Liu Jian and Li Dongyang both silently wrote down that Liu Jin never lied to others. If he said it was a good place, it was definitely a good place and it would definitely not be wrong.
Just like the Golden Continent, the vast Golden Continent has now become the most important source of gold and silver in the Ming Dynasty. There are many treasure ships traveling to and from the Pacific every day, continuously importing shiploads of gold and silver into the Ming Dynasty.
This speed is many times faster than the speed of relying on trade input in history.
Historically, in the late Ming and early to mid-Qing dynasties, as Western colonies came to the East, trade between the East and the West developed rapidly, and large amounts of silver continued to be imported into the country.
This kind of import is purely formed by trade surplus. In itself, the scale is still determined by the scale of trade between the two sides. Moreover, the Western colonists are not fools. It is impossible to say that such a deficit phenomenon has been maintained. This was also later
One of the reasons why Britain wanted to acquire opium was to reverse its trade deficit.
It is completely different now. The Golden Continent belongs to the territory of the Ming Dynasty. The gold and silver here are in the hands of the Ming Dynasty people. They can mine them at will. There is no need for so-called trade at all. Any amount dug out can be transported back to the Ming Dynasty.
, you can also stay in Golden Continent.
Anyway, they are all the territory of the Ming Dynasty, they are all the same.
It's just that those who occupy the gold and silver minerals in the Golden Continent are basically the powerful large merchants, nobles, and families in the Ming Dynasty. The wealth mined will naturally be transported back to the mainland.
The influx of a large amount of gold and silver also made the local silver of the Ming Dynasty worthless. In the past, it was too difficult for ordinary people to see silver. The most used ones were copper coins. Now, no matter how hard you work, you will not make any money in a year.
A few dozen taels of silver, that's all done by no one.
That is to say, the Ming Dynasty can now colonize the world. At the same time, capitalism is developing rapidly, and a large number of machinery is used in production. Therefore, the prices of various materials have not increased much. The income has increased significantly, and the prices have not changed. This life
Naturally, it is constantly improving.
If the Ming Dynasty could not colonize the world, it would not be able to plunder wealth and resources from around the world, if it did not have rapidly developing capitalism.
The influx of this large amount of silver will inevitably lead to the price of money being high and the price of silver being low. The final result is that although there is more money in hand, everyone will find that the price rise is even more outrageous. In the end, it may not be as good as before.
Better off.
This was the case during the Qing Dynasty in later generations.
The inflow of a large amount of silver has made money more expensive than silver. Without a way to plunder resources from around the world, and without the rapid development of capitalism, the lives of ordinary people have become even more difficult.
In other words, the sweet potatoes introduced from the Americas were able to feed 400 million people. However, 400 million people were only on the verge of starvation. The so-called Kangxi and Qianlong heydays were just self-promotion and mites.
It was just the prosperous age of the Qing rulers.
This principle is actually very simple. It is like the issuance of additional currency in later generations. The issuance of a large amount of currency will inevitably lead to money becoming worthless, prices soaring, and the wealth in the hands of ordinary people disappearing invisibly.
The principles are the same.
That is to say, the Ming Dynasty is now able to plunder resources from all over the world, coupled with the rapid development of capitalism, so the talents of the Ming Dynasty are living an unprecedentedly good life.
That's a bit far.
Liu Jin would never lie. If he said it was a good place, it must be a good place.
"How on earth is this Siberia supposed to work?"
Liu Jian and Li Dongyang both became thoughtful.
There are very few state affairs that worry them now.
Even though there are floods in the south of the Yangtze River and droughts in several northern provinces, the impact on the Ming Empire seems to be minimal.
If you need food, you can use railways to transport it to you in a very short time, or you don't even need to transport food at all.
Sweet potatoes and corn have been vigorously promoted throughout the Ming Dynasty. The planting area is very wide, the yield is high, the land is not picky, and the demand for water is low, so it can be grown easily.
Usually they are used to feed livestock or as coarse grains. During times of famine, you can easily survive with sweet potatoes and corn. Coupled with the court's disaster relief, famines are not terrible at all.
The court situation is very stable. Emperor Hongzhi has been in very good health since he had his appendicitis removed. He is now only in his forties, in his prime and in the prime of life.
The prince also grew up and had dozens of sons. The Ming Dynasty continued and had people to inherit it.
There is no need to worry as before that Emperor Hongzhi will be gone that day. The prince is still young and playful, and the Ming Dynasty is in turmoil.
As for the border issues, they have been resolved long ago.
Now everyone is worried about whether they will be invaded by the Ming Dynasty. How dare they provoke the powerful Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty has a vast territory, but it never has to worry about border problems.
