The Ming Dynasty: Starting with the border troops, it was overthrown and the Qing Dynasty was destro

Chapter 277 Development Plan for the Ninth Year of Chongzhen (Part 1)

After Jiang Han proclaimed himself king and got married, the entire Sichuan province enjoyed a rare period of rest and recuperation.

The soldiers under his command have all settled down and started families, enjoying this hard-won peaceful life.

These soldiers, who once charged into battle and killed without blinking an eye, have now transformed into pillars of support for their families and wives.

Every day, they are busy planning the land they have been allocated, figuring out whether to plant rice or wheat, and how to fertilize and irrigate it;

They hired craftsmen and neighbors to measure the foundation, move wood and stones, and wholeheartedly planned to build a new house for their family that could shelter them from the wind and rain and allow them to continue their family line.

At night, they work even harder, striving to increase their numbers and keep themselves extremely busy.

Although busy, these men, who had fought across four provinces and risked their lives amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, did not find it tedious or trivial at all. On the contrary, they were happy to do it, and their faces were beaming with joy.

For these soldiers, this kind of ordinary life was something they had longed for for far too long.

While the soldiers below could rest, Jiang Han, the King of Han, was extremely busy.

Inside the Han Prince's Mansion in Chengdu, meetings of all sizes were held one after another, and the lights often stayed on all night.

Taking over Sichuan is merely a stage achievement; countless administrative matters still await Jiang Han's attention.

The most important issue is food.

Although the army seized nearly 300,000 shi of grain from the Shu King's mansion and the royal estates and grain stores of the Shu vassal state in various places, Jiang Han was still uncertain.

He now has to support more than just his army.

There are millions of people in various parts of Sichuan, and now they all depend on him, the King of Han.

Moreover, Jiang Han was well aware that the future climate would only get worse, and the Little Ice Age had not yet truly taken effect.

Even the Chengdu Plain, known as the "Land of Abundance," is not immune to severe floods and droughts.

Thinking of all this, Jiang Han felt a heavy weight on his shoulders and dared not slack off in the slightest.

In order to further solve the food problem, he first sought out Li Xinghuai, the newly appointed head of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Inside the Cunxin Hall, Li Xing stood respectfully behind a screen, holding a thick stack of books.

Seeing this, Jiang Han quickly waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down and reply:

"Sir Li, please don't be so formal. Just sit down and we can talk."

"The main reason I summoned you here is to inquire about the taxes and farm harvests of Long'an Prefecture and Baoning Prefecture this year."

"The statistics should have been compiled by now. Tell me about them in detail."

Li Xinghuai took the chair handed to him by the eunuch, carefully sat down halfway, and then began to report:
"Your Majesty, in the eighth year of Chongzhen's reign, although Long'an and Baoning prefectures suffered from floods, overall the weather was still relatively favorable."

“In Jianzhou, Cangxi, Qingchuan and other areas that were more severely affected by the disaster, production was reduced by about 70%.”

"The remaining prefectures and counties, along with the harvest from the newly established military farms, obtained a total of 113,200 shi of grain and 28,500 taels of silver from land rent."

Upon hearing this number, Jiang Han was somewhat surprised:
"Oh? So many?"

"Is there a correct count?"

Li Xinghuai flipped through the booklet in his hand and confirmed:
"That's right, this is the result submitted by Chief Clerk Li of the Grain Tax Bureau."

"According to him, the king's policy of equal land distribution and tax reduction won the hearts of the people. After the farmers in various places were allocated land, they worked diligently from morning till night."

"Of these taxes, the bulk of the revenue came from the military farms, accounting for nearly 70%, and the income was particularly substantial."

Jiang Han nodded with satisfaction after hearing this; the number was better than he had expected.

Today, he is the biggest landlord in Sichuan.

Besides the farmland distributed to soldiers and civilians, Jiang Han also held a large amount of land in his hands.

Jiang Han implemented a system of establishing estates for all the confiscated land.

