Chapter 650: Plantation Slaves Can Eat 120 Jin of Meat a Year

The Chidao from Kaifeng to Jiayu Pass, it is no exaggeration to say, is a wonder. The economic value of this route is far inferior to the one from Kaifeng to Wuchang Prefecture. Wuchang Prefecture is the capital of Huguang and is a key hub connecting nine provinces. If we build from Kaifeng to Wuchang, then land and river transport will also be connected.

This Chidao would definitely be profitable.

The Chidao from the capital to Guangzhou is a Chidao that the Ministry of Works has been thinking about day and night, running through the north and south of the Great Ming, but the leader of the Engineering Party still chose to build toward Jiayu Pass.

This looks like "vanity" for the Emperor's reopening of the Western Regions, but the importance of reopening the Western Regions has been verified repeatedly. Without reopening the Western Regions, the Great Ming will never truly possess the Hetao. Losing the Hetao means losing the gold, silver, copper, and coal mountains of Womagang, losing the coal near Shengzhou and Datong Prefecture, and losing the coal-silver convection. The Great Ming economy will be like it was in the past, a pool of stagnant water.

The Chidao from Kaifeng to Jiayu Pass connects with the Suiyuan-Chidao in Ningxia and Zhongwei. This is not vanity; this is strategic investment.

Wang Chonggu discovered that he had misjudged the situation. He originally thought that to persuade the Emperor to invest in a Chidao that was destined to lose money, the Emperor would never agree, as the Emperor's frugality was known to all under heaven. But with just a simple request, the Emperor agreed immediately, without any hesitation.

Frugality ≠ stinginess. The Emperor is never stingy; frugality is one of the Emperor's eight great virtues.

"Actually, building a Chidao is using this grand construction to distribute wealth downward, especially to the impoverished Shaanxi, Gansu, and other places. It is a form of distribution. Otherwise, the poor laborers in these places will never feel the spring breeze of the Great Ming's new policies." Zhu Yijun explained again why he wanted to build the Kaifeng to Jiayu Pass Chidao first, rather than the Kaifeng to Wuchang Prefecture Chidao, which had higher economic value.

In Zhang Juzheng's theory of distribution, distribution is discussed in detail. The massive amount of silver obtained from opening the seas will be distributed to the interior through grand construction.

A bowl of water can never be held level. The soldiers and civilians in the Three Borders of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Ningxia are really too miserable.

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Juzheng felt a little ashamed. He actually hadn't thought of this level. Even though he was the author of the theory of distribution, in practical application, because the theory had been proposed for a short time, out of habit, Zhang Juzheng only noticed the Emperor's determination to reopen the Western Regions and hadn't thought about the importance of distribution.

Theory is theory, and practice is practice. Zhang Juzheng himself wrote the first volume of the theory of contradiction and class, and the second volume of distribution, but in practice, it was still very difficult to achieve the unity of knowledge and action. After all, in the first fifty years, Zhang Juzheng was a very standard Confucian scholar.

But the Emperor achieved the unity of knowledge and action.

Even if evaluated by Confucian values, the Emperor was a benevolent and holy monarch who cared for all the people.

Sometimes Zhang Juzheng looked at the Emperor and felt a sense of trance. Is this really cultivated by himself? Is he that strong?

"Your Majesty, Xiong Tingbi is about to return to the capital." Zhang Juzheng mentioned a small matter. Xiong Tingbi, the young man praised by the people of Suiyuan, was returning to the capital from Wuyuan Prefecture.

"Is Xiong Da coming back? Legends about him are everywhere on the grassland. Very good. After arriving in the capital, summon him to the Tonghe Palace for an audience." Zhu Yijun was quite doting on his little junior brother. Xiong Tingbi's character had only one flaw, and that was his hatred of evil. It would be fine if he just hated evil, but he had to say it out loud and take action to correct it. Such people are usually gentlemen, but gentlemen don't live long in the officialdom.

