Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1243: The greatest prosperity must come to an end
"This tea is excellent." Sun Hao couldn't help but praise it after smelling the enticing aroma even before taking a sip.

“Of course, this is tribute tea sent by my father and the crown prince. You can’t get this kind of tea anywhere else in the New World except here,” Zhu Mincheng said with a smile. He pointed to a bamboo jar next to him and said, “I prepared some for my senior brother a long time ago. Last time there were too many people and not enough tea, so I was embarrassed to take it out in front of you. I originally planned to give it to you when you came, but I didn’t expect that my senior brother has been busy with official duties and hasn’t come to the palace these days, so it was delayed. There isn’t much tea, so don’t mind. After all, this is not the Ming Dynasty’s territory. Ordinary tea is fine, but this kind of good tea is not easy to get.”

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Sun Hao smiled and bowed to Zhu Mincheng in gratitude. Zhu Mincheng waved his hand and said, "There's no need to thank me for such a small matter. By the way, Senior Brother, who brought me here today...?"

Sun Hao took a sip of tea, put down his teacup, and said, "The reason I haven't come to the Prince's residence these days is mainly because I'm new here and need to familiarize myself with the capital. In the past half month, I've finished reading all the documents on the Song Kingdom since its founding, and I've also toured many places inside and outside the city to see the situation here with my own eyes."

"Hehe, what do you think, senior brother?" Zhu Mincheng asked with a smile.

Sun Hao said, "I must say, Xinjing and the entire Song Kingdom are doing a very good job. It is truly unexpected that such a state of affairs has been achieved in less than three years. When I first arrived in the New World, I landed in Xin Yongzhou and even went into the city to take a look. Compared to Yong Kingdom in the north, Song Kingdom is simply incomparable to Yong Kingdom."

"Not to mention that the city is much larger than Xin Yongzhou, the entire population of Song is now close to 50,000. This includes those who originally followed the prince to his fiefdom, as well as those who have immigrated from the Ming Dynasty in the past two years. In addition, the local natives captured in the war with the local tribes that broke out earlier are also included. There are also some natives who are currently on good terms with Song and travel to Xinjing, plus a small number of Europeans. As a result, the population of Song far exceeds that of Yongzhou, and Xinjing is as prosperous as some of the local county towns, and may even be more prosperous."

"That's not all. The Song Kingdom is exceptionally wealthy. The Prince, blessed by Heaven, unexpectedly discovered a gold mine. The discovery and mining of this gold mine brought the Prince enormous wealth. With this wealth, the Song Kingdom has sufficient resources to transport most of the goods from the Ming Dynasty to the Song Kingdom. Thanks to this, the Song Kingdom's development has flourished, which is truly remarkable!"

"Hahaha!" Zhu Mincheng couldn't help but burst into laughter upon hearing Sun Hao's words. To be honest, Sun Hao's words really struck a chord with him.

Zhu Mincheng is most proud of the state of Song. In less than three years, he has built the Song Kingdom in the New World from scratch to a presentable state.

How could the Song Kingdom compare to the Yong Kingdom in the north? Leaving aside the geographical location and climate of the Song Kingdom, the scale of the new capital city alone is far superior to that of the new Yongzhou. The entire new capital city is much larger than the new Yongzhou, and its urban layout is almost identical to that of a county town in the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the city is a thriving commercial center with a large population. Currently, the population living in the city alone exceeds 20,000. In contrast, the entire Yong Kingdom of the new Yongzhou has only a few thousand people.

That's not all. Outside the new capital, Song also had many villages and towns as settlements, which were already showing signs of growing in strength. In addition, the large influx of immigrants into Song had greatly increased its population. Furthermore, the gold mining in the north of the city attracted nearly ten thousand immigrants. The profits from the gold mines alone provided Song with sufficient wealth every day. This wealth was the foundation of Zhu Mincheng's confidence. With this wealth, he was able to support the rapidly expanding Song and create its current prosperity.

Even Zhu Mincheng himself hadn't expected the Song Kingdom to become what it was. When he first arrived, he had planned to endure hardship for a few years and develop it slowly. But unexpectedly, in less than six months, the discovery of gold mines brought about a leap forward for the Song Kingdom. His luck was truly incredible. If this development continued, Zhu Mincheng was absolutely confident that in ten years or so, he could build the Song Kingdom into a power comparable to the Ming Dynasty itself. At that point, with such a foundation, he, as the King of Song, could become the head of the Ming Dynasty's vassal kings and pass the Song Kingdom down to his descendants.

Overjoyed, Zhu Mincheng spoke animatedly about her plans, slapping her thigh and laughing heartily as she got excited, looking quite pleased with herself.

But as they were talking, Zhu Mincheng suddenly noticed that Sun Hao's face didn't show much joy. Instead, he was looking at her with a strange gaze, which puzzled Zhu Mincheng, so she couldn't help but ask him.

"Your Highness, do you really think that the current situation in the Song Kingdom can last?"

"What do you mean by that, senior brother?" Zhu Mincheng asked, puzzled.

“It means exactly what it says.” Sun Hao said seriously, “The Song Kingdom is indeed thriving right now, with a prosperous scene, but Your Highness, you should know the principle that prosperity must eventually decline, things must eventually turn around, and the moon waxes and wanes.”

