In fact, thanks to the grain trade with Wei and Liang, Chu State made a huge fortune from the war.
This not only stabilized domestic agricultural production, but also earned hundreds of millions of taels of foreign trade income through grain trade every year, greatly enriching the finances.
Up to now, the annual income of Chu State has reached 300 million taels.
Among them, the agricultural head tax amounted to about 80 million taels of silver.
Domestic and foreign customs duties amounted to about ninety million taels of silver.
The commercial tax is about 15 million taels of silver.
Various miscellaneous taxes amounted to about five million taels of silver.
In addition, the eighteen vassal states in the southwest of Lingnan also paid tribute of 10 million taels of silver every year.
Coupled with the annual grain trade of 100 million taels, Chu's annual income can reach 300 million taels.
Such a huge income also made the Chu State's finances richer than ever before.
After all, the Chu State only has two million soldiers so far. Even if all military expenditures are based on the soldiers' salaries, it will only cost 120 million taels of silver a year, which is less than half of the annual income.
As for the remaining expenditures on the salaries of officials at all levels in Chu State, investment in local development, investment in local stability maintenance, maintenance of local government offices, etc., it is impossible to use up the remaining 180 million taels of silver.
In fact, not to mention 180 million, even 80 million taels of silver, even if the Chu court opened its hands, it would not be able to spend so much money.
Therefore, basically, Chu State can guarantee a fiscal surplus of 100 million taels of silver every year.
Up to now, the Chu State's treasury has accumulated nearly 600 million taels of silver, which is enough to cover the five-year expenses of the current two million army.
The population grew and prospered, the grain harvests were bumper year after year, and the national treasury was full and wealthy. These growth gains made the Chu State's national power rise year after year.
Nowadays, both inside and outside the court say that the Holy Emperor is now on the throne, the people are happy, the country is prosperous, and it is an unprecedented prosperous era.
And because Lu Yuan's year was named Shenwu, the current month is also called the Shenwu Prosperity among the people.
Especially in the raging war in the north of the Yangtze River, it seems that there is war everywhere in the entire Kyushu. The Chu State in the south of the Yangtze River can still maintain such a peaceful and prosperous life, like a paradise outside the world.
This makes it even more rare.
However, when the government and the public were praising him, Lu Yuan, who had created this prosperous era, was not very happy in his heart, but still felt a little worried.
…
Baling City is still brightly lit late at night.
As a large city with two million people, Baling may be called the largest city in the world in today's Kyushu.
When today's people are tolerant, after ascending the throne and proclaiming themselves emperor, they realized the sufferings of the people's livelihood, so they specially imposed a curfew so that people could do business in the streets and alleys of the city at night, giving them an extra way to make money.
With more than ten years of development, as people from all walks of life gathered in the imperial capital, Baling became more and more prosperous. Now it has ninety-nine squares and is known as the holy city on earth.
But if someone asks what the most fun place is in Baling City, then everyone will definitely mention the Sanqianhu Boat on Dongting Lake outside the city.
The quiet lake is dotted with red light, reflecting the gorgeous and noisy rows of rowboats parading under the moonlight.
This is the boundary between Tongjiang Lake, Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River. It is the happiest place in Baling City and also the place where countless people live in ecstasy.
"It's so prosperous."
Lu Yuan stood on the second floor of a boat, looking at the boat in the distance that looked like stars, and could not see the edge of the lake at a glance. Listening to the endless singing of the moon floating on the lake, he couldn't help but sigh.
Behind him, there was a hazy red light, and several graceful women were dancing. In the pavilion, there were beautiful and skilled musicians singing and playing. The fragrance of wine filled the air, and the rotten atmosphere filled the building.
"Indulging in vocal music, playing with things and losing one's morale, lingering here will only lead to desolation and complete sinking."
Sun Siwen walked up from behind and looked at the ridiculous scenes on the building, boat, and even on the river and lake. He, who had always behaved properly, couldn't help but frown.
"Don't be so harsh."
When Lu Yuan heard this, he turned around and smiled at his old friend: "It is human nature for a man to love a woman. Everyone in the world loves beautiful and relaxing things, among which lust is the most symbolic representative.
Otherwise, the three-thousand-story boat that connects the rivers and lakes would not be famous in the world. Even people from all over the Nine Provinces and other countries continue to come here admiringly, almost becoming my label as a great Chu.
If we want to experience the prosperity of Baling, how can we not visit here? "
As he said that, Lu Yuan took a glass of wine from the waiting man Lou Chuan Hongpai, drank it down and threw the glass away. He casually took the oiran who was leaning on the railing and smiled, and when the other party exclaimed, he raised her chin, She smiled and said: "The reputation of Miss Qingyu is spread across the river, don't you think so?"
