Wentang

Chapter 778 Insufficient Population
"You must know one thing, the Tao Te Ching is Lao Tzu, but Lao Tzu is not the Tao Te Ching." Yue Shan said.

"Of course I know. Lao Tzu has written many works, and the Tao Te Ching is only a part of them, many of which have been lost." Wang Ji said.

"Then do you know when the Tao Te Ching was called the Tao Te Ching? Do you know what the Tao Te Ching looked like before?" Yue Shan asked rhetorically.

"Could it be that the old Tao Te Ching is different from the current one?" Wang Ji asked in surprise.

"It's definitely different, the difference can be said to be very big." Yue Shan said.

"How do you know? Have you seen it?" Wang Ji asked.

"I just know what it looked like before, but I don't know the specific content." Yue Shan shook his head and said.

"You... really pissed me off." Wang Ji said bitterly: "You have the opportunity to see the works of the sages, but you don't study them carefully."

Yue Shan thought to himself, it's not that I don't want to study it, but that the silk script A and B unearthed from Mawangdui in the previous life were directly oxidized.Later generations can only recover a small part with science and technology.

Besides, who has nothing to do to study this thing, he is not engaged in philosophy.The reason why he knew about this was because he saw it in an archaeological documentary.

"Do you still want to know what the previous Tao Te Ching looked like?"

"think."

"Then that's how you beg?"

"Little Yueshan, believe it or not, this old man died with you."

"It's really old and unrefined. Forget it, I don't have the same knowledge as you."

After joking for a few words, Yue Shan said seriously: "Before the Western Han Dynasty, the "Tao Te Ching" was still called "Lao Zi", and since the "Tao Te Ching" came before the Dao Jing, it should be called the "Tao Te Ching."

"De Dao Jing?" Wang Ji murmured excitedly: "Is it so, is it so, De Dao Jing, De Dao Jing."

Don't underestimate the fact that if the two parts are reversed, the causal relationship will be completely changed.

To give an inappropriate example, repeated battles and repeated defeats and repeated defeats and repeated battles are just an adjustment of the order of the two words, and the meanings are completely different.The former means that the person is incompetent, while the latter is brave and fearless.

The difference between the Tao Te Ching and the Tao Te Ching is even greater in philosophy, and it also has a great influence on the interpretation of Lao Tzu's thoughts.This discovery directly affected the study of the philosophy of Guoxue.

There were many people who studied the Tao Te Ching in ancient times, and many of them almost grasped the core meaning of Lao Tzu.

However, it was because the order of the Te Ching and the Dao Jing was reversed by later generations and became the Te Ching, which failed.

such as……

"You can study Wang Bi's writings on Lao Tzu carefully, they are already very close to Lao Tzu's original intention."

"Just because the order of the Te Ching and Dao Ching is reversed, he is still one step away from Lao Tzu. It's really sad."

Wang Ji said, "Wang Bi? Is it the heir of the Wei and Jin kings?"

Yue Shan said: "Yes, it is him."

Wang Ji said: "Okay, let me clarify morality and morality, and study his books."

The two chatted some more about Lao Tzu's understanding, exchanged thoughts, and talked about the sun setting on the mountains before leaving home.

……

Regarding the appointment of Li Chengqian, the government and the opposition accepted it after arguing for a period of time-there is no way not to accept it.

After Li Chengqian took office, he was not in a hurry to insert his confidants into the East Palace, but started to deal with the affairs of Liaodong Sidao first.

In order to make the transfer of power more smooth, he sent Du He to Liaodong in person to preside over the overall situation.

He himself goes to the cabinet to work honestly every day, and learns from Li Shimin how to handle state affairs.

Everything is gradually on the right track.

The time has entered February, and the imperial court finally announced the first batch of the list of closed countries under the anticipation of everyone.

First, Li Yuan's son Li Shimin's brother:
Jing Wang Li Yuanjing, Han Wang Li Yuanchang, Zheng Wang Li Yuanli, Han Wang Li Yuanjia, Peng Wang Li Yuanze, Zheng Wang Li Yuanyi and other 15 people.

Then Li Shimin's own sons: Li You, King of Qi, Li Yin, King of Shu, Li Yun, King of Jiang, and Li Shen, King of Ji.

As for Li Ke, King of Wu, Li Tai, King of Wei, and Li Zhen, King of Yue, they are not sealed for the time being.Li Ke wants to go to Dongsheng Shenzhou in the future, and Li Tai wants to go to Nanzhan Buzhou.

Li Zhen, the king of Yue, was a great talent and had a close relationship with Li Chengqian. Li Chengqian wanted to keep him as an assistant to the government, so he didn't give him a title for the time being.

