After listening to Liu Jin's words, everyone fell into deep thought.
The relocation of five million people from three provinces is not a small matter. It is a major matter related to the livelihood of five million people.
In this day and age, it’s hard to leave your homeland.
No matter how good the outside world is, it is not as good as their hometown. Many people are unwilling to leave their hometown even if they suffer and suffer in their hometown.
Once the imperial court forcibly relocates five million people, people in these three provinces will surely boil with resentment.
Although the imperial court itself was also doing it for the good of the people in these places.
"Liu Jian, you are from Henan. You must be very familiar with the situation in Henan."
"Tell me about the situation in Henan."
Emperor Hongzhi pondered for a while, then thought about it and said to Liu Jian.
"Your Majesty~"
"According to the latest census, the population of Henan is less than four million, which is far inferior to the southern provinces of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Fujian."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said very solemnly.
His meaning was very clear. How could it be that Henan has so many people but so little land? The number of people counted by the government is smaller than that of any other southern province.
"How is this possible~"
When Liu Jin heard this, he couldn't help but retort.
Liu Jin, who came from a later generation, knew very well that Henan has been a province with a large population since ancient times. In later generations, the population of Henan Province alone was almost 100 million.
As for Jiangxi and Fujian, their combined population is not as large as that of Henan.
Just by looking at the topographic map, you can tell that Henan is dominated by plains, while Fujian and Jiangxi are dominated by mountains and hills. How can this population be larger than that of Henan?
"This is not wrong. The Ministry of Household Affairs levies taxes every year based on population. We in Henan have less than 4 million people. If I remember correctly, Jiangxi has a population of 12 million. As for Fujian, we have less than 4 million people.
There are also seven million, which is far more than in Henan."
Liu Jian heard Liu Jin's suspicion and said quickly.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, this data is only the data recorded in our official statistics. It cannot explain the actual population."
"Henan is basically a plain with a lot of arable land. Fujian and Jiangxi are both mountainous and forested with little arable land. How can it have a larger population than Henan."
"There must be a large number of people concealed, and a large number of people are not included in the statistics."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said.
Concealing the population was a normal thing in ancient times, because the government counted the population, which meant that they had to bear the corresponding corvee. If it was not included in the statistics, there would be no need to perform corvee.
So whenever possible, I will try my best not to enter the government statistics.
When later generations of experts and scholars estimate the population of a certain dynasty, they often double the official data to calculate a more accurate population.
Concealing the population is particularly serious in northern areas.
In later generations, Shandong, Henan, and Hebei were all the most populous provinces dispatched. In this era, the population counted by the government was far less than that in the south.
A very important reason is that the environment in the north is harsh, and the time required to do corvee work is relatively long every year. In addition, there is less land and more people, so many people will become slaves of wealthy families if they cannot survive.
The number of this invisible population was so huge that Liu Jin even suspected that it would be more reasonable to have several times the number calculated by the government.
It's different here in the south. The natural conditions in the south are good and they have always been far away from wars. The corvee is very light. In addition, the land is vast and the people are sparse, so there are naturally fewer cases of hiding the population.
"It is common for people to conceal their population. Regardless of whether they are north or south, they all conceal their population."
When Liu Jian heard this, he shook his head slightly and said.
"Corvee labor is heavy in the north, and population concealment is much more serious than in the south. Fujian is known as having eight mountains, one water, and one farm. However, Fujian has a population of seven million. How can Henan only have less than four million?
"
"What's more, Henan's area is larger than Fujian, and its population is nearly three million less. Who would believe it?"
When I talk about data, Liu Jin naturally likes it the most.
Compared with Fujian, Henan has a larger area and more arable land, but its population is three million less than that of Fujian. No one would believe it.
After hearing Liu Jin's words, Emperor Hongzhi and all the ministers also nodded, which can be seen by looking at the map.
Fujian is full of mountains and forests, while Henan is plain and has a larger area than Fujian. How is it possible that such a small population is so small?
"This~"
Liu Jian suddenly didn't know how to answer.
I didn't make a comparison before, but now after a careful comparison, I immediately realized how huge the hidden population of the northern provinces is.
The ancient population statistics were far less accurate than those of later generations, and could even be said to be very inaccurate. A large number of people were concealed in various ways to achieve the purpose of exempting them from corvee and taxation.
After all, in ancient times, there was no benefit in reporting the population, but it had many disadvantages. Poll tax, corvee, etc. were collected based on the population register. If you can not count, try not to count, and if you can hide, try to hide it.
