At the end of April, the weather in the North gradually turns humid and warm, and we have reached the end of spring and early summer.
In the main hall of the Han Dynasty palace, Li Po was sitting in the middle. Everyone was lined up on both sides, including twenty or thirty civil and military people.
This is the first time that Li Po has officially convened everyone to discuss matters since he became king. In fact, it also symbolizes that the busiest period of time is finally over.
The spring plowing is coming to an end. This year, the counties in Shanxi have had abundant rains, and the spring plowing is going smoothly. However, the problem of population shortage has become more and more obvious. The household registration records reported from various places are shocking.
After nearly ten years of turmoil, the fact that Jin's population has dropped sharply has finally become clear.
As a series of data emerged from the mouth of Su Dan, the minister of household affairs, Li Po's face was expressionless, and his excited ministers gradually held their breath and concentrated, becoming worried.
You don’t know if you don’t hear it, and you will be shocked when you hear it. Even if everyone is mentally prepared, they still cannot remain indifferent after hearing these detailed figures, because the truth is always crueler than imagined.
Today, the population of the thirteen counties in Shanxi has dropped by more than half. More than half of the fields cultivated this year are newly reclaimed "wasteland", and it has brought about a very strange phenomenon. The population mobility is very different from
usual.
Many people from the counties in the east of Hedong, the most prosperous areas of Jin, moved north, but people from the two states also had the tendency to move south. This was both government-instructed and people's initiative. Anyway, it was completely different from the Taiping Festival.
Due to the shortage of people, large tracts of arable land in each county were left vacant, and most of them were taken over by the government. The only benefit is that the government may have enough land to distribute to the people for a long time in the future.
The sharp decline in population affected not only farming, but also the politics, military and economy. Like now, how could Li Po still dare to recruit troops on a large scale? Labor service had actually been abolished for a long time under Li Po's rule.
Even so, it may not take ten or twenty years to restore the old outlook.
In the near future, Li Po will also use his troops abroad... I am afraid the only comforting thing is that the situation in other princes will only be worse.
Obviously, Yang Guang left everyone a complete mess, but the people who took over were selling everything to consume the last bit of their wealth. This is actually very similar to the war in the late Han Dynasty.
As one of the heroes in the late Sui Dynasty, Li Po was not noble at this time. With the population declining sharply, he still had to prepare for the coming war. It was impossible for the soldiers to return to the fields to make up for the shortcomings in manpower.
Su Dan, who had roughly set up the household department, almost always had bad news.
Household registration and land statistics are all attributed to the Ministry of Household Affairs. Except for Shangdang and Changping and Linhe County, which just experienced a series of wars at the end of last winter, the statistical work of other counties has been done very carefully and is consistent with the actual situation.
Compared, the error will not be too big.
Concealing reports to cry poverty and false reports to claim credit are meaningless in this meeting.
After that, Su Dan's topic turned to another important function of the Ministry of Household Affairs, which is the issue of taxation. After saying a few words, even Su Dan himself became depressed, and his voice gradually became lower and hoarse. If it was just him, he would have cried even once.
It's not impossible.
All the ministries are in place, and the worst mess is probably the household ministry. The population has dropped significantly, the fields are deserted, and taxes have not yet been seen. How much do you think the official hat he is wearing now weighs?
That is to say, Su Tan is still young, and as his seniority as an official increases, his state of mind has matured. Otherwise, he would not be able to clean up such a mess.
But now, he was able to withstand the pressure and set up the household department first. In fact, it was similar to several others. In other words, he pulled out some of his subordinates from the original manager's house and set up the household department first.
.
Then he sent a petition, wanting to go to Daizhou in person at the beginning of summer, not for anything else, just because Daizhou will collect grain taxes this year, and Bingzhou will join in next year. As long as it is done well, this will
It will make Tobe's waist gradually become stronger.
Of course, the household department seems to be climbing a mountain now, and everyone is a little miserable under the pressure. But speaking of it, the more war-torn times are, the more important this yamen is, and the person who is hidden as the head of the six departments will definitely not be an official.
It was Su Quan's household department, otherwise Li Po would not have let him be the first to speak.
This is undoubtedly a compliment to Su Quan, but it will not stop him from listing the bad news one by one and displaying it clearly in front of everyone.
I have said a lot, but I can sum it up in one sentence: The Jin Dynasty is exhausted, and if we continue to struggle, well, it is better to be careful.
The good news is not that there is no such thing. Although there is no sign of taxes, the warehouses everywhere were half full after last autumn. It is not a problem for everyone to have a full stomach, and there is no need to worry about the need to send troops again.
To put it in some arrogant words, Jindi Warehousing is now the best in the world and no one can compare with it.
