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Fujiwara no Tadamune asked, "Where is Annam?"
Li Zhengchun said, "In the south. They call themselves Da Yue, and call themselves the Little China of the South."
"Decades ago, we sent 100,000 troops to attack the Song Dynasty, but were eventually defeated and killed in the capital by the Song Dynasty."
Fujiwara no Tadamune scoffed, "Overestimating themselves. How could China be provoked by these small states?"
Fujiwara no Tadamune hadn't even registered as a citizen of the Ming Dynasty yet; he had only lived in Kaifeng and Luoyang for a few years when he already developed a fanatical devotion to converting to Buddhism.
He doesn't even want to go back to Japan; he hopes to live here for the rest of his life.
Li Zhengchun's thoughts, however, were much more complicated.
He came to Luoyang last year to take over the post; the previous envoy had already returned to Western Xia.
Li Zhengchun's task was to observe the movements of the Ming Dynasty and befriend ministers to speak favorably of Western Xia.
But after arriving in Luoyang, Li Zhengchun found himself unable to accomplish anything, so he simply stayed in Luoyang, indulging in a life of leisure.
If the Ming Dynasty hadn't attacked the Western Xia, Li Zhengchun would have had nothing to say.
If the Ming Dynasty were to attack the Western Xia, he had already decided to become a collaborator.
Anyway, the Western Xia dynasty was bound to be destroyed. Relying on the connections he had made in Luoyang, he might still be able to continue serving as an official by selling out his country.
Be a great official of the Ming Dynasty!
Two bright-minded young men, after finishing breakfast, went off together to see what was going on.
Upon arriving at the Annamese mission's monastic quarters, they quickly discovered that entry and exit were prohibited.
Chapter 3536 Selling Elephants
Fujiwara Tadamune bowed to the gatekeeper: "Goro has been guarding this place all this time?"
"So it was Fujisaburo and Lord Li in person."
The officer said with a smile,
"These barbarians from Jiaozhi have eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard, daring to impersonate a qilin as tribute."
"Their chief and deputy envoys have been arrested and taken to the Dali Temple for interrogation, while the rest have been imprisoned here under strict guard."
Fujiwara no Tadamune asked, "Is the crime of deceiving the emperor punishable by death?"
The official shook his head: "I don't know."
.....
During the imperial conference, cabinet ministers also discussed the matter.
"Even in times of war, envoys should not be killed."
Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen said,
"The Dali Temple has already investigated and found that Annam lied about presenting a qilin in order to demonstrate its sincerity in paying tribute."
"In that case, release the envoy and hold the King of Annam accountable."
Hu Anguo, Minister of Rites, said: "What the Prime Minister said is in accordance with the etiquette of diplomatic relations."
Zhang Tang said, "Since the court has no immediate plans to attack Annam, we can release the envoy and postpone the attack."
"The current efforts to manage the Yellow River are costing a great deal of money and resources, and we should not go to war with Annam again."
"It's not too late to attack Annam after we've destroyed Dali."
Qian Chen said, "It would be best to maintain peace with Annam within five years."
"Even if we have to fight, it can only be a small-scale fight."
"Fighting is too expensive!"
Since the ministers all said not to cause trouble, Zhao Yuan was too lazy to insist on his own way.
"Let's put this matter aside for now and stabilize Annam first," Zhao Yuan said. "The nationwide land tax reform has been completed, and the latest population statistics have been sent to the capital."
"Minister Fang, please give a brief introduction to everyone."
Fang Mengqing stood up and said, "There is a system of corvée labor in towns and a system of land tax and poll tax in villages, so people no longer deliberately conceal their household registration."
"In addition, the household registration system was abolished in towns and villages, and taxes were levied according to the area of residences, shops and farmland. As a result, many people took the initiative to register with the government."
"They also launched a vigorous crackdown on temples and monasteries, ordering monks and Taoist priests without ordination certificates to return to secular life..."
"The household registration system of my Great Ming Dynasty is different from that of the previous dynasty; it covers all households and populations."
"Of course, since children are prone to death, we only count boys and girls over the age of 15."
"Our Great Ming Dynasty currently has the capital region, Henan, Hebei, Shanxi, Shandong, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Hubei, Huainan, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Liaoning, totaling one capital and fifteen provinces. In addition, there are the three protectorates of Andong, Monan, and Linhuang."
"The three protectorates have not yet been counted, but the remaining 15 provinces and one capital city have a total population of over 8931 million aged 15 and above."
"Based on the ratio of arable land to population, the five most densely populated provinces are Jiangxi, Fujian, Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Huainan."
"The most sparsely populated areas are Hebei, Liaoning, Hubei, Hunan, and Shaanxi."
"There are too many barbarians in Guangxi, and it is not possible to make an effective count at the moment."
"Guangdong is also quite special, with Guangzhou alone accounting for a quarter of the province's population."
"And then there's the number of households..."
The population still hasn't recovered; it's far worse than it was during the middle of Emperor Huizong's reign.
There were many hidden people at that time, but judging from the number of households, it is very likely that the number had reached hundreds of millions.
First, Fang La launched an uprising in Jiangnan, and then the Yellow River breached its banks, causing chaos in Hebei and Shandong.
Then the Jurchens ravaged Hebei, and Zhong Xiang wreaked havoc in Hunan.
In addition, there were other wars, such as the Lunan barbarians sweeping through southern Sichuan, and uprisings occurring in Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, and Huainan.
This doesn't even include the battles fought by Zhao Yuan.
The population distribution in Guangdong is absurd; 25% of the province's population is crammed into Guangzhou.
Other prefectures in Guangdong had denser populations the closer they were to Fujian—a result of Fujian immigrants.
Aside from Guangzhou, Yingzhou (Yingde) ranks second in the province in terms of tax revenue.
