my brother-in-law is the prince

Chapter 498 Remarkable Achievements

The word Suzhou and Hangzhou really shocked Zhu Di.

Zhu Di asked suspiciously, "Where is Suzhou and Hangzhou?"

Zhu Di felt that this sentence was not level when he said it, and he was really hasty.

However, Zhu Di's words did express Zhu Di's heartfelt feelings.

"It is Suzhou and Hangzhou of my Ming Dynasty." Yang Shiqi said calmly: "Of course, Yingtian Mansion and Taiping Mansion are far inferior, and can only be compared with Suzhou Mansion or Hangzhou Mansion."

He looked very humble.

But when these words came out, Zhu Di and the officials were still taken aback.

You know, more than ten years ago, if there was no such freak as Taiping Mansion, Suzhou and Hangzhou would have been one of the most affluent areas in the world.

The taxes collected here every year, the money and food obtained, and the prosperity of commerce are all very few.

Zhu Di was very surprised. After pondering for a while, he said, "Suhang? That's rare. This wild place in Xinzhou has only been around for more than ten years. How can it compare with Suzhou and Hangzhou?"

"The annual tax, especially the silver tax." Yang Shiqi said: "As far as I know, the annual silver tax in Suzhou is now 70 million taels, while Xinzhou is now at 1307 million taels."

As soon as this statement came out, everyone did not expect it.

Yang Shiqi continued: "Xinzhou now has seven docks, which can build more than 140 ships every year. In addition, a large port has been built around this shipbuilding, and there are various workshops, especially steelmaking workshops. In Xinzhou , The minister led people to excavate a large amount of iron ore, the iron ore in Xinzhou is particularly good in quality, and the quality is much better than the iron ore in Daming."

"In addition, the coal in this new island is also everywhere. With the help of this cheap coal and iron ore, steel can be produced, and it can be traded with Western countries. It can also take this opportunity to attract a lot of manpower."

Yang Shiqi paused, and continued: "The situation in Xinzhou is special compared to other vassal states. There have never been a large number of natives here, but it is rich in minerals, and these minerals are especially easy to dig. If the coal and iron are excavated in Daming, it may take three labors, but in Xinzhou, it may only need one labor."

"I believe that governing a place is to discover its strengths, analyze its shortcomings, and then make use of its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. Therefore, ten years ago, I made a policy of emphasizing steel and industry."

Zhu Di listened carefully, and couldn't help but wondered: "It takes so little manpower to pack a thousand catties of coal and iron?"

Yang Shiqi replied: "Yes. On the one hand, this place is rich in mineral veins, and because it has been a barren land for thousands of years, almost no one has mined the minerals here. Because of this, it is different from Daming. There are continuous mountains, and many minerals are deep in the mountains, and it takes time and effort to mine them."

"What's more... For thousands of years, most of the minerals that are easy to mine in shallow layers have been mined in all dynasties. Therefore, if you want to continue mining, you have to continue to use time-consuming and laborious methods to dig deep mines. The manpower and material resources required are unimaginable.”

"Many minerals in Xinzhou, even without mines, are located in shallow layers, and the natural cost is much lower."

Zhu Di nodded.

Yang Shiqi continued: "So this has become Xinzhou's strengths. Now that we have strengths, we must use this strength. After all, Xinzhou is not far from the Western vassal states. Xinzhou has built a port to transport a large amount of steel. , and purchasing many Western specialties for the needs of the military and civilians is enough to make the military and civilians rich."

"After the Changshi Mansion has profited from coal and iron, the next thing to do is to attract the army and civilians to move to Xinzhou with a lot of money. On the other hand, it is to build ports, railways and roads, and build irrigation and water conservancy. Your Majesty, alone Relying on coal and iron cannot last for a long time, not to mention being too single, and it is bound to fall into a predicament. Therefore...the essence of the minister's large-scale construction of ports, water conservancy, and roads...is to revitalize the industry and commerce of the entire Xinzhou. In this way, not only coal The transportation of iron is more convenient. The vast land of Xinzhou can also promote animal husbandry, and can open up ten thousand hectares of fertile land.”