Zhu Yijun liked Xiong Tingbi's innocent heart. Even though he studied under Zhang Juzheng, Xiong Tingbi still hadn't learned to be slick, nor had he learned to be vengeful. These "shortcomings" of Zhang Juzheng were really things Xiong Tingbi couldn't learn.

Some things can't be learned; you have to stumble before you can learn.

"He originally planned to return to the capital before the Spring Festival to pay New Year's greetings to Your Majesty, but halfway through, he encountered an injustice and was delayed for some time." Zhang Juzheng mentioned Xiong Tingbi, naturally because Xiong Tingbi was very close to the Emperor, actually for the sake of the theory of setting things right.

The legends on the grassland were too bizarre. This time, rumors were flying on the grassland again. On his way back to the capital, Xiong Tingbi encountered a case concerning customs.

There was a custom on the grassland called "snatching marriage." The mother of Genghis Khan, Temujin, was snatched by his father, Yesugei. The Merkit tribe snatched Temujin's wife again. Later, Temujin snatched his wife back. On the way back, Temujin's wife gave birth to her first child, Jochi, which means "guest."

This was a bad custom and also the root cause of conquest and slaughter between tribes. And Xiong Tingbi encountered a case of snatching marriage on his way back to the capital. Xiong Tingbi led people to drive away the snatchers.

This was originally a trivial matter, but it was soon processed into a legendary story, saying that Xiong Tingbi shot an arrow at the sky. The arrow didn't hit, but suddenly there was a thunderclap in the clear winter sky. A loud bang struck the snatchers, and everyone immediately reined in their horses and left, fleeing in a rout. After fleeing, Xiong Tingbi said: "Snatching marriage is not allowed on the grassland."

The whole story was basically detached from the facts. The thunderous sound was the Tiger-Crouching Cannon fired by the accompanying Embroidered Uniform Guards to scare away the raiding thieves, not some thunderclap. Xiong Tingbi had never said that snatching marriage was not allowed on the grassland; he just saw it and drew his sword to help when he saw an injustice.

"This... even if I issue an imperial bulletin to explain the situation, the grassland people can't read the bulletin. Not many grassland people can read." Zhu Yijun said with a smile, "This is quite good. The reason why such rumors are widely believed is entirely due to the grassland people's own hatred of the bad custom of snatching marriage. Xiong Da just happened to be there."

Any legendary story has a background of circulation. The circulation of "The Legendary Stories of Xiong Tingbi" was entirely because the grassland people couldn't stand this bad environment themselves, so they entrusted it to Xiong Tingbi, a kind of yearning for something beautiful.

The story was made up, but the emotions resorted to were real.

"Then, didn't the girl who was saved offer herself in marriage?" Zhu Yijun asked curiously.

Zhang Juzheng was stunned for a moment and said, "If that were the case, wouldn't Xiong Tingbi have become a snatcher of marriage?"

"That's true." Zhu Yijun smiled and shook his head, saying, "Very good. This is cultural convergence and also a part of royal transformation."

"Something happened at the Longjiang Shipyard in the Southern Yamen before the New Year. A master craftsman hanged himself at home." Minister of Works Wang Daokun said with a heavy face, "Looking at the whole thing after the fact, it is very simple, but being in the situation, it is inevitably a bit confusing."

The competition methods between folk workshops were extremely vicious. In order to gain a competitive advantage, they used all kinds of means, among which was an aggressive poaching behavior.

The means of poaching were very simple and crude. They used labor remuneration far higher than the market to poach key figures in key projects of the other party, making all kinds of promises. As long as they poached the other party, it was a success. All promises were generally not fulfilled, because the poaching party didn't need this key figure or high-value target; they just didn't want the other party to have them.

Rather than making progress themselves, it is better to destroy the enemy.

This master craftsman was also a key figure in the Longjiang Shipyard. He was the general agent of a shipyard, responsible for the construction of five-masted ocean-going ships. He was an old craftsman who had been there since the beginning of the reconstruction of the Longjiang Shipyard. The master craftsman was attracted by the high remuneration. The most critical thing was the other party's family school, which had famous scholars sitting in the hall. This was a condition that the craftsman school did not have.

