"That's all you need to know about this matter. Remember not to spread it. I'm more concerned about Fragrant Pig No. 1. Now it seems that Minister of Agriculture Peng Fang is doing a very good job."
As he spoke, Fu Xiaoguan handed a piece of information to Zhuo and his group, "Look, after a year of development, Xiangzhu No. 1 has become popular throughout the Wu Dynasty."
"This pork has been well received by the public, and the price has increased by two cents compared to last year. This year's sweet potato harvest is huge, so I'm afraid the price of pork will fall next year."
"Firstly, seeing the profits from pig farming, there will definitely be more people raising pigs next year. Secondly, sweet potatoes solve the problem of feed, which can reduce costs further. But there is one thing to be careful about. I am worried that if too many people start raising pigs at once, the price will be cut in half, just like rice."
"But this is not easy to control, so the cannery needs to be built as soon as possible. I went back to the palace and talked to Shulan and the others about this. They are tinkering with it."
Nangong Yiyu was incredulous when he heard this: "Pork can be canned?"
Fu Xiaoguan grinned and said, "I'm telling you, canned pork is delicious. You'll know when it's ready."
"By the way, the New Year is just over a month away. This year's rewards for officials will be the same as last year, with an extra month's salary. Lord Meng, please have the Ministry of Revenue calculate the amount and continue to withdraw it from the treasury of the Sitong Bank."
"When counting, we'll include those Jinshi candidates who haven't been assigned yet this year... I remember selecting over 370 Jinshi candidates, but only about 100 were assigned. There are still 200 to 300 candidates without vacancies. We'll also give them a quota. After all, they're considered reserve officials in our dynasty."
Last year, the Ministry of Revenue counted more than 8,000 officials. This year, the number is actually about the same. This year, more than 100 officials were taken down during the rectification of the civil service, and more than 100 more officials were added, so the number is considered to be full.
But Your Majesty allowed Wen Canghai to recruit more than 300 Jinshi, plus more than 60 people who came from Wofeng Road - after these more than 60 people were arranged, there were nearly 300 more people.
His Majesty kept these 300 people in Guanyun City, and now they are taking turns interning in various departments - His Majesty said this is called cadre training. Well, this training is quite good. His Majesty also asked the Ministry of Revenue to pay them monthly salaries according to the standards of county magistrates... His Majesty seems to be very rich. After returning from his inspection tour, His Majesty actually paid 10 million taels of gold to the Ministry of Revenue. Where did he get it?
This became a mystery. Both Meng Changping and Zhuo Yihang were very curious about it and tried to get the answer from His Majesty many times, but His Majesty just smiled and said nothing.
By the way, the treasures that Liu Jin brought back were put into the imperial treasury by His Majesty... They were valuable things worth tens of millions of taels of silver!
That's true. After all, Your Majesty fully supported Liu Jin's voyage, but this will not happen again. If he goes out to sea again, the Ministry of Revenue will have to take over the matter.
As for the canned food issue, the Ministry of Revenue should also consider it as an investment, and the profits will be distributed according to the proportion of each party's investment.
Meng Changping thought a lot and decided to write down his ideas in a memorial to His Majesty for review one day. The silver in the Ministry of Revenue must also be put into use. Otherwise, the silver in the treasury will increase, but the national treasury silver will not increase, which is not a good thing.
"Nursing homes and orphanages across the country will also need a batch of silver this New Year," Fu Xiaoguan looked at Meng Changping, who quickly waved his hand. "Your Majesty, this money must come from your treasury. Although we collected over 60 million taels of tax silver this year, rebuilding the Daling River embankment next spring will require tens of millions of taels. The Ministry of Works hasn't yet released the budget for the agricultural drainage ditches you mentioned. This is a huge expense, and I estimate it will be in the hundreds of millions..."
"The Ministry of Revenue can't afford it! This is what I'm thinking. For this agricultural irrigation and drainage system project, it would be better... it would be better if Your Majesty could provide another 10 million taels of gold and have the Sitong Bank print another 100 million in silver notes. Then this major issue would be resolved."
Fu Xiaoguan laughed heartily. "Don't dream! I can't conjure up gold. As for the agricultural irrigation and drainage system, you should decide which state to start with and take it step by step. Printing too many banknotes is not a good thing. The Wu Dynasty's economy isn't big enough yet."
"But this matter is a priority for the government next year. I will be going to sea next year. The three of you, the Prime Ministers, should discuss and formulate a plan for this matter, and strive to complete it within the first five-year plan."
There are only three years left in the first five-year plan, and Your Majesty seems a little anxious.
But Zhuo Yixing was not thinking about this question yet. He asked again in a low voice: "Are you really going to sea?"
"really!"
Fu Xiaoguan took a deep breath and said, "Now that we have found a good harbor in the southern and western seas, I want to go to the east, which is the place I told you about, Xiaye."
"Construction of the South China Sea and West China Sea ports will begin early next year, but the East China Sea port will have to wait until I occupy it."
"This way, we'll have three seaports. With these seaports, we can build more and larger warships and ocean-going cargo ships. After we've finished dealing with things on land, our focus will shift to the ocean."
"What I hope is that during the second five-year plan, we can explore routes to all parts of the world and establish three major naval fleets."
"This is a long-term strategic goal. Let's take it one step at a time. Let's not discuss this issue in detail for now. Lord Meng, when Minister Peng returns, tell him to come to the Imperial Study to find me. Liu Jin brought back some goodies from his last voyage... Don't look at me like that. I'm not talking about those treasures. I'm talking about seeds!"
Among those boxes of seeds, Fu Xiaoguan found three good things that he was familiar with:
corn!
Potato!
And chili peppers!
The rest he didn't recognize, and they smelled like spices, maybe.
Whether you know them or not, you have to plant these things and wait until autumn to see them.
This matter has to be handed over to Wang Er by the Ministry of Agriculture. Wang Er will make him feel more at ease no matter what. So let Wang Er cultivate these things again. The focus is on corn, potatoes and peppers. Once these things are planted, they will be three powerful weapons!
Corn and potatoes will not only drive the rapid development of the breeding industry, but they will also have many uses.
The three prime ministers did not know the great significance of these seeds. Anyway, the emperor liked to tinker with these inexplicable things.
"After the New Year, send someone to Chi Le Chuan to tell Tuoba Kang to temporarily close trade between Xinzhou and Lanqi Commercial City. I will write him an imperial edict before I leave."
What does this mean?
Fu Xiaoguan didn't explain, and continued, "Tell Zhuo Bieli to come over later. I want to see him alone... in the Yangxin Palace."
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