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

Chapter 1244 Adjustment Policy
China has always had the saying that agriculture is the foundation of the country and that there is no stability without agriculture. Agriculture is the foundation of a country. Without agricultural production, the people of the whole country would not even be able to feed themselves, let alone talk about development.

The Song Dynasty currently suffers from a severe shortage of agricultural population, with fewer than five thousand people engaged in agriculture—a shockingly low proportion. It's important to understand that even in the Ming Dynasty, despite its vigorous development of commerce and industry in recent years, the agricultural population still constitutes a dominant share. Even in commercially developed regions like Jiangnan, the proportion of the agricultural population far exceeds that of those engaged in commerce and industry—these are undeniable facts.

In contrast, the situation was quite the opposite in the State of Song, where the agricultural population became a minority. Moreover, most of the land allocated to immigrants remained uncultivated and wasted. Even the cultivated farmland could not produce enough to support the food demand of the rapidly growing population of Song. Currently, a large portion of Song's food came from its own territory or through trade with immigrant communities in southern Europe, thus making up for its needs and preventing it from becoming self-sufficient.

The reason for this lies in the existence of the gold mines. While the development of the gold mines brought enormous wealth to the Song Kingdom in a short period and attracted a large number of immigrants, many of these immigrants were not content with farming. Instead, after receiving resettlement land, they took their families to pan for gold.

It makes sense. Working hard in the fields all year round, how much can you earn from farming? But gold panning is far more lucrative than farming. With average luck, the income from gold panning in a year can be several times or even dozens of times that of farming. If you're lucky enough to find a large nugget of gold, then becoming rich overnight is not impossible.

Such examples are not uncommon. Several of the initial gold miners became wealthy, and even now, people frequently reap substantial profits from gold mines. Given this, who would willingly choose the arduous task of farming? Isn't gold panning much better?
With the gold rush in full swing, even those who didn't become rich overnight were living much better lives than those who farmed. Moreover, the ease with which they made money led them to spend it lavishly, further boosting the commercial prosperity of Xinjing.

The entertainment venues and restaurants that can be seen everywhere in the new capital are almost always full. This is because if you go inside and take a closer look, you will understand that most of the customers are people who have made their fortunes through gold mining.

These people spent money like water, indulging in nightly revelry whenever they had it. How could Xinjing not prosper under such circumstances? In addition, Xinjing's population was growing rapidly, making it unable to be self-sufficient and requiring a large amount of imported goods. This further fueled the rapid development of Xinjing's commerce. However, all of this was based entirely on the existence of gold mines. If problems were to arise in the future, the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Your Highness, don't you think about what would happen if the gold mines stopped producing gold one day? Without gold, the Song Kingdom would lose its revenue. Not only would those people lose their livelihoods, but the Song Kingdom would also lose its source of income. Furthermore, the profits from gold mines are ultimately windfall wealth. Once this wealth is used up, what will the Song Kingdom rely on?"

"What if there isn't enough food? What if the Ming Dynasty can't transport food from its own territory for a while, or the Europeans in the south cut off supplies? What kind of situation will the Song Dynasty face? Doesn't Your Highness find that alarming?"

Zhu Mincheng was speechless for a moment. He solemnly flipped through the booklet Sun Hao had given him, which contained a lot of detailed data. The sources of this data were clearly noted on the side, and there were also figures that Sun Hao had personally investigated. Each entry and each point was shocking to him.

Zhu Mincheng had always been full of confidence, believing himself to be the most capable prince of the Ming Dynasty. In the past two years, the rapid development of the Song Kingdom had even given him the illusion that governing a country wasn't as difficult as his father had claimed. His Song Kingdom had been governed so well in just a small trial; if he were the eldest son instead of the second son, he might have replaced his elder brother, the Crown Prince, as the heir apparent. And when he ascended the throne as Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he believed that under his rule, the Ming Dynasty would certainly be even stronger than under his father.

But Sun Hao's words and the evidence he presented today were like a bucket of cold water poured over Zhu Mincheng's head, jolting him awake from his delusional state.

He had never thought about this issue before, nor had his officials, and no one had reminded him of it.

If it weren't for Sun Hao, he would never have considered these things, much less have discovered the serious problems involved. Just as Sun Hao said, his Song state appeared prosperous and powerful, but it was all a castle in the air, built entirely on a foundation of abnormality.

All of this stemmed from the existence of the gold mines that made the Song Dynasty possible. Once the gold mines were exhausted, collapse was inevitable. Even if the gold mines were not yet depleted, if the number of immigrants continued to increase and agriculture could not become self-sufficient, and if there were any problems with supplies from the Ming Dynasty, coupled with supply disruptions from the southern European colonies, the Song Dynasty would certainly face a major crisis.

Thinking of the civil war that broke out in the Ming Dynasty due to natural disasters and man-made calamities, Zhu Mincheng felt a chill. He did not want his Song Kingdom to also break out into civil war due to food problems. If such a situation occurred, he would become a huge joke. A dignified prince of the Ming Dynasty, an enfeoffed vassal king, would actually lead to a rebellion and the destruction of the country because the people had no food. If that happened, even if he died, how could Zhu Mincheng face his ancestors?

"This...this..." Zhu Mincheng's face changed drastically, and his hands trembled slightly. He subconsciously closed his eyes, as if he could see the prosperous new capital city engulfed in flames, and the terrifying scene of him, the Prince of Song, covered in blood, facing a rebellious populace.

