Emperor Ming Dynasty

Chapter 988 Ice Sea
After all, the 30-year war made the Holy See fearful, and there are unfilial sons like France who are always thinking about the property of the Holy See. Therefore, this negotiation was finally compromised.

The Holy See set up the Eastern Archdiocese in the east of India, covering mainly Ming Dynasty, Korea, Japan, Qin State, Qi State and other affiliated countries.

Below the east, there are small parishes such as Ming Dynasty and Joseon Dynasty.

The archbishop of the Eastern Archdiocese, that is, the archbishop in red, is appointed and removed by the Holy See, while the archbishop of the small diocese is appointed and dismissed by the Ming Emperor.

To put it bluntly, the Holy See just takes up the role and puts it on the table, while the specific administration in private is in the hands of the Emperor Ming.

Since the Holy See is so knowledgeable, Dong Ren reciprocated, saying that the Archdiocese of the East would hand over 5000 silver dollars to Rome every year.

In the final analysis, it is still the most affordable money.

The authority of the pope was guaranteed, the emperor reaped benefits, the Jesuits maintained their influence, and the papacy reaped additional income.

The best of all four.

The longer Dong Ren stayed in Europe, the more he could understand the Pope's influence.

All Christians, regardless of country, have to pay tithes uniformly, which should not be too scary.

It would be nice to be able to reach a compromise.

……

"Hoo--"

It was March at the Heilongjiang City Wharf, and the warm spring was coming, and the entire Northeast region was gradually thawing, ushering in the bustling sea trade moment again.

A large number of whaling ships, like hunting dogs, are looking for scents and traces, carrying a lot of equipment, and scattered away. It must be when they return that they will harvest.

The furs that had been accumulated in the city for the whole winter also began to be packed up, and they were going south to Beijing or Songjiang in exchange for a lot of wealth.

Caravans from the south to the north also brought a large number of popular commodities, such as paper, porcelain, tea, cloth, lacquerware, books, etc. A large number of daily goods were also scarce.

For the entire Northeast, this is the real spring.

As for General Heilongjiang, Hou Baiwang of Zezhou was extremely nervous at this moment.

Last year, the two generals of Heilongjiang and Jilin returned to Beijing to report on their duties, so there were two vacancies.

As for the candidates for these two generals, they have always been the private land of nobles, and their term lasts for five years. With the power in their hands, they can make a fortune in one term.

So the nobles competed fiercely.

In particular, the former general Wang Shiguo seems to have recommended his family friend You Shilu, who is also from Yulin, as the general of Heilongjiang.

Not only is he an earl, but he is also the younger brother of You Shiwei, Duke of Righteousness. The possibility is extremely high.

However, the emperor and the imperial court had long been tolerant, so naturally they could not condone them, so You Shilu was appointed General Jilin.

General Jilin focused more on appeasing the Horqin and Mongolian tribes, while General Heilongjiang mainly appeases the fish-hunting tribes such as Nashengjurchen.

The dukes were working in the five-army governor's mansion, standing behind the scenes, watching a group of earls and marquises fighting.

Although the nobles are rich and carefree, the struggle for power is naturally not to be underestimated.

Due to the different times of following the emperor, different relationships, and different sources of identity, it is generally divided into four factions.

The first is the civil servant faction with the most power and the fewest number of people, such as Zhao Shu, the Duke of Bing, and the cabinet members in the early years of Shaowu basically all had titles.

Secondly, there are Zhu Meng, Li Jingwu, Yan Guochao and other Xi'an factions. They are basically from the Qin army and are the most powerful among the nobles. They occupy five of the ten divisions of the five armies.

The other two factions, one is the army system, which is further divided into the frontier army and the officers and soldiers system;

Bai Wang was born in the army, so he naturally got through the relationship with Duke Jing and Gao Yigong, and got such a good position.

As he thought, this is indeed a good opportunity to make money.

Not to mention tax retention, public funds for eating, drinking and having fun, the cost of living is close to nothing.

On weekdays, the tribute of those tribes, some special products such as fur, ginseng, deer antler, and Polygonum multiflorum, are worth at least one hundred thousand.

Not to mention the filial piety of the businessmen, it's simply not too cool.

In the general's mansion, the chief envoys, inspectors, and academic officials are all under their own leadership, which can be said to be in control.

The imperial court only requires stability, and taxation is enough. Corruption is not strict.

