"Mobilizing the people in the Dongting Lake area, and taking ten or even twenty years as a cycle, we can finally eliminate the schistosomiasis. By then, Qianli Yunmengze will become a fertile soil and granary."
The more Chen Jingke talked, the more excited he became, and in the end he shouted: "This is called success in the present and benefit for the future."
Li Shimin couldn't laugh or cry when he heard this. He usually used such words to deceive others, but today someone actually deceived him.
"Stop, stop, calm down first. Don't just settle for ten or twenty years. You have to consider whether the court can afford it."
Chen Jingke calmed down his excitement and said: "We don't need any support from the court. As long as we don't transfer laborers from there within ten or twenty years and keep the local people in the area, it will be enough."
"There is no need to worry about whether it will arouse public resentment. The local people hate schistosomiasis more than anyone else, but they are weak and powerless."
"If the imperial court organizes an extermination operation, they will definitely join enthusiastically. The power of the people is infinite, and I believe that one day we will be able to control schistosomiasis."
Li Shimin had actually been persuaded that the core of the Tang Dynasty was still in the north in the Central Plains, and the main source of manpower and material resources was also in the north.
Except for the Grand Canal Basin in the south, which is pretty good, other places can only contribute very little.
In the past, the Tang family had very little financial resources, and no matter how little material resources the south provided, it was still better than nothing. But now, I really don't like it anymore.
Manpower? This wave of population census conducted by the imperial court resulted in an increase of more than 10 million people, so the three to five million people in the south seemed unimportant.
Taxes? Forget it, except along the Grand Canal, other places even need relief from the court.
Food? There will be as much food as you need in Indochina. If the fleet makes more trips, you will have everything.
Therefore, according to Chen Jingke, keeping the local people in the Dongting Lake area would have minimal impact on the court. But these local people could bring about earth-shaking changes.
The imperial court could even move some people there to speed up the pace of transformation.
After thinking for a while, Li Shimin nodded and said: "This matter is important and I will make a decision only after discussing it with the ministers."
Chen Jingke naturally knew this and didn't say anything else.
Then Li Shimin took the initiative to start another topic, saying: "The Yinggehai and gold, copper and iron mines on Yazhou Island have been found, and you have made great contributions again."
Chen Jingke then remembered that last year he and his eldest grandson Wugou had talked about Yazhou Island and Yizhou Island, but he didn't expect the results to come out so quickly.
He was naturally very happy and asked: "Has iron ore mining started? How difficult is it to mine and the grade of the ore? Is it as good as the legend says?"
Li Shimin nodded and said: "It is indeed an open-pit iron mine. It is very easy to mine. The grade is also very good. The steel produced using the same smelting method is of better quality."
Chen Jingke finally felt relieved and said: "That's good, this is good gun steel. Cannons made from the steel here will be of better quality and more powerful."
"By the way, since there are better-quality iron ores with higher yields there, can the inferior iron produced here in the Central Plains be used for other purposes?"
Li Shimin asked directly: "What are your plans?"
Chen Jingke said: "Iron farm tools are so important to agricultural production. Now that grain output is low, in addition to the indispensable fertilizer for seeds, the shortage of farm tools is also a very important factor."
"We have nothing to do with seeds and fertilizers. The problem of agricultural tools can be solved now. The iron ore in Yazhou can be used to make weapons. I suggest that the low-quality iron in the Central Plains be used to make agricultural tools."
Li Shimin did not agree, but he did not deny it, but said: "The Yazhou Iron Mine is under construction now, and the output is not high yet. Let's wait until the output increases."
Chen Jingke knew what he was thinking. The influx of large amounts of iron to the people would bring about a series of problems. Li Shimin would definitely not agree so simply.
But he was not worried, because the person in front of him was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, and he also owned artillery. It would not be long before he would agree to this suggestion.
So he didn't say anything more, but changed the subject and said: "There is also the problem of cattle farming. It is too tiring and slow for people to plow the fields. It is necessary to popularize cattle farming among the people."
"After the equalization of land was implemented, people all had fields at home. Even if you pick out a piece of the most barren land in the field and plant a little alfalfa, it will be enough to raise one or two cattle."
"With cattle, grain production will double several times. So I suggest that we get cattle from the grassland and sell them to the people cheaply."
Li Shimin glanced at him in surprise, shook his head and said, "Don't you know that cattle on the grassland can't plow fields?"
