Five hundred and fortieth chapters flourishing offspring
However, in last year's statistics of Dingkou across the country, the data compiled by the imperial court were astonishing. They did not include Nanyang Province, Dongyang Province, Annan, Champa and even the newly occupied Mobei Province, Liaodong Province, etc.
, there are only 13 provinces in the two capitals of Ming Dynasty, with a total of more than 11.2 million households and a population of more than 103.4 million.
That is to say, in the past few years, sweet potatoes and corn, which can be regarded as high-yielding crops, have been fully spread, resulting in a significant increase in population. Otherwise, if it had been ten or eight years earlier, the current population of Ming Dynasty would have been
I'm afraid there will be an additional 1,000 to 8 million.
But even so, it is foreseeable that in the future, the population of the Ming Dynasty will definitely explode. After all, the Ming Dynasty now has Nanyang, Annan, Champa, Huguang and other grain producing areas, and even the land of Liaodong.
It has also been developed on a large scale. Although it is bitterly cold in Liaodong, it is not as good as in places like Champa City that can achieve three crops a year, but one crop a year can still be achieved. The key point is that although Liaodong is bitterly cold, the land is definitely worth it.
The land is very fertile. Even though it can only be harvested once a year, the yield per mu is not bad at all.
Because of this, the people of the Ming Dynasty can be regarded as completely getting rid of the food crisis. At least now, people in the Ming Dynasty almost never see people starving to death.
After all, in these years, the Ming Dynasty court has been promoting one major project after another. Even though the prisoners captured from the Japanese country were carrying out the most dangerous and arduous mining and road construction work, the imperial court also took out a lot of money.
A large amount of money and grain was spent recruiting labor from the private sector to build bridges, pave roads, dredge rivers, and build various water conservancy facilities.
On the one hand, it is for the most basic construction, and on the other hand, it is taken from the people for the people, and the money and food that enters the hands of the court flows into the hands of the people, so that the vast majority of the people have a guarantee of survival.
After almost twenty years of development, every aspect of the Ming Dynasty has developed by leaps and bounds, such as the construction of the steam engine that Li Huan came to inspect today.
From the very beginning when the concept of a steam engine was proposed, to when a well-known skilled craftsman devoted himself to it, and after repeated experiments, twenty years have passed, and now the results have finally been produced.
Under the guidance of Grand Scholar Luo Tong, Li Huan approached the steam engine that was as big as a house. It seemed that the steam engine was roaring endlessly. If most people saw it, they would think they were seeing some monster, but Li Huan was able to
It can be seen that although this steam engine is still far from what I expected, the machine in front of me has everything that a steam engine should have, and the rest is nothing more than improvements in various aspects.
It is expected that within a few years, the steam engine will be officially used by the Ming Dynasty and become the heart of the Ming Dynasty's rapid development.
Listening to Luo Tong's introduction, Li Huan looked at this place for half an hour. Finally, he gave Luo Tong and other craftsmen some instructions, and at the same time generously rewarded them and suggested the next step for the skilled craftsmen.
Improvement goals.
After Li Huan made his wish to become an official, everyone's eyes were filled with joy and expectation.
You must know that Li Huan has said that if someone can really make a steam engine that meets Li Huan's requirements, he will personally petition the emperor and award him with a title.
If it were twenty years ago, even if Li Huan made such a wish, no one would believe it. However, after these years, only the craftsmen they know who have made great contributions to technology have been
There are so many people who have been awarded titles.
Whether it is Tiangong Bo Cuishan who proposed and perfected the steel-making technology, Sun Changxing, the powerful uncle who improved the cannon-casting technology and proposed and perfected the method of casting cannons in iron molds, or the first woman who was named an earl in the Ming Dynasty, Zhen Yibo.
Sang Jiuniang, it can be said that the Ming Dynasty has really attached great importance to various craftsmen in recent years. Anyone who can make a contribution will be rewarded and punished clearly.
So this time Li Huan said that he would petition the emperor for the reward of knighthood for them, no one would doubt it, because there were many precedents before.
After leaving the factory area, Li Huan's carriage headed towards the Duke of Qin's mansion.
More than ten or twenty years have passed, and the Duke of Qin's Mansion has remained the same, but compared to the past, the Duke of Qin's Mansion today is a bit more lively.
As the eldest son of Li Huan, Li Zong and the second son Li Si are already teenagers. Although they are only in their teens, they are all tall and impressive.
On the martial arts field of the Li family, several figures were practicing martial arts, among which Li Zong and Li Si were the most eye-catching. Even Li Zong and Li Si each had a spear in their hands, and they were able to fight with Li Huan's side.
