"Your Majesty, in the second quarter, we sold nearly 130 million kilograms of official salt to other provinces, creating a output value of 3.9 million yuan. However, the export volume has not increased much. The main reason is that the northern provinces have almost been occupied by the northern Zhili official salt, while the southern part of the Jiangsu official salt is also extremely rampant."

At the end of June, Chen Wei reported the statistical data to Zhu Youxiao. At this time, the focus of Beizhili was on how much output value it created and how much money it could attract from other provinces. With silver, employment can be guaranteed. Employment can be guaranteed to ensure agricultural products prices, and bank loans can be recovered.

"The salt industry is by no means these interests. My dear thought it should be rectified?" Zhu Youxiao asked.

"I believe that in the northern region, the salt of Gansu and other places should be included in the business scope of the Royal Salt Industry Company, so as to open up the Shaanxi and Gansu markets, and thus completely monopolize the northern salt industry. In the south, the salt boiling in Jianghuai should be abolished and the stove was placed in other positions. As long as we open some salt fields in the northern Zhili Changlu Salt Field, it will be enough for all the people of the Ming Dynasty." Chen Qing said: "Even if the salt fields in the northern Zhili area are not enough to be used, Shandong has many mud flats and there is no shortage of salt fields."

The output of salt fields is indeed high, and it can easily reach one ton. When the weather is good, it may also reach two tons. With the consumption of salt in this era, 300,000 to 400,000 mu of salt fields are enough for hundreds of millions of people to eat. You should know that there are also pond salt in the northwest region, Sichuan has well salt, and Jiangsu has well salt, but it has not been mined.

"And now it's time to deal with Yangzhou salt merchants. We just need to cancel the fixed-quota salt induction system and open up the salt. Anyone can get salt induction. Soon, it will be able to break the monopoly of Yangzhou salt merchants over the salt industry in the southern provinces." Chen Yan said. "And there are now nine divisions in the Jingying camp, and several divisions are invested to the south to catch private salt, and are ready to suppress those salt merchants at any time. As long as the salt taxes in the southern provinces can be collected, the court's finances will be greatly enriched."

"You can cancel the Jianghuai Salt Field, inspect the private salt in Jiangnan, and leave it to governments in various parts of Jiangnan to do it." Zhu Youxiao smiled and asked in confusion: "Why is this?"

"Your dear, do you think! Local governments have captured private salt. Of course, they have captured those small minions. Because the official salt of those big salt merchants was impacted by the Northern Zhili Salt Industry, they may not be able to gain an advantage at the same price. At this time, they will inevitably take risks to do private salt business. Hehe! If you catch the handle, you can beat them all in one place." Zhu Youxiao had a sinister smile on his face, dumbfounded for a long time, and then speechless.

Pigs are raising again!

However, the group of pigs in Yangzhou salt merchants are very fat enough. It's terrible to think about it. What a huge asset! Although it would be a mess to hand over the inspection of private salt to governments in various places. But if the Yangzhou salt merchants can be searched, it would be hundreds or thousands of times more.

"In addition, in the second quarter, the exported goods in North Zhili reached 8.23 ​​million yuan, among which salt is the largest commodity. Secondly, steel products, coal, glass, porcelain and textiles enjoyed export subsidies, and sales also increased significantly. With the current situation, exported goods will continue to grow, but there are still many exported goods that cannot be sold in the south, and the sales volume in northern provinces is good." Chen Wei continued to report.

"The business in the Ming Dynasty is not easy to do!" Zhu Youxiao sighed. The manufacturing industry in the south is obviously more developed than the north. If the goods in the manufacturing industry in Zhili in the north want to export a large amount, many of them must have export subsidies. Thinking of this, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but think of doing foreign trade exports.

At this time, the Europeans had South American colonies, which had a large amount of silver. The Europeans' manufacturing industry was obviously not as good as the Ming Dynasty, and their technology was much behind that of the Ming Dynasty.

Obviously, Europeans' business is much better, but if they want to interfere in maritime trade, they must first have a navy. Now the Ming Dynasty only has a navy, which is equivalent to a "marine force" but does not have a warship. It seems that the problem of warships must be solved as soon as possible.

"However, such foreign sales, coupled with the Ming Dynasty taxes, are enough to support the economy of Beizhili to not collapse." Chen Yan said, and Zhu Youxiao nodded. The collapse was obviously impossible. It was just that a large number of royal village construction activities were required to pay interest to farmers, but to boost the economy, this interest was a small problem. When the economy was prosperous, the tax revenue naturally increased.

