Xiao Niangpi said with some worry: "Master, the territory of the Mongols was only this big at the beginning. Can we hold on to such a large land?"
Yang Fan smiled and said: "Do you know why I want to solve the Mongolian problem first? In addition, we are also expanding overseas at the same time."
Xiao Niangpi tilted her head and thought for a while and said: "At first, we attacked Haraqin to solve the problem of insufficient livestock. We lacked cattle and horses. Later, the master wanted to develop the woolen textile industry, and we needed herders to herd our sheep. . As for Luzon Prefecture, it was because they massacred us Han people, and I was angry. But later I thought it was more for the copper mines. Because the Ming Dynasty had a serious shortage of currency. "
Lin Yueru was also listening attentively, and Chen Xi was also listening quietly with big eyes blinking. This is a rare opportunity to learn. She is a young talented girl who is also very interested in social issues.
"Everything you said is right. But they are not the most fundamental problem." Yang Fan smiled.
"Master, what is the fundamental problem?" Lin Yueru asked quickly.
"The most fundamental problem is that Daming is sick, and very seriously ill. He must be treated," Yang Fan said.
Seeing that his wives did not understand what he meant, Yang Fan continued: "Do you know that the highest population in all dynasties occurred at the end of the dynasty?"
Xiao Niangpi nodded and said, "I know. I have read the taxation and population data of past dynasties. I have carefully studied the relationship between finance and population."
Yang Fan's three wives actually have higher IQs than him. He is only 120+, while Xiao Niangpi and Lin Yueru are both 135+. Chen Xi is even more incredible, with an IQ of 160+. After Yang Fan finished the test, he was depressed.
They are all smarter than him. Therefore, he never dared to look down upon them.
They like to pretend to be curious babies in front of Yang Fan, but they can't really be treated as curious babies. They know that they must act stupid in front of their husband to satisfy his vanity.
This is also the reason why Yang Fan has been living with them without separate room management.
Yang Fan was worried that if they were managed separately, they would soon develop their own power and start fighting. It's better to keep it under your nose.
"Master, I have compiled a table, look." Xiao Niangpi found a table from her drawer. The above is the population statistics of China's past dynasties that she painstakingly collected.
During the Xia and Shang dynasties, the population was several million, and during the Spring and Autumn Period, the population exceeded 10 million.
Qin Dynasty - 26.5 million people.
Western Han Dynasty - 58.5 million people.
Eastern Han Dynasty - 56 million people.
Three Kingdoms - 26.5 million people.
Western Jin Dynasty - 36 million people.
Southern and Northern Dynasties - 40 million people.
Sui Dynasty - 45 million people.
Tang Dynasty - 90 million people.
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms - 32 million people.
Southern Song Dynasty - 132 million people.
Yuan Dynasty - 86.6 million people.
Ming Dynasty - 215 million people.
Yang Fan looked at the table and asked, "The population is always growing, so have you counted the output of the land?"
Xiao Niangpi immediately lost her face and said: "The output of food cannot increase year-on-year with the growth of population." Then she took out another piece of statistical information she had collected.
The land area of the Qin Dynasty was 3.47 million square kilometers, the population was 20 million, and the yield per mu was 65 kilograms per mu (the main crop during the Qin Dynasty was millet). Based on 1/4 of the cultivated land area, the land area was 867,500 square kilometers, which was approximately 131 million mu, the total grain output was 8.515 billion kilograms, equivalent to 425.75 kilograms of rations per capita! The average daily ration is 1.18 kilograms of rice!
The land area of the Han Dynasty was 6.09 million square kilometers, with a population of 58 million. The grain output per mu was 95 kilograms. The cultivated land area was 1.5225 million square kilometers, approximately 2.283 billion acres. The total grain output was 21.68 billion kilograms. The per capita annual grain ration was 373 kilograms. The average daily ration is 1.03 kilograms!
The land area of the Tang Dynasty was 9.31 million square kilometers.
The population is 60.9 million, the cultivated land area is equivalent to 2.3475 million square kilometers, approximately 3.491 billion acres, the grain output is 138 kilograms per mu, the total grain output is 48.17 billion kilograms, the per capita annual ration is 790 kilograms, and the average daily ration is 2.19 kilograms of rations!
The Northern Song Dynasty had a land area of 2.8 million square kilometers, a population of 98 million, and a grain yield of 225 kilograms per unit area, which is equivalent to a cultivated land area of 700,000 square kilometers, or about 1.05 billion acres. The total grain output was 23.65 billion kilograms, and the per capita annual ration was 241.7 kilograms. The average daily ration is 0.67 kilograms of rations!
The Ming Dynasty had a land area of 9.47 million square kilometers and a population of 99 million, equivalent to a cultivated land area of 2.3615 million square kilometers, approximately 356 million acres. The grain yield per unit area was 330 kilograms per mu. The total grain output was 11.74 billion kilograms, which is equivalent to a per capita annual ration of 118.6 kg, the average daily ration is 0.33 kg.
It is obvious that the people of Ming Dynasty are the worst off. The common people don’t have enough to eat!
People in the Qin Dynasty had an average daily ration of 1.18 kilograms of rice. The average daily ration for people in the Han Dynasty was 1.03 kilograms. The average daily ration of people in the Tang Dynasty reached 2.19 kilograms of food. The average daily ration for people in the Northern Song Dynasty was 0.67 kilograms of rations. The average daily ration of Ming people is 0.33 kilograms.
Yang Fan pointed at the data and said, "Look at the comparison between population and per capita rations. We, the people of the Ming Dynasty, can only eat this amount of rations in one day. Even if girls eat less, with this ration data, Mei Xiang won't be able to eat enough."
Mei Xiang puffed up her cheeks and said, "I'm sure I won't be full. I have to eat fruits, non-staple food, and meat every day. Just eating three meals alone requires more than this much food."
Now, everyone understood. Even Aunt Mei, who was pouring honey grapefruit tea next to her, understood it. The key issue is limited arable land. The increase in output is also limited. There is only so much land south of the Great Wall, which cannot support a population of 20 million. It is useless to talk about gentry oppression.
How many gentry are there? If we kill them all, will the people of Ming Dynasty have enough to eat? Population and output are here. It's impossible to eat enough.
Lin Yueru felt that she had grasped the key to the problem. Asked: "Master, how are you going to solve the daimyo problem? If we don't intervene, there will probably be another great chaos and the population will be reduced by half. In this way, there will be fewer people in the new dynasty, and the per capita ration will go up again."
Yang Fan said: "First of all, I am a Han Chinese, and I can only be responsible for the Han people. Other messy ethnic groups can only be considered if the problem of the Han people is solved first."
"There is only one solution, and that is to expand the territory. Take three pieces of land. And immigrate the Han people to live and farm on these three pieces of land. In the future, even if the Han population grows to one billion, there will be enough food supply."
Lin Yueru asked: "Master, which three pieces of land are these?"
Yang Fan pointed at the map and said: "The first area is the Northeastern region. There are Songnen Plain, Sanjiang Plain and Zeya River Plain. There is also a small piece of Suifenhe Plain, which is the place we occupy now. A Songnen Plain has been developed, The rice produced can feed the entire population of Ming Dynasty."
