Chapter 976 The yield per mu is too low, a problem for the Agricultural College

Style: Historical Author: Winter plum blossoms startle the snowWords: 3053Update Time: 24/02/20 16:17:24
The King of Zhou was gone, and Zhu Youhui became a reclusive monk because of the White Lotus Sect Mo'er, while Zhu Youdun was trapped in the capital. Although Zhu Yunwen gave birth to Feng and Zhu Youdun because Princess Zhou was the daughter of Feng Sheng. Zhu Youdou and others took some care of him, but because there were so many family members, it was not a long-term solution to sit back and relax. As the head of the family, Zhu Youdou could only shoulder the heavy responsibility of supporting the family.

Zhu Youdun knew that Zhu Youhuan had left the capital, and understood his infatuated brother to the end. He chose to forgive and created the drama "Fireworks Dream" based on it. After Feng saw it, he took the drama to Murong from the art troupe. Jing'er arranged the audition and it was a great success.

The art troupe encourages creation and has a complete incentive system. The income from successfully performed dramas will be distributed to the writers and creators of dramas in a certain proportion. Accordingly, Murong Jing'er handed over three hundred taels of banknotes to Feng, and personally visited Zhu Youdun, sincerely inviting him to cooperate with the art troupe to create dramas and operas.

Zhu Youdou did not refuse. A large family always needs to eat, and the artistic troupe led by Murong Jing'er is backed by the palace, so cooperation with her does not count as a bargain.

After hitting it off, the art troupe found a way out, recruiting talents to create plays, and the art troupe was responsible for the arrangement and performance. Zhu Youdun, on the other hand, used his intelligence and his study and experience of opera to create one drama after another that shocked the capital, attracting the love of countless people.

Zhu Yunwen saw a way from here, a way to solve the problem of the vassal king's overwhelming power.

Yes, the reduction of vassalage has been completed, but what is removed from the reduction of vassalage is only the land, staff and guards of these vassal kings. Their treatment has not been removed. The vassal king also has the prince, and the prince, and behind the prince there is the town. General of the country, general of the country, general of the country, lieutenant of the country, lieutenant of the country, lieutenant of the country...

In addition to these, there is also the princess's family, which is hereditary and will last forever. Zhu Yunqi can raise these vassal kings and princes. There are few people, but he can wait until his son, grandson, and great-grandson. Eight generations, who can still afford to support these people?

Zhu Yuanzhang attached too much importance to relatives. It was no problem to set these rules at first, and it was no problem to raise these people. But the problem is that you have to come to an end. After eight generations, they will have little relationship with the old Zhu family. You still have two people every year. How can this be done with a hundred stones?

Zhu Youdun embarked on the road of opera creation, which reminded Zhu Yunwen that royal family members can do what they should do like ordinary people. Those who can be officials should become officials, and those who cannot be officials can go into business, that is, Those who cannot be officials or do business should not be idle. They go out to work and make money. It is inappropriate for the court to support them all the time.

Considering the vassal king's backlash, Zhu Yunwen did not directly adjust the issue of salary distribution for the imperial clan and his descendants. Instead, he tried to find a way out first and then solve this thorny problem.

Zhu Yunwen was very determined that the roots of Zhu in the world must be eradicated by his own hands.

"Go to the Agricultural College."

Zhu Yunwen didn't explain much.

Dean Sheng Zhong and Vice Dean He Taiwu of the College of Agriculture accompanied Zhu Yunwen and introduced the development status of the College of Agriculture.

Seeing that He Taiwu was worried, Zhu Yunwen asked, "I'm here. If you have anything to say, just tell me. You are engaged in agriculture, so there is no need to make a fuss about your face."

He Taiwu apologized and said: "Your Majesty, the Agricultural College has devoted all its efforts in research just to increase the yield per mu. Last winter, the Agricultural College arranged supervisors to go to the northern and southern provinces to investigate the yield per mu. They found that the yield per mu in the south was acceptable, but in the north. The birth is a bit scary.”

"Oh, what do you say?"

Zhu Yunwen frowned.

He Taiwu lamented: "Taking it to Northern Zhili, although many households have fifty acres of land, their average yield per mu is only three dou six liters, and the total grain is eighteen shi. Calculated according to the tax of fifteen per cent, the amount in hand is There are sixteen shi and eight buckets of grain left. The price of grain in the north has dropped. Sixteen shi and eight buckets of grain is only about seven taels. Putting aside the household expenses, purchase expenses, and illness expenses, at the end of the year, there is not much left. , there is even a proverb among the people that those who collect four dou are said to have good years. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the emperor to lower the agricultural tax."

Zhu Yunwen frowned: "The yield per mu is not even one stone?"

You work so hard on one acre of land, but you can’t even produce 150 kilograms of grain? Counting four buckets, it’s only sixty kilograms. Isn’t this too little?

Isn’t it said that one to two stones per acre of land in the north and two to three stones per acre in the south? Why are there so few?

He Taiwu said solemnly: "This is the result of the supervisor's investigation. Although it cannot represent all the yields per mu in the north, it should still be credible in Beizhili."

Zhu Yunwen looked at Yang Shiqi.

Yang Shiqi sighed: "Your Majesty, there is less rain and more drought in the North. Especially the spring rain is as expensive as oil. Although there are water conservancy channels and ponds, it cannot relieve all the farmland water. A slight drought will easily reduce production. Last year, the summer harvest in the North did reduce a lot of production. , compared with the fifth year of Jianwen, it has decreased by at least 20%, but due to the increase in grain production in the southern provinces, it has boosted the annual tax revenue, covering up the decline in yield per mu in the north."

