Chapter 790: The formulation of fertility encouragement policies (7.4k)
For ordinary people, life is like this.
From birth to death, the experiences in between may be different, but life can be seen almost at a glance.
However, even so, most people are full of hope for their lives!
Especially when welcoming the birth of a new life, the joy and expectation that comes from the heart cannot be faked.
…
Forbidden City, inside the imperial study!
Zhu Hongyu sat behind the desk and said with a relaxed expression.
"Today, the most serious problem in our Ming Dynasty is insufficient population!"
"Since the late Emperor Sizong ascended the throne, decades of chaos have caused the population of our world to be reduced by half or even more."
"Now that the Ming Dynasty has been restored and the world is stable, perhaps we should introduce policies to promote the world's population growth."
When Zhu Hongyu was speaking, he was flipping through a report on Ming Dynasty's population growth in recent years.
According to the contents of the report, since the restoration of the Ming Dynasty, the world's population has grown significantly.
The results of the first census after the restoration of the Ming Dynasty showed that the total population under the Ming Dynasty was more than 76 million.
After this large-scale census, in the following years, the imperial court has been paying close attention to the registration of new population.
Over the past few years, the imperial court had a fairly detailed understanding of the population growth rate.
The number of newborns in the world is increasing year by year.
From 2.7 million in the first year of liberation, to 4.1 million in the second year of liberation, and now more than halfway through the third year of liberation this year, the data compiled by the imperial court have exceeded the 4.2 million in the previous year.
, reaching 4.33 million.
This year alone, even the most conservative estimates suggest that the number of new births will reach 6 million.
It can be seen that after the world returned to peace, the people of the Ming Dynasty still had a strong desire to have children.
However, Zhu Hongyu was still not satisfied with this. He felt that the population of Ming Dynasty could grow faster.
He knew that if he wanted the Ming Dynasty's population to grow faster, the imperial court would need to introduce policies to support and promote it.
After hearing Zhu Hongyu's words, the ministers below all started to compliment him.
"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"
"What do you think, Your Majesty?"
"..."
Zhu Hongyu heard this and spoke.
"The imperial court has issued policies and provided special funds to encourage people to have children!"
"For example, if a child is born, the court will reward a certain amount of money and increase the share of the family's land."
To put it bluntly, it means giving birth to children and dividing the land!
It's simple and crude, but as soon as the court's policy comes out, the effect will definitely not be bad based on the Chinese people's obsession with land.
"For another example, the more children a woman gives birth to, the court will reward her with a certain social status. For example, if she refuses to worship an official, she will be given priority in the queue."
What this refers to is having children for vanity, and the idea that having more children is glorious should be formed in the whole society.
"..."
Zhu Hongyu is serious about increasing the population.
Because, if he wants to establish a true global empire on which the sun never sets after restoring China's Begonia Leaf.
Then the current population of Ming Dynasty is absolutely not enough!
If you want to support Zhu Hongyu's ambition, the Ming Dynasty must have at least a population of one hundred million.
Only in this way can Zhu Hongyu ensure that the empire he built is not an empty frame.
Only with a sufficient population can the Ming Dynasty be able to completely digest the land it conquered and turn it into real Han territory.
Instead of being like Britain and Spain in this era, they occupied a far larger territory around the world, established a circle of colonies, and dared to claim that they were empires on which the sun never sets.
Britain in its heyday did have this qualification in later generations, but Spain obviously did not.
As for the reason, it is easy to understand. The population of the UK is larger than the population of Spain.
Population is the foundation of all imperial hegemony!
But, to put it bluntly, these are just Zhu Hongyu's own assumptions.
How to formulate policies cannot be based on Zhu Hongyu's own ideas. It also requires rigorous demonstrations by the entire court, and all departments of the court must consider the pros and cons before finalizing it.
Therefore, after Zhu Hongyu finished speaking about his idea, he looked at the ministers in the imperial study room.
"Do you have any other suggestions regarding this? You can speak freely."
After Zhu Hongyu finished speaking, Zhang Huangyan stood up and said.
