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Chapter 919 Population
"How is Pingtou's injury recovering? Has the imperial physician examined him?" Hong Tao thought of Pingtou's injury again from Gulandam. The Abash family's healing method was indeed effective, and there was no inflammation, but they had forgotten about him since they returned to the capital.

"I would like to thank His Majesty for his kindness on behalf of Wei San. He has recovered very well. The imperial physician said that he will be able to walk like a normal person in about a month. However, the scars left behind may be difficult to remove."

As a eunuch, it must be considered a blessing to be questioned by the emperor in person after being injured. Wang Chengen first thanked the emperor on behalf of the flat-headed brother, and then briefly talked about the degree of recovery, which was relatively optimistic.

"Well, he's lucky! Go and summon the Minister of Revenue, the Chief of the Navy Staff, and the Admiral of the Navy to the palace for an audience."

Hong Tao was just asking casually. He had many things to deal with right now, and even if he was considerate of his subordinates, he didn't have the time or energy to care for them. It's good that he's not injured or disabled, so he can take care of him slowly.

"Is there any discrepancy in the yellow book submitted by the Ministry of Revenue? If there is, then there is; if there is not, then there is not. If you are not sure, then just say you are not sure. Do not be vague. Otherwise, you will miss the court's plan and you will be charged with deceiving the emperor!"

The Minister of Revenue Sun Yuanhua arrived relatively quickly. As soon as he entered the hall, bowed and sat down, the emperor threw a booklet and two memorials at him, raising questions very seriously.

"…Your Majesty, I am willing to guarantee with my life that the figures on the memorial and the yellow book are all accumulated by the Ministry of Revenue according to the reports submitted by local government offices. In order to prevent omissions and duplications, the land registration of the Ministry of Agriculture was also referred to. Although I cannot guarantee that there will be no mistakes, I can make it almost accurate!"

Sun Yuanhua knew the contents of the booklet and the two memorials without opening them, because they were all written by him personally, and they only talked about one thing: population statistics.

This work was arranged by the emperor himself after he took office. It has been done for seven years so far and has just achieved some small results. A relatively comprehensive statistics of the population of various provinces in the Ming Dynasty has been made.

However, the eight provinces of Jianghuai, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Huguang and Jiangxi are not included for the time being. The reason... It's a shame to say that these eight provinces have not implemented the new policy, and the traditional officials can't even count how many people they rule, or are unwilling to count them.

Anyway, the reported figures are far from the figures of the Ministry of Households' random checks, and are basically unreliable. On the other hand, the provinces that have implemented the new policy are much more efficient in handling matters. Not only are the figures reported quickly, but they are also more accurate.

Comparing the two, without asking which faction they belong to, just looking at their efficiency, you can understand why the emperor did not like officials from the old system, but instead promoted a large number of young officials from the royalist faction.

"Where does such a huge population growth in northern Zhili, Shandong, Fujian, and Guangdong come from?" Hong Tao did not disbelieve in Sun Yuanhua's ability, but he was afraid that he would be deceived by his subordinates like the officials of the old system and become a scapegoat.

The reason for this is that the population census and the numbers recorded in the Yellow Book are quite different. For example, the population of Northern Zhili in the sixth year of Wanli was more than 500 million, but now it has soared to 1078 million.

In the sixth year of the Wanli reign, Shandong Province had a population of more than 600 million, including more than 100 million in Liaodong Town. Now, excluding Liaodong, the population has risen to more than 990 million.

Even if there was no war during these 20 years, food was relatively sufficient, and the people were able to live and work in peace, the population growth rate was a bit high, almost catching up with the rat. The most reasonable explanation is that the Ministry of Revenue made a mistake in the statistics or repeated them.

"Your Majesty, you don't know. When I first saw these figures, I didn't quite believe them. In order to prevent local officials from being perfunctory, I sent officials from the Ministry of Revenue to villages and towns three times to conduct random checks, and hired people who can calculate from the Ministry of Taxation and Sun Moon Bank to assist. However, after several checks, the calculation results are not much different from the reported figures. If it weren't for the reminder from Liu Shangshu of the Ministry of Taxation, I would have been puzzled. Speaking of it, the mystery lies with Your Majesty!"

When it came to specific issues, Sun Yuanhua was very emotional. He didn't give the answer first, but talked about the difficulties he encountered at work. Then he smiled slyly and put the responsibility on the emperor.

"Hey, who did you learn this bad habit from? Why are you blaming others for what they have done? Tell me, besides taking in the inhabitants of Liaodong, when have I ever issued an order to relocate people to Zhili and Shandong?"

In the past, Hong Tao would have calmly asked Sun Yuanhua about the matter, and he might even have made a bet to take advantage of the situation. But today, he was in no mood to do so. He had accumulated over half a year's worth of memorials, and more than half of them were still unreviewed. He wished he could explain everything in one sentence.

"Your Majesty, please don't worry. Just listen to me. Minister Liu showed me the taxes paid by the provincial governments in the past five years, and then the problem was solved. There are two keys to this.

First, since the implementation of the New Deal in Zhili and Shandong, factories, workshops, mines, and shops have sprung up like mushrooms after rain. All of these industries require a large number of people, but His Majesty has issued an edict that it is not allowed to employ people with land, and there are not enough young and strong people available in this province, so they can only recruit from provinces that have not implemented the New Deal.

It happened that the imperial court abolished the garrisons and the grain transport system. Suddenly, the garrison soldiers, the grain transport households, and the grain transport soldiers, who were out of work, immediately poured into various industries and transformed themselves into workers who received monthly wages.

Second, with the rise of maritime transport, ports such as Tianjin, Luanhe, Shanhaiguan, Songshan, Dengzhou, and Jiaoao became increasingly prosperous. Ships came in and out every day, gathering a large number of merchants and goods, and attracting more peddlers, ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

This grand occasion is all thanks to the New Deal. How can Your Majesty be separated from it? Not only Zhili and Shandong provinces, but all provinces that implemented the New Deal have seen a sharp increase in population, including Fujian and Guangdong. Henan, Shanxi and Shaanxi have also seen initial signs of growth even though it has only been a short time.”

If we talk about the obvious advantages of officials who were Jinshi over those who were Haihusi, the first thing to mention is the ability to flatter. When a well-educated person wants to praise someone, he will never say how good you are directly, but must praise you in a roundabout way.

When you reach the highest level, a word you say can leave the other person speechless for a while, and they have to ponder it carefully before they can taste the flavor. The more they ponder it, the stronger the flavor becomes, and the more beneficial it will be.

"Tsk... you make me feel a little complacent now. Then help me figure out the confusion. The population of these provinces has increased dramatically. It is definitely not enough to rely on the garrison troops and the households. Where do the other people come from?"

Even though Hong Tao hated flattery, his face became a little hot after listening to Sun Yuanhua's explanation, and he felt relieved involuntarily. Fortunately, he was able to restrain his human nature and raised another question, which was the source of population.

There are gains and losses. How is the population of these provinces increasing, apart from special sources and natural births, to fill the gap?

(End of this chapter)