Qingyu looked at the handsome young master in front of her, feeling his strong body, and the faint fragrance came to her nostrils. This manliness made her blush rarely, and she said: "Master Lu is right, outsiders come to Baling , if you don’t come to Tongjianghu, you can’t say you’ve been to the imperial capital.”
After saying that, Qingyu seemed to realize that there was something wrong with what he said, and added: "That's what the outside world says."
Seeing his friend's frivolous appearance, Sun Siwen instinctively wanted to advise him. As a king, he should not indulge in women, but should work diligently and love his people... There were a lot of truths, and he had never been used to them.
But suddenly thinking of the location of the two of them and their identities at this time, he had to stop his impulse.
In the end, he could only say dullly: "Although the nature of men and women is natural, they still need to be acted upon in a proper way. Such excessive indulgence will only lead to the corruption of morals.
If this goes on for a long time, the people of the country will only know how to enjoy themselves and not be pragmatic, which will put the country in danger.
The governor of Yueyang should be asked to ban flower boats from rivers and lakes in order to correct the folk customs. "
Hearing this, Qingyu, who was playing with Lu Yuan, changed his expression, glanced at Sun Siwen, and his heart skipped a beat.
As an oiran who has gone through rigorous training and grew up in Huayue Chang, Qingyu is naturally very proficient in observing words and colors and identifying people's identities.
So when she met Lu Yuan and Sun Siwen, she felt the nobility of the two people who had been in high positions for a long time, and knew that these two guests were extraordinary.
This can be confirmed by the fact that they spent a lot of money tonight and directly booked the entire flower boat, and their mother also specially warned not to offend tonight's distinguished guests.
Listening to the conversation between the two at this time, it was still unclear what the identity of this young master was.
But that middle-aged man, who seemed to be about forty years old and quite old-fashioned, sounded like a high-ranking official in the imperial court, at least older than the fourth-rank Yueyang Prefecture Yin.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to speak so rudely, and he would have Yueyang Prefect ban the flower boats in the rivers and lakes.
But it was precisely because of this that made Miss Qingyu nervous.
Because in this Tongjianghu, she is the oiran, and she can continue to be famous by virtue of her glamorous reputation.
In the future, if you save enough money, you can redeem yourself, marry an official or a wealthy businessman, and become a concubine, which will give you a good background.
But if Tong Jianghu is gone, Qingyu's future will be unpredictable.
There is a high probability that the future will be even more miserable than being a concubine.
How could this not make her nervous?
"Haha, Brother Sun, look, your words scared Miss Qingyu."
With Lu Yuan's current level of cultivation, he naturally noticed the stiffness of the person in his arms at that moment. After thinking for a moment, he knew what the other person was thinking. He couldn't help but glance at Sun Siwen, who had a straight face, and said with a smile: "Things in this world, It is better to block than to open up.
If you ban this Tongjianghu, there will be a second Tongjianghu soon, but the name may be changed to something like Wanhua Street, Qunyanfang, etc.
As long as the nature of love between men and women cannot be changed, this kind of thing cannot be stopped.
Blind suppression will only make the matter become deformed and move in an even more uncontrollable direction.
In today's prosperous and prosperous era, Jiangnan has moved from troubled times to peace, and people's lives have changed from hardship to prosperity. Starting to love pleasure is actually the right thing to do. "
We have been living hard for too long, and now that we have money, can't we be happy?
Lu Yuan understood this mentality.
Because that's what he thinks and does.
When it comes to enjoyment, how many people in this world can compare to him, the Emperor of Chu?
Sun Siwen thought for a while, and finally nodded and said: "It is true that blocking is worse than sparing, and this matter cannot be banned. However, nowadays, the atmosphere in the rivers and lakes is still too barbaric.
If we continue, how will the world see my imperial capital and my great state of Chu?
The court still needs to provide guidance to curb the current trend of hedonism. "
In fact, Sun Siwen was not against Huachuan Brothel. After all, he had been to such places when he was young.
So of course he knew that he couldn't prohibit this kind of thing.
What Sun Siwen objected to was the current barbaric atmosphere, fearing that the people in Chu would indulge in pleasure, have their minds corroded by fun, and gradually sink.
That's a disaster.
"That's right. Regarding the issue of morals, the court only needs to guide it. It is best not to interfere directly to avoid overcorrecting."
