"After listening to your words, I feel confident in my heart. Even if this is the territory of my Ming Dynasty, no matter how large the territory is and how many tribes it governs, as long as we follow these core points, we don't have to worry about anything.
"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Liu Jin and said that it was his blessing and luck to have such a minister. It was also the luck of the Ming Dynasty.
If it weren't for Liu Jin, I'm afraid I would still be worrying about the little Tartar prince going south every day, still worrying about trivial matters such as tens of thousands of taels of silver, or being beaten to death by the Minister of Household Affairs.
Even though it was exhausted, the Ming Dynasty was still the same as before. People's livelihood was difficult, the treasury was empty, the armaments were weak, surrounded by powerful enemies, and the outside was strong but the inside was weak.
Where can we have the current scene of the prosperous age, where the people have no worries about food and clothing, sweeping across the four directions, expanding the territory, the treasury is full, the country is rich and the people are strong, the Ming Dynasty is powerful in the world, and the four directions are surrendered, far surpassing the Han and Tang Dynasties in history.
Even Emperor Hongzhi himself, if it hadn't been for the Daming Medical College established by Liu Jin, perhaps Emperor Hongzhi would not have known that he had intestinal carbuncle, and he would have died inexplicably within a few years, being tricked to death by those quack doctors.
Now that the intestinal carbuncle has been cured, Emperor Hongzhi's health is getting better and better after recuperation. The white hair on his head gradually turns black, his face is rosy, he has begun to gain weight, and he is full of energy.
"Yes, it's like a sudden enlightenment, a sudden enlightenment, and like an enlightenment, I can clearly see the way forward for Ming Dynasty in the future."
Liu Jian also nodded solemnly. This time he also had great experience and felt deeply about his own shortcomings.
Emperor Hongzhi asked him to speak and share his views, but he could not come up with any good ideas. His thinking was always limited to everything in history, and he was unable to make new and innovative decisions.
"Mr. Liu has received the award, but I can only talk on paper."
Liu Jin blushed and said, "Well, it's true that I only know how to talk on paper, and I'm just picking up people's wisdom. If I hadn't traveled from later generations and read a lot of historical novels, Liu Jin felt that I wouldn't be able to say anything."
.
"If you are talking about war on paper, then we won't even be able to talk about war."
Li Dongyang also smiled and said.
"Mr. Li has given me the award, I have given him the award."
Liu Jin quickly said modestly.
"You kid also knows how to be humble~"
When Emperor Hongzhi saw this scene, he immediately smiled and said.
"Haha~"
When others heard this, they immediately laughed. Liu Jin is the youngest, and the grandchildren of Liu Jian, Li Dongyang, and Zhang Mao are not much younger than Liu Jin, so sometimes, everyone also likes to call Liu Jin brat.
Everyone had a great time chatting. Emperor Hongzhi was a good emperor and a good person, and the monarch and his ministers could chat well with each other. When dealing with people like Emperor Hongzhi, there was no need to worry about anything, and there was no need to be trembling.
Therefore, when the conversation was happy, everyone could laugh freely, and the same was true for Emperor Hongzhi himself. The scene of the emperor and his ministers having fun together was also recorded by the historian next to him.
"Your Majesty, this year we have a bumper grain harvest in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. The price of grain has dropped to a historical low. If the court does not intervene, the low price of grain will hurt farmers. I am afraid that many places will be like Beizhili, and the enthusiasm for growing grain will be low.
If it is high, it will affect our grain cultivation next year."
After being happy, Li Dongyang thought about it and asked a question.
Food issues are an issue that requires great attention at any time. Even when there is sufficient food, we still need to consider future food.
I went out for a trip and saw that the fertile fields here in Beizhili were planted with cotton. If this was just in Beizhili, it would not be a big problem. The Ming Dynasty had a vast territory and there were many places that produced grain. Nothing would happen if food was not grown in Beizhili.
.
However, once the price of grain is too low and affects farmers' enthusiasm for growing grain, in the future, there may be more places like Beizhili that do not grow grain but instead grow cotton or something like that.
This is not going to work!
"Well, this is indeed a problem. Low grain prices hurt farmers."
"It's not a big problem just in Beizhili. But if other places become the same as Beizhili, the problem will be serious."
After hearing this, Emperor Hongzhi nodded solemnly, thought for a while and asked, "What do you dear friends have to say?"
"Your Majesty, as Liu Jin said, we can build large granaries in various parts of the Ming Dynasty. When the price of food is low, the court will purchase large quantities of food to stabilize the price of food."
"I believe that now is the time for the imperial court to ask the Ministry of Household Affairs to step forward and establish a grain trading house directly under the Ministry of Household Affairs. The responsibility of this grain trading house under the Ministry of Household Affairs is to stabilize grain prices and purchase large amounts of grain when grain prices are low.
