"Move the capital?"
Li Shimin felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of aspects involved in moving the capital.
"Let's forget about moving the capital; let Li Jue handle that!"
"But now that the government granaries have burned down, how can we stabilize grain prices?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Zhou immediately stepped forward.
"Your Majesty, the autumn grain will soon be stored in the granaries, so there should be no shortage of grain in Guanzhong."
"Even if there is a food shortage, it is the powerful and wealthy who hoard and speculate. As long as Your Majesty uses some ruthless methods, they will surely submit obediently!"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin sighed in frustration.
"well!"
"I never imagined that the prosperous Zhenguan era, which I am so proud of, would be unable to even feed the people of Guanzhong..."
In fact, not only Li Shimin couldn't feed them enough, but Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Yang of Sui, and Emperor Gaozu of Tang also couldn't.
Moreover, due to the long period of peace since the Zhenguan era, the population of Guanzhong has increased, putting even greater pressure on the land.
Even so, Li Jue was still unwilling to move the capital.
After all, Chang'an was the birthplace of the Tang Dynasty. If the capital were moved to Luoyang, the spirit of the Tang Dynasty would be lost.
"Grandpa, don't worry about the food problem. Your grandson has plenty of ways to get them to provide the food!"
"But the matter of moving the capital... I disagree. Even if I become emperor in the future, I will not move the capital!"
Li Jing and Ma Zhou immediately became anxious upon hearing this.
"Grandson of the Emperor, this is not a matter of your willingness or not, but the land in Guanzhong is limited and simply cannot support such a large army and people!"
"If the capital is moved, at least one million people can be relocated, which will greatly reduce the pressure on Guanzhong!"
Li Jue curled his lip in disdain upon hearing this.
"Is moving one million enough?"
"The people of Guanzhong will continue to multiply, and sooner or later there still won't be enough!"
"Therefore, the key to solving the food shortage in Guanzhong lies not in whether or not to move the capital, but in whether or not the resources of the Tang Dynasty can be concentrated in Guanzhong!"
Ma Zhou and Li Jing were taken aback upon hearing this, then nodded in unison.
"That's true, but how easy is it to concentrate the resources of the Tang Dynasty in Guanzhong..."
"Even if the Crown Prince wanted to build a highway that would traverse the entire Tang Dynasty, it wouldn't be allowed!"
"Because no matter how cheap land transportation is, it can't compare to water transportation!"
"The reason Luoyang is more suitable to be the capital is simply because Luoyang is connected to the Grand Canal, which allows goods from the south to be transported to Luoyang..."
Li Jue naturally understood this principle, but he still couldn't let go of his feelings for Guanzhong.
"Master Li, I understand what you're saying, but I still don't want to move the capital!"
"I will find other ways to alleviate the pressure on Guanzhong!"
"Another way?"
Upon hearing this, Li Shimin immediately became interested. If one were to ask who was least willing to move the capital, it would undoubtedly be Li Shimin, the founder of the dynasty.
After all, Chang'an was the culmination of half his life's work!
"Grandson, tell me your thoughts!"
“Grandpa, what Master Li and Lord Ma are saying is simply that Guanzhong has limited land, but the population is too large to support. In that case, why don’t we relocate the surplus population from Guanzhong?”
"Relocation?"
"yes!"
"Gaochang Kingdom has fertile land. There shouldn't be any problem relocating 500,000 people to cultivate wasteland, right?"
"The Western Regions are vast; relocating another 500,000 people shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"And Goguryeo..."
“Our Tang Dynasty’s rule over Goguryeo was very weak, and a rebellion was highly likely. Therefore, it was very necessary to relocate Tang citizens to Goguryeo.”
"However, the people of Shandong are not very loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Moving them to Goguryeo may not make them more loyal to the Tang Dynasty than the people of Goguryeo."
"Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to relocate the surplus people from Guanzhong to Goguryeo!"
Li Jing smiled dismissively upon hearing this.
"Your Highness, you're oversimplifying things. The people of Guanzhong have always been reluctant to relocate. How can you possibly persuade them to move thousands of miles away?"
"Well..."
Dozens of ideas flashed through Li Jue's mind in an instant, and he finally settled on a dynasty that he was very reluctant to mention.
"Let's claim the land!"
"First, bring the people there by mobilizing the army, then grant them special privileges, allowing them to claim land on horseback, however much they want..."
"Once they have land, they will naturally be willing to relocate!"
"Land grabbing?"
Ma Zhou's eyelids twitched when he heard this, but when he thought about the places like Goguryeo and the Western Regions, he secretly felt relieved.
Although this method is somewhat extreme, Goguryeo and the Western Regions are not part of the former territory of the Tang Dynasty, so even if trouble is caused, the impact will not be significant.
Li Shimin's eyes lit up. The thought of his old brothers who had followed him through thick and thin having the right to expand their territory filled him with excitement.
"This is feasible!"
"Anyway, the lowly people of Goguryeo don't know how to enjoy the emperor's favor, so let our sons go and farm for them!"
Immigration is a major undertaking; it cannot be accomplished in a few days or months, nor can it be discussed and resolved in a few words.
Li Shimin and several others discussed the matter for a day, but still could not reach a final decision.
Ultimately, he could only temporarily shelve the matter and grant Li Jue the authority to act expediently.
This right not only facilitated Li Jue's immigration planning, but also prepared him for raising funds in the future.
Li Jue didn't mince words; he immediately ordered Xue Shisan to lead a team to demand grain from the lists of Lingyan Pavilion and the Imperial Genealogy.
Those who are willing to cooperate will buy at market price; those who are unwilling to cooperate will simply seize the grain.
Poor Princess Jiujiang, she thought Li Jue could reason with them, but she never expected that Li Jue would come to her door with a knife.
"Grandma from Jiujiang, could you lend me some grain?"
"No way!"
"Someone, escort Aunt Jiujiang to Xianling!"
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