For his grandson's schooling, the master craftsman left the Longjiang Shipyard.

The tragedy began.

Upon arriving at the folk workshop, the master craftsman discovered that the folk workshop had no ability to produce five-masted ocean-going ships at all. The big cake drawn had no possibility of realization, because five-masted ocean-going ships were not a necessity for folk merchant ships. Profit-oriented folk workshops would not invest heavily in projects that might not have returns.

The previous promises were fulfilled, but the master craftsman discovered that his skills could not be displayed at all. Not only that, half a year later, the folk workshop dismissed the master craftsman on the grounds of being unsuitable, and the previous promises became a mirage.

In utter helplessness, the master craftsman could only find his own way to survive. After tossing and turning, he returned to the Longjiang Shipyard.

Zhao Shizhen, the general manager of the shipyard, found the master craftsman. After a face-to-face talk, he hired the master craftsman back to the shipyard. But the master craftsman returned to the official factory, but couldn't stand the pointing and whispering of others, and finally hanged himself.

Zhao Shizhen was furious. After a strict investigation, he found that it was not only because of the pointing and whispering of the craftsmen, but also because the master craftsman owed a lot of debt after leaving the official factory.

Nanjing is the secondary capital, and the secondary capital is also a capital. Living in the capital is not easy. The master craftsman lived in official quarters in the official factory. After arriving at the folk workshop, he had to live in folk quarters. He bought a house, and the master craftsman's savings of many years were emptied, and he still owed a lot of money.

With multiple emotions superimposed, the master craftsman finally reached a dead end.

Wang Chonggu frowned and said, "No, he could have told Zhao Shizhen if he had difficulties. The official factory has preferential treatment for craftsmen above the master craftsman level. There are only seventeen master craftsmen in the Longjiang Shipyard. He could have found Zhao Shizhen to draw a part. Could Zhao Shizhen watch a craftsman who had contributed to the restoration of the official factory be bullied by villains?"

This is the humanistic care of the official factory, and it is also a means for the official factory to win over craftsmen. There are 23,000 craftsmen in the Longjiang Shipyard, and only seventeen master craftsmen. These master craftsmen are basically the backbone of the official factory. Extra preferential treatment is to reward and punish clearly, so that all craftsmen know that the official factory is my home, not just empty talk.

"This master craftsman was at a dead end and begged to the Longjiang Shipyard. After a face-to-face talk, General Manager Zhao Shizhen rehired him. This is preferential treatment. He just owed some money. How much did he owe?" Wang Chonggu asked with a frown.

"One hundred and twenty taels of silver." Wang Daokun answered this question.

Wang Chonggu's face had already become cold and stern, saying, "Only this much? Zhao Shizhen wouldn't even give this? Don't talk about any laws. I know the laws of the official factory much better than him! This official factory has only been established for ten years, and this problem of rigidity is so obvious!"

"There is a suicide note here."

Zhao Shizhen certainly didn't lack humanistic care. Even the rehiring of the master craftsman was Zhao Shizhen's own initiative. It was just that Zhao Shizhen didn't know about this debt. It was only after the person took his own life that Zhao Shizhen found out. Unfortunately, everything was too late.

"Therefore, this case should be published in the imperial bulletin so that the general managers, deputy managers, assistant managers, and big heads of the official factories can see it and take it as a warning. There is no need to write the name." Zhu Yijun pondered repeatedly and finally decided to publish it in the imperial bulletin to inform all craftsmen not to be deceived, but still not to write the master craftsman's name, which was considered to preserve his face.

"Who did this? Dare to poach my people!" Zhu Yijun clenched his fists and said, "The southern tour is imminent. I want to see if my 'dragon crossing the river' can suppress these 'local snakes'!"