When food prices are high, food is sold at low prices.”
"There is no need to make any profits, as long as we ensure that we do not lose money, the main purpose is to stabilize the food supply and food prices in our country."
Liu Jian thought for a while but immediately stood up and said.
After Liu Jin talked about it, his brain opened up and he was able to think of a solution naturally.
"Well, it is indeed necessary to establish such a trading house."
Emperor Hongzhi also nodded slightly. The food issue involves national security issues and major issues related to the national economy and people's livelihood. Naturally, it requires great attention. Moreover, Liu Jin also said that this food issue is still related to the issue of centralization.
Because only when the imperial court has enough grain in its hands can it rely on grain to intervene in the national economy to a certain extent and always stabilize grain prices.
"However, judging from the current situation of our Ming Dynasty, our grain production in the Ming Dynasty should continue to increase in the next few years."
"In the Liaodong region, the Western Regions, Hezhong and Nanyang, more and more fields will be cultivated in the future, and more and more food will be produced."
"The grain produced by our Ming Dynasty this year alone is enough to feed our entire Ming Dynasty for five years. There are more and more grains, but the grain can only be stored for two to three years at most, and it will rot over time."
"If the imperial court spends a large sum of money to purchase grain every year, there will be no problem in turning over and storing it in a short period of time, but over time, it will eventually have to find a way to digest the grain."
Li Dongyang thought for a while and asked another question.
It is definitely necessary to establish a grain storage system. The current situation in the Ming Dynasty is that the land is vast and sparsely populated, and more and more land is cultivated, so the output of grain is getting higher and higher.
There is so much food produced. The food produced in one year is enough to feed the Ming Dynasty for five years. You can imagine how much food there is.
"this…"
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but frown.
There is too much food and I am worried because I can’t finish it. Next year, more food will come out and it will be piled up like a mountain. If it is not finished, it will rot. That would be a pity.
"Your Majesty, it is actually not difficult to solve this problem."
At this time Liu Jin thought for a while and stood up again and said.
"Tell me."
When Emperor Hongzhi saw Liu Jin standing up, he immediately asked questions.
"We in Nanzhuang Village also learned that now the people of Ming Dynasty have enough food to eat. Everyone has food to eat. With ample food and clothing, everyone has begun to slowly pursue a better life."
"People want to eat meat, so the price of meat is constantly rising. Our court must comply with such a trend and trend when formulating national policies."
"We can roughly divide the grain produced in a year into several parts. The most important part is naturally to ensure the food supply and security of our Ming Dynasty."
"On the premise of satisfying this part, we might as well use the remaining grain for other purposes, such as wine making and the development of breeding industry."
Liu Jin thought for a while and then said.
There will be a global food surplus in later generations, and the proportion of food actually used for consumption is actually not high. Most of the food is used to develop animal husbandry, breeding and wine making.
It is also known as rations, feed grain, and industrial grain in the post-secular terms.
"Wine wine?"
"Develop the breeding industry?"
When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but widen their eyes slightly.
In their consistent concepts and thinking, this food is the most important, and it is naturally used for eating. Brewing has been prohibited in all dynasties, and private brewing is illegal.
This is mainly because the output of grain in ancient times was small, and winemaking required food very much, so priority must be given to meeting the people's food needs, and private winemaking was prohibited.
Taking the Song Dynasty as an example, the system of quenjiu was implemented from beginning to end, and the production of wine was monopolized by the imperial court. The meaning of que was the single-plank bridge, which meant independent business.
Private brewing is prohibited, and brewing can only be done by the government.
The Ming Dynasty also followed this system. During the Ming Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang's time, winemaking was strictly prohibited. However, in the later years of the Ming Dynasty, as the country stabilized and grain production increased, the prohibition on winemaking was gradually relaxed, and wine culture became popular.
However, the Ming government has still not officially lifted the ban on brewing. In other words, it is okay to brew some at home and drink it, but it is still not allowed to sell large-scale brewing, and food is still very precious.
Things cannot be wasted like this.
As for the development of the breeding industry, it is easier to understand. If people want to eat meat, they naturally need to rely on the breeding industry to support it. If there is more food, it can be used to raise pigs, cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, ducks, geese, etc., so as to enrich the people's dining tables.
,increase the supply of meat.
In the final analysis, the breeding industry is for the common people to eat better. After all, the food is still used for eating. Only the wine making makes everyone hesitate. Once the court no longer prohibits wine making, will it lead to extravagant drinking?
If the wind blows, the amount of food consumed may be very large.
This is also the reason why the imperial court has not lifted the ban on brewing wine. It is afraid that the trend of extravagant drinking will develop and the atmosphere of the entire society will become bad.