My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 608 Sigh...

Of the seven million people, 600,000 to 900,000 were allocated to support the northern and southern armies of Chang'an.

The agricultural taxes contributed by the remaining six million people are barely enough to support the basic operation of the bureaucratic system.

Therefore, Emperor Gaozu said: The enfeoffment system is not advisable, but it is equally not advisable for the First Emperor to abolish the enfeoffment system and implement the prefecture-county system.

That's why the Han dynasty tolerated, allowed, or even needed the existence of non-royal princes at the beginning of the dynasty, as well as later princes from the imperial clan.

This is not only shifting the costs of local governance, but also the costs of maintaining the bureaucratic system and the military.

What happened next was simply a natural consequence.

As time went on, the three northern states of Yan, Dai, and Zhao, which were not even considered vassals to begin with—especially the two states of Yan and Dai in the harsh, cold lands—became increasingly unable to afford the expenses of the northern border defense forces.

By the time of Emperor Taizong Xiaowen, the troops in the northern wall were already starving and lacking warm clothes, forcing Emperor Taizong to adopt Chao Cuo's suggestion and allow the people of the land to donate grain and titles.

The so-called "transporting grain to exchange for a title" means that anyone who transports a certain amount of grain to the northern border can exchange a grain transport certificate for a title within a certain limit.

It's true that it's a way to get something for nothing, but it's also a last resort.

If the situation hadn't become so dire—if this wasn't done, the border garrison would have been unable to continue—Emperor Taizong would never have chosen this method to solve the problem of the border troops lacking food and clothing.

Perhaps if a different emperor were in charge, he would hold the Prince of Yan and the Prince of Dai accountable for this: Why are my border guards starving?

But Emperor Taizong was originally the Prince of Dai, so he was naturally the most aware of the situation of the northern border wall.

The situation was similar in the north, but slightly better in the southern kingdoms of Changsha and Huainan.

The Huainan Kingdom, in particular, with its vast territory, abundant resources, and suitable climate, was relatively more capable of shouldering the pressure of defending the southern border, unlike the Changsha Kingdom which struggled as much.

In stark contrast are the landlocked countries that do not have to bear the costs of border defense and are not affected by border wars.

Examples include the states of Qi, Chu, and Wu (as ruled by Liu Bi).

Over time, their wallets grew thicker, their backs straightened, and their wings hardened, naturally leading them to the idea of ​​'going head-to-head with Chang'an'.

The fact that Emperor Taizong's ascension to the throne was illegitimate further fueled this inappropriate notion.

There was no other way, so Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xiaojing could only spare no effort to strengthen the defenses of Hangu Pass in preparation for unrest in the Guandong region.

The Liang Kingdom was originally wealthy, but the pressure of "guarding Hangu Pass in Guanzhong" was too great, which led Emperor Taizong and Emperor Xiaojing to continuously provide financial support to the Liang Kingdom for more than ten years.

After the Wu-Chu Rebellion was quelled, and the late emperor gradually handed over the reins of power to Liu Rong, the situation of the Han dynasty finally improved considerably.

—After more than fifty years of recuperation, especially the peace and prosperity of the reigns of Emperors Wen and Jing, the overall population of the Han Dynasty has doubled compared to the founding of the dynasty, rising from 15 million to 30 million.

Although, in contrast, the agricultural tax was halved by Emperor Taizong, the agricultural tax revenue of the Han Dynasty was still not much different from that at the founding of the dynasty.
But the difference is that at the founding of the Han dynasty, the population was 15 million, with five of them being the feudal lords of Guandong, one being the founding heroes, and four being the court officials in Chang'an.

When Liu Rong was the Crown Prince overseeing the country during the reign of the late emperor, the population of Guanzhong had already approached two million households, totaling thirteen million people!
In addition, there are border counties such as Beidi, Longyou, and Shangdang, as well as Hanzhong, Ba, and Shu.

The situation became: of the 30 million people in the country, 40% were from the feudal lords of Guandong, 50% were from meritorious nobles and relatives, and 55% were from the court in Chang'an.

Although the population doubled and the agricultural tax was halved, resulting in no increase or decrease in the total agricultural tax revenue of the Han Dynasty, the population share of '40% to 55%' in the central government of Chang'an still earned the central government of Chang'an three-eighths, or nearly 40%, an increase in agricultural tax revenue.

With increased revenue compared to the founding of the nation, the bureaucratic system that could be maintained was much larger, and centralization of power naturally became a priority.

As for the military, the uncertainty surrounding Liu Rong has introduced new variables.

