"For the peace and development of our little planet, and to reclaim the ancestral lands of Han and Tang, the Great Ming has no choice but to wage war against the Ottoman Empire. This war is just and righteous!"
"Furthermore, according to research from the Great Ming Royal Academy, the French Academy of Sciences, the English Royal Society, and the Russian Academy of Sciences, as well as the American Academy of Sciences, we have sufficient reason to believe that the Habsburg family's pursuit of pure blood is erroneous and a foolish endeavor that will lead to human degeneration."
"The war against the Habsburgs is to prevent them from going further down the wrong path and causing even more severe negative impacts on our little planet."
Liang Chen read expressionlessly from the document in his hand: "To swiftly resolve the ongoing wars on our little planet, we, the Five Benevolent Ones, hereby issue a call to all nations on our little planet to join the Little Pot as soon as possible, and strive for a brighter tomorrow for our little planet."
Pierre, the full ambassador of France to the Little Pot, also expressed his stance: "France will always adhere to the principle of striking down the Habsburgs without wavering, and to resolve the Habsburgs, this tumor of the little planet, as soon as possible."
"..."
After all, this was the first official congress of the Little Pot. The Five Benevolent Ones had formally issued their call, urging all countries on the little planet to join the Little Pot, accept its guidance and management, and minimize the existence of wars.
Under the Five Benevolent Ones, almost all the full ambassadors sent by the countries actively cooperated with the performance of the Five Benevolent Ones.
When the Five Benevolent Ones called for everyone to join the Little Pot as soon as possible, all the ambassadors applauded vigorously.
When the Five Benevolent Ones declared the need to eliminate the Habsburg family as soon as possible and increase the blockade and crackdown on the Ottomans, all the ambassadors expressed their firm unity under the banner and leadership of the Five Benevolent Ones, and their commitment to strive for the peace and stability of the little planet, and the future and development of the Little Pot, contributing their strength.
In short, this was a very successful congress of the Little Pot. The congress successfully resolved many unnecessary disputes and made tremendous contributions to the stability and development of the little planet.
Especially the Five Benevolent Ones, under the call of Liang Chen, the full ambassador of Great Ming to the Little Pot, and based on the Little Pot, established a series of seemingly high-end organizations for integrated intellectual property and patent protection, UNESCO, environment, biology, etc., all of which were filled with love and peace.
Only the Habsburg Family Alliance and the Ottoman Empire became the biggest losers of this Little Pot congress. They not only failed to join the Little Pot successfully but also had a load of baseless accusations hurled at them by the silly eagle, France, and other villains.
This also made Zeng Cheng and other important figures feel a lot of emotion.
When Zhu Jinsong was fussing about establishing the Little Pot, Zeng Cheng and other important figures actually thought it was a futile effort—if they wanted the Ottoman Empire, they should just defeat it directly. After all, Great Ming inherited the legacy of Han, Tang, and Ming, and reclaiming ancestral lands was a matter of course. With the Little Pot, things that were originally simple became a bit more complicated.
However, after Zeng Cheng and other important figures witnessed the benefits the Little Pot brought to Great Ming, no one thought Zhu Jinsong was fussing anymore.
After all, directly dealing with the Ottoman Empire was easy, and forcibly taking back India and Old Port was not difficult. However, it was also easier to provoke the entire Europe plus Russia to gang up against Great Ming.
Now, the Netherlands had directly returned Old Port, England had directly returned India, France was specifically dealing with the Habsburg family, and Russia was focusing on dealing with the Ottoman Empire. Great Ming's goods flowed freely in Europe, and a large amount of silver flowed into the Great Ming treasury.
These were benefits that could not be obtained by simply beating the Ottoman Empire.
The dejected figures of Habsburg envoy Waltz and Ottoman envoy Ahamir being driven out of the Little Pot made Zeng Cheng and other important figures sigh with emotion.
As Zhu Jinsong said to Zeng Cheng and others: "When Great Ming is strong enough, all the countries on this little planet will scramble to be friends with Great Ming. If Great Ming is not strong enough, these friends will turn into hungry wolves and viciously tear Great Ming apart."
...
