Ming Zuo

Zuo Menggeng did not veto Xue Fengzuo's crazy plan on the spot.

He even felt that he could do it.

Xue Fengzuo had a sentence that moved him.

"Your Highness, the population of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan has been greatly reduced. It is unprecedentedly difficult to carry out such a project. If this opportunity is missed, can it be implemented in the future?"

Zuo Menggeng knew very well that if he missed the time period of the end of Ming Dynasty, it would be absolutely impossible to clear the course of the Yellow River.

During the late Ming Dynasty, due to frequent wars, natural and man-made disasters, the Central Plains became a wilderness.

Thousands of miles are uninhabited, and there is no rooster crowing in the countryside.

Sometimes, walking hundreds of miles, you can't see a single family.

The field is so clean that not even bones can be seen.

The bones will also become food for the beasts.

This is Henan today.

It's all blood and tears, it's all the nightmares of innocent people.

But for dredging the Yellow River, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Fewer people means fewer stakes involved in the project.

At the very least, the migration of the population will save a lot of effort and cost.

In particular, Luoyang, Kaifeng and other big cities are on the banks of the Yellow River. It is pure nonsense to want to move the population here during the Taiping Festival to facilitate the construction of the project.

Don't say that Xia Guo doesn't have this ability, it can't be done in any era.

After all, excavating a new river channel also requires land.

But at the end of Ming Dynasty, it will be fine.

Because too many people died, many areas are unclaimed land, and there is no need to worry about destroying the original production environment.

Especially as Henan is the granary of the Central Plains, it is absolutely an act of subjugation to consume cultivated land for such projects in peacetime.

Zuo Menggeng deeply understood that if he didn't take advantage of this time to solve the problem of the Yellow River above ground, then he would never have another chance from now on.

Under the threat of the underground river, the land of the Central Plains will continue to exist in fear.

Moreover, there is only a window of fifty years before and after the time when construction can be started.

Fifty years later, the world will be peaceful, and the population will inevitably expand rapidly.

At that time, I couldn't move even if I wanted to.

In fact, the population problem has been bothering Xia Guo all the time.

"Although [-] people have been relocated from the Lianghuai area, the population growth rate is still too fast. All walks of life have digested a large part, but the pressure still exists."

In the whole world, only Xia Kingdom is peaceful and peaceful.

The common people have enough food and clothing, and the days are getting better and better. Coupled with the continuous improvement of medical care, the survival rate of the population has greatly increased.

According to statistics, last year, the number of newborns in the Lianghuai region reached a staggering [-].

Coupled with the influx of foreign population, [-] people migrated out, but it increased by as much as one million.

One plus one minus, more pressure.

"Although Daming is strictly guarding against death, the people can't survive, so they naturally have to find a way out. The number of people smuggled into our side is endless, and it even has an impact on public order. Especially the prevention and control of epidemics is really a headache. "

As soon as they met, Fu Yijian complained to Zuo Menggeng.

Today's Lianghuai Province, the main industry is divided into several parts.

Heavy industry in Xuzhou area, salt industry in Yangzhou area, water transport in Huai'an Prefecture, aquatic industry in Hongze Lake area, agriculture and handicraft industry in Chuzhou and Luzhou areas.

The numerous and complicated water systems have divided the Lianghuai area into countless fragments, which is really difficult to manage.

The officials here have racked their brains and thought of many ways, but with little effect.

Zuo Menggeng fully understood their worries.

Even in later generations, the economy of the Lianghuai region is not so outstanding.

This is determined by the geographical environment, and it is beyond human power.

"Then increase the migration of the population, not only in Jilin, but now that Taiwan has come back, it can also be migrated there."

Taiwan is definitely a rare treasure island.

Because it is located in the area where the tropics and subtropics meet, the climate is hot and humid all year round, which is very conducive to the growth of crops.Especially sugar cane, fruit, etc., have unique advantages.

The entire island cannot be fully developed just based on the current population of the island.

Immigration has become a necessary choice in the past.

Zuo Menggeng also had a deeper consideration.

Nowadays, the population of Taiwan Island is basically composed of Fujian immigrants and local aborigines. The population source is too single, and it is easy to form groups, which affects the deepening of the administrative system.

Only by mixing sand in it to diversify the sources of population can the people rely more on the government to solve problems.

"As well as Ryukyu and Luzon in the future, both need enough population to be able to defend them. Don't think that the current increase in population is a burden. For the country, these are the wealth of pioneering and enterprising. What you have to do well is to ensure People should immigrate safely and properly, and don’t turn good governance into bad governance.”

After all, he used to be his secretary and a top talent. Zuo Menggeng taught Fu Yijian by example and told him many plans from outside.

Under the premise that the level of science and technology cannot achieve a breakthrough by leaps and bounds, if you want to expand and defend the territory as much as possible, you can rely on enough population.

Tsarist Russia's expansion to the Far East does not count.

Because the eyes of the world are not here, they easily occupy such a vast land at a very low cost.

The eyes of Zuo Menggeng and Xia Guo are not only looking to the north, but to all parts of the world.

It is necessary to compete with world powers in some places.

At that time, the advantage of population will be manifested.

Half a month after the trip, Zuo Menggeng and Wang Siyi arrived at Songjiang Mansion and lived in Xu's house.

After crossing the Yangtze River, Songjiang Mansion presents another kind of aura.

The air here smells of money.

Unknowingly, Songjiang Mansion already has the taste of the economic center of Xia Kingdom.

The location here is really too unique.

Inwardly, there is the Yangtze River that can communicate all the way to Bashu.

Outward, the sea extends in all directions, unimpeded.

No matter whether you go north to Shandong, North Korea, or Dongying, or go south to Ryukyu, Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, or Batavia, the distance is very moderate.

The prosperous economy made Songjiang Mansion expand like a balloon.

The population here has exceeded three million.

This is definitely the largest city in the world.

Fortunately, due to the construction of the seaport, the east bank of the Huangpu River has been further developed.Otherwise, the increased population will not be accommodated.

There are [-] factories of various sizes in the entire Songjiang Prefecture, with more than one million industrial workers.

The type of business has expanded from the initial cotton textile industry to an industrial structure of thousands of categories such as garments, printing, construction, and home furnishing.

For Zuo Menggeng's arrival, the local merchants were really overjoyed.

As soon as he came up, Xu Ji raised a major topic on behalf of the big guys.

"Zhongheng, money. We need the right money. Silver is used as a transaction currency, and it can no longer keep up with the need."