Lu Yuan nodded in agreement, and then said: "But these social issues are actually just trivial matters. The current luxury in the country is only because the world is peaceful and people have become lax, so they indulge in pleasure.
But now that Jiuzhou is in chaos, our country, Chu, lives in a corner of the south of the Yangtze River, so we have a somewhat prosperous time.
But Brother Sun, you know that all this is actually just an appearance.
Our stable life in Yangzhou will always become unsustainable as time goes by.
When the time comes, heaven and earth will force us to enter the battle situation in the North Central Region.
At that time, the war will begin and the war will flourish. No matter how decadent and extravagant it is, the perseverance and thrift will be tempered by blood and fire.
Today's prosperous scene is just the last fantasy before the troubled times.
Wei, Liang, Zhao, Xu and other countries are the future of our great Chu. "
Comfort makes people decadent, and danger makes people introspective.
Lu Yuan knew this truth very well, so he never bothered with trivial matters like customs.
When Sun Siwen heard this, he looked serious: "Is there going to be a war in the country?"
Qingyu's body in Lu Yuan's arms also stiffened.
War, this kind of thing, is scary when you hear it.
She is just an oiran, entertaining people with her voice and sex, and has no other abilities.
If the war starts, no matter whether it will affect Chu State or not, it is certain that his livelihood will be affected.
And what are the identities of these two guests?
Is it really okay to openly discuss such state affairs here?
After hearing about these military and national affairs, I won’t be silenced in the end.
Qingyu was trembling in her heart.
"Not so fast."
Lu Yuan shook his head and said with a bit of worry: "But that day is not far away. Brother Sun, does he still remember the population and household registration after our country, Chu, unified Yangzhou in the 13th year of Shenwu?"
Sun Siwen thought about it and said, "I remember that there were more than 7.13 million households in the country, with a population of 36.52 million."
Lu Yuan nodded and said: "Yes, that's the number. It is now the 25th year of Shenwu. Twelve years have passed, and now there are more than 8.7 million households in our country, and more than 45.3 million households. mouth.
The number of people in the country has increased by nearly 9 million compared to 12 years ago.
Among them, excluding the 3 million people who surrendered to Xiliang Kingdom and the 1.3 million people from Xueyuan, the naturally growing population in the country is about 4.5 million people.
In other words, in these twelve years, the people of our country have given birth to an additional 4.5 million people.
During this period, the country underwent several large-scale migrations, which seriously affected the lives of the people.
As life becomes more stable and prosperous, the desire of the people in the country to have children will further increase.
Based on past history, perhaps in another ten years, the population of Chu will naturally multiply to 52 million; in twenty years, it will be 70 million; in thirty years, it may exceed 100 million.
Even if not, in forty years there will definitely be 100 million people.
One hundred million people, Brother Sun, do you know what this means? "
Lu Yuan stared at Sun Siwen closely and tortured his soul.
Gulu!
Sun Siwen swallowed, his throat going dry from Lu Yuan's topic.
Although he had never studied statistics and had no concept of population control.
But being the prime minister for so many years does not mean that he does not know the consequences of overpopulation.
The simplest one is that there are too many people but too little land, and there is not enough food to eat. It is still very easy to understand.
"In that case, our Dachu County will have a population of tens of millions." Sun Siwen said in a low tone.
Lu Yuan sighed: "Yes, our country in Chu only has ten counties. If there are really 100 million people, then the household registration in each county will reach tens of millions, and some counties may even reach 20 to 30 million.
Although Xichuan, Jianghan, Dongting, and Pengli are rich, they cannot afford to support so many people.
But by then, it will not be so easy for the people of the world to have enough to eat as they do today.
Living on an empty stomach is the norm.
Even if the population increases further, when food can no longer meet the basic survival needs of the people across the country, widespread famine, the tragedy of cannibalism, and uprisings swarming around will be staged one after another.
By then, this prosperous world will be destroyed. "
Speaking of this, Lu Yuan couldn't help but shake his head.
In fact, for him, he naturally hopes that the larger the population, the better.
Just like in the past twelve years, the Chu State has obviously not expanded its territory, but still maintained the territorial scale of ten counties and eighteen kingdoms.
However, with the development of local counties, the population continued to grow, and the national power of Chu increased, Lu Yuan's luck was still several percent higher than that of twelve years ago.
This is the benefit of increasing population.
However, the territory remains unchanged and the population continues to surge, which brings about practical problems that cannot be ignored at all.
After all, Chu State only has ten counties, and the territory of these ten counties will slowly collapse and shrink with the future Antarctic changes.
At that time, how could the shrinking territory possibly support the growing population?
This is a question that cannot be avoided.
