Today's Tang Dynasty does not lack land, but it lacks people.
In the third year of Yonghui after Li Zhi ascended the throne, Gao Ji, the Minister of Household Affairs, reported that there were more than 3.8 million households and a population of about 14 million.
There were only more than 10 million people in such a huge territory, but there were more than one billion people in a similar territory in later generations. Comparing the two, we can see how vast the Tang Dynasty is today and how sparsely populated it is.
Therefore, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the biggest problem that has troubled the three generations of emperors is how to encourage births. In order to allow people to have more children, the imperial government has introduced many incentive policies.
The issue of civil marriage between men and women related to fertility has also been raised to a political level.
The term "official media" was coined in the Zhenguan year. Official media are not media from the Tang Dynasty, but are matchmakers with official backgrounds. They are usually held concurrently by the county office clerk. His task is to go to the mountains and countryside, and travel through villages and alleys.
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When a child reaches the age of marriage, he or she will come to the house to urge them to get married. It doesn't matter if there is no partner. The official media is responsible for the introduction, the matchmaking, and even the wedding. In short, it is the official achievement of the official media to successfully get a couple into the bridal chamber.
These days, no one dares to mention the sky-high price of gifts given by the government. I really can’t understand how miserable the working people lived in ancient times...
Li Zhi was an aspiring emperor, and he was definitely not as miserable as described in history books.
What is recorded in the history books is just the historian's personal venting, blaming Wu Zhou's anger for usurping the country on Li Zhi, even though everyone knows that Wu Zhou's attempt to usurp the country was only after Li Zhi's death.
Li Zhi's ambitions were very lofty. What he wanted to do was not to be the emperor of peace and enjoy the shadow of his predecessors, but to be a heroic king and holy lord who was more talented and strategic than the late emperor Li Shimin.
No one wants to live in the shadow of the achievements of their predecessors, especially Li Zhi.
It would be too difficult to surpass Li Shimin. Not only would he have to expand his territory to a larger area, but his treasury would also be more abundant than during the Zhenguan period, and his population would also need to be larger. All aspects of data would exceed him, so that Li Zhi could truly deserve his title.
Fortunately, he met Li Qinzai.
God saw that he chose the hell-level game difficulty and was really dissatisfied with it, so he secretly gave him a plug-in.
The cheater is Li Qinzai. Judging from his performance in various aspects in the past few years, he does look like an unjust cheater, the kind who will not be unjustly banned by the government for a hundred years.
"If the population of the Tang Dynasty can really exceed 100 million, what can't be done in the world?" Li Zhi's face exuded a brilliant light.
The so-called "big country" must have prerequisites.
The first is the vast land area, the second is the abundant resources, and the last is the extremely large population base. All three are indispensable.
In the former two, the Tang Dynasty could launch wars to plunder, but in the latter, it could only encourage people to have more children.
If the Tang Dynasty had sufficient food, population would no longer be a problem that troubled the emperor. When the time was ripe, the number of births among the people would naturally increase.
The external conditions for a powerful empire have unconsciously taken shape in the past few years.
If you think about it carefully, it seems that everything is related to Li Qinzai. Land, food, and military affairs all have Li Qinzai's vital contributions.
What’s next? The Li Tang Dynasty had to face many problems, not only external but also internal.…
"Jingchu, in one month, the imperial court will hold a scientific examination." Li Zhi said seriously: "I attach great importance to every scientific examination."
"You know, I want to get rid of the shadow of aristocratic families. I don't want the court to be filled with people from aristocratic families, and let them participate in or restrict the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty."
"The power of the world must belong to the Heavenly Family and to the emperor. Just like Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han, he commands the world like an arm. That is what an emperor should be like. Instead of now, I have to balance all parties in the implementation of any national policy."
The interests of the forces are too tiring, and the imperial power is threatened all the time."
"Selecting people from poor families through scientific examinations is the ultimate way for the court to get rid of the aristocratic families. While suppressing the aristocratic families, it also gives the poor people in the world a glimmer of hope to get ahead, and makes the world return to its heart."
Li Zhi said deeply: "In the early days of Jing Dynasty, the Mingsuan textbook was written by Li Chunfeng of the Taishi Bureau. However, Li Chunfeng was a Taoist and he was already old. In recent years, he has lived in seclusion and devoted himself to seeking the way to immortality. He rarely bothered with ordinary things. Ming
I have no choice but to leave it to you when there are questions in the arithmetic subject."
Li Qinzai showed hesitation. He really didn't want to take on this task. Not only was it thankless, but it was also easy to make enemies and cause trouble.
Having Li Zhi's back doesn't necessarily mean there are no taboos. If he really had a big feud with someone and was stabbed by someone, he would be embarrassed to ask Li Zhi to block the knife for him, right?
"Your Majesty, there are many talented people in the world who are good at calculation. As far as I know, there are many Ph.D.s in the calculation department of the Imperial College at that time. Why don't Your Majesty let them write the questions? I have no books and no books, and I am young.
, the reputation and qualifications are not enough, I am really worried that the scholars will not accept it and will cause trouble in the end."
Li Qinzai tried to refuse. He knew very well that Li Zhi attached great importance to the scientific examination, and Li Qinzai really could not afford the responsibility of messing up.
Li Zhi waved his hand and said: "In terms of proficiency in clear calculation, who in the world can compare with you? I am afraid that even Mr. Li Chunfeng is not as good as you. This is a fact recognized by all the nobles in Chang'an City. Otherwise, why do you think everyone treats the younger members of the clan?"
Sent to you to study?"
“Every time there was a scientific examination in the Tang Dynasty, there were as many people as crucian carp crossing the river who reported Ming Jing subjects, but very few reported Ming Jing subjects. Firstly, Ming Jing was the mainstream, and the imperial court had many places to recruit scholars. Secondly, there were really not many scholars in the world.
What a talented person who is good at calculating."
"This time I have issued a decree. This year's scientific examination is expected to recruit 50 more scholars than before. To select suitable talents from all the candidates, I can only ask Jingchu to write the questions, review the papers, and select the candidates.
.”
Li Zhi patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't reject me Jingchu, I need your help."
Now that the talk has come to this, Li Qinzai really can't refuse.
"I... would like to share your worries for Your Majesty." Li Qinzai sighed and said, "If I become enemies with others because of this, please Your Majesty decisively order him to beheaded."
"Don't worry, Jingchu. I understand all the dark things in the scientific examination to some extent. As long as I'm here, no one will dare to embarrass you."
…………
Every time Li Zhi gave Li Qinzai a difficult task, Li Qinzai wanted to refuse every time, but he was forced to agree every time, with a very pretentious look, especially for green tea.
Early the next morning, Empress Li Zhiwu left Ganjing Village with his courtiers.
There was a great celebration yesterday, and the emperor and his ministers were all drunk. It is said that the courtiers sang and danced in the front hall of the Li family, and almost demolished the front hall.
Fortunately, Li Ji was there last night. In the end, he couldn't stand everyone's dissolute behavior, so he personally kicked Shangguan Yi, and everyone became more honest.
The sweet potato harvest was good, and the next step was to save the seeds for further planting. Li Qinzai was also responsible for this matter, and there was another assistant who assisted him, Prince Teng, who had just been named agriculture minister. It was said that he was on the way to Ganjingzhuang.