Huang Laifu certainly knew the financial difficulties and military farming problems in Shanxi town mentioned by Governor Yang Fangluo.

Whether it is from history or what I know in this era, the military farms in Shanxi Town have long been in name only.

As early as the mid-Ming Dynasty, the fertile lands in the town were mostly occupied by the garrison officials and the tyrants of the guards and the tyrants of the guards, and they did not report the food. If there were any rewards, only one ten received.

After the Zhengtong Year, the military garrison system became even more relaxed, and the military law was damaged. The military garrison fled and the food was less and less. Since Jiajing, officials and powerful families asked for land and houses, and widely purchased land and land, and land annexation became more prevalent. The military garrison system further reached a dead end.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the number of grains in Liaodong Town reached 700,000 shi, but now only 170,000 shi were obtained. In the early Ming Dynasty, the number of grains in Gansu Town was 600,000 shi, but now only 130,000 shi, and the rest of the towns were even smaller.

The military garrison system was an important means to solve the food and pay for the Ming army in the early Ming Dynasty. At present, there was no hope of farming in various towns, so they had to rely on the central government. Hundreds of thousands of troops were asking for food and pay for the food, which also became a heavy burden for the court in the next few decades until the Ming Dynasty's finances went bankrupt.

Huang Laifu understood the diligent hope of Emperor Wanli to appoint him as the governor of the two towns. If he was like those governors and generals, he would ask for food and pay from the court, what was the difference between it and the original officials?

Therefore, the food and salary issues of the two towns had to find a way to make some achievements, so that Emperor Wanli and the officials from all over the Ming Dynasty could take a good look, and he would not let down Emperor Wanli's entrusted to him.

Huang Laifu also knew the problems of the generals and officials in various places in the town who were eating empty wages and drinking blood.

The issue of embezzlement of military pay was very serious in the army in various places in the Ming Dynasty during the Jiajing period. Every year, after the military pay allocated by the Ministry of Revenue was intercepted for several levels, it fell into the hands of generals from all over the country, and was embezzled most of it. When it came to the hands of soldiers, it was generally unable to support the family.

In addition to deducting soldiers' military pay, generals and officials from all over the world also generally embezzled military pay and encouraged soldiers to escape. After the soldiers fled, the generals and officials not only did not report their money and food in time, but also took their money and food for themselves, which is the so-called empty salary.

This phenomenon is very serious. In Shanxi Town alone, the amount of empty salary reaches about half of the number of troops.

In addition, generals from all over the country also have many corruption acts, such as collecting free money from soldiers, exempting them from their work points, or privately servicing soldiers, etc.

In this way, how can the army have combat effectiveness?

Although Huang Laifu was the general of Shanxi Town in the past, most of his power was in the hands of the governor, so he had to stare at him and stare at him without any help. Now that he has become the governor, he naturally has to manage these bad habits well.

Huang Laifu remained silent. After Governor Yang Fangluo reported, he looked at the civil servants and generals in the town with ugly faces in the hall. He did not express his opinions, but just asked Governor Yang to sit down.

...

After Governor Yang talked about all the things in his town, the soldiers and soldiers in Shanxi Town reported to Huang Laifu and Governor Yang about their affairs.

According to the rituals and rituals of the Ming Dynasty, all officials divided the ranks according to their ranks and ranks. Those who have two or three ranks will be bowed down, and the venerable will sit and receive the courtesy. If there is any matter, they will kneel down. Any official rank below the superiors will be held.

In this hall, Huang Lai Fu has the highest rank and is the superior official who controls everyone, so these soldiers need to kneel in front of him one by one to report on the matters inside.

Under the attention of everyone, Liu Tangsheng, the Ningwu Dao Army soldier, stepped forward to report the affairs to Huang Laifu and Governor Yang. He knelt in front of Huang Laifu, and Governor Yang sat aside to listen.

In front of everyone, Liu Tangsheng's face was a little hot. This was a typical literati who was in a military military condolence. In the past, Liu Mingan, the former general of Shanxi Town, had kneeled to him. Unexpectedly, in the thirty years of Hedong and in the thirty years of Hexi, he would also kneel down to Huang Laifu as a literati and senior official.

