Chapter 678 Treating the symptoms and root cause (please subscribe)
Even if the gap between rich and poor in this era is exaggerated, this number still has great reference value.
The specific reflection is that the height and physical fitness of the people of the Ming Dynasty in this era are the best in the world!
Well...except Nico!
A bug like Nico, whose brain has been completely replaced with physical fitness, is really incomparable.
"In terms of the amount of cultivated land, the amount of cultivated land in our country has increased by more than 20 times compared with last year, and the specific figure has reached..."
After listening to Liao Juncheng's narration, Zhu Hongyu nodded with satisfaction.
"well done!"
However, among the figures compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, what Zhu Hongyu really cares about most is the increase in cultivated land.
The reason why it can grow more than twenty times a year is also because the Ming Dynasty regained the entire southeast.
And more importantly, the work of clearing the land is proceeding smoothly!
In the entire southeast, a large number of hidden fields were counted by the Ming Dynasty. The number of these hidden fields, which were hidden for tax evasion and tax evasion, was about three times the number of acres listed in the imperial fish scale register.
This shows how much land was hidden among the people of the Ming Dynasty!
There is no tax on so much land, and a large amount of taxes are borne by a small number of homesteaders.
No wonder there were constant refugees and peasant uprisings in the late Ming Dynasty!
As the matter of clearing the land was continued, Ming Dynasty's control over the local area was also visibly enhanced.
Zhu Hongyu continued.
"Although we have done well, I think it is not enough!"
"The work of clearing the land of the father-in-law must continue. I want to find out how much land I have in the Ming Dynasty."
“How many fields have been abandoned, and how many have been used for other purposes!”
“Farming is the foundation of the country!”
"At all times, we must pay enough attention to agriculture!"
"For the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in addition to trying to ensure agricultural production in its daily work, it is most important to understand the field conditions under the Ming Dynasty."
After saying that, Zhu Hongyu signaled that Liao Juncheng could take a seat.
After Liao Juncheng, the director of the household registration department in charge of household registration in Ming Dynasty also stepped forward and began to report to Zhu Hongyu.
"Your Majesty, our household registration department has also achieved a lot of success this year!"
"After the census of Dingkou, the abolition of low-level registration, the abolition of household registration restrictions, and the promulgation of the ban on people not being slaves, the Ministry of Household Registration will need to conduct a new census and household registration."
"Based on the results of this year's work, it can be seen that the current population of Ming Dynasty is more than 31 million, of which the young and middle-aged population accounts for about 70%."
"And among the young and middle-aged population, men account for almost 70%!"
"..."
This is the sequelae of years of war.
The population structure has been greatly adjusted during the war!
Those who can survive are basically young and strong, and for the same young and strong men, the probability of survival of men is definitely higher than that of women.
In the prosperous times, ladies have priority!
Once in troubled times, in the face of life and death, no one cares about this.
Therefore, although the population of the Ming Dynasty is not as large as that of the previous Ming Dynasty, the population structure is mostly young and strong men.
To a certain extent, the labor force is not as scarce as imagined!
The only problem may be that men account for too large a proportion of the population. Such a population structure will result in a large number of young men unable to marry wives, further leading to a series of social problems.
This problem is difficult, but it is not without solutions.
The people of the Ming Dynasty were encouraged to have more daughters. If a daughter was born, the court would reward her with a certain amount of money and food or give her a certain tax exemption.
Use this administrative means to balance the male-female ratio!
This is a permanent solution.
But I’m afraid you won’t see results in a short period of time!
But it's okay. In addition, Zhu Hongyu has other ways to treat the symptoms.
That is to launch foreign wars and plunder the young women of other countries and give them back to their own people as wives.
It doesn’t sound nice to say, but it definitely works!
For example, what about Xiaoli, what about Vietnam, what about Myanmar... they are all pretty good goals!
Of course, North Korean women are also good. The only problem may be that North Korea is a good son of the Ming Dynasty, and it doesn't have a good reputation for directly attacking women.
Well, I have to find a justifiable reason!
After all, China is not a group of barbarians in the West. They can do it for their own benefit without even bothering to find excuses.
But not China!
China is a country of etiquette, not a barbarian. From ancient times to the present, we always pay attention to the right and proper words when doing things!
Well, I need to find a good reason before taking action!
After the Minister of Household Registration sat down, the Minister of Construction stood up and reported on his work.
"Your Majesty, our Ministry of Construction launched 456 large-scale construction projects last year."
"Including the renovation of official roads, the repair of water conservancy facilities, the construction of local city defenses, the construction of border military fortresses, as well as the dredging of canals and rivers, the construction of port city docks, and the construction of railways, etc.!"
This year, the Ministry of Construction has been very busy with various tasks.
When each large-scale construction project is launched, the Ministry of Construction needs to review and approve it, prepare a budget, and then send people to supervise the work and review the project quality...
All require a large amount of manpower investment!
Among these large-scale construction projects, Zhu Hongyu is most concerned about the railway construction plan.
Because Zhu Hongyu understands better than anyone else that after the invention of the steam engine, transportation changes will happen sooner or later.
Railways and steamships will surely replace existing modes of transportation.
In order to roll out the railway network on a large scale in the future, it is very necessary to start building a railway now to accumulate technology and experience.
Therefore, Zhu Hongyu is very concerned about the construction of the only railway in the Ming Dynasty.
Ask for specifics from time to time!
After the Minister of Construction sat down, Zhu Hongyu turned his attention to Wang An, the head of the Ming Dynasty Royal Research Institute.
Wang An stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, the institute has also made certain research successes this year..."
Wang An stepped forward to report on his work. At present, the most important envy of the institute is the various application technologies of steam engines, as well as the research and exploration of electric machinery, as well as the research and development of internal combustion engines.
At present, the research and development of steam engines has achieved certain success, and steam locomotives have completed corresponding tests and can be put into small-scale production.
Various mechanical theories driven by steam engines are emerging one after another, and real objects are being produced continuously!
Even a large steam unit was put on board for an experiment!
In terms of applied research on electricity, the institute has achieved stable transportation of electricity and has also produced different products such as electric lights and telegraphs.
It already has preliminary practical value!
But it is a pity that the research and development of internal combustion engines is still in the paper stage.
The research institute has only recently understood the theory of internal combustion engines and drawn up design drawings.