"Your Majesty, I would like to know the details of the land division."
"As for the division of land, what is the difference between male and female babies? Should they be given in batches? Or should they be given to all after birth?"
"Also, the number of fields in the world is limited. What should we do if the fields are all divided?"
Zhu Hongyu heard this and spoke.
"According to my idea, when allocating fields to newborns, both boys and girls should be treated according to the same standards."
"The population of Ming Dynasty already has an imbalance in the ratio of men to women. Ming Dynasty needs to pay special attention to this when formulating policies."
"As for implementation, it is best not to give them all at once, but to wait until the children grow up and then give them in batches when they reach a certain age."
This was because Zhu Hongyu was afraid that someone would give birth to another child to extort land from the court, and then when the land was obtained, he would choose to drown the baby or abandon it.
Then save the cost of raising a child and give birth to another child quickly.
As the children grow up, it may be the best choice to implement the fields in batches at different ages!
"As for whether the fields will be all divided, there is no need to worry!"
"For now, the imperial court has no shortage of fertile land!"
In fact, what Zhu Hongyu wanted to say was that Ming Dynasty had already sent a fleet to explore the New World, and would later send people to explore the Australian continent in the south.
The Ming Dynasty will not be short of land in the future!
Then, there is the issue of discussing certain honors for women who have more children.
Since this point did not involve any specific interests, it was just some false names, so it was settled smoothly.
Later, Zhu Hongyu raised the issue of how to adjust the imbalance of male to female ratio among newborns in the Ming Dynasty.
At present, although from a rough perspective, Ming's current population growth data is very healthy and is increasing every year at a very stable rate.
However, behind this seemingly prosperous incremental data, there are huge hidden dangers.
That is, among these new newborns, the overall proportion of male babies is still higher than that of female babies.
Although the Ming Dynasty is now in a stable and prosperous society, there are fewer cases of drowning infants because they cannot feed themselves, but it still exists.
There are still more male babies than female babies.
There is nothing we can do about this. The traditional idea of favoring boys over girls is not easy to solve.
For the time being, it may not be a problem.
But in the long run, this phenomenon will actually cause a very serious social problem.
That is the imbalance in the male to female population ratio!
The current population structure of the Ming Dynasty is such that there are more men than women, so much so that the imperial court needs to secretly support maritime merchants to carry out human trade and purchase female population from surrounding countries to fill the vacancy of the female population in the Ming Dynasty.
Only then can we barely ensure social stability and no major social problems arise.
If the new population of Ming Dynasty still shows the current trend of more men than women in the future, problems will arise sooner or later.
Zheng Chenggong stood up and suggested.
"Your Majesty, perhaps when allocating the land to newborn babies, we can give the baby girl a more appropriate share."
"When a girl gets married, the land recorded in her name will be half of her husband's family and her natal family. Half of the land she brings to her husband's family will be counted as dowry, and the half left in her natal family will be regarded as repaying her parents for their kindness in raising children."
"Use this method to encourage people all over the world to have more baby girls!"
Hearing this, Zhu Hongyu had a thoughtful look on his face, touched his chin and nodded.
"What Lao Taishan said makes sense!"
"It is true that a married daughter throws away water. Parents have worked hard to raise their daughters, and they should receive some practical benefits after their daughters get married."
"In this way, I believe that the current imbalance in the male-to-female ratio of the Ming Dynasty's population will be greatly alleviated in the future."
As for doing this, I am afraid that because of the land, parents will be reluctant to let their daughters get married, which will cause the marriage rate to plummet.
Zhu Hongyu thought there was no need to worry, it didn’t matter, the bride price would be paid anyway!
Zhu Hongyu now works hard to find wives for all the men in the Ming Dynasty.
Zhu Hongyu has always been a very lenient emperor. With great power in his hands, he wants to control everything.
However, before this, he had never issued an order to ban the customs of the Ming Dynasty, and he even turned a blind eye to the huge Qinhuai River that was right under his nose.
Is it really Zhu Hongyu who doesn't want to take care of it?
