Zhenguan Han-in-law

Chapter 524 Food Crisis
Chapter 520

Fang Xuanling was a little confused by Li Shimin's question, but he didn't expect Li Shimin to ask himself such a question suddenly.

"The weather has been good in the past two years, and there has been a slight surplus of food, but do you know how much the population of Datang has increased in the past two years? This is the investigation report sent by the magistrate of Wannian County a few days ago. Look, this year Wannian There are more than 13 new births in the county. Today, there are 19 babies in Wannian County who are about one year old, 11 babies who are one to two years old, 9 babies who are two to three years old, and 4 babies who are three to four years old. There are 14 people, and 32 children between the ages of four and [-].

Look, how many children have been added to Chang'an City in the past three years. These children need a lot of food when they grow up, and next year, the population of Chang'an City will increase. Why, because Shen Yong made the people of Chang'an City earn money , and when the common people make money, they dare to have children. When the common people have children, they consider whether they have so much money and whether they can support those children. What we have to consider is whether there is so much food in the entire Tang Dynasty to feed so many of the people.

According to Shen Yong's prediction, after three years, if there is no large-scale increase in the grain of Datang, even if there is a natural disaster, my food in Datang will not be enough! "Li Shimin stood there, looking outside worriedly and said.

"These three years?" Fang Xuanling looked at Li Shimin in shock, he really didn't know this.

"If you ask the county magistrates to count the new born population in each county, as well as the population born in previous years, you will find that the population has increased very fast in the past few years, but the growth rate of food cannot keep up. After leaving Quyuanli, the grain output has increased by [-]% on average, and it can last for three years at most!" Li Shimin said, turning his head to look at Fang Xuanling.

"This, this!" Fang Xuanling was surprised and frightened, this is really a big problem!

"So this time, Tubo asked our Tang Dynasty to help them with food. I disagreed, and Shen Yong strongly opposed it. You know, now, our Tang Dynasty is facing a huge food crisis. Without food, the people will die. There will be a rebellion. According to this population growth rate, in the next three years, the population of our Tang Dynasty will increase by [-]%, and it will double in seven or eight years. These are all mouths, they need food!" Li Shimin said a little Said anxiously to Fang Xuanling.

"Your Majesty, it's my negligence. I will investigate immediately and lead the six officials to pay close attention to the grain reserves!" Fang Xuanling said immediately, clasping her hands.

"I, now I want Shenyong to be in charge of food matters. Shenyong once said that he can increase the production of food, but he has no time. I also know that Shenyong has been a bit ruthless in the past two years, but I am a big Before Tang Dynasty, we were too poor, if Shenyong didn’t create those workshops, we would all be poor now!” Li Shimin walked to the tea table with his hands behind his back, and sat down.

Fang Xuanling also followed, Li Shimin pressed his hands against him, and Fang Xuanling immediately sat down!
"Your Majesty, then, Shen Yong is the governor of Luoyang. How many people are affected by Luoyang's affairs? Everyone is counting on Shen Yong to lead everyone to make money in Luoyang!" Fang Xuanling said a little worried.

"I didn't say that I would not let Shenyong be the governor of Luoyang, nor would I not let him build those workshops in Luoyang. What I mean is that the matter of letting Shenyong catch food should be promoted in Luoyang. I hope that within three years , can find a solution, my consideration is to launch a war within two years, let's fight!" Li Shimin said with a helpless sigh.

Li Shimin didn't say the reason, but Fang Xuanling knew that there was no way to consume some population, and he couldn't afford it. The other was plundering, robbing food through plundering.

"Your Majesty, this is not a long-term solution after all, I guess we still have to rely on Shenyong!" Fang Xuanling said to Li Shimin after thinking about it.

"Of course I know, so this winter, Shen Yong was resting at home, and I didn't find him something to do. I considered that Shen Yong had done too many things in the past few years, and he was about to get married. It's a bit unreasonable to send him so many things, and I don't want to.

