The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

Indeed, the Tang Dynasty and the Western Han Dynasty had many similarities.

The most straightforward point is that both were built on the ruins of an empire that died after only two generations.

Moreover, how similar are the policies currently implemented by the Tang Dynasty to those of the early Western Han Dynasty?

How similar was the fall of the Sui Dynasty to that of the Qin Dynasty?

Li Shimin's face was extremely gloomy: "So, this is why you said that continuously implementing work relief to free some people from their dependence on the land can only prolong the time before the curse arrives, but it will eventually come."

"Given various reasons, was the three-hundred-year curse of dynasties inevitable?"

"Yes." A smile appeared in Chen Huai'an's eyes. "Actually, using 'curse' to describe it isn't quite right. If we had to find a word to describe this pattern, it would be the dynastic cycle!"

"Its essence is a cycle, and almost no dynasty can escape this cycle. Even what we are doing now is at most expanding this cycle."

In a daze, Li Shimin found the answers to many questions that he had not understood before.

So that's how it is!

So that's how it is!

The so-called dynastic cycle is a problem caused by the superposition of countless factors, with a few key causes.

The most fatal of these are undoubtedly land annexation, bureaucratic corruption, the decline of centralized power, and... the limits of land's carrying capacity!

These problems are almost all unsolvable. Even someone as unorthodox as Chen Huai'an can only expand the cycle through various systems, but cannot break it.

Especially the last issue: the land has its carrying capacity limit...

Li Shimin felt waves of chills running down his back.

Looking back at history and recalling all the things Chen Huai'an had said before, he realized a terrible problem.

Towards the end of each dynasty, the population reaches its peak. When faced with problems such as land annexation and bureaucratic collapse, the people, unable to survive, will rise up in rebellion, plunging the country into complete chaos. Countless people die every day from war, famine, and plague.

The population has declined drastically, countless tracts of land have been abandoned and left vacant, and the whole world is in dire need of reconstruction.

The one who ultimately triumphs in this turmoil will establish a new dynasty over the corpses scattered everywhere. They will then implement policies of light taxes and levies, encourage agriculture and land reclamation, watch the population gradually recover, and the national strength gradually increase, before stepping towards the next annexation and the next collapse.

Order and chaos alternate, in an endless cycle.

Like an invisible wheel, it has rolled over the Qin, the Han, and the Sui dynasties, and now it is rolling over the Tang dynasty. It has never stopped.

Li Shimin stood there, his whole body stiff.

He originally thought that he had learned from the lessons of the Sui Dynasty's demise, and that by reducing redundant officials, reforming the bureaucracy, and implementing the equal-field system, he had done the best that a ruler could do, which was enough to ensure the longevity of the Tang Dynasty.

But now Chen Huai'an is telling him that all of this is just repeating the old path of the previous dynasty, and no matter how steadily you walk, there will eventually come an end.

Li Junxian stood not far away, his palms sweating.

Any one of these words, if spoken in the imperial court, would shock the civil and military officials. Only Chen Huai'an dared to speak so frankly and clearly in front of His Majesty.

The two children, Li Tai and Li Lizhi, looked at each other in bewilderment. They didn't quite understand these grand principles about the country and the world, but seeing their father's ashen face, they knew that the matter was of utmost importance.

Li Tai thought for a moment, then hesitated before saying, "Sir, why do you say that the Western Han Dynasty collapsed because it reached the limit of the land's carrying capacity?"

"I remember that the population at the end of the Western Han Dynasty was not even comparable to that of the Second Sui Dynasty, right? The Sui Dynasty did not collapse because the land reached its carrying capacity."

Chen Huai'an was speechless. Li Shimin looked at him as if he were an idiot: "How many years of development have passed since the Western Han Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty? In all these years, hasn't even a single piece of land been cultivated?"

"As time goes by, the land will inevitably increase, and the population that can be supported will also increase."

"Such a simple question, do you even need to ask it?"

Li Shimin was in a bad mood and didn't speak kindly to his favorite son.

Li Tai immediately fell silent.

He also wanted to ask why not continue cultivating the land.

The more land is cultivated, the more people can be fed, right?

Of course, it was fortunate that he didn't ask, otherwise Li Shimin would have really scolded him.

"..."

After pondering for a long time, Li Shimin looked at Chen Huai'an and said, "So you were targeting these issues from the very beginning?"

"You vigorously reclaimed the wasteland in Guanzhong, promoted the curved plow, introduced iron forging techniques to create better agricultural tools, and continuously promoted work-for-relief programs in an attempt to solve these problems from various aspects?"

"That's one way to put it." Chen Huai'an nodded slightly. "In addition, using the geographical location of Lingnan, which the Feng family controls, to conduct trade with other countries is also a viable option."

"I understand..." Li Shimin nodded, without saying anything.

Now, he finally realized just how far and how deep the person in front of him could see.

While others were still trying to restore people's livelihoods and do everything possible to increase the population, he had already seen the fatal problems brought about by population growth and took measures to deal with them from the very beginning.

Li Shimin himself was ashamed of his lack of such long-term vision.

He didn't ask Chen Huai'an if there was a definitive solution, because Chen Huai'an's actions had already provided the answer.

If there were a perfect solution, a way to break the cycle, Chen Huai'an would definitely pull him along and go all out.

They all understand each other.

If such a method truly existed, Li Shimin would accept any price!

It's anything!

Solving this age-old problem would be more meaningful than creating any prosperous era.

"that......"

Li Lizhi then weakly raised her hand: "Since the land has its limits, haven't you already started cultivating it, sir?"

"Why worry about this at all?"

She asked the question that Li Tai wanted to ask.

Chen Huai'an smiled helplessly, while Li Shimin's attitude was completely reversed. He patiently explained, "Because there is a limit to the land that the Tang Dynasty can cultivate. I cannot cultivate it indefinitely, even if I conquer more territory. Many of the areas around us are nomadic tribes, and they cannot grow food on much of their land."

"Furthermore, because of the problem of land consolidation, the more land you cultivate, the more land will be lost to landlords, gentry, and powerful families."

"The limit of land carrying capacity essentially refers to the land held by the people, so continuously reclaiming land is a temporary solution that does not address the root cause."

"It doesn't solve the fundamental problem."

Li Tai stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded by the starkly different attitudes.

"..."