"What is the population growth situation?" Zhu Youxiao asked again, and he was still very concerned about population issues. The more population the Northern Zhili is, the higher the economic output will be, and the larger the commodity market will be. Therefore, the current population of 15 million in Beizhili is far from meeting Zhu Youxiao's appetite, nor can he meet the current construction activities in Beizhili.

The most important thing is that if the population is too high, the grain can be sold at a price. This time, the construction of the imperial village will cost the future money. Under the imperial village model, the grain output in Beizhili has increased significantly, and there is obviously no problem to support the original 15 million people. However, if the extra grain cannot be sold, the price will not be able to maintain the current level. At that time, farmers will not be able to make money, and the money invested in the imperial village construction will not be able to pay back, which may eventually lead to an economic collapse.

"In terms of population, the population increased by 830,000 in the second quarter. Currently, the population of Beizhili has reached 16.89 million, and the number is still growing. The growth rate has also accelerated significantly due to the labor shortage in Beizhili." Chen Weihui reported.

"Population growth is a good thing, and we must do a good job of ensuring it. We must make people who cannot survive in other provinces have a meal when they come to Zhili, and even the injured, as well as the elderly and children, they must be able to get assistance when they come to Zhili in northern China to release the population pressure in other provinces. In addition, epidemic prevention inspections and household registration must be done well, so as not to have a plague outbreak due to population mobility." Zhu Youxiao explained.

"I remember."

These populations are wealth, and as long as they are organized, they can be produced and constructed. At present, only Northern Zhili is undergoing reforms. After the agricultural resources of Northern Zhili are integrated, more grain can be produced, and grain transport can also be transported from the south to Northern Zhili. Therefore, even if the population of Northern Zhili increases to 40 to 50 million, it can be raised. The most important thing is that the current situation of grain transport from southern China has changed from sea routes, which has high efficiency in grain transport and greatly reduced losses.

Such a policy is obviously of great benefit. The population of other northern provinces who cannot survive come to Beizhili to make a living. It can also reduce the probability of unrest in other provinces. It further releases local conflicts, which can be said to kill multiple kills in one fell swoop.

The actual development direction is just like Zhu Youxiao planned. Because of the labor shortage in Northern Zhili, a large number of people began to migrate to Northern Zhili. Some young and strong laborers came to work together, and their families were still in their hometowns. Some were familiar with the environment of Northern Zhili, and took their whole family to Northern Zhili to live. Of course, some people could not survive and directly took their families to Northern Zhili.

Compared to businessmen, it is still very simple for ordinary people to immigrate to Northern Zhili.

When passing the pass, people from other provinces will be arranged to conduct quarantine. Those who do not have infectious diseases can apply for household registration. If they are registered for work, they do not need to pay taxes or have to go to labor service. If they just arrived in Beizhili, if they couldn't afford to eat, they could also apply for assistance from the Civil Affairs Bureau. Eating and keeping warm is still not a problem. Then they can find a job to work, and making money will naturally solve the problem of food and clothing.

Such resettlement policy has greatly helped the people who have just moved to Northern Zhili to integrate into the environment.

For those poor people from other provinces who had to leave their hometowns and go to Northern Zhili to make a living, although Northern Zhili cannot be called paradise, life is still relatively easy.

Ordinary workers do not need to pay taxes or labor service. Moreover, there are construction sites everywhere that can work and earn wages. If you get these wages, eating is definitely not a problem, and you can still eat a meal from time to time. However, the meat price in Beizhili has been rising recently, so egg and meat cannot keep up with the economic development. However, many breeding companies in Beizhili have been established, and there are farms under construction everywhere. There are also many pig farms in Huangzhuang and farmers raise chickens. At most, the meat price can return to normal levels in half a year.

What makes the poor in other provinces most at ease is that the security measures in Beizhili are being implemented more and more in place.

At the end of June, Zhu Youxiao took a car frame and left the capital under the protection of the Jinyiwei and the Jingying Camp, and went to Tianjin to inspect the Denglai Navy Division.

Tianjin Governor Gao Bangzuo brought a group of officials to greet him ten miles outside Tianjin city.

"My minister Gao Bangzuo, please see Your Majesty." Gao Bangzuo is in his forties and is considered a young official. Gao Bangzuo was naturally very happy when the emperor came to Tianjin. At this time, there were also considerable changes in Tianjin, especially in the Tianjin Industrial Zone, where many factories have appeared.