Everyone in the hall had different expressions. The civil servants looked bad, and the military generals also had wonderful expressions.

Next, Yang Shenghong, the Jining Dao Army, and Guo Cao, the Jining Dao Army, knelt down to Huang Laifu and reported to his work. With the previous examples of Governor Yang and Liu Bingbei, the two looked more natural when they knelt down.

Finally, Huang Zongliang, the soldiers in Yanping Town of Shanxi, came forward to report to Huang Laifu. He saw him step forward and bowed to Huang Laifu, and said proudly: "The soldiers in Yanping Town of Yanping Town are prepared by Huang Zongliang, and have met the Governor!"

Then he looked at Huang Laifu with some challenge, stood there, took out the document book in his hand to prepare for the report.

Seeing that he did not kneel down and looked arrogant, Huang Laifu looked at him calmly. Governor Yang, Liu Bingbei and others were stunned. When the officials in the Yuzhe Hall saw Huang Zongliang like this, they suddenly became energetic.

Only the people in Wuzhai Fort looked gloomy, but they only looked at Huang Laifu's face.

Huang Zongliangji opened the document book in his hand and began to report. Governor Yang coughed and was about to speak.

At this time, Huang Laifuji spoke coldly: "Huang Bingbei, what are you doing?"

Huang Zongliang said proudly: "Governor General, the lower-ranking official is about to give the master a lecture. Can't he see it?"

He looked proud and his tone was stiff, and his eyes were filled with disdain when he looked at Huang Laifu.

Although all the civil servants and generals in the hall surrendered to Huang Laifu and bowed to Huang Laifu as a scholar, without any integrity. But for Huang Zongliang, he would never do this.

Although doing this will be in danger of being suppressed by Huang Laifu in the future. However, Huang Zongliang didn't mind. Compared to the fact that he could gain the hearts of civil servants in the two towns in the future and gain a reputation of not fearing power, what is this danger?

Besides, as a senior civil servant, Chen Qi, the Minister of Revenue, supported me behind me. How dare Huang Laifu do this to me?

Even if Huang Laifu wants to wear his little shoes in the future, he is a military man after all. This town affairs have always been controlled by literati. If he dares to wear his little shoes, he will dare to disobey him in the future, so that all his decrees cannot be promoted within his own path.

He had made up his mind and stood upright as if he was so proud that he just looked at Huang Laifu proudly and secretly looked at the reactions of everyone around him.

Seeing Huang Zongliang like this, Huang Laifu's face was gloomy, but a smile flashed in his eyes. He had just become the governor of the two towns and was about to find a heavyweight figure to kill the chicken and scare the monkey and establish his prestige. Huang Zongliang jumped out. It was so good.

He said lightly: "Discuss me? Do you still know how to tell me? I saw that Lord Huang had forgotten the most basic etiquette in the officialdom, and he thought you didn't know how to tell me?"

Huang Zongliang said proudly: "The lower officials do not understand what the Governor said."

Huang Laifu suddenly said sternly: "Huang Bingbei, I ask you, you, a fourth-rank military officer, what should you do when reporting to me, the governor, and where are you going to put the official rituals?"

When Huang Laifu drank, the atmosphere in the hall became tense immediately.

Huang Zongliang's expression remained unchanged, and he still said to Huang Laifu lightly: "The lower officials still don't understand what the Governor said. The lower officials believe that they have no official rituals! If the Governor thinks that the lower officials need to kneel down to the Governor..."

He snorted and said, "For a hundred years, no literati has ever kneeled down to a military man. If the Governor thinks this is necessary, I will forgive the officials for not obeying the order!"

Everyone in the hall looked different. Governor Yang coughed and said, "Huang Bingbei, you should not be arrogant. According to the rituals of the Ming Dynasty, the officials must kneel down when reporting to their superiors and officials, regardless of civil and military affairs. If you violate the rituals, you should admit your mistake to the Governor! The Governor is generous and kind, and will definitely save you from your mistake."

At the same time, Governor Yang felt a little uncomfortable. Huang Zongliang's trick made him look like a powerful person, while he was like a villain who was not afraid of the powerful and had no integrity. This made his favor for Huang Zongliang plummet.

