Seeing that Zhu Biao's expression suddenly became excited, Lao Zhu held the lid of the cup and slid it twice, and asked: "Did you find anything inappropriate?"
Zhu Biao shook his head with a smile on his face and said excitedly: "Father, you don't even know how well Nanyang is developing now. The first place I went to was Luzon. After Luzon was rectified with the iron fist of Marquis Chunshan, he had great ambitions." The unscrupulous people were all caught by the Marquis of Shunshen and farmed on the farm. After Fang Xiaoru went there, he adopted a gentle policy, which soon made the people of Luzon feel relieved and at the same time gave Luzon a new lease of life."
"Father, do you know? Now everyone in Luzon has food to eat, and everyone has clothes to wear. The food can fill their stomachs, and the clothes can cover their bodies. No one has to worry about hunger, and everyone can enjoy the happiness of living in peace."
Lao Zhu's eyes were glazed over when he heard this, and he asked in disbelief: "Are you telling the truth? Is Luzon so rich?"
Empress Ma was also shocked and said in surprise: "Beggars have disappeared in the capital in the past two years. I heard that the price of rice is stable and the people can afford rice, so there is barely any fear of famine. But Luzon is just... It’s just a place overseas, how can it be compared with the capital city?”
Zhu Biao smiled and said: "Of course Luzon cannot be compared with the capital city, but its land is fertile and can be harvested three times a year. There is simply too much food for the locals to eat all. Especially... After the people of the Ming Dynasty left, the grain output increased dramatically due to intensive farming. Now the grain sent to the Ming Dynasty from Luzon exceeds tens of millions of dan every year, but can you believe it? Growing grain in Luzon is not something that the people are willing to grow. If it weren't for the fact that the Ming Dynasty strictly ordered the Luzon Governor's Palace to deliver grain to the court every year, I'm afraid even the Luzon Governor's Palace wouldn't have chosen to grow too much food."
"You don't grow any food? Why?" Queen Ma was very puzzled.
Farming and mulberry cultivation in the world has always been based on agriculture and supplemented by mulberry trees. In other words, farming is still mainly about growing food. As for other economic crops, whether it is mulberry, linen, cotton, they exist as auxiliary crops and cannot replace the status of food. But in Luzon, this is not the case.
Even Lao Zhu was dissatisfied and looked up at Zhu Biao. In his opinion, when he was self-sufficient in the Imperial Garden, the most planted thing was rice. As for tea, he also planted it, but he would not plant too much.
Seeing that his father looked bad, Zhu Biao quickly explained: "After returning to my father and mother, this is due to the special environment of Luzon. Luzon will not be short of food at all. If there is no food shortage, we can just reclaim a piece of wasteland." Plant it and harvest it in two months, so you won’t go hungry no matter what.
On the contrary, in Luzon, besides growing food, you can get far more benefits from growing anything else than growing food. "
Empress Ma was fascinated by what she heard, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What do the people of Luzon like to grow?"
Zhu Biao took a breath and replied quickly: "Spices, sugar cane, and rubber, especially spices, are the most popular among the people."
Queen Ma was silent after hearing this. Even she, the master of the harem, knew that these things were much more valuable than food.
Zhu Biao glanced tentatively at his father and mother, and continued: "I don't need to tell you about spices. When you grow them, you get money. Each spice is worth a piece of copper. And even if you grow sugar cane, one acre of land will cost you money." The income is more than ten times that of growing grain. As for rubber, it is also a good thing. Once it is properly planted, the income from one acre of land will probably not be lower than that of sugar cane."
Seeing that Zhu Biao kept talking about money, Lao Zhu became a little unhappy and said in a deep voice: "That's enough. Instead of growing food, mulberry and hemp, we grow these things. Can this spice, sugar cane and rubber be enough to eat? Or can it be worn?" Nuan? I originally thought that Fang Xiaoru was a person of great ability, but I didn't expect that he would be so short-sighted. I am really disappointed."
Zhu Biao was stunned for a moment and said quickly: "Father, don't forget, I just said that the people of Luzon are now well fed and clothed, and there is no need to worry about hunger anymore."
Lao Zhu was stunned for a moment, and then he recalled that Zhu Biao had indeed said such words just now. He frowned and asked in confusion: "But how is this possible? Even if they have enough food to eat, they have all gone to plant spices, sugar cane and rubber. Where do they get the mulberry and linen weaving clothes?"
Zhu Biao hurriedly explained: "Father, ever since the people of Luzon had money, countless Ming merchants continued to ship cloth, porcelain, silk, and even anything they needed to Luzon. . No matter what the people of Luzon need, the Ming maritime merchants can sell them whatever they need. As long as they can afford the money, they can sell everything they need."
After a pause, Zhu Biao whispered: "Father, although the prices of various things in Luzon are much higher than those in the Ming Dynasty, the people of Luzon are the only people I have ever seen who can really afford to wear silk. .”
According to the rules established by Lao Zhu, ordinary people can also wear silk. But in the Ming Dynasty, people who could afford to wear silk were as rare as a feather. Therefore, Lao Zhu's rule has gradually become something that is not understood by people in the past few years. Especially those businessmen, they obviously have enough strength to wear silk, but Lao Zhu won't let them wear it. It is obvious that ordinary people cannot afford silk at all, huh? Lao Zhu still allowed the people to wear silk.
