Number of People

  Chapter 2118 Deciphering the Juzi Juan to solve the problem, prepare with both hands

  Xu Junyang Of course this is his first exam question.

   Just as Feng Ziying had inspected him early on, he certainly had some understanding of the young governor.

  However, his source of news is definitely not as professional and extensive as Feng Ziying, so he can only learn about it through some of his classmates and fellow villagers in Beijing.

  Xu Junyang knows very well that officials of his level should not get involved in high-level wrestling.

  Although he also wants to cling to Lu Chuan, in fact, in Lu Chuan's camp, he is just an insignificant marginal person.

  Just a seventh-rank official, how can he get into the eyes of the left chief envoy?

   What's more, there are hundreds of counties in Shaanxi, as well as prefectural officials. Mizhi is just a slightly important county.

  So he didn't think he would be targeted by the governor.

  However, this young governor is coming fiercely, and his performance in Wubao is enough to show that this one may not follow the steps of a normal official, and everything needs to be done according to his likes and dislikes.

Such as recruiting the rebel army directly, this should be done in an unfavorable situation, but after defeating the rebellious army in the border villages of Boyan Village and Baitang Village, they still have to agree to their surrender, which makes many people feel uncomfortable. puzzled.

  A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, but this one is not afraid at all, forcibly confronting the rebellious army in Wubao City, which is enough to show that this governor is not ordinary.

   This also made Xu Junyang put away a lot of careful thoughts. He had to figure out this person's thoughts carefully, so as not to go against the other party's intentions and suffer a big loss.

   Now that the exam questions are finally out, Xu Junyang feels more at ease.

   When it comes to coping with things, Xu Junyang thinks that Mizhi is in Yan'an Mansion, and he is still sure.

   "That depends on what kind of result the adults want." Xu Junyang replied calmly.

"Oh?" Feng Ziying was a little surprised. This person is still a little arrogant, but he can answer himself in such a tone. If he said that he didn't have any real materials and only wanted to sensationalize, Feng Ziying planned to let him stop here. "Appreciate further details."

"If your lord just wants to clean up these border villages, it's actually not difficult. Your lord is the right servant of the Ministry of War, and he ordered Yulin Town to dispatch one to clean up. On the other hand, in the name of the government, the local gentry and merchants, especially Shanxi merchants Restraints, resolutely prohibit these merchants and gentry from providing all kinds of materials, especially food, to the frontier villages in the mountains, and within three months, these frontier villages will disintegrate on their own and come out to surrender."

  Xu Junyang talked eloquently, "The reason why these border villages can last for so long is because of the indulgence of the frontier army and the ineffective governance of the local government..."

   "Master Xu, are you talking about yourself?" Feng Ziying laughed.

"My lord, we can't control the frontier army. Even a few words will cause backlash and even worsen the relationship between the two sides. Shanxi merchants are like fish in water in these border areas, and even the frontier army relies on them a lot, so It is also difficult for our local government to intervene." Xu Junyang said truthfully.

   "Well, what you just said was to treat the symptoms, is there anything else?" Feng Ziying continued to ask.

"Also, as your lord said, the root cause is fixed." Xu Junyang spread his hands, "As far as the current situation is concerned, it is very difficult to achieve a root cause cure. At least the lower officials cannot see the possibility of a root cause cure. It is far inferior to Huguang and Jiangnan in the Central Plains, and the people's customs are tough, and if you can't survive, you can only become a bandit. However, with the current imperial government's policies, taxes, and labor, ordinary people simply can't bear it, and it is difficult to survive if there is a little locust, so The border strongholds in the mountains will always be revived, and the businessmen value profits, as long as they are profitable, they will look for opportunities to enter,..."

Xu Junyang's words will also be very straightforward. There are many people, little land, and the soil quality is not good. Judging from the situation in the past ten years, one drought every other year is already very rare. Most of them are two droughts in three years or three droughts in four years. This is almost an unsolvable problem.

Feng Ziying understood what the other party meant. The cultivation of corn and wheat is very demanding on the climate. If it is a normal year with good weather, people in places like Mizhi can have a bowl of rice to eat. If the weather is bad, it will be a problem. Everyone can only flee. In this year's situation, it can be said that except for the gentry and powerful, it is almost difficult to maintain.

   After all, northern Shaanxi can no longer support so many people, and the production of corn and wheat has dropped sharply due to the impact of the climate.

Feng Ziying doesn’t know how much the population of Dazhou is now, but almost every place feels that there are more people and less land. According to the population of the late Ming Dynasty in the memory of the past life, the population of the Ming Dynasty should be more than 120 million at the end of Wanli. Most scholars tend to It is between 140 million and 160 million, and the population of Shaanxi has rapidly expanded from more than 2 million when the Ming Dynasty was founded to more than 5 million and nearly 6 million now.

   "You mean that northern Shaanxi can't support so many people anyway?" Feng Ziying didn't expect Xu Junyang to see this.