The personal guard Li Hu and others fought evenly.
If there are any masters in the world who see him, they will probably be shocked. After all, at such a young age, he has strength that is almost comparable to that of first-class masters. Such strength and cultivation would probably be placed among the top sects like Shaolin and Wudang.
In each generation, there may not be only three or two people.
But think about Li Zong, Li Si and the others who practiced the most superior techniques, whether it was the Nine Yang Divine Technique, the Dragon Elephant Poruo Technique, or the Xuanwu Breathing Technique, any of them
If you put it in the world of martial arts, it would be a top-notch magical skill that would cause people in the world to fight for their lives.
A sweet smile came out, and a small figure flew over lightly and flew straight into Li Huan's arms. It turned out to be a young girl.
The girl looked about ten years old, with delicate features, and she was a beauty at first glance. She put her arms around Li Huan's neck and said softly: "Daddy, why haven't you come to accompany Mian'er these days?"
This is Li Huan's third daughter, Li Mian, who is the daughter of Forsythia. Although she is not the daughter of his official wife, she is more favored than Li Zong and Li Si's second son.
Picking up Li Mian, Li Huan laughed loudly and said, "Little Mian'er, have you ever missed your father?"
She was about ten years old and was considered a half-grown girl in this era, so when she was picked up by Li Huan, a blush suddenly appeared on her pretty face, but she still said to Li Huan: "I want it!"
Here Li Huan was enjoying the happiness of his family, but as the emperor, Zhu Houzhao was frowning and looking at Wang Yangming, who had been sitting in the position of chief minister of the cabinet for twenty years, and said: "Now let the princes
Isn’t it a little early to go to Penglai Province to establish a state?”
Wang Yangming looked serious and said: "Your Majesty, now the prince has two legitimate sons, three legitimate sons born by the queen, and as many as twelve princes born by the concubines. Among them, except the legitimate son born by the queen, he was granted the title of Fengyang Zhongdu.
In addition, the remaining princes must be enfeoffed once they reach adulthood. This is what your Majesty has negotiated with Qin Guogong and other important officials in the court. I know that Your Majesty is reluctant to part with all the princes, but for the sake of our country, the Ming Dynasty, all adult princes must be enfeoffed.
.”
The Ming Dynasty has always had its own rules for the inheritance of the throne. The crown prince Zhu Zaikun was born from the empress. He is the undisputed eldest son of the Ming Dynasty. He was appointed as the prince by the emperor early. In addition, the queen has two sons who are also legitimate sons. According to the discussion of the important officials in the court
, to prevent accidents, the Queen's legitimate son must go to Fengyang, the central capital, when he reaches adulthood. Only after the Crown Prince inherits the throne and establishes the next generation of Crown Prince, will he be allowed to leave the Central Plains to establish a kingdom.
As for those princes who are not direct descendants, under normal circumstances they will be enfeoffed once they reach adulthood. Of course, if the queen has no children or there is only one direct descendant, then the emperor will choose two from the remaining non-direct princes.
Head to Fengyang, Zhongdu, just in case.
After all, if there is only one royal heir left in the Central Plains, the prince, then if something unexpected happens to the emperor and the prince at the same time, wouldn't it mean that not even a heir to the throne can be found for a while.
Although the prince who was chosen to stay in Fengyang, the central capital, would have some hopes for the throne, it would still be better than the death of the prince and the dynasty having no heir.
At this time, Wang Yangming asked the emperor to enfeoff the adult princes in the capital. Among them, there were three princes who met the conditions.
Penglai Province is actually a new continent discovered at sea by the naval fleet sent overseas by the Ming Dynasty more than ten years ago.
After several years of exploration, it was discovered that the New World was extremely vast, no smaller than the Central Plains. It was home to all kinds of strange creatures that had never been seen before, such as tall creatures with meat bags on their chests, and creatures that looked like giant rats.
Or maybe it's a creature with a duck's beak.
The most important thing is that after several years of exploration in the Ming Dynasty, it was found that the land is vast and sparsely populated, with almost no human beings. However, it is extremely rich in minerals, especially iron ore, coal mines, gold and silver mines and other mineral deposits.
For such a continent, if it were in the past, the Ming court might not have cared much about it, but after many years, officials of all sizes in the court have changed.
Not to mention that these people have set their sights beyond the Central Plains, but that the interests of the large and small families behind these officials have already been deeply entangled with industry, commerce, and maritime trade.
It can be said that at this time, if anyone dares to come out to propose a sea ban or to crack down on the development of industry and commerce, I dare not say that the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty will jump out to kill him one by one. I am afraid that most of the officials will jump out to oppose it.
