After the vicious adoptive mother gave up, the scumbag children regretted it

Chapter 426: Open up wasteland, plant crops, and make money

Finally, after they finished eating, Shen Nanzhi had someone bring up the sand table. It was the sand table map of the Loess Plateau that she had asked the Ministry of Works to rush to make in the past few days.

This was the first time anyone had seen such a sand table. Qi Yunxu was very curious: "What is this? How come I don't know when you made this?"

"You're not a worm in my stomach, so how can I let you know everything? You're busy with your own things, and I'm not idle either. This is what I've been busy with recently.

This thing is called a sand table, which is a physical map made according to scale.

You see, the Loess Plateau looks desolate, but the Yellow River is just a few dozen miles away. The land on both sides is very suitable for growing food. If it is developed, we will have a second granary in Da Yue."

The main crop grown in the Jiangnan area, a land of fish and rice, is rice, which is mostly supplied to the wealthy and powerful. Few people actually grow wheat, corn, coarse grains and other crops, and most people are self-sufficient.

In a year of good weather and good harvest, it's okay, as we can barely have enough to eat, but in a year of disaster, we can only wait to die.

If this place can be developed, countless grains will be able to flow into the market and into the imperial granaries. In years of famine, grain can be sold at affordable prices, and there will be no need to worry about merchants driving up grain prices, causing grain to become more expensive than gold.

The old men stroked their beards, their eyes sparkling. What did the Regent Princess mean?

"All of you elders have land at home, but you can never have too much grain. You can be given priority to buy these lands. The price is cheap and there is a three-year tax exemption. Another benefit is that you can buy high-yield seeds first.

Come here, bring this year's Ninghua County report over for the elders to review."

"Isn't Ninghua County where you, Princess, grew up? What's so strange about this?"

"Read the memorial first, and then we'll talk."

When they saw what was written on it, they were all a little bit incredulous. "Is the magistrate of Ninghua County crazy? How dare he lie about the harvest? What crop can produce 5,000 kilograms per mu? You can't brag like that."

"That's right. A yield of 1,000 kilograms per mu is a dream. How can we achieve 5,000 kilograms? Doesn't he want his head anymore?"

Qi Yunxu sighed: "It seems that you have not paid attention to the new crops that have appeared in the world. I have seen and eaten them. There are indeed several thousand kilograms of output, and the taste is not bad.

Do you know about golden wine? It is brewed from new crops, but the output of golden wine is not as good as sweet potatoes and potatoes, with an output of only 700 to 800 kilograms per mu.

But corn stalks can be used to feed cattle, sheep, mules and horses. This year, the number of livestock raised in Ninghua County has increased. Every household has more than two heads of livestock. The harvest has also increased. The tax revenue in Ninghua County is more than three times that of other counties..."

No one dared to doubt Qi Yunxu's words. Shen Nanzhi admired their shocked old faces. If there wasn't a war, she would have kept such a good place for herself. How could she be willing to share it with them?

Prime Minister Dou asked, "If we go to the Loess Plateau to open up wasteland, how much can we harvest?"

"No less than a lot, because the land here has never been used to grow crops. It is extremely fertile, and the crops it produces will surprise you.

We are all family, and I am thinking of you all about such a good thing. In fact, I can also eat it myself, but this is not to support the Regent. I have to be the regent and share his worries.

Actually, I don't really like the job of regent. It's thankless and I get scolded. If it weren't for the regent, I really wouldn't want to do this.

I am clearing wasteland, planting crops, and making money. Am I not living a comfortable life?"

Shen Nanzhi's words were from the heart, which made the elders look strange. It seemed that they really looked down upon the job of regent and they all re-evaluated the regent princess.

How could a woman who is valued so much by the Regent and even somewhat henpecked be an ordinary person?

Maybe they are narrow-minded.

Shen Nanzhi took out a few more drawings and said, "You don't have to worry about the difficulty in opening up new land and the low efficiency. This is a new tool newly developed by the Ministry of Industry. It can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Moreover, I can allocate 10,000 mules and donkeys to sell to you. With these animals and new tools, you still cannot open up wasteland and grow food. You might as well go home to see your grandchildren instead of coming to the court to gather people. "

Everyone: "..."

I looked down on their abilities, and they were actually despised by a woman.

Prime Minister Dou asked, "We have the animals, but what about the people? Without people, who will do the work? Each of us has limited labor, and the Loess Plateau is so far away. Sending people there is no small matter."

Shen Nanzhi looked at Qi Yunxu, who came to solve the problem: "This king intends to pardon the crimes of Luzuo and relocate them to the Loess Plateau.

There are tens of thousands of these people, and keeping them in custody is not a long-term solution and is a waste of the court's energy.

They were all implicated in crimes committed by their ancestors, the earliest of which were things committed by their great-grandparents. It is too inhumane to keep treating them as criminals.

You can buy or hire these people. I believe they also want to live a stable life.

The court will also lay off a number of older veterans and slightly disabled soldiers, and they will all be placed here. There will be at least tens of thousands of people, so there will be no shortage of people."

Shen Nanzhi said: "I have discussed with the Regent King that the treatment of soldiers is too poor. For new soldiers, the salary will be increased fivefold, and the disability and death allowances will also be increased. There will also be tax reductions and exemptions for the families of soldiers, in order to increase the enthusiasm of the people to voluntarily join the army..."

After a series of measures were implemented, recruiting new soldiers was no longer a problem.

Prime Minister Dou: "But this will increase expenses a lot."

"Is the money in the treasury kept for having children? Isn't the increased tax revenue from the newly developed granary money? War only loses money, doesn't it make money?

As long as we win, we can make the Jin pay tribute and support our army. Otherwise, what's the point of fighting for fun?"

Shen Nanzhi has such great ambitions, and his strong self-confidence makes the old ministers ashamed. It turns out that he is not as broad-minded as a woman.

Qi Yunxu also showed appreciation, "Who still thinks it's inappropriate for the princess to be the regent?"

"This old minister agrees with the princess's supervision of the country."

"I am the same as you, the princess is very talented, not inferior to men, it is us who are narrow-minded."

Old Yuan started to tremble: "Humph, you don't even care who taught you this."

Everyone praised Mr. Yuan again, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

The little emperor's eyes were full of admiration. "You have only seen a little bit of Sister Nanzhi's ability. She knows a lot of things. When she was in the county, she just gave Brother Liao some pointers. Brother Liao is now the richest man in the county and has also supported countless beggars and orphans. Sister Nanzhi has done a lot of good deeds and is the best woman."

Shen Nanzhi blushed a little: "Don't praise me like that. I'm shy and embarrassed."

The little emperor gave her a look and asked her to understand, "Sister, are you ashamed?"

There is no one more shameless than you. Being so humble is not my style.