At the end of the first year of Tongguang, a group of people headed by Queen Zhe and Prince Shao Chengjie arrived in Chang'an, and Shao Shude came out of the palace to greet them.
That night, the old couple slept together in the same bed, and all the wild women escaped without a trace.
This continued for several days, until noon on New Year's Eve, Shao Shude summoned the main officials of Zhongshu Province, Shangshu Province, Lifan Yuan, and North and South Ya Privy Council in Taiji Hall.
Everyone noticed that the saint looked significantly better.
The queen is here, it is really useful! At least the saint is no longer promiscuous.
Shao Shude sat down refreshed and looked at everyone carefully.
Alas, several are missing.
Among the seven old prime ministers of Zhengshitang, Chen Cheng, Zhao Guangfeng, Xiao Qu, Lu Siye and Wang Pu are still there.
Song Le died of illness before the expedition, and the person who replaced him in the Political Affairs Hall was Du Guangyi. Now Du Guangyi has also gone home to recuperate, and Du Xiao serves as the Secretary of the Ministry of Household Affairs, but does not enter the Political Affairs Hall.
After Shao Shude came back, he was promoted to the Political Hall and became one of the prime ministers.
When Feng Guanqing, the Minister of Rites, died of illness, Shao Shude transferred Wang Pu, the Minister of War, to be the Minister of Rites, and promoted Han Jian, the governor of Zhili Road, to be the Minister of War, and entered the Political Affairs Hall, becoming one of the seven prime ministers.
This is an eye-catching appointment.
Han Jian was very good at governing local areas. Whether he was the governor of Huizhou or the governor of Zhili Province, he did an outstanding job. But he used to be a martial artist, a rough man, and he was not literate.
After becoming an official, he studied hard by himself. He carved a few characters on his bed every day, repeatedly identified and studied them, and finally became "proficient in writing and calligraphy".
It is relatively rare for such a person to become a prime minister. A saint really does not care about his origin, only his ability.
Hu Zhen, the deputy privy envoy of Nanya, was not present and was recuperating at home in Luoyang.
Everyone from the Bei Ya department was still alive and well, and they were all present. Like Ren Yuji, Xu Hao, and Li Tangbin, who succeeded Yang Yao as the Privy Envoy of the Bei Ya Upper House, they were the same generation as Shao Shude. Except for Li Tang Bin, who was older and in poor health.
Apart from not being very good, the other two are both under sixty and appear to be in good health, with no obvious diseases and should probably still live for a few more years.
"Have you read all the books?" Shao Shude asked after glancing around.
"After reading it, I feel that the saint is a scholar of heaven and man, and the old man is ashamed of himself."
"My back is soaked with sweat. If a saint hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have thought of this level."
"This book can be regarded as an essential skill for slaying a dragon. I admire it greatly."
"Looked at it."
"finish watching."
"I don't quite understand."
"real or fake?"
…
The style of replying is different.
The more formal ones are the civil servants, while the more carefree ones are the generals.
After everyone's replies stopped, Shao Shude asked: "What do you think we should do?"
Everyone looks at me and I look at you, all waiting for someone to start.
Chen Cheng, who had the highest status, did his duty and said directly: "I think we should take a multi-pronged approach."
"What kind of multi-pronged approach?" Shao Shude asked.
"The south is vast, and every time there is a war, people from the north will go south, just like the time when Yiguan crossed to the south." Chen Cheng said: "His Majesty once said that Hunan can support 10 to 20 million people, but now there is only one million. Hubei can support one or two.
There are tens of millions of people, but now there are only about a million. From this we can see that there is a vast world in the south, and there is a lot to do."
"That's not how the account is calculated." Shao Shude interrupted and said: "Take Hunan as an example. It is true that it can only support one million people now, or more, but it can support two to three million people at most, and it is impossible to support 20 million people.
.To raise so many people, you have to carry out development, drain swamps, clear meadows, cut down forests, build roads, dig ditches, dredge rivers, etc. Only when these are done can Hunan be able to raise more people."