Before Liu Rong, the Han dynasty's treasury was always clearly separated, with even close brothers keeping their accounts separate.

The Prime Minister's Treasury was established by collecting agricultural tax revenue as national fiscal revenue, and was responsible for officials' salaries, military expenditures, and the daily operation of the government.
The Imperial Treasury was funded by the poll tax, serving as the private income of the imperial family. It was used to cover the expenses of the imperial family and the palace, as well as for rewards and gifts.

The two ledgers were kept perfectly separate, and there was no misappropriation between them—not even borrowing, but only transactions.

Most of the agricultural taxes collected by the Prime Minister's treasury were converted into money by "selling" them to the Imperial Household Department, while the grain was stored, or rather, hoarded, by the Imperial Household Department's internal treasury.

The salaries of officials were entirely managed by the Prime Minister's Office and the national treasury.

Unless the emperor bestows a reward upon an official, not a single coin from the Imperial Treasury will end up in the official's pocket.

The expenses of the army are entirely the responsibility of the Prime Minister's Office and the national treasury.

Unless the emperor rewards a particular army, not a single grain of food from the imperial treasury will ever reach the mouth of a soldier.

Even the weapons and armaments produced by the Imperial Household Department were not directly distributed to the army. Instead, the Prime Minister's treasury had to pay for them to be purchased from the Imperial Household Department and then distributed to the army.

Under this model, the only source of income for the Prime Minister's treasury—agricultural taxes—naturally became somewhat overburdened.

To achieve centralized power, the bureaucracy must grow, and salary expenditures must increase.

To weaken the power of regional warlords and strengthen border defenses, the risk of war will increase, and military expenditures will be inevitable.

Therefore, population growth and arable land growth became the top priorities for the Prime Minister's office.

Zhang Cang, the prime minister during the reign of Emperor Taizong, even directly identified these two data points as the two most crucial indicators for evaluating officials' performance.

The purpose was to incentivize local officials to promote population and arable land growth, thereby generating more agricultural tax revenue for the Prime Minister's treasury and enabling it to bear the larger costs of maintaining the bureaucratic system and military expenditures.

This line of thinking is correct.

It could even be said that, under the limited conditions, it was the best solution that could be thought of.

But Liu Rong, as a time traveler, knew very well: that's not how the accounts are calculated.

This is not a management game like those of later generations, which can have an unlimited population, unlimited land, or an unlimited number of officials and armies.

The current capacity of Chinese civilization to support and govern a population, as well as the land it can effectively govern and rule, has an upper limit.

Based on Liu Rong's historical experience and his understanding after becoming emperor, he estimated that the Han dynasty's current territory and land development level could support a population of no more than 50 million.

If we could develop Changsha, Jingwu, and even Lingnan, which would later become the two lakes and two Guang provinces, we could add another 30 million.

The total population carrying capacity of the Northeast black soil region and the Korean Peninsula, once developed, is expected to exceed 100 million.

Any more than that would be beyond the control and long-term stability of this stage of civilization, this system, and this level of feudal dynasty. The development of Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong is purely a 'space dream' for the current Han dynasty; it's something to be dreamed of for at least several hundred years.

The situation in Northeast China and the Korean Peninsula is even worse than in Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong. Even with Liu Rong stepping on the gas, it would still take several decades, or even a hundred years.

In other words, the Han dynasty's current population of 30 million is already quite large;
If the undeveloped wasteland in the inland areas is developed, and the population grows to more than 40 million, nearly 50 million, then a critical point will be reached, and the problem of land consolidation will begin to emerge.

It is against this historical backdrop that the emperor's general amnesty becomes meaningful.

—The total population of Manchuria is only 30 million. Without amnesty, tens of thousands of able-bodied men would die every few years!
The Han Dynasty's million-strong army was selected from less than ten million able-bodied men!
There are millions of able-bodied men, and tens of thousands of them die at the drop of a hat, which is several per thousand. If this continues, what will become of us?
Therefore, contrary to the impression of later generations that feudal times often involved the extermination of nine or three generations of a family, resulting in rivers of bloodshed, the truly common form of extreme punishment in feudal times was not death, but imprisonment.

The so-called imprisonment was exile.

A better option was exile to the frontier to guard the border and atone for one's crimes through meritorious service;

At worst, they would be exiled to the border regions to populate the frontier.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that for feudal dynasties, population was an extremely valuable asset.

In particular, able-bodied laborers are not only a unit that can contribute agricultural taxes and poll tax, but also an important individual who can serve in the military and labor service, provide soldiers and laborers, and even maintain a farming family.

