Chapter 147: A Man Determined to Seize the Fifty States

Yang Chen smiled calmly, raised his eyes and looked at the crowd with a firm gaze.

“There are three ways to solve the problem of the Little Ice Age, three strategies from top to bottom, if you are willing to listen.

I just don’t know which strategy you want to start with?”

Everyone looked at each other. They thought that the Little Ice Age was an unsolvable problem, but they didn’t expect that Yang Chen could come up with three solutions at once. This was beyond Lao Zhu’s expectations.

Weather changes are a fact that cannot be changed by human power. This is not only what Lao Zhu knows, but Yang Chen himself has also said it.

“Let’s listen to the best plan first. The best plan is more auspicious. I wonder what your Majesty thinks?” Zhu Biao spoke first and asked for his father’s opinion at last.

“Just do as Biao’er said. It’s the best strategy. Yang Chen, please tell me what is the best way to solve the problem of the Little Ice River?”

It was very rare for Old Zhu not to directly call Yang Chen a “bastard”.

It is enough to show that this matter is very important to him. In extremely cold weather, the slightest carelessness can affect the livelihoods of tens of millions of people.

Zhu Yuanzhang admitted that he was a cruel monarch, but he did not want such a misfortune to be recorded about him!

As a vanguard commander, he was able to stand out from a group of heroes. The means he used were not supposed to be seen in public. If such an undesirable natural disaster had broken out during his reign as emperor, who knows how those who were defeated by him would have treated him.

“Okay, since you want me to say it, I will make it clear in advance, so that Your Majesty won’t think I’m just talking big later.” Yang Chen nodded in response to Lao Zhu.

“Whether it is the best strategy, the middle strategy or the worst strategy, everything I said is mainly for solving the problem of the Little Iceberg. If there are any problems that may cause misunderstandings, please think about whether it is more important to solve the problem or to resolve your inner confusion. It is not about whether it can be done or not, but whether the problem can be solved must be put first.

The problem cannot be solved, even if we take national strength into consideration, it is all fantasy. “

Everyone was already used to Yang Chen’s words, and after thinking about it for a while, they nodded.

Seeing that his elder brother agreed, Zhu Gang had no objection.

Seeing that everyone agreed with him, Yang Chen said:
“The first is the best strategy, which is very simple and crude.

There are currently nearly 50 million registered people in the Ming Dynasty. If all of them are counted, the number will definitely exceed 50 million. In a few years, this number will definitely exceed 70 million. By then, the population of the Ming Dynasty will reach its peak.

This so-called peak is not the peak that the land can’t accommodate, but the peak that food can supply.

With so many people, it is impossible to keep them all confined to the Central Plains.

The Crown Prince and His Majesty must have already seen the globe. The territory of the Ming Dynasty in this world is still quite small, and there are many worlds out there waiting for the Ming Dynasty to explore.

In the future, we will find a piece of habitable land and let the court control a part of the population to migrate. From now on, this colony will become the best backing for the Ming Dynasty to experience the Little Ice Age.

I know you must think this is something impossible to achieve, but please think about it, Your Majesty unified the Central Plains.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty left the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and the land where Han culture had existed for a hundred years. The people in these places had long known less than one-tenth or one-twelfth of Han culture.

After Your Majesty forced the southerners to migrate to the north, in less than ten years, didn’t the north obediently return to the hands of the Han people?

As the saying goes, all things are difficult at the beginning. We need to find habitable land and build an immigration road. As more people come here, the road will become more and more complete and safer.

Whether it is walking or transporting supplies, it will definitely tend to be stable in the end.

After being nourished by the Ming culture, the new land will inevitably develop rapidly and become a brand new Ming Dynasty.

The arrival of a small ice age in the future will greatly alleviate the damage suffered by the Central Plains.”

“Is there such a good place in the world?” Zhu Gang asked during Yang Chen’s short break.

Of course he knew that there were other lands outside of the Ming Dynasty, but he didn’t understand why there was such a good land in the world?

Zhu Biao glanced at his brother, and then he remembered that the globe had never been displayed in front of the public since it was invented by Yang Chen.

It was kept in the Queen Mother’s palace so that Zhu Xiongying could learn about the world.

“Next time, I will ask a few skilled craftsmen to re-carve Brother Yang’s globe and give it to my brothers. Otherwise, they will not have a clear understanding of the outside world. How can they find their own fiefdom in the future?”

Having made a decision in his heart, Zhu Biao looked up again, and Yang Chen spoke again.

