Chapter 2684: New things and new ideas in Gui Zi Juan

“This is no longer a question of whether it is worth it, but a question of how to advance, or the progress of the steps.” Feng Ziying said decisively.

"I still have the same point of view, and I would like to share with you the issue of the linkage between population growth and the growth of our land and food. If this linkage cannot keep up, then when the population expands to the point where the land cannot support so many people, At that time, the meaning of being unable to make a living was more complicated. It did not simply refer to not having enough to eat, but also included too many young and strong laborers with nothing to do and only one life left. If there were too many such people, it would be very dangerous. If something goes wrong, the only way to reduce population pressure is through war, either foreign war or internal strife or civil war..."

Feng Ziying stood in the middle of the hall, looking around and talking.

There is no employment rate in this era, but when everyone heard Feng Ziying mention that one possibility brought about by population growth is that a large number of young and strong laborers have nothing to do, they can’t fill their stomachs, but they still have nothing to do. When there is only one life left, everyone is excited.

So what will happen if there are too many people and they get together?

 When the people are full and warm, they think about lust, when they are hungry and cold, they want to steal. If so many poor and strong people gather together, something is bound to cause trouble. No one can stop them. This is the most intuitive feeling.

"Throughout the past dynasties, every dynasty was overthrown. There were various complicated reasons for the Han, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. But one of them, I don't know if you have ever noticed, is that they all experienced a peak period when the population continued to skyrocket. , In the end, big problems arose on the land issue. Land was annexed, rents and taxes were difficult to collect, the poor had no place to stand, and then there were floods and droughts, and other factors were involved, and it was basically chaos that could not be escaped."

Whether it is half-truth or half-false, or appropriately exaggerated, Feng Ziying feels that there is nothing wrong with her view.

"Our population growth rate is actually quite alarming. However, with the reduction of internal and external troubles, the country has provided a relatively stable world for the people. It can be said that they live and work in peace and contentment. This growth rate may further increase. Three children are born in a family. Five children is normal. Well, I now have about ten children. With this growth rate, there will be endless children and grandchildren. Thirty or fifty years later, the population may not be doubled. It may be a question of how many times it will be doubled. Can the land of Dazhou still support so many people? What will happen if so many people gather on this land with nothing to do? "

“Let’s think about it, if the population of the capital city suddenly tripled, and the number of people in your own house tripled, what would happen? It’s unimaginable.”

Feng Ziying was very excited, "By that time, if there is no war to reduce the population, there will be no other way. This will be a population explosion. There will be a lot of people in their twenties and thirties with nothing to eat and nothing to do everywhere." Is it possible for strong laborers to get together and complain and curse and nothing will happen?"

"It is necessary to establish a new Ministry of Agriculture. The promotion of new crops can alleviate some of the pressure on food security, but it cannot cure the root cause. No matter what kind of crop, its output per mu has an upper limit, but the trend of population growth has no upper limit. ,so what should I do now?"

"In a word, there are so many people who have no food to eat, so you have to find food for them. If there is nothing to do, the court has to find something for them to do, otherwise they will cause chaos!"

This last sentence is shocking. If you have nothing to eat, you will rebel. If you have nothing to do, you will make chaos!

 The former point of view is understandable, but the latter point of making a mess even if there is nothing to do is a bit unacceptable.

 Why do you have to make trouble when you have nothing to do?

 But if you think about it carefully, it seems that this is really the case.

Of course it is not a big problem if there are few people with nothing to do, but thousands of poor people in the city and young people in the countryside have nothing to do all day long. If they gather together and make friends, there may be careerists around. Among them, some people are fanning the flames, or some people think that they can kill the white snake and sing the strong wind.

Feng Ziying's last point of view caused the important ministers in the palace to talk to each other. Many people first questioned and asked each other, and then discussed. Gradually, the debate on this point of view became fierce, but in the end a consensus was formed.

There are a lot of idle people, and they are all young and middle-aged people. If they can't find anything to do and have nothing to do all day long, they will definitely cause trouble. If there are people like the White Lotus Sect with ulterior motives interfering in it, there will definitely be trouble.

Since this point of view is established, the idea proposed by Feng Ziying is a long-term plan for future generations.

"According to Ziying's opinion, the imperial court should continue to expand outwards from now on, including Liaodong and Dongfan, as well as Nanyang and the Western Regions. However, the geographical environment of these places is not good, and the transportation conditions are even more restrictive. , I’m afraid the court’s investment will be unsustainable.”

 Huang Ruliang interjected. He was helping to guide Feng Ziying’s point of view.

"The imperial court must invest. What should the tax revenue be used for? Isn't it just for the peace and prosperity of the country and the people? It is actually a mistake to hide the tax revenue every year in the treasury or deposit it in a bank to earn interest. It is also necessary to say that the appropriate amount exceeds the cost.”

 Feng Ziying felt that it was necessary to popularize the concept of budget and deficit among them.

The current group of officials in charge of finance are still using the oldest concept of balance of import and export, and even think that income must exceed expenditure to determine national development. New things such as national debt and stocks are still heresies in their minds, so This can't be done.

"In addition to ensuring the salaries of the military and officials, the greater direction of financial investment and expenditure should be to support the policy direction of the court, whether it is national defense and foreign policy, or support for economic and industrial development policies, which are related to the livelihood of the people of our country. , to expand a broader and more relaxed living space for them, this is the main plan of the imperial court, isn't it natural to invest in this? "

Some new words are still being conveyed from Feng Ziying’s mouth. Although they sound unfamiliar or unfamiliar, but combined with the context, it is not difficult to understand the meaning of the words national defense, diplomacy, economy and industry, even in the cabinet and Feng Ziying Some people I know have heard it before.

 It’s just that many people who are not familiar with Feng Ziying or have had much contact with her are hearing these new terms for the first time.

"So I have always maintained that over-issuance of government bonds is not a big problem. The credibility of the imperial court is there, and the Yangzhou Stock Exchange can already trade these government bonds. The discount rate is very low, which means no one is willing to sell. They are optimistic about the imperial court. Stability." Feng Ziying looked around.

 (End of this chapter)