"Your Majesty is wise!" Fang Xuanling said immediately after hearing this.

"I have one request, that is, you suppress those officials for me, and don't impeach Shen Yong. Especially in the past few years, if Shen Yong is forced to quit, I will take them as a question!" Li Shimin turned to Fang Xuanling. Said.

"Yes, don't worry, Your Majesty, I will make it clear to those ministers!" Fang Xuanling said immediately, clasping her hands.

"Well, that's good! Hey, the food problem! This is the biggest crisis in this dynasty!" Li Shimin said with a sigh, and poured tea for Fang Xuanling.

"Yes, what Your Majesty said, I feel chills on my back now, if this problem really happens, I will be to blame, and it will be difficult for me to meet my parents and fellow villagers!" Fang Xuanling also felt scared.

He had never been aware of this problem before, but now that Li Shimin said this, he was really a little scared, then looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, have you discussed with Shen Yong?"

Li Shimin shook his head when he heard it, but said in a very positive tone: "There is no need to discuss this. As long as I let him do it, he will definitely go and do it well. This is Shen Yong's ability, and I also do it. Knowing that Shen Yong has people in his heart.

Take a look at his greenhouse, the things planted there are all common people's things, why?A duke's mansion actually built a shed inside the mansion.Cotton before, you know, this year’s cotton harvest was bumper, and the frontline soldiers were all given cotton-padded clothes and trousers. Many of them said that the cotton-padded trousers are good and very warm!
These are all thanks to Shen Yong. Cotton will be widely promoted next year. By then, the problem of keeping the people warm will be basically solved. Even if it is not solved, it will be greatly alleviated! "

"Yes, Shenyong has indeed done a good job on this point. Many things have been done unconsciously!" Fang Xuanling said in admiration after hearing this.

"Well, so, well, I will call Shen Yong to the palace this afternoon, this kid is really lazy sometimes, as long as I don't call him over, he will definitely not come!" Li Shimin was very helpless at the moment Said.

I had agreed with Wei Hao before that he would come once every ten days, but this kid agreed and didn't come either!

"Well, Your Majesty, it is necessary to clarify with Shen Yong, and let Shen Yong get the food properly!" Fang Xuanling also nodded and said.

Now the food crisis is about to occur. In the past two years, there have been too many newborns. When those children grow up, they need a lot of food. Of course, it can also make Datang stronger.

In the afternoon, Wei Hao finished his meal and was just about to go to the conservatory to read some books, when a eunuch came to his home and said that His Majesty had summoned him.

When Wei Hao heard this, he was very helpless. He saw him yesterday, and he summoned him today, so there is nothing serious about it now, but since Li Shimin summoned him, he must have a look, otherwise, he will be scolded.

When Wei Hao arrived at Chengtian Palace, he was told by the eunuch below that His Majesty was waiting for him on the fifth floor. Wei Hao had no choice but to go to the fifth floor. When he went upstairs, he saw some ministers waiting in the hall on the first floor. He wanted to wait for Li Shimin's summoning.

Wei Hao went up to the fifth floor and found Li Shimin sitting in the conservatory near the window, so he went to salute.

"You boy, tell yourself, how long has it been since you came? Yesterday's doesn't count!" Li Shimin stared at Wei Hao and said.

"No, father, why don't you count it? Besides, I really don't have anything to do here? I'm busy planning Luoyang now!" Wei Hao immediately found a reason for himself. Will you be scolded?
"Well, that's about the same. There are indeed many things in Luoyang. By the way, you have selected three county magistrates to go there this time. I want to come to the capital to report on my work, and I will arrange it later!" Li Shimin said to Wei Hao.

Now the county magistrates in Luoyang have to be replaced one after another, but they cannot be replaced all at once.

"Yes, thank you, Father!" Wei Hao said immediately after hearing what Li Shimin said.

"Well, sit down, Shenyong, there is another important matter. Some time ago, I sent someone to send a message to your brother and asked him to count the situation of newborn babies in Wannian County in recent years. This is a report. You see Look!" Li Shimin said and handed Wei Chen's report to Wei Hao.