"Senior brother, teach me! How... how can this be avoided?" Zhu Mincheng quickly stood up, bowed to Sun Hao, and asked sincerely.

“Your Highness, there’s no need for such formalities. Since I came to see you today and brought up this matter, I will naturally do my best to help you resolve your troubles.” Sun Hao quickly stopped Zhu Mincheng before he could finish his formalities, stepping aside to avoid him. “Senior brother, you have truly awakened me from my dream today! If you hadn’t seen things so clearly, perhaps I still wouldn’t have realized it in the end,” Zhu Mincheng said with emotion, feeling ashamed of his earlier dissatisfaction with Sun Hao.

Sun Hao comforted Zhu Mincheng, saying that he was only able to notice this because he was a newcomer and, as the saying goes, an outsider's perspective is clearer. He added that it wasn't really Zhu Mincheng's fault, nor was it the fault of the other officials in the Prince's Palace. After all, on the surface, the Song Kingdom was indeed developing rapidly, and everything seemed to be thriving. Who could see the hidden dangers beneath the surface of prosperity? Even he himself only noticed it from an outsider's perspective. If he had come to the Song Kingdom from the beginning, he might not have realized it at all.

"Senior brother, you are too modest. I am well aware of your abilities. Since you have identified the problem, please enlighten me!"

“Your Highness need not worry. The problem is not that serious yet, far from being irreversible.” Sun Hao comforted Zhu Mincheng, then said, “What I just said is based on the premise that the gold mine is exhausted. As long as the gold mine continues to be mined, the Song Kingdom will not face major problems in the short term. However, the problem does exist, and it is better to change it sooner rather than later. If we wait until it becomes unmanageable before trying to find a solution, it will be too late.”

Zhu Mincheng nodded repeatedly and asked for specific instructions.

Sun Hao said, "In fact, to change this situation, my suggestion is to immediately encourage agriculture, temporarily suspend the acceptance of new immigrants, or reduce the influx of immigrants."

"What about it?"

Sun Hao said, "Originally, there was a policy for immigrants to the Song State, which allocated farmland to each household and exempted or reduced taxes. The Song State did this from the beginning. However, although it was done, its implementation was inadequate, resulting in a large amount of farmland being abandoned. New immigrants abandoned their land and went to pan for gold, which completely deviated from the original intention of the immigrants."

"Your Highness can order a forced restriction, but considering the current situation, it is unlikely that gold mining can be completely stopped. Since the gold mines are there, restricting immigrants to mine for gold will inevitably generate fierce opposition, which is not a good thing for the Song Kingdom."

"According to the restrictions, each immigrant household can only have one person engaged in gold panning, and they must register with the Song government to obtain the qualification. At the same time, the management of the gold mines will be strengthened, and gold panning quotas will be issued to limit the number. Once this number is exceeded, or if someone pans for gold privately without a quota, it will directly violate the criminal law, and Your Highness can deal with it properly."

"In this way, at least the distributed land can be cultivated normally, while also limiting the unlimited mining at the gold mines and delaying the depletion of the gold mines. After a few years, when agriculture recovers and can achieve self-sufficiency, the crisis can be alleviated."

"Then why reduce the number of immigrants?" Zhu Mincheng asked.

Sun Hao smiled and said, "Doesn't Your Highness think that the number of immigrants to Song is growing too fast? Although Song does need people in its early days, having too many people at once is problematic, not to mention Song's capacity to handle it, the uneven quality of these people is also a problem. It will not only bring many living problems, but also put pressure on Song's security. These days, I have often seen fights and brawls happening in various places, and with the current capabilities of Song's government, it is impossible to completely manage these situations. If we let it continue to develop, it will only worsen as the population grows. Rather than that, it would be better to slow down for now, stabilize the foundation, and then gradually accept immigrants."

Zhu Mincheng pondered for a moment and nodded slightly, but felt that reducing immigration all at once would be difficult, since immigrants to the Ming Dynasty would arrive periodically, and he couldn't simply refuse them outright. Sun Hao suggested that some immigrants could be transferred to Yongguo in the north, since Yongguo was severely short of people and would love more. As for Songguo, fewer immigrants would be better, and restrictions on later arrivals should be even stricter. The policy of registering all households must be perfected; the more people there were, the more vigilant they needed to be, thus minimizing the impact.

In addition to developing agriculture and ensuring self-sufficiency, efforts must also be made to develop industry and handicrafts. The saying "No agriculture, no stability; no commerce, no wealth" applies here. If the northern state of Yong could find a way to capitalize on its abundant forests and timber resources to build ships, why couldn't the state of Song find other avenues for wealth?

Gold mines will eventually run out, but industries can endure. These industries are not entertainment venues like restaurants and brothels, but rather various workshops and handicrafts.

The Ming Dynasty was the most advanced country in the world, and its goods were always highly sought after in Europe. Although the New World couldn't grow tea or raise silkworms, that didn't mean they couldn't do other things!

The Ming Dynasty has a plethora of handicrafts, and its other specialties are also in high demand in European countries, including porcelain and other industries. These can also be explored in the New World. In any case, Zhu Mincheng has no shortage of craftsmen. Even if there are no such talents, it would not be difficult for Zhu Mincheng, with his status, to obtain some from the Ming Dynasty. If successful, wouldn't that be better than sitting around and living off one's savings in the future?
(End of this chapter)