Chapter 552: Bold Reforms (2)

The meeting process has become increasingly formal. After Wu Zhi delivered the opening remarks, the meeting was declared open. Of course, while it is said to be a discussion for everyone, most of it is proposed by Baifeng, who then lets those below express their own views. If they speak well, Baifeng adopts it; if they speak poorly, Baifeng simply ignores it. As for vetoing Baifeng's proposals, that has yet to happen, because Baifeng's vision far exceeds everyone present.

Yulong is attending the meeting this time as the Minister of Revenue; he is no longer the child who sat at Baifeng's side just to listen without speaking. In front of him also stands a nameplate for the Prime Minister, marking his formal assumption of the title.

To help everyone understand the importance of the reform, Baifeng had Yulong read the summary of Huaxia's population and property from last year. Naturally, many copies of these materials had already been printed using block printing and placed in everyone's hands.

Yulong stood up very calmly and bowed slightly to everyone as a gesture of respect. Because he is the Crown Prince, he does not need to perform a grand salute, but since he is representing the Ministry of Revenue now, he must show some form of acknowledgment.

"Over the past year, the number of births in Huaxia was 36,514, with the number of males and females being almost equal. There were 1,374 deaths, of which 622 were newborn infants who died prematurely, as well as pregnant women who died in childbirth. The remaining deaths were due to natural old age or illness; the number of deaths due to war, mission execution, or accidents was only 39. Huaxia's current total population is 155,782, and the current total cultivated land area of Huaxia is..."

Yulong reported a string of numbers, and with the support of these figures, everyone gained a clear understanding of just how vast Huaxia has become.

After Yulong finished speaking, he put down the document and waited for Baifeng to raise the key issues.

Baifeng coughed lightly, a reminder to everyone that he was about to begin speaking.

"From the statistics of the Ministry of Revenue, our Huaxia's population growth can guarantee a large annual increase even without trading for people from other tribes. Why? Because Huaxia is wealthy and has plenty of grain!"

Baifeng paused, and Yulong immediately began to clap. Everyone else started clapping as well, a gesture of praise for Huaxia's strength; everyone felt a sense of pride from the bottom of their hearts.

"Of course, according to the data from these past few years, our number of newborns is increasing year by year. I estimate that this year it will definitely exceed 40,000. By then, Huaxia will be a major power with a population of nearly 200,000. However, what follows is the problem of a shortage of cultivated land that we will have to face."

A great disaster occurred last year; although we made it through safely in the end, it still gave everyone quite a scare. If the population were small, it would be fine, but if we continue with this year's amount of cultivated land and grain output, can we cope with tens of thousands of new people every year? Everyone must have felt it too: although Huaxia's grain production is increasing year by year, the grain stored in one's own home is decreasing. Why? Because there are a few more mouths to feed at home.

Therefore, this year, today, the first thing we must discuss is this issue of cultivated land. The children are still small now and don't eat much; the more than 30,000 extra people are still drinking milk, so the consumption of grain is not high. But in a few years, they will be eating grain in large mouthfuls, so we must solve the problem early."

Baifeng turned his gaze to Geng: "Geng, tell us about the current land reclamation situation in Huaxia City."

Geng stood up, bowed to Baifeng, turned and bowed to everyone behind him, then sat down and began to read his document: "Over the past year, we in Huaxia have opened up about 13,300 mu of cultivated land, all outside the city. Paddy fields account for less than one-tenth, and terraced fields account for two-fifths. Overall, the quality of the cultivated land is acceptable, and since it has already been composted with fertilizer, the harvest this year should not be too bad after fertilizing and tilling before the spring plowing.

However, the cultivated land is too far from the city, and most of the time spent working every day is wasted on the road. Although the road has been built very well now, the distance is too great. I believe this is the most urgent problem that needs to be solved; otherwise, no matter how much land is reclaimed, everyone will not have the ability to farm it."

Baifeng wrote this point down emphatically on his paper. In fact, this is of the same nature as the problem Baifeng was about to discuss: Huaxia City is too crowded and more people must be moved out. Huaxia City no longer has the capacity to operate with such a large population.

"Good, we will discuss this issue next. Zhu, tell us about the current residential land problem in Huaxia, as well as the problems that have appeared in various infrastructure aspects."

Zhu also spoke about all the problems that have emerged, even listing them as points one, two, and three. When these several problems were truly placed before everyone, they realized that for those in the high-level, central urban area, Huaxia is very livable, but for those in the peripheral areas, it has become very uncomfortable. It has completely lost the convenience envisioned when Huaxia City was first built, and this is inseparable from Huaxia's rapid development.

Now that the problems have been raised, it is time for solutions. Baifeng combined the problems of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Agriculture, and his own plan could address them perfectly.

"The current living conditions of the ordinary people are not very good; it is not convenient enough, the gap with the central urban area is too large, and it has also affected the normal operation of Huaxia City. Therefore, I have decided to establish several towns around Huaxia City and move a portion of the population out. They will also be able to farm on the newly reclaimed land without having to travel back and forth every day."

The crowd below instantly began to buzz with discussion. Among them were many representatives from the edge of the city. This concerns their vital interests and must be taken seriously. If they don't handle the matter well, they might be scolded to death by their neighbors when they return.

Baifeng pressed his hand to signal for silence: "This matter must be done, and the sooner the better. But it concerns the interests of many people, so I want to hear what the representatives from the peripheral areas think. They are here today, right?"

At the very back row, more than thirty people slowly stood up. They were all people elected from different districts, considered to be relatively smart and capable.

"Good, whoever among you has thoughts can raise your hand. I will point to whoever I choose, and they can speak."

Several of them immediately raised their hands to indicate they had questions. Baifeng started from the one on the far left, telling them to stand up and speak a little louder, while the others waited in order. If the person before them had already covered their point, they would not need to stand up.