Cheng Jingzhou was not only busy himself, but also ordered Xie Ronlang around.
Xie Ronlang's direct superior officer was not Cheng Jingzhou, but this did not delay Cheng Jingzhou from calling people. Until that day, when Xie Ronlang came back from outside, he was already unshaven, which frightened Chang Yaqin.
"Why is it like this?"
Xie Ronlang waved his hand and said feebly: "Don't mention it now. I'm almost exhausted. Is there anything to eat? Give me a bite quickly."
Xie Ronlang basically stayed in a farm for half a month. The conditions were not too bad, but he had too many things to do. Not only did he have to keep an eye on those people working, but he also had to take care of all the details. Copying it down, sorting it out at night, and reporting it to the boss would tire him to death.
Of course, the results of his hard work are also very gratifying.
At present, they have concluded that what kind of fields can grow sweet potatoes, corn, wheat, etc., and have made different distinctions. In this way, they have made a pamphlet, which can be circulated among the people, and can also be used by ordinary people according to the Farming depends on the actual conditions of your own land.
Of course, this is only a small part.
There are also what kind of fields are suitable for growing what kind of medicinal materials, or how to increase rice production, etc. This has been busy for two years.
Emperor Jingwen basically attends one or two court meetings a month now, and the rest of the time, he basically supervises the country as a prince.
Emperor Jingwen was naturally happy to see Hu Bu's achievements.
"Yes, Cheng Jingzhou and Xie Ronlang are worthy of being Mr. Xie Ge's beloved disciples. They are indeed capable."
The prince smiled and said: "Father, now is not the time to praise them. They have already left for the Northland. They want to see if suitable food can be grown there. If they can succeed, then our Ministry of Household Affairs will The tax revenue will be increased by 10%."
The Northland is vast and sparsely populated, mainly because the land yield is extremely low.
Many families of five cultivate 40 to 50 acres of land, but they may not be able to support the whole family because the yield is too low.
Farmers only rely on the land to eat. These three to five acres combined cannot equal the output of one acre of land in Jiangnan. Can we not make them anxious?
It's cold in the north and only one crop of food can be grown a year. This is the main reason for the low yield.
Jiangnan and even the capital basically have two seasons a year, and some places can have three seasons a year.
In the North, it is basically winter for half the year, and during the Chinese New Year, it is so cold that no one goes out. Therefore, the food production cannot increase, and the taxes here are relatively lighter.
Cheng Jingzhou took Xie Ronlang to look at these lands carefully. He heard from some old experts that these lands are quite good and the food grown should be very good. Although they can only be planted for one season, they can have a bumper harvest.
Cheng Jingzhou and Xie Ronlang have been staring at this place for more than a day or two. They had arranged for people to come here as early as last year. Now looking at the experimental farm they built themselves, it still looks like that.
"Sir, although the yield of this rice is not very high, I have to say that the rice produced is delicious. I will make some rice for lunch today and you two can try it."
The rice in the north is indeed better than the rice in the south of the Yangtze River, Cheng Jingzhou also knows this.
But no matter how good it is, one bucket of rice can't be turned into two buckets of rice. What should we do?
Ping An's brain is still good, "Sir, I remember that many wealthy families in our capital like to eat Beidi rice, and the price of this kind of rice is also high in the market."
One sentence reminded Cheng Jingzhou.
"There is a way!"
Beidi rice tastes good, and since rich people like to eat it, we might as well sell it to rich people.
As for ordinary people, they can simply switch to rice from the south, or eat whole grains.
It's just easier said than done, but it's still a bit troublesome in practice.
The two of them have been thinking about this matter for several days. If it is sold to the capital, the price will indeed be high, but there will also be a lot of expenses along the way.
When the carriage and horse fees, loading and unloading fees are sent to the grain store, the clerks and shopkeepers of other grain stores also have to eat, right?
So as a result, the price of rice will have to go up.
This is nothing, after all, a rich man still lacks so little money?
No matter how expensive rice is, they can still afford it.
But the key point is that in this way, the people of the Northland will not get any benefits from this money, and other people will basically make money.
The fact that people in the North live a difficult life cannot be changed.
The two of them thought hard, and Xie Ronlang slapped his forehead: "Brother-in-law, what if we directly ask the court to distribute rice from the North to officials?"
Cheng Jingzhou's eyes lit up, this is a good idea!
Anyway, the court officials all have rice. If this kind of rice is distributed, it will not only save the officials' families some money, but also the court can directly receive the grain, which would be great.
"But the problem is, if the taxed grain is okay, if the people are asked to sell all this rice to the court, they may not be able to part with it."
"What's the point of not giving up? We can directly pull the tax grains sent from other places from the grain depot in the capital. For example, we can exchange it for rice from the North. One pound of rice from the North is exchanged for two pounds of tax grain. , do you think they should change it?"
Cheng Jingzhou nodded, this is indeed a good idea. Of course, they still have to come up with detailed regulations on how to change or how to take it away. Such a big thing cannot be accomplished by just discussing it.
The two of them wrote the memorial and ordered it to be sent to the capital overnight.
In addition to the rice grains from the North, the two of them also focused on the medicinal materials from the North. In particular, they had specifically asked many doctors, and they all said that some medicinal materials from the North had excellent medicinal properties.
If not to say that Cheng Jingzhou and Xie Ronlang were very careful, they even included a list of medicinal materials.
Naturally, the cabinet also saw this memorial, and then asked the prince for instructions. The prince saw that the matter was not big or small, but he still did not dare to make his own decision, so he went to ask Emperor Jingwen for instructions.
After Emperor Jingwen saw the memorial, he asked the prince for his opinion.
"I think it's feasible, but the specific regulations need to be further refined, and we can't be so hasty. In addition, they have attached a list of medicinal materials in the North, but I think we should ask the Imperial Medical Office again if there are any omissions. Replenish."
Emperor Jingwen was very satisfied. His son had his own opinion, which made him happy. His son did not make his own decisions, and he still respected his father in his heart, so Emperor Jingwen felt that he had chosen the right successor.
"Do it as you wish. If this matter is completed, it will be regarded as solving a major issue for the people of the North. In addition, it is mentioned that there are many wastelands in the North, and a group of people can be moved there, then the exiled people will be moved there. If prisoners are moved to the north, if good people are willing to move there, the court can also provide certain preferential treatment." (End of this chapter)