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "There are no cows in the world that can't plow fields. Cattle on the grassland can also plow fields. It's just that plow cattle need to be domesticated and cultivated from the time they are calves, so that they can become plow cattle when they grow up."
"There is no farming on the grassland, so the herdsmen naturally do not need to domesticate cattle, so their cattle will not be able to plow the fields when they grow up."
"We bring back calves from the grassland and sell them to the people, and let the people domesticate them themselves. In this way, we will see results in three to five years."
Li Shimin couldn't help but be surprised: "Is this so? You really can't trust the rules. Okay, I will arrange for someone to do this."
Then he added: "The longitudinal valley plain on Yizhou Island can also be used to graze some cattle, and then the calves can be taken out and sold to the people."
Chen Jingke said in surprise: "The pastures have begun to be renovated in the longitudinal valley plain?"
Li Shimin replied: "There is no special modification, just sprinkle alfalfa seeds to grow casually, and let 500 water horses and 500 prairie horses be freed, allowing them to multiply."
"If they can survive and thrive, it means the place is suitable for raising horses, and it's not too late to start transforming it."
Hearing this, Chen Jingke couldn't help but be speechless. Li Shimin's method was indeed simple and crude, and it also revealed a trenchant spirit. He threw away a thousand good horses at will.
But not to mention, this method is indeed the simplest, most trouble-free and most effective.
Alfalfa has a tenacious vitality. It can grow when its seeds are sown on the ground. It doesn't need to be taken care of, and it won't take long for it to have the ability to raise livestock.
These thousand horses are eliminated by nature, and the ones that survive are the best ones, which can be used as the initial seeds for breeding.
It can be said that the cost is almost negligible.
A thousand good horses are indeed valuable, but you must know that the number of horses registered in the Tang Dynasty at this time was as high as 370,000, and one thousand horses was just a drop in the bucket to Li Shimin.
Well, at its peak, the Tang Dynasty had 700,000 registered horses. In the era of cold weapons, war horses were the source of combat effectiveness. This shows how strong the Tang Dynasty's peak combat effectiveness was.
Chen Jingke could only give a thumbs up and said: "Your Majesty is mighty and domineering... By the way, what kind of horse is a water horse? Is it better than a grassland horse?"
Li Shimin introduced: "The Yunnan horses born in Shuixi and Wumeng are the best and can be used as war horses. It was only by mastering the Shuixi Wumeng horse that the Shu Han could compete with Cao Wei in cavalry."
Chen Jingke suddenly realized that this was the case. This was another piece of new knowledge. He had always thought that southern horses were not suitable for war horses, but he did not expect that there would be an exception.
It seems that as long as the land is big enough and the resources are abundant enough, exceptions can always be made.
After communicating with Li Shimin about several matters, Chen Jingke resigned and left.
The main reason he came here today was to make suggestions, and he could leave after making his suggestions. As for what to do next, he didn't care. That was the matter of Li Shimin and the ministers.
Those people would do better than him, so he didn't need to worry about it.
After leaving Li Shimin's place, he went to see Xiao Sizi as usual. He played with her for a while, practiced calligraphy for a while and then left.
…
Li Shimin's actions were faster than Chen Jingke imagined, and within a few days the court announced the immigration plan.
Three million people migrated from Shandong and Henan, the most densely populated areas, to the south, of which two million were resettled in places such as Jingzhou and Hongzhou, which later became Hubei and Hunan.
At the same time, several surrendered northern grassland tribes, totaling more than 500,000 people, were resettled in Jingzhou, Hongzhou and other places to live together with the Han people.
The remaining one million Han people were resettled in the Guangzhou area of Lingnan and lived together with the local slang.
This news did not cause much commotion in the current Tang Dynasty. Migration of people was a common thing in this era, so there is nothing surprising.
Another reason is that the imperial court has made three major moves one after another, and everyone is used to it.
However, population migration does not happen overnight and requires careful planning.
For example, we need to specify where to move people and how many people can be accommodated. We also need to build a settlement at the destination first, and we cannot let people sleep on the streets.
Farm tools, seeds, etc. must be prepared, and even certain rations must be distributed to enable the people to survive the period of land reclamation.
Within a year or two, these more than three million people will not be able to be resettled.
During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, 700,000 people were moved to the Hetao area in one year, and enough food was produced that year.
This seems to be a miracle, but only the people involved know how many people died in this miracle. There is no record in the history books anyway.