The Longjiang Shipyard, the inner treasury has half the shares! Breaking the official factory's project and harming the Great Ming shipbuilding industry by losing a master craftsman, Zhu Yijun must meet these people in person when he arrives at the Southern Yamen! If a tiger doesn't show its power, someone will think you are a sick cat.

As the biggest powerful and wealthy person in the world, if Zhu Yijun doesn't do something, what kind of Emperor is he! Any cat or dog wants to have ideas about his industry.

Must strike a heavy blow!

"The Wang clan of Langya in Taicang." Wang Daokun briefly explained the situation. The Wang clan of Langya in Taicang is the main family of the Wang clan of Langya, and it has great influence in the Southern Yamen. Even if it is no longer the era of powerful families, Wang Yangming is also a branch of the Wang clan of Langya, the Wang clan of Sankuai.

"I have noted it." Zhu Yijun said very calmly. This southern tour had gained another goal. Because this Chidao was to be built, the inner treasury would immediately shrink. It was unsettling to have silver piled up, but even more unsettling not to have silver piled up!

Being noted in the Emperor's little notebook, it is absolutely impossible to escape. It is best that this Wang clan of Langya in Taicang abides by the law and has no dirty business at the bottom, otherwise, they will definitely be turned upside down by the Emperor.

"Since the 'du shu pang tong' (comprehensive understanding of numbers and degrees), the Great Ming has made many breakthrough progress. Specifically, there is the precision of shipbuilding in the shipyard, the temperature of breeding in agriculture, the killing of green, and the extremely important land measurement, clarification of the tax base, tax reform, drawing of maps, and the promotion of arithmetic in culture and education, etc. These are all the achievements of 'du shu pang tong'." Wang Guoguang was recounting his achievements.

"Du shu pang tong" is to measure the infinite things in the world with specific numbers, so that one can understand by analogy and make the Great Ming better.

This is a very important part of the Wanli Reform and is the application and practice of the Great Ming's mathematical thought.

"Your Majesty, the theory of contradiction tells me that everything has two sides. It not only has advantages but also disadvantages. The evil consequences of 'du shu pang tong' are also becoming prominent." Wang Guoguang changed the subject and turned to self-criticism, personally telling the Emperor that "du shu pang tong" not only has advantages but also disadvantages.

Zhu Yijun frowned and asked, "For example?"

Wang Guoguang said calmly, "For example, in the plantations of the New World, slaves can eat 120 jin of meat and 400 jin of various grains a year. If calculated according to 6 jin of feed for 1 jin of meat, this slave can eat 1120 jin of grain a year. What an incredible thing this is."

"Isn't this a typical rumor?" Zhu Yijun spread his hands and said with disdain, "The consumption of a capital garrison elite soldier is about 1.5 jin of rice, four taels of meat, three qian of oil, three qian of salt, and one jin of vegetables a day. Converted, it is 2.4 jin of rice a day, and 876 jin of grain a year."

"So, the capital garrison elite soldiers are not eating as well as the slaves!"

Zhu Yijun didn't believe it. Zhu Yijun knew the food of the capital garrison elite soldiers. This food was already the best treatment in the entire Great Ming. This was still the treatment that could be provided under the momentum of the Great Ming. Zhu Yijun went to the Northern Camp every day, and he knew exactly what the soldiers ate.

Now, the empire's accountant told Zhu Yijun that slaves ate better than the Great Ming elite soldiers. Zhu Yijun didn't believe it.

"If they really ate so well, could they still be thin as a skeleton?" Zhu Yijun hadn't seen slaves. This believer, Li Shunchen, would repent for the evil he did in the New World. Of course, repentance is repentance, but exploitation is still exploitation.

"But this is true, at least in terms of 'du shu pang tong', this is true." Wang Guoguang took a deep breath and said, "This is an account book of a plantation. The total output minus the amount sold, minus the consumption of the plantation slave owner, finally averaged all the people in the manor, including slaves, and thus obtained such a bizarre number."

