Beiyang reactionaries

"There are not only many rich Chinese in the Nanyang area, but many people live a pretty good life there. And the amount of remittances they send to their family members in China every year is very large. From the statistics of the Bank of China this year, so far this year The remittances from the Nanyang region to China alone reached 3000 million U.S. dollars, or nearly [-] million yuan. It has beneficially supported our country’s foreign exchange reserves, and has a huge role in promoting the development of those hometowns of overseas Chinese.”

"Okay, let's sit down first. Everyone has heard it, let's talk about your opinions."

520

"Now let's talk about your opinions."

"I'll say it first."

Minister of Agriculture Zhang Lan said with a serious expression: "When the population of the Qing Dynasty was 2600 million, their highest annual grain output reached 18 billion catties. Last year, China's total sown area was about 8400 billion mu, of which the grain sown area was 16.8 billion mu About 89% of the total. The food mentioned here refers to rice, wheat, soybean, millet, corn, sorghum and other food crops. Last year, China’s grain output was 3200 billion catties, which was only 600% higher than the highest output of the Qing Dynasty. 600 million catties. Prime Minister, our population has increased by [-] million people compared to that time, but the grain output has only increased by [-] billion catties. That is to say, our current per capita grain has declined compared to that time. And at that time Although the grain output of the Manchu and Qing Dynasties was the highest in history, the per capita grain was not the highest. That is to say, our current per capita grain is far less than that of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.”

That's Manchu.

Man Qing who was spurned and reviled.However, the current per capita food in our country is not as good as that of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, and this is not the Kangxi and Qianlong period at the peak of the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

How can this make everyone not angry.

No one doubted Zhang Lan's words.Because Zhang Lan was the Minister of Agriculture, China's agricultural data is in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture.Even if the external caliber is inconsistent, they will not talk nonsense at a meeting like today.

Everyone present frowned, especially Zhang Lan as the Minister of Agriculture.However, he still explained: "Of course, there are historical reasons for this situation. It is because a lot of our cultivated land is newly reclaimed, or the wasteland that has been abandoned before has been reorganized. Therefore, it does not take long to reorganize the cultivated land. , the yield per mu is lower than that of normal cultivated land. When the cultivated land is tidied up and taken care of, the yield per mu will naturally increase. Also, the Ministry of Agriculture has been encouraging farmers in the north to plant high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes Once high-yield crops such as corn and sweet potatoes are popularized on a large scale, our per-mu yield will further increase. According to the forecast of our Ministry of Agriculture, in 1930, the national grain output will reach at least 3500 billion catties, an increase of 300 billion catties from now. "

简单解释了一下.

Tell everyone about the current situation of food production.It is impossible for the newly opened up cultivated land, as well as the previously abandoned and reorganized cultivated land, to have the same yield per mu as the mature cultivated land.

But Zhang Lan quickly said: "But seeing the census report of the Bureau of Statistics today, I was really panicked. Because if our country's agriculture does not make much progress, the yield per mu will not increase much, even if it increases, it will be counted. Earth-shaking changes are impossible. But compared with the current agricultural development in our country, the population growth rate is too fast."

"Biao Lao (Zhang Lan), don't complain."

Duan Xun interrupted Zhang Lan with a smile.

Then he said: "Cousin, population growth is an objective existence. With the current scientific and organizational methods, and the education level of the people across the country, it is impossible to control the population at will in a short period of time according to our wishes. The only thing we can do is popularize education, and delay the marriage time in the form of laws to control the large-scale population growth. But this is not something that can be done overnight. So you still have to think more than complaining , how to increase our country’s grain output.”

family planning?

It's not that easy.Of course, in order to prevent the population from increasing too fast, the government has formulated some policies.Such as large-scale publicity and popularization of education, raising the legal age of marriage.The current legal age of marriage has been raised by two years, with men at [-] and women at [-].

Moreover, a condom factory was introduced from Germany, and the use of condoms began to be promoted.

