I watched Er Chuang’s short video, and everything went numb!

[In addition to using urbanization to curb martial virtue, the imperial examination was also a good medicine for the Song Dynasty to prevent rebellion. ]

[The imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty can be summarized in one sentence: You think you are taking the test of the question book, but in fact you are taking the household registration book. ]

[Because the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty did not cover your name and place of origin, which is equivalent to telling the examiner which family you are from. ]

[Therefore, the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty was controlled by aristocratic families, and many people who passed the examination were from aristocratic families. ]

……

The plane of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin's face was calm.

He had seen this question in many previous videos.

And he had decided to learn from many anti-cheating methods in later generations and reform the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty.

……

[Why didn't the Song Dynasty continue to have family politics? 】

[Did the big landlords die out in the Song Dynasty? 】

[In addition to covering the names of candidates, the most important change in the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty was that the scope of the imperial examination was expanded to all commoner landlords. 】

[What does it mean? 】

[For example, if only 10,000 students are enrolled each year, then there is no doubt that these 10,000 people are 100% top students. 】

[But if the enrollment is expanded to 1 million, will poor students like you and me have a chance? 】

[So, it is by expanding the enrollment scope and the relatively fair examination model that the proportion of big landlords in the imperial examination was diluted. 】

The barrage flew out:

"This is equivalent to expanding the number of imperial examinations."

"That's right. If there are few places, they will definitely be taken by the big landlords. But if there are many places, the big landlords have so few people and it is impossible for them to take up all the places."

"..."

The Hongwu plane of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes were full of thought.

He had also read about this situation in history books.

Increasing the number of successful candidates in the imperial examinations is indeed conducive to making the source of officials more extensive and giving ordinary people's families more opportunities.

However.

There are pros and cons.

Increasing the number of successful candidates means that the court will provide more official positions, which will increase the number of officials in the country.

The problem of redundant officials in the Song Dynasty has a lot to do with the increase in the number of imperial examinations.

……

[Of course. 】

【This can be achieved, in addition to the increase in the speed of knowledge dissemination, it is also inseparable from the Song Dynasty's recognition of the tenant farmers. 】

【Before the Song Dynasty, landless refugees worked for landlords, and they were not recognized by the government, so they became hidden households. 】

【Over time, the wealth created by refugees became the tax base lost by the government, and after the big landlords got this money, they had the strength to compete with the government. 】

【However, the Song Dynasty encouraged them to work in the city and allowed them to participate in the imperial examinations. 】

【This gave them a certain voice and they would not be as dependent on landlords as in the past. 】

【For example, Wang Yuzhen, a minister of the Northern Song Dynasty,Before he came ashore, his family was grinding flour for others. 】

……

Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty.

Liu Che nodded slightly. 847

Once the refugees are freed from the shackles of the land, they will have the opportunity to make a living independently.

Naturally, they will not choose to live in seclusion in the homes of large landlords.

And.

This phenomenon will become more obvious after the Industrial Revolution begins and the country enters an industrialized society.

Because the people can get rid of their dependence on the land to a greater extent.

……

[Similarly, the scope of the imperial examination is open to the whole society, and another important function is to reverse the whole society's emphasis on military. 】

[Because in ancient times, in addition to relying on the influence of one's father to become an official, the only thing left was military merit and imperial examinations. 】

[Now that the Song Dynasty has increased the number of imperial examinations and improved the treatment of officials, it is obvious that the elites will choose the latter between fighting on the battlefield and staying at home to prepare for the exam. 】

……

Many ancient people in all dynasties nodded in agreement.

People are always profit-seeking.

In this case, it is not only the elites who will choose to study and take the imperial examination.

Even mediocre people will probably try the imperial examination first.

……

[In addition, in order to prevent the emergence of rebellion at the grassroots level, the Song Dynasty also has a measure: corvée. 】

[It means that the richest families in a region are required to undertake some miscellaneous tasks of the government on a voluntary basis, such as building bridges and roads, escorting birthday gifts, etc. 】

[But it sounds like corvée, how can it prevent rebellion? 】

[Sima Qian once vividly described the gap between the rich and the poor in the Records of the Grand Historian. 】

[If someone is ten times richer than you, you will feel inferior; a hundred times richer than you, you will be afraid; a thousand times richer than you, you will flatter; ten thousand times richer than you, you will be a servant. 】

【However, if he is only three or four times richer than you, you will be: jealous (hate the rich)! 】

【Since the corvée is specifically assigned to the richest families in the township and county, the rich are often driven to bankruptcy by hatred of the rich. 】

【When the poor see the rich being driven to bankruptcy, they dare not work hard to get rich, and then no one can compete with the government. 】

Barrage flew out:

"If there is no prosperous family in the local area, it will naturally not develop into a powerful family."

"The truth, haha."

"When the gap is too big, there is only awe, but if the gap is not so big, you will think about replacing it."

"Good guy, equal wealth, right?"

