Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath, stepped forward and patted Ma Sanbao on the shoulder; silence spoke volumes.
Ma Sanbao soon left the Eastern Palace with boundless determination and drive.
For the time being, Zhu Yunwen doesn't need to worry about going to sea.
Of the problems he discovered during his previous trips outside the palace, two have now been resolved.
Firstly, there's the issue of the people suffering from the cold in the freezing weather. The Ministry of Works has now ordered local governments to develop all the coal mines in the Ming Dynasty that are exploitable, and sell them to the people at cost price for heating.
So even though it's getting colder, almost everyone still has coal to use for heating.
The price of coal was very low; often, only two hundred copper coins were needed to buy several hundred to several thousand kilograms.
As long as the family isn't in dire straits, they can easily sell some firewood, work as laborers in other people's homes, and earn enough copper coins in a day or two to buy enough coal to get through the winter.
Therefore, this problem has been completely and fundamentally solved.
Besides the problem of the cold winter, Zhu Yunwen also had Ma Sanbao prepare to go out to sea to find sweet potatoes and potatoes.
Now only one problem remains: the people's land.
This problem is difficult to solve; it is the most challenging of the three.
Once implemented, it would affect the interests of many people, but Zhu Yunwen also understood that this matter should be done sooner rather than later and needed to be implemented as soon as possible.
Land reform must be implemented to return the land held by gentry, wealthy landowners, and landlords to the people as soon as possible.
Otherwise, when Ma Sanbao brings back the grain seeds next spring, these people will have nowhere to plant them.
Therefore, it is essential to ensure that these ordinary people have their own land before they can grow crops.
Otherwise, even if there is grain, it will only become something for the literati and wealthy landlords to exploit the common people.
Without their own land, ordinary people still can't get enough to eat.
Therefore, land reform and land privatization are urgently needed.
Realizing that this problem needed to be solved immediately, Zhu Yunwen summoned the Minister of Revenue, Zhang Shan.
Upon seeing Zhu Yunwen, Zhang Shan immediately bowed and paid his respects.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince!"
Zhu Yunwen waved his hand and said:
"No need for formalities. I called you here today because there's something relatively important I'd like to discuss with you."
The Minister of Revenue hurriedly said, "Your Highness, if you have any matters to discuss, please give your instructions, and I will certainly do my best."
Zhu Yunwen took a deep breath and said helplessly:
"Although I am eager to do this, if I were to actually ask you to do it, I'm afraid you alone would be absolutely unable to accomplish it."
Upon hearing this, Zhang San became puzzled and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Is what Your Highness has done something of great importance?"
Zhu Yunwen nodded to him, gesturing for him to sit down, and then said to the eunuch at the door:
"Go and call the Three Yangs here."
Soon, Yang Shiqi, Yang Rong, and Yang Pu arrived.
The Three Yangs had also arrived, as had the Minister of Revenue. Zhu Yunwen then got to the point and said:
"If we want to solve the problem of people having enough to eat, do you all know where the root cause lies?"
Yang Shiqi began by saying:
"His Highness once said that he wanted Ma Sanbao to go overseas to find something called potatoes and sweet potatoes, saying that these things could become the staple food of the people in the future, and that they could be produced in large quantities. I think that these two things should be the solution to the people's food problem."
Yang Rong and Yang Pu both nodded in agreement.
However, Zhu Yunwen sighed and said:
"While this problem may solve part of the food issue, whether the food will actually reach the mouths of the people remains to be seen."
Yang Shiqi frowned and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"Your Highness means..."
Zhu Yunwen did not answer directly, but instead posed the question to them, saying:
"I want to ask you, why are the people of this world starving?"
Minister of Revenue Zhang San began by saying:
"One reason is that there is too little grain, and it has always been in short supply, with few bumper harvests. Another reason is that even when there is grain, it is almost entirely controlled by the literati, the wealthy, landlords, and feudal lords."
They never worried about food and could even waste it, but ordinary people had to save every penny, and the poorest of them almost never had enough to eat.
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly and said:
"In other words, there was a meager amount of food, but it was controlled by the gentry and landlords, leaving ordinary people unable to get enough to eat."
So even if sweet potatoes and potatoes are indeed found overseas and cultivated on a large scale, will the poorest people at the bottom of society no longer have to go hungry?
Yang Rong looked at Zhu Yunwen and slowly said:
"So Your Highness means that even if there is enough food, it will still be in the hands of those nobles, and they are unwilling to provide enough food for the common people."
Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly:
"That's right, because if the people are well-fed, how can these nobles exploit them?"
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