To be honest, Lao Zhu himself knew that some people were criticizing his will, but he, who had always wanted to be strong in his life, still gritted his teeth and had no intention of letting go.
Now when he heard Zhu Biao say that there are real people in the world who can afford to wear silk, Lao Zhu's eyes suddenly widened. He asked in surprise: "Are you telling the truth? Is it true that everyone in Luzon can afford to wear silk?"
Zhu Biao nodded with a smile and said: "As far as I can see with my own eyes, although not everyone can afford it, at least half of them are wearing silk."
After hearing this, Lao Zhu clapped his hands happily, nodded and smiled: "Half is good, half is good, hahaha..."
Han Du knew what Lao Zhu meant by laughing heartily. It was just that the people of Luzon proved to him that his will was correct and the people could indeed afford to wear silk.
Lao Zhu had more in mind. Why couldn't the people of Ming Dynasty afford silk? That's because the herdsmen are trash. If everyone is like Fang Xiaoru, is there any reason why we can't make the people rich?
Good guy, luckily Lao Zhu just thought about this in his heart and didn't say it out loud. If he said it out loud, everyone would probably be speechless at him. Just now you were dissatisfied with Fang Xiaoru's rebellious behavior, but now you are praising him again? The speed of turning the pages of the book is not as fast as the speed of Lao Zhu changing his face.
Lao Zhu stretched out his hand to pull Zhu Biao closer and asked him carefully about Lu Song's experience. The more he listened, the more Lao Zhu nodded frequently. When Zhu Biao mentioned that his mouth was dry, Lao Zhu thoughtfully reached out and handed him a cup of ginseng tea.
"Thank you, father." Zhu Biao took it with both hands, and it was like a ton of ton. It's not that he doesn't understand etiquette, it's just that he really worked hard.
After finishing the cup of ginseng tea in one gulp, Zhu Biao realized what he was drinking and explained with an embarrassed expression: "Father, the emperor and mother, don't blame me. I have been on the ship for a long time, and my habits have not changed yet."
Queen Ma smiled slightly and said nothing.
Lao Zhu even waved his hands generously and said: "It doesn't matter. When I led the troops to fight, I was so thirsty that I even drank blood. What does this mean?"
Then he sighed: "According to your statement, Luzon has now completely turned into a production area of food, spices, sugar cane and rubber. And the people live and work in peace and contentment and live a prosperous life. But haven't they thought about it? Everything they wear and use is all It was transported by a maritime merchant, so what if one day the maritime merchant stops selling it?"
"No." Zhu Biao shook his head directly, "As long as it is profitable, maritime merchants will not let their money go unearned. And there are so many maritime merchants now, even if some people want to hoard goods, it is difficult to do so. Because there are only a few Dozens of maritime merchants do not want to sell. After others get the news, they will definitely organize the sale of the goods to Luzon immediately. Businessmen are all smart people. No one will take such a risk and sell their business when they know clearly that they cannot do anything. Give it to others for free.”
After hearing this, Lao Zhu nodded slightly. Then he mused: "The people focus on farming, and the businessmen provide what they need. It is indeed a good situation..."
Queen Ma continued to ask Zhu Biao about the situation in other places in Southeast Asia, and Zhu Biao told her mother one by one in the order in which he traveled.
Although Queen Ma had extraordinary knowledge, it was only in Ming Dynasty. She also casts a dark eye on the situation overseas. She originally thought that overseas was a barbaric land, but now when she heard Zhu Biao talking about the various differences in the Nanyang Islands, she was suddenly shocked to realize how vast the world is, and she felt that she could not sit in a well and look at the sky.
"What about the Old Port? Isn't the Old Port and Luzon known as the twin pearls of the South Sea?" Queen Ma asked with a smile: "Luzon is so prosperous, what does the Old Port look like?"
Zhu Biao said with a smile: "My son happened to be talking to his mother about the Old Port. The Old Port is different from Luzon. If Luzon makes a fortune by planting spices, sugar cane, rubber and other things, then the Old Port relies entirely on commerce, things like commerce between parties.”
"Business?" Queen Ma asked confused.
Zhu Biao quickly explained, and glared at Han Du complainingly. He was the one who brought him into the ditch, and said: "It's just business. The prosperity of Old Port depends entirely on doing business with Westerners."
"Just by doing business? Is this Old Port as prosperous as Luzon?" Queen Ma felt a little doubtful.
Zhu Biao replied excitedly: "It's even worse! Not only is Old Port completely different from Luzon, it even has a completely different style from Luzon. There are people who come to Old Port from various Western kingdoms. The variety of businessmen is enough to dazzle people.”
Queen Ma nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and then asked with a smile: "Then you have been out for almost a year, and you only traveled around Nanyang?"
This sentence made Lao Zhu couldn't help but look up at Zhu Biao, with dissatisfaction in his expression. As the prince of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Biao was away from the capital. It was fine at the beginning and there was no disturbance, but as time passed, especially when it was time for Zhu Biao to return to Beijing, Zhu Biao did not return to Beijing, which inevitably made some people's hearts surge.
Fortunately, with Lao Zhu in charge, those people did not dare to have other thoughts. But now that Zhu Biao has returned to the capital, the storm has subsided again before the storm rises.
7017k
