Tibet

In the imperial study, Li Ye paced back and forth with his hands behind his hands, feeling quite heavy. It had been ten years since the Anshi Rebellion ended, and Hebei's population had hardly changed. A Yellow River flood swept through four states, and only 300,000 people were affected. This shows that Hebei is still It’s so desolate, what’s the problem?

The problem is still due to the food problem. The labor force is insufficient, a large amount of land has not been restored, and the total food output is low. There is also the problem of population ratio. Almost all the young people died in the Anshi Rebellion, and only the old and weak people were left. We don’t expect them to have children. Reality leads to too few children being born.

Wei Gao reported at the door, "Your Majesty, Xiangguo Wei is here!"

"Invite him in!"

Not long after, Wei Jiansu walked in. Seeing Li Ye worried, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, are you still blaming yourself?"

Li Ye shook his head, "I am worried that Hebei's population is too small. It has been ten years since the Anshi Rebellion ended, and the population has barely grown. It is a good thing that 300,000 people have been affected by the disaster. If a million people have been affected by the disaster, I will be happy in another way!"

"Your Majesty, the Anshi Rebellion caused too much damage. It will take longer to recover, especially as the population grows. The good news is that almost all of the 70,000 families affected by the disaster are young and strong. If two or three years pass, Weichen believes that the three One hundred thousand people will become six hundred thousand people.”

After a pause, Wei Jiansu smiled again and said: "Moreover, the population is growing. Your Majesty can't just look at Hebei, but also look at the whole world. Since the end of the Anshi Rebellion, the population of the Tang Dynasty has returned to 42 million. Before, it was only 3,000." Around six million, the population has increased by six million in the past ten years. Of course, this has something to do with the abolition of slavery. However, in the first year of Tianbao, the population of the Tang Dynasty was only 45 million. Wei Chen is confident that in three or four years, Years later, the population of the Tang Dynasty will return to the level of the first year of Tianbao, or even exceed it."

Li Ye nodded and said with a smile: "The Prime Minister is indeed good at persuading people. I feel much better, but there is still a thorn in my heart. This time the Yellow River broke its banks and formed a large yellow flood area. I don't know when it will be restored?"

Wei Jiansu smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, when looking at this problem, you need to look at the long term of a thousand years. Over the past thousand years, the Yellow River has burst its banks and flooded countless times, formed yellow flood areas many times, and cities and villages have been destroyed. , but it recovered again and again, forming new farmland and cities, and new residents. Therefore, the recovery of the yellow flood area is only a matter of time. Your Majesty does not need to worry about it. The key is the resettlement of these 70,000 people. Your Majesty Have you considered it?"

Li Ye smiled happily and said, "I have decided to take advantage of this opportunity to resettle them in Liaodong. Each household will be given two hundred acres of land, tax-free for fifty years, so that their descendants can settle in Liaodong with peace of mind. We must go through them. Develop Liaodong step by step.”

"Your Majesty is right, many things are often lost in the east and gained in the east. The flooding of the Yellow River is a misfortune for Hebei, but it is an opportunity for Liaodong. The key is people."

Wei Jiansu handed Li Ye a report, "This is what I just received. Regarding the planting situation of Jiaozhou rice in Jiangnan East Road, it is very good. The yield has been stable for three consecutive years and the yield is high. One pound of seeds can grow fifteen Jin of rice. The previous rice seeds could only produce twelve kilograms per kilogram, an increase of 20%. This has resulted in the rice yield per mu being generally higher than 500 kilograms. If it can be fully promoted, the annual grain output of the entire southern region can support the entire southern region. The entire population of Datang.

Li Ye nodded, "Are all farmers willing to plant it?"

"Your Majesty, the key lies in guidance and subsidies. The imperial court can purchase Jiaozhou rice at a price slightly higher than the market price, and then sell the seeds at a fair price. Driven by profits, there will definitely be a large number of farmers planting Jiaozhou rice next year, as well as Jiannan Road and Shannan Province. "If Jiaozhou rice can be widely promoted in these three prosperous places, it will definitely become the place with the fastest population growth in the Tang Dynasty."

Wei Jiansu retreated, and Li Ye carefully read the Jiaozhou rice planting report on Jiangnan East Road. At this time, Wei Gao reported at the door: "Your Majesty, Zhang Shijun, the pacification envoy of Lingnan Road, wants to see you!"

When Zhang Ping came, Li Ye was overjoyed and said quickly: "Tell him to come and see him!"

Not long after, the tall and fat Zhang Ping walked in, bowed and saluted, "My humble minister Zhang Ping is here to see your majesty!"

Li Ye met Zhang Ping last time when he inspected Fujian Road. Three years passed in a flash.

Li Ye smiled and asked, "When did you return to Chang'an?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, I just came back yesterday!"

"I heard that you are very good at giving birth to sons. You already have nine sons?"

