"Forehead."
Fan Zhongyan agreed with this thought. Rubber trees are trees, and the growth cycle of trees is much slower than that of crops. It would probably take several years.
"Even if they get a lot of saplings and even finished trees on board and plant them in soil on board, which shortens the growth cycle, there are still many problems and troubles to solve before transplanting them to the south."
Zhao Jun points out the crux of the matter: "Let's not talk about the survival rate for now. Even if all the plants survive and produce a lot of seeds, it will take at least several years, or even more than a decade, for them to be widely planted. So during this time, we must make plans for the first industrial revolution."
"Yeah, that makes sense."
Old Fan also understood it, but he didn't know much about rubber trees, which led to the misunderstanding.
Zhao Jun said, "Therefore, the true beginning of the first industrial revolution cannot be achieved simply by building a few steel mills. It also requires improving productivity and efficiency. I estimate that it will take at least ten years for the steam engine to become popular. What preparations do we need to make during this decade?"
"Tell me about it, you are good at these things."
Fan Zhongyan was too lazy to guess, as he couldn't think of it anyway with his ability.
"First, there's population. The advent of the industrial age will inevitably require a large number of people to work in factories. The Song Dynasty's current productivity and food supply can easily feed 100 million to 200 million people. As long as we continue to expand the planting area of crops like sweet potatoes, we'll have more than enough to feed 300 million to 400 million people. So why hasn't our population grown explosively?"
Zhao Jun asked back.
"Is the tax rate based on the amount of land used?"
Fan Zhongyan asked tentatively.
"This is just one of the reasons. The equalization of land tax and levy can indeed stimulate the people to have children, but it also leaves many households with hidden families."
Zhao Jun said, "During the last census, some hidden households were willing to come forward because the court offered them tax breaks and distributed land. However, the majority of hidden households are still content to remain unregistered, which means many are still being concealed."
"Hmm"
Fan Zhongyan pondered and nodded.
"Besides that, there is the serious problem of land annexation."
Zhao Jun continued, "Land is largely concentrated in the hands of landlords, and the people are impoverished, unable to raise more children. Naturally, a population explosion will not occur. Therefore, only by addressing these two areas can the Song Dynasty experience a baby boom within the next few years. Twenty years from now, the Song Dynasty will experience a period of rapid development, contributing to national development."
"It's finally time."
Fan Zhongyan was a little excited and slammed the table and said, "Hanlong, tell me what we should do."
"The land tax must be distributed according to the land area."
Zhao Jun showed a serious expression. "As for the issue of land annexation, I have three solutions."
"Tell me?"
"this"
Fan Zhongyan was shocked and said, "I'm afraid all the landowners in the country will rebel."
“Yeah, this one is too radical.”
"And the second one?"
"The second is to prohibit the sale of land."
Zhao Jun continued, "The imperial court was only allowed to repurchase the land, and then local governments began large-scale construction, building roads, canals, and mining. They recruited the tenants from the landlords in each county, leaving them with no one to farm."
Fan Zhongyan frowned and said, "There are probably many problems. Just from what I can think of, the financial expenditure will definitely explode. Moreover, the tenants are controlled by the landlords through contracts and have no way to leave."
"This kind of large-scale infrastructure project is bound to cost a fortune, but haven't we just solved the "three redundancies" problem? Currently, our fiscal revenue is steadily increasing. While it hasn't yet reached the 100 million guan annual revenue level we saw before the tax cuts, trade throughput has skyrocketed, and the domestic economy is being stimulated significantly. It's only a matter of time before annual fiscal revenue exceeds 100 million guan in the next few years."
Zhao Jun laughed and said, "After deducting the roughly 30 million guan annual military expenditure, official expenses, and miscellaneous expenses approaching 20 million guan, the court still has 30 to 40 million guan left. Furthermore, localities already have land tax revenues. Spending tens of millions of guan annually and frantically building projects would both stimulate the economy and attract young and capable labor."
"As for the contract issue."
He stroked his chin and said, "The court should enact laws stipulating how much interest constitutes usury. Anyone engaging in usury will be punished with imprisonment, exile, confiscation of property, and even death. Restrictions on personal freedom are prohibited, and any form of slavery must be severely cracked down upon. A death order should be issued to all local governments."
"This is going to torture the landlords to death."
Fan Zhongyan was also quite shocked when he heard this combination of punches.
Although this didn't overtly take their land away, it did take away their tenants and young men. With no one to cultivate the land, it would be pointless for them to keep it; it would become barren, and they would eventually be forced to sell it to the government, wouldn't they?
"At least I gave them the power to sell it to the government."
Zhao Jun spread his hands and said, "Actually, there's a scheme here. Land with title deeds is recognized as owned by landlords and private individuals. From now on, private cultivation of farmland is prohibited. The government will organize manpower to build canals, reclaim the land themselves, and then rent it out to tenants as official farmland. And the same anti-slavery and contractual agreements will still be in place."
"Goodness! If that happens, the landlord won't even have the power to sell his land to the government."
Fan Zhongyan was even more shocked.
Zhao Jun is dark.
My hands are really black.
If this continues, the landlords across the country will be skinned alive if not dead.
"There's no other way. We have to find a way to take the land back from these landlords. Besides, I didn't let them suffer any loss. The local governments bought it with real money and financial resources."
Zhao Jun shook his head.
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