For every individual like this, the nation becomes more stable, more harmonious, and stronger.
With each one less emperor, the emperor became more powerless, more helpless, and weaker.

When there are enough such individuals, and the country can support and accommodate such a large population, that is the period of national development and expansion.

A decrease in such individuals can lead to stagnation or even regression in national development.

Therefore, for the lower classes in feudal times, the legitimacy of imperial amnesty stemmed from its perceived fairness.

However, for feudal dynasties, especially for the emperor himself, granting a general amnesty was a real population issue and a practical necessity.

People can accept that the emperor kills someone's entire family out of anger, but they cannot accept that the emperor refuses to grant a general amnesty because of personal grudges.

In the eyes of the common people, a lack of benevolence and tolerance is one of the important criteria for identifying a tyrannical ruler.

For future generations, for history, and even for the emperors themselves, whether or not they valued the population issue, whether or not they recognized the important influence of population on national strength, was also one of the important criteria for judging a wise ruler.

An emperor who understands the importance of population, can effectively guarantee population growth, is willing to do something for population growth, and strives to support such a large population, is certainly not far behind even if he cannot compare to the pinnacle of feudal emperors: Emperor Taizong of Han.

Conversely, an emperor who fails to recognize this issue can only ever rise to power through flattery and praise, becoming a perfect old man.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of emperors in history treated the phrase "love the people as your own children" as empty words and platitudes.

Or perhaps, they only recognized the superficial aspects of these four words, focusing only on playing the role of "loving the people like one's own children," while forgetting the essence of an emperor's love for his people—the importance of the "people" to the country, to the regime, and even to civilization.

As a time traveler, Liu Rong wouldn't dare say he saw through everything or had foresight, but he was willing to go further and get closer to the right direction he believed in.

Therefore, Liu Rong did not show any resistance to the backward system of granting amnesty to the whole country, which was very characteristic of feudal dynasties.

On the contrary, it is recognized as a fairly effective means of maintaining population and retaining labor under the existing conditions.

After all, in the era of hundreds of millions of people in later generations, bosses would say things like, "If you don't do it, there are plenty of others who will," so prisoners naturally deserved to die and were completely useless.

But in this era of scarcity, where everyone who lives to adulthood is of great use, even prisoners and death row inmates have their own value.

It is precisely this understanding that has put Liu Rong in a difficult position.

—A general amnesty was what everyone wanted, and even Liu Rong himself agreed that it was something that could not be delayed any longer and had to be done.

However, the negative impacts that Liu Rong had not anticipated all emerged before this amnesty.

Cases like Zhou Yang, the heir of a marquis, who should not have escaped severe legal punishment because of a "general amnesty," are not uncommon.

In addition, there were many people who had offended Liu Rong for other reasons, such as the state monopoly on grain and salt and iron, and were regarded by Liu Rong as obstacles to reform, which also made Liu Rong very annoyed.

It's not that Liu Rong is petty and insists on someone's death;

Rather, some people are truly beneficial to the country and its people when they die, but bring disaster to the country and its people while they are alive.

Even if Liu Rong set aside all personal interests and acted solely from the perspective of the nation and civilization, he still believed that the greatest contribution they could make to China was to die on the execution ground.

Even if Liu Rong had just a little bit of selfishness, he might have softened his heart and thought he could let them go.
On the contrary, it was their absolute sense of public duty that made Liu Rong firmly believe they deserved to die...

"This is difficult!"

...

"Oh;"

"No wonder back then, even the late Emperor would often be seen staring blankly at the night view of Chang'an from the observation deck outside the palace."

"—Being an emperor is really difficult!"

"When you encounter people or things, there are very few right or wrong answers that are immediately obvious."

"Either there are two correct answers, making it difficult to distinguish which is better or less risky;"

"Or, there are two wrong answers, making it unclear which one is slightly better or has less negative impact..."

As he pondered, Liu Rong couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile, feeling increasingly exhausted both physically and mentally.

It wasn't a low mood, but simply physical fatigue combined with mental exhaustion.

In his previous life, when he saw some great people visibly aging and weakening due to a short period of high-intensity work, Liu Rong thought they were just putting on a show.

Only after truly becoming emperor and ruling the Han dynasty did Liu Rong finally understand: it was all real.

With great power comes not necessarily great responsibility.
But with greater responsibility comes greater pressure.

This kind of pressure inevitably inflicts severe and irreversible damage on a person's body and mind...

(End of this chapter)