In the 20th year of Hongxing's reign, it was the Mengdong season.

Zhu Hexing's course of learning to be a county magistrate is not over yet, but he has learned a lot... at least it has opened his eyes!

First of all, he presided over a noisy imperial examination. At the same time, he also learned that a fair examination is a very precious opportunity for many people, enough to make them risk their lives - for all kinds of people in the folk who can toss.

He said that if we can't use 600,000 soldiers to divide the towns and suppress them like rogue bandits, then we need to open more ascending channels to give them a head start.

Secondly, after the exam, he saw the ability and ruthlessness of Ma Wanchun, a veteran county magistrate - with one exam and one recommendation, he collected dozens of the most capable people in Shizhu County. With them

When it came to organizing and mobilizing, the 4,000-strong Xiangyong force was gathered without much effort.

And once these 4,000 men are in the hands of Ma Wanchun, the 3,000 rogue soldiers in Dafeng Castle will not last long! Most of the 3,000 people in Dafeng Castle are old, weak, women and children, and there may not be 300 men, otherwise Ma Wanchun would not be able to do so.

1,000 Xichuan soldiers suppressed the situation. Now there are 4,000 more men and 500 guards brought by Zhu Hexing. Is there any suspense in the battle of Dafeng Castle?

The suspense is just how many of these young men who were deceived by Ma Wanchun will die?

But no matter how many people die, Ma Wanchun doesn't feel bad... and his contribution is huge!

This guy is a ruthless person, and he is also a capable official!

And there are not many such ruthless and capable officials in the Ming Dynasty officialdom today! It is not easy to make good use of them and manage them well!

Once again, Zhu Hexing truly saw the poverty of the people at the bottom of Shizhu!

He is currently inspecting the field allocation work with Ding Yuying in Xiaoli Village, Nanshan Township - the land allocation matter is mainly responsible for the work of Sihu Xiaowei of Shizhu County and the officials of the townships below. Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying took them with them.

Hundreds of murderous guards were walking around, emboldening the people below, letting them know that the elite soldiers of the Ming Dynasty had arrived, and the bandits on Gale Castle were dead, so they could feel free to divide their fields...

...

As for the officials below who tampered with the peasants' land during the land allocation process, Ma Wanchun was not worried at all - these officials were not the original scholar-bureaucrats and landlords. They themselves did not have much power. They were "trial projects" of the county government.

The "Imperial Examination" gave them the opportunity to get ahead. If they don't know how to cherish it, they can be removed from their posts at any time and investigated without reporting it to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. After all, these people are still within the period of "official examination"!

So Zhu Hexing, who had been wandering around the Shizhu countryside for a dozen or so days, didn't find anything wrong, but he still felt a little depressed.

Because he saw poverty in the countryside of Shizhu that he had never seen before!

Although he had always known that there were many remote villages in the Ming Dynasty, and even in Yingtian Mansion, there were many poor people who had difficulty eating.

But he has never had such close contact with the real poor - those soldiers of the Guards can only be regarded as having a poor background. After becoming the sharpest sword of the Ming Empire, they have long since escaped poverty and are no longer truly poor.

.

Although the soldiers of the New Army do not receive as high a salary as the soldiers of the Guards, they are not really poor - their annual net income (excluding food) is mostly above 30 taels of silver, equivalent to 30 shi of white rice, and

It can be used to support your family or the income you have saved.

As for the poorer people, before entering Sichuan, they probably met him in Huya Town. When he passed by Huya Town, he briefly went ashore and went to Ding Yuying's hometown for a walk, looking around and not paying much attention to it.

look.

However, no matter how you look at it, the poor people in Huya Town are much richer than the poor people in the countryside of Shizhu County. At least they don't look sallow and skinny, and they don't spare any effort to build large terraces on the slopes of Huya Mountain.

However, in the countryside of Shizhu, what Zhu Hexing saw was abject poverty everywhere. Really nothing, and the family was living with nothing. The slopes and terraces that were despised in the southeast and central plains were regarded as treasures by the people here, and the per capita could only receive

There are more than three acres but less than four acres of terraced slopes, and everyone seems to be more happy...