Is it true that Zhu Hongyu doesn't know how much darkness and evil is hidden in this so-called custom industry?
No, he knows it all!
It's just that he can't control it!
The reason why we can't control it is not the so-called interest groups.
Zhu Hongyu, a powerful and powerful founding emperor, would not care about these rats in the gutter.
If anyone dares to jump too hard, Zhu Hongyu will trample them to death no more difficult than trampling to death a maggot.
The fundamental reason why it cannot be controlled is that the current imbalance between men and women in the Ming Dynasty's population.
Due to decades of wars and the people's ideological concept of favoring boys over girls, the imbalance between men and women in the Ming Dynasty is now much more serious than in later generations.
According to census results, the proportion of men in the Ming Dynasty is about 30% more than women!
This is 30%, not 3%!
Due to the imbalance in the ratio of men to women, a large number of men cannot find wives.
And men all have physiological needs, which is an objective reality that cannot be changed.
If Zhu Hongyu didn't want the rape rate to skyrocket in Ming Dynasty, he could only turn a blind eye to certain industries.
After all, if you don't give someone the opportunity to spend money to solve a problem, that's all they'll do.
Of course, just because a certain industry cannot be banned for the time being does not mean that it cannot be rectified!
The court did not care about the women who came out to be sold voluntarily, and could not control them.
But if someone dares to kidnap and traffic women, then I'm sorry, the Ming Dynasty Law is not a decoration.
Human trafficking, harvesting and harvesting were crimes that could easily lead to the annihilation of a clan in the Ming Dynasty.
This is a clause in the Ming Law that Comrade Lao Zhu personally determined back then!
As a filial son, Zhu Hongyu certainly cannot go against the wishes of his ancestors.
I also discussed with the cabinet ministers the relevant details of the Population Growth Promotion Bill.
After finishing all the relevant details of the policy, Zhu Hongyu spoke.
"After the policy is finalized, we will order people to prepare to publish this matter in the newspapers for publicity!"
"Here!"
"..."
…
Li Guangyuan rode on horseback, and behind him were teams of Ming army elite cavalry.
Of course, since we were marching, we were not wearing armor.
Most people just wear straight military uniforms!
A set of armor can easily weigh dozens of kilograms. If you wear armor when you are not fighting, isn't that a serious illness?
After the follow-up troops followed up and took over the defense of Lhasa, Li Guangyuan chose to personally escort Dayan Khan and a group of high-level prisoners of war from the Khoshote Khanate to Nanjing to present prisoners to the emperor.
The procession of offering prisoners stretched for miles, and it was impossible to see the side at a glance.
Prisoners of war were imprisoned one after another in tall prison cars. There were nobles, monks, and many generals of the Khoshote Khanate inside.
After the Battle of Lhasa, almost all the top officials of the Khoshot Khanate were wiped out, and the Ming army gained too much.
"General, the city of Chengdu is not far ahead."
"Local officials in Chengdu have prepared in advance to reward the army. Will our army settle down in Chengdu for training?"
A Ming soldier galloped up to Li Guangyuan and reported to Li Guangyuan.
His skin is somewhat dark, his face is very obvious plateau red, and he has a simple smile.
At first glance, it seems that he is from Tibetan origin on the plateau.
During the battle in Lhasa, he led the charge several times and made considerable military exploits. This time he was going with the brigade to Nanjing to demonstrate his achievements and participate in the imperial military parade.
When Li Guangyuan heard this, he just nodded and said.
"Okay, let me know, the army will be repairing in Chengdu for one day, and then continue eastward!"
After saying that, Li Guangyuan stirred the horse's head, turned around and ran out of a prison van.
Looking at Dayan Khan with a lifeless expression in the prison car, Li Guangyuan spoke.
"Great Khan, the city of Chengdu is ahead. We can rest in Chengdu for a day and then continue our journey."
Upon hearing this, Dayan Khan turned his head silently, ignoring the sympathy from the victor Li Guangyuan.
Now he is just a prisoner, and anything he says is useless.
In a prison car behind Dayan Khan, the Living Buddha was sitting cross-legged, rubbing the rosary beads in his hands.