“Of course there are, King Jin, you don’t know that besides the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty, there are countless good lands in the east, south, west and north of this world. If you are willing, I can even guarantee that I can find a new piece of land for you.

The farming conditions in this area are countless times better than those in the Ming Dynasty. As far as the eye can see, it is a vast plain. There are also vast plains and rivers in the middle of the land to ensure that there is no shortage of water for food.

All in all, there is probably no better location in the world for farming.”

Smart people have already guessed that the place Yang Chen was talking about was exactly the American continent that Zhu Biao had been looking for two months ago when he used his own money to organize a merchant fleet of a thousand ships to travel westward from Southeast Asia.

Yang Chen paused, looked at Zhu Gang and added:

“Prince Jin also knows that the best strategy is very simple and crude. It can almost be said that there is no need to think about it. You just need to execute it.

The only drawback is that the process may be very long, taking at least thirty years or at most two generations to complete.

The cost of both financial and material resources is astronomical, but if it succeeds, it will benefit generations to come.”

Zhu Gang is smarter than his brother Zhu Chong. He is better able to consider the pros and cons, but he still has questions.

“A land that has never been set foot on is indeed a good place. According to what you said, many people can be sent here to open up new territory. However, the culture of the Central Plains is ultimately inclined towards the hometown. If this place is too far away, I think it will be difficult for anyone to abandon their hometown and leave the Central Plains to make a living in a strange land thousands of miles away.”

Yang Chen hesitated and did not answer immediately. Subjectively speaking, the Han people in the Central Plains’ nostalgia for their homeland is absolutely unique among all civilizations.

However, the Han people in the Central Plains also have the idea that if they do not do well when they are away from home, they will never go home.

The moment the new world opened up, the great powers used various methods to open up the borders of the Qing Dynasty, which later allowed many Qing citizens to see the outside world.

So they wanted to make a name for themselves and chose to leave their homeland and set foot on the other side of the ocean. Isn’t their purpose just to dig gold and make money?

The example Zhu Gang gave is actually not true and not very convincing.

Before he could open his mouth, Zhu Biao spoke for him.

“Third brother, you have overlooked the human desire to become rich. As the saying goes, a big reward will always bring about a brave man. Once the common people know that there are many fertile acres of land outside the ocean, and that these tracts of land are ownerless, whoever goes there first will get more land. I think they will definitely not be willing to stay in the Central Plains for a few acres of land.

You must know that everything involves interests. As long as the interests are big enough and the gains they get far exceed their efforts, they will definitely choose to leave the Central Plains.

The attachment to one’s hometown is worthless in the face of the temptation of fertile fields!”

Yang Chen didn’t say anything. Zhu Biao had already expressed what he wanted to say in another way. Zhu Gang was stunned at first, then scratched his head in embarrassment.

“After all, my understanding of human nature is still not as profound as my elder brother’s. I will learn from you, my younger brother.”

“No, Yang Chen, we found a problem.”

Old Zhu, who rarely expresses his opinions, spoke at this moment.

“Your Majesty, please speak.”

Yang Chen looked up at Lao Zhu and asked curiously.

Old Zhu frowned slightly, and said with a thoughtful look on his face:

“It is inevitable that the Ming Dynasty will prosper in the future. If you really move some people overseas as you said, have you ever thought that there is nothing else on this overseas land?
What would happen if there was nothing but people?

Even if we initially send a small fleet of boats to search for territory overseas and establish a state on the coast, it will not be enough for subsequent development.

Migration to new lands would certainly require land reclamation, and by the time they could rely on their own territory for food, this would take half a year.

There is another thing. If a large number of local people migrate to the new land, will there be no one to cultivate the Central Plains’ own land?

Local grain is extremely important. Without the support of local grain, the Ming Dynasty would not be able to collect tax revenue at all.”

Zhu Yuanzhang has always been very cautious. When doing something, while others might think a hundred steps ahead, he would think two hundred steps ahead.

That’s why he stands out from the crowd.

For a moment, Zhu Biao couldn’t find any problem in what his father said.

The new land needs people to cultivate it, and it is absolutely impossible for the Ming Dynasty to send everyone there at once.

At least some people must actually go to the new land and start farming, making sure they can grow food and survive there, and then the rest will follow suit.

If everyone rushes in at the beginning, if there is a weather crisis, won’t everyone be wiped out?

Zhu Biao did not want the Ming Dynasty to die from a natural disaster before it even started. That would be extremely unlucky and there would be no place for him to complain.