"With animal husbandry, wool can be produced, and wool can promote weaving. With enough grain, there is also a large amount of meat brought by animal husbandry, coupled with convenient transportation, there are coal and iron, workshops, and ports. The large amount of income from this will make the soldiers and civilians rich enough.”

Zhu Di listened carefully, thinking that Yang Shiqi was very interesting.

This Yang Shiqi spoke in a way, but after careful consideration, he found it very methodical.

Yang Shiqi went on to say: "I personally taught people to check. In this Xinzhou, every family eats up to [-] catties of meat every year, [-] catties of rice noodles, and a lot of other vegetables and fruits."

As soon as this remark came out, the officials were in an uproar, and each of them opened a pair of unbelievable eyes.

Can you eat fifty catties of meat every year?What is this concept?

At least in Daming, this is beyond comprehension even for the small gentry.Ordinary poor people may not even eat a bite of meat a year.

As the emperor, Zhu Di was most concerned about the people's food and clothing. Hearing Yang Shiqi's words, he couldn't help but be moved: "Is it true, there are so many?"

Yang Shiqi smiled calmly and said: "The land in Xinzhou is vast, and there is a lot of reclaimed land, and there is also a lot of land suitable for farming after increasing irrigation. There are also a lot of pastures, which can be used to graze cattle and sheep. , the cultivated land... can also be cultivated. And because there is so much cultivated land, the vast majority of farmers own hundreds of acres of land."

Hundreds of acres?

Yang Rong asked subconsciously: "Hundreds of acres? Is this owned by a wealthy farmer?"

Yang Shiqi said surprisingly: "This is a relatively poor farmer..."

"..."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

Yang Shiqi's words really shocked people.

Yang Shiqi even said: "Because there is so much land... Even the criminals exiled by the imperial court, Xinzhou has given them hundreds of acres of land for resettlement. They don't cultivate intensively, but most of them raise cattle and horses, and they use animal power for farming. , the yield per mu may not be high, after all... there is not enough manpower, and there is no intention to fiddle with more than ten mu of land like the Central Plains and Jiangnan, but the grain grown is far higher than the needs of each household. Therefore, Every household raises more cattle, horses, chickens and ducks, which is to teach these animals and poultry to eat the excess grain.”

"..."

I have to say that if this Xinzhou is as Yang Shiqi said, it is really a paradise mode.

There is almost no land conflict. Everyone can own hundreds of acres of land, but manpower is scarce. Minerals are available as soon as they are dug.

Doesn't this mean that a random household can be compared to the gentry and landlords above the middle level in Ming Dynasty?

The impact of this cognition is of course huge.

In the shock of everyone, Yang Shiqi smiled and said: "Of course, the above are Xinzhou's strengths. If these strengths are not brought into play, they are useless. Just like coal and iron, if you can't temper steel machinery by yourself, then no matter how much What is the use of coal and iron? After a large amount of wool spinning, if there is no port for transportation, how can it be profitable? There is also a large amount of land. If water conservancy, roads and bridges are not built, I am afraid... it will be nothing but barren land That's all."

"But with these, it is possible to attract the population. In order to attract the population, the Changshi Mansion took out a large amount of gold and silver, or recruited hired workers at a high price, settled them, or accepted criminals, even criminals. Prisoners, but also teach them to have a place to shelter from wind and rain, so that they can live comfortably. In this way, there is nothing to worry about."

"In the past ten years, Xinzhou has worked hard to attract 13 households with a population of 79. In addition to the new children, the increase has also increased by 17. With people, more land can be reclaimed. Digging for more minerals."

Everyone listened, and their hearts were pounding.

Some people couldn't help laughing bitterly. In Daming, everyone was fighting for land annexation. That's good. People in Xinzhou are afraid that there will be no people to reclaim wasteland and annex land.

It's really annoying to compare people to people.

Calculated in this way, Xinzhou has a population of one million. This number is indeed no longer under a prefectural city.

Although it is not as good as Suzhou and Hangzhou, but if it has so many minerals and arable land, as well as a large number of pastures, and can handle goods through the port, it is obviously not a boast to say that it is comparable to Suzhou and Hangzhou.

