At the same time, the entire Yellow River Basin is also facing the threat of locust plague. This year, the water volume in the Yellow River Basin is not sufficient, and there may be a large number of people suffering from locust plagues.

The reason for the locust plague is very simple, that is, the vegetation coverage rate is less than 50%, followed by dryness, warmth, and the number reaches a certain level. Locusts that like to go alone will become more likely to live in groups after being touched on their legs.

The peak period of locust plague in the Yellow River Basin is from February to June and July to September. When officials arrived in Huguang, the first task of Henan officials in office was to eliminate locusts.

The key areas for locust prevention are areas with less than 50%, namely mudflats, low-lying exposed areas, and farmland.

These areas are dense areas where locust lay eggs. Areas with a lot of vegetation generally do not have too large locust plagues. In drought years, due to the drop in water levels, the soil becomes relatively solid and the water content decreases. The number of eggs laid by locusts increases greatly. When there are many, it can reach 4,000 to 5,000 eggs per square meter of soil, with 50 to 80 eggs in each egg block, that is, 200,000 to 400,000 eggs per square meter.

During the Qin and Han dynasties, the frequency of locust plague occurred once every 8.8 years, while in the Ming Dynasty, it occurred on average once every 2.3 years, and in the late Ming Dynasty it occurred almost every year.

On the one hand, the vegetation was destroyed. Henan was once a region with good ecology, but now a lot of the land in Henan has become very barren.

On the other hand, it is also caused by uncertain climate changes and frequent droughts.

Drought causes locusts to reproduce in large quantities and grow rapidly, and there are two reasons for the disaster. On the one hand, in drought years, the soil becomes stronger and the water content is reduced due to the drop in water levels. At the same time, in drought years, rivers and lakes shrink and low-lying areas are exposed, which also provides locusts with more suitable places for laying eggs. On the other hand, plants grown in arid environment have low water content, and locusts feed on them, grow faster and have higher fertility. On the contrary, rainy and humid environments have many adverse effects on the reproduction of locusts. The high water content of plants eaten by locusts will delay locust growth and reduce fertility. A rainy and humid environment will also cause locusts to spread disease, and rainy and snow can directly kill locust eggs. In addition, the increase in natural enemies such as frogs will also increase the mortality rate of locusts.

These local officials received training in locust-killing before taking office. In addition to using oxen and horses to penetrate areas with dense locust eggs during the colder period in January and February, each county began to raise a large number of chickens.

The method of shepherd chickens to eliminate locusts is one of the common methods used in Shandong to eliminate locusts. On the one hand, it is profitable to develop the breeding industry, and it is also very effective in killing locusts. On average, a chicken can eat all the locusts on 1.5 acres of land.

Once a locust plague occurs, the counties will just drive the chickens to the areas where the locusts are hit and eat them very well. However, East Asian locusts in the Yellow River Basin have always been a big problem. If they can be eliminated so easily, they will be eliminated long ago.

After all, locusts have strong mobile surnames. Once the group reaches a certain number, the swarm of locusts may fly together in one direction for seven or eight hours.

It’s not that no one has used the chicken shepherd method, but the surname is too large. Not all regions have large-scale chicken farming. This time, before officials from Henan and Huguang took office, Zhao Yan gave them a tough surname indicator. Each county must raise 3 million to 5 million chickens this year, while the Huguang area is both chickens and ducks, because there are many paddy fields in Huguang area. Officials in each prefecture and county must always be vigilant, first demarcate the local areas where locusts can lay eggs, and prevent and control them before they grow into flying insects.

This link is easy and easy. After all, before locusts grow into flying insects, and for a period of time after they grow into flying insects (not evolved into a group), as long as people are sent to inspect whether the locusts are too dense and timely prevention and control will not cause the spread of locust plague.

It is not easy to say, that is, if a local official neglects, once the locust density reaches a certain level, it will cause changes in the locust's customs. At the same time, it will invade the territory of other locusts due to insufficient food, which will cause the locust to spread, and then it will be like a snowball, and the locust team will grow bigger and bigger, and then sweep all the way.

In terms of prevention and control after the spread, when locusts invade a certain prefecture and county, local officials must direct locust-killing personnel to drive the flock to eliminate the locusts.

