"Imagine population as gas molecules inside a balloon and a pressure cooker. When the gas molecules are in a state of positive growth, the pressure inside the balloon and pressure cooker will continue to increase. As long as the total amount remains within the safety valve, the balloon and pressure cooker can withstand it. But once the total number of gas molecules exceeds the safety valve...
'Boom!'
If you want to control the gas molecules within the safety valve, you can only find ways to release the pressure.
This means reducing the total population.
Letting the gas molecules inside the balloon or pressure cooker kill each other is one method; opening a vent to release pressure outwards is another.
The former is the dynastic changes that the Central Plains dynasties have continuously experienced throughout history – when the total population is reduced through one war after another, the total amount of gas molecules naturally falls within the safety valve.
However, this approach is like poking a hole in a balloon or pressure cooker, ultimately resulting in the population problem being solved, and a dynasty being discarded.
Opening the balloon's vent or the pressure cooker's relief valve to actively release pressure outwards is a more stable and controllable approach.
Zhu Jinsong's plan is to first promote population growth in the Great Ming, and then solve the problem of rapid population growth through outward expansion. Once a balance is reached between the two, various policies will be used to intervene in the population growth of the Great Ming.
This also involves the concept of demographic dividend.
Let's take another example: why did the little Nipponese, who were living quite well, fail when they shouted about entering the Central Plains within three months?
It wasn't because of the intervention of the silly Eagle, nor because the Nipponese army was not strong enough, but because the Nipponese nation was small and sparsely populated, lacking staying power. Although the Central Plains dynasties had been weak for many years, their vast territory allowed for the strategy of trading space for time, and a population base of 400 million guaranteed future war potential.
If you cannot understand this, then go back and look at the Koreans who were wiped out by the Nipponese, the Polish cousins who were divided by the Sand Leopard and the Hans cat, and the subsequent failure of the Hans cat.
To put it bluntly, positive population growth, while bringing immense pressure, also brings immense potential. Even in a war of attrition against other countries, they can wear down the enemy.
Zhu Jinsong is now playing this game.
After thinking for a moment, Zhu Jinsong smiled and said, 'Then the matter of Benghazi is settled. Later, Minister Zeng will send someone to contact Louis XVI and Pierre, and tell them that the Great Ming's focus is not on the Western Kunlun at the moment, so we will temporarily hand over Benghazi for France to manage.'
After roughly settling the matter of Benghazi, Zeng Cheng bowed again and said, 'Your Majesty, due to the actions of the Hamis father and son, the unstable situation in Europe and the Western Kunlun regions has been stabilized again. At least for the next three to five years, there should be no all-out war.'
Zhu Jinsong's expression quickly cleared up.
At first, the Great Ming did not want the entire small broken ball to erupt into full-scale war. After all, a relatively stable small broken ball could bring more benefits to the Great Ming.
However, George III of England acted like a troublemaker, suddenly stirring up turmoil in Europe, and that idiot Hamis openly confronted the five great benefactors of the small broken pot.
These two unrelated events, when linked together, produced a wonderfully catalytic effect – many countries dissatisfied with the five great benefactors of the small broken pot began to have ulterior motives, intending to seek benefits for themselves while the five great benefactors of the small broken pot were in internal conflict.
Now, although the peace treaty between England and France has not been officially signed, this war that started for inexplicable reasons is finally over. And that idiot Hamis is even more so; Benghazi had just started to flourish and was immediately crushed with a single blow.
Although Benghazi was not strong, and had been under French colonial rule for many years, even the most useless Benghazi could not be casually crushed by anyone, right?
So the question is: how many troops did the Great Ming deploy to crush Benghazi?
Answer: The total strength of the Great Ming troops stationed at the Benghazi port military base was about ten thousand. About three thousand troops were used to crush Benghazi. If the Great Ming merchants and their retainers in Benghazi city are also counted, the total strength was about three thousand five hundred, certainly not exceeding four thousand.
Then look at the preparations made by France to attack Benghazi and the troops mobilized by the various countries in Europe...
Those small countries that had just developed ulterior motives immediately backed down. At the very least, no one doubted the strength of the five great benefactors of the small broken pot anymore.
As a result, the full-scale war in the small broken ball that Zhu Jinsong had originally anticipated was artificially postponed, and the preparations made by the Great Ming for the full-scale war in the small broken ball were also rendered useless.
This was very infuriating.
Especially the big shots from the Five Military Commissions, who now wished they could go to Benghazi, find the father and son Hamis and Saif, and tear these two idiots to pieces.
After careful consideration, Zhu Jinsong tapped the table with his fingers and said, 'It's also a good thing that the small broken ball isn't erupting into war. At least the Great Ming has a few more years to confidently expand into India.'
When Zhu Jinsong mentioned India, Ke Zhiming, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, stepped forward with a strange expression and bowed, saying, 'Your Majesty, India... it may also be coming to an end soon.'
Zhu Jinsong was stunned and asked, 'What happened to India?'
Zeng Cheng, Liu Hemming, and other influential figures all looked at Ke Zhiming with bewilderment.
The fact that the Great Ming troops stationed in Benghazi could quickly resolve the Benghazi situation did not surprise the influential figures present. After all, they were the regular army of the Great Ming; winning was expected, and losing would be strange.
However, the situation in India was different from Benghazi.
Benghazi was due to the Hamis father and son's self-destruction, so the Great Ming army intervened outside the plan. But in India, the Nipponese, who were living quite well, were recruiting laborers, and the Great Ming army had no possibility of intervention.
So, India is also coming to an end?
Ke Zhiming replied with a look of distress, 'This is mainly because of that Tojo Twenty-Eight. According to reports from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, after Tojo Twenty-Eight was sent back to India, he voluntarily returned to Japan to recruit a group of ronin samurai and organized them into an army. Since most of these ronin samurai came from the Kanto region of Japan, they were also called the Kanto Army.'
Zhu Jinsong's fingers, which had been tapping the table, suddenly paused, and then slowly resumed tapping, 'Continue.'"