After taking Hebei, the biggest headache for Yuan Shu is still population.

In the war at the end of the Han Dynasty, it was not so much about the number of soldiers or the amount of food in the early stage. Years of natural disasters and frequent wars have made food beyond their means, and it is simply impossible to support so many people. Therefore, there are starving people everywhere, and as long as you have food, you can pull out a large army at any time.

During the battle of Guandu, Cao Cao was not afraid of Yuan Shao's many generals, but afraid of his food. No matter how powerful the generals and strategists are, there is no food, and the army collapses without a fight.

In order to prepare grain and grass, Cao Cao can even do such a conscientious thing as cannibalism. In order to reduce food consumption, he did not hesitate to slaughter the entire people of Xuzhou.

And in the later stage, it's the population.

As a result of the lack of food, people cannot survive, and the natural population is falling wildly. At this time, the world's three points have become a stable trend, everywhere is vast and sparsely populated, and food is no longer a critical resource as the people recuperate. Population and territory became the basis for measuring the war power and potential of countries.

Yuan Shu now has a population of more than 30 million, which seems to be a lot, and half of the population at the peak of the Han Dynasty is already very good for a country newly built from the troubled times, which can be called a miracle. If Yuan Shu's target was only the land of the thirteen states of the Great Han, these populations would naturally be enough, or even more than enough.

But Yuan Shu's goal is not only this, the Northeast Plain, the Northern Grassland, the Southwest Countries, the Western Regions, the Body Poison, and the Guishan are all the territories that Yuan Shu has divided for himself. Now Dachu is in the rising period, and the armor is sufficient, and it only takes a little cultivation for a period of time to move the army westward.

At this time, it was not the money and food, not the troops, nor the scholars who managed the area, but the population.

Today, the wealth of Dachu can be described as unprecedented, and the grain and grass in the granary are enough to feed the whole country for more than ten years. The price of grain in the country has almost reached an all-time low, which is the result of Yuan Shu's vigorous purchase in the name of the government. With enough grain and grass, animal husbandry flourished. With the improvement of shipbuilding technology, the fishing industry has become more and more prosperous. There will be no need to worry about food at all for at least 10 years.

And the troops, with a population of 30 million in Dachu and a million soldiers, are all real elites. All states and counties have militias, reserves, garrisons, and other forms of auxiliaries. Although it is not as good as the regular army, it is also physically strong and well-trained, and as long as Yuan Shu is willing, he can pull it out at any time to expand the army.

If you don't take into account objective factors such as distance and logistics, so many elite armies are enough to face the three empires at the same time. It's just a pity that there is no such opportunity.

The long distance between him and other empires and the terrifying strategic depth made Yuan Shu have no choice but to make trouble with Guishan. The attack on Sabbath or Rome was not invincible, but it was pointless, it was a waste of troops in vain, and it was definitely a tug-of-war that lasted for decades or even centuries.

In terms of the management of government affairs. Yuan Shu has the confidence to drive the family out of Dachu, so he naturally has something to rely on. Jinling Academy, Lumen Academy, Yingchuan Academy, etc., large and small academies are all over Dachu, and countless talents have been cultivated. From the most basic administrative, statistical, judicial and other personnel, to the management personnel who are familiar with the Bible and are well versed in government affairs, there are many of them.

The largest Jinling Academy alone has been in operation for more than ten years. Every year, thousands of young, intelligent, and talented scholars are recruited, and the cumulative number is extremely staggering. These people have a good foundation and are quite talented, and after further study, they are all pillars of talent, and they are a little condescending to middle-level officials such as being a county prince in the Han Dynasty.

The threshold for graduating from Jinling Academy is very high, in addition to the independent arrangement of the people of the hundred schools, the rest of the scholars want to graduate, not only must be proficient in Confucianism, familiar with the scriptures, and the six arts of the gentleman must also meet the standard, not a sick man. In addition, it is necessary to master the knowledge of government affairs, and to have practiced farming, business, and craftsmanship in person, so as to have an in-depth understanding of the lives of the people.

These are all Yuan Shu's rigid requirements for top academies such as Jinling Academy and Lumen Academy. Except for some geeks who can allow partial subjects, the rest have to develop morally, intellectually, physically, and aesthetically in an all-round way. Anyway, the troubled times have passed, and Yuan Shu has no shortage of talents, so it is natural to choose the best of the best. Meritocracy is no longer applicable, and those with both ability and political integrity and outstanding ability are the best choice.

Many of them even specialized in studying Nanban, Shenyao, Guishan, and Anxi, and if needed in the future, these scholars could also control the political situation of other countries at any time. The preparation is not inadequate.

"Your Majesty, excluding the soldiers and population of Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, and Liu Bei, the current population of my Great Chu is about 34.3 million, and the natural increase of the population is 1.05 million compared with last year, and the natural increase of the population this year is expected to reach more than 1.3 million. Today, the average couple has about six or seven children, but there is still a lot of potential to be tapped, after all, the world has just calmed down. With the right policies, it is not difficult for a couple to reach an average of eight or nine children in their lifetime. Tian Feng scanned the counted information and reported to Yuan Shu.

The executive power of feudal society is far stronger than that of modern society that pursues freedom and equality. After Yuan Shu proposed to encourage childbirth and give subsidy medals, the fertility rate of the people, which was already high, soared again.

After all, there are not many entertainment projects in this era, and there are no electric lights, and even oil lamps are reluctant to be ordered by many families. It was dark at night, and there was nothing else to do, so I could only close the door and play a game of having children.

It is completely normal for a family to have five or six children, and this is because many couples have just lived a stable life for a long time, and one baby comes out a year.

Hearing Tian Feng's words, Yuan Shu frowned slightly. He values the population, but he hasn't lost his heart to the point of losing the bottom line.

"No, the current policy is already the limit. A woman over the age of 18 can only marry and give birth, otherwise her body will be prone to problems, and premature childbirth will easily lead to one corpse and two lives. Eighteen years old is the bottom line, and women over forty-five years old can no longer urge childbearing, and the same is true. ”

"Your Majesty, why do you care so much about dystocia? My current medical level is enough to reduce the probability of death from dystocia to less than 20%. As long as I open my mouth, although there will be some deaths and injuries, the fertility rate of my Dachu will at least increase by one to two percent on the original basis. Tian Feng couldn't help but dissuade.

In his opinion, a woman's childbirth is a duty, and dystocia can only indicate bad luck. There is no need to slow down the pace of the country's development for the sake of the safety and pain of some women.

"It is true that the lives of a few women are insignificant to a country, but this opening must not be opened. The original intention of my Great Chu to establish the country was to put the people first. National development and national rejuvenation are important, but we must also ensure that the people under our Dachu Society can get the treatment they deserve and live a good life. It is okay to improve remuneration and reward production, but it is not possible to seek benefits at the expense of human life. My Da Chu woman is also a Da Chu people, and she can die for the country, but she can only die on the battlefield, not on her relatives or this cruel difficult birth. Yuan Shu said in a deep voice.

Whether it is persistent or naïve, Yuan Shu itself is very principled about human life. How many lives should be killed on the battlefield, Yuan Shu never hesitated and regretted it. But this kind of unnecessary sacrifice is something that Yuan Shu can't bear. Allowing a woman to give birth between the ages of 18 and 45 is too much for Yuan Shu to do, and it cannot be extended for another year.

"If a country wants to count and harm its own people, it will be a failure. For the sake of Da Chu, anyone can be sacrificed, but it is not such a senseless and shameless sacrifice. ”