"..."

Many dynasties before the Song Dynasty.

Many ancient people were shocked.

This move of the later Song Dynasty was really amazing.

It was too cruel to make the people afraid to even make a fortune.

……

[Finally, to summarize, redundant soldiers, high salaries, urbanization... The Song Dynasty implemented the national policy of "respecting culture and suppressing military power" through a series of means. 】

[Since Song Taizu began to implement it, it has beenIt lasted until the demise of the Northern Song Dynasty. 】

[After the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, the court reflected on this, but the overall atmosphere of respecting culture and suppressing military power still existed. 】

[And this national policy is also one of the important reasons for the demise of the Song Dynasty. 】

……

After watching the conclusion at the end of the video.

Many ancient people in all dynasties agreed with it.

The national policy of "respecting culture and suppressing military power" implemented since the founding of the Song Dynasty is indeed a big problem.

It made the military strength of the Song Dynasty weak.

Throughout the Song Dynasty, most of the time when facing the northern foreign races, they were at a military disadvantage.

Until the foreign races used military means to destroy the country.

……

In the sky.

The video is refreshed.

A new video appears.

[The Dragon Country is the worst neighbor! It hurts itself and others! What happened to Menggu, the country that sent sandstorms to Longguo? 】

……

Seeing the title of this new video.

Many ancient people from all dynasties were stunned.

"Sandstorm?"

"What is this?"

Just when they were confused.

The main video began to play.

……

[Since the beginning of the new year, my country has suffered 8 sandstorms, and the worst sandstorm weather in nearly a decade has occurred. 】

[Warnings come one after another, endlessly. 】

[Friends living in the north have naturally suffered a lot, and even the south, which was rarely affected by sandstorms in the past, has been affected this time. 】

……

Accompanied by narration and subtitles.

Video images of cities in sandstorm weather appeared on the high-altitude giant screen.

The whole sky turned yellow, and all the buildings, vehicles, people, and trees in the city became blurred.

It was as if a huge yellow sky enveloped the entire city in chaos.

Many ancient people in the past dynasties were stunned by this terrifying scene.

"Is this a sandstorm? It's terrible!"

Many ancient people exclaimed in their hearts.

……

[When everyone looks at the yellowish sky and the streets covered with sand, there will definitely be questions in their hearts. ]

[The news always talks about afforestation and desert greening. After so many years, why are sandstorms still blowing? Is environmental governance useless? ]

[This matter actually needs to be discussed separately. The sand in the sandstorm is domestically produced and imported. ]

[We have indeed made 210,000 square kilometers of desert green in the past 20 years. 】

……

A comparison picture appeared on the giant screen in the sky.

On one side is the desert with endless yellow sand before the governance.

On the other side is the green forest after the governance.

This extremely intuitive comparison has a strong visual impact.

Many ancient people in the past dynasties could not help but admire in their hearts::

"The Dragon Kingdom in the future is really amazing!" (To read the novel, go to Feilu Novel Network!)

Although they have learned about this method of turning deserts into oases in previous videos, it is still incredible to see it again!

……

[But there are still large areas of desert in the northwest, which will take more time to deal with. ]

[The most important thing is that we can only take care of ourselves, not our neighbors. ]

[According to experts' analysis, Menggu Kingdom is the main source of sand in this sandstorm. ]

[Affected by atmospheric activities, the wind blew through Menggu to my country, sweeping a large amount of sand and dust across the border. ]

[Maybe everyone has a new question when seeing this, how can Menggu have so much sand? ]

[After all, when talking about Menggu, the picture that comes to most people's minds should be the endless blue sky and white clouds grassland. 】

【Because this is our impression of our own Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 】

……

“Isn’t it?”

This thought emerged in the minds of many ancient people in all dynasties.

In ancient times, transportation was inconvenient, and not many people left the Central Plains and went to the Menggu Plateau.

They also didn’t know where the Menggu Plateau was exactly, and how far it was from the rest of the frontier areas.

Anyway, they all regarded it as a whole outside the frontier.

So, the impression of the frontier is basically from the imagination of various cultural works.

What about "the sky is vast, the wilderness is vast, the wind blows the grass low and sees cattle and sheep" and so on.

In short, most of the ancients’ cognition of that area is similar to that of later generations, that is, the blue sky, white clouds, large grasslands, and cattle and sheep running all over the ground.

However.

At this time, listening to the tone of later generations, it seems that this is not the case. []

The ancients continued to look at the giant screen in the sky with doubts.

……

[However, the actual situation is actually very different. ]

[The UP host will first post some data and pictures to give everyone a little shock of Menggu. ]

[Currently, 76.8% of the land in Menggu has suffered from desertification to varying degrees, and its vegetation coverage has dropped to a pitiful 7.9%. ]

[In the past few decades, more than 500 rivers have stopped flowing and more than 400 lakes have dried up. ]

[Looking down from space, Menggu is not a green, but a sandy yellow. ]

……

"Ah! Is it like this?"