Essentially, it's the same system that Sun Kewang implemented when he reorganized Yunnan's internal affairs.

After consolidating these lands, Jiang Han divided them into various camps and assigned dedicated personnel to manage them and hire tenant farmers to cultivate the land.

When collecting land rent, the tenants and the government split the profits 50/50.

It is far more efficient than renting to scattered small landowners, and it also eliminates the exploitation by intermediaries.

Finally, Li Xinghuai closed the booklet and carefully reminded him:

"Your Majesty, don't be fooled by the large amount of grain we harvested this year; there won't be any left next year."

"Don't forget, you made a golden promise at your coronation ceremony, reducing the taxes and levies of the entire Sichuan province for a year."

Jiang Han waved his hand:

"It doesn't matter."

"The grain collected last year, plus the grain confiscated by Chengdu Prefecture, is enough to support the military and civilians for several years."

But then he changed the subject, and his expression became serious.
"However, although we have a lot of grain stored up, we can't just sit around and do nothing, and we can't expect favorable weather every year."

"The years to come will likely be more difficult each year. Floods, droughts, and locust plagues will come one after another. We must plan ahead and make full preparations."

He stood up, walked to the hanging map, and pointed to several major rivers in Sichuan:

"First of all, it's the same old story: water conservancy projects."

"This is of paramount importance!"

"Reinforce the river embankments, weirs, and canals that need to be reinforced, and dredge those that need to be dredged. Do not be stingy with manpower and materials."

"Cement isn't anything precious. Tell the Ministry of Works to go all out and produce it for me!"

Jiang Han was speaking for a while, but then felt it was inappropriate, so he changed his words:
"How about this, we'll set up another department under your Ministry of Agriculture, called the Water Management and Cleansing Office."

"I will order a group of skilled craftsmen and engineering teams to be transferred from the Ministry of Works to your Ministry of Agriculture, and put them in charge of the construction and maintenance of water conservancy projects throughout Sichuan."

“The production of cement will be handled by the Water Management Office; I have other uses for the Ministry of Works.”

"Secondly, large-scale construction of granaries should be carried out in important prefectures and counties of each state."

"In years of plenty, grain is purchased at fair prices and stored to full capacity. In the event of an emergency, the warehouses are opened to stabilize grain prices and provide relief to disaster victims."

Finally, we still need to find ways to increase production.

Jiang Han looked intently at Li Xinghuai.

"For example, we can make some improvements to fertilizers."

Li Xinghuai was somewhat surprised upon hearing this:

"Your Majesty, farmers in various parts of Sichuan have their own methods for using farmyard manure."

"Some farmers mix human and animal excrement, wood ash, straw, and fallen leaves, pile them up, cover them with mud, and let them ferment and decompose. After one or two months, they can be used in the fields."

"Farmers living near the riverbank use river and pond silt as fertilizer."

“These methods have been passed down for thousands of years, Your Majesty need not worry about this matter.”

Jiang Han shook his head after hearing this:

“I don’t mean letting the farmers do it themselves, but rather concentrating resources and having the government handle it.”

He then explained,
“Don’t we have many camps in various places? These camps have a lot of land and need a lot of fertilizer to nourish the soil. The tenants alone cannot easily solve this problem.”

"For example, I remember that in the past, the night soil in the city was collected by designated people and composted, right?"

“These fertilizers cost money, and ordinary tenants are reluctant to buy them. This is something the government has to solve.”

In ancient Chinese cities, collecting excrement was a highly profitable business.

This industry is usually controlled by powerful local "dung tyrants" or guilds.

They charge urban residents fees or buy night soil at low prices, then ferment it centrally before selling it to farmers in the village, forming a complete industrial chain.

"This job may look shabby, but the profits are substantial. In the past, only people with connections could do it." "Now these people have either been dealt with by us or have run away, so it's perfect for the government to take over!"

Jiang Han analyzed the situation clearly and methodically.
"The government offices of each prefecture and county organized the collection of excrement within the city and established large-scale government-run composting farms outside the city to centrally compost fertilizer."