In fact, when the big warehouses in Luoyang gradually dried up, the big warehouse system established by Emperor Wen Yang Jian was coming to an end. The big warehouses in Luoyang, which stored the most grain, were declining, the Liyang warehouses were empty, the Yongfeng warehouses had come to an end, and the Zhuojun granaries were even more empty.
It can almost starve a mouse to death.
Therefore, it is foreseeable that before this year's autumn harvest, the North will face a large-scale food shortage. Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande, Li Yuan and others are almost inevitable, and they will all pay a considerable price for their previous massive conquests.
Even Wang Shichong had a famine... At this time, Li Po had actually vaguely felt that the shortcomings of food and population were becoming more and more obvious. Will this further speed up the process of unification?
According to the original trajectory, Li Tang conquered east and west and was invincible. Is the fundamental reason because everyone was a little unable to hold on, so large-scale decisive battles to the death broke out?
If that is the case, for Jin, who has abundant food, the pros and cons need to be carefully considered.
After saying a few good words, Su Dan picked up the stick again.
"Although there is plenty of food and grass, most counties in Hedong are short of food. Now it seems that in June and July, the transfer of food from the north to the south is inevitable..."
Well, Hedong, as the heartland of Jin, has to accept relief from the northern frontier fortress. The newly arrived Cen Wenwen, Yang Gongren and others were stunned. Most of the others came from the same generation, and they couldn't help but feel a bit resentful towards the Hedong people who were waiting for food in the south.
especially.
Later, Su Dan also said a few words about the money matter. Although there is still a certain gap between the price of food in the north and south of Shanxi, it has gradually stabilized. The price of food in Hedong is a bit higher and will not come down in a short time. However,
There is no room for improvement.
The price of grain in the two northern states of Bingdai fell quickly, the market became calm, signs of prosperity began to appear, and there were more transactions.
The shortage of copper coins was further highlighted, which made Li Po's previous move of issuing silver coins seem far-sighted, and Su Dan admired him very much.
The merchants in Jinyang City were the first to benefit and couldn't put down the newly issued silver coins. This kind of light and valuable currency was naturally prepared for merchants.
At this time, there were inextricably linked relationships between the merchants in Jinyang City and the Jinyang clan. The merchants liked it, and the clan members quickly accepted it. With the government as a guarantee, this new currency was very popular.
It quickly spread to the outside.
When Li Po became king, this kind of silver coin finally had a new name and was called Han Yin. It was widely used in the two states and was commonly used in cattle and sheep transactions.
What makes people a little bit amused is that as time goes by, Su Dan discovers that the silver coins he made by himself are most widely used in the gradually rising slave trade.
Slave traders jumped up and down with shiny silver coins, buying slaves in large quantities and selling them to wealthy families. The convenience of transactions and huge profits made these desperadoes smile with joy.
Li Po's successive victories in the war simply gave these guys a shot in the arm, making them the most active and boldest group of merchants in Jin.
In fact, by the time Li Po and Li Shimin decided to fight against Pu Ban, these businessmen had already become large-scale.
They traveled between the wealthy families' mansions, gradually became integrated with the people in the wealthy families, and gradually found a relatively stable way to make money.
In order to avoid government suppression, well, maybe because they heard that Li Yunnei attached great importance to household registration, they gradually came up with their own rules. For all slaves they acquired, they would go to the government office to register the slave first, and then turn him into a slave.
, and then trade...
I just put on a legal coat and put it on my body.
As for the sources of slaves, there are too many, including Turkic prisoners from the north, refugees and bandits living in the mountains, prisoners of war from the Tang army sent over from the south, etc.
There is a strong smell of collusion between officials and businessmen, and at the same time, there is also a rancid smell of greed among the powerful.
But let alone Su Dan, even if this matter reached Li Po's ears, Li Po would just turn a blind eye. He was not a moral gentleman.
Li Po believed that as long as there were records to check and no criminal cases would arise, there was no need to worry too much.
The trend of slavery in the Sui Dynasty was very strong, and it was closely connected with the clan system. This could not be eliminated at all. At that time, Emperor Wen Yang Jian ordered the clans to release their slaves, which greatly increased the world's population. Needless to say, there were difficulties during this period. Some clans
People even responded to Yang Jian's edict with an uprising.
After the uproar, the clan's slave-holding practice continued, but it was slightly restrained.
It can be seen that slavery is a very important pillar in the clan system. Anyone who wants to touch it will be backlashed, and big families do need slaves to ensure their quality of life.
In fact, there is no right or wrong in this matter. Like many things in the world, it is just about interests.
Li Po is very open-minded here. In fact, as a person in power, he must be a beneficiary of slavery. He feels that as long as you don't seize farmers' land and capture farmers as slaves, this is not a problem. In times of war, you should try your best to
Matters of concern.
This chapter has been completed!