"Your Majesty, I will first report on the disaster relief matters in Shaanxi!"
After Yuan Keli saluted Chongzhen, his face immediately turned serious: "Your Majesty, the disaster area in Shaanxi covers more than thirty counties in total, covering Xi'an and Fengxiang.
As of the end of last year, the total number of people affected by the disaster was more than 930,000, with more than 850,000 people alive, and more than 80,000 people died...
90% of the people died from direct starvation, and the remaining 10% were caused by fighting, civil commotion, etc.
According to speculation, if the disaster had just begun to be reported to the court for immediate relief, it is estimated that the death toll would have been only about 20% of the current number. "
Hearing the number of people affected by the disaster and starved to death, Chongzhen's eyes grew murderous.
Only now did I remember that it seemed that Huang Liji, the chief minister of the cabinet at the time, was still in prison and had forgotten about this guy.
However, he wanted to tell Yuan Keli that even if there were no concealment from the governors of the three sides and the governor of Shaanxi at that time, the court would not be able to provide immediate relief because the court was also powerless.
Historically, the treatment of Baishui Mingbang and major disasters was delayed until June and July of the first year of Chongzhen, and only two to three hundred thousand taels of silver were allocated, which was a drop in the bucket.
That's why the popular uprising grew stronger and stronger, so that by July and August of the first year of Chongzhen, there were dozens of uprising teams.
"Your Majesty, the imperial court has allocated two million two million taels of silver for disaster relief. Excluding transportation losses, a total of two million taels of food have been obtained.
Including the seizures from Tongguan, Prince Qin's Mansion, and the rich merchants and gentry of Xi'an Prefecture, the total amount of food was 3.8 million shi. After six months of disaster relief, there is currently 1.5 million shi left...
Since the beginning of spring, all the victims have been encouraged to return to their places of origin. Twenty thousand people have been relocated to Guyuan, Dingbian, Dingxi and Luliang each. Now they are all in place.
I have allocated one hundred thousand taels of silver from the Chief Secretary of Shaanxi Province to each of the four regions. The resettlement work is proceeding in an orderly manner, and wasteland reclamation has begun..."
"In addition, a total of 330 standard lakes were built in the three prefectures affected by the disaster, and official roads were repaired..."
"Your Majesty, all disaster relief work and costs have been recorded in a register. The Supervisory Office and the Ministry of Household Affairs can verify it at any time!"
For half a quarter of an hour, Yuan Kelixin rolled through all the data without any pause.
This is simply unimaginable for an old man in his sixties, which shows the level of care.
"Yuan Aiqing's words are serious. I can rest assured that you are doing things!"
"I went from Taiyuan to Fuping and then to Jingyang County, and then around to Xi'an. I saw the disaster relief, lakes, farmland, and official roads along the way. I was very satisfied!"
"Zheng Chongjian, you are the chief envoy of Shaanxi and are in charge of the civil affairs of the province. You must bear in mind the reservoir issue.
Every year, people must be organized to clean up the silt, strengthen the embankments, and dredge the rivers connecting the reservoirs.
This matter has been custom-made, and it will be reported to the court every year. If anyone delays or does not pay attention to this matter, I will kill him! "
"I obey the decree!"
Shaanxi Chief Minister Zheng Chongjian responded immediately.
During this period of time, he followed Yuan Keli to provide disaster relief, dig reservoirs, and survey fertile land. He thought a lot about the reservoir, and basically understood the emperor's intention.
If reservoirs are used well, the cultivated land in Shaanxi will really undergo fundamental changes. At least, it can increase grain production by at least 20 to 30% a year.
If a family has ten acres of land and the yield per mu is two stones, which is twenty stones, then an increase of three will result in six stones.
At a small level, it can be said that one can eat one more bowl of rice a day, and at a large level, it can feed one more person. What an exaggeration for the whole of Shaanxi.
Therefore, the emperor cannot pay too much attention to it.