Zhu Di nodded his head and said with emotion: "Well... Calculated in this way, it is also an outstanding political achievement."

Unexpectedly, Yang Shiqi said: "The jurisdiction of the Changshi Mansion does not stop here! Your Majesty, in fact, the way of governance lies in flexibility, which needs to be adapted to the time and local conditions, just like the military in Xinzhou. There is not much foreign trouble in Xinzhou, and the local natives are also rare. Therefore, Xinzhou does not set up guards permanently, but establishes several inspection departments, and orders them to maintain law and order. Zhou is a big island, but there is an urgent need for a navy to attack the nearby pirates and ensure the routes between Xinzhou, Xiyang and Ming Dynasty."

"The minister set up a navy in Xinzhou, recruited personnel, and built new ships. Today, the Xinzhou Navy has more than 1 ships of all sizes. In the navy, there is also a naval academy to teach the law of water warfare. The ships in Xinzhou are expensive and not expensive. This time, the ship that I am on board has [-] materials. It has been newly launched and has sails as power. If it is a wartime, the ship will also be equipped with a steam engine. The propeller, its speed can be doubled, such a huge ship is the flagship of the navy, it can carry [-] materials of goods and supplies, it can be called the number one ship in the world."

After hearing this, Zhu Di frowned slightly.

In this world, the largest blessing ship is about [-] materials in size, which is already the largest ship of the Western Navy.

Of course, what Zhu Di didn't know was that at this moment in Venice, there were already [-] giant ships, and the Xinzhou side was quite generous, and even more ruthless ones were directly mounted.

It's just that Zhu Di doesn't understand ships after all, and actually doesn't know much about them.

It's just that Yang Shiqi, as a long-time historian, knows everything about Xinzhou's affairs like the back of his hand.

It has to be said that such a person is a talent wherever he is placed.

Zhu Di was very satisfied with Yang Shiqi. Although he is old now, he still has a strong thirst for knowledge, so he said, "What's the use of building such a ship?"

Yang Shiqi smiled and said: "Such a ship cost Xinzhou 19 taels of silver. This cost can be said to be huge. It can be accounted for, but it can't just be calculated in this way."

With obvious curiosity in Zhu Di's eyes, he pursed his lips and remained silent, looking serious and waiting to listen.

So Yang Shiqi continued to talk eloquently: "The biggest disadvantage of the imperial court is that it only pays attention to the immediate benefits. When I was in Hanlin, I saw the imperial court, especially the bureaucrats of the household department. Most of the disadvantages lie in this. It is important to know that the expenditure of money and food, in addition to In addition to trying our best not to lose money, we also need to have our own considerations. For example, the cost of warships in Xinzhou is indeed huge. But building such ships can greatly enhance the combat power of the navy, so that Xinzhou can ensure Safe and sound."

"On the other hand, it is possible to train a large number of craftsmen with the help of supervising the construction of such a huge ship. In addition to a group of skilled shipwrights, it is also because the building is an unprecedented ship, and the shipyard , adopted some of the most important new technologies in the world today, and since then, the craftsmanship and design of Xinzhou Shipbuilding have far surpassed other places, not only have more talents, but also other civilian docks can gradually follow This so-called killing three birds with one stone may cost 19 taels on the surface, but in fact, the invisible benefits received may not be worth millions."

"That's right, when I set up my annual expenses, I divided them into two accounts. One is the open account, and the other is the secret account. As long as there is no big deficit in the expenditure of the clear account, then the long-term benefits of the dark account must be considered. Xinzhou is originally a barren land, and it is thousands of miles away from Ming Dynasty. If you want to survive in such a barren land, you need to work step by step, and constantly sum up a set of effective rules. It will be reduced to a barren land forever. Therefore, the money and food, public security, water conservancy, road and bridge, education, refugee resettlement, port, industry and commerce, animal husbandry, and litigation under the jurisdiction of the Changshi Mansion must complement each other."

