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The small banquet in Wuying Hall was like a tea party. There was no preset agenda, and there was no need to discuss anything. Both Emperor Qin and his ministers seemed quite relaxed.
With a few side dishes and a bottle of good wine, you can chat about the gains and losses of the past year's administration, and even make a few jokes.
When talking about the issue of Ceylon, most of the ministers present supported incorporating Ceylon into the territory of the Qin Dynasty.
Qin Mu placed a globe in every government office and repeatedly instilled the concept of the world into his ministers. Now, the officials of the Qin Dynasty have an understanding of the world that is no longer limited to their own country.
As long as you have a little understanding of the overall pattern of the world, it is not difficult to see the importance of Ceylon.
In order to better control this important strategic point and incorporate it into the territory of the Qin Dynasty, it is necessary to send troops to garrison there.
Qin Mu was not very happy about assimilating the local indigenous people through intermarriage. The process was too slow, and Ceylon was too far away from the mainland, so the Han people would not be too willing to go there.
He still preferred to drive the 300,000 natives on the island of Ceylon to the Indian mainland and let countries like Ottosa help receive them.
However, now countries like Ottoman Empire are facing the invasion of the Mughal Empire, and it is unlikely that they will send troops to deal with the natives on the island of Ceylon.
So Qin Mu thought of Japan again, and planned to organize some warriors from Japan to serve as a vassal army to do this.
He sighed slowly, "Not only has our Great Qin restored the territory of the Ming Dynasty, but we have also included the southern and northern deserts, the western deserts, the eastern and southern Siberia, the South Sea islands, and even South China. However, the population is less than 60 million now. It's too few, too few."
Under such circumstances, the domestic arable land cannot be fully cultivated, and no one is willing to let the people leave their homeland and settle in those distant places.
On the other hand, in order to increase the population faster, Qin Mu did not want to withdraw troops from the country for expedition, so it was necessary to organize some Japanese samurai as vassal troops to fight.
Yang Chao, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, said: "Your Majesty, based on the data reported by various government offices, the number of births in Daqin this year is about 4 million. Nowadays, people everywhere have enough food and clothing, and each county has set up a hospital to provide free delivery. In addition, they have also taught knowledge about infant care, and the infant mortality rate has been greatly reduced..."
"Only four million people were born this year. So, doesn't that mean that the Qin Empire has only added forty million people in ten years?" Qin Mu was very dissatisfied.
In order to encourage childbirth, the imperial court gave away farmland, provided rice to babies born after the third child, and allowed them to attend elementary schools for free. A large number of unprecedented policies were implemented, but the population only increased by several million a year. It took ten years to recover to the peak population figure of the Ming Dynasty.
Who will cultivate the vast areas of Mobei, Moxi, the Western Regions, Central Asia, Luzon, Indochina, Java, and South China? When will these areas truly become part of the Qin Empire
Considering that there were no Han people in such a large territory, it was hard for Qin Mu not to be anxious.
Yang Chao quickly replied, "Your Majesty, don't worry. The population growth cannot be calculated in this way. Your Majesty, as long as there are no natural disasters and the people have enough food and clothing, the base of population growth will always increase year by year. To put it bluntly, if the number of births this year is 4 million, it will definitely be more tomorrow. Ten years later, it is possible that the number of births per year may reach 10 million."
Qin Mu almost couldn't help but slap his forehead. Yes, that's right. Every year, there are always a lot of bastards who grow up. They will marry and have children, joining the fertility army. Moreover, men can reproduce when they are in their forties or fifties. If the wife is too old and can't have children, the worst that can happen is to get some women from outside to be concubines...
Qin Mu's mind suddenly popped up a picture of a family of all ages working together, with birds singing and dancing upstairs and downstairs, and groups of fat boys crying... He quickly shook his head, what is this? This is...
At this time, the Minister of Justice Bai Tie said: "Your Majesty, I understand your thoughts. Your Majesty is benevolent, and the Great Qin is thriving. The people live and work in peace and contentment. There are also a series of measures to encourage childbirth. The rapid increase in the population of the Great Qin is not a problem.
