Chapter 2096 A divided Europe is in the interests of Daming
Inside the study room of the Qianqing Palace in the capital of the Ming Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, this year there will be drought in the northern provinces and floods in the southern provinces. There will be severe drought in the north and floods in the south. Many provinces in the north will have no harvests, and plagues will appear in many places in the south."
Yang Yiqing took the memorial and reported in detail this year's situation to Emperor Hongzhi.
I don’t know what’s going on, but in the past few years, the Ming Dynasty has really rarely had good weather. It was either a severe cold in winter or drought or floods, so that the agriculture of the Ming Dynasty was greatly affected.
Not only grain production was affected, but also cotton and wool production.
Although the cultivation of cotton does not require much water, it still requires water. Originally, Beizhili, Shandong, Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi provinces were affected by the rapid development of the Ming Dynasty cloth industry. As cotton prices soared, a large number of landowners Choose to grow cotton as a cash crop.
The planting area is getting larger year by year, and the yield is also very high. Even compared to the Western Regions, the cotton yield in the two provinces of Hezhong is higher. After all, it was the most affected by the industrial revolution, and the enthusiasm for growing cotton is also very high.
However, affected by drought, cotton production in these places dropped sharply this year, causing cotton prices to rise sharply again.
At the same time, because last winter was too cold, a large number of cattle and sheep froze to death in the northern grasslands, which also caused the price of wool to rise sharply this year. It can be said that the drought affects not only the planting of food, but also the related economic crops.
"What is the grain output in Liaodong, Hezhong, and Black Earth Provinces?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he quickly asked.
"The impact on grain production in Black Earth Province, Liaodong, and Hezhong is not too great. It is even slightly higher than last year. The main reason is that our grain is exported to Europe on a large scale. The grain in the hands of farmers can be sold, and the enthusiasm for growing grain It has been improved, and the cultivated area this year is much larger than in previous years."
"In the past, the uncultivated land was basically cultivated this year due to rotation. In addition, these three places were less affected by drought, so the overall output increased slightly."
Yang Yiqing also quickly replied.
There is no shortage of water in Liaodong, because there is a lot of snow in winter, and the extremely high forest coverage can retain water.
Therefore, even a severe drought will not reach Liaodong, and will have little impact on Liaodong's agriculture. Moreover, Liaodong is rich in water resources, with many rivers, abundant and stable water. The imperial court also built a large number of water conservancy facilities in Liaodong. Pay attention to Liaodong, a major grain-producing area.
The situation in the Hezhong area is a bit special. There is not much precipitation, only a few hundred millimeters a year. Most of its water resources mainly come from the melt water of the snowy mountains in the high mountains to the east.
Last winter, the snowfall in these places was very heavy, and there was a lot of snow. The melted water in these snow-capped mountains was even more than in previous years.
In addition, the immigration sites in the Hezhong area are all chosen in strategically advantageous locations, the most important of which is naturally water resources. Almost all of them are next to major rivers, which ensures the water supply in the Hezhong area, even if drought affects the Hezhong area. The regional impact is not significant.
The situation in Black Earth Province is similar. The resettlement sites are all located in places with superior conditions. There are rivers and lakes. Irrigation is convenient and drought has little impact.
Therefore, even though the Little Ice Age caused drought years, the agricultural production in the three places was not greatly affected, and the grain output in the main grain-producing areas was stable.
"That's good, that's good."
"As long as the food production in these three places is stable, we in the Ming Dynasty have nothing to fear."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded with relief after hearing this.
Drought is not terrible. As long as there is food in hand, drought is not a problem. The year before last was also a drought. As long as there is food, it is not nothing.
The Ming Dynasty has many important grain-producing areas. As long as there are no problems with the grain production in these places, the Ming Dynasty can sit back and relax. If nothing else, the grain output in Liaodong alone is enough to feed the people of the Ming Dynasty.
"A plague has emerged due to floods in the south. Relevant epidemic prevention and control measures must be strictly implemented in all regions. If anyone falls off the chain, they will be dealt with seriously."
Then Emperor Hongzhi became concerned about the flood disaster in the south.
The land of China is like this. It has been pretty much the same since ancient times. Either there are floods in the south and drought in the north, or there are droughts in the south and floods in the north. There are rare times when the weather is good, and it has been the same in all dynasties.
The south is actually better, because the natural conditions are superior, and the impact of drought and floods on the south is limited. But in the north, the impact of both drought and floods is huge, because the natural conditions are quite harsh.
Long years of development have already made the land in the north barren and fragile. In the past, the Loess Plateau was covered with a large area of forest, but now it is a piece of loess, and soil erosion is extremely serious.