Zhu Yunwen nodded. No wonder the Ministry of Revenue's finances have maintained a steady upward trend in the past two years without much fluctuation. It turns out that the increase in production in the south has made up for the decrease in production in the north.

However, after working hard for an acre of land for more than half a year, it is really sad to not even get a harvest of 60 kilograms. You must know that to get a harvest of 60 kilograms, you need to sow 25 kilograms of seeds. Leaving aside the seeds, one acre of grain in half a year would only produce 35 kilograms of grain. This amount was enough for a young man to work for a month.

Reduce taxes?

Zhu Yunwen did not dare to agree easily.

Now the imperial court has accumulated more than double the finances during the Hongwu period by relying on the method of taxing one for every fifteen years, and these finances have also become Zhu Yunwen's strategy to promote the new army, concrete roads, dredging the Huitong River, and building a new capital, south Once the foundation of the Western Expedition and the great development of culture and education is shaken, many innovations will lose financial support. By then, not only will governance be hampered, but even the New Deal will lose its driving force!

The fifteen-year tax has always been directly related to the efficient operation of the court and the promotion of innovation. Zhu Yunwen will never change this tax rate until the commercial tax ratio does not exceed one-third.

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But if they don't change, a lot of people will really suffer. Even if they guard fifty acres of land, even if they work hard, even if they wear the stars and the moon, in the end, they will still have very little leftover.

Zhu Yunwen overestimated the local yield per mu, and also overestimated the lives of the people. The immigrants he met during his northern tour lived a good life because they brought a certain amount of supplies and a certain amount of surplus with them when they moved. , plus they were given everything the court promised them, so it seemed that their immigration experience was okay.

But times have changed, and when the initial surplus is used up, the people can only rely on land to obtain new surplus. If the land is not provided, then they can only remain poor!

Zhu Yunwen felt a little heavy in his heart. The reality was far crueler than he imagined.

Hu Hui saw Zhu Yunwen's worries and said to Sheng Zhong and He Taiwu: "The yield per mu in the north is so low. Isn't it a problem that the agricultural college should solve?"

Zhu Yunwen's eyes lit up. Yes, the root of the problem is that the yield per mu is too low. As long as this problem is solved, the people will still have a surplus after 15% tax.

He Taiwu looked at Sheng Zhong, and Sheng Zhong lamented: "Your Majesty, since the establishment of the Agricultural College, it has indeed developed many methods to increase the yield per mu. It has also set up experimental fields outside the capital, proving that these methods are effective, such as Deep plowing, fertilization, and even some pesticides have been developed, which can be sprayed to eliminate some pests, which is very helpful in increasing the yield per mu. The wheat harvest in the experimental field is one stone, five buckets to two stones, and the rice harvest is two stones, five buckets, to three stones."

Zhu Yunwen knew the existence of the experimental field because it was the royal family's farm, his own land...

Yang Shiqi quickly asked: "Since there is such a good method, why not promote it?"

Sheng Zhong was helpless: "Yang Ge, why don't the Agricultural College want to promote it, but we have promoted it, but no one cares about us, and no one uses our methods. As far as deep farming tools are concerned, ordinary people are not willing to spend this money to buy them. .”

He Taiwu nodded repeatedly, led Zhu Yunwen and others into a room, pointed to an iron plow inside and said: "This is an iron shaft plow made by the Agricultural College. It is an improvement on the curved shaft plow, without the plow arrows. Dig a hole in the middle of the plow tip, and use wooden wedges to fix the iron shaft and adjust the depth. It is durable and easy to operate. It sold for 800 coins, but no one came to buy it."

"Eight hundred cents is not low."

Hu Xi sighed.

He Taiwu knocked on the iron plow: "Leave aside the cost of wood and iron, consider transportation and craftsman work, eight hundred cash is just the cost, but the Agricultural College did not make a penny. Compared with the price of Quyuan plow, which is only one or two and five yuan. , already a low price.”

"Then why don't people buy it?"

Yang Shiqi asked.

He Taiwu sighed: "Because the court issued farm tools once, and the plowing tools were not broken, and the immigrants also brought farm tools with them when they came, they would rather use backward farm tools that cannot be used for deep plowing than spend 800 yuan to try it." try."

Sheng Zhong nodded: "It's not just a plow. The Agricultural College reproduced the three-legged columbine of the Han Dynasty and made improvements. It was pulled by an ox, one person led the ox, and another person supported the columbine. Fifty acres of land can be sown in one day. But that's right. Because there are no farmers to buy it, the dusty warehouse, let alone the medicine, is so cold that no one cares about it."

Zhu Yunwen understood that ordinary people were very conservative. Even if their farm tools were worn out, they would have to be repaired three or five times. It was very difficult for them to spend hundreds of coins to replace their farm tools.

But no matter how difficult it is, this kind of thing must be done!

In the absence of high-yielding seeds and hybrid rice, Ming Dynasty had to expand the yield per mu if it wanted to increase farmers' income, stabilize agricultural taxes, and consolidate its financial foundation.

"If deep farming is implemented, are you sure that the yield per mu will be increased?"

Zhu Yunwen asked.

He Taiwu nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty, the Agricultural College has done a comparison. Compared with the yield per mu of deep tillage, it can be increased by at least two to three bushels. If combined with fertilizers and chemicals, it can even increase by five bushels."

Zhu Yunwen pondered for a long time, nodded and said: "In this case, the pearl cannot be covered with dust. I will handle this matter."