A gentle, warm breeze wafted from the fields.
Golden wheat swayed, and the fragrance of earth and wheat spikes was refreshing. Having stayed in the city for a long time, Xiao Ming only occasionally went out for a walk and discovered that scenery was everywhere.
“Your Majesty is absolutely right. It’s just a pity that the number of these harvesters is too small, and they can only be used in plantations for now,” Zhan Xingchang picked up a wheat ear and examined it.
Due to the use of chemical fertilizers, the wheat planted by the common people this year was noticeably plumper than before. He couldn’t help but show a smile.
Xiao Ming rubbed a few grains of wheat in his hand. He put them in his mouth and bit them. The grains were very hard and had a distinct wheat aroma.
Zhan Xingchang saw this and was somewhat surprised. He said, “I didn’t expect Your Majesty to also know how to identify wheat.”
“I know more than you think,” Xiao Ming chuckled. Before harvesting, wheat often needs to be checked for its moisture content. If the moisture content is too high, it means it’s not yet ripe enough.
Zhan Xingchang also smiled. He had never regretted coming to Qingzhou Province from Chang’an seven years ago, because he always believed Xiao Ming was someone worth following. Now everything proved he was right.
Looking at the harvester, Xiao Ming said, “However, the problem you just mentioned will soon no longer be a problem. I have already arranged for the establishment of an agricultural machinery workshop. In the future, horse-powered harvesters and horse-powered drill seeders will be sold. At that time, your prefectural office can encourage production teams to raise funds to purchase these machines. This way, the silver shared by the common people will not be much.”
“Your Majesty is wise. I will return and begin working on this matter,” Zhan Xingchang replied with pleasant surprise.
After observing the use of the harvester for a while, Xiao Ming and Zhan Xingchang returned to the field ridges. He said to Zhan Xingchang, “After this grain is harvested, the prefectural office must collect agricultural taxes as soon as possible. We cannot let the soldiers on the front lines go hungry. The grain reserves in the six prefectures were originally enough for this war, but Bashu suffered greatly from the barbarians, so the imperial court still needs to allocate grain for disaster relief.”
Zhan Xingchang nodded slightly. He was well aware of this. In fact, after the northern war, the common people in the former feudal lords’ territories were very impoverished because they had been exploited too severely by the various feudal lords. Imperial court officials often asked the imperial court for grain instead of providing it.
This situation only slightly improved by the end of this year, but the various prefectures were barely self-sufficient, submitting very little tax revenue to the imperial court.
Overall, this war relied primarily on Qingzhou Province. Besides that, there was Jinling Province. After all, a lean camel was still bigger than a horse. Jinling Province was originally a wealthy area, and with the implementation of reforms, this always commerce-focused region quickly recovered.
According to the information provided by Pang Yukun, industrial and commercial development in Jinling City was now very rapid. After all, compared to Qingzhou Province, Jinling City had more favorable geographical conditions.
“I have noted it,” Zhan Xingchang said with a serious expression. The matter of military provisions could not be taken lightly. As the Governor of Qingzhou Province, overseeing the six prefectures within Qingzhou Province, his responsibility was immense.
Xiao Ming gently nodded. After establishing the “province” as an administrative body, he added the official position of “provincial governor.” This official position was equivalent to a high-ranking official in modern times.
His purpose in doing this was to streamline cumbersome government affairs. Without this provincial governor, the Grand Secretariat would have to deal with the affairs of all the Great Yu Empire’s large and small prefectures and counties, and the immense amount of government work would be unbearable for them.
With the provincial governor in place, the affairs of each province would be handled by the provincial governor, who would then consult the Grand Secretariat if they could not decide. This made things simple and clear.
After instructing Zhan Xingchang about the grain and fodder, Xiao Ming returned to Qingzhou City under the protection of his guards.
Upon entering the city gate, he saw artisans from the construction department demolishing the walls of civilian neighborhoods.
While the soldiers were fighting on the front lines, Xiao Ming was not idle. Government affairs, teaching, and technological research—not a single aspect was neglected.
This demolition of neighborhood walls was something he had decided on at the court assembly two days prior.
With the development of industry and commerce in the Great Yu Empire, the old city structure was no longer suitable. Qingzhou City now needed to develop from a feudal city to a modern city.
After all, railways had now extended into Qingzhou City. Now, this city needed more advanced planning, such as residential areas, commercial districts, theaters, and sports venues.
“Your Majesty, it is said that as soon as the Qingzhou City planning map was released, land prices in the city soared. Some common people in the city who sold their houses became rich overnight,” Qian Dafu said with a smile.
Xiao Ming smiled wryly. Sometimes, he had to admit that large-scale demolition and construction indeed drove economic growth. But at the same time, he remained vigilant.
He said, “Later, you go and give an oral message to Zhan Xingchang, telling him to suppress land prices. He must absolutely not indulge merchants in investing all their silver into this, otherwise, how can the Great Yu Empire’s industry develop?”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Qian Dafu responded. He understood Xiao Ming’s intention. This Emperor often spoke of “strengthening the nation through industry.” Now that the Great Yu Empire’s industry had just begun, profit-seeking merchants were pouring silver into real estate, which naturally reduced the silver invested in industry.
Giving a thumbs up, Qian Dafu said, “Your Majesty is far-sighted. In your old servant’s opinion, this is precisely why land prices cannot be allowed to rise. Otherwise, although the prefectural office might temporarily benefit, it would destroy the Great Yu Empire’s industry.”
“Sometimes, I feel you see things much more long-term than some officials,” Xiao Ming praised. Qian Dafu bringing up land prices was certainly not out of whim, but intentionally to remind him.
Qian Dafu chuckled. He said, “This is all learned from Your Majesty. Your old servant feels greatly benefited just by following Your Majesty for an hour.”
“You are becoming quite good at flattery.” Xiao Ming glanced at the demolished neighborhood walls. However, he also understood that preventing any rise was impossible. What he needed was to control it within a reasonable range.
After all, if the common people didn’t sell their properties, merchants couldn’t move into commercial areas. From his perspective, sometimes he couldn’t be wishful.
Along the central cement road, the carriage headed straight south. The end of the road was his imperial palace.
This morning’s itinerary was to inspect agriculture. In the afternoon, there was another very important matter: his long-awaited rubber.
In fact, last year, the Dutch had brought back three ships full of rubber and some rubber tree seeds. During this period, Lu Tong had assigned the tasks of rubber vulcanization and molding to the chemical academy. A person’s energy was limited. Lu Tong, like Lin Wentao, could not specialize in everything, so he could only share the work with others, and at the same time, cultivate more talents for the Great Yu Empire.
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