Population is the necessary condition for the material life of society, and is the basis and main body of all social production behaviors.

This theory can be understood by any person in the future.

However, although the courtiers of the Tang Dynasty also attached importance to the population, their understanding of the population was still very lacking.

It's no wonder that Li Kuan just asked Tang Jian about the population of the Tang Dynasty, and he couldn't answer.

In fact, throughout the thousands of years of Chinese history, there is no accurate population data at all.

Even if there is a record in the history books, it will only say how many households.

Even if an accurate number appears in a few articles, everyone knows whether that number is really accurate or not.

Of course, demographics don't need to be accurate to single digits.

What is the difference between saying that there are 100 million people in Datang and saying that there are 998,999,999,900 people in Datang?

"Every year, the Ministry of Officials assesses each state and county, and there will be information about the number of households. As long as the relevant data of each state and county are accumulated, the population of Datang will basically come out. ”

Cen Wenwen expressed his opinion on the sidelines.

To some extent, this statement is also not wrong.

But the local data adds up to more than the central statistics, and there is no way to completely solve it even in later generations, so how can Li Kuan believe that Datang can do this?

In addition, Li Kuan believes that the number of households is only a part of the work of population statistics, and is far from representing the significance of population statistics.

"What Aiqing said makes sense, the household department will summarize the information on the number of households in each state and county as soon as possible, and also make a reference for all the ministers in the DPRK and China."

Li Shimin apparently agreed with Cen's statement.

"Your Majesty, this population count is far from so simple. The total population, the size of the number of households, the gender ratio of men and women, the age structure, the ethnic composition, the degree of literacy, the distribution of regions, and the movement of the population are all items that need to be covered in the demographic work, and they are definitely not explained by the number of households in a single Datang. ”

Li Kuan's few words attracted everyone's attention.

There are all kinds of unheard terms in it, which makes everyone curious.

For so many years, no one has explained the meaning behind the population statistics in such a systematic way.

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu, I don't deny that having this information can be beneficial to the imperial court to make some decisions, but it is not so simple to master such detailed population information. Officials appointed by the Ministry of Officials are only at the county level, but there are still countless people in the villages, and even some mountain people simply live in the mountains for a long time, and they are not included in the official statistics at all. ”

If others listen to what Li Kuan said, they are curious and expectant; Then Tang Jian, the head of the household, was numb.

If you really want to find out what Li Kuan said, the household department will not do anything, and go to count how many people there are in Datang every day.

"Except for some areas of Lingnan Province and Gangnam Province, there are still mountain people, and the number of mountain people in other state capitals should be very small. As the demand for population in the Tang states became more and more vigorous, more and more mountain people came out of the mountainous areas. Basically, as long as the population statistics of the normal life of each state and county are included, this population data is already relatively accurate,"

Li Kuan and Tang Jian each expressed their opinions there.

"That being said, but there are only a few court officials in a county, and the number of officials is also fixed. How can it be so easy to put together such detailed information? ”

Therefore, it is very necessary to improve the literacy level of the Tang Dynasty, improve the cultural level of the Tang Dynasty officials, and appropriately include some Xu officials in the scope of the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court. This demographic is not something that can be completed overnight. As long as we start to prepare now, we will try to count it next year, and it will take a year to roughly grasp the population situation of Datang. Then, in five years' time, the statistics will be recounted, which will provide a very important reference for Your Majesty and the ministers to make decisions. ”

For a long time, Li Kuan has rarely spoken about the political structure of the Tang Dynasty.

Even if the Municipal Governor's Office, the Tang Royal Patent Office, and the Police Headquarters were added, they did not involve any of the existing systems.

Now when it comes to the number and management of county officials, it immediately touches everyone's sensitive nerves.

Since ancient times, the jurisdiction of the central court has only reached the county level, and listening to the meaning of His Royal Highness the King of Chu, it seems that he wants to make some changes in this regard.

Regardless of the Qin and Han dynasties or the Tang and Song dynasties, there were only a few officials appointed by the imperial court, and it was unrealistic to rely solely on them to manage a county.

Therefore, all kinds of officials, lizheng, and township chiefs are recruited and appointed by the county, but in fact, they are essentially public meals.

Since they are all public meals, why not include them in the official system of the Tang Dynasty?

Nowadays, the number of students graduating from various academies is increasing, and it is unrealistic for them to go to a county to serve as a county commander or to serve in the six departments as soon as they come out.

At this time, it is a good way to let most people start from the officials.

To a certain extent, Xu officials are the ones who really contact the people and really understand the people.

"Kuan'er, can you tell me more about this population count, how can this information be used?"

Li Shimin listened for a while and probably understood Li Kuan's proposition.

However, like some more sensitive content, Li Kuan has not yet spoken.

"Your Majesty, Weichen gives an example, the northern part of Shuozhou is now vigorously promoting cotton planting, so how many people there are and how many materials need to be transported every year, you can basically have an approximate data; For example, if the imperial court is preparing to build a new cement road, then it is the most affordable way to choose to pass through densely populated states and counties in the early stage, which also needs to be supported by population data; There is also the population structure of the frontier, which involves the security of the Tang Dynasty and the adjustment of the imperial court's immigration policy, all of which need to be supported by population data. For another example, now that the imperial court encourages the people to have more children, what is the result of this encouragement? Do you need to adjust in time? These need to be supported by relevant data, and we need to use data to speak. ”

The officials of the Tang Dynasty have not yet developed the concept of using data to speak, and Li Kuan feels that he needs to promote this view.

What to do, you can't give it to Shangguan's head with a beat.

"Data speaks?"

"Yes, for Your Majesty, you would like to hear that 'so-and-so county has suffered a drought, and some fertile land has been damaged; A certain place suffered a flood, and the people disappeared a number of times', I still want to hear that 'a certain county suffered a drought this spring, and the yield of 10,000 acres of fertile land fell by 50%; There was a flood in such and such a place, and 200 people died and 120 people went missing'? ”

As soon as Li Kuan's words came out, everyone present knew that the future work would not be so easy to do.