At this time, Huang Laifu suddenly slapped the desk table beside him, and a loud noise made everyone in the hall startle.

Huang Laifu shouted: "Bold, you are just a soldier and official, dare to be so arrogant in front of the governors of the two towns?"

He shouted in a row: "Come, I will punish this arrogant person who despises Shangguan and disrespects the etiquette and law with thirty rods!"

Immediately, several servants in the hall walked out in anger.

Seeing Huang Laifu like this, everyone in the hall was shocked. Unexpectedly, Huang Laifu was so generous. At this time, whether it was Governor Yang, Liu Tangsheng and other soldiers, or civil servants in Datong Town, even if they were uncomfortable with Huang Zongliang's previous actions, they had to come out to plead and ask Huang Laifu to spare Huang Zongliang.

Even Huang Zongliang looked at Huang Laifu incredible. Huang Laifu dared to be so merciless and openly blame himself as a literati in front of everyone. Did he not even take him seriously, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Lord Chen Qi, seriously?

Unexpectedly, Huang Laifu dared to do so excessively and arrogantly. He was a fourth-rank literati and senior official who wanted to fight. For a moment, Huang Zongliang felt a little regretful, and at the same time, a sense of fear surged in his heart. Is it really appropriate to jump out today?

Only the generals in the hall watched all this in shock, and at the same time they felt a little excited in their hearts. They wanted to blame a scholar in public. This Governor was such a big deal.

Huang Laifu ignored Governor Yang and others' plea. He waved his hand and said, "No need to say too much. If the arrogant people who despise Shangguan are not punished, what is the prestige of this official? How to deal with military affairs and government affairs of the two towns in the future?"

He shouted to the servants to take action. Immediately, several thick servants stepped forward and overturned Huang Zongliang's soldiers and beat him down without hesitation by following him on the ground, making Huang Zongliang scream.

After thirty rods, Huang Zongliangji was covered in flesh and blood, leaving only one breath, his eyes as sad as a ghost and resentment.

But before it was over, Huang Laifu ordered Huang Zongliang to be driven out of the hall and suspended him for office. He would write to the court to report his crime of despising Shangguan and disrespect for rituals.

In this way, not to mention that Huang Zongliang could not be kept in his future official position, even if Chen Qi, the Minister of Revenue, would have suffered from him in the future under Huang Laifu, unless he did not serve as an official in Shanxi Town and Datong Town.

Huang Laifu's big move shocked everyone in the hall, reminding them of what kind of person Huang Laifu was before. His identity as a civil servant was not worth mentioning in Huang Laifu's eyes. Moreover, he had the support of Emperor Wanli. If he wanted to plan things under his command, it would be better to be respectful.

At the same time, the generals in the hall were also admired by Huang Laifu. It was a Governor Huang, and even a fourth-rank military preparation was just about to fight. It was the first in a century. Why didn't they convince Huang Laifu?

...

The next thing went smoothly. Not to mention that all the civil servants and generals in Shanxi Town respectfully knelt down to Huang Laifu to report their work, even the civil servants and generals in Datong Town were also respectful.

Wei Yunzhen, the governor of Datong Town, also reported to Huang Laifu some of the situation in Datong Town. The basic situation is similar to Shanxi Town. The town is short of money and food, defeated farmland, empty salary, drinking blood from soldiers, and poor combat effectiveness of the army.

Compared with Shanxi Town, Datong Town is one of the Jiubian Towns. The number of horse and infantry officers and soldiers stationed in Datong Town has reached more than 130,000, and there are more than 50,000 large animals such as horses, mules, and donkeys.

The food, wages and fodder needed by these military horses were huge. The annual storage of grain alone required more than 500,000 stones, more than 160,000 bundles of hay, 1.76 million bundles of autumn grass, more than 400,000 stones of rice, wheat, beans, etc., and more than 80,000 salt were entrusted.

In addition, the central government has nearly 400,000 taels of silver per year for the annual Beijing Movement.

