During the four months from spring plowing to summer grain harvest, the court and the people of the Southern Ming Dynasty rested, and basically did not do anything that required mobilizing a large number of people.
Zhu Shuren and Shi Kefa only sorted out the population and farm situation at the internal political level, eliminated the long-standing shortcomings, and reformed the old and made new ones.
In addition, work such as land and population surveys will naturally bring convenience, that is, it will make it easier for the court to vigorously promote new high-yielding crops.
After all, after checking the land situation, a large number of immigrants from the north will be resettled to cultivate the unowned land. The seeds of these people will be provided by the government. The government will naturally send out officials to check the local land situation and recommend land suitable for replanting.
Replant on top.
However, Zhu Shuren also knows that officials will reap benefits wherever they can, so this time he did not set performance indicators for the subordinates, nor did he use the promotion rate to evaluate them. It was purely a suggested promotion. Before promotion.
In addition, we also asked supervisory officials from other systems that are not under each other's control to observe the public sentiment and find out whether there is any forced conversion.
Otherwise, we might end up in a situation similar to "Wang Anshi's Green Crop Law turned into forced loan sharking".
As a result, after the spring plowing and summer harvest replanting in the first year of Longwu, many barren farmlands in mountainous areas in Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong and Guangxi were replanted with potatoes, which greatly increased grain production.
Although part of it is flat, because the terrain is high and water sources are insufficient for irrigation, the originally unusable land is replanted with corn. Although corn is not very suitable for planting in the south, the advantage of corn is that it uses less water than other staple foods.
Achievable.
In the south in the late Ming Dynasty, many farmlands were flat, but because the terrain was too high and irrigation could not be focused, they were still classified as field. In this special situation, corn can be a good supplement.
As for the rest of the muddy and low-lying land, those that were originally used to grow rice should try not to mess with it. Those that were originally unable to even grow rice should be reorganized as appropriate.
If the land can be dredged deep and shallow, then taro can be planted on the land dug out after dredging. If the local labor force is insufficient and the land cannot be reorganized to create polders, then lotus root can be planted in shallow swamps of rotten mud ponds, which can also subsidize the staple food.
Lotus root and taro are both crops that have existed in China since ancient times. The popularity of taro is relatively recent. However, even though the starch content of these crops is not low, they have not become effective staple foods for a long time. Due to the ancient food preservation technology and the efficiency of commercial circulation scheduling, they have not become effective staple foods for a long time.
Being low is not irrelevant.
The shelf life of taro is far less than that of potatoes, and lotus root is even more perishable. If farmers originally tried to use pure-bred lotus root as a staple food, the most likely possibility would be that the remaining lotus root would rot after not being eaten for two months, and then spend most of the year
They can only starve to death.
During the Song Dynasty, the popularity of taro and lotus root cultivation, according to later research, should have been much higher than that of the Ming Dynasty. An important reason was that the Song Dynasty had a developed commodity economy and the emperor did not crack down on business. Therefore, farmers who planted these high-starch vegetables,
During the harvest season, you can sell vegetables in large quantities to buy rice and save them.
In the Ming Dynasty, grassroots business and social security were relatively poor, and everyone preferred a self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy. Farmers who grew grain were too lazy to trade and grew and ate themselves. After the exchange atmosphere deteriorated, everyone became more and more conservative, fearing that the shelf life of their crops would be short.
Something that puts life and death in the hands of others.
However, as the administrative atmosphere of the Longwu Dynasty changed, and Shen Tingyang, a wealthy businessman, became the Minister of Household Affairs, Zhu Shuren also encouraged the military garrison organized by the imperial court to provide transaction guarantees for his subordinates.
After these low-income people in the south planted perishable high-starch vegetables, the local military garrison station organized and purchased them, allowing the local army and other grain-growing people to replace part of the staple food with taro and lotus roots during the harvest season, maintaining two or three crops.
moon.
The saved staple grains are then traded to the refugees who sell lotus roots at the official protected price, and this part of the agricultural economy that was originally strangled is revitalized.
