In the corner of the Imperial Palace in Beijing, there is a newly built reinforced concrete building. At the top of the building, antennas stand high, with dense copper circles on top.
Inside the building, there are many large and small rooms, and you can see many Jin Yiwei wearing Feiyu uniforms and Dongchang fans busy inside.
With the emergence of electromagnetic communication technology, factory guards, as the emperor's eyes and ears, naturally used this advanced and powerful communication technology immediately, and quickly set up electromagnetic communication base stations throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Transmit information so that the emperor can keep abreast of all major and minor affairs in various parts of the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with previous communication methods, electromagnetic communication is faster, safer and more reliable, and consumes much less manpower and material resources.
In the past, in order to ensure that political orders were delivered, all dynasties would spend a huge amount of money to build post stations to transmit information.
Nationwide, if we want to build a post station system covering the entire Ming Dynasty and set up a post station every few dozen miles, you can imagine the cost.
Nowadays, with electromagnetic communication technology, communication can be spread quickly across long distances. The manpower and cost required are much smaller, and the transmission speed is countless times faster than before.
When there was a flood in the south of the Yangtze River, it used to take several days to deliver the eight hundred mile express to the capital. After the emperor and his ministers made a decision, they had to send it to the place for execution non-stop, back and forth.
, it will take several days.
But things are different now. Through electromagnetic communication technology, disaster situations can be conveyed to the capital as soon as possible, and decisions made can also be conveyed to local governments or yamen for execution as soon as possible. The efficiency is much faster than before.
too much.
At this time, in the study room of the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Hongzhi was watching the messages coming from all over the country.
"There is a flood in Jiangnan~"
"When droughts occur in Henan, it is exactly as Liu Jin said back then. Drought in the south and floods in the north, or floods in the south and drought in the north, almost occur at the same time. As long as the movement of the monsoon changes slightly, disasters will inevitably occur."
"This is the situation this year. There are serious floods in the south, but extreme drought in the northern provinces. Not only Henan, Shanxi, Shandong, Beizhili, Shaanxi and other places have droughts of varying degrees, but the most serious one is Henan.
"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the huge map and the information in his hand, and remembered the monsoon that Liu Jin mentioned in his mind.
The Ming Dynasty has always had good weather over the past few years, but this year it has been rough, with floods in the south and severe drought in the north.
If it were the past, there would definitely be huge problems.
The south may be better. The climate and environment in the south are pretty good. Even if there are some disasters, they can withstand it. But in the north.
Once there is a disaster, there will inevitably be starvation and bandits everywhere. Even if the court fails to provide disaster relief, there may be wars and a large number of peasant uprisings.
There was a snowstorm that year, and people in Northern Zhili were starved to death. They exchanged their children for food. I don't know how many people starved to death, which directly exposed the so-called prosperous age.
But it's different now.
Judging from the feedback from factory guards in various places, whether it is a flood in the south or a drought in the north, it is considered a major disaster that occurs only once in decades.
However, the situation in various places is pretty good. People have food in their homes and will not be without food for a while. Moreover, in recent years, a large number of people have migrated from various provinces within the Guan to outside the Guan and overseas.
Therefore, the original population density of the two capitals and thirteen provinces was greatly reduced. Whether it was Jiangnan or Henan, the population was lost in large numbers.
The result of this is that a large amount of land is not cultivated at all, especially those low-grade fields and fields prone to drought.
Many of the remaining people have gone to work in the city, and the land they farm is of the highest quality, easy to irrigate. This kind of land has good conditions and is more resistant to disasters. Even a severe drought may have an impact.
Not particularly big.
In addition, the traffic conditions now are much better than before.
In the past, it took a long time to transport grain to disaster relief. The key is that even half of the 100 kilograms of grain might be eaten midway. Disaster relief is actually very difficult.
This is also one of the important reasons why ancient grain merchants were able to make a fortune while the country was struggling.
Because transportation is inconvenient, especially when disasters occur, it is often difficult for the court to transport grain even if it has it. Grain merchants who have grain in their hands can naturally raise prices and make a fortune from the national crisis.
But it’s different now. Cement roads have spread almost all over the Ming Dynasty, and many places are connected by trains. Using trains to transport food is not only fast, but also low-cost. Disaster relief can be very fast and cost-effective.
