The Ministry of Household Affairs was first called the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Later, when Li Shimin became emperor, he changed his name to Hubu to avoid naming taboos.
In the Tang Dynasty, the household department usually had one minister of the third rank and two ministers of the fourth rank.
The main projects he is responsible for are the world's land, people, money and grain, land tribute and military tribute.
Just pick up a passerby and ask him which dynasty had the most heroes in history.
This person will most likely tell you that he is from the Tang Dynasty.
In the early Tang Dynasty, even a person with a third or fourth rank official position was likely to be a hero.
For example, the Minister of Household Affairs, Duke of Ju, Tang Jian.
If you ask how good this person's life is, you can use the phrase "can be the protagonist of a novel" to describe it.
His grandfather Tang Yong served as Zuopushe, Shangshu of the Northern Qi Dynasty.
His father, Tang Jian, was the governor of Rongzhou in Sui Dynasty.
From here, it can be seen that this person comes from a real official family.
He studied and practiced martial arts since he was a child, and when he grew up, he followed Li Shimin in the north and south.
He almost became a hero alongside Fang Xuanling.
But the one thing wrong with this guy is that he is too upright.
When playing chess with Li Shimin, Li Shimin didn't say anything about his victory, but he jumped up and down with joy.
The result was no surprise, and he was demoted by Li Shimin.
If not, he would have to advance at least two or three places in the list of famous ministers.
…
Li Chengqian and Tang Jian also met outside the door.
Li Chengqian was the first to step forward and salute: "Shibo."
"Your Highness is serious."
"I can't afford to call you uncle."
Tang Jian was straightforward and bold, and did not stick to trivial rules.
But at this moment, Li Chengqian suddenly called him Shibo, which really frightened him.
Li Chengqian didn't take it seriously and said with a smile: "If Shibo can't afford it, then no one in the world can afford it."
What he said was not a flattering lie.
The Tang and Li families were family friends, and their relationship was very good during Li Yuan's generation.
Therefore, Tang Jian and Li Shimin had known each other for a long time.
When Li Shimin was young, Tang Jian often took him around and played everywhere.
Moreover, if he hadn't secretly encouraged Li Shimin.
I'm afraid there is no such thing as Li Shimin going to Li Yuan to discuss raising troops to rebel against the Sui Dynasty.
To put it bluntly, if this guy wasn't there to add fuel to the flames.
It is not certain whether the Tang Dynasty existed or not.
Tang Jian saw Li Chengqian being so humble.
He couldn't help but be a little dazed.
He didn't expect Li Chengqian to respect him so much.
After all, people outside say that Li Chengqian is a master of ridiculous things.
But now it seems that something is different.
Li Chengqian on the side saw him stunned and couldn't help but call out: "Shibo?"
"ah?"
Tang Jian came to his senses and said quickly: "Since His Highness has arrived, let's get started."
Li Shimin has already explained it to him.
Li Chengqian will start working on the 'nationality theory' in the Ministry of Household Affairs starting today.
But in his understanding, it was nothing more than Li Chengqian coming over to study and supervise.
He even expressed doubts about whether Li Chengqian came up with such a forward-looking view as the theory of nationality.
After all, what big things could Li Chengqian, a nine-year-old baby, do?
But if he thinks like this in his heart, he can't say it with his mouth.
What if this man ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor in the future?
Although he is upright, he is not stupid either.
So he still supports Li Chengqian's work.
After entering the Ministry of Household Affairs, officials from all levels began to be mobilized to work intensively.
First, some household registration information was moved over and Li Chengqian checked it personally.
And he himself has been standing by Li Chengqian's side.
If Li Chengqian doesn't understand something, he can answer it immediately.
Today's household registration information is not comparable to the archives of later generations.
The most recorded things on it are names and place of origin.
There is no date of birth or anything like that.
Seeing this, Li Chengqian sighed.
No wonder these things about place of origin and population will leave so many problems for historians in the future.
This is obviously no different from something made up out of nowhere.
"I'm afraid this thing needs to be redone."
After hearing this, Tang Jian was obviously stunned for a moment.
"Redo?"
"What do you mean by this, Your Highness?"
"Of course I have to redo my household registration."
Li Chengqian directly told Tang Jian his plan to talk to Li Shimin.
Tang Jian suddenly felt that His Highness was just talking on paper.
How can a nationwide census be accomplished just by talking about it?
Tang Jian said directly: "Your Highness, this matter needs to be discussed in the long term."
"Not to mention the impact it will have on the country."
"Just talking about a nationwide census cannot be done in one or two days."
After all, for him, the Tang Dynasty had a vast territory and the people's residences were scattered.
It is simply an impossible task to thoroughly investigate the population and distribute relevant documents.
At this time, he even felt that Li Chengqian was more than just talking on paper.
This is obviously fantastic.
But what did he know about the era when Li Chengqian lived?
Even the poorest families have something called a household registration book to record the relevant information of each family member.
There is also a very comprehensive archive system that records the relevant experiences of every resident in the country.
Li Chengqian also knew that without the Internet, the file system would definitely not be possible.
But the household registration book is definitely feasible.
"If you can't do it in a day or two, just do it in a year or two."
"The basis of the nationality theory is to record the relevant information of every Tang person in the country."
"So this matter cannot be delayed."
Li Chengqian's attitude is also rarely tough.
As before, he didn't know that the household registration system of the Tang Dynasty was so backward.
Even in the Ministry of Household Registration, the place that should comprehensively record people's household registration, there is not even a complete system.
"But Your Highness."
Tang Jian looked at Li Chengqian in embarrassment: "This will not only require dispatching officials across the country to conduct a census of household registration, but also require a large amount of paper to make a household registration list."
"Not to mention the expenses that officials need to spend when investigating household registrations, the expenses just for the paper used when making household registration forms are already very huge."
"This matter is too big, I can't make the decision..."
Hearing this, Li Chengqian was stunned for a moment.
Then he reacted.
In ancient times, paper was very expensive.
First of all, it can be seen from the actions of calligraphers of various generations.
First, Wang Xizhi, a famous calligrapher, still practiced calligraphy on the ground after becoming famous.
Later, Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty ordered Zhang Xu, one of the "Three Masters", to practice calligraphy on banana leaves.
Even in the Song Dynasty, which was recognized as the richest, ordinary people could not afford paper.
When poor students went to school, they could only practice writing on bright slates.
It was only after the founding of the People's Republic of China that paper became truly cheap and spread to thousands of households.
But paper is expensive, can it stop Li Chengqian?
As a man in science and engineering, have you ever been stumped by difficulties?
"Shibo, don't worry about the paper. I'll take care of it."
"Shibo just needs to send officials down below to conduct a population census."
Li Chengqian said it very confidently.
But Tang Jian was unsure.
He truly felt that His Highness was fooling around.
So after bidding farewell to Li Chengqian, he ran directly to the palace to meet Li Shimin.
