in these areas for many years, most of the villages and fields on both sides of the official road were like this, and the official roads were also renovated. The road was flat and wide, and the carriages were walking very smoothly. While the brigades were walking, there were many vehicles and pedestrians traveling back and forth on both sides of the brigades, not disturbing each other. At the same time, many people stopped to watch. Some people knew that this was the emperor's carriage and burned incense on the side of the road.
This time, Shang Yi did not ride a horse, but took turns to accompany Ye Yaoying and Yalisandra sitting in the carriage, teasing her daughter, and watching the pastoral scenery on both sides of the avenue, and seeing it was quite delighted, because after years of governance, these places did show a scene of living and working in peace and prosperity, and the officials accompanying him and the local officials who greeted Shang Yi along the way also sang praises to Shang Yi, praising Shang Yi as the Lord of the Holy Wisdom.
However, as the people entered Hebei, the road became obviously narrow. The guards protected on both sides even had to walk outside the official road. The road surface was bumpy and bumpy. Even if it was a four-wheeled carriage, it was bumpy and undulating. Some sections of the road still needed to be filled in advance before the carriage could be passed.
Moreover, the scene on both sides of Guantong is obviously much more desolate. There are large fields that are uncultivated, covered with weeds, sparse villages, and dilapidated houses. Although many farmers are working in the fields, there are almost no sounds of chickens and dogs. Beggars can be seen from time to time on both sides of the official road, and occasionally the bodies of people who died on the road. In some places, there are even no people for dozens of miles. Occasionally, there are wolves that have appeared.
Because the social and economic production in Hebei was much behind the south, and these places were previously ruled by the Qing court and were also the main areas of the Eight Banners enclosed land in the early years. After the Eight Banners nobles enclosed land, they also did some work to resume production and reclaim farming. However, due to the war every year, the Qing court had no income from overseas trade, so they could only rely on taxation, additional disbursement, and other means to allocate the pressure to the people, which also made many people unable to bear heavy taxes and escape. Because after the Central Plains War, the Qing court's control over various places was greatly reduced, and they were basically in anarchy in the villages. The Eight Banners nobles were busy transferring assets outside the pass, and at the same time swept a large number of Han coats outside the pass, so it was quite destructive to agricultural production, and most of the abandoned farmland was caused by this.
The Chinese Army did not occupy these places for a long time, so although they did some work to resume production and recruit refugees to settle down, they still looked very desolate from now on.
Shang Yi sat in the car and said to Ye Yaoying: "The ancients said that a leaf would tell you how autumn is. But if it weren't for this Beijing inspection, what I saw would probably be in Jiangsu and Shandong. Maybe I would never see these things. And this is on both sides of the official road. If it were those remote places far away from the official road, I still don't know what it would be like. It seems that there is still a long way to go to make China truly prosperous and powerful!"
Ye Yaoying smiled and said, "Do you remember? When the emperor set up a militia in Yishui Village, Shandong, it was not much better than this. But now Shandong is a rich scene with abundant people and abundant food. These places have just been recovered, the people have not yet lived in peace, and agricultural production has not yet recovered. After two or three years, the emperor will come to see here again. I promise that it will change a lot!"
Shang Yi smiled bitterly and said, "Of course I understand the principle here, but looking at the appearance of these places, I am indeed a little impatient. I think I have spent nearly ten years of hard work. Although it is to make life in some places in the south stable and the people are rich, I am quite content at ordinary times, but now I feel that compared with the entire China, it is only a small part. Moreover, most of our China is still very poor and backward, so there is still a long way to go in the future. Don't feel complacent or satisfied!"
Ye Yaoying said: "The emperor's heart is really a blessing for all people. But how can he manage the affairs of the world be in a slump? You can only take it slowly and not be anxious!"
Shang Yi sighed. He didn't understand these principles. But in his plan, there were still many things to do. The few border areas in northwest China would be recaptured to curb Russia's expansion. Overseas, there were also Japan around China, and the Netherlands on the sea of South China. Even if he conquered Japan and defeated the Netherlands, he would expand westward to India and Africa, and the United States to the east, and Australia to the south.
Although Shang Yi also knew that under normal circumstances, it would take a hundred years to complete these things. The efforts of three to four generations cannot be completed in his own generation. However, Shang Yi still hopes to do as much as possible. However, to do these things, the first prerequisites for national stability and normal social and economic development must at least reach the level of Jiangsu and Shandong. Only in this way can he be at peace and have sufficient financial and material resources to support the expansion outward.
In the past, Shang Yi was in Nanjing because everything he saw was a prosperous scene. Although he knew that northern China was backward, he had not seen it with his own eyes. Therefore, he was still optimistic about the domestic situation. He believed that even if the economy in the north was backward, after several years of governance and development, he could recover and develop at most three or five years. At that time, he could calmly do what he wanted to do.
But now after seeing this scene in Hebei with my own eyes, Shang Yi was deeply moved. He was indeed too optimistic in the past. Although the south is indeed well managed by himself, a large part of the reason is that the south itself has a good economic foundation and a relatively high starting point. As long as the governance is properly and the society is stable, agricultural production can be restored and developed quickly. The north was already backward, and with severe damage, it may not be so easy to fully recover. In another time and space, it was not until the middle of the Kangxi period that the north was basically restored, and at that time, the Qing court had entered the pass for nearly fifty years.