Wang Chengen took Chongzhen's arm and got out of the carriage. After getting off the carriage, Chongzhen looked around. There were fields that could not be seen at all. Several farmers were working in short clothes in the fields. Because the wheat had been harvested, they were all hoeing the fields with hoes.

Not far from the front of the carriage was a farm. A middle-aged man in eunuch's clothes trotted here, followed by a captain dressed in Jinyiwei's uniform and an old man dressed in a few farmers.

The imperial dynasty of the Ming Dynasty began in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. It was named the imperial dynasty during the rebellion of Emperor Xianzong. After the eunuch Cao Jixiang was quelled, the fields under his name were confiscated in the palace and the imperial dynasty began to be established. This action by Emperor Xianzong started a tide of land plundering by the royal family. The powerful concubines, princes, and relatives and ministers in the harem rushed to follow suit. So far, the land ownership of the imperial dynasty in the northern Zhili area has accounted for one-seventh of the entire land area, which is not to be an official.

The land where the government paid taxes, such a large area of ​​land production did not pay taxes, invisibly increased the burden on the other households. Moreover, in the imperial village, land ownership and judicial power were combined. The management of the imperial village was very chaotic. In general, the eunuchs were sent to take charge of the government. The eunuchs led a banner school and raised a group of scoundrels, "occupied the land, accumulated wealth, and defiled women", and did everything.

Chongzhen was thinking, and the group of people running out of the village had come close to him. The eunuch in charge was thin and had a shrewd look on his face.

About ten steps ahead of Chongzhen, everyone fell to the ground. The eunuch said loudly, "I, the servant, the horse supervisor, Liu Chao, and others, kowtowed to the emperor!" The rest of the people who knelt down were only kowtowed but did not dare to speak. Chongzhen paused after hearing the name, and felt familiar. In his memory, this man finally fought hard to die for the country. There was no way to know the specific details, but he had a loyal and righteous heart.

"Get up!" Chongzhen said, and walked towards the village. Liu Chao and others quickly stood up. After the emperor and Luo Yangxing took a few steps, they were about to follow him. Several guards in the brocade clothes raised their scabbards with cold faces and stopped the village households who came out to greet him, and only let Liu Chao and the captains in the village go over.

The farmers were frightened. Liu Chao smiled and said to Wang Chengen who was behind, "Eunuch Wang, these are the heads of the imperial village. When I am not here on weekdays, they are responsible for the affairs of the large and small of the village. If the emperor wants to know the big and small of the imperial village, they understand the most, but let them follow behind!" Wang Chengen glanced at him and said, "Are these people reliable? It is a big deal to do the safety of the emperor!"

Liu Chao quickly swears: "Eunuch Wang, don't worry, he is a good citizen who has lived in the village for generations. I can guarantee that he is absolutely reliable!"

"Then follow! Remember, keep them away, and you can only approach when the emperor summons him!" Wang Chengen said.

"Yes, yes, just follow your father-in-law's instructions!" Liu Chao responded quickly.

Wang Chengen fell behind and asked Liu Chao if he had something to do. Seeing that the emperor was about to enter the village, he walked forward quickly, and Liu Chao hurriedly followed. Wang Chengen asked, "This morning, the emperor suddenly wanted to see the village. We are here to know you. Time is tight. How are you preparing?"

"It's so that my father-in-law can find out that after I got the message, I immediately cleaned the house in the village and cleaned the best house in the village! There was no time for the loess mattress! As for the farmers in the village, the young man had told them not to go out and were all at home. There were only a few people in the fields. If there were no one everywhere, the emperor would think it was wrong, right?" Liu Chao replied with a smile on his face.

"That's all! Now I just hope that the emperor will not care about the details, otherwise we can't afford to be guilty!" Wang Chengen said worriedly.

Liu Chao couldn't accept his words, thinking to himself, who would have thought that the emperor suddenly wanted to see the imperial village? And the one he chose was the farm he was in charge! In front of him, the emperor would never leave the palace on weekdays except for the sacrificial ceremony. What's wrong with the emperor? Could it be that he had read too much and wanted to learn the private visits in the ministry? Of course, he only dared to think so in his heart, and would never dare to say to anyone.

Chongzhen took Luo Yangxing to the village slowly. There were guards with swords and guns dozens of steps away. The village was quite large. The houses in the village were basically made of yellow mud as walls and thatched as roofs. The road was quite flat, but why was it narrow, and there were obvious traces of talent paving. There were many willow trees planted on both sides of the road. The diameter was already quite old, with green shade covering the ground and cicadas ringing.

"Let Liu Chao get close to the front and reply!" Chongzhen ordered, and the guards beside him rushed back.

After a while, Wang Chengen took Liu Chao up and came closer. Wang Chengen said, "Your Majesty, let Liu Chao lead the way to the house. Are you resting and asking questions?" Chongzhen nodded, and Liu Chao walked a few steps forward to lead the way, turned a few turns and came to the center of the village.

Seeing a courtyard in front of me, there were blue bricks and black tiles, very neat, and the gatehouse was a little dilapidated. The two doors were open, and there were two rows of guards standing at the door, and there were even two guards holding bows and arrows on the roof, looking around vigilantly.

Liu Chao came to the door and bowed and replied, "Your Majesty, this is the home in the village. I have already arranged it. Please come in and rest!"

