Huang Yuntai was sitting in his office and sighing for a long time, when suddenly a small official came to report that three huge ships had come to the port outside the city, and they were angels who had traveled to the south and a group of people who His Majesty had asked to summon to return to the capital.

Huang Yuntai suddenly didn't dare to slack off, he knew that he couldn't do the position of governor for a few days, but he didn't want to inadvertently offend His Majesty's close attendants and erect a few more enemies for himself.

Huang Yuntai sorted out the guard of honor and hurried towards the east of the city. Prepare to meet the angels passing by on their way back to Beijing.

Tianjin was originally a military city, named after Tianjin Wei, Tianjin Left and Right Guards built a city in Xiaozhigu, Jinghai County to guard Gyeonggi. Before the governor of Tianjin was set, this place belonged to Hejian Prefecture and was under the jurisdiction of the governor of Baoding.

However, Tianjin is located at the fork of the Grand Canal, Haihe River and other three rivers, and also guards the Bohai Bay, with convenient transportation, and is the distribution center for the exchange of goods in the north. Since the establishment of the Tianjin Acropolis, a large number of merchants have gradually gathered near the Acropolis, forming one of the most important markets in the vicinity of Gyeonggi.

The position of governor of Tianjin was established because of the Wanli expedition and the end of the Korean War.

Therefore, the most important responsibility of the governor of Tianjin was to supervise the grain and salary of Liaodong, and to manage the three guards and coastal defense of Tianjin. At this time, Tianjin was not separately separated from Hejian Prefecture, so the governor of Baoding had the power to govern the civil affairs of Tianjin.

It can be said that Tianjin is now a place where military and civilian people live together and have unclear jurisdiction.

The Tianjin Acropolis is not big, the circumference is more than nine miles, and there are many pools of water in the city, and there are not many places for people to live. Therefore, most of the residences in the city were the residences of the officers of the three guards and local officials, and the merchants from the north and south mostly built houses outside the east gate to live, and along the Haihe River were rows of warehouses, piling up all kinds of goods transferred from the south.

Outside the east gate is also a lively and bustling market, and the arrival of Zheng Zhilong and the others' fleet immediately made some brokers and merchants at the wharf rush over, wanting to see what goods can be bought and sold.

But after learning that it was not a merchant ship and that it was not carrying goods, many merchants dispersed. However, some of the sailors on the three ships brought a lot of Western gadgets with them and sold them to some small traders.

Zheng Zhilong, Xu Xinsu and others walked through the bazaar outside the east gate, they have been engaged in maritime trade for many years, and naturally saw that this Tianjin is really a bit of a waste as a place for military defense, as long as it is well managed, it can be regarded as a great trade port in the north.

Outside the east gate of Tianjin, Huang Yuntai came out to greet Lu Jiude, while Yu Zhigao and Lian Shanxiang stepped forward to meet Huang Yuntai, while the others were isolated behind.

Although Huang Yuntai's rank is much higher than Lu Jiude's, he does not dare to neglect the emperor's close attendants who have the emperor's order, and only treats each other with the same courtesy. Regarding the two military attachés, Yu Zhigao and Lian Shanxiang, he just ignored them after a few cold perfunctory words.

After Huang Yuntai and Lu Jiude said a few polite words, Huang Yuntai thought about inviting Lu Jiude to the city to rest for a day, and then arrange a boat to send them to Beijing tomorrow.

"The governor has a heart, but the miscellaneous family has been away from the capital for a long time, and at this moment he only wants to return to Beijing as soon as possible to resume his life, and he really doesn't dare to stay longer, so that His Majesty is worried." Lu Jiude politely refused, wanting to show favor to Huang Yuntai.

Although he was out of Beijing this time, Huang Yuntai was probably the most warm and friendly civil official he had ever met. But he still understands the truth that if you are courteous to others, you must ask for something. Huang Yuntai was so kind, he must have wanted something from him.

However, even a governor felt a headache, and he, a little eunuch who had just entered His Majesty's sight, was most likely powerless. Moreover, on this trip to the south, he has already gained a lot of wealth from Zheng Zhilong and others, so naturally he does not have to take the risk of coveting the filial piety of local officials.

Another one of his ranks is full of unruly pirate leaders, and when there is a little trouble in Tianjin, he can't afford to be guilty. It is better to separate them from their men as soon as possible and leave the sea, even if these pirates are fierce, they can be captured by four or five catches.

Lu Jiude was like an arrow, and Huang Yuntai had nothing to do, so he had to order the servants to prepare a ship for a few people to enter Beijing immediately, and presented some earthen instruments as gifts.

Tianjin is about 200 miles away from Beijing, and it can be reached by boat for about one day and night. The official ship taken by Lu Jiude and others can go directly to Jishuitan in the capital, and there is no need to transfer to land in Tongzhou.

When Lu Jiude and the others came back, Zhu Youzhen was listening to Guo Yunhou, the secretary of the household department, report on various matters concerning the collection and distribution of autumn grain.

“… The autumn grain was transported to the north and south of Beijing, and the rice was calculated to cost 379,445 stones. The upper offering and the lords and civil officials are all aware of the people's movement, which is the battle of white grain.

The white grain is transported to the south, mainly supplying white rice and Shenxing brown rice to Nanjing Guanglu Temple and Huitong Hall. Because the five provinces in the south of the Yangtze River are close to Nanjing, and they are collected and stored by themselves, not involved in the collection and exchange, and the silver taels are used for the plates, so the white grain service in the south is not heavy.

