Chapter 258: Following Xu, they can have food to eat
Chapter 258: Following Xu, they can have food to eat (Part 2)
The interim cabinet was very efficient.
Anyway, the one who took the lead was Xu Qing, and the knife was the army and shadow guards brought from the south by the old emperor.
Once the countermeasures come out, we will arrest those who need to be arrested, appease those who need to be appeased, and do whatever needs to be done.
To put it bluntly, the more vested interests there are, the more they know the current affairs.
Only those who have nothing will truly resist to the end.
But the food problem is indeed the most troublesome issue at the moment.
Although Xu Qing had asked the old Prime Minister to test the high-yield crops brought back by Fang Xiandao, such as sweet potatoes, the time was too short and it would be difficult to promote them throughout the country in a short period of time.
And right now there is a very serious problem that Xu Qing needs to solve.
It's really a big pit.
In fact, according to Xu Qing's original estimate, even though there have been disasters in Jiangnan in recent years, the food shipped from overseas by Fang Xiandao and Dongming Gang would be enough to solve some of the food shortage problems.
But he still made a mistake.
"Cotton fields?" Xu Qing finally understood one more thing: why the food shortage problem in the north and the south was becoming more and more serious.
Since Fang Xiandao had modified the loom, the efficiency of the textile workshops had been greatly improved. Moreover, with the use of steam engines and the fact that there were several workshops in Jiangning Prefecture with large soul stone textile machinery, the efficiency of weaving cotton had been greatly improved.
Especially in recent months, the prices of clothes and quilts have been driven down.
The problem is that even so, these products have encountered the problem of slow sales.
Because the common people don't have much money, the market is not enough if they rely solely on the rich families.
Xu Qing has a suggestion on this, which is to increase the workers' wages. With the increase in wages, they will naturally buy these cotton products.
But many workshop owners cannot accept this strange solution and will wait and see for the time being.
However, the families of Mr. Hu and Mr. Lei from Jiangning Prefecture responded very actively to Xu Liushou.
Their idea is very simple. Losing money doesn’t matter. As long as they can appear in front of Xu Liushou and make the old man happy, it is more profitable than any other business!
This is called the skill beyond poetry!
However, once the workshop is built, it cannot be stopped. Moreover, with so many workers, the workshop owner will still feel he is losing out if he does not let them work hard.
This has led to an increasing demand for cotton.
This resulted in a strange phenomenon.
In Southern Zhili, due to Xu Qingqing's success in farming and the strong publicity provided by newspapers, many farmers could also hear storytellers reading from newspapers.
As a result, many farmers began to grow cotton intentionally or unintentionally.
Not only them, even the landlords in the village are converting farmland into cotton fields.
This brings us to another matter.
Xu Qing likes to do things according to the law.
Therefore, there were people who specialized in studying the laws of Dayu, and they actually found a good thing for them, which was that the Taizu of Dayu had stipulated that if farmland was converted into cotton fields for the first time, it could be exempted from taxes for four years.
This policy seems strange now, but in the early years of the Dayu Dynasty, cotton was still an alien species and few people planted it. At that time, there was a shortage of cold-resistant supplies on the border, so Dayu Taizu established this policy to encourage people to grow cotton.
The problem is that the efficiency of cotton spinning cannot be improved, so the public is very lacking in enthusiasm for this.
All in all, the demand for cotton is not that great, and the profits from growing mulberry trees are much higher than those from cotton.
However, there is another problem with planting mulberry trees, which is that it depletes the soil's fertility, and it takes several years to recover before it can be used to grow crops.
Therefore, although Nanzhili implemented the national policy of replacing rice with mulberry, it also had strict regulations on this.
Because Fang Xiandao and the Ministry of Industry modified the loom and improved the efficiency of weaving cotton, cotton became a hot commodity for a time.
Naturally, many people are attracted to pursue profit.
Even landlords promoted the benefits of growing cotton.
In this way, they can buy cotton cheaply in the countryside and then sell it at a high price. Moreover, since farmers grow cotton, they will naturally lack food, which is another good thing.
The place with the most converted cotton fields was Jiangning Prefecture, Xu Qing's base, followed by Yingtian Prefecture.
Because news spreads quickly in these two places, and they are the most strict in abiding by the law. The problem now is that cotton fields can be exempted from taxes for four years. If people continue to plant them, not only will the court not be able to collect grain, but it will also be unable to collect cotton taxes for several years.
As a result, many wealthy and powerful people were waiting to see Xu Qing make a fool of himself.
The people who benefited the most from this cotton field incident are the people of Jiangning and Yingtian, who are all your supporters, Xu Qing. Let's see what you will do.
...
...
"A new cotton law must be promulgated." Xu Qing issued the decree decisively.
Every day of delay will make the food problem more serious.
Huo Jing knew that the pressure was not on him, and he worked harder than anyone else to pass this resolution.
It’s just that it’s easy to issue decrees.
It is extremely difficult to implement.
Especially in Jiangning Prefecture, even though the gentry took the initiative to cooperate, there were still many farmers who refused to listen.
Because Xu Liushou always bullied the rich and powerful, but never the poor.
On the other hand, although Xu had no relatives in Jiangning Prefecture, Zhou and Li still had many relatives. These people did not follow the chickens and dogs to rise to heaven, and now they could not even grow cotton. When the surrounding villagers instigated them, they soon became noisy.
Although Li Gongyu is now an official in Xijiang Province, Zhou still stays in Jiangning Prefecture. Even if Zhou closes the door to visitors, there are still villagers and relatives outside cursing her every day.
They still had their sense of propriety and did not go to Xu's house to cause trouble.
...
...
"They are all a bunch of unruly people." Xie Quan, the Jiangning textile manufacturer, sighed.
It is said that when a country prospers, the people suffer, and when a country perishes, the people suffer, but there are also bad people among the people!
He was really worried about Xu Qing this time. If he was not severely punished, Xu Liushou's reputation among the people would definitely plummet.
After all, the Dayu Dynasty was a Confucian society after all, and it emphasized protecting one's relatives.
If Xu Qing harmed his fellow villagers in order to carry out reforms, it would definitely be considered an evil act in today's society.
Even though Xie Quan is always full of ideas, he couldn't think of a good solution for this matter.
Even though the wealthy people in Jiangning Prefecture actively cooperated, this move actually added fuel to the fire.
If this matter is not handled properly, even the Fushe Society will be divided internally.
No matter how capable Xu Qing is, he still needs people to do things for him.
Once the subordinates become disloyal, many things cannot be carried out.
If it weren't for the amulet of reform, would the old emperor still be so patient with Xu Qing?
This is a conspiracy!
Throughout history, many great figures have fallen because of similar trivial matters.
Xu Qing looked at Xie Quan's worry and smiled, "Don't worry, Mr. Xie. This is just a small matter. It won't cause any serious damage."
When he was discussing with Xie Quan, he suddenly saw Zhou coming with a sad face.
Xu Qing hurried over to greet her, and then asked, "Aunt, what's wrong?"
Zhou sighed, "The tombstone of the Li family's ancestral tomb was smashed."
Xu Qing frowned when he heard this, then said calmly: "Don't worry, auntie, I will handle this matter properly."
There was no trace of anger on Xu Qing's face.
He paused and said calmly: "Mr. Xie, it seems that some people still don't understand that only by following Xu can they have food to eat."
As soon as he finished speaking, soon after, Jiangning Prefecture, Yingtian Prefecture, and even the entire Nanzhili, all witnessed Xu Liushou's thundering methods.
(End of this chapter)