The Tang Dynasty started from saving Empress Changsun

Chapter 151
This time Wu Chenghe finally didn't play tricks and changed to a relatively desolate land.

However, this desolation is only relatively speaking. The difference from the previous land is that it has not been turned over in advance, and the grass has not been cleared.

But compared with the real people's land, the difficulty of farming is also several times easier.

It's not that Wu Chenghe dared to deceive his eldest grandson Wugou again, but that the Huangzhuang circle occupied the most fertile irrigated land, no matter how desolate it is, it's not too bad.

But even this kind of land caused Li Chengqian and others to suffer a lot, and they became tired after a while and their backs ached.

As for the bloody blisters on their hands, it didn't happen. They were good at arching horses since they were young, and they all had calluses from martial arts practice.

Li Chengqian said with emotion: "It's unbelievable that the people are working so hard."

Chen Jingke continued: "The suffering of the common people is a hundred times greater than this. We have the best iron farm tools and cattle, but they have nothing and rely entirely on manpower."

"Most people don't have their own land, so they can only work as tenant farmers for big households. Half of the output goes to the landlords, and the tax comes from their own half."

"After a year of hard work, only [-] to [-]% belong to me, not even enough to feed myself."

"Those who can eat half grain and half wild vegetables for a year are considered wealthy families in eight villages. Most of them only have food for two or three months a year, and the rest of the time they rely on wild vegetable bark to satisfy their hunger."

"It's fine if you don't get sick, but if someone gets sick, you have to sell your children or daughters, or leave everything to God's will."

"The land belongs to the landlord's family. When they die, they don't even have a place to bury them. It's not uncommon for them to sell their bodies to bury their parents."

Hearing his words, everyone felt very pitiful at first, but the more they listened, the more they felt like he was talking nonsense. Is the Great Tang Dynasty so miserable?

Princess Gao Yang was the first to say: "How is it possible? Isn't our Great Tang an equal land system? Everyone has land."

Seeing everyone's questioning eyes, Chen Jingke smiled wryly, and the consequences of handing over the country to these second-generation officials can be imagined.

The eldest grandson Wugou's expression also became ugly. She thought her education was successful before, but in the end it was all about 'why not eat minced meat'.

"What he said was true."

"Ah?" Everyone was dumbfounded, Chen Jingke said they would doubt it, but Changsun Wugou said it must be true.

Li Chengqian asked puzzledly: "Why is this so? I read the memorial for Aye, and also asked the officials of the East Palace to collect folk information, isn't that the case?"

The eldest grandson Wugou said: "It's all about whitewashing the peace."

"That's not entirely true." Chen Jingke had a different opinion instead.

"Oh?" Changsun Wugou asked in surprise, "What's Jing Ke's opinion?"

Everyone also looked at him.

With a heavy heart, Chen Jingke said: "The Tang Dynasty did allocate land to the registered people and implemented the land equalization system, but the registered population is less than half of the actual population."

"People who are not registered will never appear in the report, and no one will treat them as human beings."

"In the eyes of the officials, they are inferior to livestock. They are the weeds on the roadside. Who cares whether the weeds live or die?"

The eldest grandson Wugou was silent. She knew that there were a large number of hermits in the world, and some of these people were hidden by the powerful, the nobles, and the powerful.

There are also some who hid themselves to avoid poll tax, and did not apply for household registration after birth. When encountering official business, several members of a family share the same name.

The court has no way of knowing how many of these non-registered people are.Suddenly hearing that it was worth tens of millions, her heart was also very heavy.

If someone said that there are more hidden households in the world than the registered population, she would definitely not believe it, but it was Chen Jingke who said this, and she had to believe it.

Li Chengqian was also very shocked, and said: "How is it possible? If I remember correctly, the population counted by the Ministry of Household Affairs is more than [-] million. If half of them are hidden households, then there are tens of millions of people."

Chen Jingke recalled the records in books such as "General History of Chinese Population" and "History of Chinese Population" in his previous life, and said:

"Actually, the statistics from the Ministry of Household Affairs are very different from the real data. I vaguely remember that the number of people registered in Wude in seven years should be around 500 million."

"The reason for such a huge difference is mainly due to the outdated calculation methods, and local officials' lack of attention to statistics."

On the surface, demographics is counting heads, isn't it very simple?The actual demographics, however, are complex and difficult.

Even in the 21st century Internet era, the census needs to mobilize the resources of the whole society to complete it, and then get a relatively accurate number.

In ancient times, it was almost impossible to obtain accurate population figures, and a meaningful figure could be obtained during the period when the imperial court was strong.

During the period when the ruling power of the imperial court was relatively weak, even a number for reference could not be collected.

Li Chengqian frowned and questioned: "I don't know who compiled the data, why have I never heard of it?"

Chen Jingke was hesitating what to say to him, Changsun Wugou said first: "You know about this matter, Aye, you will know when you go back and ask him, then continue to listen."

"Uh... yes." Li Chengqian choked for a moment. He could see that his mother didn't want him to ask about this matter. Although he was puzzled, he didn't dare to ask any more.

Chen Jingke continued: "A very simple math problem. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the population was 5000 million. It took exactly 15 years until the Tang Dynasty reunified the world in the seventh year of Wude, and the population was only 500 million."

“也就是说15年死亡三千500万人，再把这15年里新出生的几百万人口去除掉——按照500万计算，那就死了4000多万人。”

"15 million people died in 4000 years, does Dalang know what this concept is?"

Li Chengqian was stunned, he had never considered the problem from this angle.

The total population is 5000 million + 500 million, and 15 million people will die in 4000 years. Anyone with a little common sense knows that this is impossible.

Li Tai also showed a thoughtful expression.

As for Princess Gao Yang, they had long gone away to play in boredom, and Li Zhi was also dragged away by them.

Chen Jingke paused to give them time to react, and then said: "Five people died and four died. Everyone knows how absurd this is. In fact, the total population of the Tang Dynasty in the seventh year of Wude was more than 3000 million."

"But there are indeed only 500 million people in the household registration book of the imperial court. Where did the rest go?"

"Hidden household." Li Chengqian took a deep breath and said.

Chen Jingke said: "Yes, these people are hermits. They will never appear in the court's memorials, but they really exist."

"It's nothing more than a good year. If the court fails to allocate enough relief supplies in a catastrophic year, what will these people do?"

"Rebellion." Li Chengqian said in a difficult tone.

"Your Majesty is already aware of this problem." Chen Jingke patted Li Shimin's flattery slightly, and said:
"So since he ascended the throne, he has continuously exempted the population tax in various places, hoping to reduce the burden on the people and let those people who are hiding go to the Yamen to register their household registration."

"But although His Majesty has a benevolent heart, there is only one thing that was miscalculated."

Li Chengqian said: "What's the matter?"

Chen Jingke looked at the sky and said: "The eight-character yamen opens to the south. Don't come in if you have a reason and no money."

(End of this chapter)