Xu Da's words relieved Lao Zhu's worries a little. As long as the Ming Dynasty stood still and concentrated its efforts on dealing with the drought, it could overcome no matter how big the obstacle was.
Turning to look at Li Shanchang.
Li Shanchang pondered for a moment and said immediately: "Your Majesty, since drought is inevitable, the court must make preparations now."
"I just want to hear your opinion."
"I think there are three things we can do," Li Shanchang said immediately. "The first is to immediately start counting the granaries everywhere. How much grain is stored must be thoroughly investigated. Only by knowing how much grain is there can we make a clear target. The second is the Ming Dynasty royal grain. You must start purchasing food from now on, even if the price is higher, so that you are prepared. Third, from now on, the court will order localities to repair water conservancy, and encourage everyone to dig wells in places where wells can be dug."
"This is what Lao Cheng said in planning for the country." Lao Zhu nodded with satisfaction.
Li Shanchang is indeed a top counselor, and he can arrange things in an orderly manner in just a few words.
Lao Zhu was about to say something when he suddenly saw Tang He looking thoughtful. Then he asked, "What do you think my second brother has to say?"
Tang He came back to his senses immediately and said softly: "I don't have any high opinions, but I heard Han Du say before that the products in the sea are very rich, and many of them are edible. I was thinking, since there is not enough food, what's the point? Can’t we fish some out of the ocean for emergencies?”
"Sea cargo emergency?" Lao Zhu lowered his head and pondered.
Tang He nodded and immediately said: "Yes, I wouldn't have mentioned it in the past. But now there may not be enough food. Since seafood can be eaten and satiated, why don't we go fishing for some seafood? ?”
"Mr. Xin Guo, is this possible?" Li Shanchang was a little confused. "Since ancient times, people have made a living by fishing on the sea, but we haven't seen how rich they can be. It can be seen that although there are such seafood, but want to It is not easy to salvage it. If there is a drought, the food shortage will be huge, and a little sea food will only be a drop in the bucket."
Lao Zhu's eyes were downcast, and he was weighing things over and over in his mind.
After hearing this, Tang He did not argue with Li Shanchang, but said to the emperor: "The emperor understands Han Du. He may not be able to do things that others cannot do."
Seeing that Li Shanchang was about to speak, Lao Zhu waved his hand to stop a few people from talking.
"Just do what Baishi said. The imperial court first ordered various places to repair water conservancy and dig water wells." Old Zhu paused and continued: "As for the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry, I will let them start purchasing grain."
Looking up at Li Shanchang, Lao Zhu said: "It is the responsibility of the Metropolitan Procuratorate to thoroughly investigate the affairs of the granaries in various places."
"I obey the order." Li Shanchang cupped his fists and bowed slightly.
"As for going out to sea to fish," Lao Zhu hesitated for a moment, "Let me think about it again."
Seeing that the emperor had made a decision, several people stood up and left.
At the end of the day when the wind rises and the sky falls, under everything calm in the court, a few decrees that make people feel normal spread from Jinling to the world.
First of all, the imperial court ordered the Ministry of Works to take the lead in water conservancy repairs in various places. For an agricultural empire, repairing water conservancy is something that is done every year, so no one thinks there is anything wrong with it. In addition to repairing water conservancy projects, there is an extra one this year, requiring all localities to organize labor to dig water wells.
Secondly, the Ministry of Civil Affairs will inspect various prefectures and counties in the name of inspecting officials. This is not a routine government affairs. Although the Ministry of Personnel sometimes inspects officials, it does not do so every year. There is no set number for how often an inspection should take place. Generally, the emperor would ask his officials to go on an inspection if he felt that it had gone too long or the customs had deteriorated.
As soon as the news came out, local officials couldn't help but become nervous. Will they still think deeply about what is going on? Everyone is racking their brains to think of how to pass the test smoothly. If anyone could pay attention to the team sent out by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, they would find that there was actually a supervisory censor inside.
As for the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry, no one paid even more attention to it.
When the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry was first established, it attracted attention for a while, but since it was chased and intercepted by grain merchants last year, no one has paid attention to it anymore. When the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry announced the minimum purchase price of grain, many grain merchants were nervous about it for a while, thinking that the royal family was going to get involved in the grain trade. But later it was discovered that it actually only purchased grain at a fixed price and had no intention of rushing in. The grain merchants were no longer afraid.
They only need to pay a higher price than the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry, and it will be the same as in previous years. It will not be difficult to receive the grain. It’s just that the profits are not as generous as before and are divided thinly.
But the grain merchants are helpless. If they don't raise the purchase price, no farmer will sell grain to them. Even if the purchase price is the same as that of Daming Royal Grain Industry, the farmers still trust the royal family more than them. And farmers are not fools. They know that the royal family has set such a fixed purchase price for grain to prevent them from being squeezed too much by merchants, and it is for their own good. Therefore, even if the purchase price of merchants is one or two cents higher than that of the royal grain industry, farmers will not sell grain to them.
If grain merchants want to receive grain, they must give farmers a price that makes them think it is a good deal. Moreover, grain merchants have to collect grain. If they don't collect grain, there will be no profit. If there is no profit, then it is a loss. After all, there are so many shopkeepers and servants below, and everyone eats and chews money every day.
When they discovered that the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry had begun to raise prices and quietly harvested grain, all the grain merchants did not understand what was going on.
It's not the time of drought yet. What does the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry do with harvesting grain? However, doubts remain doubts. These grain merchants are still very interested when they see the opportunity to make money.
Although there are still several months before the lean period, and the highest food prices have not yet arrived, they can still make money even with the current food prices.
Although if you wait a few more months, you can sell it at a higher price, but the expenses in these few months are not small. After such a replacement, you will actually make no less money from selling now than selling later. How many. The most important thing is that if you sell it now, there is no risk at all.
As grain merchants sold grain to the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry, the price of grain this year began to rise slowly several months earlier than in previous years.
At first, grain merchants thought that the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry would not be able to harvest much grain. Because in the past, the Ming Dynasty Royal Grain Industry gave a fixed price. As for the grain, it was collected if it could be harvested, and if it was not harvested, it was forgotten. It looked like it was harmless to humans and animals.
