Although Liaodong was pacified, the weapons and equipment of the Ming army were still increasing.

Some are not very necessary, such as artillery, not to mention the Jiannu and Mongol tribes, I am afraid that they can also rank first in the world.

There are also these windproof goggles, which are very useful when the wind is cold. But without it, the Ming army also has strong combat power.

But the emperor was not satisfied, since it could be built, don't equip the troops in order to save money. To defend the homeland and defend the country and fight bloodshed, the dedication of soldiers should be respected and rewarded.

The reason is the same, although Jiannu is no longer a threat, the emperor will not tolerate the existence of the Ming Dynasty's accumulated shortcomings, and stop the pace of reform and cheer up.

The Ming Dynasty was far from what the emperor had in mind, and the army built with a lot of money did not play its due role.

The army and the navy division are all the same, they have not become a sharp sword to expand the territory, and they have not fought for enough living space for hundreds of millions of people.

Although the Ming Empire was vast and vast, its population continued to grow, and the amount of land stagnated. The so-called "few who live and eat many" was not a worry in ancient times.

A census is necessary, and it is not even clear what the population of the country is, so it is impossible to formulate a scientific development strategy.

According to the emperor's estimates, the current population of the Ming Dynasty is at least 150 million, which is still an inaccurate average. At most, more than 200 million is possible.

According to the amount of cultivated land and the level of cultivation at that time, as well as the yield per mu, it was already a bit difficult to feed the nearly 200 million people.

Moreover, there is a major disaster that is coming, and the food shortage will be even more serious.

Of course, the early promotion of planting crops such as potatoes, corn, rye, and sweet potatoes can solve a big problem.

However, the population growth rate basically remained between 5 and 10 percent or even more than 10 percent during the Chengping era.

Now, there should be no more wars at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and there are measures to overcome major disasters, and the emperor is still improving the prevention and control of sanitary diseases. Therefore, the population will not decline dramatically, but will increase substantially.

But isn't the rate of population growth a bit appalling?

The emperor patted the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" on the bookcase, and asked suspiciously: "Xu Qing, what is written in this book, 'The rate of people born will double in about 30 years, and it will not be reduced unless there is a great military revolution', can it be accurate?" ”

Xu Guangqi bowed and said, "Long live, this is the conclusion that Wei Chen came to after studying the population of the clan. There may be an error, but it shouldn't be too big. ”

"Xu Qing will talk about it in detail." Although the emperor inquired, he already vaguely felt that something was not right.

Xu Guangqi said: "There are fifty-eight men and women below the prince of Hongwuzhong, and one hundred and twenty-seven people are on the throne to Yongle, which is more than twice as many as thirty years. At the beginning of Longqing, there were 45,000 people who were subordinate, and 28,000 people who survived; ”

"Wanli Jiawu has 103,000 subordinates, and 62,000 survivors, that is, more than 1 times in 30 years. There are 130,000 people who belong to Jiachen, and there are no less than 80,000 survivors, which is an increase of one-third in ten years, that is, more than one double in another thirty years. ”

The emperor blinked slowly, thought for a long time, shook his head and said, "Xu Qing is bad!" Clan marriages are often polygamous, which is very different from that of commoners. ”

After a pause, the emperor said, "Thirty years may be just an average, a little less, a little more, and some fluctuations are normal. ”

It is normal for the population growth rate to be high or low, and the growth rate to be fast or slow.

Although Xu Guangqi's calculation of the doubling of the population in 30 years is not accurate by taking the clan population as an example, it still has a good reference role.

Whether it is more than 20 years or more than 30 years, the emperor believes that he should be able to witness the population of the Ming Dynasty exceed 300 million in his lifetime.

Now it is just over 100 million, and the land is no longer enough; One can imagine how serious the situation would be with a doubling of the population.

In fact, with the promotion and planting of new crops, it is still possible to support three or four billion people. But is it just the prosperous age of drinking corn paste porridge and eating sweet potatoes and gnawing potatoes?

Moreover, 3400 million could not make the emperor satisfied.

What Malthus's "Theory of Population", get out of the way. A large population means a large number of laborers, a large number of soldiers, and a large amount of taxes.

Although population and country strength are not absolutely equated, in most cases they are a good reference. It is easy to do things with many people, and the "populace doctrine" is still very reasonable.

Xu Guangqi bowed down to be taught, although he didn't agree with it very much in his heart.

"Next year, a census will be conducted on a county-by-county basis." The emperor groaned and said, "The population must be roughly equal to the cultivated land, and the fight against major disasters will be more powerful. ”

Xu Guangqi thought for a while and said, "Weichen thinks that a policy on immigration can be introduced. Those who are landless, those who are struggling to make ends meet, will naturally respond. You don't have to go far away, and the nearby provinces may be the most acceptable to the people. ”

Relocation, or relocation!

The emperor was also a little helpless, and leaving his hometown, or moving away to settle down, was the last choice for many ordinary people.

In fact, the emperor preferred to refer to long-distance migration as adventurous exploration, and would vigorously advocate it for a long time.

As Xu Guangqi said, only if you can't live will you respond positively. There is clear evidence in history that breaking through the east of the country, going to the west exit, and going to the South Seas are not all adventures to survive in death?

However, the nearby provinces can be adjusted, and the role is still very limited. In provinces such as Henan, Shaanxi, Beizhili, and Shandong, there is almost no idle land or uncultivated wasteland.

Liaodong can, but it's better to recuperate after a year's rest. If there is a large-scale migration immediately, the burden on the imperial court will be very heavy.

"Submit it to the cabinet first!" The emperor reluctantly agreed, after all, it was also a method, even if the effect was small, it was better than nothing.

Patting the book again, the emperor added: "There is also this complete book of agricultural administration, complete it as soon as possible, revise it as soon as possible, and publish the book as soon as possible!" ”

The three as soon as possible show the emperor's urgency for agricultural policy, and it is also an affirmation of this book.

Although there are several kinds of large-scale agricultural books, such as Jia Sixian's "Qi Min Yaoshu" in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Wang Zhen's "Agricultural Book" in the Yuan Dynasty, etc., the focus is on production technology and knowledge, which can be said to be purely technical agricultural books.

The "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration" contains some unusual contents such as reclamation, water conservancy, and waste administration, and accounts for nearly half of the page.

Taking "Waste Administration" as an example, although other large-scale agricultural books occasionally talk about one or two kinds of crops that prepare for famine, and even in Yuan Wangzhen's "Agricultural Book", "Theory of Preparing for Famine" began to appear, but the space is very small.

In the "Complete Book of Agricultural Administration", "waste administration" is regarded as a heading, and there are as many as 18 volumes, which is the first of the 12 items in the whole book.

In the end, 414 kinds of plants with grass, trees and wild vegetables can be used to feed the hungry, and 414 kinds of plants can be used to satisfy hunger.

……………….