Many northern refugees who fled south at the beginning of the year were resettled in Huainan and planted lotus roots in the muddy Chaohu and Shaopei plains. After the first batch of lotus roots were harvested in May, the locals
The garrison immediately took charge of the purchase and gave them the official price in exchange for food.
After receiving real benefits, these refugees could not help but start to reflect: They had been brainwashed by Zhu Yuanzhang's Ming Dynasty ideology for many years, and they always felt that business competed with farmers for profit. Farmers who grew food should grow and eat it themselves (originally those who grew food)
Only cash crop farmers had to trade because sericulture, cotton and tea were inedible).
But now there is solid evidence in front of us, indicating that farmers who grow vegetables should also join the transaction. At least this form of commercial prosperity is releasing agricultural productivity. More people who were originally worried about the shelf life of crops and did not dare to plant them will have an additional
A choice of livelihood options.
It seems that the Ming Dynasty's idea of valuing agriculture and suppressing commerce needs to be refined and adjusted at its roots. There are many types of commerce, and some types should be encouraged, while other types need to be suppressed, and one cannot apply a one-size-fits-all approach.
…
Under the rule of the Longwu regime, agricultural production in the south recovered very well this year.
As time soon comes to the end of May, the busy farming season has finally passed. After the summer replanting is completed, until the autumn harvest, the people will be relatively free.
If the imperial court has a large-scale construction project, and if it is willing to use money to provide work relief, it will also allow the people to earn a little extra money and better restore their livelihood.
Therefore, Zhu Shuren, who has been living in Nanjing for so long, finally plans to come out of seclusion again and go out to stretch his muscles.
Of course, Zhu Shuren has not been idle in the past few months in Nanjing. He has been living a healthy life - as early as this year's Lantern Festival, just after the celebration of being crowned king, Zhu Shuren began to give up drinking.
He also pays great attention to adjusting his work and rest, eating healthily, exercising regularly, and adopting all scientific health-preserving methods. In ancient times, you would never find another young man in his twenties who could maintain his health like this.
Zhu Shuren, who had already had a daughter, quickly proved to the world that there was nothing wrong with his health. By April, Zhu Shuren's first wife, the little princess Zhu Yuchan, was actually pregnant. It was just the first reaction.
It was too slight and was not noticed immediately,
At the end of April, because the relative had not come yet, the imperial doctor also repeatedly confirmed and checked carefully before he dared to report the good news to the emperor and the prince. Anyway, regardless of whether it was confirmed or not, you can first follow the prescriptions for anti-fetal health and diet, and there will be no delay.
After learning about this situation, Zhu Shuren finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After only staying at home for more than two months, my wife made some moves. This efficiency is already very good. The only remaining suspense is whether it is a boy or a girl.
"I hope it's a son. We don't favor boys over girls. However, this is a matter of national importance. If we want to stabilize the people of the world, we must first give a son. In the future, we can have as many daughters as we want."
Zhu Shuren, who has always been open-minded and has the soul of a modern man, is rarely a feudal person. He often thinks like this. The situation of the times is such that he cannot be willful.
By the end of May, counting the days, Zhu Yuchan's belly was already two and a half months old, almost three months old. The pregnancy period, which is most prone to accidents, has passed. The follow-up should be relatively stable, and Zhu Shuren was relieved and ready to go out.
Naturally, Zhu Yuchan was still extremely reluctant to part with her. There was something in the belly of a weak woman, but her husband was traveling far away, which made her feel very insecure.
Zhu Shuren consoled him warmly: "Don't worry, we won't be away for a few months. We don't have to do everything by ourselves now, but we just took a quick look around and got back before the autumn harvest. We will definitely stay in Nanjing at the end of the year and the beginning of next spring.
Stay with my wife well."
Zhu Shuren's promise finally made Zhu Yuchan feel at ease.
The imperial doctor has also calculated that the expected date of delivery is around the end of the Chinese New Year next year. If it’s faster, it’s the end of the first year, if it’s slower, it’s the whole of February. It will also be the off-season for farming, and there should be nothing to worry about other New Year’s matters.
.
…
After bidding farewell to his wife, Zhu Shuren summoned his staff, Gu Yanwu, to sort out the key tasks worthy of inspection in the near future.