"What does Senior Brother mean...?" Zhu Mincheng frowned.

With a sigh, Sun Hao said, "Why have the Song Kingdom and Xinjing become so prosperous in such a short time? Doesn't Your Highness know? Without the gold mines in the north of the city, how could the Song Kingdom, with its foundation, have become what it is today in such a short time?"

“Even so, this is still a blessing for me. Do you mean, according to you, having a gold mine is a bad thing?” Zhu Mincheng seemed to understand something and immediately retorted without hesitation. Shaking his head, Sun Hao said, “I am not criticizing Your Highness, but rather reminding you. A gold mine is naturally a good thing. Holding a gold mine and acquiring such wealth in a short time, relying on this wealth to greatly prosper the Song Dynasty—how could that be a bad thing?”

"Your words have confused me," Zhu Mincheng asked, puzzled. Sun Hao said to Zhu Mincheng seriously, "As I just said, prosperity inevitably declines, things reach their extremes and then reverse, just as the moon waxes and wanes. Your Highness should know this principle. The foundation of governing a country has never been material possessions, but rather people. Wealth is good, but too much of it at once will make people forget their roots and lose their composure."

"If Your Highness did not have a gold mine, you would be working as hard as Yongguo in the north, racking your brains for development. But the key is that Your Highness has unintentionally acquired such a gold mine and suddenly gained a huge amount of wealth. With this wealth, Your Highness can easily, even achieve twice the result with half the effort, whether it is building a new capital, attracting immigrants, or developing commerce."

Zhu Mincheng frowned upon hearing this, but he did not interrupt Sun Hao and patiently listened to him continue.

Sun Hao said, "These past few days, I've reviewed all the documents of the Song Dynasty from its founding to the present, and spoken with officials at all levels, including clerks, on numerous occasions. I've not only traversed every corner of the new capital, but also thoroughly inspected the areas outside the city. Your Highness, guess what I discovered after doing all this? And what are my thoughts?"

Zhu Mincheng opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end she shook her head and looked at Sun Hao with questioning eyes, asking what he had discovered and what he was thinking.

Sun Hao didn't beat around the bush and sighed, "Your Highness, I have discovered a huge hidden danger in the Song Kingdom, or rather, behind the current prosperity of the Song Kingdom lies a hidden danger that could cause the Song Kingdom to collapse!"

"What! Hidden danger? This... how is this possible!" Zhu Mincheng was startled by these words. As the King of Song, he was not someone who hid in the palace all day and was ignorant of the situation. Zhu Mincheng not only personally participated in the initial establishment of the Song Kingdom, but also often went out to inspect it. In fact, many of the current policies of the Song Kingdom were discussed and formulated by him and his officials. He knew the current situation of the Song Kingdom all too well.

The State of Song is clearly on the rise, and its situation is thriving. How could there be any hidden dangers?

Was Sun Hao spouting nonsense? Or was he just trying to attract attention? But the problem is, Sun Hao didn't need to do this! It doesn't matter if it's someone else, but Sun Hao is his senior brother, the chief secretary he was appointed before he even took up his post. They not only have the connection of Sun Chengzong, but they also have a good personal relationship. Why would he need to do this?
"Chief Secretary Sun, speak clearly today. What hidden dangers does my Song Kingdom have? How can there be any signs of collapse? If you cannot explain clearly, do not blame me for not showing any mercy!" Thinking of this, Zhu Mincheng's face immediately darkened, and he coldly questioned.

Sun Hao didn't care about this. He stood up, bowed to Zhu Mincheng, and then said, "Your Highness, please don't be impatient. Please allow me to explain."

"Say!"

Sun Hao immediately took out a booklet he had prepared beforehand and handed it to Zhu Mincheng before beginning to explain.

He began by describing the current situation and structure of the Song Dynasty. According to Sun Hao, the Song Dynasty was currently experiencing commercial prosperity, had a large population, and with the added income from gold mines, the entire Song Dynasty was indeed thriving. However, this was also the problem. The current structure of the Song Dynasty was quite distorted. Let's start with the population structure of the Song Dynasty. Currently, the Song Dynasty had nearly 50,000 people, which was equivalent to the population of an ordinary county in the Ming Dynasty, and was not a small number.

However, among these 50,000 people, about 2,000 were government officials and military personnel from the Song state. Adding in artisans and others, the total number was about 2,500. These people did not engage in production, and all their expenses were borne by the Song state; they were essentially living off the government's resources.

In addition, there were the natives who were cleared out and captured before and after the war. The population of these natives could barely be counted in the population of the Song Dynasty. Their number was about four thousand.

Aside from these, the remaining population consists of those who have immigrated to the Song state over the past two years. Compared to the Yong state in the north, the number of immigrants to the Song state is several times that of the Yong state. In the past two years, approximately 30,000 immigrants have poured into the Song state, and when combined with the initial batch of immigrants, the number reaches nearly 40,000.

These people together constitute the current population base of the Song state and are the foundation of the Song state. However, statistical analysis based on the proportion of these people reveals a major problem: the number of people engaged in agricultural production is far too small. Of the nearly 50,000 people in the entire Song state, the number of people actually engaged in agricultural production is less than 5,000, which is less than one-tenth of the total. This is truly alarming.

(End of this chapter)