The gathering of chickens can start from two aspects: one is an official farm, and the other is a private free-range farm. Once a locust plague occurs, the government can forcibly requisition it. A chicken is given a 3-cent copper coin fee and will be returned later. If the loss occurs, the original price will be compensated.

At the same time, local officials should start to manage exposed land, mudflats and low-lying areas, and eliminate locust egg-stacking areas. The main method is to restore vegetation.

This is a local governance measure, and the central government's locust control measures are to repair the Yellow River embankment to prevent the Yellow River from breaking or diverting the route. Once the Yellow River breaches or diverting the route, it will cause large-scale abandonment, which will provide egg laying ground for East Asian locusts.

When the newly appointed officials arrived at the local area, the first thing they did was to control locusts, which was so active that it was shocking. Before they took office, Zhao Yan made a harsh statement, and whoever did not manage well would be responsible.

At the same time, a locust-killing bureau was established above, which is responsible for long-term observation of East Asian locusts in the Yellow River Basin. Wherever there are locust activities, they will warn local officials.

Some local officials simply ordered the public to catch locusts, and the amount of locusts they caught was paid. They also hired farmers to drive the chickens to areas where there were locusts but did not cause disasters for a few days, and how much they had to be calculated from the local finance department before.

The effect of locust control is very significant. After three months, there were basically no large-scale locust plagues in Hebei and Huguang areas. They were all small-scale and were quickly extinguished.

Shanxi has been controlling locust plagues since last year, and this year there is no sign of locust plagues. The locust plagues in Hebei are everywhere. There is a place where the cabinet is governed. The strength is not as strong as the Shandong government, but it has also achieved some results.

At the beginning of the year, Shandong sent officials from four provinces, and Shaanxi faced the most serious problems, but also the easiest.

What Shaanxi officials need to do is to maintain public order, repair water conservancy and organize production. The northern Shaanxi region implements policies to return farmland to forests and grassland to return.

The northern Shaanxi area is a forced immigrant area. All the people in the mountainous areas have to be moved out and arranged to the Guanzhong area, or to other areas.

Anyway, many areas that can accommodate immigrants are dying now, and they are all immigrants that can develop into rich areas. Areas like northern Shaanxi with ecologically fragile areas have no future in agriculture. However, northern Shaanxi has great potential in minerals and energy, but now it is obviously not the time to mine.

The central plain in Shaanxi Province, also known as the Weihe Plain and Guanzhong Basin. It starts from Baoji in the west, reaches Tongguan in the east, borders Qinling in the south, and connects to the north of the Weihe River in the north. It is narrow in the west and wide in the east, about 300 kilometers long in the east, and is about 400 meters above sea level. The terrain is high in the west and low in the east, and it falls to 340 meters to the Yellow River bed. It is formed by a fault, commonly known as the Weihe Grain, and it passes through the Weihe River, Jinghe and Luohe River to form a plain. The terrain is flat, the soil is fertile, and the climate is warm. The irrigation agriculture has been famous since ancient times, and is known as the "Eight Hundred Miles Qinchuan". It produces wheat and cotton.

Guanzhong is the essence of Shaanxi. Nearly 60 million mu of arable land can be developed here. At this time, the Guanzhong area was desolate.

It was said that this place was a densely populated area, but most of the people were moved out by Zhao Yan, and the labor force in Guanzhong was very insufficient.

Most of the land in Guanzhong area was enclosed by Zhao Quan. In the past few years, the Guanzhong area was desolate and the land prices were extremely cheap, so the Ministry of Commerce naturally began to enclose land.

Guanzhong area is an important area for the restoration of production in Shaanxi. Due to insufficient labor, the breeding industry will be directly developed in Guanzhong area.

It is very appropriate to develop aquaculture in Guanzhong area, and there is no need for population and land adjustments. This year, as soon as the officials sent by Shandong Zhengfu arrived, they immediately began to organize the repair of water conservancy, and began to build breeding farms and silage rooms everywhere. They also organized personnel to sow large areas of corn and plant large areas of alfalfa and other grasses.

Southern Shaanxi is a region with a very good ecological environment. The developed agriculture includes Hanzhong region. Hanzhong region is also within the sequence of developing aquaculture. At the same time, a large area in Shaanxi was designated to plant cotton. After the arrival of Shandong officials, the public security in Shaanxi quickly stabilized and production began to recover.