Why was the population so large in the Qing Dynasty? People talk about alien species, but that is not the case.
When corn was first introduced to China, it was not domesticated, did not adapt to the local environment, and was not bred, so the yield was extremely low, and it was not as good as planting traditional crops.
Sweet potatoes do have some effects, making use of some hills that could not be used in the past.
However, the planting proportion of these two crops was not high in the Qing Dynasty and they were not the mainstream of food.
The reason why so many people can be supported is that during the Qing Dynasty, farmland water conservancy facilities were built on a large scale, part of the lower fields were transformed into middle fields and even upper fields. At the same time, lakes were reclaimed for farmland, forests were cut down, and the cultivated land area was greatly increased. This is the main reason.
This is what Shao Shude is talking about.
How many people can be supported in Hunan corresponds to the amount of farmland that can be cultivated stably. Nowadays, most of it is wild and virgin land everywhere, so it is obvious that it cannot support 20 million people, but at most two million.
"I know what your Majesty means." Chen Cheng said: "I just pointed out that there is still a lot of open space in the entire south, which can accommodate a very large population. In the future, if the population in the north increases greatly and there is not enough land, immigrants can move south to alleviate conflicts."
Shao Shude nodded and said, "Chen Qing, continue."
"The second method is actually almost the same." Chen Cheng said: "I heard that although it is cold in Liaodong, it is not a problem to plant one season a year. The soil is rich and fertile, and the yield per acre is very high. It may be possible to immigrate in large numbers."
"Not bad." Shao Shude nodded again and said, "Continue."
In fact, conquering the Khitan and Bohai could be regarded as Shao Shude's life-saving move for Daxia.
Historically, during the Little Ice Age, the settlement population of the Liao and Jin Kingdoms in the Northeast increased significantly. Especially in the Shangjing area of the Liao Kingdom, it once reached 2 million people, but now it is only a few hundred thousand, which is just a fraction. Of course, the Liao Kingdom
The large-scale development in Shangjing has also caused desertification of the land.
In a sense, the Little Glacier climate caused the Liaoze to shrink and degrade, and a large number of swamps dried up. The silt at the bottom of the lake was very fertile, giving the Khitan people a lot of farmland in vain.
As for the impact of the colder weather, it is probably that the rice that was once widely cultivated by the Bohai people will no longer be suitable, and other crops such as rye, oats, millet, etc. will be needed.
By the end of the first year of Tongguang, there were more than 181,100 households and more than 879,600 people in Zhuzhengzhou, Liaodong Province.
There are also 65,000 households with government soldiers and more than 129,000 households with tribes - the remaining 14,000 people of the Golden Spear Army finally agreed to be resettled to Liaodong as government soldiers after years of push and pull.
As a result, the total population of Liaodong Province has reached 18.9 million, exceeding the level of the Bohai Kingdom, but it is far inferior to that of the Liao Kingdom. It is a bit worse, and the immigration potential is still huge.
Like the south, Liaodong is also Daxia's population pressure relief valve.
"The third method is the Western Regions." Chen Cheng said: "But the Western Regions are newly acquired, and I don't know much about them. I don't know how many household registrations they can support."
"It's more than a million more than it is now, which is as high as the sky." Shao Shude said.
"What a pity." Chen Cheng sighed.
Shao Shude was also silent.
The effect of deception is very average. Chen Cheng pointed out that there is still a lot of room in the south and Liaodong. Although Shao Shude used Hua Shuhu to get over it, everyone present who is not a human spirit will have his own thoughts.
No, you have to bring some rhythm.
So, he jumped in front of Zhao Guangfeng who was about to speak and said: "It is hot and humid in the south, and the people think that they will die in this place. In fact, it is not very good, so we can only take advantage of it and immigrate slowly. The focus is still on the Northeast.
and northwest..."
"Your Majesty, didn't you just say that the Western Region can only support a million more people?" Zhao Guang asked curiously.