Looking at the Chengdu city not far ahead, the living Buddha felt a sense of absurdity in his heart.
The last time he came here, he was still in the capacity of an envoy.
He really didn't expect that when he came to Chengdu again, he would be a prisoner.
Really...
Life is unpredictable!
Why!
The living Buddha sighed and continued to sit cross-legged and chant sutras, trying to distract himself.
The team drove all the way outside Chengdu!
The prefect of Chengdu and local officials organized local gentry and common people to reward the victorious army.
Young children of seven or eight years old were wearing new clothes, with blush on their faces and big red flowers on their chests, and they clapped their hands and applauded the triumphant army.
Singing military songs in a childish voice!
Seeing the sincere smiles on the faces of these children, many Ming soldiers felt that their hard work on the plateau was worth it.
The Chengdu prefect saw the Living Buddha in the second prison car. Seeing this acquaintance in such a state of desolation, he had a strange expression on his face.
However, due to the implicitness in his bones and the education he received since childhood, the prefect of Chengdu knows how to respect people.
He did not go up to say hello to such a poor living Buddha, but pretended not to see him and passed by.
When the Living Buddha saw that the Chengdu magistrate did not come up to greet him, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Li Guangyuan and his party spent a day repairing in Chengdu, and then continued eastward.
At the dock outside Chongqing, we changed from land to water and headed all the way to Nanjing.
Standing on the deck, Li Guangyuan looked at the few ships in the river that had no sails, billowing black smoke above their heads, and leaving very obvious white marks behind them, with a thoughtful expression in his eyes.
"Is that the steamship newly developed by the Royal Research Institute? It can sail without sails or oars. It's really amazing!"
Li Guangyuan looked at the steamships and said with some surprise.
Hearing this, more guards around him also spoke in agreement.
"What the general said is true!"
"The Ming Royal Research Institute has come up with a lot of new stuff in the past few years."
"This steamship, the train, the telegraph, the electric light, etc., I have never heard of them before."
"Yes, yes, the Ming Dynasty Royal Research Institute can come up with these rare things, and it is worthy of the attention His Majesty places on them."
"..."
Several people talked in various directions.
Li Guangyuan also nodded.
"That's a good statement!"
Over the years, the advent of a large number of trains and new things such as telegraphs have brought considerable changes to the lives of the people of the Ming Dynasty.
Many people have realized that technology changing life may not be an empty talk.
The emperor attached great importance to scientific development, perhaps not because he liked fancy techniques, but because he had foresight!
Without the emperor's push, the Ming Dynasty would not have trains, telegraphs, steamships, or electric lights...
Things such as trains and steamships may not be able to see their usefulness until the railway network is successfully laid and steamships are put into mass production!
But many people are aware of how useful the telegraph is.
Messages that used to take a month or two of horse racing to convey can now be conveyed in just a few minutes.
Only those who have experienced it know how convenient telegraphy is when used in the military!
These soldiers really understand this very well.
…
In Nanjing City, the Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!
Relevant officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty were negotiating with the Qing envoys.
There was good tea and exquisite snacks on the table, but neither party had the intention to pay attention to these things.
Zhou Yuan and Nalan Mingzhu sat opposite each other, tit for tat, and argued uncompromisingly about every contract.
Zhou Yuan's attitude was very calm, and his tone was full of doubt when he spoke.
"If the Qing army wants to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty, it must first make sure that the Qing emperor surrenders his imperial title and pays tribute to the Ming Dynasty!"
"And send protons to Nanjing!"
"If you can't do this, then there's no need to talk!"
Due to various concerns, Ming Dynasty is not willing to take action against Japan now.
Therefore, the Manchu Qing Dynasty after their eastward journey to Japan had its existence value to the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, when faced with the Manchu Qing's request to purchase arms and weapons from the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty did not directly refuse.
Instead, they sent manpower to negotiate with the Manchu envoys.
As long as the Manchu and Qing Dynasties could spare the money, the Ming Dynasty actually didn't mind selling some weapons to the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, taking advantage of the arms trade to take advantage of both sides, and creating a conflict between the Qing Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty.
