Chapter 2137 The Flower War (45)

Before Xilinjueluo Ebao became the governor of Fujian, Funihan served as the governor of Fujian.

It was also he who was later transferred to Shandong and was keen to participate in the search and trial of the soul-calling case.

Due to climate problems, it is generally believed that crops with low water and heat requirements such as wheat should be grown in northern China, while crops with high water and heat requirements such as rice should be grown in the south. In particular, Guangdong can grow double-cropping rice within one year. However, the huge

The population accelerated the consumption of rice. During the Shunzhi period, Guangdong produced an average of more than 4 million shi of rice per year, but the population was more than 3.2 million. Based on the average grain consumption of 3.3 metric tons per person per year, the more than 4 million shi of rice was only enough for the province for half a year.

If we are too busy to take care of ourselves, we will not be able to support Fujian, which has less arable land and cannot produce double-cropping rice.

Although Zhejiang and Jiangxi are rich in rice, the price of food there is higher than that in Fujian and Guangdong, which are short of rice. This is mainly due to rampant rice smuggling in Luzon and Batavia, coupled with population pressure, and the fact that some land is used for

Planting hemp, cotton and mulberry trees, supply and consumption only maintain a delicate balance.

Even Fujian itself grows tobacco, cane sugar and other cash crops and transports them to the Yangtze River Delta, and then buys some silk fabrics from Jiangsu and Zhejiang and transports them to Taiwan, which then transports rice to Fujian.

However, this food source was a drop in the bucket for Fujian, and it was really necessary to open up further sources of rice attack. Therefore, Chen Hongmou, the governor of Fujian during the Qianlong period, suggested introducing Siamese rice to solve the rice shortage problem in Fujian.

From that time onwards, Qianlong had been promoting the planting of sweet potatoes. The sages of the Qianlong period were undoubtedly Yin Jishan and Chen Hongmou. Rice in Siam was cheap and it was a large granary in Southeast Asia. The East India Company and the Dutch also bought rice there.

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During the reign of Kangxi, there was a severe drought. He immediately opened the customs and allowed Siamese rice to be imported duty-free.

Chinese merchant ships need ceramics as ballast. After unloading the goods in Siam and other places, they can then load rice as ballast. This is a very profitable business. However, there are two problems. One is the fear that the food will fall into the hands of pirates;

The King of Siam believed in Buddhism and had a gentle temperament. After arriving in Siam, many crew members were unwilling to return to their country and settled directly there. This violated the Qing Dynasty's law prohibiting immigration.

Emperor Shunzhi advocated immigration to the Northeast, but banned immigration to Taiwan. Emperor Yongzheng advocated immigration to Guangxi, but population mobility was not so easy to control. Fortunately, if you want to go abroad to Siam, you can only take the sea route. The land route is not open, and the jungle is dense, so it is difficult to bring your family with you.

It is very inconvenient to talk and walk, especially for women with small feet.

After controlling the grain transport ships to Siam, the immigration problem was basically controlled, so Yongzheng ordered a suspension of continuing to transport rice from Siam. However, this policy only lasted for a few years, and there were cases of serious famines in Guangdong and Fujian.

Was forced to stop.

At this time, the population of Guangdong was still increasing. It was 4.2 million in the second year of Yongzheng's reign, and was still increasing. Faced with such a huge food gap, the emperor had no choice but to order incentives to import rice. At first, rice was used as tribute. Although the status of captains was not as good as tribute envoys,

Rewards will still be given, such as 10 pieces of silk and satin. Later it became tax-free, and then it was given to the top. Those who transported more than 6,000 stone can be treated as a total, and those who transported more than 10,000 stone will be rewarded at the discretion of the governor.

After the Qing-Burmese War broke out, Burma invaded Siam. In the following 10 years, Siam's food shortage was very serious, and the war interrupted food production. Even after Zheng Xin unified Siam, he still had constant wars with other separatist forces. Siam not only

Unable to export rice, we don't even have enough for ourselves. The price of rice has soared, making it a luxury product. Roots and bamboo shoots have become the staple food of the locals.

The year when Lin Yuhua risked his life to report the case, there was a severe drought in Fujian in the 45th year of Qianlong's reign. The grain harvest was almost impossible, neighboring provinces were unable to provide support, and the imported rice was not available, so the price of rice soared.