After all, to some extent, if this kind of bitter cold place wants to attract people, it must be tolerant.

Unfortunately, such happy days are coming to an end.

The emperor sent him a great gift:

Prince.

"This master is here to be the Supreme Emperor!"

Bai Wang had a splitting headache.

As a dignitary, a local official, to some extent, he must keep a distance from the prince, but he must not be too alienated from the future emperor.

The civil servants have rich experience in political struggle, so they are naturally more than capable. He, a warrior, has so many tricks.

Soon, the prince arrived in Heilongjiang City.

Due to the certain dangers at sea, he came by land this time.

Passing through Jilin and arriving at Heilongjiang City, the journey is more than two thousand miles. It is extremely difficult to travel when the heavy snow has just melted.

As soon as he arrived, the prince sighed: "It seems that an official road from Jilin to Heilongjiang will be built."

In order to develop Jilin back then, a long-running official road was built from Shenyang.

The construction soldiers were conscripted from the interior, and it took three years to cultivate and build official roads, and then they were resettled on the spot, and they were asked to bring their families from the interior to come, forming settlements one by one.

These military settlements have turned into small towns with their own wooden villages, protecting the official roads and farming at the same time.

Years of development have allowed the populations of Liaodong and Jilin to continue to grow.

In the past ten years or so, the population of Liaodong has doubled to more than 200 million.

Jilin has jumped from 80 people to [-] people. It has six cities and hundreds of small towns, which can be said to be very beneficial.

However, due to the proximity of the sea, Heilongjiang City is not keen on the land road leading to Jilin, and habitually relies on sea ships.

After all, the sea water does not thaw, the roads are also blocked, and the boat can pass, who will go to the official road on land?

"Your Highness—"

Bai Wang greeted him cautiously, and brought him to the Yamen of the Governor's Mansion.

Zhu Cunqu waved his hand instead: "Don't worry about it, general. I came to Heilongjiang at this time, not to replace you, but to serve as the chief official of a city."

"Just do as you say, don't be too loose because of my status, just follow the rules of the officialdom."

As he said that, he even laughed: "I have served as a general judge in Liaodong for half a year, and I know a thing or two about common affairs."

Bai Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the emperor's secret request was to train the prince and let him serve as magistrate, but who made the prince's identity sensitive.

If someone really wanted to interfere in government affairs, would he dare to stop him?
Since the prince is sensible, he can do it according to the rules of the officialdom.

Although he knew that the prince already knew about Heilongjiang, Bai Wang still introduced:

"There are currently two cities in Heilongjiang, one is Heilongjiang today, and the other is Nuergan City, which was built last year."

The prince listened very carefully.

Heilongjiang City has been built for six or seven years, and Liaodong and Jilin have helped a lot. It is a strong city in the actual sense.

The city is four feet high, and the moat has been continuously widened to nearly twenty feet, allowing small cargo ships to pass through.

There are more than [-] people in the city, and it is still growing every year.

The city is the veritable first city of Heilongjiang and a symbol of imperial rule.

Nuergan City was newly built last year, relying on Heilongjiang's finances, and built it with its own efforts.

It was originally the old Nuergan City, located at the mouth of Heilongjiang, more than [-] miles away from Heilongjiang City, and it is truly the northernmost city of Ming Dynasty.

Whether it is the former Wang Shiguo or Baiwang, they always attach great importance to this city.

Because this is the largest expansion site in Heilongjiang.

The development of Heilongjiang depends on the sea, and it is also developed along the coast, which also makes the establishment of Nurgan City easier.

At the same time, the establishment of Nuergan City will bring more tribes to the entire Heilongjiang General's Mansion, thus making another jump in fiscal revenue.

Nuergan City is not only a city, but also a warehouse, which not only absorbs the furs of the nearby tribes and tribes, but also sells a large amount of goods.

It is conservatively estimated that Heilongjiang's tax surplus can reach 30 yuan.

For the officials of the entire Heilongjiang General's Mansion, the establishment of Nuergan City will bring them more additional income.

There will be more offerings from merchants.

This is also where the prince performed his duties.

Although it's not like building a city from scratch, it's pretty much the same.

Heilongjiang is only warm for eight months a year, and Nuergan is only warm for six months.

"Your Highness, Nuergan City is newly built, and there are many complicated things. You will have to work hard after taking office."

"It's okay." The prince shook his head and said with a light smile, "I came here just to practice."