Because it was just coming up, Zhu Shuren had no plans before, so he needed to first understand the various aspects of the situation in the past few months.
Gu Yanwu brought over a large number of files, and Zhu Shuren first read them in outline, focusing on understanding the recent progress in army construction and armament planning.
In terms of army construction, Zhu Shuren took a rough look at the progress reported by various ministries. Considering that the truce window between the North and the South will be relatively long this time, Zhu Shuren estimated that it will be at least one year. Therefore, this year's army construction mainly focuses on a thorough investigation of air wages.
Improve the treatment of the military and combat the drinking of soldiers' blood.
As for technical and tactical training, it has not been put on the agenda for the time being. Anyway, if you have time, let’s lay the foundation first. Only when the appearance and loyalty of the army have generally improved can we give them new weapons. Only after they have completed the training can we rest assured.
.
Otherwise, if the will to fight and loyalty are not guaranteed, practicing new weapons first will only become a double-edged sword - just like the Beiyang New Army in the late Qing Dynasty, the technical and tactical level has improved, but the problem is that when it comes to war, it will not
He will not contribute to the imperial court.
To check the pay and to crack down on the blood of the soldiers, these are the long-standing shortcomings of the Ming Dynasty for at least a century and a half. It can be seen that when Baozong was captured by Oala, the Ming army already had these problems, so it is said that half a million troops were in Tatar.
That's why you are so vulnerable in front of people.
If Zhu Shuren wants to improve now, there will definitely be resistance. But in the final analysis, he still relies on two trump cards to have the confidence to push forward step by step:
The first is that the Shen family has money and is willing to invest in the army. Whether Zhu Shuren is the governor of the military armaments of the provinces or his father is responsible for the allocation of funds for the Ministry of Household Affairs, starting from this year they have at least achieved the goal of "no money will be withheld before it leaves the Ministry of Households and the capital."
When Shen Tingyang was defending the city in Nanjing, he actually distributed two million taels of silver to the defending army. It was all donated directly from the Shen family's own pocket and did not use any money from the national treasury. The power of such an example lies there.
, giving both kindness and power, the following had to be greatly restrained.
Secondly, relying on the power of victory in foreign wars, the prestige of Zhu Shuren's family in the army has been unprecedentedly improved. Even if there are old generals who are reluctant to part with the blood of their soldiers, Zhu Shuren can still recruit direct generals from Huguang.
succeed.
Of course, there were a few generals who almost tried to cause a mutiny in order to drink the blood of their soldiers. But the soldiers below did not listen to their generals. They surrendered to the court as soon as the court came to suppress them, and those scum officers who stubbornly drank the blood of their soldiers were eliminated.
Quite a few.
Killing hundreds of people alone is considered a must in troubled times. Considering that the old armies in South Zhili, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang have a nominal total of only 200,000, killing a few hundred scum who drink the blood of soldiers is not
That's too much.
After this rectification, we will strive to clear up the army's salary vacancies in the above-mentioned provinces within this year, so that the soldiers have enough money to eat, and next year they can be issued new weapons and conduct new technical and tactical drills.
…
After having a clear understanding of the work on military construction, Zhu Shuren took a quick look at the progress in the armament and industrial fields.
In the first half of this year, arsenals in Wuchang and other places seemed to have no new trends worthy of inspection. They were all producing new "Made in Wuchang" rifles. Daye's steel plant was also developing steadily, with no qualitative changes.
The first-generation mass production model of that rifle was decided last autumn, and then production began to gradually increase. At the time of the final decisive battle with Duduo, the entire Nanming army only had 5,000 of this new rifle, and it was divided among Huguang and Nanming.
On the two battlefields in Zhili, Zhang Huangyan's side had less than 2,000 guns, while Zhu Shuren had more than 3,000.
Since it is a new model in the first place, there is no need to start over again and just expand production capacity. This is just a matter of spending money and resources, not technical work.
At most, after several battles with Azig and Duduo, Fang Yizhi and Song Yingxing also listened to the feedback from the soldiers at the front, integrated some improvement ideas that had been tested in actual combat, and made fine adjustments.