If an ordinary monarch can only live for a few decades, it can be said that future generations will have their own blessings, and these problems can be left to the successors to take over.
But Lu Yuan is immortal!
These problems that will explode in thirty or forty years at most are just a blink of an eye for him.
You simply can't avoid it.
Therefore, this population problem has become an urgent matter for him to solve.
But how to solve it?
The nature of men and women and the instinct to reproduce are all rooted in genes. Can you force people not to have children?
There are no condoms now, and no one knows how to perform surgery. Even if you want to force it, you can't.
Sun Siwen also thought about this, frowned and thought for a while, and then said tentatively: "Maybe we can increase taxes and send out labor frequently to make the people tired and miserable, which can inhibit population reproduction."
Lu Yuan glanced at him, not expecting that his friend, who was always known for his love for the people, would make such violent remarks. But he still nodded: "This strategy is indeed feasible."
What motivates the people of Chu today to be keen on having children?
It’s not that life is good and money is available, so I want to have more children.
But if people are deprived of their wealth through heavy taxes, they will only be left with enough resources for Hukou.
Through frequent labor, their husbands and wives are separated and cannot be reunited often. After coming back, I was physically tired and exhausted, so my desire naturally decreased.
The two phases can indeed reduce population reproduction.
To be even cruel, under this policy, even if the people below gave birth to children, they would not be able to feed them at all.
The extra children will eventually drown.
However, this policy is too cruel and oppresses the bottom class too hard.
Although Lu Yuan has tempered his heart as hard as iron over the years, he does not lack the courage to implement such a policy.
But if it's not necessary, I still don't want to force the people too much, and I still have some conscience left in my heart.
And there is actually another way to solve this problem.
So after confirming Sun Siwen's method, Lu Yuan continued: "Brother Sun's method is suitable for peacetime and when the territory of the country cannot be expanded. It is a compromise where resources are in trouble and have to be consumed internally. Law.
But right now, it's not so extreme.
Thirty years from now, our country’s population problem will become imminent.
By that time, the northern countries would probably be exhausted from fighting.
By then, the national strength of Chu will be at its peak. After decades of rest and recuperation, we will be able to accumulate tens of millions of troops. We will then dispatch dozens of generals, mobilize 30 million people, and launch the Northern Expedition.
After several years of fierce fighting, they can wipe out all the heroes and unify Zhongzhou.
In this way, not only can the territory be expanded, but the excess population in the country can also be consumed through war.
In the northern Zhongzhou, after successive wars, the population will definitely be depleted, so there will be enough space to feed the people of Chu.
At the same time, after the war, the people of the world will definitely become more tenacious. If we apply Brother Sun's strategy of exhausting the people and relax a little, we should be able to control the population. "
That's right, Lu Yuan's idea is to let the population grow to the limit first and then eat the demographic dividend first.
When they can no longer be controlled, they can then go through a war to consume the excess population.
After all, the cold wave in the north is approaching increasingly fiercely, and the news has spread to the south of the Yangtze River.
Everyone knows that things have changed in the world, and many places seem to be no longer suitable for human survival.
Lu Yuan's original estimate that Antarctica would not change until a hundred years later was obviously too optimistic.
Perhaps thirty or forty years later, when Chu's population reaches its limit, the poisonous fire in Antarctica will begin to erupt.
At that time, with the example of the cold wave in the north before us, the Chu State can use the approaching poisonous fire as an excuse to launch the entire country's people in the Northern Expedition.
With the natural justice of survival in front of us, we can unite the hearts of all people in the country, gather all our forces together, and fully support the Northern Expedition.
Anyone who dares to oppose is going against everyone in Yangzhou.
Strategies like Sun Siwen's to tire the people are simply weak compared to war.
If used, it will not only arouse public resentment, offend people across the country, and even force people to rebel.
And it will also make the country weak and consume its own strength.
It's better to be like Lu Yuan.
In the name of winning a way out for all the people in Yangzhou, he coerced the people of the whole country to join the Northern Expedition and let the people of the whole country participate in the war on their own.
Apart from natural disasters, there is no way to reduce the population more effectively than disasters such as war.
In this way, not only do you not have to worry about losing your reputation, but you can also gain countless reputations for nothing.
Lu Yuan hugged Qingyu, who was already trembling, and comforted the poor girl who was frightened by their cruel talk. He smiled and said: "So, before this war comes, let the people of Da Chu enjoy the few things they have left. It’s prime time.
In another thirty years, the world will be in chaos. "
Sun Siwen looked deeply at Lu Yuan and finally nodded: "Okay."