The governance in Shaanxi is still very simple, but it is obviously not that easy to recover quickly.

There are many problems in the three provinces of Sichuan, Huguang and Hebei.

The main problems are the land, the numerous landlords in the place, and the vassal kings who are super landlords.

This makes it difficult for local officials to carry out their work.

Zhao Yan was always paying attention to the situation in various provinces in Zhaojiabao. By March, he felt that the time was ripe, so he held a meeting to implement the Shandong Agricultural Tax Act in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huguang and Henan.

"If this bill is implemented, although self-cultivated farmers are exempt from taxes, the land mainly pays taxes. The agricultural tax will definitely soar, and it will definitely not be less than the previous imperial court collected." Zhao Quan predicted, "According to the data reported by various prefectures and counties, Sichuan has 100 million mu of arable land. According to 5 cents of silver per mu, Sichuan can collect 5 million taels of silver dollars in agricultural tax, Huguang can develop 100 million mu of arable land, and more than 5 million taels of agricultural tax. Henan has 90 million mu of arable land, and more than 4.5 million taels of agricultural tax. Shaanxi has about 80 million mu of arable land, and agricultural tax can also reach more than 4 million taels of silver dollars. Together, as long as agriculture can be restored in various provinces, agricultural tax can reach nearly 20 million taels of silver dollars." Zhang Buyun said at the meeting, "So agricultural tax reform is imperative."

"It is indeed imperative, but I personally think it should be slowed down. At this time, production in various provinces has not yet fully recovered. If there is a volatile adjustment, then the overall agricultural production this year will inevitably be affected." Tang Zhengze did not agree to carry out agricultural tax reform immediately.

"Surprising adjustments are inevitable. Agricultural production this year is not urgent. If the agricultural production in these four provinces recovers before making fluctuating adjustments, wouldn't those landlords have greater resistance?" Zhang Buyun said.

"But it is not insurance enough. Who will be responsible if there is a famine this year?" Tang Zhengze stood up and asked.

"I'm responsible." Zhao Yan suddenly said, Tang Zhengze was stunned. Zhao Yan stood up and said, "This year we must promulgate the agricultural tax reform bill, and the land merger problem of four provinces must be eliminated next year."

"Yes." Everyone responded.

"I believe that agricultural production this year will definitely not be a problem." Zhao Yan said loudly: "Although our Shandong is no longer a grain-producing land, our agriculture in the Northeast has begun to take shape and will surely meet the grain supply in Shandong in previous years. Although the agriculture of various provinces has been affected, our vigorous repair of water conservancy will inevitably be able to recover quickly. The land regulation of these four provinces can be done without further ado."

"Master, the situations of these four provinces are different. My subordinates think that the same agricultural tax will not be used, and the land regulation method should not be carried out in a single way." Tang Zhengze said.

"Well! You are discussing the tax quota, which can be more flexible, but it must be in line with the actual situation of the local area. As for the regulation methods, except Sichuan, this method can be used in other provinces." Zhao Yan said.

Zhang Buyun asked in confusion: "Master, why do Sichuan use other regulatory methods?"

"The Sichuan vassal kings occupied too much land and should be confiscated forcibly." Zhao Yan shouted at the meeting: "There has never been a dynasty. Like the Ming Dynasty, vassal kings occupied so much land. For this reason, we must stop this phenomenon, confiscate the vassal kings' land and divide it with the people."

"Yes, lord."

Everyone responded.

"The meeting ended." Zhao Yan nodded.

At the meeting, he proposed to confiscate the land of the vassal kings, which was a final showdown with Chongzhen.

He didn't want to drag it on any longer. Although Chongzhen could not make any big waves, he did have 300,000 troops in his hands. At this time, the landlords of the Ming Dynasty had been united by Chongzhen.

Chongzhen dared to train 300,000 troops because of the support of those landlords, who were determined to eliminate by Zhao Yan, and the vassal kings are currently one of Chongzhen's great help.

The vassal kings realized that the end of the royal family might not be far away. They usually suppressed the bandits and beat Jianlu and were all crying for poverty, but now they were doing nothing.

At this time, we must use iron-fisted means.