"Building a city from scratch is quite novel."

Bai Wang was speechless.

It is estimated that only this master can say the word novelty.

But when he thought about it again, this was actually true.

Will I still put pressure on him?

Anyway, the whole construction is better than the current prototype, and it can show some political achievements.

Thinking of the prince's status, he couldn't help but bent down again, and said flatteringly: "Prince, Nurgan City is the ancient name of the former dynasty, and many people in the General's Mansion have always looked down on it, and despise it as not elegant. "

"You just came, why don't you re-name?"

It is the monarch's right to name local states and counties.

But unless there is a meaningful place, such as Tianjin, it is difficult for the emperor to pay attention to it. Basically, it is a local report, and the review by the Ministry of Rites is over.

As long as you don't overstep, you'll be fine if you break a taboo.

Now, in order to curry favor with the prince, he had to say.

Although Zhu Cunqu knew that General Bai was a fawn on him by Kerry, he was very useful.

It is very meaningful for him to name a city and build it himself.

"It is located at the mouth of Heilongjiang. It was originally called Heilongjiang, which is worthy of the name, but it is a pity that it is occupied by the first city, so we can only choose another one."

Zhu Cunqu thought for a while: "The land is in the extreme north, but it can be called an Arctic city, how about it?"

"Very good!" Bai Wang hurriedly praised.

Even if it's a piece of shit, he will praise it, not to mention that the name is really good.

"So, the sea is called the North Sea?"

Zhu Cunqu shook his head and said: "As far as I know, Beihai is now occupied by the Qing Dynasty. This is the old name, and it is not suitable to continue to call it."

Thinking of this, he shook his head, thought for a while, and said:

"As far as I know, this vast sea area only melts in March and April every year. How about calling it the Sea of ​​Ice?"

"Very good!"

For a while, because of the matter of naming, the relationship between the two became much closer.

Under Bai Wang's special flattery, the prince was in a good mood.

However, his time to go north was delayed by a few minutes.

It must not work on land, because there are many virgin forests along the way, and the tribes are like stars in the sky. In this case, the sea route is safer.

So in his spare time, the prince wandered around the whole Heilongjiang city.

"Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo out

On the pier, there was a huge crowd, and people were inexplicably excited. Men, women and children were competing to watch on the pier, which aroused the prince's curiosity.

After some understanding, he finally understood the general idea.

It turns out that there is a tradition in Heilongjiang City. Every year when the ice and snow melt, seagoing ships go to hunt whales, and hundreds of ships go to the sea to fish in large numbers.

The first ship came back with a head whale, which meant that the coming year would be prosperous and prosperous.

Therefore, its value is not cheap, and its meaning is very popular with everyone.

The bigger the body, the more popular it is.

When he went to watch it, he saw a group of businessmen arguing and constantly raising the price to buy the whale.

The owner of the fishing boat smoked dry cigarettes, and this side looked lively, as if everything had nothing to do with him.

This is not only because of profit, but also because of fame.

The head whale has attracted the attention of the whole city, even the nearby tribes, big and small. Once the business is successfully purchased, it will immediately become famous.

Everyone wants to do business with a powerful firm, but strength is not enough, one must also be famous.

Therefore, the competition for head whales is as fierce as ever.

Soon, this huge headed whale was sold at a price of 4000 yuan, which surprised Zhu Cunqu.

Good guy, 4000 silver dollars is enough to buy hundreds of acres of land in Gyeonggi for family heirlooms, and a small house in the capital is only a thousand or so.

The end is rich and powerful.

"The interests of Heilongjiang should not be underestimated!"

he sighed.

The children who were watching from the side also made a lot of noise, playing the game of pretending to be the captain one by one, all looking forward to sailing and hunting whaling in the future and living a happy life.

Unlike Liaodong, it is more vibrant and people are more willing to take risks.

Whether it is Liaodong or the mainland, there is always an inexplicable fear of the sea, but in Heilongjiang, people are more willing to run boats than to farm.

Today, the arable land outside the city is basically worked by slaves.

For Heilongjiang City, if there is a shortage of food, you can spend money to go to North Korea or Japan to buy it.

A piece of wolf skin can be exchanged for ten stones of grain, and a family's rations for half a year can be obtained in a few days. Who wants to farm?
At this time, a downcast man came over with respect and expectation on his face: "Sir, do you want to own a boat of your own?"

(End of this chapter)