Chapter 1192 Geng uses strengths and avoids weaknesses, comparative advantage (fourth update!)

Just when Feng Ziying's injury caused all kinds of unexpected disputes in Jia's house, Feng Ziying was chatting with Chai Ke who had just finished talking to Zhu Zhiren.

 After the inspection, Jizhen's purge of the 60,000-strong Beijing camp is proceeding in full swing. It is expected that this army will be completely reorganized within two or three months to become the new Beijing camp.

Both Yang Zhaoji and He Huchen have been recognized by Chai Ke and Yuan Keli. If nothing unexpected happens, they can both obtain a guerrilla status. This is a qualitative leap for both Yang Zhaoji and He Huchen, from grassroots military attachés to mid-level military generals. With the status of truly taking charge of one unit, and the key lies in the next step, they may even have the opportunity to take charge of two or even more troops as a guerrilla.

After the inspection, Chai Ke and Yuan Keli followed the border wall, from Santun Camp through Taipingzhai, Jianchang Camp, Yanhe Camp, Taitou Camp to Shimen Camp, and finally arrived at Shanhaiguan for inspection.

As the left minister of the Ministry of War, Chai Ke was extremely serious about his work. Ji Zhen was severely damaged this time. Of course, he had to conduct an on-site investigation to see the current situation of Ji Town, especially Shanhaiguan, which is the throat of Liaodong. It is a must-see place.

Feng Ziying naturally would not accompany Chai Ke all the way, but went directly to Yuguan Port, waiting for Chai Ke's arrival at Yuguan Port, and then returned all the way to Lulong after inspecting Yuguan Port.

"The emperor and some gentry in the capital are very dissatisfied with the performance of Shuntian Mansion this time. Wu Daonan, the hands-off shopkeeper, did a good job, and even Mei Zhiye was implicated."

The Mei family is a prominent family in Huguang. Mei Zhihuan was a Jinshi in the 39th year of Yuanxi, and he was also a shujishi. Chai Ke regarded him as the backbone of the Mesozoic generation of Huguang scholars. In comparison, his elder brother Mei Zhiye was inferior. Quite a few, but after all, they are all Huguang scholars.

Chai Ke's words made Feng Ziying a little curious. After thinking for a while, she said: "Master Zhu and the Mei family have some connections, and by the way, Master Chai, too..."

Chai Ke smiled and shook his head, "Mei Zhiye and I have no friendship, but his younger brother Mei Zhihuan is quite talented and upright. He is now serving as a member of the Ministry of Rites."

Chai Ke did not comment on Mei Zhiye, which was actually a disguised comment. Feng Ziying smiled and said, "It is recognized that Mr. Wu does not like secular affairs, but as long as the officials such as Fu Cheng, Zhi Zhong, Tong Xian and Xian Guan are selected, Okay, it’s nothing serious. The responsibilities of the general judge of Shuntian Prefecture are very important, and the Ministry of Official Affairs has given a quota of four to six. Considering that Shuntian Prefecture is different from ordinary prefectures,..."

"The Prime Minister of Shuntian has been vacant for almost half a year. This is also the reason for the delay in handling the refugee issue." Chai Ke did not hide anything, "Mei Zhiye is too rigid and rigid in his work, does not know how to be flexible, and is not efficient. The county below has not responded. That's great, but he was born in the Hanlin Academy, has great literary talent, and is quite famous as a scholar in the capital, so..."

Feng Ziying shrugged, with an indifferent expression, "It seems that it is good to have literary talent. Even if you are incompetent in doing things, you can still have this excuse to cover up. It is a pity that the common people have suffered. They can't rely on reciting two poems or reading a few articles. Gifts can fill your stomach,..."

“You, you, you have such an unforgiving mouth, and Mei Zhiye is not that bad...” Chai Ke laughed, and Feng Ziying also smiled and said nothing.

Feng Ziying accompanied Chai Ke along the Luan River outside the south of the city. This is the most scenic spot of the Luan River in Lulong. However, it is now covered with heavy snow and the Luan River is frozen, so the two of them walked along the river bank.

"This is the Tiger Shooting Stone where Li Guang shot the tiger. The grass in the forest was frightened by the wind. The general drew his bow at night and looked for the white feather in plain sight, but it was missing in the stone." Feng Ziying, a landowner, also introduced Chai Ke, "When Li Guang took office You Beiping Prefect, it is said that when he was hunting here, the wind and grass moved, and he mistakenly thought that the huge stone in the grass was a tiger, so he drew his bow and shot an arrow into the stone. When it was dawn, he tried to shoot another arrow, but it could not go in. It was obvious that people were in a hurry. How much potential is there in this state,…”

There is a tiger head stone on the bank of Luan River south of Lulong City.

"What, Ziying, what do you want to express? Can Yongping Mansion perform in an emergency, or is the Battle of Qian'an a trapped beast forced to fight out of desperation?" Chai Ke subconsciously compared what Feng Ziying said with the current situation. The connection was made, "Or maybe you think Shuntian Mansion is used to being pampered and has not been forced into a desperate situation?"

"Master Chai, you are overthinking this. I am just speaking out of my feelings. How can there be so many associations?" Feng Ziying quickly waved her hand, "In my opinion, the population of Shuntian Mansion is not that large, but in the north There is still some slack in the governance of prefectures and counties, otherwise there would not be so many refugees scattered in all directions. Of course, from the perspective of Yongping Mansion, I do not refuse. Even if there will be many difficulties in the early stage, Yongping Mansion must do its best now. For the construction of industries such as iron smelting, charcoal burning, iron making and cement, when it is difficult for local people to use them, migrants are actually a kind of resource..."