Therefore, under this general trend, such a continent was a treasure in the eyes of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty. Naturally, they immediately named it Penglai Province, which means Penglai Fairy Island.
Over the years, on the one hand, the Ming Dynasty migrated people to America, and on the other hand, it migrated people to Penglaixian Island.
However, the imperial court did not move the population very quickly. In the past ten years, the huge Penglai Province only built a dozen large cities, with a combined population of only three to five million.
Originally, Penglai Province was a vast territory, and like the Americas, it was chosen by the imperial court as a land for enfeoffment of the royal vassals and clans. It can be said that as long as it occupied the vast territories of America and Penglai Province, the Ming Dynasty royal family would no longer be the leader.
How can we reproduce without worrying about losing land for enfeoffment within dozens of generations?
Therefore, now the imperial court is not afraid that the emperor will have too many heirs and the burden of supporting the clan will be too heavy. Instead, the imperial court is afraid that the emperor will not be able to have children, or that he will have too few heirs.
The Ming Dynasty really needed too many vassal princes and clansmen to go out to open up territory and educate the Ming Dynasty.
Just looking at the development speed of the fiefdoms of the vassal princes and clansmen who were enfeoffed to the Southeast Asian lands at that time was obviously faster than that of the prefectures and counties under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court, we can see that the advantages of the real feudal system relatively outweighed the disadvantages.
One county can be divided into one or two vassal kings and relatives, so how many prefectures and counties can be divided into Penglai Province and America, and how many vassal kings need to be entrusted to go there.
Just thinking of this, the imperial officials looked at the emperor with a bit of resentment. Even today, the number of heirs is almost surpassing that of Emperor Taizu, but now it seems that only a dozen princes have actually sealed overseas lands.
Compared with the land occupied by the Ming Dynasty, the land that needed to be ruled by vassal kings and clans was too small.
It can be said that the officials of the Ming Dynasty wish they could do nothing today and stay in the harem all day long, working hard to produce heirs for the royal family.
Zhu Houzhao, who was sitting on the throne, was nearly fifty years old because he practiced the Xuanwu Breathing Technique, but he looked like he was about thirty years old. His more than thirty years of emperor career had made Zhu Houzhao develop a whole body.
The spirit of an emperor.
But at this moment, Zhu Houzhao had a look of hesitation. The emperor himself was a very affectionate person. Although several princes had reached adulthood and were enfeoffed early, it would be beneficial to both the country and the princes. But Zhu Houzhao
I always feel that those princes have not grown up yet and are reluctant to entrust them overseas.
However, looking at the serious expressions of the cabinet elders, especially the serious look of the chief minister Wang Yangming, and thinking that he had rejected the cabinet's request several times, Zhu Houzhao sighed softly in his heart: "That's right."
The thirty-fifth year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty
A group of nobles headed by Duke Li Huan of the State of Qin and important ministers of the court headed by Wang Yangming surrounded the emperor and arrived at a place.
Everyone looked at the strange straight road in front of them, which was paved with steel and stretched into the distance.
Even the elder Yang Yiqing, who was leading the military department from a distance, had gray hair and said to Li Huan with a look of shock on his face: "Qin Guogong, if I read it correctly, they should all be made of hundreds of hundred-refined steel, and you...you actually laid them out
On earth, this... what a waste it is."
Even though the Ming Dynasty's steel-making technology has made great progress, the amount of steel produced every year alone is an astonishing number, but suddenly seeing hundreds of steel-making piles laid out on the ground makes people feel astonished for a moment.
Shocked.
Not only Yang Yiqing, but also Wang Yangming, the chief minister of the cabinet, couldn't help but look at Li Huan.
Li Huan just smiled slightly when he heard this, and continued to lead everyone forward: "Everyone, today Li is going to show you the steam car developed by the Royal Bureau of Geosciences, and the roads paved with steel in front of you are for that steam car.
prepare."
Everyone looked solemn when they saw Li Huan mentioning the Royal Geographical Bureau. From the initial establishment of the Royal Geographical Bureau, hundreds of officials opposed it to later being accepted by everyone. More than twenty years later, all officials have already understood the purpose of the Royal Geophysical Bureau.
portion size.
It can be said that any new things that are seriously brought out by the Royal Bureau of Geosciences will often bring about earth-shaking changes to the Ming Dynasty.
Whether it is the steel-making technology that increased the steel-making in the Ming Dynasty by dozens or hundreds of times, or the new spinning wheel that Zhen Yibo transformed the textile technology and greatly developed the textile industry in the Ming Dynasty, now that Li Huan mentioned the royal structure, everyone was shocked