Anyway, Ming Dynasty’s arsenal is in urgent need of clearing out its inventory!
What you need to know is that arms trade often comes with political agreements.
If the Manchu Qing Dynasty wanted to purchase arms from the Ming Dynasty, it would be impossible without transferring some of its political and economic benefits.
The Manchu Qing emperor's resignation as emperor and his submission to the Ming Dynasty was the prerequisite for trade between the two sides.
In the whole world, there is nothing but the king's land, and on the shore of the land, there is nothing but the king's ministers.
In this world, there is and can only be one emperor!
The Emperor of the Ming Dynasty is not a bunch of cowards like Zhao and Song. As long as the Ming Dynasty can reach it, there can only be one emperor.
Whoever refuses to obey will be beaten until he obeys!
To a certain extent, Ming's Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials can basically be said to have the easiest job among the diplomatic officials of various countries in the world at the same time.
The reason is very simple. The Ming Dynasty is now very powerful, and there are very few countries on the entire earth that the Ming Dynasty can be wary of.
Therefore, Ming Dynasty's diplomatic activities can be more arbitrary and according to its own standards.
In this way, there will naturally be fewer things to do and it won’t be so taxing.
Nalan Mingzhu was deeply touched by this.
The attitude of Ming Dynasty’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials is so damn arrogant!
However, Nalan Mingzhu had no good way to deal with this, so he could only speak without a firm attitude.
"This... I'm afraid it won't work!"
"I, the Qing Dynasty, absolutely cannot accept the resignation of the imperial title and the declaration of vassal status."
"However, the Ming and Qing countries can treat each other as brothers. The Ming Dynasty is the brother and the Qing Dynasty is the brother."
Nalan Mingzhu felt that it would be difficult to explain to Emperor Kangxi when he returned home, even if it was just a matter of the country of brothers that he had promised.
If he dared to agree to become a minister and relinquish his title as emperor, Emperor Kangxi would probably give him a set of Nine Tribes Xiaoxiaole to play with.
When Zhou Yuan heard this, he just shook his head and said.
"Haha, this matter is not negotiable!"
"If the king of your country refuses to give up his imperial title and become a vassal and pay tribute, then there is no need to talk about the next thing!"
"Send off guests!"
After saying this, Zhou Yuan stood up from his seat.
He raised his hand to signal to see off the guests, then turned to give instructions to the attendant beside him.
"Get ready to meet with the Tokugawa shogunate's envoy!"
Nalan Mingzhu: "..."
Nalan Mingzhu was completely stunned. By the way, are you, the Ming Dynasty, so decisive in doing things?
If you say you won’t talk about it, then we won’t talk about it?
Don't be impatient, let's talk slowly!
After Zhou Yuan finished giving instructions on how to prepare to meet with the envoys of the Tokugawa Shogunate, he turned around and said to Nalan Mingzhu.
"Since you are unwilling to agree to my request from Daming, then there is no need to talk about it for the time being."
"Whenever you figure it out and are willing to agree to Ming's request, I will talk to you slowly!"
If you guessed correctly, this time would probably be after the Tokugawa shogunate obtained arms from the Ming Dynasty and launched troops to counterattack the Kyukoku Islands.
Hearing this, Nalan Mingzhu wanted to say something more, but Zhou Yuan had already rolled up his sleeves and left.
…
Not far away, in another reception room.
Zhou Yuan strode into the reception room and prepared to hold talks with Tokugawa Toyoyu, the envoy of the Tokugawa shogunate.
After being met once by Sha Dingyuan, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, Tokugawa Toyoyu and his party were left out in the cold.
Never saw any big shots again!
A separate courtyard was randomly arranged for them to stay and wait for their reception at any time.
It was not until negotiations between Zhou Yuan and the Manchus collapsed that Tokugawa Toyoyu was notified to meet with relevant officials of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, Tokugawa Toyohiro didn't know this.