If we say that the previous ones made in Wuchang were roughly equivalent to the French Charleville Type 1728, only a few indicators could reach the Charleville Type 1763.
The newly adjusted "Made in Wuchang 2.0" by Fang Yizhi and Song Yingxing has basically reached the level of the French Charleville 1763, and even surpassed it in terms of material quality, reaching the level on the eve of the Napoleonic Wars.
This type of standard rifle is already sufficient as a large-scale equipment for eradicating the Qing Dynasty in the future, and production will continue to increase in the past two years.
Zhu Shuren checked the production capacity progress. In the second half of last year, it took about four or five months to switch to the production of new rifles, and a total of more than 5,000 were produced. At this rate, the annual output this year will be approximately 12,300 to 15,000, and next year
Pretty much the same.
If we want to speed up the process further, we must continue to expand the production capacity of steel plants, increase the employment of craftsmen in military factories, or consider replicating the factories in Wuchang and Daye, and also implement an industrial system in South Zhili.
Now, after all, Zhu Shuren is already the governor of the seven southern provinces in terms of armaments. He still controls the Chinese and foreign military affairs and will be stationed in Nanjing. There is really no need for him to leave his roots in Wuchang. It is also necessary to back up a set of production capacity around Nanjing.
After thoroughly sorting out the current situation, Zhu Shuren asked Gu Yanwu and asked him to provide some new information:
"This year's agricultural slack, I want to copy a military industry and iron factory similar to that in Huguang in Nanzhi. I wonder how the copper, iron and peat deposits in Nanzhi are being reorganized. Are there any mines worth expanding?
If you want to engage in military industry, you still have to start from scratch at the iron factory, and you cannot rely on Daye to supply steel. Only in this way can you be prepared."
Zhu Shuren's idea is somewhat similar to the third-line national defense construction of later generations. If there is only one key iron mine and steel plant in half of the country in the south, it will be too easy for accidents to happen. There must be a full set of backups.
Apparently someone has been doing related work before. Gu Yanwu has a lot of information here, and he sorted it out immediately:
"My lord, have you forgotten? A few months ago, you told me that you would explore and expand the mine. People from the Ministry of Industry have recently made some achievements in Taiping Prefecture, Chizhou, Huzhou and other places. Wuchang has also sent craftsmen to give guidance and advice.
"
Zhu Shuren recalled and compared it, and realized that the Ministry of Industry was talking about the iron ore in Ma'anshan in later generations, and the Tongling copper mine that had been discovered in ancient times, which could further expand production. Both of these places were in the area south of the Yangtze River in Anhui in later generations, and are now
Belongs to Southern Zhili.
In the east, there are some coal mines in Changxing, Huzhou Prefecture, Zhejiang Province, and in Xuancheng, Anhui Province in later generations. Although the quality is lower than that of the Anyuan coal mine used in the Daye Iron Mine in Huguang in history, some
It is bituminous coal with a relatively high sulfur content.
But the advantage is that the transportation is convenient and it is very close to the iron ore and copper mines. If some pre-processing can be done to pre-process the coal, then the Wannan and Zhexi coal mines, combined with the Maanshan Iron Mine and the Tongling Copper Mine, can probably create a coal mine that is better than the Huguang Coal Mine.
Daye over there is a larger metallurgical complex.
After all, at the end of the Qing Dynasty, Zhang Zhidong mainly recommended Han Yeping. An important reason was that the country did not know much about coal pretreatment at that time. The steel plants were too heavy on coal, and it was not Daye’s iron ore reserves. The quality was really inferior to that of Daye’s iron ore reserves.
There are many in Ma'anshan.
"Let's make arrangements. During this period, I will go to Taiping Prefecture (Ma'anshan), Chizhou (Tongling), Huzhou, and Ningguo (Xuancheng). Don't be too nervous about the schedule. Just go back to Nanjing before winter." Zhu Shuren gave the order casually.
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——
PS: I was reminded before that there will be farming, so let me remind you in detail. If you don’t want to see farming, you can raise it next week. By the end of next week, this truce period will basically be over, and you can start fighting the Tatars again.
It can also be regarded as a reminder to readers who only watch Tartar killing dramas.