Many ancient people in the past dynasties were stunned.

This is completely different from the scenery outside the Great Wall that they imagined.

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di's eyes flashed with confusion.

He had led troops to sweep the Menggu Plateau for three months and was familiar with the geographical conditions of the Menggu Plateau.

In his memory, the Menggu Plateau was indeed not all grassland, but it was definitely not what was on the giant screen in front of him.

The grassland area was still quite large.

"How could it become like this?"

Zhu Di was very curious about what happened to the Menggu Plateau in later generations that made it so desolate?

...

[After entering the 21st century, Menggu Kingdom has been ravaged by sandstorms for an average of 57.1 days a year. ]

[The super-strong sandstorm in Menggu Kingdom in 2021 caused more than 10 deaths and thousands of livestock missing in the area. ]

[The yellow sand also crossed the border and swept across the entire northern region of my country, even causing the pollution index in Goryeo and the Korean Kingdom to soar. ]

[Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Menggu, is shrouded in smog all year round and is one of the cities with the most serious air pollution in the world, the kind that the World Health Organization has stamped and certified. ]

[Its PM2.5 value once reached 133 times the safe upper limit recommended by the World Health Organization. 】

[Sometimes, when a passenger plane flies over, it will be delayed because it can't see the runway clearly. 】

The barrage flew out:

"My goodness! This PM index is completely off the charts. Can people still live here?"

"Breaking such air all year round, how many years will you lose? It's too outrageous."

"No, can't Menggu Kingdom find a way to control it? Such severe air pollution is impossible to live here."

"..."

Many ancient people from all dynasties were shocked when they saw Ulaanbaatar covered by endless yellow sand.

Although they didn't understand what the PM2.5 index was, nor did they know what specific harm it had.

But such a terrible scene has clearly shown that this city called Ulaanbaatar is not a good place.

"Too miserable."

Many ancient people shook their heads.

It's really miserable to live in such a city.

……

[In Ulaanbaatar, canned oxygen is not sold in pharmacies, but placed together with drinks. ]

[Because the people of Menggu like to drink something called oxygen cocktail, which is to put oxygen into drinks and drink it. ]

[They think that this is equivalent to breathing fresh air on the prairie, which can offset pollution. ]

The barrage flew out:

"Abstract, too abstract!"

"Really? It's outrageous."

"..."

Many wine lovers in all dynasties looked at the oxygen cocktail on the giant screen in the sky, and their eyes flashed with desire.

They are very interested in this novel drink in later times and want to drink it.

……

[Is the real Menggu very different from what everyone imagines? ]

[There are two reasons. ]

[First, people's traditional impression is relatively one-sided. 】

[The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Menggu Kingdom are not completely covered by grasslands. There have been large areas of natural deserts since ancient times. 】

[The Menggu Kingdom has a temperate continental climate, which is relatively dry, with an average annual precipitation of 230 mm. 】

[The local evaporation is very large, and it is located on the Menggu Plateau, which leads toThe rainwater soon flows out of the country. 】

【After all the water is deducted, there is not much water left in the country, so some places have become natural deserts. 】

【The remaining places with relatively more precipitation can only provide grass for survival, and it is difficult to grow food. 】

……

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di nodded.

Although he didn't understand what kind of climate type it was.

But this geographical situation is similar to the Menggu Plateau in his memory.

……

【How to make rational use of limited pastures has become a key issue affecting fate. 】

【This is the second point that UP mainly talks about. 】

【In ancient times, the nomadic people living on the Menggu Plateau explored a simple and cruel method of sustainable development. 】

【Once the population increases, resulting in too many livestock, exceeding the tolerance of nature, the nomadic people will launch an attack on the Central Plains regime. 】

【If they succeed, they can seize supplies and land to sustain their lives, and then they can reduce grazing and wait for the environment to recover. 】

【Even if they fail, they will lose a large number of people, thus reducing the number of mouths to feed. 】

【So. 】

【For thousands of years, the population of the Menggu Plateau has always been maintained at around 1.8 million to 2.7 million, and the total number of livestock has been maintained at 34.2 million to 51.3 million. 】

【Today, the problem of the Menggu Kingdom is that it has completely destroyed the balance and continuously destroyed the already fragile environment. 】

【At the beginning, as a vassal state of Big Brother, the Menggu Kingdom referred to Big Brother's advice and carried out national transformation. 】

The barrage flew out:

"The biggest problem has emerged. Menggu Country has been led astray by Big Brother. It's too stupid."

"It was really stupid for Menggu Country to accept Big Brother's request in its entirety."

"Reply - Is it possible? Did Menggu Country have no choice at all?"

"Reply - Then who made it choose to join Big Brother?"

"..."

Hearing this.

Many ancient people in all dynasties looked at the giant screen in the sky more and more attentively.

They were quite curious about how Menggu Country was messed up so badly by Big Brother? .