The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 731 Xianfeng: Oh no, someone wants to harm me!
The biggest threat facing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom today is that there are too many people!

When Luo Yaoguo thought of the "large population", he reached out and pulled out the "Population Yellow Book of the Eleventh Year of Tianli" newly presented by the Ministry of Households. On the cowhide cover were written in red pen the words "Four hundred and eighty million people", as if he was reporting the good news to Prime Minister Luo.

But this number seemed a bit heavy to Luo Yaoguo. It had only been eight or nine years since the pacification of the southeast, but the number of people under the rule of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom had increased by tens of millions. In the rich land of fish and rice in the south of the Yangtze River, there were scenes of five or six-year-old children leading three or four-year-old children running around everywhere. Primary schools in various places were even more crowded with children. Except for a few "key primary schools", ordinary schools could have hundreds of students in a class!
"Your Highness, the tea is cold." Su Sanniang's voice suddenly rang in Luo Yaoguo's ears. He looked back and found that Maria had gone somewhere. His first wife Su Sanniang was holding a teapot and smilingly placing it on the desk. This Sanniang was wearing a lilac-colored Hangzhou silk shirt and a magnolia flower on her hair. She looked a little more gentle than when she led the female camp.

Luo Yaoguo waved his hand, his eyes still glued to the yellow book. He did the math: According to the Ministry of Revenue, more than 40% of the people under his jurisdiction are children, while more than 50% are strong and capable. This young population is like wild grass growing wildly in spring, and it needs fertile soil to survive. But now, let alone chemical fertilizers and machinery, even the rice seeds in the cultivated fields in the south of the Yangtze River are still the old seeds passed down from the previous dynasty, and the yield per mu is only a few hundred kilograms. Not to mention the dry land in the north, there is not much in normal years, and there will be no harvest in droughts and floods.

"Yesterday, Cheng Peifu sent a memorial saying that Jiangnan wants to expand the mulberry gardens." He suddenly said, "He said that the silk reeling factories in Shanghai and Suzhou have a huge demand, and the high-quality raw silk is in short supply."

Su Sanniang took over the conversation: "I heard from the old sisters in the women's camp in Suzhou and Huzhou that there are many silkworm farmers in Suzhou and Huzhou. But silkworms need to eat mulberry leaves, and mulberry forests occupy paddy fields." She stopped talking here. She noticed that her husband's brows were twisted into a river again, and there were more wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and forehead. He was originally five or six years younger than her, and now he was only in his thirties, but he looked older than her, as if he was in his early forties.

It seems that it is not easy to be a member of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!

Luo Yaoguo stood up suddenly, walked to the world map hanging on the west wall, and ran his finger across Luzon and Java, finally stopping at the coast of Peru and Chile, muttering to himself: "1863, Guano War"

As they were talking, the sound of children playing suddenly came from outside. Maria came in with sour plum soup, and her six-month-old body was already showing signs of pregnancy. Zhou Xiuying followed behind, her sky-blue school uniform still stained with chalk dust. She held Luo Yaoguo's eldest son Luo Xinhua by her left hand, and held her babbling youngest daughter Xiao Xinyue in her right arm. Wanzhen walked in the end, holding a pair of little boys who were only one or two years old in her arms, just like the goddess delivering children in the New Year pictures. There were also three children who had not yet started elementary school, two girls and one boy, who walked in hand in hand.

"Your son Xinhua greets his father." Luo Yaoguo's eldest son is eight years old this year. He is studying at the No. 1 Primary School of Tianjing Prefecture. Zhou Xiuying is his class teacher. At this moment, she stepped forward respectfully and saluted.

"Daddy, daddy." Luo Yaoguo's second son Luo Xinya shook off the hands of his two younger sisters, took out a small wooden boat and climbed onto the desk. "This is a new ironclad ship built by the Jiangnan Arsenal. I want to drive an ironclad ship when I grow up!"

The child is of mixed race, and his mother is Maria.

Luo Yaoguo quickly reached out and took Xiao Xinyue from Zhou Xiuying's arms. Maria wanted to pull her own child, Luo Xinya, off the desk, but was stopped by Luo Yaoguo: "Let him go. He said he wants to drive an ironclad ship when he grows up. It seems that after he finishes elementary school, he should go to the Naval Middle School in Shanghai to live in the dormitory."

As he spoke, he lifted his youngest daughter above his head. The little girl giggled and tried to grab the bun of hair on her father's head.

Zhou Xiuying smiled and said, "It's not easy to get into the Navy Middle School. Erlang must work hard after he enters elementary school!"

"Luo Xiaoer" standing on the desk nodded heavily: "Second Mother, I will study hard in the future and I will definitely be able to get into the Naval Middle School!"

Luo Yaoguo looked at his "ambitious" son and nodded with satisfaction. Of course, his son would definitely be able to go to the Naval Middle School and the Naval Academy. According to the arrangements of Luo Yaoguo, Feng Yunshan, Xiao Chaogui, Wei Changhui, Shi Dakai and others, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's Army Middle School and Naval Middle School were opened for the "second generation of the Heavenly Kingdom". The purpose is to use strict military training education to shape these "second generations" into successors of the Taiping Army. Of course, after graduating from the Army and Navy Middle School, they still have to take the Army Academy and the Naval Academy, and the Army and Navy Academy will also reserve some places for civilian children, but the "second generation of the Heavenly Kingdom" will be the mainstream in the Army and Navy Academy.