Feng Ziying's frankness made Chai Ke even more convinced, "Ziying, it seems that you have decided that your approach is correct, but putting agriculture first has been the national policy of the imperial court since ancient times. If there is no food, it will be the end of the world." If you don't have Mao Jiang, you will engage in such large-scale iron smelting, charcoal burning, iron and cement production, and most of these goods will be exported through Yuguan Port, and a large amount will be sold to the grasslands and Liaodong. This requires a large number of people, and it is We are strong laborers, but if everyone is like you everywhere, what will they eat and what will they rely on to support us officials, soldiers and merchants?"

"Master Chai, if we want to discuss this issue, it cannot be explained clearly in one or two sentences." Feng Ziying also knew that the big commotion she made in Yongping Mansion would sooner or later attract the big shots in the DPRK and China. Chai Ke was just the first to pay attention, and his views were also the most typical.

Food is the most important thing for the people. If everyone goes to work in the workshop, who will farm the land? If the grain fields are reduced and farmers no longer grow food, what will the common people eat? Without sufficient food reserves, once there is a disaster, wouldn't it immediately turn into an uncontrollable chaos?

Even in Jiangnan, there was less and less soil for growing grains, giving way to mulberry, hemp and other cash crops. This also aroused the concern of the imperial court. It repeatedly ordered Jiangnan to eradicate mulberry and hemp and not to change the fields. However, the selling prices of silk and cotton were high. Spurred by obviously more advantageous goods, no matter what the court ordered, it was in vain.

“Well, then simply tell me your reasons and thoughts.” Chai Ke said with great interest.

"Generally speaking, the conditions for growing grains in the North are not as good as those in the South. This is determined by the climate and water and heat conditions. However, the North also has its own advantages. It is rich in coal, iron and other ore resources, and there is a demand for materials such as iron and cement in various places. The mass production of these materials can help improve military, agricultural, transportation and other aspects of conditions, such as iron materials for making muskets and artillery, and making various hoofs, shovels, iron pots, and iron picks. , iron plows, hatchets and kitchen knives, etc. Cement can build more durable and fireproof houses, city walls and roads. It is easier to produce, cheaper and easier to transport than wood or even stone,..."

Chai Ke had seen the power of cement and was greatly shocked. He even felt that this kind of goods had epoch-making significance and could change a lot, especially the military significance. Feng Ziying actually wanted to use cement to build a road from Lulong. The cement concrete road from Funing to Yuguan was incomprehensible. Even if Feng Ziying repeatedly explained the value, significance and necessity to him, Chai Ke still could not accept it.

Of course, this was the attitude of the Shanxi businessmen in supporting Feng Ziying. No matter how difficult it was for Chai Ke to accept, he would not be able to interfere. He could only acquiesce, hoping that the benefits mentioned by Feng Ziying could truly become a reality.

“In addition to this, Northland also has advantages in growing cotton and introducing some new crops, but this may take a time process,…”

Feng Ziying introduced his idea of ​​going to Tianjin Wei to visit Xu Guangqi, who was living in seclusion in the experiment, to Chai Ke. If it were not for the assassination, Feng Ziying originally planned to visit Xu Guangqi after negotiating the immigration matters with Shuntian Mansion, but he did not expect that the assassination would happen. Something happened, it was delayed.

“Ziying, do you mean that the South and the North are different in all aspects, and each has its own advantages?” Chai Ke asked.

"Yes, my idea should be that the north and the south should each exploit their strengths and avoid their weaknesses to achieve comparative advantages. In this way, they can maximize their respective advantages and realize the interactive circulation of materials between the north and the south through the improvement of transportation conditions to achieve the ultimate goal. It's better." Feng Ziying smiled, "That's why I experimented with cement concrete pavement. Of course, this is just an experiment. In the south, the advantages of waterway shipping are still irreplaceable, but in the north some important commercial and official roads can be used on-site. Take the materials and use them.”

Feng Ziying brought out some of the most superficial economic strategies she had used as an official in her previous life. However, the technological productivity of this era was too low and backward, and many things could not be copied. Even the idea of ​​"comparative advantage" was somewhat specious, but For Chai Ke, it undoubtedly opened a new door.

"The truth is actually very simple. A shipbuilder who builds ships or an ironworker who smelts iron has been doing this for generations. If you ask them to farm the land or be an official, they will not be able to do it at all, and it will only cause trouble. It’s confusing, but if you ask an Imperial College student to smelt iron or build ships, can he do it? That’s why I say that we must use our strengths and avoid weaknesses and maximize our advantages to achieve the best production results. This situation between the north and the south is actually the same. , in a word, adapt measures to local conditions, take what everyone needs, do what they can, and achieve optimization.”

Chai Ke finally understood Feng Ziying’s point of view, “Then Ziying, what do you mean is that the imperial court can just let it go?”

"No, not necessarily, but the effect of direct intervention by the court is not very good, and it can easily cause conflicts, so why can't it be adjusted through taxes and levies? For example, if the court feels that there is too little grain cultivation in Suzhou, then it can use mulberry planting Hemp needs to pay higher taxes. Similarly, grain growing can also be encouraged in the North, and the taxes for growing grains will be lowered..."

There are so many modern economic and tax adjustments in Feng Ziying’s mind to stimulate and adjust economic development that it is difficult to explain them clearly to Chai Ke at the same time. He can only slowly instill and promote operations in them at the right time.

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 (End of this chapter)