Prices have been falling every day in recent years. If the imperial court had not been purchasing agricultural products to maintain prices, the farmers would probably be suffering.
The main reason is that large-scale infrastructure construction has been carried out for five or six years. From the second year of the Qingli period to the present, the official roads, waterways and canals across the country have undergone large-scale repairs.
With the faster flow of goods and the overthrow of many landlords, the amount of farmland increased rather than decreased. Coupled with the equalization of land tax and the per-acre tax, the number of registered households in the Song Dynasty skyrocketed from over 70 million before the Qingli period to around 90 million last year.
With more fields, a larger population, and skyrocketing productivity, output will naturally increase dramatically.
The prices of agricultural products such as rice, millet, beans, and wheat continued to fall, while the introduction of crops like corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes led to a booming livestock industry. Improvements in the production of lard, peanuts, and soybean oils also led to a drop in the prices of animal and vegetable oils.
It can be said that it was not only the relaxed policies of the Song Dynasty in recent years that made the people prosperous, but it was also a direct result of the introduction of a large number of overseas crops, which greatly increased productivity.
"Our current productivity has basically reached the peak of the Qing Dynasty, so feeding 400 to 500 million people is no problem. The next hundred years will likely be a period of explosive population growth for the Song Dynasty, with a population of 200 to 300 million a piece."
Zhao Jun said, "So we have to step up our efforts and be prepared for danger in times of peace. The Agricultural College needs to be vigorously developed. Various experimental fields and bases need to be built, and we need to continuously improve and explore hybrid rice to prepare for the third productivity surge."
"Um."
Everyone nodded after hearing this.
"In fact, I have established a relatively mature official system, with the Constitutional Court at its core, and each department performing its duties, with supervision and governance at every level. But I have not yet established a complete modern state."
Zhao Jun suddenly thought of a question and said to everyone, "Well, let's discuss with the emperor during the Chongzheng Hall meeting this afternoon to improve the modern national system."
"good."
“We must indeed move towards the future and break free from the shackles of the past.”
"The Song Dynasty is finally transforming from an agricultural society to an industrial society. This marks the beginning and innovation of our Chinese civilization."
"I agree."
Everyone agreed that a complete modern national system is the foundation and trend of the future.
(End of this chapter)
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