The grain prices in Nanzhili have risen amazingly during this period.

Originally, the grain price in Nanzhili was higher than that in other places, with rice price of 300 cents per stone, wheat price of 70 to 80 cents and beans a hundred cents.

As a result, the price of rice in Susong area is now 1 tael and 20 cents per stone, and the price of rice in some areas such as Shanghai County is as high as one dou and six cents per cent, which is amazing.

The reason why grain prices soared was because the Jiangnan garrison sent people to buy grain everywhere.

Grain merchants from Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, and even Yangzhou, Taizhou, Jiaxing and other places have received grain orders from the Zhongguanyemen, Jiangnan.

The profits given by the Zhongguanyi Office were very considerable, which led to grain merchants from all over the country who were supposed to be sold on the market to transport the grain that was originally supposed to be sold on the market, which caused the market's grain stock to be reduced, which naturally led to an increase in grain prices.

In the south of the Yangtze River, crop planting has been reduced due to large-scale planting of economic crops, making the grain price much higher than other places. After this large-scale harvest, it would be a strange thing if the grain price does not rise rapidly.

Governments in various places cannot sit idly by the rise in grain prices, which involves fundamental issues of people's livelihood. If they are not dealt with in a timely manner, they will cause chaos in the people.

However, both Governor Yingtian and local officials had no choice but to buy grain from the central government officials who were buying grain in large quantities. They could only scold Wei Yi for causing trouble in the chaos of the place, and sent people to buy grain further away.

Some local governments even forced grain merchants to leave a certain amount of grain supply for the market. For example, in Shanghai County and other areas that hit hardest hit by grain prices, they directly opened a close position, which barely reduced the grain price.

The garrison official Wei, the accuser, was also very innocent to the accusations of the outside world. He bought grain with real money, and did not steal or rob, nor forced to buy and sell. How could he be a bad person?

It is also difficult for my father-in-law to handle it. If he wants to raise people, he must have food.

There is no grain output in this part of the SAR, which is the size of a palm, and you can only rely on buying it.

No matter when a large purchase of a certain product will definitely lead to a rise in commodity prices. This is determined by the market economy and cannot be saved by manpower.

Fortunately, the rise in grain prices is just a wave of things. After meeting basic needs, Eunuch Wei will not be able to buy it anymore.

After all, his money is limited.

My father-in-law planned to Annan for future special zones and even the Ming Dynasty’s grain demand. As the weather gradually gets colder, domestic grain production will definitely encounter major problems within ten years.

By then, there are only two solutions to solve the problem.

First, large-scale massacres, artificially reducing population and alleviating food pressure, just like after the Qing Dynasty entered the pass. When all the people were killed, the place was vacant, and there were not so many refugees. The production order could naturally be restored slowly. Otherwise, no matter how hard the Eight Banners could fight, they would have to face the bandits during the Chongzhen period.

The second is to import grain from abroad on a large scale.

There is no doubt that Eunuch Wei will definitely choose the second plan.

Coupled with mandatory military farms or conditional land transfer, the impact of natural disasters should be minimized and the people's strength and national vitality should be retained as much as possible.

This time, the total cost of buying grain on a large scale reached more than 200,000 taels.

In addition to buying grain, oil and salt also require a large amount of purchase, including food, clothing, housing and transportation. As long as it is needed by the special zone and officers and soldiers, my father-in-law will ask him to do it.

He got a lot of money from Nandu, but no matter how much money he had to spend it, it would be valuable. Otherwise, what's the difference between it and scrap iron?

Some businessmen from the Yangzhou Branch of the Jiangbei Chamber of Commerce found business opportunities and volunteered to take charge of these businesses. First, they could make profits from them, and second, they could be closer to bonding with Eunuch Wei and the Maritime Special Administrative Region.

Eunuch Wei would not refuse the request of these merchants, but he asked these people to set up the factory in the Special Administrative Region, which was called driving the economic development of the Special Administrative Region.

Whether it is oil pressing, textile, or dyeing cloth, or even opening a tailor shop, it can hire certain personnel to engage in production. With the upstream and downstream commercial systems, and with the intermediate and service industries, why worry about the popularity of the Special Administrative Region and the commercial atmosphere of the Special Administrative Region will not become more active.