The major countries in the world are currently in dire straits, but the Ming Empire can watch the war from afar and continues to sell arms to all parties. Not to mention how comfortable it is to live this small life.
They, the pillars of the Ming Dynasty, no longer need to work as hard as before, and they are all thinking about getting some industry for their families to pass on.
"Liu Gong, Li Gong~"
"There are floods in the south of the Yangtze River. I have already sent a telegram to the three provinces of Luzon, Ryukyu, and Jiaozhi to transport 100,000 tons of rice to the south of the Yangtze River for relief. They are all using the latest steamships. It is estimated that it will be transported to the south of the Yangtze River in two days for disaster relief."
"There is a severe drought in Henan. I have also sent a telegram to Liaodong Province to transport 500,000 dans of flour by train overnight to provide relief. It is expected that the flour will arrive in Henan almost tomorrow."
Liu Jin saw the two of them deep in thought, and after thinking about it, they talked about national affairs.
The most important things now are floods in the south of the Yangtze River and drought in the north.
Fortunately, water transportation is extremely convenient. The grain output and storage capacity in the areas where Ming Dynasty was produced are amazing, and grain can be easily dispatched to support.
"Isn't this too fast?"
When Liu Jian heard this, he couldn't help but marvel.
"Mr. Liu, of course it will be faster if we have a telegram. As soon as the drought situation breaks out in the two places, we in the capital will know it immediately through telegrams. We can then issue orders to the provinces through telegraphs. It doesn't even take a day."
"In addition, now we have railways and roads, and sea and river transportation are also extremely developed. It is also very easy to mobilize food for disaster relief."
Liu Jin smiled and said.
"Oh, yes, yes, I forgot about that telegram."
"I'm really old!"
"The telegraph is really magical. People can be contacted in real time even though they are far away. This will make the Ming Dynasty's government orders smoother."
After hearing Liu Jin's words, Liu Jian remembered the telegram.
If this happened in the past, for example, if there was a drought in Henan, for a while, the officials in Henan might not report it to the capital, even if they did.
According to the traditional speed of reporting, it may take ten days and a half to be sent to the capital. The emperor and ministers in the capital still need to decide whether to provide disaster relief and the intensity of disaster relief based on the report.
If this time drags on, a month may have passed. In the place where the drought occurred, the people may have no food to eat and can only eat tree bark, or flee the famine and beg.
The disaster spread to surrounding areas, and reports continued to come in.
Only then did the emperor and the ministers in the court realize the seriousness of the disaster, and they hurried to deal with it, allocating money and food.
But by the time it reaches the hands of the victims, it may take another ten days and a half, or even a month.
The situation in the disaster area may have reached a point where people are exchanging their children for food, and the ground is full of hungry people. There are wars everywhere, there are countless thieves, and the court needs to dispatch a large army to relieve the disaster.
If the court's disaster relief efforts are effective, and food and money are provided in time, the people can drink the gruel provided by the disaster relief, and if the disaster is over, nothing will happen.
However, if you encounter corrupt officials, grain merchants wantonly jacking up grain prices, natural disasters plus man-made disasters, then the situation may be different. Refugees are in turmoil, war breaks out, and if the people are already living in poverty, changing dynasties will be a problem. possible.
This is why emperors in ancient times were most afraid of disasters, because once a disaster occurred, the country would be in turmoil, the country would be unstable, and all kinds of things would happen one after another.
But now, such a major disaster has occurred.
Floods in the south and droughts and floods in the north occur at the same time, and both are very serious.
But Daming has something to worry about.
After Liu Jin receives the news and report, he can make arrangements immediately.
With the existence of telegraphs, we can grasp the situation in the disaster area as soon as possible, and then arrange disaster relief as soon as possible, and mobilize food from surrounding provinces. From the time of the disaster to the court's food mobilization, it may only take a few days. Already.
In a few days, people will definitely still have food stored in their homes. If there is food to eat, there is no need to be afraid.
Once the disaster relief food from the court arrives, there will be nothing to worry about.
Those businessmen who want to enrich the country and take advantage of the opportunity to drive up food prices have no chance. Before the people have finished eating, the disaster relief food from the court has already arrived. Even on such a large scale, food prices will fall a lot. .
Do you still want to make a fortune from the country's difficult situation?
Your business may not even be as good as usual, but it is still normal business at least. But if there is a disaster, the imperial court will mobilize food and distribute a large amount of food to the people, so there is no need to buy food.
This speed of disaster relief can not only minimize the harm of famine, but also minimize the cost of disaster relief for the court.
There is no need to pay for money, just grain. Now the Ming Dynasty is most in need of grain. The granaries set up by the court in various places are already full, and they only need to be transported there.