Everyone nodded in agreement. Entering other worlds and facing completely different historical and cultural landscapes would inevitably lead to a reshaping of one's outlook on life and values.
Through repeated reshaping and experiences, a high-quality Dao heart can naturally be forged. (Of course, it's also possible that this process could shatter the Dao heart, ultimately rendering it useless.)
As for cultivation level, once one has a firm Dao heart, it will naturally rise rapidly, which is to be expected. However, what is the purpose of Lin Yang, the Duke of Wu, saying all this?
"Now, I have mastered the coordinates of several worlds. All Wu Kingdom baron-level and above can travel to those other worlds to explore, learn, and comprehend the Dao."
"Among these worlds, there are historical worlds of the East, some worlds focused on martial arts, and others worlds focused on Qi cultivators. Even Western mages, dragons, elves, and goblins are all represented. It's safe to say that after exploring these worlds, one's strength will undoubtedly improve by leaps and bounds," Lin Yang said casually.
Lin Yang didn't care, but that didn't mean the others didn't. After all, no matter what world one is in, strength is the most important thing. The strong can make the rules, while the weak can only abide by them.
To reiterate, the vast majority of the powerful families present were only second-rate families at the county level. For them, traversing worlds and traveling the vast universe was a fascinating legend, something they had heard of and even seen, but had never personally experienced.
Therefore, they could also determine whether Lin Yang's words were true or false. However, it was precisely because of this that they were even more excited.
Seeing this, ignoring the excited crowd, Lin Yang continued, "Furthermore, I have also obtained a Dark Gate in another world that can teleport armies on a large scale. And now, the Dark Gate is under construction, which means that everyone can use the Dark Gate to directly teleport armies to the other world."
The teleportation of an entire army, organized into units, combined with the earlier description of traversing the vast universe and the previously mentioned meeting theme of sword and plow, made Lin Yang's purpose clear to everyone.
"Wow, what a bold move! If the Dark Gate is real, doesn't that mean that conquering another world is actually possible, and not just a gimmick?" Pang Tong's eyes darted around as he quickly began to think.
"Then why announce this information? Logically speaking, it should be kept secret and kept until the right time. These reasons given are mostly just excuses, and I don't believe a single one of them. It's like they're in a hurry. What exactly is the Duke of Wu up to?" Pang Tong blinked and muttered to himself.
There's no reason, I just can't understand it, I really can't understand why Lin Yang would deliberately expose the existence of the Dark Gate. Normally, he could have waited a hundred or two hundred years, until the Wu Kingdom had developed, before building the Dark Gate.
After all, for fourth- or even fifth-tier powerhouses, a hundred or two hundred years is nothing. It passes in the blink of an eye.
With a population of at least one million, the Wu Kingdom could easily multiply its population five times over within a hundred years, doubling its size with each generation. After five generations, the population would reach over thirty million. At that point, even without monopolizing the Dark Gate, they could still maintain the upper hand in its construction.
So why is Lin Yang, the Duke of Wu, being announced now? It's rushed and illogical!
If Lin Yang were here, he would be very surprised. To have analyzed the entire situation so quickly and thoroughly—truly worthy of being called one of the most brilliant strategists of the Three Kingdoms period.
To put it bluntly, it's all because the Yellow Turban Rebellion is about to begin. This also means that a warring warlord era is not far off.
So, here's the question: after the warring states period, shouldn't the Black Lotus Prince launch a direct invasion? In this situation, it's impossible not to feel a little anxious.
"As for the conditions for using the Dark Gate, those are rather stringent. I will announce them as soon as I have figured them out," Lin Yang said calmly, looking at the somewhat noisy crowd.
There's no need to explain this all at once. Just like a woman, her most charming moment is when she's half-concealed, half-revealed, not when she's completely naked! Only by revealing a little bit at a time, attracting everyone's attention, can you truly succeed.
"Furthermore, as we all know, the population of our Great Han has been increasing for the past ten thousand years. After consulting historical records, I found that ten thousand years ago, a family had only three people. By three thousand years ago, a family had five people. And now, there are ten people."
"Ten thousand years ago, only the Central Plains had a relatively large population. Three thousand years ago, the North was already filled. Now, Liangzhou and even the Western Regions are almost filled. So, what about two thousand years from now? Does that mean the South will also be filled? What will we do then?" Lin Yang said calmly.
Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent, and some even frowned. Indeed, they hadn't noticed it before, but now that Lin Yang had brought it up, it reminded them of the issue.
Without large-scale wars, widespread diseases, or massive famines, the population naturally continues to grow, which makes perfect sense.
However, the amount of arable land in the entire Han Dynasty is limited, which makes sense. Therefore, it seems plausible that the future population might exceed the world's carrying capacity!
So, what to do with an overpopulation? Does this mean resorting to all sorts of ruthless policies to reduce the population? The officials of the Han Dynasty wouldn't be so heartless and unscrupulous unless absolutely necessary. For a moment, everyone was truly stumped.
After all, the so-called dynastic cycle is largely due to the fact that in the later stages of a dynasty, the population increases, and the government can no longer support the people. Coupled with natural disasters, man-made calamities, and official corruption, rebellion becomes the only option.
Then, the original dynasty collapsed. After a period of chaos and war, a new dynasty was established, but by then, the population had dwindled to less than one-tenth. Thus, simply distributing a small amount of land was enough to create a prosperous and peaceful era. This is how the so-called "Reign of Zhenguan" came about.
Seeing the deep thought and furrowed brows of everyone, Lin Yang knew that this population issue would be passed down through generations. At that point, his reputation would truly reach the level of the older generation.
Scholars speak of the three immortalities: establishing merit, establishing virtue, and establishing words. I can consider this establishing words, even if it's merely by raising this question.
What if the government can't support the large population?
European countries will tell you to form DINK (Double Income No Kids) families, subtly promoting a single culture and encouraging younger generations to avoid having children. As a result, Germany has been experiencing negative population growth for many consecutive years.
The court of the Rabbit Kingdom will tell you that it's very simple: just use the power of the court's autocracy to prohibit having a second child.
So, the question arises: what should the Great Han do?
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Chapter 42: The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is in turmoil, all for gain.
Resources are finite, but the population, if left unchecked and if the standard of living is still acceptable, will naturally increase.
Therefore, it seems that if no restrictions are imposed, it is only a matter of time before the population exceeds the world's carrying capacity!
After all, everyone here has a status and a sense of shame. No official or public figure would openly say in public, "They're just lowly people. If all else fails, just starve them, kill them, or find some excuse to kill a bunch of them."
Although many people secretly believe this, in public, unless they're completely brain-dead, they wouldn't say it. Even if they're faking it, they'd at least pretend to be acting like they're doing it for the country and its people.
Therefore, at this moment, most of the people below the hall looked extremely worried. Some were stroking their beards, some were scratching their heads, some were shifting from side to side, and some were pacing back and forth.
Seeing this, Lin Yang smiled and said, "It's very simple. The solution is nothing more than increasing revenue and reducing expenditure. However, the world's resources are limited. No matter how much you reduce expenditure, the effect you can achieve is actually limited. Therefore, what we really need to do is increase revenue."
"So here's the question: how should we open source it?" Lin Yang said calmly.
No sooner had he finished speaking than a young man stood up and loudly shared his opinion.
"It's very simple. Open up more blessed lands and grotto-heavens, especially grotto-heavens. Each grotto-heaven can increase the foundation of our world. You should know that grotto-heavens are attached to the world, absorbing chaotic energy to strengthen themselves. In essence, it is also a way to open up new sources of energy," Pang Tong said confidently.
Although he looked really ugly at that moment, he completely attracted everyone's attention and became the center of attention. It has to be said, this feeling was quite nice.
"This must be Pang's young scholar. He figured out the answer so quickly. He's really amazing."
“That’s right. Just like he said, the Han Dynasty has actually been getting stronger over the past ten thousand years. The concentration of spiritual energy alone has increased several times over.”
"I read in the ancient texts that ten thousand years ago, a twenty-year-old boy who could enter the Innate Realm was considered excellent. But now, twenty-year-olds all have the cultivation of the mid-to-late Innate Realm, and they are only considered average!"
"Yes, I used to work in the Ministry of Works and I have looked up maps of the Han Dynasty. In the last ten thousand years alone, the entire Han Dynasty has added many counties. Every blessed land, after being integrated into the Han Dynasty, will add a township. Every grotto-heaven, after being integrated into the Han Dynasty, can add a county. All of this is thanks to the blessed lands and grotto-heavens."