These supplies are a heavy burden for the central and local governments. In the early Ming Dynasty, the military farms in the town could solve part of the military's demand, but now the military farms have been defeated. At present, more than 80% of the food and salary of the military in Datong Town also needs the supply of the court.

But now the central government of the court has insufficient storage, so how can we have the ability to provide full supply of all the expenses of the nine border troops? This has caused a huge arrears of food and salary for the border troops. The Ningxia Rebellion a few years ago was actually the reason why the border troops owed money for the border troops.

Although Huang Laifu asked for a large amount of compensation from Japan this year, it could not solve the fundamental problem, and the Ming Dynasty's finances were still in difficulty.

Looking at the hall looking at his different eyes, Huang Laifu knew that he had to solve the money and food problems in the two towns so that he could conquer these old officials and the old military generals, convince them, and be willing to be driven by themselves.

Although I could be solemnly responsible for the military preparations of Huang Zongliang in the name of disrespect for rituals, now as the governor of the two towns, my subordinates asked me for food and salary, so I was naturally justified, and this was also a responsibility I could not escape.

It is impossible for the subordinates to ask themselves for food and pay, and they blame them seriously, right? In the court, the reason why Emperor Wanli placed himself at this high position was to help him solve this problem.

If he was like the previous general governor, it would be obvious that Emperor Wanli would be disappointed, and the civil servants would have the opportunity to impeach and attack him in a large manner.

The compensation he brought back from Japan at the beginning of the year was already divided up by the Ming Dynasty, and there were still many holes that had not been filled. There was no need to count on how much money the Ministry of Revenue allocated.

Not to mention that he blamed Huang Zongliang and Chen Qi, the Minister of Revenue, must be full of malicious intentions towards him and sanctions from multiple sources. It is better to find a way for most of the food and wages in the two towns.

However, Huang Laifu was confident that he would definitely be able to solve this problem. Thinking of this, Huang Laifu looked around the hall and his calm voice slowly rang out.

...

The government affairs discussions between the two towns were held in the Governor's Office for several days. The scale of the affairs involved made Yu Huiren and others excited.

Huang Laifu announced that he would implement a large-scale new policy in the two towns, called Shanxi Town and Datong Town's "Five-Year Plan". It is clear how to do it every year and what goals to achieve.

Over the past ten years, based on the experience of Wuzhaibao, Huang Laifu has already had a large number of relevant talents, from military farming to commercial affairs to government affairs management. Although their personal level is not very high, the relevant systems can stimulate their greatest effect.

In this way, the implementation of various specific things does not require Huang Laifu to worry about, nor does he need to seek help from civil servants from all over the country. This also breaks the monopoly of civil servants over administrative talents and breaks the lifeline of another general who controls military personnel.

The five-year plan is extensive, and the top priority of the planning is military farming and farming. Based on Huang Laifu's experience in Wuzhaibao and in ancient society, the development of agriculture was the first priority.

Only when the food is enough, the people will live with peace of mind. Only when agriculture develops can it provide rich raw materials and markets for commerce, and only when business has the opportunity to develop. Such business is down-to-earth, not the kind of business that is like a castle in the air in the late Ming Dynasty.

So back in the past, the most fundamental thing is to develop agriculture first. Prioritizing the development of commerce is to put the cart before the horse and there is no market. Such commerce is also a castle built on a pile of sand, which is vulnerable.

In agricultural planning, developing military camps and building large-scale water conservancy is another key point. In the past five years, Huang Laifu plans to build at least twenty large-scale water conservancy projects, ten large-scale water conservancy projects, etc., and at least one million acres of land can be reclaimed and irrigated in the Fenhe River and Tuohe River in Shanxi Town, Sanggan River and Yuhe River in Datong Town.

At present, the military farms in the two towns have been divided up by officials and powerful people from all over the country. There are not many military garrisons left, and most of them are barren lands. However, due to the decades of the small ice disasters, the farming method of intensive farming in ancient times was obviously difficult to resist the harm of natural disasters. Farming in the north was a loss-making business.

Not to mention many small farmland households, but many large households, because the gains are not worth the money, they abandoned the fields on a large scale. Therefore, there are also a lot of wasteland in various places in Shanxi Town alone.
To be continued...