Chapter 2726: Gui Zi Juan was impressed and negotiated
The negotiations with the Huguang scholars went smoothly.
Guan Yingzhen and Chai Ke put forward many specific and practical contents, and Feng Ziying also answered them one by one.
Of course, it will take more time for Feng Ziying to come up with a more detailed policy plan before we can get a clear picture of Feng Ziying’s thoughts on this cabinet, but Chai Ke is very optimistic.
With a good start, the contacts between Feng Ziying and Gu Bingqian did not make much progress.
It's not that Gu Bingqian didn't cooperate and support, in fact, Gu Bingqian was very supportive. The key is that Gu Bingqian lost control of the Jiangnan scholar group as Feng Ziying expected.
Li Banghua and Zhu Guozhen parted ways with Gu Bingqian immediately after Gu Bingqian's failure. Even Gu Bingqian knew this and did not hide it from Feng Ziying. His influence on Jiangnan scholars declined rapidly and significantly. It can be said that he was the most important Jiangnan official in the DPRK. There are only two people that can be affected.
The disintegration of the Jiangnan scholars shocked Feng Ziying and sighed. This was a scholar group that was connected by geographical connections. It did not have a clear political philosophy, principle, or interest orientation. This kind of group would split and collapse when it encountered major setbacks. But it's not a bad thing for me now.
Jiangnan ministers such as He Shijin, Chen Yuting, and Sun Shenxing who had never supported him were still able to do things, but they were limited to the situation at the time and did not vote to support themselves. However, compared with Li Banghua and Zhu Guozhen, these people can be attracted and attracted. .
With examples like Pan Ruzhen and Fu Shi, Jiangnan scholars such as Zuo Guangdou, Zhang Nai, Lu Yanzhang, and Dong Qichang even changed their ways. There is no reason why people like He Shijin should cling to certain ideas. Those who understand current affairs are heroes.
However, due to the disintegration of the Jiangnan scholar group, Feng Ziying had to make multiple separate contacts if he wanted to deal with this group.
This is not a matter of time, but Feng Ziying is not in a hurry.
Since Zuo Guangdou and the Songjiang Gang have expressed their willingness to cooperate and support, it may not be a bad thing for the others to let them go.
The negotiations with the Northlanders turned out to be the most difficult battle.
This made Feng Ziying herself feel funny.
I was originally the backbone of the Northern Scholars and a leader among the young scholars in the Northern Territory. However, I had to deal with the older generation of leaders among the Northern Scholars, but there were many obstacles.
The damaged face, different philosophies, and the mentality of ranking based on seniority all made Han, Sun and others feel very resentful towards Feng Ziying.
On the contrary, Qiao Yingjia looked away a little, and his attitude towards Feng Ziying was much more calm and relaxed.
“Have a good talk with Yu Chen and Bo Fu. After all, you are also a Northern scholar and they have great influence. You should also talk to Ziqiang and let Ziqiang communicate with them..."
Putting aside the knot in his mind, Qiao Yingjia seemed to be relaxed and relaxed. Accompanied by Feng Ziying, he took a leisurely walk to enjoy the flowers. "I know that you don't agree with some of my ideas and those of Yu Chen and Bo Fu. This is normal. After all, we They are two generations with different decades of experience. Your emphasis on industry and commerce makes Yu Chen and Bo Fu very dissatisfied, but they also agree with your establishment and emphasis on the Ministry of Agriculture..."
The attitude of the established scholars in the North toward Feng Ziying was ambivalent.
On the other hand, Feng Ziying spared no effort in setting up the Ministry of Agriculture and vigorously promoting the promotion of new crops. The cultivation and promotion of potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes in Shanxi and Shaanxi Mountains are going well, especially in several counties in northern Shaanxi and northwestern Shanxi. The potential of new crops in maintaining "food security" has been fully unleashed.
“Food security” was a term put forward by Feng Ziying when the Ministry of Agriculture was established. It also aroused the curiosity and interest of many people at that time.
Feng Ziying mentioned that for a country like Zhou Dynasty, which has a vast territory, uneven distribution of water and heat conditions, continuous growth in population, and has begun to enter a period of frequent floods and droughts, if we want to minimize the civil unrest caused by natural disasters, we can only Vigorously promote new crops, especially in areas with poor soil and irrigation conditions. New crops can largely make up for the insufficient production of traditional millet, wheat, and rice, and reduce the risk of starvation and displacement.
This view also aroused the interest of many people in the DPRK at that time, and was also the key to the establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture.
No courtier in this era could ignore the huge risks posed by natural disasters. Especially once hungry refugees gathered, the danger was self-evident. Countless dynasties collapsed due to this.
However, due to the imbalance in the geographical distribution of food production and the limitations of transportation conditions, it is difficult for the refugees to fill their bellies once they are hungry. Even if there is food in Jiangnan, Huguang and other places, it is difficult to transport it in time. In addition, due to transportation costs, Therefore, the role of new crops is self-evident.