Otherwise, if Toyugawa Toyoyu knew that the Ming Dynasty and the Manchus had broken down, it would be difficult for the Ming Dynasty to raise prices for the Tokugawa Shogunate.
"Tokugawa Toyoyu, the general of the Tokugawa shogunate who conquered the barbarians, pays homage to Mr. Zhou!"
The first time Tokugawa Toyoyu saw Zhou Yuan, he bowed according to the traditional habits of his childhood.
Zhou Yuan nodded and said.
"Mr. Tokugawa, please take a seat!"
After saying that, he turned around and gave instructions.
"Come here, serve tea!"
After Tokugawa Toyoyu took his seat, Zhou Yuan spoke first.
"There is a profound traditional friendship between the two countries. If the envoy comes to Ming Dynasty as an envoy this time, Ming Dynasty will definitely entertain the envoy well."
"If the people below are not receiving good hospitality, please feel free to tell me!"
When Tokugawa Toyoyu heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up.
If you have an idea in your mind, there is a way!
As the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Ming Dynasty, every word Zhou Yuan said would not be without purpose.
It is definitely not without reason that he can speak in front of Tokugawa Toyotomi today about the traditional friendship and profound friendship tomorrow.
Tokugawa Toyoyu directly proposed the Tokugawa shogunate's plan to purchase arms from the Ming Dynasty.
"The Qing invaders are so arrogant that their invasion of Japan is a great offense to tomorrow's friendship!"
"What's more, the Qing invaders also had bad records of stealing China. It can be said that the Qing invaders are the common enemies of our two countries."
"In order to deal with this common enemy, the Tokugawa shogunate hopes to purchase a batch of weapons and ammunition from the Ming Dynasty for use in the fight against the Qing Dynasty!"
Zhou Yuan heard this and said with a smile.
"This is easy to say, but if the Tokugawa shogunate wants to purchase weapons from the Ming Dynasty, it must meet some conditions."
"Only when these conditions are met, Ming's arms will be sold to the outside world!"
If you want to purchase arms, you must first meet some political conditions.
This is easy to understand!
Tokugawa Toyoyu heard this and spoke.
"Master Zhou, please speak freely. If I, the Tokugawa Shogunate, can do it, I will never refuse!"
Zhou Yuan said with a smile.
"First of all, it's the Emperor of Japan who goes to the Mikado!"
Zhou Yuan's attitude was very clear. There was and could only be one emperor within reach of the Ming Dynasty.
No need to talk about this!
Because, to put it lightly, this thing is about the face of China.
But to be more serious, it is actually related to the legitimacy of the Ming Dynasty's rule.
After all, if you can't do this, then what qualifications do you have to be the master of the world?
Tokugawa Toyoyu heard this and opened his mouth to speak.
"This matter..."
Although the Japanese Licking Locust has no real power, its eternal legitimacy is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in Japan.
The Ming Dynasty wanted the Emperor of Japan to go to the Mikado, but the Tokugawa shogunate really couldn't agree!
Otherwise, even if Japan now has the Manchu Qing Dynasty, there will definitely be a faction within it that can't help but jump out to cause trouble for the Tokugawa shogunate.
When Zhou Yuan heard this, he expressed his stance directly.
"If this doesn't work out, there's no need to talk about it anymore!"
"Your Majesty, please prepare to leave Ming Dynasty."
"Because the Ming Dynasty will use strong ships and cannons to tell everyone that there is and can only be one emperor in this world."
Zhou Yuan is basically implementing the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic policy.
In short, when I speak, you listen. If you don’t listen, I will beat you until you listen!
Tokugawa Toyoyu's words barely reached his lips, but he swallowed them back.
When Zhou Yuan saw this, he also spoke to comfort him.
"If the Tokugawa shogunate can allow the Japanese emperor to ascend to the imperial throne, the Ming Dynasty can promise to canonize the shogun as the king of Japan and continue the unification of Japan."
The hidden meaning of Zhou Yuan's words is obvious. If the Tokugawa Shogunate is willing to be Ming Dynasty's dog, Ming Dynasty can support the Tokugawa Shogunate to replace the Japanese Emperor.