Sure enough, I heard Xue Guoguan say after a pause: "Thanks to sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn and other supplies as supplements. In addition, the hybrid rice produced by the Agriculture Department seems to have a higher yield. In addition, His Majesty has been By arranging to purchase grain from Nanyang, we can squeeze out some of it for the war between the two places without famine."
The wars between the two places he was referring to were the Liaodong War and the Southwest Chieftain Rebellion. But in terms of relative scale, Liaodong is much larger. Now, although the Jianlu have been wiped out, the Japanese have come to cause trouble again, and the food used in the war is still indispensable.
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen immediately asked: "How is the immigration and reclamation going?"
"I have received His Majesty's decree before!" Xue Guoguan continued to reply, "Together with Governor Jiliao, arrangements have been made for the first batch of immigrants to go to Liaodong. According to my report, most of these first batch of immigrants have been to Liaodong before, or are from Relatives and friends who have returned from Liaodong, neighbors and family members, etc.”
Emperor Chongzhen nodded, which is understandable. As far as the people in the pass are concerned, Liaodong is bitterly cold, so they have inertial thinking. However, there are actually many rivers in Liaodong, and the surrounding areas have become very good grain fields. Although the weather is colder, there is no problem in planting one season a year. Those people who have been to Liaodong and have seen it on the spot naturally know this. It is not surprising that they would become the first immigrants.
"We still need to strengthen immigration!" Emperor Chongzhen made a decision. "With the peace and prosperity of the country in the future, it is foreseeable that the population of Ming Dynasty will increase sharply. Immigration must be done to Liaodong, Hetao and North Korea to solve the problem of food for the people. This matter, But there’s no room for carelessness.”
"I obey the order!" Xue Guoguan heard this and quickly agreed.
Emperor Chongzhen then turned to look at the Minister of Civil Affairs and said: "I have said that Hetao, Liaodong and North Korea will be modeled on the mainland and will no longer be under the jurisdiction of the capital. Therefore, we divide local yamen and appoint local officials. The Ministry of Civil Affairs must come up with them as soon as possible. Bylaws, do a good job in appointing officials!”
"I obey the decree!" After hearing this, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel naturally agreed immediately.
The emperor's energy was limited, and it was impossible to inspect every appointment and removal of officials in the Ming Dynasty. Therefore, the power to appoint and remove middle- and low-level officials mainly lies in the Ministry of Personnel. It is also for this reason that Emperor Chongzhen handed over to the Minister of Personnel.
To sum up, the food issue is still a top priority and cannot be taken lightly.
After talking about this matter, the Minister of the Ministry of War came out and reported to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, the news from Annan has been returned. They have violated the Ming Dynasty's decree and are still in contact with the rebellious chieftain in the southwest. And the southwest side, because of the land reform, Rumors of his return have been around for a long time, but the imperial court has not refuted the rumors. Therefore, many chieftains in the southwest are showing serious signs of rebellion, and there is likely to be a major turmoil."
After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen smiled coldly and said: "They all want to commit suicide, so just commit suicide. Pass the decree to Qin Liangyu, withdraw from the land of rebellion, make space for those rebels, let them all jump out, and wait for me Turn around and free up your hands, then serve them all in one pot!"
At this time, many ministers were quite confident in the emperor's ability to lead troops in war. When the emperor said this, they also agreed. Instead of covering up, it would be better to take advantage of the Ming Dynasty's military strength to raze them all now that it is back to its peak.
The Minister of War retired, and the Minister of Rites went on to report: "Your Majesty, our Ming Dynasty now purchases a large amount of grain from Nanyang every year. Many people from the southern coast have gone to Nanyang to rent or buy grain fields. In this regard, Please let your Majesty decide what to do with the people!"
This kind of people can be said to be unruly people and are not liked by the government. After all, I went abroad and no longer had to pay taxes or perform labor service to the Ming Dynasty, and I also made money from the Ming Dynasty!
If it were in the past, unruly people like this would not have to ask the emperor for instructions. They and their ministers would be able to handle these matters as usual. However, today's emperor's way of looking at and handling things is often beyond their expectations, making them afraid to do things as usual. After discussing it, they decided to ask the emperor for instructions first.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen listened and said nonchalantly: "They went out to plant food after all. And what Ming Dynasty needs is food, the more the better. Since they want to leave, then they can leave. But before leaving, they must They should report to the local government what they were going out for and how long they would take to come back. When they come back, all the taxes and labor that should be paid back would be converted into money and paid, and they would just have to fulfill their obligations. If they go out privately and exceed a certain time, they will be punished. If the local government finds out, just let the local official cancel the household registration!"
It would be a bit unfair to say there wasn't a bit of processing. This unfairness does not mean that it is unfair to those who left, but that it is unfair to those who stayed in Ming Dynasty.