"All my beloveds are calm." Zhu Youxiao said with a smile.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Gao Bangzuo and a group of officials stood up and welcomed Zhu Youjiao into Tianjin City. Along the way, Zhu Youjiao saw that the people in Tianjin City were similar to those in the capital, and their faces looked much better. Unlike when he had just crossed, many pale and thin figures could be seen all over the streets.

This shows that people's livelihood has improved a lot, which makes Zhu Youxiao feel very happy.

Then, under Gao Bangzuo's arrangement, Zhu Youxiao lived in Tianjin City. The next day, Zhu Youxiao put on casual clothes and took a group of bodyguards to visit the industrial area.

We arrived at the Tianjin Industrial Zone. The roads leading to the industrial zone were full of spacious gravel roads. Heavy carriages produced by the Royal Military Factory entered and exited the industrial zone, and traveled back and forth to Dagu Wharf and other places.

When you enter the industrial zone, you can see many textile factories and kiln factories. The Tianjin Industrial Zone mainly concentrates on textile and porcelain production. The reason why a large number of factories emerged so quickly is mainly because of the prosperity of the market in Beizhili. Under the protection of tariffs, this market with a population of nearly 17 million will be divided by enterprises in Beizhili.

The industrial area is very lively, with raw materials constantly being transported in and goods being shipped out.

In addition to the market in Beizhili, some of these goods need to be exported, which has led to a large number of employment.

Zhu Youxiao walked around and didn't go into the factory to disturb their production, so he went back. He was quite clear about the development of the industrial zone. After all, many of the factories were established jointly by Royal Capital and private merchants. He just took a look at the scene of this era.

The next day, Zhu Youxiao officially went to Dagukou Wharf and accompanied by a group of Tianjin officials, inspected the Denglai Naval Division. Not long ago, the Denglai Naval Division annihilated the Jiannu Naval Division at a slight cost, which shows that this was an elite army. After arriving on site for inspection, Zhu Youxiao saw all Chinese warships.

The equipment of this navy is similar to that of the Beijing Camp, and it is all made by the Royal Military Factory. It is indeed a Marine Corps, which can fight against the enemy at sea or fight against the enemy on land.

Although there are no sailing warships like Westerners, this kind of traditional navy is still very necessary to develop.

After rewarding Sun Yiguo and other officers and soldiers, Zhu Youchao said to Sun Yiguo: "Sun Aiqing, I have decided to expand the scale of the navy. The 5,000 navy is still too few. It is expanded to 20,000 people! You go back to Denglai and hand it over to the cabinet with Governor Yuan."

"I obey the order." Sun Yiguo knelt on the ground happily.

After Zhu Youxiao reviewed the navy, he also had a clear idea of ​​building a navy. As long as he created a batch of gunboats and combined with these "marines", the Ming Dynasty would have a navy with diversified combat methods and the most complete range of troops.

In early July, Zhu Youxiao returned to the capital and immediately began to plan the construction of gunboats. He wrote to Yuan Keli to discuss, first, to discuss the issue of the expansion of the navy, and second, to discuss the manufacturing of gunboats.

Yuan Keli submitted a report that the navy can deal with the maritime situation, but after expansion, it can become a landing force that can support Jinzhou, Dongjiang, and the three towns of Liaodong at any time, so Yuan Keli still supports it. The only problem is military expenditure. Zhu Youxiao simply allocated 1 million yuan to the navy. In addition to expanding the navy soldiers, Yuan Keli would build some warships with larger tonnage, preferably with more than 3,000 materials, and urged Yuan Keli to form a navy force that could be driven to Fujian as soon as possible.

Yuan Keli thought that the navy supported the Liaodong battlefield, but Zhu Youxiao thought that the navy could be used to expand maritime rights and interests.

The reason why I was so anxious was mainly because Zhu Youxiao received a memorial not long ago, and the Dutch invaded Penghu in May and had occupied Penghu.

If you wait any longer, Taiwan will be occupied by the Dutch. Once the Dutch builds a fortress in Taiwan, it will be much more troublesome to deal with it.

"We must first include Taiwan in the administrative scope of the Ming Dynasty when the Dutch people have not yet established a stable foothold." Zhu Youxiao thought about it and soon issued an imperial edict to Yuan Keli, asking Yuan Keli to send some naval troops to Taiwan for investigation first.

Fortunately, Zhu You still remembered the process of the Dutch invading Taiwan relatively well, so he marked the area of ​​Tainan City on the map, and asked the navy to first examine where the area is suitable for building fortresses. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!