However, these measures are just the beginning. In fact, there is only a certain effect in order to control the current large-scale population growth.Therefore, compared with controlling the population, increasing food production is currently the best way.

"kindness."

Zhang Lan nodded.

Not angry.I was just shocked by the population data just now. The population growth rate is so fast that Zhang Lan, the Minister of Agriculture, is terrified.

But Duan Xun was right.

Population control is not something that can be done just by talking about it.He is the Minister of Agriculture, and he must find a way to increase food production.So he said directly: "Prime Minister, judging from the current situation, there are only two ways to increase grain production. One is to increase the area of ​​cultivated land, and the other is to increase the yield per mu."

"Let me start with the area of ​​cultivated land. According to statistics from our Ministry of Agriculture, the area of ​​cultivated land in the country is far from reaching its peak. If the country's cultivated land is fully developed, the area of ​​cultivated land should reach between 24 billion mu and 25 billion mu. And Currently, there are two ways to expand the area of ​​cultivated land. One is to actively open up wasteland, especially in Northeast China, Xinjiang, and Qiongya, which can increase at least [-] million mu of cultivated land.”

"Another way is to actively build water conservancy and expand more and better-quality arable land. Let me give you an example. Henan, as the birthplace of civilization in the Central Plains, has always been one of the important food producing areas in our country. However, since ancient times, disasters have been frequent here. , especially floods and locust plagues. The main reason is that the water conservancy facilities here are not good. If Henan has perfect water conservancy facilities, then there can be tens of millions of acres of more high-quality arable land. And a complete water conservancy facility can also Greatly reduce disasters such as floods, droughts, and locust plagues. Therefore, the construction of water conservancy across the country can greatly increase the supply of cultivated land. If many parts of the country have complete water conservancy facilities, then hundreds of millions of acres of high-quality cultivated land can be created.”

Before there is a fundamental change in the yield per mu, increasing the area of ​​cultivated land is the most stupid but also the most effective way.Zhang Lan paused for a while, and let everyone digest it first.After all, this is all about agriculture.

Zhang Lan deals with agricultural data every day, but these people here are different.So let them digest it, and then continued: "Seeing today's population data, I think everyone should know how severe the food security situation in our country is. Increasing food production is already an imminent thing. Therefore, our Ministry of Agriculture applies for, in the future In the past few years, all corvee workers in the country have been assigned to the command of our Ministry of Agriculture. This will allow our Ministry of Agriculture to build large-scale water conservancy projects across the country, complete some important water conservancy projects in a short period of time, and increase the supply of high-quality cultivated land. It is really because of the construction of water conservancy projects now The speed is too slow, and there are too many things to do. And every time a disaster strikes, it will seriously affect our country's food security."

corvee.

Don't think that if the Manchu Qing Dynasty is gone and the republic is established, there will be no corvee.After the founding of the Republic of China, there were still corvees in many places.After Duan Xun entered Beijing, his control over the local area has greatly increased.It even continued the corvée.

Chinese people have been used to corvee for thousands of years, so Duan Xun just continued the original policy, and the people below didn't feel anything.Anyway, my ancestors have come here for generations.

It's just that corvee is not what it used to be.

The corvee workers now work around the area where they live.They are all organized by the county government, either building bridges and paving roads, building water conservancy projects, or even building county towns.

Every place is different, but basically the time of corvee is about one month every year, and some are only about 20 days.Moreover, the current government's ability to mobilize and organize is simply not comparable to that of previous dynasties.So don't look at the corvee for a short time, but the number after mobilization can far exceed before.Corvée, this is free labor.There is no need to spend anything more than food.

So all government departments are very fond of corvee.

Who doesn't like free labor.Therefore, every time the corvee time comes, various departments and local governments below are robbing these corvees.