Wei Hao unfolded and looked at it carefully. Looking at it, Wei Hao frowned.

At this moment, Wang De came in with a memorial in his hand.

"Your Majesty, the memorial sent by Sun Chong, the magistrate of Chang'an County, has been submitted directly according to your request!" Wang De said to Li Shimin holding the memorial.

Li Shimin immediately took it over and looked at it carefully.

After Li Shimin finished reading, he showed the memorial to Wei Hao: "Look at Chang'an County, Chang'an County has more babies, more than 300% of Wannian County's. Now the actual population of Chang'an, including those babies, It must have exceeded [-] million! The population has increased too fast in the past two years, and food is a problem! There will be more next year, Shen Yong, what should we do about this food problem? We can’t let the people go hungry!”

"My son, take a look first!" Wei Hao watched carefully with the memorial, and Li Shimin poured tea for Wei Hao there.

"Father, if this rate continues, the population of Chang'an City will exceed 500 million in less than ten years, and the fertile fields around Chang'an cannot support so many people!" Wei Hao also looked at Li Shimin worriedly and said .

"I know, but what should I do now?" Li Shimin stared at Wei Hao and said.

Wei Hao held the teacup and sipped the tea carefully.

"Shen Yong, have you considered, three years later, Chang'an City and even the entire Great Tang, will the food produced by all the fertile fields be enough? Is it enough for the people of the entire Great Tang?" Li Shimin stared at Wei Hao and asked.

"It may not be enough, even if it is enough, if there is no sudden large population reduction, it will not be enough in the fourth year!" Wei Hao shook his head firmly.

"Yeah, not enough. Food is the first big crisis that our Tang Dynasty will face. Like Tubo, Goguryeo, Xue Yantuo, and Western Turks, they are not a huge crisis for the Tang Dynasty. Our military equipment in the Tang Dynasty is very good. The soldiers on the front line and those government soldiers are very well trained. Even if they come in, we can kill them out. But now, food is the biggest crisis. If there is not enough food, Datang himself will Make a mess first!" Li Shimin stood up, went to the window with his hands behind his back, and looked worriedly at the scenery outside Chang'an City.

Sitting there, Wei Hao was also thinking about this problem. If there is not enough food in a mega city, it will not be able to develop. Once it encounters a food crisis, it will collapse instantly.

"Shen Yong, my father remembers that you said that you will be able to solve the food crisis completely in seven or eight years, right? My father remembers it right?" Li Shimin turned his head and said to Wei Hao .

"Yes, father, my son said it!" Wei Hao stood up and said immediately, clasping his hands.

"Well, I will give you ten years to completely solve the food crisis. If ten years is not enough, it will be 20 years. It must be completely solved!" Li Shimin said to Wei Hao with a very firm attitude.

"Father, don't worry, I will definitely be able to solve it, but before solving it, we still need to consider the situation in the past few years. Father, even if I double the grain production, you say, within a few years, the population will be nearly half Doubling, according to the current speed, it will be doubled within ten years, and there will still be not enough food!" Wei Hao looked at Li Shimin and said.

Li Shimin heard it, touched his head, this was something he was worried about, then walked to the side of the tea table with a sigh, brought a cup of tea, and drank it.

"Shen Yong, is there a way?" Li Shimin looked at Wei Hao and asked.

"Yes, but the court will cost a lot of money!" Wei Hao nodded affirmatively.

"So what's the matter, the top priority is to solve the food crisis! Hurry up, hurry up, talk to the emperor!" Li Shimin heard it, and said to Wei Hao happily. He thought Wei Hao had no choice, but he didn't expect Wei Hao to say yes Well, money is not a problem, the big deal is to cut down on food and clothing, no matter what we have to solve this food crisis.

"Father, how many acres of good land are there according to Datang's statistics?" Wei Hao looked at Li Shimin and asked.