Zhu Jinsong had nothing to sigh or lament about. After all, from the day he started tinkering with the Little Pot, Zhu Jinsong already knew that similar situations would occur.
In comparison, Zhu Jinsong was more troubled by the current Great Ming.
After summoning Zeng Cheng, Liu Huaiwen, and other important figures to the palace, Zhu Jinsong directly asked: "What is the current population of Great Ming?"
Liu Huaiwen bowed and said: "Your Majesty, in the tenth year of Sheng Huang, Great Ming had a population of over 390 million, an increase of about 70 million compared to the forty-ninth year of Qianlong. According to the Ministry of Revenue's projections, the population of Great Ming will exceed 400 million in the twelfth year of Sheng Huang."
"However, even if the population of Great Ming reaches 500 million, it will still be sparsely populated. If we add the territories of the Ottoman Empire... then it will be even more sparse."
Liu Huaiwen thought about the few hairs remaining on the top of his head and silently added: It's probably sparser than my hair.
After obtaining this data, Zhu Jinsong became even more troubled.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong simply turned his gaze to Zeng Cheng: "Prime Minister Zeng, do you have any thoughts?"
Zeng Cheng immediately wanted to say "no" and then take his leave from the palace—Zeng Cheng understood the Emperor of Great Ming, Zhu Jinsong, too well. If this lord had nothing to do, he would never think to ask about the population. Once he asked, it meant he wanted to migrate a large number of people.
Coupled with England's return of India and the impending war with the Ottoman Empire, it was clear what this lord was planning.
The key point is, as the Grand Chancellor of Great Ming, what ideas could I possibly have?
Not to mention anything else, how many people have been successively migrated to these newly occupied territories?
Three to five million, at least?
They are still migrating continuously, and if nothing unexpected happens, Great Ming will migrate fifty million people to these newly occupied territories in the next ten years.
But where are the people?
Although ordinary people are like leeks, they are not leeks, and they can't grow again immediately after being harvested.
As Liu Huaiwen said, Great Ming is still sparsely populated. As the territory increases, the growth rate of the population begins to lag behind the expansion of land, which means even sparser land and fewer people.
After a long period of frustration, Zeng Cheng could only bow and reply helplessly: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent and truly have no good ideas. However..."
Zhu Jinsong said: "However what?"
Zeng Cheng glanced at Liu Huaiwen and said after careful consideration: "If the Ministry of Revenue is willing to allocate some funds as subsidies for families with more children..."
Liu Huaiwen's face immediately darkened: "More money? This is not how it should be done, Elder Zeng! The reason why people are not proactive in having children lies with His Majesty. You can't always think of taking money from our national treasury!"
Zhu Jinsong's face also darkened: "No, how does it lie with me? I have an Empress and three consorts, all of whom are pregnant. Can you, Uncle Huaiwen, still say that it is because I am setting an example by not having children?"
At this point, the topic had completely deviated.
Compared to the issue of Great Ming's population growth rate, the important figures in the Great Ming court were clearly more concerned about when Zhu Jinsong's wife would give birth. For any dynasty in the Central Plains, whether the emperor had a son was a very serious issue.
Especially for a founding emperor like Zhu Jinsong.
If the emperor had no son...
Who could suppress these proud and veteran generals?
Liu Niuniu, the leader of the Left Army Commander's Office; Geng Rui, the leader of the Right Army Commander's Office; Liu Hemin, the leader of the Central Army Commander's Office, these were all personally brought up by Zhu Jinsong. If Zhu Jinsong's son ascended the throne, it would be fine, but what if it were Zhu Er Dan or Zhu San Shun?
They couldn't suppress them!
Assuming Zhu Jinsong never had a son and had to enfeoff Zhu Er Dan or Zhu San Shun as Crown Prince, they would not be able to suppress these proud and veteran generals!
But if Zhu Jinsong had a son, everything would become different.
If the emperor had a son, a large number of civil and military officials would have a goal to be loyal to. Even if this emperor's son had some issues, they could still fight for the position of Crown Prince.
Even if this son was not very capable, as long as he wasn't someone like Zhu Yunwen who courted disaster to his death, the important figures in the Great Ming court could still forcefully support him.
Therefore, when these important figures heard that the Empress and several consorts were pregnant, they all became excited.
