Jinyang Palace is the former Cuiwei Palace. Since Yizi moved here, there has not been much change in the palace. Everything remains the same as Li Shimin here. However, Yizi likes flowers and plants very much likes flowers and plants, so the entire Jinyang Palace is full of all kinds of strange flowers and plants. Unfortunately, the season is wrong now, and many flowers and plants are not in the season of blooming, otherwise there will be strange fragrance everywhere.

Li Xiu accompanied Li Zhi on a gravel road and chatted. It was mainly because Li Zhi raised some political questions to ask Li Xiu's opinions. Li Xiu also answered based on his own experience, but he also emphasized that he had not been in the court for a long time, so the opinions he put forward could only be used as reference. Li Zhi nodded in this regard.

Speaking of which, since Li Zhi ascended the throne, all aspects have continued the strategies set by Li Shimin. The main reason is that the foundation laid by Li Shimin for him is really good, so there is no need to change in many aspects, such as external grassland strategies, Liaodong strategies, internal policies, etc.

"Sir, the roads and cities in the north are almost the same as those in the city. But the number of Han people who are willing to move to the grassland is still a little small. In some remote states, there are only a few hundred Han people, and most of them are merchants. This also makes the court's rule over there a little unstable. However, no matter what the court uses, it cannot attract more Han people to settle down." Li Zhi raised a question about the north at this time.

"I have been paying attention to the annexation of the grassland, but I can't hurry up. Moreover, we have done quite well in the early stage. The states established in the southern grassland have attracted many Han people to settle down. Some states have even reached the size of Shangzhou, which is not worse than those in the pass. As for those more remote states, the main reason why the problem of not attracting people to settle down is that the population of our Tang Dynasty is still too small. This is also impossible. Only when the population grows in the future can this problem be solved." Li Xiu had no good idea about this matter, so he could only persuade Li Zhi to be patient.

"Actually, the population of our Tang Dynasty has grown very fast. Last year, I ordered the Ministry of Revenue to count the national population and found that in addition to the population that has increased fertility, there are many hidden households, refugees, etc. who have voluntarily entered their household registration. Now the total population has reached more than 80 million. It was even more before the war in the Sui Dynasty, but I still felt that the population was too small!" Li Zhi couldn't help but sigh when he spoke at the end, and the population had become a key issue restricting the development of the Tang Dynasty, but it was not possible to increase the population overnight.

"I have also read the demographic statistics of the Ministry of Revenue, but I am very optimistic about the population growth of the Tang Dynasty, because according to statistics, there are nearly 20 million children under the age of ten, accounting for about 20% of the total population. These children were born after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, especially after the ten years of Zhenguan, the national baby fertility rate has been growing. If this momentum continues, it will probably not take long for our total population of the Tang Dynasty to exceed 100 million." Li Xiu said optimistically at this time.

Since Li Shimin ascended the throne, until now Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, Li Xiu has always suggested that the Tang Dynasty encourage childbirth. In fact, this is what the Tang Dynasty has been doing. For example, if you have three sons, you can receive subsidies, and even taxes will be reduced to certain exemptions. In addition, the grain output has been increasing over the years, so the population of the Tang Dynasty is also growing with an explosive trend. In addition, a large number of hidden households, refugees, etc. are included in the household registration, which has accelerated the population of the Tang Dynasty.

As far as Li Xiu knew, it turned out that the peak of the population of the Tang Dynasty in history should have been in the Tianbao period more than a hundred years later. At that time, there were only more than 80 million people, which was equivalent to the population of the Tang Dynasty counted last year. Moreover, this was far from the peak of the population of the Tang Dynasty. With the promotion of high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes, corn and potatoes, and the increase in the territory of the Tang Dynasty, it was only a matter of time before the total population of the Tang Dynasty reached hundreds of millions in the future.

"Mr. I'm right. This is also what I'm most happy about. I also estimated based on the current fertility rate. At most ten years, the population of the Tang Dynasty will exceed 100 million. Once the population goes up, as long as there is no war like the end of the Sui Dynasty, it will generally be difficult to descend." Li Zhi finally smiled when he heard Li Xiu's words. He studied with Li Xiu since he was a child and had a deep attainment in mathematics. Even in his bedroom, there is a chart of population growth trends, which will be updated every few years.

"Yes, as long as the population increases, the grasslands in the north, the Western Regions, and the vast areas south of the Yangtze River will be thoroughly developed, and the rule of our Tang Dynasty will only be more stable!" Li Xiu also smiled and said, "The rule of the court will become weak if the population is insufficient, especially in places with more foreign races. Therefore, an important aspect of the performance assessment of local officials is the growth of the population under their rule.

When Li Xiu heard Li Xiu talk about the Western Regions, Li Zhi also felt a stir. He immediately discussed matters related to the Western Regions with Li Xiu. Just before Li Shimin passed away, he had sent people to completely defeat the Western Turks, thus causing the countries in the Western Regions to surrender. The Tang Dynasty also occupied the eastern part of the Silk Road and extended its power to the Central Asia area.

After Li Zhi ascended the throne, he also devoted himself to the Western Regions. Although the conditions in the Western Regions were harsh, it was an important trade route. The caravans flowed continuously, causing cities to be built on this road through commerce. In addition, the surrender of various countries in the Western Regions, many Tang people also moved to the Western Regions to live. Therefore, the Tang Dynasty's rule over this place was even more stable than that of the grasslands.

However, some problems have also arisen in the Western Regions. The most important one is that the Tang Dynasty has bordered Persia. In recent years, Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire have joined forces to fight against the Dashi. However, even so, they still fought very hard. After all, the Dashi is in the rising period of the empire. The strong military force may not be able to compete independently except the Tang Dynasty.

In the past, the Tang Dynasty did not intervene in the war between the Three Western Kingdoms. At most, it would symbolically support Persia a batch of supplies. However, now the Tang Dynasty and Persia are bordered and the commerce of the two sides has been connected, so the Tang Dynasty's support for Persia has also increased a lot. After all, the Tang Dynasty still needs Persia to stand in front, at least it cannot be allowed to fall down for the time being.
Chapter completed!