After hearing this, Zhu Di kept nodding his head, and no longer hesitated to praise: "What Qing said is really refreshing."

Yang Shiqi said very honestly: "It's not that your majesty is refreshing, but the situation in Xinzhou is different from that in the Central Plains, so he adopted a different strategy. If Xinzhou's approach is placed in Daming, it may not work."

Yang Shiqi told the truth, but Zhu Di was not disappointed, and even said sincerely: "It is really rare to be able to manage a barren land and achieve this effect. Such a talent who stands alone."

Zhang Anshi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, in fact, what Yang Gong said is really light and easy, but if you really want to do it, Xinzhou has a population of one million, and all kinds of complicated affairs, from military administration to civil administration, to the promotion of talents, are even more difficult. Disaster!"

"Your Majesty, this Duke Yang... the reason why he has this skill is that he is extremely smart. If not, he has read a lot of poetry and books, otherwise how could he become a Hanlin. The second is that he has practiced in Xinzhou. Xinzhou, to put it mildly, is called the Land of Abundance, and it is blessed by nature. But on the other hand, it is a barren land, so how can it be easy to open up?"

He paused, seemed to think of something, and then said: "Your Majesty... I heard that the prime minister starts from the state and the county, and the fierce general is sent to the army. Only people like Yang Gong who started from the state and the county, after experience, Only then can the world be blessed.”

As soon as these words came out, it was as if a thunderbolt suddenly fell.

There was a deathly silence in the hall.

But at this time, Zhu Di was shocked violently.

Because he realized that Zhang Anshi seemed to have hit the crux of the problem all at once.

All fools know the truth that prime ministers start from states and counties.

However, the negative influence of the prime minister from the state and county is also great.

In the process of becoming great officials in the frontier, they had a large number of old students and promoted many talents. With the rise of the prime minister, his team became stronger and stronger, and a large number of people who followed him at the beginning became prominent.

This is also the reason why Hu Weiyong was able to be arrogant and domineering at the beginning, and even dared to fight against Emperor Taizu Gao.

After all, so many ministers in the court, and even the state officials below, are Hu Weiyong's team, and he single-handedly promoted them.So guess who these people listen to?

He has been Hu Weiyong's confidant for decades, so it is impossible to listen to you, Zhu Yuanzhang, right?

This is also the root cause of the conflict between imperial power and prime minister power in all dynasties.

But when it comes to the truth, the world really needs these big officials in frontiers.

Talents who have risen step by step from the states and counties are more capable of governing the world. Relying on a group of Hanlin, they enter Wenyuan Pavilion and assist the emperor in governing the world. The end result is that many decrees of the court have become taken for granted. this ability.

Zhang Anshi solved this problem perfectly.

Zhang Anshi's implication is, Your Majesty, what do you think of this long history?

This long history has been overseas for a long time, and the conflicts overseas are more intense, which sharpens people's abilities even more.

Xinzhou is okay, but if it is in the West, it will be even worse. In addition to development and food, you also need to think about scheduling and military affairs all day long. Such a person has been honed for ten or eight years. One by one counts as one, and the talent will not be inferior to Yang Shiqi.

What's even better is that in his position as a long history, he has nothing to do with the officials of Ming Dynasty at all.Even if he was summoned to the imperial court, he had no roots, and even if he was entrusted with the power and responsibility of a bachelor by the imperial court, he would not worry about being like Hu Weiyong.

This is tantamount to using this method to directly solve the problem that the prime minister originated from the state and county.

Zhu Di's eyes brightened slightly, and he suddenly understood what Zhang Anshi meant by the so-called living regulations.

This guy... really took a different path!

But Zhu Di immediately fell into deep thought. Many times, when he has a good idea, it is easy to be inspired.

Although Zhang Anshi's proposal was a bit sloppy, and a whole set of methods was needed to ensure the path of this kind of talent, but with inspiration, many ideas can be gradually understood.

It's just... this time it was the turn of the officials to be confused.

Zhang Anshi really... lacks great virtue!

…………

Recommend a book "The First Minister of Power", drunk to control the power of the world, drunk into the beauty creek, um... that's it!