I became emperor in the Tang Dynasty by relying on the palace fighting system

The Anshi Rebellion had little to do with Yang Guifei, and it was not simply caused by the emperor's incompetence and the rebellion of his ministers.

Li Zhao asked Li Chao to send several lists to Li Zhi and others: "Take a look first. This is the population number of this world in all dynasties recorded by the underworld. I asked Ali to transfer it."

Li Zhi and others looked through the pages and came to a conclusion: "Since the pre-Qin period, the population of the Central Plains has never exceeded 60 million."

Wu Meiniang frowned: "Whenever the population exceeds 60 million, natural disasters or wars usually break out, cruelly purging the population to less than 30 million."

Princess Wencheng: "From the end of the Sui Dynasty to the beginning of the Zhenguan Period, the population of the Central Plains was no more than two million households, or just over ten million people."

Li Zhao nodded: "You are right. There is a term in heaven to describe this phenomenon - population trap."

She simply said, "In the Small Thousand Worlds, arable land and survival resources are limited. When the population growth rate is inconsistent with the food growth rate, there will not be enough food and arable land, and the people will not be able to survive, so they will gather together and cause chaos."

"You have land annexation in the mortal world. Over time, the rich will have fields all over the place, while the poor will have almost no place to stand. This will speed up the people's uprising."

Qing Luan said: "This time, probably within 300 years, the people can no longer survive, so they rise up and overthrow the previous dynasty, and then start all over again on the ruins."

Li Chao said: "If you want to delay the collapse of the dynasty, you can only start from three directions."

"First, population."

"Second, cultivate the land."

"Three, food."

The flower-growing family overcame numerous difficulties and finally solved these three problems that had plagued China for thousands of years.

In the Tang Dynasty at that time, it was extremely difficult to solve any of these three problems.

Li Zhi, Wu Meiniang and others sighed deeply.

Population is the basis of rule. Rulers of all dynasties have encouraged people to have more children. In addition, the survival rate of young children was low in ancient times, and there were corvee labor, taxes, farming and weaving, so people believed that having many children was a blessing.

It is not easy to curb population growth, and it is not easy to control the degree.

Needless to say, land was a privately owned society in ancient times, and land was the most important means of production. No matter which dynasty it was, it was always difficult to survey the land, and in the end, nothing was done.

If anyone dares to touch the land, it would be strange if the Tang Dynasty's aristocratic families and landlords did not join forces to destroy the imperial court.

Grain is relatively easier to deal with. If any place produces good quality grain, the imperial court will definitely give out big prizes.

However, under natural conditions, without any scientific and technological means, it is a pipe dream to want to quickly cultivate high-yield and high-quality varieties.

Li Zhao said: "Before the great catastrophe, the population of the Tang Dynasty had reached more than 9 million households, or even 13 or 14 million households."

The figure of more than 9 million is the official record of the Tang Dynasty, which only includes tax-paying citizens. The figure of 13 to 14 million is the research of relevant scholar Du You, which includes slaves, monks, Taoists and others.

The Tang Dynasty during the Kaiyuan Period of Prosperity was already on the verge of collapse.

The Anshi Rebellion was nothing more than the result of conflicts among all parties reaching their extreme point and suddenly erupting.

Qing Luan said: "Before this, there was already chaos among the people of the Tang Dynasty, Emperor, don't you think so?"

"Didn't a great riot break out in the Jiangdong area a few years ago, led by Emperor Wenjia?"

Chen Shuozhen, also known as Emperor Wenjia, was the first woman in history to proclaim herself emperor. She was the leader of a peasant uprising army with tens of thousands of soldiers under her command, all of whom were common people suffering from oppression during the Tang Dynasty.

Li Zhi suddenly felt embarrassed and ashamed.

To evaluate whether an emperor is qualified to rule, one can tell by whether there is a peasant uprising among the people.

Although there were rebellions by aristocratic officials and barbarians on the border during the reigns of Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, they did not encounter peasant uprisings. They were both very outstanding emperors, and Li Zhi was a little worse in comparison.

Li Zhao said these things to Li Zhi and others today, not just for the purpose of discussing academic matters.

Li Zhao wanted to pave the way for opening up regular subjects for women in the future, and at the same time give women more freedom.

In the Tang Dynasty, if a woman did not get married after reaching a certain age, she would have to pay a fine.

Even after a certain age, the government will assign a man to give birth to a child.

You may be wondering, aren't there already coeducational departments for both sexes? Why do we need to open a women's department?

Because the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty was different from that of other dynasties.

The special examinations were temporary examinations that were not held often; the regular examinations, on the other hand, were held every year and were the most stable path to political advancement.

In the future, Li Zhao will completely break the political advancement path monopolized by men!

She wanted women to be able to pass the imperial examination and become officials!

Instead of relying on an unstable Jade Girl and Jade Boy system to compete for the few official positions around him.

Li Zhao wants the girls of the Tang Dynasty to conquer the vast sea of ​​stars outside Taiwei Changzhu Mansion.

This is something for later, let’s not mention it for now.

Li Zhao thought: After the first examination for Jade Girls and Jade Boys is over and Goguryeo is defeated, I will plan to start the regular examination for women.

The recent frequent actions have aroused Li Zhi's vigilance.

After finishing today's job, I will go down to the grassroots level to improve the living conditions of women at the bottom and lie low for a while.

Today, let the women of the Tang Dynasty gain some freedom of marriage.

Li Zhao smiled and glanced at Li Zhi: "Population, land, food, emperor, these three problems mentioned by Ali, which one can you solve?"

Li Zhi shook his head: "I am incompetent and can't solve any of them."

Li Zhao: "It's not that difficult actually. Although there is no perfect solution, I do have an idea to slow down population growth."

Li Hong asked anxiously, "What is the idea? Please let Xuanzun know."

Li Zhao simply said: "Extend the marriage age for men and women of marriageable age."

Li Zhi, Wu Meiniang and others suddenly realized.

Yes, if young men and women get married a few years later, the number of births each year will decrease!

Li Zhao smiled and said, "Emperor, I admire you mortals for getting married so early and yet having so many children."

"Don't you know that if mortals marry and have children early, not only will their children die early, but their own life span will also be shortened?"

Li Zhi, Wu Meiniang and the others were all shocked: "Ah?! Is there such a thing?"

Qingluan said with a smile: "Yes! Just look at the queen and you will know. Her mother got married and had a child at the age of 44. How old is she now?"

"According to statistics from the underworld, if a woman is too young or too old, giving birth will be dangerous for both the adult and the child. The most suitable age for a woman to give birth is between 25 and 30 years old."

"Most women in your Tang Dynasty get married and have children when they are fourteen or fifteen years old. Every year, thousands of women and children die in childbirth!"

"Even Guanyin Bi, she was in poor health, because she gave birth too early and too many times."

Li Zhi's expression was solemn: "I understand. Thank you, Xuanzun, for letting me go."

Wu Meiniang pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, nowadays men and women usually get married at the age of fifteen or sixteen, which is a bit too early. Why not adjust their marriage age to eighteen?"

In ancient times, the average age was only in their thirties or forties, and getting married at the age of eighteen was enough to have children and raise them to adulthood.

Li Zhi nodded: "Okay."

He immediately issued an edict: "Announce to the world, change the marriage law of the Tang Dynasty. From now on, no matter whether male or female, no one can get married before the age of 18."

"If you violate this, both families will be punished!"

Li Zhao curled his lips and chuckled, that’s great.

In ancient times, marriage was like shackles to women.

With this law, women in the Tang Dynasty will have more freedom of marriage, and will have a few more years to breathe, accumulate strength, and break through the cages that block them.