However, Yingzhou experienced the slowest population growth in the Northern Song Dynasty: negative growth!
The area has convenient transportation, making it suitable for collecting commercial taxes. However, the farming environment is relatively harsh, resulting in the heaviest industrial, agricultural, and commercial taxes in the province, and the densest tax network in the province.
Zhao Yuan banged on the table and said, "The customs post in Yingzhou must be abolished, leaving only the city of Yingzhou!"
Before Fang Mengqing, the Minister of Revenue, could speak, Qian Chen said, "Your Majesty, goods from Jiangxi and Hunan provinces can be transported to Guangzhou via Yingzhou and then shipped out to sea."
“Setting up more customs posts there will not affect commercial prosperity.”
"To increase the population, all that is needed is to reduce agricultural taxes."
“Short-sighted!”
Zhao Yuan criticized, "The customs posts that were abolished in Yingzhou can be recovered in various industries."
"It can boost industry and commerce in the three provinces and give more people jobs."
"Yingzhou is a tiny place, only two counties, yet the former Song Dynasty set up 25 tax collection points!"
"It may seem that the government is collecting more taxes, but in reality, it is causing the population of Yingzhou to decrease!"
These 25 tax offices also include some mine tax authorities.
But it still seems outrageous, considering it's just two counties, and in a mountainous and cramped area at that.
Inland merchant ships passing through this area may be charged taxes two or three times within the same township.
Zhao Yuan continued to issue instructions: "The population density in Jiangxi and Fujian provinces is too high; the government must continue to organize immigration."
Chapter 3537 Household Registration Statistics
“The migration from Jiangxi to Hunan and from Fujian to Guangxi should serve as a wake-up call for officials at every prefecture and county level.”
"We need to facilitate rapid immigration, avoid creating chaos, and ensure the safety of immigrants!"
Want it all, want it all, and want it all...
The cabinet ministers expressed sympathy for the officials in Jiangxi and Fujian.
Of course, as long as it's linked to political achievements, officials will do even the most difficult things.
Generally speaking, local officials are not concerned about immigration, or even obstruct people from immigrating, mainly because they are considering their own political achievements.
They don't care about the scarcity of land resources; all they care about is increasing the number of households in their jurisdiction, which will earn them good reviews in performance evaluations.
A decrease in the number of registered residents will affect performance evaluations.
They are willing to do whatever the imperial court uses to assess performance.
Zhao Yuan said, "The provincial governors of Jiangxi, Fujian, Guangxi, and Hunan will go to Nanjing for a meeting this summer."
“The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will each send a Right Vice Minister to Nanjing to preside over the meeting.”
"The Vice Minister of War was mainly responsible for arranging the cross-provincial transport troops and their work among the immigrants from the four provinces."
"Everyone sat down together to discuss how to coordinate immigration and ensure that the immigration process proceeds in an orderly and rapid manner."
The high-ranking officials present were all shocked. They couldn't believe that this was how it was done.
Local officials are strictly prohibited from leaving their jurisdictions without authorization, yet Zhao Yuan ordered the provincial governors of four provinces to leave their territories for a meeting, and even sent the vice ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War to preside over the meeting.
After discussing the national work arrangements, Zhao Yuan said, "Hu Anguo stays; the rest of you may leave."
Hu Anguo remained seated, knowing it was related to the Annamese delegation.
Zhao Yuan said, "Send an envoy to Annam to demand an explanation and order Annam to hand over the former Song territory they have seized."
"As for the Annamese envoy, he was reprimanded and then released."
"On their way back to China, the rest stops along the way no longer offer free accommodation; they have to pay for their own food, drinks, lodging, and travel!"
"Yes!"
Hu Anguo wanted to laugh; this emperor was really too wicked.
The Annamese delegation brought rhinoceroses and elephants with them, and without the help of post stations, it would have been difficult to feed the animals along the way.
They had only one choice: sell the offerings to raise money for their journey home!
The population of the country is 8931 million, and if children are included, it will definitely exceed 100 million.
Why do we say the population hasn't recovered yet?
Because when calculating household registration, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun were included, and Liaoning was also added.
Furthermore, the entire territory of Goryeo, including Pyongyang and the area to its north, has been incorporated into Liaoning Province.
Tsushima Island, Sado Island, and Iwami Province were all registered under the name of Shandong Province, and the people within their jurisdiction were also registered as citizens.
Ethnic minorities in Guangxi, Guangdong, Hunan, Sichuan, Fujian, and Shaanxi also established baojia (a system of mutual responsibility among local people) according to Wang Anshi's system of local people.
All residents within the Baojia system were considered registered citizens and included in the statistics. (Taiwan County was under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province.)
None of the above belong to the household registration of the Northern Song Dynasty.
The registered area of the Ming Dynasty was a quarter larger than that of the Northern Song Dynasty, but the population was only comparable to that of the mid-Huizong era.
This was the result of eight full years of recovery after the founding of the Ming Dynasty.
The claim that the statistical area increased by a quarter includes many border areas and tributary states.
For example, in the Hehuang region, although the Northern Song Dynasty conquered it, there was never any household registration data.
In Lanzhou alone, there were 395 households and 981 people. Those who lived further away from the city and the fortress were not taken care of.
As of last year, only eight years after the founding of the Ming Dynasty, remarkable progress had been made in the management of the Hehuang region.
The Han, Tibetan, Tangut, and Uyghur peoples of the eight prefectures of the Hehuang region were all brought under the rule of the Ming government, and the registered population aged 15 and above reached 32.
In relatively remote areas, such as the mountainous region of Taozhou (Gannan), the Ming Dynasty was temporarily unable to manage them.
This year, the Hehuang region was officially renamed Lanzhou Prefecture, and its eight prefectures were changed to eight counties.