...On March 13, Shandong Zhengfu announced that it would implement agricultural tax reform in four provinces, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Huguang and Henan. This agricultural tax reform did not even involve the cabinet.

Everyone in the world knows that the cabinet is just a look to General Jianwei Zhao Yan.

However, the cabinet also controls the administrative power of many provinces in the Ming Dynasty, and Shandong Zhengfu also controls many provinces, but most of them were captured by the Shandong army.

Last year, Shandong Zhengfu only controlled the Liaodong, Shanxi, Handan and Yingzhou areas, while Shandong Zhengfu swallowed four provinces in one breath this year.

As soon as these four provinces enter the administrative management of Shandong Zhengfu, it means that Shandong Zhengfu will not ask the cabinet about the government affairs of these four provinces.

Shandong Zhengfu will achieve some purpose in provinces that do not control administration, and it will be accomplished by remote control of the cabinet. However, once they control the administrative power, Shandong Zhengfu will no longer interfere with the cabinet. All government orders are issued by Shandong Zhengfu, and all local officials will report the situation to Shandong Zhengfu.

What is shocking is that Shandong Zhengfu did not care about the feelings of landlords in various provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and the agricultural tax reform law promulgated became more severe.

The new agricultural tax reform law lowers the bottom line of 500 mu to 300 mu. For those who exceed 300 mu, the tax will directly soar to two cents of silver per mu.

If it is in Huguang area, there are some business accounts for two cents of silver per mu, but the profit is minimal, and the higher the number of acres, the higher the tax.

In terms of tax-free acres, the number of acres has been reduced to ten acres. After all, if the tax-free acres is free, it can quickly become a rich peasant.

The departments have discussed for a long time and decided not to implement such policies in other provinces to avoid those landlords playing tricks and avoid more new landlords.

First of all, when the agricultural tax is implemented, it will inevitably lead to a plummeting land price, and those who do not have land can definitely purchase land within the tolerant limit through this opportunity.

The original intention of implementing the Agricultural Tax Reform Law is to change the current situation of agricultural tax loss and eliminate the tax-free group. The second is to cultivate a new landlord class.

This new landlord class can have a higher land limit. The tolerable land limit in China is 500 acres, but this requires going to the Ministry of Agriculture to obtain a breeding industry license. If you want to obtain a breeding industry license, you must first have no stains, and it is best to have good moral qualities.

You cannot be a hostile class in Shandong, or the families of those who have serious crimes. Secondly, you must undergo professional training. It is best to have a little education.

Because of these two original intentions, the number of tax-free acres has been reduced to ten acres. Generally speaking, ten acres of land that does not require tax payments can support a self-cultivated farmer. But if you want to be rich, you still have to rely on immigration or enter the city as a worker. There will definitely be no threshold for immigration and city entry, and there will be no household registration restrictions.

Most of the land in these provinces will be used to develop aquaculture and to grow cash crops.

As soon as this decree was announced, it caused a stir.

If Zhao Yan's implementation of the agricultural tax reform law in Shandong only aroused the vigilance of the landlord class, Zhao Yan's actions at this time had already aroused their hatred.

And it is not the landlord class, as well as the civil officials in the court, and those literati who have won the imperial examination, and the scope of offense is far more than this.

How many people Zhao Yan offended?

Excluding groups that have turned to Shandong's political axe, Zhao Yanyi promulgated the agricultural tax reform bills in Shaanxi, Huguang, Sichuan and Henan, which directly offended the entire upper class.

Zhao Yan's approach has seriously shaken the interests of all upper classes.

The rule of the Ming Dynasty was not so much the emperor's world as the upper class. Although the emperor had supreme power, he was still a puppet.

At this time, Zhao Yan offended the entire upper class of the Ming Dynasty.

However, Zhao Yan is no longer the cautious Zhao Yan at the time. Zhao Yan tried his best to avoid offending the landlord class of the Ming Dynasty, but Zhao Yan was fearless at this time.

His army would stand tightly by his side, and the people under his rule would stand tightly by his side.

When the entire Ming Dynasty was in a state of chaos, Zhao Yan was very calm and hugged the child at home. Xiao Zhao Wan was very healthy, which made Zhao Yan very happy.

(To be continued)
Chapter completed!