During the Jingyou period, the population was only over 70 million, and even with the concealed population, it was no more than 80 million. In just over a decade, the population has grown explosively. At the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Statistics submitted the results of last year's census.

I was shocked when I saw it.

After the land tax was implemented, the population of the Song Dynasty almost doubled in just over ten years.

The annual growth rate exceeds 10.

Although this growth rate is normal, it is even considered slow.

Because of my country's post-war baby boom, the average annual population growth rate has been over 20%, reaching 33.5 in 1963.

However, this happened in the Song Dynasty.

my country's medical conditions have kept pace with the times. Various antibiotics and penicillin have become popular. Deaths and difficult labors caused by infections in pregnant women have been greatly reduced. Therefore, a high birth rate is normal.

In contrast, the medical conditions in the Song Dynasty were actually far inferior to those in the early days of my country. Even though Zhao Zhen had developed penicillin, the problem of mass production was still not solved.

Therefore, even though the medical conditions were not so good, the Song Dynasty was still able to maintain such a high population growth. It can be seen that in a few decades, it is only a matter of time before the population exceeds 400 million or 500 million.

This requires planning for the future.

Zhao Jun pondered, "This is indeed a problem. The Agricultural College has been researching for so long, but hybrid rice still hasn't been developed. But there's nothing we can do about it. It requires the right time, place, and people, and it really depends on luck. Right now, we can only cultivate and support it generation after generation to increase production. Another area is fertilizer research. Hybrid high-yield varieties are one area of ​​research for grain, and the other is fertilizer and pesticides. The Chemistry College needs to work harder. Fertilizers, which are made up of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, should be able to be developed."

"Okay, then I'll study it when the time comes. This concerns the lives of the people of the Song Dynasty, and I can't just sit by and watch."

Zhao Zhen's face turned serious. He was now a great chemist and loved doing chemical experiments. Since fertilizers were chemical products, they fell within his academic scope.

If he could develop chemical fertilizer, combined with his previous inventions such as wear-resistant rubber, penicillin, redox theory, the periodic table, etc., he would probably be worthy of the title of the future father of chemistry.

“Bang, bang, bang!”

At this moment, there was a crisp knock on the door.

It was obviously Wang Shouzhong knocking on the door.

Generally speaking, the afternoon Chongzheng Hall meeting is not allowed to be interrupted unless something particularly big happens suddenly.

So Zhao Zhen immediately said, "Come in."

Wang Shouzhong pushed the door open and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news from Guangzhou."

"oh?"

Zhao Zhen asked, "What happened?"

"The diplomatic mission to the West has returned. They said they brought back a large number of envoys from various countries, along with the gifts they brought."

Wang Shouzhong reported.

“Hahahahahahahahahahahaha.”

Zhao Zhen was overjoyed and said, "Double happiness! First there was the internal combustion engine, and now the envoys from the West have also arrived."

"It is indeed a happy occasion."

Zhao Jun also smiled.

What Zhao Zhen was concerned about was that the celebration activities held by the Song Dynasty would shock the whole world.

Let the whole world know the strength and greatness of the Song Dynasty.

What he cared about was that this celebration would bring huge benefits to the Song Dynasty.

In addition to arms trade, other trades are also indispensable.

In this way, the Song Dynasty will gain a lot of benefits. Compared with the previous face-saving projects that attracted all nations to pay tribute, benefits are the bottom line.

However, Wang Shouzhong said, "Sir, there is one more thing."

"oh?"

Zhao Zhen asked in surprise, "What's the matter?"

"A few days ago, when the railway was being built in Luoyang, workers dug up a black stone in the ground. They didn't pay much attention to it at the time and just threw it aside."

Wang Shouzhong said, "However, there was a very knowledgeable supervisor in charge of the construction of that section of the railway. He had heard that the country was protecting ancient cultural relics. When he saw the workers throwing the stone away, he picked it up and took a look. Unexpectedly, there was inscription on it that he couldn't understand. So he handed it to the Luoyang Cultural Relics Bureau. After identification, it was found to be Qin Xiaozhuan, with eight characters written on it."

"Eight words?"

Zhao Zhen suddenly realized something and his breathing quickened: "Which eight words?"

"Mandated by Heaven, may you live long and prosper!"

"Bang!"

Zhao Zhen stood up immediately, his hands resting on the desk, his eyes wide open.