"What's the problem?" Wei Zheng was also full of doubts at this time. They were discussing the issue of resettlement of the Turks just now, but when Li Xiu changed his words, he actually touched the issue of land again, which made him very puzzled. .

"Wei Zuocheng, the core of our Tang Dynasty is in Guanzhong and the most densely populated place. Then there are Henan, Shandong and other places. Most of these places are vast plains with relatively concentrated land, so there is a large population. It can be said that 700 to 80% of our Tang Dynasty live on the plains in the north. This is the biggest problem of our Tang Dynasty!" Li Xiu said firmly at this time.

"The land and population are too concentrated? What's the big problem?" Wei Zheng was confused when he heard Li Xiu's words. He even felt that concentrating population and land was actually a good thing, which was easier for the management and mobilization of the court. If the Tang Dynasty lived a very scattered life like the herdsmen on the grassland, it would bring a lot of trouble.

Seeing the expression on Wei Zheng's face, Li Xiu smiled again and said, "Wei Zuocheng, you may think this is a good thing, but think about it. Now, my Tang Dynasty has just been more than ten years since its founding, and my Majesty is wise and in his prime, it can be said that my Tang Dynasty will definitely usher in a prosperous era next. Moreover, the court has always encouraged the people to have children, and the population will grow rapidly, and the population will become more dense by then. However, the number of people that those fields can support is limited. What if the existing fields cannot support so many people in the future?"

"Why are the prince conscience confused? Didn't you introduce high-yield crops such as sweet potatoes and corn from the Americas before? In addition, I heard that the Ministry of Agriculture has been studying another high-yield crop, potatoes. With these things, do we still have to worry about food shortage in the Tang Dynasty?" Wei Zheng said disapprovingly again.

"It's a big mistake! High-yield crops can indeed temporarily solve the problem of food, but no matter what kind of crops, the yield per mu has a limit. If the population exceeds this limit, no matter how high-yield crops are, it is useless. Moreover, high-yield crops also require a lot of fertility. For example, taking corn as an example, if corn is planted in a piece of land for several years and is not well maintained, the fertility of this piece of land will be greatly reduced, and it will be difficult to produce again in the next few years. So now corn is planted between soybeans, because soybeans can increase the fertility of the land!"

When Li Xiu said this, he paused and then said: "If you want to fundamentally solve the problem of food, the most important thing is to increase the area of ​​land that can be cultivated. The territory of our Tang Dynasty is bounded by the Qinling Mountains and Huai Rivers, and can be divided into two major areas, north and south. The north has always been the foundation of the Central Plains dynasty and is also the place with the most dense population and land. In contrast, the south is vast and sparsely populated, and large tracts of fertile fields are deserted. It is a pity!"

"The prince-consort has a long-term vision and has begun to develop the south now. However, the Tang Dynasty has just established its country and the land in the north has not been fully reclaimed. Is it too early to consider the south now?" Wei Zheng seemed very calm after hearing these long speeches from Li Xiu, but he still spoke and retorted.

"Wei Zuocheng once said to the Secretariat that people do not have long-term plans, so there must be immediate worries. Now I also give you this sentence. If you want to better control the south, you must develop the south. Moreover, the climate in the north has been somewhat abnormal in recent years. Droughts and water shortages occur from time to time, and droughts will lead to locust plagues, hunger and other disasters. In contrast, the south has sufficient rain. Although floods may occur, as long as the prevention and control is properly, a large amount of fertile land can still be obtained. Maybe in the future, the food of our Tang Dynasty will mainly rely on the supply of the south!" Li Xiu said again at this time.

What Li Xiu said was also a historical fact in later history, especially after the Southern Song Dynasty, the south developed greatly, and the fields and population grew rapidly. It was also when the grain output in the south exceeded that in the north for the first time, so that by the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a considerable part of the grain in the north needed to be transported to the north through canal transportation.

"Food is supplied from the south? The prince-in-law really dares to think about it." Wei Zheng did not believe Li Xiu's judgment at all. After all, in the Tang Dynasty, the population in the south was too small, and most of them were concentrated in a few prosperous places such as Suzhou and Hangzhou, Guangzhou, etc. Most of the other lands were vast and sparsely populated, with wild animals in groups. Ordinary people were worried about whether they would be taken away by wild animals when walking on the road. They could not even guarantee safety, let alone produce food.