Zhang Ping smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, Wei Chen wants a daughter more, but the wives and concubines failed to live up to expectations, and no daughter was born."

"Maybe it's easier to have sons in places with a hot climate. Next time I send you to Liaodong, your daughter will come."

"Wei Chen wants nothing more than what he wants!"

Li Ye was startled, "Why, Lingnan is not doing well?"

"No! Wei Chen is talking about giving birth to a daughter."

Li Ye chuckled, waved his hand and said, "Please sit down!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Ping sat down and Li Ye smiled and said: "I and Wei Xiangguo just talked about the population issue. How is the population situation on Lingnan Road?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, the Han people in Lingnan are mainly concentrated in Guangzhou and Shaozhou, followed by Chaozhou and Jiaozhou, and then scattered in various states. The total population probably exceeds one million."

"Do the Han people have a population of one million?"

"Yes, there were about 400,000 Han people in the pre-Qin period. After the development of the Han Dynasty, the migration of the Northern and Southern Dynasties to the south, and the wave of immigrants caused by the Anshi Rebellion, the population must have exceeded one million. Before leaving, Wei Chen also met Li Xian.”

"How is he?"

"He led the people in Duanzhou to build fields around the marshes and treated the people well. Originally, the population and grain output of Duanzhou were not as good as those of Chaozhou, but now they should have exceeded them."

Duanzhou is the area of ​​Foshan today. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Pearl River Delta has been initially formed. The large amount of silt led by the West River and the North River has accumulated to form the Pearl River Delta. Due to the fertile land, the Pearl River Delta began to be developed from the middle to late Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, the Pearl River Delta has gradually become a densely populated area.

Now is the early stage of the development of the Pearl River Delta. Even if the court attaches importance to it, it cannot be achieved overnight. It will take a long process.

Li Xian was originally demoted to Sima of Duanzhou. Later, Wei Jiansu persuaded him and Li Ye promoted him to the governor of Duanzhou.

Li Ye pondered for a moment and said, "Have you seen the steamship built in Quanzhou?"

"I saw it in Guangzhou. If the supplies are sufficient, it can travel thousands of miles."

Li Ye smiled and said, "Now everything is ready, only the east wind is missing. I want to find an official who can sail thousands of miles. You have been in Fujian and Lingnan for a long time. Do you have any recommendations?"

Zhang Ping thought for a while and said, "There are two people that I can recommend to Your Majesty. One is Yang Liangyao, the former Guangzhou Maritime Commissioner, who is from Yunyang County, Jingzhao. Although he is a famous eunuch, he has sailed to Southeast Asia many times and even to India. He was implicated in the eunuch party case and was dismissed from office. He is currently in his hometown of Yunyang County.

The other person is me. The person I met in Quanzhou is called Du Huan. He has been to the more distant Daqin. I met him a few years ago when he had just returned from Daqin by boat. They should both be in Chang'an now. "

Li Ye was overjoyed. If Zhang Ping hadn't told him, he wouldn't have known that Chang'an was full of hidden talents. There were actually two navigators. He didn't know about Yang Liangyao, but he knew about Du Huan. He had once served under Gao Xianzhi and participated in the Battle of Talas. Historically, the Tang army was defeated in Talas and Du Huan was captured and taken to Daqin. But history has changed. The Tang army won the Battle of Talas. Du Huan once served as Gao Xianzhi's special envoy to negotiate with the Daqin people in Mulu. Li Ye didn't know what happened later.

After talking with Zhang Ping for a few more words, Zhang Ping stood up and left. He would report formally in two days.

After Zhang Ping left, Li Ye pulled the rope, and soon Wei Gao came in and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please give me your orders!"

Li Ye said, "Go and get Du You!"

Du You is now the secretary of the Central Secretariat, responsible for drafting imperial edicts. He will soon be the governor of Beizhou and follow Liu Yan to Hebei to provide disaster relief.

Wei Gao left in a hurry, and soon Du You came and bowed, "Your Majesty!"

"When will you leave?"

"Reporting to your Majesty, I will leave with Minister Liu tomorrow morning!"

"Fortunately, is your clansman Du Huan in Chang'an?"

"In Chang'an, I heard that he is going to Japan."

"Go back quickly, I want to see him in the afternoon."

Du You was stunned, "Your Majesty wants to summon him?"

Li Ye asked with a smile: "He once served as a military officer under Gao Xianzhi, right?"

"That's right!"

Li Ye nodded, "That's right, I want to see him in the afternoon, you go back and arrange it now."

"I will go find him now!"

Du You left in a hurry, and Li Ye said to Wei Gao again: "You arrange someone to go to Yunyang County to find a eunuch named Yang Liangyao, who was once the Guangzhou Maritime Customs Envoy, and I want to see him too."

Wei Gao quickly agreed, "I will arrange it immediately!"