Low.
Both Henan and Jiangnan are connected by trains. Carloads of grain can be hauled there directly, making disaster relief easy and cost-effective.
It is very difficult for grain merchants to make a fortune out of a country that is in dire straits. How can you make a fortune out of a country that is in dire straits with these truckloads of grain?
Coupled with the high-yielding crops introduced from Golden Continent, corn and sweet potatoes, these two crops are very drought-resistant, very easy to plant, and have high yields. They are absolutely perfect tools for disaster relief.
As long as you plant some, you don't have to worry about going hungry.
In addition, capitalism in the Ming Dynasty was developing rapidly. Factories were springing up everywhere, and a large number of farmers moved to cities to work and became the earliest workers.
When you work in a factory, you naturally don't have to worry about whether it rains or not. As long as the factory has orders, you have your own factory, your salary is in hand, and you don't have to worry about food and drink.
Under many factors, even if there are floods in the south of the Yangtze River and drought in the north, there are still no problems with people's livelihood in various places.
These two places do not produce grain, but some are produced locally.
The conditions here in Liaodong are excellent, and the grain output is very sufficient. Even the grain produced in Liaodong is enough to feed the entire Ming Dynasty, and Liaodong has already been connected by trains.
With an order from the imperial court, truckloads of grain were transported directly south from Liaodong to the northern provinces and then to various places in the south of the Yangtze River. Don't worry if there is no production in one year or even if there is no production in the next few years.
There is also the Western Region and the Hezhong side, which also have the same train. The production of grain and meat here is very large, and it is impossible to eat them all. Carloads of grain can be continuously transported here.
To the south, the grain output in Nanyang provinces is also extremely high. Through the now developed shipping system, it can be transported directly to various places in the south of the Yangtze River through the Yangtze River, ensuring the stability of food in the south of the Yangtze River.
"It's better now!"
“The results of these years of hard work are finally visible.”
Emperor Hongzhi had a smile on his face, and he was no longer as worried about the famine as before.
In the past, Emperor Hongzhi would be worried whenever he heard about a famine in a certain place.
On the one hand, they are worried that the famine will be serious and the people will suffer. On the other hand, they are worried that the court's disaster relief money will be swallowed up by local officials, or that man-made disasters will occur in the deserted land, so that the land will be starved, people will be exchanged for food, etc.
Wait for the tragic image to appear.
The key is that Emperor Hongzhi can't do anything yet. He can only save some money from his own internal funds to provide disaster relief, and he has to keep praying that the officials below will not corrupt too much and give as much as they can to the people below.
Leave some.
Now, Emperor Hongzhi laughed.
Because even in a year of famine, he doesn't need to worry about anything. The situation in the deserted land is still very good. The people who come have food and drink, so they don't have to worry.
The court's disaster relief can also become easier. A train, a train of food, and a telegram can be sent to the disaster area. Emperor Hongzhi can also grasp the disaster relief situation in various places in the disaster area in real time.
He can know in time whether officials are attentive, whether they have embezzled disaster relief funds, etc., and can also make timely arrangements and adjustments.
Emperor Hongzhi thought this feeling was quite good.
Everything in the world is under your control.
Therefore, he could laugh without worrying about the people in the famine land. The people had enough to eat and drink, and had stable jobs. Whether or not a famine occurred would have little impact on them.
Even here in Beizhili, a large number of fields are already deserted. Everyone goes to the Beijing and Tianjin areas to work, and the fields are uncultivated. Even if there is a drought, it is the same.
It is also very resistant to drought. It will not have much impact for a while. At most, it will be enough to just pour some water.
"Well, this road must continue to be built. Not only must it connect the provinces and state capitals, but the roads between counties must also be built, and the railways must be built. All provinces must be connected by railways to form a
Rail network.”
"At that time, we don't need to be afraid of any disasters, and everything in the world can be quickly reversed."
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the huge territory of the Ming Empire and was planning to continue building railways. Infrastructure construction could not stop and must be continued.
Now everyone can enjoy the benefits of infrastructure. If the Ming Dynasty's infrastructure is further improved, the Ming Dynasty will be more fearless in the future.