After all, those who stayed in the Ming Dynasty had to pay taxes to the Ming Dynasty and perform labor services. They paid their obligations for the strength of the Ming Dynasty. Then Daming also has the responsibility to give them corresponding rewards. As for those who went out, they no longer paid taxes to the Ming Dynasty and no longer performed labor services. When they came back, they would still receive benefits from the court along with those who stayed in the Ming Dynasty. Why?
After hearing this, the Minister of Rites asked for instructions: "What should we do with the people who have gone out before?"
"The previous ones will not be held accountable, and the future ones will be handled as such." Emperor Chongzhen said this with a little more emphasis, "I believe that everyone will think of ways to become citizens of the Ming Dynasty in the future!"
He still has this bit of confidence. Then, more ministers came out to report their matters, and Emperor Chongzhen gave them answers one by one.
The time soon reached noon. When Emperor Chongzhen saw that few ministers came out to speak, he said with a smile: "Okay, since you have finished talking, I will announce a few things!"
When the courtiers in the Wenhua Hall heard this, they suddenly became a little curious. They wondered what the emperor would say?
They only heard Emperor Chongzhen say to them: "When I was in Shenyang, I had already announced the reward for annihilating the Liaodong rebels. Now that I have returned to the capital, I should announce it to the world again. I will consider it an honor!"
Naturally, the news of the reward had already been reported back. However, at that time, the emperor did not come back, nor did Lu Xiangsheng and others. Therefore, everyone just heard about this matter and did not feel much about it. However, when they heard the emperor mention it again, it was a formal process, and they suddenly thought about the reward.
Unexpectedly, the emperor was so generous and allocated a civil servant title. In the history of the Ming Dynasty, apart from the founder of the country, there was only one person named Wang Yangming. But now, there is another Lu Xiangsheng! I really envy many people to death!
But they were just envious. Lu Xiangsheng's contribution was obvious. They ask themselves, no one else can do what Lu Xiangsheng does. Forget it, I'm optimistic about Lu Xiangsheng becoming a military general. What's wrong with getting a knighthood?
While they were thinking about it, Emperor Chongzhen spoke again: "I know it is difficult to verify the exemptions and exemptions for officials and gentry and to call for taxes, but now that we have achieved a great victory, I am very happy. Therefore, I decided to pay attention to the relevant people, Give a reward."
Later, he announced the relevant persons, mainly Zhang Pu, the governor of Jiangnan, Sun Chuanting, the official secretary of Nanjing, Yang Tinglin, the censor of Zuodu in Nanjing, and Lu Jiude, the eunuch guarding Nanjing.
After hearing this, the ministers below were also convinced. As for the matter of verifying the privileges and exemptions of officials and gentry and calling for tax payment, if it were not for the emperor’s sage, no matter who would do this, it would definitely be a disaster for the whole family! When Zhang Pu and others were able to do this, the pressure at that time was also very high, and it even involved civil unrest in Changshu, major rebellion cases, etc.
While they were thinking about it, they heard Emperor Chongzhen continue: "In addition, Zhang Zilong from the Department of Agriculture and Song Yingxing from the Department of Agriculture have both made considerable contributions. Such as the promotion and cultivation of various crops, the invention of glass, etc., these are today's The foundation of the Ming Dynasty is getting better and better. I have decided to promote the commander of the company to the rank of minister."
The assistant minister is of the third rank, while the minister is only of the fifth rank. It can be said that Zhang Zilong and Song Yingxing jumped three levels in the middle. No one expected this reward beforehand, and all of these officials were surprised.
When the emperor does something, his officials will naturally make guesses. What happened before is easy to understand, after all, the merit is there. As for Zhang Zilong and Song Yingxing, although they did have great contributions, they were still very surprised to jump so many levels at once.
However, if you think about it carefully, it doesn't seem to be too much of a surprise.
Both Song Yingxing and Chen Zilong have always been favored by the emperor and have been appointed as the prince's lecturers to teach the prince and the children of various noble families. If it were an ordinary person, would he be treated like this?
Think about it again, the things that the emperor has been emphasizing over the years are not what Chen Zilong and Song Yingxing are doing, especially what the latter is doing. Now with the heavy reward, isn't it just to show the world how much the emperor attaches importance to the affairs of the Agriculture Department and the Kaiwu Department!
Thinking this way, they had a clear understanding. It seems that both generations of the emperor and the prince should take it so seriously! Then, those brats at home must also be trained in this area!
After Emperor Chongzhen announced these three things, the ministers below were naturally very busy. In addition to what Emperor Chongzhen said yesterday that he must honor the food repayment, in any case, in the next few days, everyone except Emperor Chongzhen will be busy as a dog.
However, Emperor Chongzhen did not really do anything. He also made some adjustments to the palace.
Of the eight eunuchs who had been trained by him, the four outstanding ones, led by Chen Baoting, were promoted to the eunuchs of the Bureau of Ceremony and Bingbi, officially entering the ranks of eunuchs. The other four, headed by Lan Tianbao, continued to serve Emperor Chongzhen.