The Maritime Special Zone as a whole serves maritime affairs, but its ultimate goal is to become a window for the Ming Dynasty to trade with foreign affairs and a base for the Ming Dynasty to export externally.

As long as it is a commodity and can be circulated, Eunuch Wei encourages merchants or civilians to participate. Only when more people participate and more industries are included can the SAR slowly influence the surrounding areas and eventually expel the political influence of the Donglin Party members through commercial influence.

As my father-in-law constantly emphasized, the economy drives people's livelihood and then enriches the people and strengthens the country.

The word "economy" is now spoken by everyone in the Maritime Special Economic Zone, because no matter where they go, they can see slogans brushed on the wall with lime. These two words appear so frequently that they are more principles than the saints said.

On the seventh day after returning to the Special Administrative Region, my father-in-law officially decided to expand the Ming Dynasty Imperial Army and establish the first division-level unit of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Army.

To this end, he stayed up late to formulate a division expansion plan based on the Qi family army and the current Ming army system.

In this plan, a division has about 28,000 troops.

Each division has 3 brigades under its jurisdiction, with a troop quota of about 9,000.

Each brigade has two infantry regiments, one engineer gang, one artillery gang, and one baggage gang.

The infantry corps has 2,800 combat troops and 400 non-combatants, totaling 3,200 people per registrar.

The corps has four brigades under its jurisdiction, each with about 800 people.

The Artillery Corps uses 120 dual soft chariots, 120 artillery trucks and 60 grain trucks, a total of 300.

In terms of cannon configuration, there are 104 Flang machine cannons, 150 other types of copper and iron cannons, and about 200 tiger squats and large pole cannons.

An artillery gang and non-combatants accounted for about 1,800 people.

The baggage corps is temporarily organized by a brigade, with more than 400 vehicles of various types and about 1,000 soldiers.

The plan has been found, but it cannot be implemented immediately. It must be reported to the emperor for approval.

Therefore, Eunuch Wei submitted a book to His Majesty the Emperor and secretly revealed it.

"…Play it into a formation and stop it into a camp. When encountering a major enemy, first use the artillery gang to attack it again. When the enemy is close, use the infantry gang to attack it. If the enemy cavalry comes, then use the artillery gang to attack it again, and the infantry gang can also attack it..."

At the beginning, the father-in-law first told the Emperor about the division combat plan, and focused on the idea of ​​a separate artillery formation to make it more effective, rather than mixing it with infantry and battalions in the past.

"This is because of actual selection and practice. It is not possible for the unsuccessful people to obtain it suddenly. If it is not as good as it is, it is not enough to defeat the enemy. I said that in five years, the imperial army would be organized into no less than 90,000 troops in three divisions, thinking that it would be permanently prepared... If all of them are recruited, the money and food expenses will be huge. Therefore, I will first train a division and recruit all personnel, weapons and equipment, and the actual amount of soldiers... I will wait for the conquest of the Eastern Band and Ryukyu, and the actual combat inspection. If the division can be used, it can be carried out."

This section is also a part of my father-in-law who must point out to Wanli that the Ming Dynasty Imperial Army must have a fixed amount of troops and truly strengthen training, so that the money and grain expenses will be huge. Given the current limited funds, he can only form a division first, and after testing his combat effectiveness in actual combat and gaining money and grain, he will consider expanding the second division.

This is called step by step. You must not expand it at will to reduce the combat effectiveness of the Imperial Army.

"I think that if there are three or five A-level permanent divisions, which can gather or disperse, you will not worry about maritime affairs. It can also be used in Liaodong and northwest. When it comes out, it will be fought against the enemy. When it is close, it can help the city defend... In order to make the division officers and soldiers familiar with the tactics, I think that if you are elected to recruit Western coaches, the coaches will practice the same camp, the same method, and the same equipment will benefit. The officers and soldiers are not limited to our Ming Dynasty children. Those who are overseas who are naturalized in our dynasty can recruit them..."
Chapter completed!