If grain production is reduced by 10%, grain prices will double. At that time, the price of rice was already more than 3,000 yuan per stone. Originally, at this time, Changping warehouse should be opened to release grain for relief, but the chief envoy asked the people to sell grain and put it into warehouses.

The warehouses are constantly being prepared for shortages.

Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty established the granary for the purpose of distributing grain to provide relief when famine occurred. However, by the end of the Sui Dynasty, local officials did not open the granary. This triggered a massive peasant uprising in the late Sui Dynasty. In a short period of time, the country changed hands, and Sui Yang became Li

Tang.

It is difficult to say whether Lin Yuhua did this because of his loyalty to the Manchus or for the common people. There is a saying, "Only the state officials are allowed to set fires, and the people are not allowed to light lamps." It describes that the rulers can do whatever they want, but the legitimate words and deeds of the people are subject to various restrictions.

Restriction. Lin Yuhua also did something later. At that time, two prominent families in Fujian, the Lin family and the Xue family, had a large-scale fight over water for irrigation of farmland. This was a bit like the local wars caused by European nobles to compete for mines.

, during the entire trial of the case, everyone including the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang accepted bribes, resulting in large-scale unjust, false and wrongful convictions, and eighteen people were sentenced to death.

At that time, the crime-discussing silver system proposed by He Zhongtang had been implemented, but the key point was how could these eighteen people be framed if they were rich and powerful. Lin Yuhua made several large lanterns at the Lantern Festival that year.

It mirrored a limerick about a corrupt official who was investigating the case. The inspector became angry and sent troops to break up the lantern festival. Three days later, he found someone to falsely accuse Lin Yuhua, and finally exiled WLMQ.

When the year is good, the Siamese bosses also want to bring some sumu. People can't just think about eating.

The Xiamen boss also felt that Siam’s wood was good and could be used to build big ships.

In the year of disaster, food should be released to provide disaster relief.

But what if all the grain in the granary is sold, exchanged for money, and divided among the spoils by the rats?

And as long as there is a system in which you can get support by donating food, there is room for maneuver. What is on the books may not really be there. It is like eating empty pay. On the surface, there are 1,000 young and strong soldiers, but in fact

There are only 500 old, weak, sick and disabled people in the army. They don't feel it at ordinary times. They will only find out when they really need to use troops.

In this way, we can understand why the chief envoy issued the absurd decree to build Changpingcang in the disaster year.

The Qing-Burmese War must be fought. Only in this way can the Qing Empire liberate Siam from Burmese control and continue to provide rice. Otherwise, Burma will have the initiative in rice.

Xilinjueluo Ebao submitted a letter to stop the war and stop the losses, and was demoted by Qianlong to replace Funihan. He did not stay there for long. Anyway, by the time the governor got the letter of recommendation from the Xilinjueluo family and returned to Fujian, the governor had already changed.

He became Ening, who was demoted from Hubei.

The examiner soon regretted why he left the capital. He did not get the position of a subordinate official, and Ening did not say that he would take him back, so his first imperial examination ended sadly.

There is no doubt that he is jealous of He Shen. No matter how hard he spends his life, nine times out of ten things will be unsatisfactory. It is difficult to maintain a balance in his heart when he sees other people's wealth and wealth.

It was originally very difficult to stand up again from the blow, and his parents passed away one after another, so that people couldn't help but wonder, why did all the bad luck happen to him?

Is there a total amount of luck? Some people are very lucky, but God will take it away from others?

For others, there is rain after a long drought, meeting an old friend in a foreign land, a night of flowers and candles in the bridal chamber, and an inscription on the gold medal list.

He encountered a long drought, lost his parents as a young man, had no wedding ceremony, and no title on the gold medal list.

How should he introduce himself to Heshen? Hezhongtang, do you still remember the imperial examination in the year of Wuzi in which you failed? I am in the same class as you.

The emperor calls himself "Ignorant", so he calls himself "I". "There is nothing you can do about your life, and you have to make yourself humble". It's not despicable. It's a word with multiple meanings. I told Nick that he must remember it.
Chapter completed!