However, there is one thing that Your Majesty probably did not think of. Your Majesty is a saintly and benevolent person, and the people live a worry-free life. Under such circumstances, even if the population increases, the people are not willing to leave their homeland and go to other places to make a living. This may not have a significant effect on stabilizing the newly opened territory.
Therefore, I suggest that, except for the most heinous crimes, other serious crimes should be replaced by exile as much as possible. Places like Ceylon and South China are too far away. If not exiled, I am afraid that not many people will voluntarily go there. "
Qin Mu immediately thought of the British in later generations. When they developed Australia, they also exiled criminals to Australia.
In fact, in ancient China, many remote places gradually developed through the long-term exile of criminals.
In particular, some intellectuals were exempted from the death penalty and replaced with exile, which was of great help in promoting the development of the exile areas.
Take Hainan Island as an example. It was originally just a wild island. Between the Tang and Song dynasties, Li Deyu, Li Gang, Zhao Ding, Li Guang, Hu Quan, Su Dongpo and others were exiled to this wild island.
It is difficult to use specific data to illustrate the influence of these people on the subsequent development of Hainan Island and its integration into the mainland, but this influence does exist and is very far-reaching.
Qin Mu nodded repeatedly and said, "What do you think of Minister Bai's suggestion?"
Yang Tinglin said: "Your Majesty, a benevolent monarch always educates the people and is lenient with punishments. Your Majesty wants to implement a benevolent rule, which is a great blessing for the world. How can we, the ministers, not be loyal and assist you?"
Liu Meng, the commander-in-chief of the Central Army, interjected, "Your Majesty, if more people are spared the death penalty for serious crimes, I am afraid that this will increase the number of corrupt officials and the crime rate among the people."
Qin Mu shook his head and said, "I still say that the deterrent effect of punishment does not lie in its severity, but in its inevitability. Especially for officials, it is not the severity of the punishment. As long as it is difficult to escape the punishment, it is possible to eliminate their lucky mentality. Without the lucky mentality, not many officials will be willing to gamble their future."
"Your Majesty is wise!"
Qin Mu went on to say: "I intend to recruit some warriors from Japan and send them to Ceylon and the Indochina Islands. I will provide them with weapons and send generals to command them. I will let these vassal armies fight to support themselves and to eliminate the local natives. This will reduce the expenditure of the Qin Empire and reduce the casualties of the Qin Empire's soldiers."
As soon as Qin Mu finished speaking, Huang Zhenlin, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "The Japanese are hardworking, have strong fighting capacity, and are very disciplined. As long as they are well controlled, they will be very obedient and are very suitable to be used as vassal troops to expand overseas territories. I think what Your Majesty has proposed is feasible."
For such things, the officials of the Qin Dynasty will no longer oppose them with a face of benevolence and morality like the ministers of previous dynasties.
Now on the islands of Indochina, Luzon and Jinghai Province, the Pu Cong troops recruited by the Qin Dynasty from the local indigenous peoples total nearly 200,000, and the battle is in full swing.
However, the combat effectiveness of the armies in these places is really not that good. If we can organize some samurai from Japan to serve as servants, it will definitely greatly speed up the clearing of the above-mentioned areas.
However, everyone still remembers the Japanese pirates who plagued the southeastern coast in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Now that they were going to organize Japanese ronin as a vassal army, some ministers inevitably had some concerns.
Cabinet Minister Lu Zhenfei said, "Your Majesty, Japanese ronin are cruel and aggressive by nature. If they are well controlled, they can be a sharp weapon, but if they are not well controlled, they can easily backfire. Therefore, I think that this matter should be handled with caution. The number of the first batch should not be too large. Once we understand the habits of the Japanese ronin and have a good strategy to control them, it will not be too late to slowly increase their number."
Sima An and others basically hold this view. The number of the first batch of Japanese vassal troops should not be too large. It's like playing with flying knives. Start with one, and when you become proficient in it, add another one, or two.
Qin Mu also agreed with this point. He said slowly: "Then let's send a message to the North Sea Fleet to recruit 3,000 warriors from Japan to wipe out the bandits in Jiaozhi."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
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ps: There are four updates today. I am really tired. Please have pity on me and give me some encouragement!
.(To be continued..)
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