bullyxtreme Chapter 188 He Deserves to Be Emperor
Chapter 188 He Deserves to Be Emperor
But then he suddenly realized something was wrong.
The idea of five small industries was indeed just emerging, but as early as July of the first year of Hongwu, Yang Shaofeng had already written a memorial to Emperor Zhu Chongba, mentioning the request to build an iron smelting workshop in Ningyang County.
Then the memorial disappeared without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. Zhu Chongba, that old man, neither gave a clear reply of agreement nor disagreement. Even when Wang Qiong came to Ningyang County several times later, he never mentioned the iron smelting workshop.
The memorial was intercepted, and the old man didn't even see it.
Or perhaps Lao Deng had already read the memorial, but he didn't have any extra blacksmiths to send to Ningyang County, so he simply chose to remain silent?
Forget it, I won't bother Zhu Biao this time. Since that old man is so ignorant and plays the silent treatment game with me, I'll just submit another memorial to remind him.
Moreover, this time I not only want to give you a heads-up, but I also want to find a way to extract some benefits from the ironworks from you, so that the people of Ningyang County will not lack farm tools made of steel.
After making up his mind, Magistrate Yang began to think about how to set up a reserve warehouse.
In fact, as early as the first year of Hongwu's reign, after the severe drought in Ningyang, Zhu Chongba had already issued an edict to all counties in the country to "establish reserve granaries, purchase and store grain for disaster relief," and stipulated that "each county shall be designated as having four granaries, set up in areas where residents gather, and selected elderly and virtuous people to manage the granary administration."
As the name suggests, the main function of the reserve granary is to prepare for disasters. In normal times, it purchases grain from the people at market prices, and then opens the granary to release grain to the people when drought or floods occur, so as to prevent them from being displaced due to drought or flood.
However, Ningyang County first experienced a drought, then a locust plague, and then a series of messy things such as the autumn harvest and land reclamation. Zhu Chongba also exempted Ningyang County from taxes, so Ningyang County did not need to consider transporting taxes to other places for three years. Therefore, the matter of reorganizing the official granaries and establishing reserve granaries was delayed.
It is now the second month of spring in the second year of Hongwu's reign, and the third month of spring will arrive soon. It is really not good to postpone the work of organizing the official granaries and setting up reserve granaries.
After pondering for a while, Magistrate Yang beckoned to Limpy Five and instructed him, "Brother Limpy Five, please have some people drawn from the laborers who are building roads in the south of the city to build a granary in each of the four directions of the county town and outside the city."
"Yes, we will build a granary near Jia Erlu in the city and have Wang Mancang in charge of its management. We will build a granary near Daxiazhuang in the east of the city and have the head of Daxiazhuang in charge of its management. We will build a granary near Xihe Village in the west of the city, Sidian in the south of the city, and Fushan in the north of the city."
"Once the granary is built, we'll set it aside for future use, and then we'll deal with it after the wheat harvest."
Even if Magistrate Yang were to start building the reserve warehouse now, it would take until the wheat harvest was complete before the first batch of grain could be stored. There was plenty of time.
After thinking for a moment, Yang Shaofeng simply had Liu Sanshier call him over and gave him a straightforward instruction: "The county is going to set up five reserve warehouses. You should tell the people in the commune that they should keep some of the wheat harvested this year for their own consumption and for making wheat seeds, and sell a portion of the rest to the county."
"The same procedure shall be followed for other grains that are harvested in the future. For example, sorghum and soybeans, after keeping some for our own consumption, a portion of the remainder shall be sold to the reserve granary."
"Let me make this clear to you in advance: this reserve granary will purchase the grain you have at market prices. When disaster strikes, the granary will be opened to release the grain, so that everyone will not have to flee famine due to drought or flood."
Liu Thirty-Two immediately widened his eyes and exclaimed, "No way! My goodness, there are several thousand people in Ningyang County. How much grain would you have to stockpile to feed so many people? We know you feel sorry for us poor folks, but we're not heartless. We can't take advantage of you!"
What the hell?
You dog, are you trying to make me feel too comfortable and want to send me to the execution ground in the capital to be roasted like a duck?
Yang Shaofeng glared fiercely at Liu Sanshier and shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting? This reserve warehouse was established by order of His Majesty the current emperor in all counties across the country. Even if you are taking advantage of the situation, it is you who are taking advantage of the court and His Majesty the emperor. It has nothing to do with me."
Upon hearing Magistrate Yang's explanation, Liu Thirty-Two realized he had misunderstood. He quickly slapped himself and bowed, saying, "Your Honor, please forgive me. I didn't understand what was going on and just talked nonsense. I will definitely explain it to the people and encourage them to sell more grain to this reserve granary."
At this point, Liu Thirty-Two exclaimed again, "This emperor is quite good. Last year he rewarded us with so many cattle, horses, seeds, and farming tools. This year he wants to set up some kind of reserve warehouse. He is indeed a wise and benevolent emperor who loves his people. He deserves to be emperor."
Yang Shaofeng glared at Liu Sanshier again, then helplessly instructed Limping Wu: "Forget it, let's just call all the heads of the communities and villages to the county government. I have to explain things to them clearly, otherwise they'll definitely screw us over."
After Limpy Wu bowed and agreed once more, Magistrate Yang completely lost the will to stay and watch Liu Thirty-Two and the others farm. Instead, he got up from his recliner and took Limpy Wu back to the county town.
……
Emperor Zhu Chongba is having a lot of headaches lately.
After reviewing the five-year plan for Ningyang County submitted by Magistrate Yang, Emperor Zhu Chongba realized with despair that while Yang Shaofeng could thrive in Ningyang County, setting up all sorts of haphazard workshops at will, the entire Ming Dynasty could not do as well as Ningyang County.
To put it bluntly, Ningyang County is rich. The workshops that Magistrate Yang set up have all made a lot of money. Even though he paid the people their wages, Magistrate Yang took a portion of it. The remaining portion distributed to the county government was enough to cover the various projects in Ningyang County.
However, the Ming Dynasty's treasury was inadequate; there simply wasn't enough money in it. If they were to implement a five-year plan like Magistrate Yang, the first problem they would face would be where to raise the funds.
Hongwu Tongbao?
Don't be ridiculous. It would be easy for the imperial court to mint Hongwu Tongbao coins, but minting them requires copper, and unfortunately, the Ming Dynasty didn't have enough copper available at the moment. The Hongwu Tongbao coins minted in the first year of Hongwu's reign had a far greater symbolic meaning than practical significance.
Paper money?
The thought of using paper money as currency gave Emperor Zhu Chongba a thrill.