For such a good thing, Li Zhen, who had great ambitions in her heart, naturally readily agreed.

Other clans such as: Li Daozong, Li Xiaogong, Li Shenfu, Li Daoyan and others are also on the list of feudal states this time.

The fiefdoms of these people are concentrated in Annan, Luzon Island, Tangming (Laos) and other places, and the conditions are naturally relatively difficult.

Especially in places like Annan and Tangming, the aborigines are very powerful, and they might be wiped out by the aborigines.

But in response to that sentence, as long as it is profitable, these people don't mind dying.The feudal kingdom that I have been looking forward to for so long is finally in my hands, how can I give up.

Of course, Li Shimin would not watch them die, and would send the navy to provide protection in the early stage.They will even station troops there all the time, not only to suppress the natives, but also to deter the vassal states.

The fief was divided, but soon these people discovered a problem, no money.

These clans must have lived better than ordinary people, but in terms of family property, they might not have much.

Li Daozong and Li Xiaogong must have a great family and great business. Li Yuanchang and other Taiping princes only have some property rewarded by the royal family except for the food.

In addition, the usual expenses are high, so it is not necessarily possible to have much surplus food.It is no problem to maintain a life of delicacies from mountains and seas, but it is a drop in the bucket to develop a closed country.

At this time, the queen came forward and made a loan.

The Royal Bank of Commerce opened a gold bank business, and its function is actually the Royal Bank.It's just that the ancient people were still used to keeping money here, and no one wanted to store it in the gold bank.

As for the loan business, not to mention, lending money to ordinary people will be poked in the back, and those high-ranking and wealthy families are not short of money.

Therefore, for a long time, the main business of the Gold Bank has been to act as a central bank institution and transfer money for the imperial court.

Now the Gold Bank has finally found a suitable business, providing loans to these feudal countries, with the tax revenue of the fiefs as collateral.

Naturally, the princes and kings had no reason to disagree with such a good thing, and they all found their eldest grandson Wugou to sign the loan agreement.

Then Li Chengqian made another move, because the princes and kings may not know much about their territories, or they are not the material to govern the country.

The cabinet provides talent recruitment plans, business and agricultural planning to the princes for free.As long as they do it step by step, not to mention how powerful they can become, at least they can continue to operate the closed country.

If there are too many lice, it doesn't itch, and if you have too many debts, you don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you have already taken a loan from the queen, so it doesn't matter if you go to the cabinet for help.

As for whether the cabinet will send people to their feudal country... This is completely nonsense, the imperial court will definitely send people to their territory.

It doesn't even need the court to take the initiative to plug people, as long as they show a little bit of intentions in this regard, a large number of officials in the feudal country are willing to sell them, the princes and kings.

At this time, Datang has such a great attraction and deterrent power.

So the small half of the Tang Dynasty was revolving around these vassal states.

Recruit all kinds of talents from abroad to serve in the vassal states, and the top talents are ignored, as long as they can be used and used.

To purchase various materials, so many feudal states are established at the same time, and the amount of basic materials required is very large.Countless businessmen gathered in Chang'an City, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

The advantage of these businessmen competing with each other is that the princes and kings can buy the materials they need at the cheapest price they want, and they can buy all kinds of materials without running around.

The most important thing is to recruit people. In this era, the population is the most precious wealth. No one is worthless.

However, with the expansion of territory over the years, Datang's territory has expanded several times, and the land that can be reclaimed has also increased many times.

Coupled with the large-scale development in the south... most of the common people own their own land, so it is not uncommon for them to move to the vassal states.

Even though these princes and kings offered very attractive conditions, very few people were willing to go.

They had no choice but to ask Li Shimin for help. To be honest, Li Shimin also had a headache.In the end, he had to find Yue Shan.

When he came to the palace and heard the purpose of coming here, Yue Shan was also very helpless: "It's useless to ask me for this kind of thing, I can't conjure a living person out of thin air."

Li Shimin said helplessly: "I know you can't change people, but you always have a lot of ideas. I came here to think about where the population can be taken away."

Yue Shan said: "During the past 20 years, the population of the Tang Dynasty has increased by nearly 5000 million. Counting the original population and the immigrants from different races, there are at least [-] million people. There shouldn't be such a shortage of people, right?"

Li Shimin said: "There is no shortage of people, but no one wants to seal the country."

Yue Shan said: "That's true, no one is willing to leave their hometown if they can't survive."

Li Shimin said with a headache: "That's what you said, that's why I find it tricky."

Yue Shan also began to think about what other groups could be mobilized... let alone, he really thought of one.

"I'm thinking of a group, but I'm afraid you won't touch strangers."