"These fertilizers will be supplied to our Yingzhuang first, and the rest can be sold to farmers at a fair price, making the most of the fish."

"Furthermore, the river mud you mentioned is fertile, and the government can organize laborers to excavate it in a unified manner."

"Right now, it's the dry season in winter. This method can both clear silt and fertilize the fields, which is a win-win situation."

Jiang Han found it increasingly feasible as he listened, and instructed Li Xinghuai:
"Write this down carefully. When you get back, write down a detailed plan for the methods I've described."

"Make two copies. Give one to me and keep one for your Ministry of Agriculture's records."

"When we examine the results later, we can compare them and determine who has done what and who has done what."

Li Xinghuai nodded quickly after hearing this and carefully noted it down.

He secretly admired him, thinking that the king was indeed worthy of his title, even considering such a "lowly" occupation as human excrement so thoroughly.

But in fact, Jiang Han had more to do with farmyard manure than just manure.

He kept thinking about whether he could make some fertilizer.

Chemical fertilizers are arguably one of the greatest inventions of all time, having a revolutionary impact on increasing grain production.

As we all know, the main components of fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen fertilizer promotes leaf growth and makes plants lush; phosphorus fertilizer promotes root development and fruit ripening.
Potassium fertilizer can enhance crop resistance to adverse conditions, such as disease, cold, and drought.

If Jiang Han can develop fertilizer, then significantly increasing the yield per acre will be a given.

Coincidentally, a substance similar to fertilizer was indeed prevalent in the late Ming Dynasty.

This substance is potassium nitrate (KNO), a compound containing nitrogen and potassium.

This thing sounds unfamiliar, but it becomes familiar when you change the name.

Potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter or nitrate stone in folk terms, is a key raw material used in the military to manufacture black powder.

However, ordinary saltpeter cannot be used directly as fertilizer.

During the late Ming Dynasty, most saltpeter was extracted from saltpeter soil, and the potassium nitrate in it was not very pure and contained a lot of impurities.

If applied directly to farmland, not only will the nutrients be difficult to absorb, but it may also burn crops and even damage the soil structure.

Therefore, Jiang Han had to find a way to remove the impurities from the soil saltpeter and then mix it into fertilizer.

Moreover, the most crucial point is that saltpeter is a key material for making gunpowder, and the military's needs must be met before any surplus can be used to make fertilizer.

But with fertilizer, you have to produce it in large quantities, otherwise one or two kilograms of fertilizer simply cannot meet the demand.

Thinking of this, Jiang Han suddenly had a flash of inspiration and looked at Li Xinghuai:

"Manager Li, you are a native of Sichuan, do you know where in this province there are large-scale saltpeter mines?"

"It's the saltpeter used by the military to make gunpowder, and I need it urgently."

Li Xinghuai was taken aback by his question, not knowing how the topic had suddenly shifted from grain to saltpeter, and didn't react for a moment.

After a moment's thought, he slowly spoke:

"Your Majesty, in my hometown of Jiangyou, there is a very large saltpeter-producing area."

"Oh? Tell me carefully!"

Li Xinghuai gathered his thoughts and replied:
"There is a Lao Jun Mountain in the area of ​​Chonghua Town, north of Jiangyou County."

"This mountain is quite magical. There are many naturally formed salt caves in the mountain, which are quite large. The more famous ones are Daxing Cave, Chaoyang Cave, and Tianyu Cave."

“These caves are cool all year round, and the soil in the cave walls and bottom is rich in saltpeter. The villagers in the vicinity have a tradition of going into the caves to boil saltpeter for generations.”

The Lao Jun Mountain mentioned by Li Xinghuai is a famous nitrate mining area in Southwest China, with a unique geological structure and rich nitrate mineral deposits in its caves.

During the Ming Dynasty, the saltpeter needed for the wars in the southwest was mainly sourced from here; and during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the saltpeter from this area was mined on a large scale in order to attack the local chieftains of Dajinchuan and Xiaojinchuan.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Han's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected there to be such a large-scale saltpeter production area in Jiangyou. It seemed that this region should be brought under government control.