"Only I can't imagine, but I can't do it. In the former Sui Dynasty, the domestic population was even more than 100 million, and most of them were concentrated in the north. Although the rebellion at the end of the Sui Dynasty was due to Yang Guang's tyranny, it was also related to the excessive population, which led to the lack of food supply. Our Tang Dynasty also had to learn from the lessons and expand the farming area before the population grew. Now the Turks are a good opportunity. Instead of moving them to the Central Plains to harm the people, it is better to throw them to the south. Without horses, the Turks would have no strength to resist and could only let us mercy. After a few years, they could reclaim countless fertile land. It was simply killing two birds with one stone. Why not do it?"

When Li Xiu spoke at the end, he stood up excitedly and stared at Wei Zheng with bright eyes. In fact, Wei Zheng's suggestion to move the Turks to Henan area had a very fatal disadvantage, that is, the Turks would definitely bring about public security problems in the process of getting along with the Han people. Moreover, the Turks were more fierce, and the local Han people were at a loss at that time, which was one of the reasons why Wen Yanbo attacked Wei Zheng before.

After hearing Li Xiu's words, Wei Zheng remained silent. After a while, he looked up at the excited Li Xiu, and then slowly said: "I finally understand the meaning of the prince-consort. It turns out that in the prince-consort's heart, I never thought of turning the Turks into Han people, but instead, I would like to treat them as slaves and throw them into the poor mountains and rivers in the south, so that they could reclaim fields for my Tang Dynasty. As for their life or death, the prince-consort probably wouldn't take it seriously!"

"Yes, since Wei Zuocheng has said this, I won't hide it. As the saying goes, it's not my race, but their hearts must be different. In the past, I don't know how many Han people died at the hands of the Turks, and countless Han people were captured on the grassland as slaves and maids. Just after the army defeated the Turks this time, there were tens of thousands of Han people rescued, and more Han slaves struggled on the grassland. These all need to be continued to be rescued next year. Thinking of the suffering these Han people suffered, I must not watch these Turks without any punishment!" When Li Xiu spoke at the end, his face also showed a ferocious look.

When the Turks went south from time to time to plunder, they not only robbed food and property, but also robbed people. Moreover, these Han people were robbed on the grassland and could only be slaves to the Turks. Moreover, the Turks did not treat them as human beings, and their status was even worse than animals. They could be killed at will. Many people died of torture. For example, Zhao Deyan's family was the representative of it. This time, Li Jing destroyed the Turks and directly rescued tens of thousands of Han slaves from the Turks. Li Xiu once looked at them from a distance, only remembering that these slaves were thin and numb, and did not look like living people at all, but were more like the zombies in later movies.

After hearing Li Xiu's above words, Wei Zheng finally became silent again. This time he was silent for a long time. Li Xiu finally calmed down his mood, then sat down while tasting tea while waiting for Wei Zheng's reply.

When Li Xiu almost finished drinking a pot of tea and had eaten nearly half of the snacks, Wei Zheng looked up at Li Xiu and said, "Son-in-law, as the saying goes, when will the revenge be repaid? Don't you want to completely resolve the hatred between the Turks and the Han people?"

"The fact of resolving hatred is too complicated. In contrast, I prefer to eliminate the enemy from the top. And Wei Zuocheng should not forget that most Han people in the world may not have the broad mind of Zuocheng, you, so if Zuocheng placed the Turks in the Central Plains, it would probably attract countless people to be scolded. Of course, Zuocheng may not care about his private name, but if the Han people and Turks are in serious conflicts, it is likely that the local Han people will resent the court, which will also be a great blow to Your Majesty's reputation!" Li Xiu said calmly at this time.

After hearing Li Xiu's words, Wei Zheng showed a meditative expression again. Li Xiu had expressed his views from various angles and explained them very thoroughly. Although they were different from Wei Zheng's ideas, they also had a great impact on him. Especially Li Xiu's long-term vision, and even the development of the South had been considered. Even if Wei Zheng felt that it was too early to consider this matter, he had to admire Li Xiu's long-term vision.

After a while, Wei Zheng slowly spoke again: "Mr. Concubine, your thoughts do make some sense, and I need to think carefully. However, Your Majesty still has not made a decision on how to resettle the Turks. If Your Majesty agrees with Wen Yanbo's suggestion and place the Turks on the grassland, then no matter how much we argue, it will be useless!"

"Your Majesty Wei doesn't have to worry about this. In fact, I had already convinced Your Majesty before sending troops to attack the Turks. However, later, there were two different opinions from Wen Yanbo and Zuo Cheng in the court, so Your Majesty was a little hesitant. However, after I met Your Majesty before, Your Majesty also felt that it would be better to move the Turks inward. But where to move inward, it depends on the result of our argument!" Li Xiu stared at Wei Zhengdao again at this time.
Chapter completed!