Volume 1: Birth! Seven time travelers Chapter 014: The old routine of time travel (Part 2)
For a time traveler, if he wants to do something great, the first thing he needs to solve is the identity problem. For Zhu Youdong, his identity is already very good.
Next, it is people, money and food. These three things have different priorities in different eras.
For example, in the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the first thing to solve was the food problem: as long as there was food, the people would come to the side, and the army would naturally emerge quickly. By the end of the Three Kingdoms period, the first thing to solve was people: in a locally stable environment, with people, a large amount of wasteland could be reclaimed, and with food, more troops could be formed.
So, what about the Ming Dynasty in this era?
Let's talk about population first. According to the official data of the Ming Dynasty in the 30th year of Wanli (1602), the population on the national register was 56.35 million. Considering that there have always been many hidden households in China, and many people under the control of chieftains are not included in the calculation. Most historians of later generations believe that the population of the Ming Dynasty at this time was about 120 to 150 million. The Mughal Empire of the same period had about 88 million people, and the Kingdom of Spain, with the population of all its colonies added together, was about 33 million. Next was the Ottoman Empire with 28 million people, and Japan with 22 million people.
The second is grain. Here are the data from the 30th year of Wanli. In this year, the area of farmland on the national books reached the highest peak since the founding of the country: 11.61 million hectares, equivalent to 1.1 billion mu. And this is only the land on the national books. The actual cultivated land is at least no less than 1.5 billion mu. Of course, the yield of these 1.5 billion or even more arable lands varies greatly due to different natural environments. According to later research, an average of 170 kilograms per mu was taken. Even if calculated according to this, the annual grain output of the Ming Empire reached 255 billion kilograms. Each person can get 1,700 kilograms of grain.
In other words, as long as the distribution system is reasonable, the productivity of this era is enough to ensure that all the people of Ming Dynasty can live a life of plenty.
Well, the distribution system is reasonable, but as for this, well...there's nothing much to say.
The last issue is money.
There is no doubt that the Ming Dynasty, with such a large population and such developed productivity, created huge wealth every year. However, due to the irrationality of the system, this wealth was overly concentrated in the hands of bureaucrats and wealthy businessmen. The country was impoverished and the people were destitute. This caused a variety of problems in the late Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, when Zhu Youdong had his first piece of land and his first group of members, the first thing he thought of was to solve the problem of money.
Therefore, Zhu Youdong specifically named Wei Zhongxian and pulled him out in advance, because he needed this vicious dog to kill some evil people who were blocking his way. Then, he could have a better environment to do some things and make a lot of money.
Of course, the power of the Little Ice Age was getting stronger and stronger, and the reduction in grain production in the north of the Ming Dynasty was a continuous and aggravating objective problem. Therefore, it was a precautionary measure to vigorously promote the high-yield American crops that had been introduced to the Ming Dynasty with the power of the country. Therefore, Cao Huachun had just been arranged to be his companion, and the master and servant had no time to cultivate feelings before he was sent out in a hurry.
…
Putting aside Zhu Youdong's long consideration, let's talk about Wei Zhongxian who was just given a name.
On the morning of the fifth day of the first lunar month, after Zhu Youdong assigned a task to Wei Zhongxian, he very urgently asked Li Shizhong for twenty guards, and went to the Internal Affairs Bureau to ask for two eunuchs who were familiar with accounting. He set out in less than an hour from the moment he left Ciqing Palace.
This famous 900-year-old man in the historical plane was a gangster in his early years. He not only loved gambling, but also liked riding horses. Therefore, he could reach the Red River from the capital in a matter of dozens of miles in a flash.
"I, Liu Yong, greet the great official Wei."
"No thanks. I was just a long-time attendant a few days ago. I was promoted to Fengyu after following His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I am not worthy of your title of a high official. My last name is Wei, and Your Highness gave me the name Zhongxian. You can just call me by my name."
"I dare not. The emissary is someone close to His Highness. I am just helping the emperors look after the manor. How dare I address the emissary by name?"
"It's up to you. Okay, stop talking nonsense. You should know the purpose of our visit this time, right?"
"I know. All the accounts of Honghe Manor are here. Please check them."
"Well, both of you, it's up to you guys to decide what to do next."
The two eunuchs who were checking the accounts went off to do their work, and Wei Zhongxian pulled Liu Yong over to start chatting about family matters.
"Liu Yong, how many years have you been in the palace?"
"To answer the envoy, I am thirty-eight years old this year. I entered the imperial palace twenty-five years ago and was sent to Honghe Manor to be the head of the manor ten years ago."
"Well, you are two years older than me. Who did you choose as your master in the palace?"
"My master is called Meng Xiang. He is currently the Junior Supervisor of the Zhidian Supervisor."
Although the Junior Supervisor of the Palace Supervisor was only a manager among the eunuchs who cleaned the house, and he was also a deputy, in Li Jinzhong's eyes a few days ago, Junior Supervisor Meng was really a person like heaven. But now... Old Wei was with a different person, so his vision was naturally higher. He suddenly felt that this Meng Xiang was really nothing.
However, although he thought so in his heart, Wei Zhongxian did not show any contempt on his face: "Haha, Mr. Meng, I have met you several times before. But he is in a high position and has great power, so he doesn't know me. Well, Liu Yong, tell me, how much land does Honghe Village have, how many tenants, and how much is the annual output?"
"The envoy will report this. As for Honghe Manor, the land on the books is over 2,300 mu. In reality, it is only 1,200 mu."
"What happened? How come half of it is missing?!"
"Well, the Chinese envoy may have been in the palace for a long time and don't know how we are doing outside. The imperial manor is said to be the private property of His Majesty, but in fact many relatives of the royal family rely on the imperial manor to make money. Let's take our Honghe Manor as an example. It started in the time of Grandfather Wu Miao, when it had more than 5,000 acres. After Grandfather Shi Miao ascended the throne, he said that he would return 2,000 acres to Changping Prefecture. As a result, the prefect took this opportunity to cut off nearly 3,000 acres at once, saying that if he cut off one more acre, he would save one more citizen. At that time, the head of the manor reported the situation to the palace, but Grandfather Shi Miao was busy with the Grand Ceremony and had no time to take care of it. Then the manor was half the size.
Later, when His Majesty ascended the throne, he conferred the title of Wuqing Earl on the father of Empress Dowager Cisheng and allocated a piece of imperial farmland to their family. But what a coincidence that this piece of land is right next to our Honghe Farm. The Chinese envoy should be able to think of the rest. "
"Hiss~~" No matter how capable Wei Zhongxian was, he had no other choice: the family of Emperor Wanli's grandfather was notorious for being ignorant and greedy for small profits. Being neighbors with such people was really bad luck.
But, what is the task that my master has assigned to me?