The establishment of the Ministry of Agriculture is to maximize the potential of reasonable allocation of crops in areas with poor soil and water conditions, so that more areas that are not suitable for growing millet, wheat, and rice can be planted with potatoes, corns, and sweet potatoes, thereby minimizing the Food pressure during small disasters can also further reduce the risk of civil unrest.
These views also aroused heated discussions in the DPRK and the Central Government at that time. "Internal Reference" published several special issues, and "Today's News" also discussed this topic in a long article. No one in the capital was aware of it, so the Ministry of Agriculture finally went smoothly. of was established.
Northern Shaanxi and northern Shanxi have also achieved good results in promoting new crops in recent years. Although it is impossible to completely eliminate the risk of civil unrest, the feedback from all aspects is good. Potato yields, sweet potatoes , corn's adaptability to mountainous areas has quickly greatly improved many barren mountainous areas where it was impossible to obtain good returns.
Precisely because of Feng Ziying's unremitting efforts in promoting the issue of "food security", northern scholars, especially those from Shanxi and Shaanxi, also agreed with Feng Ziying's move. Even brothers Han Xu and Sun Juxiang Sun Dingxiang agreed that Feng Ziying's move was very good. The risk of civil unrest among Shanshan and Shaanxi residents has been reduced to a great extent.
You must know that Xu Guangqi proposed this new crop a few years ago and promoted it in Tianjin Health, but no one paid attention to it. So much so that Xu Guangqi tried planting it in Tianjin Health for several years and ran around shouting, but he failed. achieve promotion effect.
On this point, Shanxi scholars recognized Feng Ziying, but Feng Ziying's attitude towards restricting and even suppressing the land gentry and clan power was very clear, which undoubtedly shook the foundation of the scholars.
Scholars are the representatives of country gentry, but this situation is gradually weakening, especially in Jiangnan. The expansion of the power of merchants in Shanxi and Shaanxi also has an impact on this to a certain extent, but this does not fundamentally change this definition.
What Feng Ziying wants Han Sun and others to understand is that this trend is irreversible. Just as the Songjiang Gang's scholars have clearly realized this, they have begun to transform and invest capital in cotton textiles, shipbuilding, ports and terminals, operating fleets, and maritime industries. In industries such as trade and foreign development, this is also an important reason why Dong Qichang, Lu Yanzhang and even Zhang Nai turned to support themselves.
The problem is that Han Sun and others are still unwilling to change their minds. In other words, the northern gentry they represent are still addicted to the mentality of the past and cannot correctly face the development of the current situation. This makes Feng Ziying also It is difficult to handle the relationship with Han Sun and others.
"Master Qiao, you also know my point of view. It is difficult for Duke Yu Chen and Duke Bo Fuxing to explain to each other. They still hold some inherent ideas. I will also be honest with you. If the Northland wants to develop, it cannot be limited to The inherent concept, the mentality of blindly guarding a few acres of land is not suitable for the current development. The land in the south of the Yangtze River is fertile and fertile, especially in the north. But the gentry are also changing their ideas now, such as industrial and commercial investment, Yangzhou The stock exchange now has new industries listed for trading almost every month, which is quite popular. It has also attracted many wealthy businessmen from both the north and the south of the Great Wall to invest. To be honest, even some princes and nobles of the Chahar and Tumut peoples have invested. Businessmen from and from the Franji people have also participated in the investment, which is enough to show how optimistic they are about the prospects of our industrial and commercial development in Dazhou..."
Feng Ziying paused for a moment before adding: "Not to hide it from Master Qiao, the Gyeonggi Coal and Iron Military Industrial Complex and the Anshan Yi Coal and Iron Complex are also planning to be listed on the Yangzhou Stock Exchange, and the Xuzhou Liguo Coal and Iron Complex is also the first to do so. , although the shares involved in the transaction are very small, it has also attracted the attention of businessmen at home and abroad. Businessmen from France, the Netherlands and even England are also extremely interested. It is estimated that the funds raised will exceed 10 million taels of silver..."
“Ningbo Port Terminal and Yuguan Port Terminal are also preparing to be listed, which also attracts many Jiangnan gentry,…”
“According to you, our national policy of building a country based on agriculture is outdated now?” Qiao Yingjia asked slowly with cold eyes.
"No, Master Qiao, for us in the Zhou Dynasty, agriculture and land will always be fundamental, but our current output of food and land has reached a limit, whether it is corn, rice, or wheat per acre, that's it. No matter how good the weather is, the yield per mu will not increase much. If the weather is bad, the yield will be reduced. However, our population is growing day by day, so I strongly advocate the expansion of territory and foreign cultivation, but the population is increasing. Not only do we need to eat, we also need to have something to do. In addition to farming, if there are too many idle people, something will happen. We need to develop industrial and commercial industries to attract these people to work and make them tired. If you live, you can still support your family. You can't be idle, otherwise you will have to think wildly, such as killing the white snake and singing the strong wind, or letting go of one eye of the bronze man. Isn't this all the result of hard work?"
(End of this chapter)