Shao Shude coughed and said: "But there are still good places in the west of the Western Region. Bahanna can support millions of people."
"So many?" Zhao Guangfeng was shocked and asked: "In the Han Dynasty, there were only more than 300,000 people in Dawan, and in the Tang Dynasty, there were 500,000 or 600,000. How could it support millions?"
"I have been there, so I know better than you." Shao Shude argued forcefully.
Zhao Guangfeng was silent for a moment and then said: "But if the immigrants go to Ba Khan, they may not be owned by China."
"Isn't it enough to just send people out? Why do you want to do so much?" Shao Shude asked: "For example, with so many surrendered troops, I sometimes want to have a big defeat and let them all be consumed, but that's not how things work. There are too many people.
It is certainly troublesome, but it is also beneficial if we can create some value before disappearing."
"I'm afraid that if we immigrate to foreign countries, the war will continue and it will be financially difficult." Zhao Guangfeng said again.
This is a realistic question, and Shao Shude didn't know how to answer it. He could only say: "If it is profitable, it may be sustainable."
"Your Majesty, why are you talking to them so much?" Li Tangbin suddenly spoke, and he was heard to say: "These bunch of idiots just don't want to see our military men perform meritorious service and become generals and ministers. They talk high-sounding in their mouths, but they are full in private.
Bad water. When Han Zuo paid homage to the prime minister, there were so many people who complained. I just wanted to laugh when I saw them. What? You don’t want us warriors to be prime ministers?"
Han Jian sat aside, almost picking his toes out of embarrassment.
Although Li Tangbin was speaking for him, the effect was...
Chen Cheng raised his eyelids, glanced at Li Tangbin, and ignored him.
This is an idiot. It's pointless to argue with him. It's a waste of time.
Zhao Guangfeng also turned a blind eye to Li Tangbin.
Military people are not suitable for the prime minister, this is the old rule after the Anshi Rebellion. You already have a Privy Council, why do you still come to our territory to grab food?
The more wars there are, the higher the warrior's status.
On the contrary, once entering the peaceful and prosperous age, the status of warriors will slowly decline.
Zhao Guangfeng knew very well which one was in his own interest.
However, what the saint said makes sense!
He sighed secretly. To be honest, he didn't believe in Hubei. It was impossible that Hunan could support 20 million people.
There are only a million people now. If we develop it properly and support three to five million people, it is already the limit of his imagination.
Therefore, saints are not unfounded.
Once the household registration increases rapidly, there will be more people and less land, and rebellions will occur everywhere, future generations will also be affected.
Do you really think that all the big families can survive until the new dynasty is established? Huang Chao, during the Qin Zongquan Rebellion, countless families were wiped out. Those who survived waited until the saint Dingding and established Daxia.
The sage often said that a gentleman's zeal will be cut off after five lifetimes, but Zhao Guangfeng disagreed. He was not so free and easy, and many people would not be so free and easy. From this point of view, the sage's opinion should indeed be seriously considered.
Of course, it is useless for them to think about it now, because there is no contradiction between man and earth at all now, and it is future generations who should read this book seriously.
He had a premonition that if the saint's book could be widely circulated, it would set off a huge storm among scholars.
Some people will agree, some will disagree, and some will be skeptical.
But this is actually enough, because Shilin has been completely divided and disintegrated, and no longer holds a one-sided opposition to launching a war.
The sage once said that Annan can support tens of millions of people. Whether it is true or not, from now on, officials and scholars will not dare to give up Annan. Isn't it good to keep such a piece of land to accommodate immigrants? Why give up?
The same applies to the Western Regions, Liaodong, Yunnan and other places.
Once a local rebellion breaks out, as long as it is not really unbeatable and can be solved with money, it is very likely that the court will pass a decision to send troops, and it is unlikely that they will choose to settle the matter.
Massacres were carried out during the suppression, and the soldiers were happy and could plunder property.
The court officials also felt a little relieved that there was a place to resettle the new immigrants.
This country has become more warlike, just like the Tang Dynasty...