Instead of being angry, Li Shimin said vigilantly, "Tell me who it is first."

"Untouchable." Yue Shan said.

Although the Tang Dynasty did not have slave status, there were untouchables. Even though the imperial court repeatedly ordered not to enslave the population, it called on everyone to release the slaves and free them.

But there are still a large number of low-class people, more than a million or less.

"You're really going to cause trouble for me. Why don't you order them to immigrate from the country?" Li Shimin said angrily.

"But you have to admit that it is not a good thing for such a large population to be in the hands of powerful clansmen." Yue Shan said:
"Back then, you took back millions of hermits and tenants from the aristocratic tyrants by means of thunder. It is obvious to all that the Tang Dynasty has benefited from it."

Li Shimin nodded involuntarily, this is also one of the things he is most proud of, the benevolent government praised by all people.

This move not only weakened the strength of the aristocratic family, but also facilitated the subsequent development of the imperial court.

The extra millions of households are really critical. The main force of immigrants from the north and large-scale development in the south are these Han people.

If there hadn't been the great investigation that year, Datang would not have such a good situation now.

"Now there are no less than a million lowly people in the Tang Dynasty. Rescuing these people is not only a benevolent policy, but also a beneficial thing. At least it can solve the population problem of the first batch of vassal states." Yue Shan said.

Li Shimin was not so optimistic: "If the imperial court dares to attack these lowly people, those people must turn against them."

Yue Shan said: "Why did the imperial court take action directly? The sage can make a decree, calling on the high-ranking and big families to release their lowly ancestry and be free."

"At the same time, it is decreed that if a person of low status wants to leave the low status, the master's family must not obstruct it, otherwise he will be punished as a crime."

"Then let the vassals and kings lobby those low-class people by themselves, as long as they are willing to go to the vassal states, they will be freed, and they will be given land and land. I believe that many low-class people will take the initiative to go."

"The imperial court can find a way to mobilize a group of people to go there if there is a shortage. The combination of the two should be able to solve the problem of lack of people in the vassal states."

Li Shimin didn't make a decision right away: "I'm thinking about this matter, is there any other place where people can be squeezed out?"

Yue Shan thought for a while and said, "There is still a place where some people can move away."

Li Shimin cheered up and said, "Where?"

Yue Shan said: "Six Hu states."

Li Shimin frowned and said, "Six Huzhou? All the descendants of Turks and other tribes are resettled here. They finally settled here, so they can't move rashly."

Yue Shan said: "I know, but if you don't move, Liuhu Prefecture will turn into a sea of ​​sand within a hundred years."

Li Shimin's face changed suddenly, and he said: "How is it possible, this place has been a land of lush water and grass since ancient times, how could it become a sea of ​​sand?"

Yue Shan said: "During the Qin and Han Dynasties, this place was rich in water and grass, and it was an important place for the Han and Hu to compete for. Meng Tian drove the Xiongnu to the north and took it back. The first emperor established Jiuyuan and Yunzhong counties here."

"Later, this place was captured by the Xiongnu, and Wei Qing recaptured it during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and farmed here, and moved 70 victims of the disaster from the Central Plains to this place to set up military settlements."

"During the time of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty, this place became a fertile land. According to historical records, here is 'a thousand miles of fertile fields, abundant grain and crops', and it can even be used to transfer grain to Guanzhong for disaster relief."

"However, during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the area began to decline rapidly. The rainfall decreased, and the farmland degraded into pasture. Gradually, it was no longer suitable for farming and became a grazing area again."

"However, it was this kind of reclamation-grazing-recultivation-the change in grazing that completely destroyed the vegetation here."

"Now the saint has resettled a large number of surrendered Hu people here. In order to speed up their integration into the Tang Dynasty, a large number of Han people have been relocated to cultivate farmland."

"The speed of vegetation destruction has been exacerbated. Now Liuhu Prefecture is no longer a land of fertile water and grass. Large areas of grassland have degenerated into deserts."

"If things go on like this, within a hundred years the pasture here will completely degenerate into a sea of ​​sand."

"For sustainable development, the imperial court must reduce the population density here. At the same time, it must protect the seriously degraded grasslands, and even deploy an army to plant trees in the past."

Li Shimin was dumbfounded when he heard this, he knew that Yue Shan's way of seeing things was different from ordinary people, and he would always say some seemingly strange things.

But I didn't expect it to be so strange that Liuhuzhou became a sea of ​​sand?Reduce population density?He can barely understand this.

But let the army go to plant trees——if it wasn't for Yue Shan who said this, he would have beaten that person out.

But precisely because it was Yue Shan who said it, he had to treat this matter with caution.

(End of this chapter)