Before the Jiajing Dynasty, the white grain transported to the north was levied by the five prefectures of Su, Song, Chang, Jia, and Hu, and transported more than 174,000 stones of white ripe japonica glutinous rice in the inner province, more than 8,000 stones in the inner folded color, more than 44,000 stones of rough japonica rice in various prefectures, and more than 8,800 stones in the inner folded color, so that the people moved.

In the later period of the Jiajing Dynasty, the amount of white grain increased to more than 180,860 stones, which were expropriated by the six counties of Su, Song, Chang, Hangzhou, Jia, and Hu in southern Zhejiang.

After the Wanli Dynasty, the amount of white grain increased to 200,000 and 17 stones. And transporting one stone of white grain from the south of the Yangtze River to the capital, counting the road expenses and the loss, is about four stones.

Therefore, Zhao Yongxian, the Hanlin attendant of the Wanli Dynasty, said that the 200,000 stone white grain is worth more than 800,000 stones, and the people are unbearable..."

After listening to Guo Yunhou's description of the tragic situation of deporting the white grain households, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but feel sorry. Guo Yunhou only calculated the increase in rice consumption, processing fees, and the cost of chartering ships to the north to pass through the locks, and did not mention the additional exploitation of the officials when collecting white grain, and the extortion of the treasury officials when the inner treasury collected and redeemed after arriving in the capital.

Judging from the verification of the internal carrier warehouse after Zhu Youzhen ascended the throne, and the various shortcomings reported by Tian Ergeng and others during the reform of Huangzhuang, the more than 800,000 stones have been shrunk, and I am afraid that it will be more than doubled.

Otherwise, there will be no saying that once you are selected as a white grain household, you will definitely die. 200,000 stone white grain, in the end, you have to pay 10 times more tax, which is naturally the end of the family.

Zhu Youzhen listened to what happened to these white grain households, and felt that his nose was a little sour, and after he forced himself to calm down, he asked Guo Yunhou: "Then Guo Shangshu, do you have any suggestions for improving this white grain battle?" ”

Guo Yunhou suddenly lifted his spirits, although His Majesty the Apocalypse was smart, he rarely summoned courtiers alone. And the Emperor of the Apocalypse rarely attended court meetings, so the courtiers mostly discussed matters with a concert, but in this way, when the emperor's mind could not be determined, some things could not help but be put on hold.

For the Battle of White Grain, since the Jiajing Dynasty, some ministers have constantly mentioned changing the democratic movement to the military movement to ease the people's strength, but they are often rejected by the palace.

If Chongzhen hadn't summoned him to discuss the tax, Guo Yunhou would not have taken the risk of raising the issue. Because in his opinion, there are many urgent tasks in the Ming Dynasty, such as the military of Liaodong, the repair of water conservancy in various places, and the transportation of canals. Bailiang only involved the six counties of Su, Song, Chang, Hangzhou, Jia, and Hu, which was not enough to shake the world of the Ming Dynasty.

However, since Chongzhen took the initiative to mention it, he didn't mind talking about his thoughts, "The minister thinks, first, change the white grain people's settlement to the official settlement, or the official representative of the people's solution; Second, please order Your Majesty to reduce the true color of white grains and increase the color of folding; Third, open up paddy fields near Gyeonggi to solve the task of collecting some white grain, and reduce the amount of white grain collected in the Jiangnan area. ”

The so-called white grain is actually just the rice that ordinary people eat in later generations, and after fine grinding, the bran and aleurone layer are removed, because of the good appearance and good taste, so it is called refined white rice.

However, in fact, due to the high processing precision, the rice germ and cortex, which are rich in protein, fat, vitamins and minerals, are often removed. Therefore, the nutrient content of "polished rice" is significantly lower than that of ordinary rice.

However, compared to the way rice was processed by machine in later generations, the processing of fine white rice in this era relied entirely on manpower, which was quite a heavy task. Therefore, the white grain was specially used to supply the court, relatives, and officials.

And the true color refers to the direct payment of rice, and the color conversion refers to the conversion into silver money. Compared with paying the original color, you have to transport the white grain to the capital by yourself, and the way of paying the silver money has become a relatively light tax.

Although he was very sad about what happened to the white grain farmers, Zhu Youzhen did not immediately agree to Guo Yunhou's suggestion.

After thinking for a while, he turned to Wang Chengen, who was standing on the side, and asked, "How much white grain is consumed in this palace in a year, and how is the consumption distributed?" ”

Wang Chengen knew that Chongzhen had always been very concerned about the money and food in the palace, so he was often concerned about the expenses in the palace.

Regarding Chongzhen's question, although the details are not clear, he still said a thing or two about the general situation.

Of the 200,000 stone of white grain, the palace occupies about 150,000 stones. In addition to being used for emperors, concubines, and eunuchs everywhere, the rest is used for sacrifices, hotels, and brewing wine vinegar.

After listening to Wang Chengen's explanation, Zhu Youzhen thought for a while and then instructed him: "From today onwards, until the beginning of the year, except for festivals, white grain is used for meals in the palace one day, and regular rice is used every other day, which is the norm. Since the wine vinegar noodle bureau has been restructured, there is no need to allocate white grains and let them buy their own grain in the market. You discuss with several palace leaders and eunuchs, and the use of white grain in the palace must be reduced to half of the current share. ”

Wang Chengen was a little frightened, and he asked Chongzhen: "Your Majesty has a lot of rice and grain for one person, and I implore Your Majesty not to suffer so much, and Your Majesty and the three Highnesses can maintain their use as usual." The ministers should do their best to reduce the use of the palace and fulfill His Majesty's orders. ”