For Wei Guangwei's invitation, Feng Ziying naturally couldn't refuse, this one can also be regarded as a representative of the Zhongli faction, and he is a native of Beizhi, and he has a good relationship with Qi Yongtai, just with this relationship, Feng Ziying can't refuse.

Feng Ziying's identity is more complicated, he is from Shandong, but he grew up in Datong, Shanxi, but later when he studied and took scientific examinations, he was counted in Beizhi Shun Tianfu, so Qi Yongtai (Beizhi), Qiao Yingjia (Shanxi) and Zhou Yongchun (Shandong), Geng Ruqi (Shandong) and others have a bit of affinity to him.

Of course, there are also scholars who are also from Shandong who are very cold to him, such as Wang Xiangchun.

Soon the four of them burst out.

Wei Guangwei is only in his early thirties, only ten years older than Feng Ziying and others, he looks like a gentleman, and his bearing is extraordinary, which is very eye-catching, compared to Feng Ziying, Fan Jingwen, He Fengsheng and others are much more immature.

Even though it was night, the streets of Zhangjiawan were still full of people, and the shops on both sides were hung with lanterns, illuminating the entire street as if it were daytime, and there was no imaginary closing of the doors.

"The Great Zhou Dynasty is prosperous, but it's a pity that this kind of grand scene is rare in our north." Wei Guangwei said with emotion, "The north is withering, but the imperial court has pushed forward the policy of opening the sea, although the income from the opening of the sea is nominally used for the defense of the nine borders, but Ziying, you are the initiator of this policy of opening the sea, do you feel that the biggest beneficiary of this opening of the sea is still the south, but our north has been abandoned to the side?" ”

Wei Guangwei's words didn't sound like much change in tone, but the more this happened, the more it meant that the other party had been pondering this issue for a long time.

"What else can we Northland people have except the enhanced commitment of the Northland Nine Frontier Defense? But is the defense of the nine northlands just for the sake of our northern provinces? Why do they think that opening the sea and borrowing money is giving us alms, so we should be empty and short-lived, why? We are unwilling. ”

Feng Ziying and Fan Jingwen exchanged glances, it seems that this Lord Wei has a useful intention in inviting his group to come out.

Wei Guangwei's point of view should represent the mainstream view of the Beidi scholars, even now Qi Yongtai, Qiao Yingjia, Wang Yongguang and others have accepted this strategy of opening the sea, and the proceeds of borrowing are mainly used for the defense of the nine borders, but the scholars who really have some insight can still see the long-term and huge benefits brought by the strategy of opening the sea to the entire Nanzhi, Fujian and Zhejiang, Liangguang and even the neighboring Jiangxi and other places.

Silk, tea, porcelain, paper, medicinal materials, these goods to be exported after the opening of the sea are basically the main production areas in the south, and even grain and taxes are also concentrated in Jiangnan and Huguang.

Once the sea is opened, the economic livelihood closely linked to trade will usher in a wave of greater development, which is not good news for the north, because the north has nothing to gain.

This means that Jiangnan will become richer and richer, and the voice of the southern gentry and businessmen will also be enhanced, although the economic base determines the superstructure, although the scholars of this era may not be able to really analyze and demonstrate from the point of view of modern political economy, but there is no doubt that as the most intelligent and wise people in this era, they can also feel and understand the truth.

Take a look at the various guild halls gathered in the Jingshi City, in addition to the Shanshan Guild Hall, look at the Southern Merchant Guild Halls that abound in the Jingshi City, which are ten times more than the Guild Guilds in the North?

Everyone knows very well what this kind of merchant gang stands and means.

Look at the various street shops in this Zhangjiawan market, southern goods, silk, tea, cloth, medicinal materials, porcelain and antiques, and how many percent of the merchants from the north have accounted for?

This is Tongzhou under the Jingshi City, a real hinterland of the Northland, and the power of the southern merchants has already infiltrated here.

"Ziying, Mengzhang, Kexuan, I know that my point of view is a little narrow, well, judging from the thoughts of Duke Qi and Duke Qiao, they can't see this, but they still support this strategy of opening the sea, they are considering the problem from the perspective of the entire imperial court, because the nine sides can't afford to delay, so they can only take this step,......"

Wei Guangwei's words shocked Feng Ziying, Fan Jingwen and He Fengsheng, but they didn't expect Wei Guangwei to see this a long time ago.

"But it's okay to think about the overall plan of the imperial court, but after reflection, don't we have a little room for redemption in the north? Just watching the South flourish and we have nothing to do? We're ashamed of the Northland. Wei Guangwei's eyes were dignified and he looked at Feng Ziying, "Ziying, Duke Qi and Duke Qiao have always said that you may be inadequate in Jingyi poetry, but you have a clever way to break through the trap, how can you teach me?" ”

Feng Ziying was silent, and Fan Jingwen and He Fengsheng's eyes also fell on Feng Ziying.