Seeing Jiang Han's interest in the nitrate cave, Li Xinghuai, who was on the other side, naturally understood his thoughts and couldn't help but show a troubled expression.

"Your Majesty, do you intend to take over all the saltpeter caves on Lao Jun Mountain and then hire people to mine them?"
"In my opinion, this matter may be somewhat difficult to handle."

"Hmm? What's the problem?"

Li Xinghuai sighed and explained in detail:

"Your Majesty may not know this, but in fact, under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, the saltpeter caves of Laojun Mountain have always been state-run."

"In order to secure the raw materials for gunpowder, the imperial court incorporated the villagers who were boiling saltpeter in the vicinity into saltpeter craftsmen households, with sons inheriting their fathers' business and making saltpeter for the imperial court generation after generation, and they were not allowed to change their profession at will."

"As far as I know, there are no fewer than three or four hundred registered saltpeter households in Chonghua Town."

"However, this job is extremely arduous, and the artisans have to pay the government a tax every year."

"If the quota is not met, either the family has to pay the tax back out of their own pocket, or they have to perform even more arduous corvée labor."

"In addition, the work was arduous and the pay was meager. The monthly rice rations issued by the government amounted to only three to five bushels of grain, which was not enough to support a family."

"But even with such a small amount of grain, it is still subject to layers of exploitation, and how much you can keep depends entirely on luck."

At this point, Li Xinghuai shrugged.
"In the long run, who would still be willing to do this kind of dangerous and hungry job?"

"So all these saltpeter makers fled, taking their families with them and hiding in the deep mountains, never to come out again."

"The Lao Jun Mountain range is continuous and has a complex terrain. The various salt caves are scattered and hidden."

“These escaped nitrifiers took advantage of the complex terrain to deal with the government officials.”

"They relied on their skills to find saltpeter soil, dig saltpeter pits, and privately refine saltpeter, then secretly transported it to the town at the foot of the mountain to sell to merchants who made fireworks and firecrackers, in exchange for some money and food to barely make ends meet."

"Although I won't get rich, it's still better than being a beast of burden."

"The government had tried to enter the mountains to clear out the enemy several times, but had to give up due to the terrain."

"Today, Laojun Mountain has long been in a chaotic situation where officials do not carry out their duties and the people collect resources on their own."

Jiang Han suddenly realized what was going on; he hadn't expected this.

"So it was a chronic illness, no wonder."

"But now Jiangyou has changed hands. For both public and private reasons, we must take over these saltpeter caves."

He turned to look at Li Xinghuai and gave the order:

"Here's what we'll do: once you get back, immediately draw on capable personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Industry to organize a Saltpeter Management Office."

“I will order the Jianzhou garrison to send a troop over here, and make sure that this salt cave in Laojun Mountain is brought under government control.”

"As for the tanners inside,"

Jiang Han thought about it and decided to try diplomacy first, then resort to force.
"Do not send troops to suppress them for the time being."

"After you get there, find a local villager and have him go into the mountains to inform the saltpeter inside."

"Now that the new dynasty has implemented elegant policies, all artisan and military registrations have been abolished. They can freely choose their professions and no longer have to hide in dark caves as savages."

"If you still want to engage in saltpeter production, the government is willing to conduct fair trade and price the products according to their quality and weight."

"I'll accept all the saltpeter they produce, as long as it meets the quality standards, and settle the payment in cash."

"Once we've established initial trust, we can then discuss hiring with them."

"As long as they agree to work in the government-run saltpeter fields, I will not only provide them with their full monthly rations, but also give them extra wages based on the quantity and quality of the saltpeter they mine and refine. The more they work, the more they earn."

"This matter must be taken seriously. The military is increasingly equipped with firearms, which require a huge amount of saltpeter to manufacture gunpowder; moreover, the increase in grain production also requires saltpeter."

(End of this chapter)