Yangzhou Prefecture in the Ming Dynasty was much larger than Yangzhou City in later generations. It was bordered by the sea to the east, Fengyang Prefecture to the west, Huai'an Prefecture to the north, and the Yangtze River to the south, occupying one-third of Jiangsu Province.

Zhu Cixiang's northern tour route did not cross the Yangtze River directly to Yangzhou, but started from Nanjing, went down the river to Haimen County, then from Haimen County to Tongzhou, Taixing, and finally to Yangzhou Prefecture to govern Jiangdu County, which was equivalent to a big circle.

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Facing the questions from the accompanying officials, Zhu Cixiang said: "I am inspecting places to observe the people's sentiments. If I go directly to Jiangdu, what will I do? Go to a banquet?"

It was spring plowing at this time, and each area in Yangzhou Prefecture should be a piece of farmland. However, all Zhu Cixi saw was a mulberry field, and the crops in the field were replaced by raw silk, raw cotton and other products.

Zhu Cixiang frowned and said: "Zhu Yu, take people to investigate the surroundings and see how much food is grown in the fields in Taixing County and how many mulberry fields there are!"

Zhu Yu is the eldest grandson of Zhu Dadian. He is seventeen years old this year. He is handsome and talented. He was originally studying in the Imperial College in Nanjing. During this northern tour, Zhu Cixi specially brought him out to give him some experience.

Zhu Yu left excitedly with a team of personal guards accompanying him. This was his first time accompanying him on an errand, and he must do it beautifully and neatly.

Zhu Cixiang also ordered people to find several surrounding landowners and ask them why they changed rice to mulberry and what was the attitude of the local government?

After some inquiring, Zhu Cixang finally understood that commerce was developed in the south of the Yangtze River. Under the temptation of commerce, officials asked local landowners to switch to cash crops, mainly raw silk, and sell them to foreigners for huge profits.

Zhu Yu returned and reported: "Your Highness, according to the research of the students, there were still very few people who were chasing the bottom in the past, but now there are three times as many people who have gone to agriculture and changed their careers to industry and commerce. In terms of every ten people, there are probably sixty-seven percent of them."

It’s farming.”

“Sixty to seventy percent of the farmland has been converted into mulberry fields?”

Hearing this, Zhu Cixiang was very angry. As early as five years ago, he promoted the full cultivation of crops on arable land in Fengyang Prefecture, and required that anyone engaged in industry and commerce must obtain approval from the local government, and the proportion should not exceed the stipulated 30%.

Last year, Zhu Cihong re-issued an edict that the provinces south of the Yangtze River should focus on farming, and the Beijing inspection and assessment should focus on road construction and grain production.

However, the proportion of mulberry fields in Taixing County, Yangzhou Prefecture, actually accounts for 60 to 70% of the cultivated land. Is this okay? No wonder in history, when the Ming Dynasty suffered from food shortages due to natural disasters, the wealthy Jiangnan region also suffered an extremely serious blow. Not only was it unable to supply food to the outside world,

We also need to transport food from Huguang and provide disaster relief.

Zhu Cixi said coldly: "Li Hu, take your troops and arrest the Yangzhou prefect, Taixing county magistrate, and the officials who approved the land. Behead them and abandon the market. Landowners who do not grow grain as required will also be killed."

Confiscated!"

Chen Zhenhui, an accompanying lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, persuaded: "Your Highness, now the imperial court has opened seven ports, and more and more raw silk and other products are needed for trade with foreigners. Yangzhou Prefecture is close to the river and the sea, and the rice has been replaced by mulberry.

People can also rely on selling raw silk, cotton yarn, cotton cloth, etc. to buy food, which can increase the court's tax revenue and improve their living standards. Why does your highness..."

Zhu Cixiang frowned and said: "Chen Zhenhui, you are also one of the four great talents in Jinling. Why do you think about the problem so superficially?"

Chen Zhenhui's body trembled, and she bowed and said, "I listen to His Highness' instructions."

Zhu Cixiang said: "At present, our Ming Dynasty is still full of famines this year. Even places such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, which have the reputation of "Suzhou and Hangzhou are ripe and the world is rich", are also plagued by locusts and have not completely solved the problem of food and clothing. In Henan, Shandong and other places, the situation is even worse.

, a large number of victims peeled bark and sawdust mixed with chaff to eat, or dug up white mud from the mountains to eat, which is called Guanyin powder."

"The country is suffering from continuous disasters, food shortages, and crises. As you say, people who switch from rice to mulberry purchase food across regions, which is more likely to cause a food crisis. After these mulberry households finish eating the food, there will definitely be no food, causing panic. The mulberry households

If we can’t survive, it will easily cause a civil commotion!”

Chen Zhenhui said: "I am superficial and only care about Jiangnan affairs..."

Zhu Cixiang secretly thought, you, the remnants of Donglin Restoration Society, only have things in the south of the Yangtze River in your mind, how can you think about the people in the north?

Zhu Cihong emphasized again to the important ministers and officials accompanying him, saying: "Farming is the foundation of the world. Gold, pearls, and jade cannot be eaten when hungry, and cannot be clothed when cold. They are not as good as grains and silk and hemp. If the people are poor, evil will arise, and poverty will be born.

Not enough, not enough to be born without farming. If you are not farming, you will leave your hometown and neglect your family. You will be hungry and cold, and you will not care about your integrity, and the world will be in chaos!"

"Prosperous commerce cannot save the Ming Dynasty. If northern agriculture collapses, no matter how developed the commerce in the south of the Yangtze River is, it will still be unable to avoid the fate of changing dynasties!"

Everyone broke into cold sweat after hearing this. The Crown Prince's remarks were too bold. If anyone else had dared to say it, they would have been thrown into death row.

Zhu Cixiang once again ordered: "Order the Ministry of Household Affairs to send people to strictly investigate the cultivation situation of cultivated land across the country. According to the commercial ratio of each province set last year, any exceeding will be questioned!"

With the war in the north, more and more victims are crossing the Yangtze River to the south. Originally, there was not much food production due to natural disasters year after year. Now many places in the south of the Yangtze River are converting rice into mulberry to make money. Isn't this asking for death?

In the current situation, for Zhu Cixiang, there is no threat, or very little, to the south of the Yangtze River. The chieftains in Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan provinces are considered honest, and Zhu Cixiang is too lazy to set rules with them and cause unnecessary trouble.

Zhu Cixiang's plan is to attract military refugees from Henan, Shaanxi, Shandong and other places to go to Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan to develop and build cities.

Countless provinces have not yet been developed. There is a lot of arable land, a lot of pasture and woodland, and rich coal, lead, iron and other minerals. The operational space is very huge.

Within a few years, it is possible to attract millions of refugees, build forts in densely populated areas, plant wheat, rice, cotton and other crops extensively, and then open livestock farms to use grain and meat as raw materials to form a series of handicraft industries.

and industry.

According to the rules set by Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang, as long as you reclaim wasteland, the land is yours. Even if the original owner comes to find you, you don't have to worry, the court will support you.

Zhu Cixiang thought this model was very admirable, so he made slight changes on this basis and issued an order. All criminals in prisons in various places, except those who wanted to be beheaded, were assigned to cultivate wasteland.

It is worth mentioning that in Guangdong alone, thousands of prisoners and their families planted rice in the fields and lived an idyllic life.

These officials, who were dismissed for various crimes such as neglect of government, corruption and bribery, forming cliques for personal gains, and resisting the New Deal, praised His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's benevolent government from time to time in their spare time.
Chapter completed!