"Based on the current situation of taxation and labor by the imperial court and land rent collected by landowners, ordinary farmers can basically make ends meet if they have good harvests. If there are few floods, droughts and locust disasters, they will be unsustainable." Xu Junyang added: "Unless the landowners The land rent will be lowered, and the imperial court will reduce taxes and labor."

  Feng Ziying laughed, the last sentence is to subvert the system, how is this possible?

"Well, I understand." For Feng Ziying, he also knows that it is difficult for Shaanxi in this timeline to calm down through normal methods. The most difficult time of the Little Ice Age has not yet come, even if he tries everything The method has been pressed for the time being, but if there is a disaster in the next year or the next year, won't it have to erupt again?

He has two countermeasures, one is the large-scale and high-intensity introduction of potatoes and corn. This is the key to Shaanxi surviving the Little Ice Age in the previous life and even the population of tens of millions in Jiaqing Daoguang. Otherwise, either northern Shaanxi can only go through war To wipe out the population, it is difficult to survive the Little Ice Age with corn and wheat alone.

There is another one that is more difficult and requires sufficient military preparations, and that is to retake the Hetao Plain. The Hetao Plain is divided into the Qiantao Plain, the Houtao Plain and the Xitao Plain. They are currently controlled by the Mongols. It can be said that these three places are all It is true that the northern land is the most conducive to the development of agriculture, but it is occupied by the Mongols for grazing. Even if only one part of it is taken back, it can greatly relieve the population pressure.

  But no matter which one it is, it is a long-term solution, and it cannot be solved immediately.

  So he also agrees with Xu Junyang's point of view. There is no solution to the root cause at present, so we can only treat the symptoms.

  How to treat the symptoms is to destroy everything, destroy all the gentry and landowners entrenched on this land. When everything is smashed and they are all physically eliminated, naturally everything can be started again.

  Feng Ziying is unwilling to do this from the bottom of her heart, but she has to do it.

  Even if it is estimated that it will take a few years to recover, it is enough for Feng Ziying.

   Xu Junyang still needs to be investigated. This guy has a good vision, and his ability seems to be pretty good, but the key is whether he can use it for himself.

  He Shixian finally arrived, and Feng Ziying greeted him outside the city.

  He Shixian didn't dare to push him too hard. Although this guy was just a junior a few years ago, when Ningxia suppressed the rebellion, he was very affectionate with He Shu and He Shu, but now, he can be regarded as his boss.

Seeing that He Shixian was going to give a military salute, Feng Ziying hurriedly supported him: "Uncle He, isn't this my little nephew? You are an elder. I invite you to come here for a while. I also hope that you will support my little nephew. My little nephew is chasing ducks now." Put it on the shelf, and be roasted on the fire."

He Shixian laughed out loud, and took advantage of the situation to accept the gift, "Ziying, the Governor has sent me a letter, Uncle Yu, if you have anything to say here, just say what you need, but you are now the Minister of the Ministry of War You should know that the north is not stable, the Tumed people are not worried, Su Nang Taiji is a little ready to move, the Ministry of War and Chai Guozhu both sent me letters, and the worse news is that Fengzhou Bailian is preparing for war with the Cha The Hal people come and go very closely,..."

  Feng Ziying frowned. Chai Guozhu's Shanxi Town has not regained its vitality. If it faces the Tumed people, Fengzhou Bailian and Chahar people who are attacking together, I am afraid it will really be too much.

  He Shixian's words were not to shirk, but to explain the current difficulties in Yulin Town. Feng Ziying also believed that since He Shixian came, he would definitely give himself an explanation.

   "However, if my nephew needs it, Yulin Town is naturally duty-bound. I have already arranged two, one in Longzhou City and one in Yinzhou Pass. They can go south at any time."

  As expected, He Shixian had already made arrangements, which made Feng Ziying feel relieved.

  Two battalions are enough for two divisions, and there should be no problem solving the border villages in the north of Mizhi and Suide.

   "There are more Uncle He. I'm new here, and I still need Uncle He's strong support. When the northern part of Shaanxi is settled down, I will definitely ask for Uncle He's credit." Feng Ziying said sincerely.

  The main goal was achieved, and the atmosphere became more harmonious. He Shixian also accompanied Feng Ziying for a walk around the city of Mizhi. He Shixian had to explain some things to Feng Ziying clearly.

"Ziying, the governor has also written to me. Maybe he will step down as the governor of the three sides. After all, you are the governor of Shaanxi, and it is against the rules for him to be the governor of the three sides. But if you need anything, just say, Qingyang and Pingliang Over there, Uncle Yu may not be able to help you, you have to contact Ningxia Town, but I guess they are having a bit of a hard time, after all, the elite were taken away by your father."

  Yulin Town only borders on the side of Yan'an Mansion, while Qingyang and Pingliang are targeting Ningxia Town, and Ningxia Town's elites have basically been drawn out, so it is difficult to come up with a force. What He Shixian said is true.

  (end of this chapter)