Now Zhang Lan demanded that the corvee workers across the country obey the orders of the Ministry of Agriculture, which made Yu Youren next to him immediately dissatisfied.Said: "Old Zhang, you are not authentic. At present, the transportation construction of most counties in the country relies on corvee labor. If the county government pays for it, it is impossible to build enough roads in the years of the monkey. These years National road construction is in full swing, and they have made great contributions. If they are all transferred away and obey the command of the Ministry of Agriculture, how will local roads be built?"

In recent years, the national railway and road construction has developed rapidly.

Counting from 1920, when Duan Xun took over Beijing, the number of newly built roads across the country exceeded 30 kilometers, reaching 33 kilometers.Of course, many of the current roads are dirt roads, which are incomparable with the asphalt and cement roads of 100 years ago.But even if it is a dirt road, it will greatly change the current traffic situation in China.Because these dirt roads allow horse-drawn carts, ox carts, and even many dirt road trucks to pass through, this greatly improves the current traffic.Among these roads, except for government projects, most of the roads below are constructed by corvees.

Only about 10 kilometers of roads were built with funds from the central government and local governments, and the remaining 20 kilometers were built by corvees.

you could put it that way.

Corvée is the most beneficial supplement and even an important part of the Ministry of Communications' construction of transportation.

"Traffic construction is very important, but it is never as important as food. People can do other things only when they are full. Improving water conservancy facilities is something that will benefit future generations. There are priorities, and of course the most important problems should be solved first."

"Sometimes the so-called food shortage is not because there is a real lack of food. It is because the food cannot be delivered to the place where it is needed in time, which will cause a short-term food shortage in some places. Therefore, I think transportation is also very important."

"It's different."

As the two sectors that use corvee the most, both sides are competing for this free labor.After all, China has such a large population, and nearly [-] million people are engaged in corvee every year.

How many things can be done with such a large population in one month.

"Biao Lao (Zhang Lan) and Ren Gong (Yu Youren), please stay safe and don't be impatient."

Both Yu Youren and Zhang Lan are hot-tempered masters.

And they are all very knowledgeable, early revolutionary leaders.If there is a quarrel here, it will be endless.So Duan Xun stopped the two people from arguing.

Said: "Biao Lao, Ren Gong, let's organize a special meeting to discuss this issue. Both of you have come up with specific plans, what do you think?"

"it is good."

"can."

After Duan Xun stopped the two of them from arguing, he said to Zhang Lan: "Cousin, you continue."

"Yes."

Zhang Lan glared at Yu Youren, and continued: "I have already talked about the issue of increasing the area of ​​cultivated land, and then I will talk about the issue of the yield per mu. Regarding the yield per mu, if I really want to talk about it, there are too many things to talk about. It’s also not suitable here. So I will briefly introduce the best way to increase the yield per mu in the world at present.”

"The first is to plant the right crops in the right soil. The crops and the soil interact, and every soil has its own crops. It is a scientific issue to plant what kind of crops in what kind of soil. This requires us to train more agricultural experts. Our achievements in this area are not bad. So far we have specialized agricultural universities, agricultural colleges, and even agricultural technical secondary schools. Graduates from these universities, junior colleges, and technical secondary schools every year The number of students in the country is more than 3000. And the number of students enrolled has been increasing. Five years later, the number of agricultural school graduates in our country will exceed [-]. These people will become the best agricultural experts in our country.”

"The second is to promote some high-yield crops. For example, corn and sweet potatoes do not require much land, and the yield per mu is also high. It's just that they conflict with the traditional eating habits of our country, and the acceptance rate is not high, so the promotion has been weak. , the sowing area is limited. In fact, in the northern land, planting corn and sweet potatoes can greatly increase the yield per mu and greatly increase the grain output. For example, the yield of sweet potatoes can reach [-] catties per mu, which is several times the yield per mu of many crops. Therefore, our Ministry of Agriculture will Actively persuade farmers in northern my country to plant corn and sweet potatoes, so as to increase grain yield per mu."