Seeing Zheng Chongjian's response, Chongzhen looked at Yuan Keli: "Yuan Aiqing, please tell me more about Qingzhang's farmland!"
Seeing Chongzhen mention the matter of Qingzhang's farmland, everyone in the hall looked tense.
During this period, in addition to normal official duties, they all participated in Qingzhang's farming at other times.
The sergeants of Xi'an's Six Guards and the Expedition Army, as well as officials and government servants under the jurisdiction of the two prefectures, etc., were mobilized, and the total number reached more than 20,000.
Qingzhang's results also frightened everyone.
"Your Majesty, the land of the Prince of Qin's Mansion involves Xi'an and Fengxiang, totaling 43,000 hectares. After clearing the land, calculated based on standard acres, the total is 46,530 hectares, which is 3,530 hectares more. .
The fish scale register of the two prefectures recorded 216,680 hectares. After the clearing, the data was 253,220 hectares, an increase of 36,500 hectares. "
Listening to the data, Chongzhen called him a good guy.
After clearing Zhangzhang, the cultivated land of the two mansions turned out to be nearly one more than the land of Prince Qin's mansion.
If the whole of Shaanxi is investigated, what will happen?
The fish scale register registered a total of 510,000 hectares of cultivated land in Shaanxi, including 430,000 hectares of taxable land.
Shaanxi governs eight prefectures including Xi'an, Yan'an, and Fengxiang and one Xing'an Zhili Prefecture, totaling 20 prefectures and 96 counties.
Xi'an and Fengxiang prefectures have seven states and 38 counties, occupying one-third of Shaanxi's area.
If we look at the ratio of Qing Zhang, the entire Shaanxi can produce 80,000 to 100,000 Qing Zhang. What an exaggerated figure.
Among the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty and Beijing, in terms of fish scale registration area, they are Shandong, Henan, South Zhili, North Zhili, Huguang, Zhejiang, and then Shaanxi, ranking seventh.
If calculated according to this ratio in Shaanxi, the cultivated land in the Ming Dynasty may be around 10 million hectares, even if it does not reach the 12.25 million hectares inferred by some later scholars.
This is 1.5 million hectares more than the 8.5 million hectares (official, civilian, and military land) currently registered in the Fish Scale Register.
If all of these taxes were paid, an additional six million shi would be generated in tax revenue a year, and Ming Dynasty would not be so stretched.
"They are really a bunch of ignorant wolves. The richer they are, the stingier they become. The richer they are, the more they like to do evil things.
Since the emperors of the past dynasties are unwilling or dare not move, let me try to find out which one is stronger, my knife or your neck! "
After Chongzhen finished his calculations, he continued with a sneer on his face: "Yuan Aiqing, continue!"
Listening to the emperor's calm voice, everyone in the palace trembled.
The emperor is angry, someone is going to be in trouble!
"Your Majesty, military camp..."
"The military camp will wait a moment."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
After Yuan Keli saluted, he continued: "This time, in the land of Qingzhang and Zhangfu, the upper-grade fertile fields with water sources are 56,350 hectares, the medium-grade barren and thin fields are 93,680 hectares, and the low-grade fertile fields are 93,680 hectares. The high fields without water are one hundred and three thousand two hundred and twenty hectares.”
"But now that more than 300 reservoirs have been built, the number of medium- and low-level fields will decrease, and it is expected to decrease by about 30%. The specific needs have to be finalized."
"Okay, this matter will be determined by local officials and the Land and Resources Administration. After the government determines it, the results will be announced at the county government office.
Anyone who has any objections can report directly to the Chief Secretary, the Inspectorate, and the Governor's Yamen.
Zheng Aiqing, this matter may increase the work of the two departments, but this is a matter related to people's livelihood and must be done well! "
After Zheng Chongjian responded, Chongzhen looked at Yuan Keli: "Yuan Aiqing, how are the preparations for the sale of fertile land?"