As for non-military universities such as Tianjing University, Shanghai University, Beiyang University, and Guangdong University, you have to take the college entrance examination! Even if you are the "second generation of the Heavenly Kingdom", you have to cross a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops if you want to enter - there is no way, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is still poor, and educational resources are limited. It is already "cheating" to be able to run a few science and engineering universities. The door must be left open for geniuses to enter based on their abilities! The children of the heroes of the Heavenly Kingdom should go to military school so that they can make contributions to the country in the future!
There is a world war waiting for them in the future! The morning fog in Richmond has not yet dissipated, and the bulletin board in front of the city hall is already crowded with people. Dozens of "American Acreage System" leaflets with ink not yet dried were pasted with paste next to the notice of "recruiting volunteers". Bold English words clearly read: "Anyone who participates in the war can accumulate 100 points for each Northern soldier killed; each point accumulated can be exchanged for one acre of good farmland after the war!"

"Oh my God!" Jack, a poor white blacksmith wearing a tattered felt hat, squeezed to the front row, his fingers stained black by coal dust trembling as he scratched across the flyers, "This is much more practical than the previous flag-raising method!" He tore off a flyer and stuffed it into his arms, then turned around and rushed to the conscription office without saying a word.

The crowd behind him went wild. Several Irish immigrants rushed forward, tore off some copies, waved them and shouted, "Join the army and fight. Make merit and get a share of the land. All your descendants will be masters!"

At the same time, on the oak table of the Charleston Pier Tavern, three leaflets on the American Acreage System were wrinkled by rum. Thomson, a black artillery sergeant on leave, poked the leaflets with the tip of his bayonet, and the score marks on his bronze waist badge jingled: "I have accumulated 200 points. I don't want to be a white man anymore. I want to be a black flag and get a hundred acres of good farmland. Will I grow cotton or tobacco?"

"Idiot!" The white corporal McMullen took a sip of whiskey, his Scottish accent mixed with alcohol. "It's written on the back of the flyer - points can be exchanged for real estate in Richmond! As long as you have 100 points, you will be given a three-story building in Charleston, covering an area of ​​​​a quarter of an acre!" He took out a pistol drunkenly and slammed it on the table. "I will apply to be transferred to the front tomorrow!"

The tavern owner also secretly put a leaflet into his pocket - as long as he killed a Yankee, he could buy a comfortable house in Charleston!
At the black division's garrison outside Washington, Master O'Hara's carriage broke through the rain and rushed into the camp gate. He rushed into the headquarters clutching a wet leaflet, his Irish accent distorted by anger: "Zhao Si! Your Eight Banners Law doesn't say that plantations should be divided!"

Xianfeng grabbed the flyer and glanced at it, his pockmarked face instantly turned pale - the end of the flyer was stamped with a fake red seal of "American Eight Banners Committee". He suddenly overturned the sand table, and the Beijing dialect sounded like thunder: "Who the hell is this alienation plot! Someone wants to harm me!"

O'Hara didn't understand Xianfeng's Chinese, but he could tell from his pockmarked face that something was wrong: "Zhao Si, what are you talking about? Wasn't it you who came up with this American Land System?"

Xianfeng glared at O'Hara and said, "What's the point of me proposing this? I'm not the President of the United States. If I propose this, will Congress agree? Will the President sign it? This must be a conspiracy of the Northerners, most likely a trick thought up by Hong Rengan!"

That’s right! O’Hara also realized that something was wrong!
There was a sudden commotion outside the tent. Zeng Ke rushed in, grabbing a white instructor, who dropped a bundle of leaflets on the American Farmland System from his arms: "Commander, what is this guy's intention in distributing this in the barracks?"

The white militia immediately shouted: "Zeng Ke, what do you mean? Isn't this a decree of the White House and Congress? You black people can raise the flag if you do meritorious service, but what can we white people get if we do meritorious service? Shouldn't we get some land?

Yes, it's as it should be!
Xianfeng's face was so red with pockmarks! His "American Eight Banners System" was ultimately a military merit title, and military merit titles meant giving people real land!
Therefore, the "American Farmland System" is very consistent with the logic of the "American Eight Banners System". Those southern masters will definitely think that it was Nicholas Zhao Si who came up with it and that this is going to kill him!
"Immediately confiscate all the leaflets!" Xianfeng pulled out his sword and chopped off the corner of the table. "Zeng Ke, go tell those poor bastards that points can only be used to raise the flag, and dividing the land is just a rumor spread by the northerners!"

"It's too late." O'Hara sat down dejectedly and took out a crumpled letter from his arms. "My daughter Scarlett said that the news has spread all over Charleston. There are long queues in front of all the recruitment offices. All the poor white people in South Carolina want to join the army." His eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, you just said Hong Rengan? Who is he?"

"The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and the Korean Heavenly Kingdom's king?" Xianfeng grabbed the fake scripture and sneered, "Who else but him would change the "Tianchao Tianmu System" into English? This old guy supports Lincoln and must be giving Lincoln advice!" He suddenly shouted at Zeng Ke, "Prepare the horses! Go to the White House to see Davis - if it's any later, I will be killed by the Hong guy! This Hong guy is really no good!"

(End of this chapter)