"This, it's probably less than 1 million mu. Father remembers that, anyway, it won't be too much difference!" Li Shimin said after thinking about it, looking at Wei Hao.

"That's it. Now, about two acres of fertile land in Datang is enough to support one person. I estimate that the total population of Datang, including those who have not registered, is only between 3000 million and 4000 million. Now, I estimate that there will be about 300 million to 400 million newborns every year. Because there have been no large-scale wars in the past ten years, the people live and work in peace and contentment.

Those people grew up and began to get married on a large scale. Erchen counted the babies born in Luoyang in the past two years, which were almost one-tenth of the total population of Luoyang, and Chang'an might be even higher. The area will be lower, but as those businessmen travel north and south, they also bring a lot of news. Among them, there are a lot of babies in various places. It can be seen that so many people are born every year, which is about the same. According to this calculation, After three years, there will not be enough food! "Wei Hao looked at Li Shimin and said.

Li Shimin heard it and nodded. This is similar to what he predicted.

Li Shimin then looked at Wei Hao and asked, "Then what is your solution?"

"To reclaim wasteland, we must ensure that there are enough fertile fields!" Wei Hao looked at Li Shimin and said firmly.

"Here, to reclaim wasteland, Shen Yong, to reclaim wasteland requires money, and there was basically no production in the past few years!" Li Shimin looked at Wei Hao and said in surprise.

"Father, even if there was no production in the past few years, there will be production in the future. Now we don't need his production, but we need the people to raise the land and turn the inferior land into good land. The wasteland that the minister requested, reclaimed, No tax will be levied for five years, and each person can only reclaim ten acres of reclaimed land, which cannot be bought or sold within ten years! At the same time, the court will provide Quyuan plows, cattle, seeds from the previous two years, and farm tools!" Sitting there, Wei Hao said to Li Shimin.

"This...provides cattle, but there are not so many!" Li Shimin said to Wei Hao.

"I didn't say yes, cattle can be borrowed. For example, the government buys some cattle and then lends them to farmers. For example, a farmer can't use cattle for more than a month. Of course, you can borrow them several times. The accumulation cannot exceed this amount." It will be good for a long time, and at the same time, if the local government has money, they can give some rewards to the farmers who cultivated land!" Wei Hao suggested again.

When Li Shimin heard it, he nodded frequently, which was tantamount to letting the people reclaim wasteland without any worries.

"However, there is one more thing to be aware of, that is, you can't reclaim at will. The local government must specify the area. Not all areas can be reclaimed. For example, in the north, you can't destroy all the vegetation. Otherwise, without vegetation, the sky will be dry. If there is no rain, there will be no harvest.

The local government must ensure that the vegetation coverage rate of the county is not less than [-]%, and those around the lakes and reservoirs cannot be reclaimed. If they are reclaimed, there will be a big flood at that time, and it will be troublesome. There are not enough reservoirs. , the people will be drowned! "Wei Hao sat there and continued to propose.

Li Shimin agreed very much and motioned Wei Hao to continue.

"What I mean is that if the court is going to reclaim one mu of land, it needs to pay about 5000 yuan for three years, including farm tools, cattle, and seeds. In other words, if it needs to reclaim 5000 million mu of land, it will need to spend [-] million yuan. This court definitely doesn’t have that much money, so it counts as much as it can reclaim!” Wei Hao looked at Li Shimin and said.

"So much money?" Li Shimin looked at Wei Hao in shock and said.

"Anyway, anyway, that's what Erchen thinks, maybe it can be cheaper!" Wei Hao touched his head with embarrassment and said, 5000 million yuan in three years, more than 1600 million yuan in a year, all the income of the court is all It's not enough to fill in.

"No, Shen Yong, it's not right for you to settle accounts like this!" Li Shimin also thought of something at the moment, and immediately said to Wei Hao.

"Yes, it's impossible to reclaim so many fields at once!" Wei Hao nodded with a smile.

(End of this chapter)