Chongzhen stepped into the yard, which was a yard with only one entry. There were three main rooms on both sides, with locust trees and jujube trees planted in one corner of the yard. The window paper of all the houses was white and you could tell at a glance that they had just changed. The yard was spotless, and it seemed that it had been sprinkled with water on the ground, and the water had basically evaporated. It was impossible to carry dust when walking.

Chongzhen nodded and walked into the main room. After entering, he was placed in front of him a brand new carved red sandalwood desk table. On the desk table was a set of blue and white porcelain tea sets. After the desk table was a rosewood Grand Master chair, with several seats placed on both sides. Chongzhen knew that it had been carefully arranged, and such furniture was considered extremely rare in a farmhouse.

Chongzhen sat down on the chair of the Grand Master and waved his hand and said, "You all sit there, you're tired after rushing for a long time."

Wang Chengen and the others quickly said they didn't dare. Chongzhen was impatient and said, "Let you sit there, stop making noise."

Luo Yangxing was sitting on the chair beside him, only one-third of which dared to sit. Wang Chengen and Liu Chao did not dare to sit. Wang Chengen stood behind the emperor, while Liu Chao stood sideways a few steps away.

"Liu Chao, please tell me the general situation of this imperial village first." Chongzhen said.

Liu Chao hurriedly bowed and replied, "I have reported to you that the farm is the largest of the four royal villages under your name. There are more than 30,000 mu of land, and 586 households with 2,734 households, including 1,632 males and 1,102 females, and 1,011 adult males."

"How much grain was produced last year? How many large livestock were there in the farm? How to water the land?" Chongzhen continued to ask.

"Reported to the emperor, since the previous year, there was very little rain, so the harvest was not good. Last year, more than 20,000 stones of wheat were produced, and more than 10,000 stones of other various grains were produced, and more than 20,000 stones were collected from the palace. There are 47 oxen and 83 mules and horses. In the past, the irrigation of fields was mainly based on the Bailang River outside the village. Since last year, the river water has gradually dried up. The slaves and servants have dug a few wells for drinking and irrigation in the village." Liu Chao was familiar with his family, and it seems that he is still very dedicated to the affairs of the village on weekdays.

After hearing this, Chongzhen thought about it. Liu Chao was more attentive in his work. Unlike the information he read in his previous life, eunuchs were rampant in the village, and his thugs were like emperors in the village, and their grain output was also considered good. After all, there were no chemical fertilizers and pesticides during this period. They only relied on the weather to make a living. The yield per mu of one stone was considered a good yield, and there were also miscellaneous grains, probably soybeans and their straw.

"Why don't you plant corn and sweet potatoes?" Chongzhen remembered that corn and sweet potatoes were introduced to China during the Wanli period. Did you remember it wrong?

"The emperor forgives his crime. Is what the emperor said? I have never heard of it, let alone planting it!" Liu Chao said hurriedly, even Wang Chengen and Luo Yangxing looked confused.

Chongzhen suddenly realized that in this generation where information was extremely slow to spread, the lives of ordinary people were limited to a range of no more than ten miles around him. Most people were illiterate, and many people had never been to the county town from birth to death, let alone other things. Unlike later generations, when a certain star cheated and his pants were not mentioned, everyone on the Internet knew about it.

"If you don't know, it is not a crime. The corn and sweet potatoes I mentioned are drought-resistant crops, and the yield is extremely large. The same acre of land, if sweet potatoes are planted, the yield is several times or even dozens of times that of wheat! After I returned to the palace, I visited people. If the Ming Dynasty could promote planting, then there would be no more people who died of hunger in the Ming Dynasty, and there would be no more people who left their hometowns and were displaced due to natural disasters! Luo Yangxing, this matter was handed over to the Jinyiwei. When he went back, he immediately arranged for local garrisons to investigate the corn and sweet potatoes. I would be rewarded with many rewards!" Chongzhen told Luo Yangxing. Luo Yangxing hurriedly stood up and bowed to agree, but he was skeptical.

Liu Chao suddenly slapped himself in the face and said, "Your Majesty, are you thirsty? I just want to reply and forgot to make tea and water for the Youth Majesty!" After that, he went out to greet him.

Wang Chengen followed out and said to Liu Chao: "Take the emperor's tea set guard with you. You don't need yours. You can arrange for someone to boil water." After saying that, he waved his hand to a guard, and the man immediately followed the head of the boiling water into the kitchen. Liu Chao reacted and said with a smile on his face: "I am so confused. How dare you let the emperor drink water with things outside."

At this time, Chongzhen walked out of the house with his hands behind his back, and Luo Yangxing followed behind. Chongzhen ordered Liu Chao, "Take me around and take a look!" After Liu Chao agreed, he led the way out of the yard.

The village was quiet, as if no one was there. There were dozens of guards around Zhu Zhenqing, who were surrounded by them, and they looked around with vigilance as if they were facing a great enemy. Occasionally, you could see a pair of curious eyes looking at Zhu Zhenqing and his party behind the closed doors of several houses.

Of course Chongzhen knew what was going on, but he also knew that as an emperor, it would be unrealistic to have a cordial conversation with the people like the leaders of his previous life. In this closed environment, people would cringe when they saw the head of the village, let alone the emperor. Since the Liu Chao had already been resettled, there was no need to take a close attitude towards the people. What he could do was to try to make their lives better. This was the fundamental, rather than just asking about his well-being.
Chapter completed!