Spring Festival.

The sound of firecrackers never stopped before dawn, and the deafening sound of firecrackers resounded throughout Seoul.

The foreigners who stayed here were shocked at first when they heard the sound of firecrackers all over the city.

This gave them the feeling that the whole world was shaking.

It wasn't until a long time ago that they figured out that it was the Han Dynasty that was celebrating the New Year. This was the most important day for them, so it was so lively.

After figuring this out, the sky was already getting brighter by this time.

In the streets and alleys, incense sticks are placed at the door, and the incense smoke rises.

Incense is even more prosperous at the Chenghuang Temple or the Earth Temple.

The incense stick, which was thicker than my arm, was lit and stuck there. I didn’t know how long it would last.

If you stand on the city wall at this time, you can see a faint white mist rising over the entire Xinghan City, which is caused by the gathering of firecrackers and incense.

The palace is far away from the residences of ordinary people. During the construction, sound insulation was already considered, so the sound of firecrackers did not affect Lu Chensheng and others who were sleeping.

When Lu Chensheng woke up, the sky was already dimly lit. After opening the door of the palace, he directly heard the noisy firecrackers outside.

"Tsk, I'm afraid there will be constant sound of firecrackers at the Taoist temple today. I don't know if Taoist Master Yunsong can bear it anymore."

Lu Chensheng listened to the sound of firecrackers and said something with a sense of schadenfreude.

Qiong Yue had also gotten up by now, and was speechless when she heard this.

"How can your husband take pleasure in something like this?"

"Taoist Master Yunsong is also a master-level figure. He is very happy to be quiet. Didn't my husband think of this, so he snickered a little."

Because the other party likes to be quiet, the Taoist temples built are all on the mountainside, and there are basically no people there on weekdays.

But today is different. Today is the Spring Festival. I am afraid that some people have gone to the Taoist temple to burn incense and set off firecrackers.

Qiong Yue shook her head helplessly, and arranged her clothes while being served by the maid on the side.

It's time to prepare some breakfast.

This is also the habit of Qiongyue girls.

During the Spring Festival, all the meals were cooked by them. There has been a ceasefire in the Imperial Study Room for the past few days.

This is to make the palace feel more festive.

I think before I ascended the throne, the Chinese New Year was a bustling event. They prepared all the meals at home and then the whole family sat down to have a reunion dinner.

Lu Chensheng will also watch from the side and help from time to time.

The palace maids were surprised at first, but eventually got used to it.

I learned that this Holy Lord who had just established such a huge empire was actually very humane and extremely easy to get along with.

"After breakfast, let's pick up some items and go back to my parents' house to take a look in the rain."

My mother's family is also in Xinghan City, so it's much easier to go back when it rains.

During this Chinese New Year, Lu Chensheng thought it would be a good idea to let Linyu go home for a visit.

Hearing this, Linyu nodded immediately, "Can you take Yan'er back and take a look?"

"Of course you can ask Gu Zhifang to take pictures of a few people and follow."

Lu Chensheng nodded directly in agreement.

There is nothing unusual about taking my son home. My parents' home is in Xinghan City, so it is necessary to go back and take a look.

Lin Yu felt happy in his heart and happily prepared breakfast aside.

"Listen to the sound of firecrackers, the population of Xinghan City this year is much larger than before."

The sound of firecrackers last year was also extremely loud, but compared with this time, the range and density were much smaller.

From the sound of firecrackers, Lu Chensheng could basically tell that the population living there had increased a lot.

But this is normal. The economy, culture and population will naturally be concentrated here. This is a normal thing.

"I heard that there are already 700,000 people in the city, and I'm afraid there will be one million by next year."

Qiong Yue knew a little bit about this matter and responded directly.

"Seven hundred thousand?"

Lu Chensheng had never asked, and was shocked when he heard this.

It was originally a poor place, but with the development of construction, it has a population of one million.

Although there is still a gap between the population of tens of millions in later generations, this million is not bad.

I believe that within a few years, it will be possible to reach tens of millions.

However, if the population continues to grow, I am afraid that by then houses will start to be built and expand outwards.

For now, there is still a very large open space in Xinghan City, so there is no need to worry about this place of residence.

"As a saint, you don't even care about the population of this city of Seoul?"

Seeing her husband's somewhat shocked look, Qiong Yue immediately replied.

"My husband only cares about the population of the country. How can I care about everything?"

Lu Chensheng shook his head and said.

Based on the population statistics last year, the entire Xinghan Empire currently has a total population of 70 million, not even hundreds of millions.

However, in the next few years, the population should usher in a big explosion.

This is because people have been restricted from getting married early when the age for soul-fitting has reached.

I'm afraid that many parents are already anxious, feeling that their sons got married too late and don't have children.

How can you not rush to have children once you get married?

But now the risk of having children has been reduced a lot, and then I have become a lot richer. At least I can afford to eat.

In this way, the child will not completely become a burden.

I estimate that there is a very good chance that the population will exceed 100 million within two or three years.

The population needs to increase quickly. The population is still too small now.

Lu Chensheng thought of this and shook his head secretly.

"Husband, why are you shaking your head?"

Qiong Yue asked while busy cooking.

The cooking place was not in the imperial dining room, but a small stove was set up outside the palace in the harem.

The maids on the side were waiting on him, and there was no shortage of anything.

"There are now more than 70 million people in the Xinghan Empire, which is still too few."

"What do you want to do with such a large population? My husband has always thought that teaching would be free of charge across the country. As the population increases, there will be more students. By then, the cost of teaching will not be borne by the imperial court?

As a result, the cost will be high, and the other is the medical clinic.

My husband also thinks that the cost of medical treatment can be reduced for the common people. After the reduction, the court will pay for it. In this way, as the population increases, the court's expenditure will also increase.

Now that the imperial court cannot afford the expenses, these plans have been delayed, and my husband feels that the population is too small."

Qiong Yue was puzzled.

Wouldn't it be easier to arrange these plans if there were fewer people?

If there are more people, how much will it cost to continue these plans?

It’s unknown at the moment. Currently, Xing Hancheng’s efforts are only to help build schools in various places, but it has not continued to do more.

"This is different. It's better to have more people. Otherwise, how can the Xinghan Empire be so huge and the population so sparse? And with a small population, the labor force will be insufficient.

Last year, many mines were discovered in various places, and some mines with rare ores required manpower to mine them. However, many people preferred farming and did not like to leave their hometowns, resulting in manpower shortages in many places.

After there are more people, although some benefits will increase the empire's financial expenditure, the empire will definitely have so much money in the future, so there is no need to worry at all.

What my husband is currently worried about is that there is still a shortage of manpower. When the territory expands, some people will be needed to immigrate to those places and they will be needed to build and occupy it.

At that time, we will need to recruit soldiers again, otherwise, there will be not enough soldiers."

Lu Chensheng sighed and talked to Qiong Yue about the disadvantages of today's small population.

After the territory expands, people always need to build and occupy it, so that the place can be completely occupied.

But if there is a shortage of manpower, and there are already fewer people in our own place, how can we allocate some people to other places?

Also, the number of soldiers may need to be expanded again next year.

Lu Chensheng naturally had a headache when he thought of this.

“We don’t even have enough manpower for mining?

The wages paid for mining are still quite high, and this has never been deducted.
To be continued...