In the palace, Emperor Hongzhi was discussing state affairs with several important ministers.
"Winter is coming soon. How have the northern grassland herders prepared their winter food, hay, and briquettes?"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at the howling cold wind outside the glass window and thought of past winters.
In the past, every winter was the time when Emperor Hongzhi had the most headaches.
Because in winter, the grassland people in the north will definitely go south to plunder. Shanxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, and even Northern Zhili will be shrouded in the cold current from the north, making Emperor Hongzhi sleepless all night and always worried.
Every day he would receive reports from remote areas, where they had been looted again, where there was bloodshed for thousands of miles, and countless casualties. Whenever he heard such news, he felt extremely guilty.
However, a few years have passed, and now he is concerned about the problem of grassland herdsmen surviving the winter.
The winter on the grassland is very terrible. When the white-haired wind passes, the sky and the earth become vast, and everything is covered with heavy snow. Countless cattle and sheep are killed and injured. It is the most painful time for the herdsmen.
This is also one of the important reasons why when winter comes, the grassland people in the north often go south to plunder. They may die in battle if they go south to plunder, but if they don't go, the whole family, old and young, may starve to death, anyway.
To die, it is better to pick up a sword, ride a horse and plunder, maybe you can return home with a full load.
"Everything is ready. All the major towns on the grassland have sufficient supplies to cope with the cold winter."
Liu Jian quickly replied respectfully.
In the past two years, the grassland has been extremely peaceful and stable. Because it was included in the territory and territory of the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty built a large number of small towns on the grassland, spreading across every corner of the grassland.
Through these small towns, the grasslands are connected, and massive material resources from the pass are continuously transported to the grasslands, allowing the herdsmen on the grasslands to live a prosperous life that they have never had before.
Of course, similarly, the Ming Dynasty also obtained massive amounts of cattle, horses, sheep, and wool from the grasslands, as well as the wool that is most needed in the textile industry. There was no war between the two sides, they lived in harmony, and the border problems disappeared all at once.
"That's good, that's good."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded with satisfaction, and then sighed and said: "The grassland is stable and peaceful, and we can also have a good sleep."
"Yes, in the past, during the winter, His Majesty was always the most haggard."
"Now the northern grasslands have become our barrier to the Ming Dynasty, and we no longer have to worry about border dangers."
Li Dongyang also nodded and sighed, this is something that he never dared to think about before.
They did something that no previous dynasty had ever been able to do. They successfully solved the grassland problem and incorporated the grassland into the ruling territory of the Central Plains Dynasty.
Different from the rule of previous dynasties in history, at this moment, the Ming Dynasty's rule on the grassland is extremely strong and solid. Through small towns all over the grassland, it firmly controls the entire grassland like a network.
The leaders of various tribes on the grassland are now happy to live here in Beijing and Tianjin. For example, Bater of the Naiman tribe and Huhe of the Zadalan tribe are now capitalists in the textile industry of the Ming Dynasty.
While enjoying a prosperous life here in the capital, who would want to live a hard life on the grasslands?
Not everyone has ambitions, and ambitions continue to grow with the growth of their own strength. Now that the grassland has been firmly controlled by the Ming Dynasty, no matter how ambitious they are, they must disappear completely.
What's more, they are actually very mediocre people. They are much worse than the little prince Dayan Khan. Dayan Khan died under the iron heel of the Ming Dynasty. Are they more powerful than Dayan Khan? Updated
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So isn't it good to live a happy rich life in the capital in peace and contentment?
Do you have to go to the grassland to be a free eagle?
"The grassland herdsmen are also my subjects of the Ming Dynasty, and they are also my people. We must strictly demand officials at all levels in the grassland province not to cheat or oppress the grassland herdsmen. If such things happen, they will be severely punished."
Emperor Hongzhi nodded, thought about it and said.
The grasslands are stable, and the north is also stable. The only border problems now are the Western Regions and Wusuzang. Emperor Hongzhi has already made his own plans for these two places.
This year we have dealt with the Southeast Asian countries, and next year we will start to deal with the Western Regions and Uzbekistan, and we will continue to fight westward, all the way to Europe, and open up land transportation with Europe.
He was getting worse and worse. Emperor Hongzhi wanted to solve as many of these problems as possible while he was still alive, leaving a huge territory for his son.
Of course, Emperor Hongzhi has reached the point where he now has his own ambitions. His ambition is to leave his own great achievements in history and become an emperor as great as Emperor Qin and Han Wu.
"Yes~"
Everyone replied in unison.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Minister of Household Affairs Liu Jin would like to see you."