In journalism, you get a high score, and in statistics, you also get a high score. As long as you change the definition, you will find that numbers can also lie.

Wang Guoguang continued, "This looks very reasonable, but in fact, this algorithm is not representative. First of all, the efficiency of this plantation is excellent, belonging to the fertile land where you can harvest just by sowing seeds. Secondly, there is fraud in the accounts. Just by moving the abacus a little, you will find that this is an account made deliberately to avoid tax collection by tax officials. The income and expenditure do not match. Also, there is brewing in the plantation, but the brewing is not in the accounts."

"Finally, averaging like this is wrong."

The samples selected in the accounts are single, and they are isolated cases with good efficiency. To avoid tax, they faked sales, and the grain for brewing was not calculated, so they cannot be averaged.

"In fact, the slaves in this plantation eat meat less than once a year, even though they are the ones who produce it, and the grain consumption of one person a year is about 200 jin, and the salt is coarse salt, which is less than half a qian a day."

"When dealing with state affairs specifically, we cannot blindly believe in statistical figures. We need to understand deeply and judge comprehensively." Wang Guoguang made the final summary.

Coarse salt is a kind of table salt that the Emperor cannot contact at all. It is about the product after seawater is directly dried. This kind of salt is extremely bitter, but you have to eat salt no matter how bitter it is. If you don't eat salt, you won't have the strength to work. If you don't work, the slave owner's whip will come.

Every time Zhu Yijun inspected the army, there would be a large bowl of herbal tea. The herbal tea is sweet and salty, because it needs to replenish sugar and salt. A large bowl of herbal tea is also the supreme drink for the poor and suffering people with heavy physical labor among the people. Of course, it is best to be iced.

"200 jin, people, will really starve to death..." Zhu Yijun didn't know nothing about farming. An adult in the Great Ming had to consume 400 jin of grain a year. As long as the grain output of a place was lower than this standard and not supplemented, a famine would immediately break out, and many, many people would starve to death. If it was lower than 300 jin, there would be a civil uprising.

Average is average, and there is also a most critical issue here, which is distribution.

"Wine and meat rot behind vermilion doors, while bones of the frozen lie on the road." This has never changed through the ages.

Zhu Yijun thought of the Baoqi Hall of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty. Before the harvest, the eunuchs of the Baoqi Hall would transplant double-eared wheat to the Baoqi Hall in order to coax Emperor Renzong to be happy and to create an auspicious omen, finally creating a production myth.

"The murder case of the Annamese in Guangxi has been investigated clearly by Wang Jiaping, the Provincial Governor of Liangguang." Minister of Justice Wang Chonggu mentioned a case.

The Annamese killed Annamese in the Great Ming. The case was not complicated. The Annamese would sneak into the Great Ming to cut sugarcane and trees. Cutting sugarcane was 30 wen a day, and cutting trees was 20 wen a day. It was that kind of flying money, but the big head would draw 15 wen and 10 wen, so it was a half-and-half draw.

This draw was already extremely high. The big head was greedy and wanted to withhold the wages for three months.

"Was the big head killed, or was the coolie who cut trees and sugarcane killed?" Zhu Yijun asked about the identity of the victim. After discovering the corpse, it was difficult for the Great Ming Yamen to figure out the specific identity. The memorial Zhu Yijun received in October last year was extremely vague, only knowing that it was an internal strife due to labor remuneration.

"The big head killed the coolie." Wang Chonggu said with an extremely ugly face, "This big head, relying on his relatives in the Great Ming and being able to find work, directly drew half of the commission and didn't pay. That would be it, but someone resisted, and this big head incited other coolies to kill the coolie who dared to resist."

"The big head promised that if the thorn was killed, the wages would be paid. As a result, the thorn was killed, but the big head still didn't pay the wages."

"This big head fled back to Annam. Wang Jiaping sent a letter to the Li Yue usurping dynasty, asking the Annam country to hand over the criminal. Committing a crime on Great Ming territory, he should be punished according to the law. If not handed over, it's fine to be beheaded in Annam territory and the head sent to Guangzhou Prefecture."