The officials of the Tang Dynasty were no better than their counterparts in the Han Dynasty, and they were equally indifferent to human life. However, after the enfeoffment system was established, the nobles who were eligible to receive the enfeoffment were all staring at the more than 30 million people.
They absolutely do not want a large number of people to die due to the court's negligence.
Because if there are too many losses, their feudal country may have a much smaller population when it is divided up in the future.
It is difficult for them not to pay attention to their own interests.
Therefore, the population relocation plan this time was very detailed, and high-ranking officials from the DPRK were sent to the local areas for fear that local officials would violate the plan and cause a large number of deaths among the people.
Chen Jingke was naturally happy to see this situation. When he learned that the imperial court was going to select reliable ministers to take charge in Jingzhou, he ran to the palace again and put forward his own suggestions.
"I think it's most appropriate to let Dalang go."
You can imagine how shocked Li Shimin and Changsun Wugou were when they heard this.
Changsun Wugou said unceremoniously: "That's nonsense. Dalang is the prince and the heir apparent of the country. How can he be easily involved in danger?"
Chen Jingke did not explain too much, but asked instead: "Will Your Majesty allow an official who has never acted alone to become a frontier official?"
"Will Your Majesty allow a person who has never held a local position and whose knowledge of the area is limited to intelligence and rumors to be prime minister?"
Li Shimin said with a sullen face: "I'm sorry, Dalang has the best teacher, and I personally teach him. How can he be compared to ordinary people?"
Chen Jingke didn't argue, just shrugged and said, "If you think you can feel at ease by locking the prince by your side and train a qualified heir, then that's fine."
"Presumptuous." Li Shimin slapped the table and scolded: "He is becoming less and less respectful. Guanyin, please teach him a lesson."
After saying that, he rolled up his sleeves and left.
Changsun Wugou quickly got up and went to see him off, and turned back after a while. Without saying anything, he grabbed Chen Jingke's ears and twisted them, saying:
"You bastard, do you know what you were doing just now?"
"Hiss." Chen Jingke inhaled in pain, but this time he did not apologize, but endured the pain and said: "I know, but I know that there is something wrong with the way you teach your children. I don't want to say that I feel uncomfortable."
"It would be fine if we were an ordinary family, but no, we are a royal family. The prince is the future lord of the world, and his abilities are related to the safety of countless people in the world, so I have to mention it."
Seeing how serious he was, Changsun Wugou couldn't help but let go of his hand, frowned and asked, "Is there really something wrong with us teaching our children?"
Chen Jingke thought to himself that that was simply too problematic. In his previous life, some good people on the Internet created a ranking list of emperors who were least able to teach children, and Li Shimin ranked among the top ten.
In this life, the eldest grandson Wugou did not die, and the situation was much better. At least he did not drive Li Chengqian crazy and rebel.
But this woman is not a good person. She is also a standard tiger mother when it comes to educating her children.
With both a tiger father and a tiger mother, one can imagine the pressure on the princes and princesses in the palace.
Princess Gaoyang, Princess Lanling, etc., who were relatively unconventional in the previous life, were directly pinned down in the school by Changsun Wugou in this life, and Mao didn't even dare to explode.
Li Tai's situation is slightly better, but because of her, he was left alone in this life. To put it bluntly, he was directly deprived of the opportunity to seize the legitimate heir.
The one who had a better time was the little Sizi, and that was because she was protected by Chen Jingke, otherwise the little girl's life would not have been much better.
The one who is under the greatest pressure is Li Chengqian. His younger brothers and sisters only need to be good people. He must do the decathlon to reach the standard.
Above him are tiger father and tiger mother, surrounded by famous ministers, generals and teachers who are eyeing him eagerly. Just thinking about it makes Chen Jingke tremble.
It's really hard for him to persist for so many years and still do so well.
It can be said that at least so far, Li Chengqian's performance is perfect. But no one knows what will happen in the future.
However, as someone who has been there, Chen Jingke knows that he still lacks something, and that is experience in independent governance.
"Everyone can handle official affairs step by step. The difficulty is to face complex situations independently and solve various problems. This is Dalang's biggest shortcoming."
"This cannot be learned through other people's teachings. It can only be learned through personal practice... Also, his understanding of the place is limited to memorials, which is not acceptable..."
"I know that what I said today will definitely offend the saint. After all, the eyes of imperial power cannot tolerate sand. But I always believe that with the mind of a saint, I can make that exception."