At this time, Xiao Huangmen hurriedly came to the study.
"Xuanba~"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded slightly, and then said to everyone in confusion: "This Liu Jin is so lazy that he actually came to ask for an audience."
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but smile. Liu Jin's laziness was already known to both the government and the public. Emperor Hongzhi said he would have two months off, and he actually took two months' rest at home without any advance notice.
It means to return to work.
Zhang Mao also went to Nanyang for more than half a year. After resting at home for three days, he couldn't wait to go to court in the morning.
Soon, Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin came to Emperor Hongzhi's study.
"Everyone, sit down~"
After looking at Zhu Houzhao and Liu Jin, Emperor Hongzhi smiled and nodded.
Both of them were so young, and the world belonged to them, but in the end it still belonged to young people like them. Emperor Hongzhi also sighed for a moment, wishing he could borrow another five hundred years from heaven.
"Liu Jin, there is still half a month left in the past two months. I thought I was ready to finish cultivation."
After looking at Liu Jin, Emperor Hongzhi smiled and said.
"Your Majesty, I have such a plan."
Liu Jin thought for a while and replied.
"...Then why did you come here today?"
Emperor Hongzhi was speechless. This boy was good at everything, but he was too lazy.
"Your Majesty, did you know that you read today's tomorrow morning newspaper?"
"The prices of cotton and wool in our Ming Dynasty have skyrocketed. Next year, it will definitely cause huge turmoil and losses to the textile industry in our Ming Dynasty."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said.
"I read the newspaper."
"Could the skyrocketing prices of wool and cotton be caused by merchants deliberately hoarding and driving up prices?"
Emperor Hongzhi thought for a while and asked.
When the ministers around him heard Liu Jin's words, they immediately became energetic.
The interests involved in the textile industry are too great. It can be said that many people in the capital have their own interests in this industry, and these big guys present are no exception.
More or less, they have their own shares in some textile factories, and even have their own families investing in and building prevention factories.
"Your Majesty, this time it is not that someone is deliberately hoarding and driving up prices, but the demand for cotton and wool has increased significantly in the market, causing the prices of cotton and wool to skyrocket."
"This year, the total number of new textile factories in China's north and south has exceeded 30,000, of which more than 20,000 new textile factories have been added in the Jiangnan region alone. Some large textile factories have very large investments and need to employ tens of thousands of employees.
"
"My country has had good weather this year. Cotton production has increased more than ten times compared to last year, and wool production has also increased more than ten times. However, compared with the huge market demand, they are simply insignificant."
"This has led to rapid increases in cotton and wool prices."
Liu Jin took out a piece of data and handed it to Emperor Hongzhi. The most convincing thing is to speak with data.
"More than 30,000 new factories?"
When Emperor Hongzhi and the ministers heard this, they couldn't help but widen their eyes slightly. This was too much.
The threshold for the textile industry is actually very low. You can open a factory with just a few machines, and you don't even need to hire workers. You can just work as a worker with your own family.
If it is a shipyard, steel plant, cement plant, etc., the investment is huge and the threshold is high. Only those with real strength can afford the investment.
This has also led to the explosive development of Daming's textile industry this year. There are too many new and invested factories at once.
"What a disaster!"
Xie Qian couldn't help but said anxiously.
The Xie family has invested in building a large textile factory in Nanjing. The skyrocketing prices of cotton and wool will definitely have a huge impact on their textile factory.
Rising raw material prices will inevitably lead to shrinking profits, and even if prices rise too much, they will lose money.
The key now is that cotton and wool may no longer be available, which means that the textile factories that have invested huge sums of money may be abandoned and rust.
"Yes, the situation is very serious and will have a huge impact on our textile industry in Ming Dynasty."
When Liu Jin heard Xie Qian's words, he nodded solemnly and said.
"If it really comes next year, the 30,000 newly opened textile factories will probably close down in all likelihood, and countless people will lose their money."
When all the ministers heard this, they all became anxious.
Fortunately for Zhang Mao, the textile industry is just one of the many industries under his command anyway, and he has already made enough money when he first entered this industry. Even if he loses money for a few years, it will be nothing.
But Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, Xie Qian, Zhong Zhong, and Liu Daxia are different. They are all latecomers. Some of them enjoyed the benefits of their investment last year and increased their investment this year. Some even lost their own pension capital.
Got in.
If they lose all their money, won't they have to drink from the northwest wind in the future?
Are you still counting on this little salary from the court to live your life?
So everyone became anxious, a little restless, and wanted to go back to find their own people to understand the specific situation.