Facing Lao Zhu’s confusion, Yang Chen was not surprised at all and said with a smile:

“Your Majesty, what you said makes sense, and I have also thought about this issue.

Let’s talk about the latter issue first. Since no one in Ming Dynasty cultivates land, I think there is no need to worry about this matter.

Your Majesty, you can try to think about it. The reason why dynasties in the Central Plains have always collapsed is basically the contradiction between people and land. A large number of high-ranking classes have selfish motives and use various methods to annex land for the profit of their own families, leaving the common people with no land to cultivate.

You know, as the dynasty became stronger, common people were willing to have children, and the number of people gradually increased, but there was not enough land to go around.

Eventually conflicts will break out and all means of production will be redistributed. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will withdraw a part of the means of production and expand new territories overseas.

The main body will have a smaller population, and those who do not want to take risks to acquire more land will be able to obtain more territory.

Although it is not more than that in the ocean, it is more than before. One acre of land is land, but two acres of land are not land?
With land, they can give birth in the shortest possible time. As long as there is enough land, the family will flourish overnight, and within a few years the population will be prosperous!
As for those lands that have been annexed, it depends on whether Your Majesty is willing to give them up. Let everyone hand over the land in one go. From now on, no matter whether it is the common people or the powerful, they will only have the right to use the land but not the right to buy and sell it.

Your Majesty knows more about this than I do, so I won’t go into details.”

“Also, with the development of the times, I believe that in the next few years, I will be able to lead the local people in Ningming County to invent and create more efficient tools.

By then, agricultural planting will be several times more convenient than it is now. Over thousands of years of historical development, Chinese farming tools have been changing at an extremely fast pace.

In the tribal period, people used pointed wooden sticks with short crossbars tied to the bottom for easy stepping and used them to turn the soil. This was called “lei”.

During the Xia, Shang and Western Zhou dynasties, bronze gradually replaced stone.

Iron tools appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The V-shaped iron plowshare reduced the resistance of tillage, and the iron plug increased the depth of soil turning.

Plows were invented during the Qin and Han dynasties, and ox-drawn plowing was common. The plows of the Han Dynasty were straight-shaft plows, which came in double-shaft and single-shaft varieties.

Irrigation technology was developed during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, curved plows appeared during the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, and water wheels were also invented. The curved plow became even more advanced during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, by shortening and bending the plow beam, reducing the number of parts such as the hoe and pressure hoe, making the plow body structure lighter and more flexible to use, and increasing farming efficiency.

This is the inevitable trend of history, and no one can stop it. In the future, the Ming Dynasty will embark on the path of maritime territorial expansion, and the whole world will become its colony. Whether compared with outsiders or with itself, if the Ming Dynasty wants to maintain its foothold in this vast world, the prerequisite is to raise its own civilization to a higher level.

With me here, does Your Majesty still worry that Ming’s technology will get worse and worse?”

Zhu Yuanzhang thought about it for a moment and did not say anything against it. Instead, he nodded to confirm his statement.

In fact, ever since Yang Chen appeared, Lao Zhu could clearly feel that the Ming Dynasty was changing at a rapid pace.

Ordinary people have not yet noticed this change, but he believes that at some point in the future, it will appear in front of everyone in a shocking way.

The method of purifying fine salt and manufacturing transparent glass alone have enabled the Ming Dynasty to increase tax revenue within one or two months, which used to take half a year.

One night, he was settling accounts with Empress Ma in the harem and was surprised to find that with the increase of these items, the Ming Dynasty seemed to be slowly becoming a very wealthy country, and the speed of wealth was expected to exceed that of the Song Dynasty!

Everyone knows that the Song Dynasty was rich. Relying on the economy of the south of the Yangtze River, the Song Dynasty generated 100 million taels of silver a year. Zhu Yuanzhang once could not understand how the Song Dynasty, which was obviously a weak dynasty, could create such a wealthy scene.

Later he realized that it was caused by environmental reasons.

The rulers at that time were willing to let the people go out, which led to internal and external competition, so that the Song Dynasty was developing all the time except for the military.

Farming techniques and human stories are changing at an astonishing speed.

If the Song Dynasty had not been destroyed, the Central Plains might have been able to break through its previous limitations and break through itself in another form, and would not have ended up being destroyed in the end.

Old Zhu is now standing in the world held up by Yang Chen’s hands and seeing through the dark clouds caused by history.

(End of this chapter)