The reason it was discussed at the court session was because this criminal had run back.

Wang Jiaping asking for the criminal was a matter of course in Wang Jiaping's view, but in Annam's view, it was Annamese killing Annamese, and the Great Ming also wanted to manage it? Was it managing too broadly?

"How did Annam respond?" Zhu Yijun frowned and said, "If this big head is not punished according to the law, those big heads in Guangxi will follow suit, and Guangxi will also be affected."

Zhu Yijun had taken a step back before, not requiring Annam to hand over the person. It would be fine if they beheaded him themselves. In short, he must be punished according to the law. The production activities in Guangxi could not be destroyed.

Wan Shihe, the Minister of Rites, said in a low voice, "The Li Yue usurping dynasty of Annam is playing dumb and not responding."

The reason they were called the usurping dynasty was that the King of Annam called himself Emperor internally and claimed to be a subject to the Great Ming externally. Not responding and pretending nothing happened, this awkward reaction of Annam was also the relatively embarrassing status quo of Annam.

If they really listened to the Great Ming in everything, in a few years, the Annamese common people would dare to go to the Great Ming capital to file a complaint to the Emperor and beat the drum of the Dengwen; but if they didn't listen, the Great Ming would use military deterrence again. For the sake of a scum, it was not worth it.

Therefore, they could only not respond.

"Refusing to hand over the criminal and refusing to punish him according to the law! Issue an imperial decree to the Annam Regional Military Commissioner. When the imperial decree arrives, within one month, the criminal must be transferred to Guangzhou Prefecture, otherwise, bear the consequences!" Zhu Yijun spat out a turbid breath and said, "If this Annam insists on being like Mang Yingli, I will fulfill them!"

Was the Great Ming's request excessive? From a legal point of view, Annam had no kingdom; Annam was a subordinate territory. The Annam Regional Military Commissioner, the Mo clan, was a hereditary local official of the second rank of the Great Ming. As a subordinate territory, the imperial court's request to transfer a criminal was reasonable; from a legal point of view, Annamese killing Annamese, the Great Ming was willing to investigate the case and willing to give justice, which was to maintain fairness.

In the Great Ming's view, it was a completely reasonable request, but in Annam's view, it was the Great Ming stretching its hand too long, and they didn't dare to explicitly resist, so they had to play dumb, but Zhu Yijun didn't give them a chance to play dumb. Either hand over the criminal, or die together with the criminal.

Sugarcane in Guangxi is a pillar industry and cannot be destroyed.

The first court session of the 13th year of Wanli was exceptionally long, so much so that the Prince of Lu, Zhu Yiliu, who followed the Emperor to listen to government affairs, yawned, and it finally ended. Because of his status as the guardian of the state, Zhu Yiliu had to get up early to listen to government affairs.

"Finally over." Zhu Yiliu stretched, looked left and right, and said in a low voice, "If the imperial brother lets me supervise the state, I will take action against those lowly Confucian scholars who wag their tongues! The gatherings in the Great Ming capital are too free!"

Zhu Yiliu intended to advance by retreating, trying to use absurdity to achieve his ambition of not staying behind and going to the south with his imperial brother. He chose a very clear target: the lowly Confucian scholars who wagged their tongues.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment and said, "Do as you please. Since you are left behind, as long as it's not the stipulated vassal princes, foreign affairs, or major reform events, all administrative affairs are up to you."

"I don't take action against them because I'm afraid they will double it. Things like covering mouths are easily turned into 'roadside eyes' by bureaucrats. You take action, and it's just right."

"I support you."

Zhu Yiliu's eyes lit up, and he immediately said, "That's fine, I'll do this Northern Yamen guardianship!" ===== CHAPTER 651 =====

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"Could it be that the Great Ming will also walk for a lifetime and still not reach the Western Regions?"

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