"Yuying, your family is a big farmer. You know more about farming than I do. Can you tell me, with three or four acres of terraced fields like this, can it support a five-foot-tall man?"

Zhu Hexing, who was supporting Ding Yuying, who was three or four months old, on the mountain path, suddenly asked about farming matters.

Ding Yuying, who had been alone in Shizhu County for some days (it was inconvenient for her to walk too far, so Zhu Hexing did not take her with him when he went to inspect the more remote countryside) was stunned when Zhu Hexing asked this question.

Then he shook his head and said: "Husband, this is hard to say... Although my family is a big farmer, we don't have an acre of terraced fields or sloping fields."

Zhu Hexing asked: "Why is this?"

Ding Yuying said: "There are not many terraced fields in the southeast, and they are not valuable. Large farmers like my family generally don't want terraced fields, because it is easy to lose money in terraced fields."

Following Zhu Hexing and Ding Yuying, Li Jinxue arrived in Nanshan Township. He is now Sihu County Lieutenant of Shizhu County. He is the official in charge of farming and household registration. He is also in charge of allocating land. Of course he also knows about farming.

, but I don’t know what “plant loss” is.

Hearing Ding Yuying's words, he couldn't help but interjected and said: "Loss of planting? There is also a saying of loss of planting in farming? Mrs. Zhu is talking about a bad harvest, right?"

Ding Yuying looked back at Li Jinxue and said, "What kind of business can you make a profit without losing money? How can farming be an exception?"

The terraced fields are all small and small. There is no way to use a small amount of manpower to cooperate with cattle to cultivate extensively. We can only invest a lot of manpower in intensive farming. Moreover, it is difficult for terraced fields to retain rainwater and fertility, cannot resist drought, and it also requires a lot of investment.

A lot of manpower is needed to accumulate fertilizer... It costs a lot of money to open terraces on the hillside, it also costs money to hire farmers for intensive farming, and it also costs money to buy manure. If you invest so much capital, how much can you gain? With a lot of investment,

With little output, how can we not lose money? Moreover, terraced fields are prone to drought. Once there is drought and little rain, it is easy to lose the harvest, and then all the money will be lost!”

"Farming is about raising people, how can we care about profits and losses?" Li Jinxue couldn't understand Ding Yuying's words at all, "Do we stop farming just because we don't make money? If we don't farm, what will so many people eat?"

Ding Yuying shook her head, "Although there are businesses where you lose money first and then make money, after all, the purpose is to make money. If you keep losing money, how can you continue to do it? The same goes for farming. If farmers keep losing money, the capital on hand will become more and more.

Bo, how can you farm without capital?"

"How much does it cost to farm? If you have seeds, a few farm tools, a piece of land, and some strength, wouldn't it be enough?"

"This is the capital!" Ding Yuying said, "Seeds, farm tools, and land are not money? Strength can also be sold for money. A strong man with a height of five feet can work as a farmhand, and after providing food and shelter, he can still get five or six taels.

.If you go to work in the city, you will earn more, but of course the expenses will be high. In addition, you can also go abroad to make a living. The risk is high, but there are also many opportunities to make a fortune."

"Going to the city? Going abroad?" Li Jinxue was stunned again and again, "Did the Ming Dynasty not prohibit farmers from leaving their land and migrating?"

"It has been forbidden for a long time," Ding Yuying said, "and it cannot be stopped! Those who can live and work in peace and contentment in the countryside will naturally not move out. Those who cannot survive, or those who want to go out to seek wealth, will be forced to live in the countryside.

What’s the benefit?”

Li Jinxue shook his head repeatedly, "Since ancient times, farmers have been relocating to their hometown. If they can keep a few acres of thin farmland in their hometown, who would be willing to leave their hometown and go elsewhere? The rogue bandits and puppet dynasty have also wanted to send people to Myanmar in recent years, saying that it is

If you go there, you will be given land for free, and you can also get paddy fields. But how many people are willing to go to that plague-ridden land?"

Ding Yuying shook her head: "It is impossible to force people to move away or to force people to stay in their hometowns. It is up to you whether you want to stay or go!"

"It's all up to you? Then the court won't care?" Li Jinxue really didn't understand Ding Yuying's brain circuit.
Chapter completed!