Liu Huaiwen even said with a foolish smile: "Good, good, this is great news. I'll make some small toys and send them to the palace, like small wooden horses and small wooden cars. Your Majesty, you can't dislike them, can you?"
Zhu Jinsong smiled and nodded, saying: "How could I dislike things from Uncle Huaiwen?"
Zeng Cheng also stroked his beard and smiled: "If the military command is more effective, and we take down the Ottoman Empire when the princes and princesses are born, wouldn't that be a double celebration?"
Geng Rui, the leader of the Right Army Commander's Office, chuckled and said: "Don't worry, our Right Army Commander's Office will completely take down the Ottoman Empire when the princes and princesses are born!"
After Zeng Cheng proposed this idea, Geng Rui had already made up his mind—he would beat the Ottoman Empire fiercely, drive its ruler to a small county town and surround them, and only finish them off when the princes and princesses were about to be born, to celebrate the double joy.
However, all these important figures had strayed from the topic, but Zhu Jinsong had not.
Zhu Jinsong turned his gaze to Liu Huaiwen and asked: "Uncle Huaiwen, you just said that the root of the problem lies with me. What do you mean? I am now leading by example in having more children."
Liu Huaiwen snorted and said: "This matter naturally originates from Your Majesty, and it cannot be pushed away—if you don't believe me, you can ask Song Yucheng. The Ministry of Works should have data on the five small industries and other various workshops in various places. Ask him, how many female workers are there inside?"
"Many women have entered the workshops to work, which has delayed the matter of having children. Some parents even plan that their daughters can work at home, which can also increase the family's income, so many people are not in a hurry to marry off their daughters."
"With more women working in the workshops, and people not in a hurry to marry off their daughters, isn't the matter of having children thus delayed?"
Having said that, Liu Huaiwen changed the subject and said: "However, this is also a good thing. Just like when Your Majesty allowed those girls to go to school, it is a great deed that benefits generations to come. We cannot completely blame Your Majesty."
Since it involved taxes, and for the sake of the mice in the treasury, Liu Huaiwen decided not to scold Zhu Jinsong too harshly on this matter.
Zhu Jinsong snorted: "Anyway, good or bad, I don't care. Now I only know that the birth rate of Great Ming has not increased. It has been more than ten years since the founding of the dynasty, and the population has only increased by tens of millions."
"Although these tens of millions are not a small number. If it were in other dynasties, this increase of tens of millions of people would be enough to create a prosperous era or destroy a dynasty. But it's not enough for our Great Ming. These few people are not even enough to fill Old Port and Lanfang."
"We are about to go to war with the Ottoman Empire again. As for the military command, I am not worried. I believe they can defeat the Ottoman Empire."
"But after solving the Ottoman Empire, such a vast territory will require the migration of people to be at ease. Without tens of millions of people, how can it be filled?"
Upon hearing Zhu Jinsong say this, the important figures in the court also began to feel troubled.
The Ottoman Empire was different from Lanfang and Old Port. Lanfang and Old Port were both island regions, and the areas where people could truly live were not very large. A few million people migrating there would basically suffice.
But how large was the area of the Ottoman Empire?
It was almost more than half of Europe!
Just the garrison would require hundreds of thousands of troops!
Or, if tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of people were not migrated there, could the Great Ming court be at ease?
What if someone else was eyeing that territory?
After careful consideration, Zeng Cheng still bowed and replied: "I believe that we should start preparing for the migration of people from now on."
"As soon as the Right Army Commander's Office takes down the Ottoman Empire, we will immediately begin migrating people."
"In addition, can we ask France and England to help and get some eunuchized Kunlun slaves?"
As soon as Zhu Jinsong heard the word "Kunlun slave," he became energized.
It didn't seem impossible?
Although some romantic scholars in the Central Plains had a certain degree of indiscretion, the word "palace castration" was not only applicable to male Kunlun slaves but also to females, and there was no need to worry about contamination.
As for human rights...
Great Ming citizens certainly had them, but did Kunlun slaves have human rights?
Or to talk about this after just getting rid of the Great Qing?
Coincidentally, wasn't France saying they were going to beat Gallipoli?