The Yellow River is already an above-ground river. Once floods occur, the banks will inevitably break. Once the banks burst, huge losses will inevitably be caused, and large areas will be washed away.
This is also an important reason why the Ming Dynasty has been continuously migrating the northern population to outside the customs and overseas. The natural conditions here really need a good rest and recuperation, and they can no longer support the increasingly large population.
"yes!"
Upon hearing this, everyone responded in unison.
"Your Majesty, the civil war in Spain has ended. Charles V's brilliant and brilliant strategy has wiped out many nobles in Spain in less than a month."
Liu Jin stood up and reported to Emperor Hongzhi about the Spanish Civil War.
As soon as there was a civil war in Spain, the Ming Empire knew about it. Originally, everyone estimated that the fighting in Spain might last for several months. The Ming Empire could also sell some arms and weapons.
Unexpectedly, this Charles V turned out to be quite capable. He was a talented and strategic monarch. In less than a month, he wiped out these nobles in Spain. Now he is following the example of the Ming Empire and establishing a centralized dynasty and empire.
Take many powers of the Spanish Empire into your own hands and integrate the power of the entire Spanish Empire.
"The next step will definitely be to send troops to the Holy Roman Empire, unify the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Empire, and establish a powerful European empire."
"This is not a good thing for our Ming Dynasty. A unified and strong Europe is not in the interest of our Ming Dynasty."
"I believe that we should increase our support for the Holy Roman Empire, France, and England, and we must not allow the Spanish Empire to unify Europe."
Splitting Europe has always been the core policy of the Ming Empire in Europe. The Ming Empire did not want strong European countries to emerge.
Although Spain is powerful now, compared with France, its strength is actually limited. The strength of the Holy Roman Empire is not bad either. The worst is probably England and the ununified Italian states.
The reason why I supported Spain in the past was because I supported England and France, two rogue countries, and I would never let them have a good life.
But the Spaniards can never say that they will unify Europe. This is not in the interest of the Ming Empire. What the Ming Empire likes most is that Europe is always fighting back and forth, and no one can really do anything about the other. This is the state that best suits the interests of the Ming Dynasty.
"But, Mr. Liu, Spain has always been a friendly friend of our Ming Empire!"
At this time, Yang Tinghe stood up and reminded.
"There are no eternal friends between countries, only eternal interests."
"The interests of our Ming Empire in Europe are the most important thing for our Ming Empire, and everything else is to serve this."
Liu Jin smiled and replied.
"What Mr. Liu said is wrong."
"We, the Ming Dynasty, are a huge country. How can we be dishonest and betray our promises? Spain has always been friendly to our country, and its king has repeatedly paid tribute to our country. How can our country, our country, be treacherous and support Spain's enemies?
.”
Yang Tinghe said very angry after hearing this.
For these traditional civil servants, benevolence, righteousness and morality are very important, not only for individuals and monarchs, but also for the Ming Empire. Only in this way can we truly command the world and all nations.
"Where does the talk of treachery come from?"
"Spain is not a vassal state of our Ming Dynasty, and it has not formed an alliance with our Ming Dynasty. It's just that we have had a lot of exchanges."
Liu Jin looked at Yang Ting and this bad old man. His health was getting worse day by day, but he was still holding on. Wouldn't it be better to go back and take care of him as soon as possible?
Now that Lao Wang's filial piety period has expired, he has no good position to arrange.
Counting the time, Yang Tinghe is actually almost there, but he is a person who attaches great importance to power. Even though he is seriously ill now, he still refuses to stay away from power.
"A dispersed Europe is the most beneficial to our Ming Dynasty. Where can it become the dumping ground for our Ming Dynasty's goods and the source of raw materials."
"Once a powerful unified empire appears in Europe, our Ming Dynasty's interests in Europe will be seriously shaken. Among other things, the Black Earth Province alone will face a huge threat."
"Although King Charles V of Spain is young, he is talented and ambitious. He inherited his grandfather Fernando's ambition to unify Europe. If we have the support of our Ming Empire, he may really be able to realize his dream of unifying Europe.
"
Before Liu Jin came to the world, he analyzed the powerful relationships in detail with everyone. For the Ming Dynasty, he absolutely could not tolerate the emergence of any country on the earth that could compete with the Ming Empire.
Be it the Ottoman Empire, the Persian Empire, or the Spanish Empire, once they became too powerful, the Ming Empire needed to weaken them.
The Ottoman Empire was originally extremely powerful. After two wars, the strength of the Ottoman Empire was greatly weakened. This is the best example.