This question is so big that even Feng Ziying can't answer it easily.

"Uncle Xian, your question, Master Qi and Master Qiao actually mentioned it very implicitly, that is, why since the Tang and Song dynasties, why is our northern land increasingly declining, while the south is in the ascendant?" Feng Ziying did not answer Wei Guangwei's question, but set another question.

And this question seems to be sharper and more acute, making people feel more that the heavenly way of historical changes is impermanent, why before the Song and Tang dynasties, the north has always been the center of the entire country's imperial court, whether it is Chang'an, Bianliang, they are all firmly in the upper hand, but now it has become so?

In fact, since the Northern Song Dynasty, the country's center of gravity has begun to shift to the south, whether you admit it or not, this is an irrefutable and irreversible reality.

"There may be many answers to this question, and there is a certain truth, such as the continuous war in the north, the relative stability of the south, the migration of the population from the north to the south, and the former Song Dynasty court was centered on Hangzhou, so it naturally promoted the development of Jiangnan, but the younger brother thinks that this is not the most important reason." Feng Ziying paused before saying: "The junior brother thinks that the most fundamental and critical factors are two, first, the natural conditions for agriculture in the south are better, the north is more arid, and there are more disasters, in comparison, the south has better water, heat and light conditions,......"

Feng Ziying briefly popularized the influence of water, heat, light and soil on the development of agriculture to the three of them, although these factors are known to everyone, but when Feng Ziying used a relatively professional and modern vocabulary to explain the reasons for these reasons and the impact on agricultural planting, they still shook them fiercely.

At least they have never really understood the requirements of water, heat, light and soil for wheat, rice, cotton, and mulberry, and they are more of a traditional and simple superficial thinking, but Feng Ziying has taught them another lesson today.

"Wait a minute, Ziying, do you mean that the conditions for agriculture in our northern land are not comparable to those in the south anyway? Then why before the Tang and Song dynasties, our north was more prosperous and prosperous, but the south was sparsely populated, like a wilderness? Without waiting for Wei Guangwei to speak, Fan Jingwen couldn't hold back at first.

"Mengzhang, then let me tell you, this is the change brought about by the improvement of agricultural production technology, from the Song Dynasty after the introduction of Champa rice in the Champong country, this kind of rice has a short growth period, drought tolerance, high yield, more suitable for the weather in Jiangnan, Huguang and Liangguang, or the water, heat and light in these areas are more suitable for this kind of rice planting, can achieve two crops and three crops a year, and the same area of rice yield per season is about twice the yield of wheat in the north, in this case, As a result, southern agriculture has completely overwhelmed our northern ,...... in solving the most critical problem of having enough to eat."

Feng Ziying was very calm and cruel and dealt a fatal blow to several people.

"When this kind of rice has established its dominant position, it is very unlikely that we in the north will be able to make it back in agriculture, because we can think about it, assuming that one acre of land in the north can produce 100 catties of wheat in one season, and the south can produce 200 catties ,......of rice in one season, and it can also be planted in rotation for two or even three seasons of rice and wheat every year, even if the north can make up for it in the rest of the time, but in fact we all know that this huge gap in grain returns is as high as four or five times is not something else that can be made up."

Several people are silent, He Fengsheng is a native of Huguang, so he naturally understands this truth, especially the difference between the north and the south in planting rice and wheat, and Wei Guangwei and Fan Jingwen are almost depressed when they want to understand this truth.

"When there is enough food to fill the belly, the population will naturally increase, and when the population is more and more, and the food is temporarily sufficient, then more land can be freed up, or other land that is not suitable for growing rice and wheat can be used to grow mulberry and hemp and tea leaves, when women and children can still spin and weave cloth in their leisure time, how can we compete with the south in the north?"

Feng Ziying said lightly: "This is not counting the dense river network in the south, for the huge advantage of transportation consumption costs, we are very clear that the difficulty and huge extent of the supply of grain and salary in the nine sides is actually the loss of transportation, and if there is a canal like this under our feet along the nine sides from the northwest to Liaodong, then it is very easy for our food and salary expenditure to drop by half,......

Wei Guangwei felt that he had never been "brainwashed and beaten" like today, in fact, many problems were not complicated, and he would understand it if he thought about it carefully, but he had never thought about it before when he wanted to think about the overall situation of the system, but when Feng Ziying listed them one by one, he felt that he was completely convinced, and he even had no room for refutation.

"Ziying, according to what you say, we have no chance in the north?" Fan Jingwen took a few breaths, he felt that Feng Ziying's words were like a boulder pressing on his heart, difficult to move, and he wanted to refute and overturn it, but he couldn't find a reason and basis.

"In the current production model, which basically revolves around the basic needs of food and clothing, it is difficult to change the situation when the population in the south is larger and the traditional agricultural conditions are more advantageous, well, maybe we still have some opportunities in the north, but it is basically impossible to completely reverse it." Feng Ziying replied rationally and affirmatively.