Calculated based on the population of later generations, it is more reasonable that the population of Henan Province is almost twice that of Fujian Province. Now it is almost the same as that of Fujian Province. This hidden population is really too much.
"Five million people have relocated from the three provinces of Shaanxi, Henan, and Shanxi. Although the scale is relatively large, we do not have to relocate in one or two days."
"We can roughly divide the entire immigration plan into five or ten years for implementation. One million people will be moved to Liaodong every year, which will put less pressure on the court."
"And we can gradually figure out a more mature population migration strategy and continue to improve the imperfections."
"In this way, the people who migrate to Liaodong will be able to adapt to the environment of Liaodong as quickly as possible and live and work in peace and contentment here, thereby turning Liaodong into the paradise of our descendants of Yan and Huang."
Liu Jin thought for a while and said again.
He knew what the princes in the court were worried about. Moving millions of people to Liaodong at once was an extremely difficult task. The long distance alone was enough to deter countless people.
What's more, after arriving in Liaodong, the most basic things such as houses, food, and farm tools must be prepared, and the court must provide money and effort for these.
In recent years, although the imperial court's finances have become much more abundant, if it has to spend a large amount of money to deal with this matter, it will definitely be stretched immediately.
In addition, forced immigration has not had a good reputation since ancient times. After all, the concept of hometown is too strong, and the idea that it is difficult to leave one’s homeland is deeply rooted.
But this matter must be done. Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi, as traditional Central Plains lands, have endured the weight of thousands of years of Chinese civilization.
The environment is already quite bad and has reached the edge of danger.
The population here does not migrate in large numbers. Even if there are high-yield and drought-resistant crops such as corn and sweet potatoes, after the population expands, the final result will still be the same.
There are too many good places in the world, and now is a good time to seize colonies. If you don't work hard to seize them, you will definitely regret it.
After hearing Liu Jin's words, everyone nodded. They were a little off topic. Back to the issue of developing Liaodong, it is necessary to relocate the population to Liaodong.
Liu Jin's step-by-step approach is also more recognized by everyone.
Just like the opening of the sea with Tianjin as the pilot project, it has indeed achieved very good results. Therefore, in the south, after discussions between the princes of the DPRK and China, it was decided to open Nanjing, Songhu, and Guangzhou as well.
Lift a sea ban and allow business in these three places.
In terms of military restructuring, Liu Jin also proposed a pilot project, and the results were quite good. The new army trained in advance made Emperor Hongzhi very satisfied. It has strong combat power. It also kicked the Japanese country and punched the grassland tiles. Now it is winning.
The Jurchen Tatars.
Even Liu Jian and Li Dongyang think this method is very sophisticated. Try it on a small scale first to see the effect. If there are any shortcomings, make improvements. If it doesn't work, forget it. If the effect is good, then slowly and gradually promote it.
When it comes to national affairs, it is very appropriate to adopt this method.
"Your Majesty, I think this method is very good."
"First, we will select 100,000 people from each province in Henan, Shaanxi, and Shanxi to move to Liaodong. We will first see the effect of immigration, continue to improve the immigration policy, and accumulate experience, and then slowly promote it on a large scale in various departments.
"
"Not only Liaodong, our Ming Dynasty has also gained many new territories in Ryukyu and Nanyang. In the future, we will also develop colonies in Golden Continent, Australia and other places."
"I believe that the Liaodong region can be used as a pilot project first to accumulate valuable experience for our Ming Dynasty to colonize the world in the future."
British public minister Zhang Mao stood up to express his support.
He has always supported such things that benefit the country and the people.
Of course, the most important thing is that his and Liu Jin's interests are consistent.
When Liaodong is developed, many industries under his command can also develop rapidly in Liaodong, and then a huge amount of money will flow into his pocket.
Such as mining, forestry, shipbuilding, etc., the same will be true for future colonies around the world. How can these colonies be done without anyone going there, so we must lay a solid foundation for the future now.
Let's set a good example first and let everyone see it. If you move a tree to death, you will move a person to life. If you leave your own doghouse, you can really have a golden nest or a silver nest.
Only in this way can the enthusiasm and desire of Chinese descendants for overseas immigration and expansion be stimulated. Without the desire and enthusiasm for external expansion, even if Liu Jin was exhausted, his work would most likely be in vain.
The Europeans' ability to colonize the world is inseparable from their strong desire for expansion. Their desire for wealth was the initial motivation for their global expansion.
