Jingming

Chapter 483 Breaking through the border and traveling to the East

"Dividing land? What are you thinking about? Didn't you read the report on the North Korean people's livelihood survey that was published in Mingpao?"

"Hey, Lao Tian, ​​when did you learn to read?"

"Hey! My fourth child knows it! I never miss an issue of this newspaper. After buying it, I asked this kid to read it to me word by word, so that he knows it by heart!"

"Hey! Good guy... Is it possible that the old Tian family will produce the top pick in the future?"

So Lao Tian turned into a storyteller and showed off endlessly.

According to the figures reported by the Ming Dynasty's diplomatic envoys, before the civil strife, there were more than 4 million people in North Korea and more than 1 million landowners.

Speaking of which, there is another difference in North Korean measurement standards. In North Korea, fields were divided into grades one to six. This knot was not an area unit, but the equivalent of a field that could produce twenty shi of grain in the old Ming Dynasty system.

All in all, it's probably about 400,000 hectares of land. As for the registered population, unlike the Ming Dynasty, which had already counted the unregistered slaves and unregistered households, there were probably just as many unregistered slaves and unregistered households in North Korea, and the population was actually close to tens of millions.

"It's roughly the size of a province, with nearly 10 million people. Is it enough?" Lao Tian said his conclusion, shaking his head repeatedly, "There are many mountains and little land, and the weather is freezing. Taizu said that he would not conquer Korea, but that's not the case. Makes sense.”

"Isn't this still fighting? Besides, most of the land is in the hands of their powerful and powerful families?"

"You won't die much, but it's still not enough!"

Ordinary people see it this way, but some well-informed businessmen and people from Chinese universities don’t think so.

"You only granted the title of Duke An Dong, and you also selected so many civil and military personnel to aid Korea. Your Majesty is determined to change Korea's future! What is lacking there is not people, but housekeepers and businessmen to help the officials manage the people! "

From the top to the bottom, the people in between are indispensable.

Reshuffling the cards is inevitable, and there are endless opportunities here.

How can you underestimate a province?

"It's a little too early to go now, isn't it? The war is still in chaos."

"At least go to Liaodong first."

Since the Ming Dynasty began to set up border cities in Liaodong and the imperial court determined the strategy of slowly developing the Northeast, this time it was the real craze for entering Guandong.

First of all, it is to quell the chaos in Korea today, and then there is the war against Japanese invaders. At least in the next few years, the opportunities brought by material transshipment will be considerable.

Coupled with the fact that Ming Dynasty's attitude towards how to deal with North Korea in the future is gradually becoming clearer, this opportunity is even greater.

The Zhigu area was already developing rapidly because it was equipped with a steam-armored shipyard. Many young men from neighboring provinces came there to make a living. Now the most important port in the northern part of the Maritime Bureau has a heavier task, and more and more people have gathered.

Now, Shen Qi, the president of Bao Ship Supervision, rushed outside the dock. When he saw Liu Tianhe, he saluted first: "Old man, I'm late..."

Liu Tianhe waved his hand: "There is no need to be polite. You reported that the trial production of the ironclad ship is nearing completion. I am responsible for the Ministry of Industry and should come and take a look in person. If the construction period is estimated, we must make preparations. Your Majesty has had a decree. Be present at the dock when launching.”

"Please, Mr. Guo..."

Shen Qi has been busy here for more than a day, and now he has indeed supervised the trial production of the armored ship until it has a general outline.

This is a transitional ship type, using both sails and wheels. The volume is indeed larger, but now Daming has greatly improved its steel output and production capacity response. It even has a heavy industry park specifically for the shipyard here. Zhigu is not far from the Beijing Heavy Industry Park, so based on the large wooden warships that have been accumulated in the past, the entire treasure ship supervision team can trial-produce a prototype ironclad experimental ship.

The huge shipyard is still extremely busy at the moment.

Liu Tianhe has worked as a supervisor in the Prime Minister Hedao Yamen and the former Ministry of Works for many years, and is no stranger to various construction sites.

After taking a look at the workers here, he nodded to Shen Qi: "President Shen is attentive. Your Majesty has entrusted you with this person."

"The old man praised me..."

What Liu Tianhe saw was that the management in the dock was in order. Although there are many shipwrights, the placement of machinery, stacking of materials, and passages for personnel exchanges are all well planned.

This Shen Qi won the favor of the emperor because of his book "The Ship Chronicles of the Ming Dynasty", and served as the president of the Treasure Ship Supervisor as a non-honored minister. He was already over 50 years old. He was indeed worthy of professional skills, human sophistication, and internal management of the Treasure Ship Supervisor. Your Majesty has a keen eye for knowing people.

In front of him is a huge ship standing in the dry dock.

Now, in this newly dug large dock, the pulley crane installed here is hoisting the main mast of the ship. This is currently the main work on the deck.

On the scaffolding around the giant ship in the dock, there is a circle of workers covering the ship with iron sheets above and below the waterline.

"Go and see the steam engine and the paddle."

Shen Qi led the way, and Liu Tianhe and him walked from the springboard to the deck first, and then entered the cabin.

"This is a lantern specially adapted for ironclad ships."

After entering the cabin, there was naturally no light. However, a large amount of coal, firearms and ammunition will be stored on this giant ship in the future, and fire protection requirements are very high, and lighting is indispensable in the huge cabin.

Liu Tianhe looked at the lantern nailed to the wall of the cabin passage, smiled and said, "He is indeed a new guy."

Horse lanterns are not new. The Tang Dynasty also set up a special Dr. Guanglu to manage the horse lanterns on the royal road. In the Song Dynasty, improvements had been made, including special lamp oil and letter stones that could reflect the light and make it brighter.

Nowadays, the horse lanterns on this armored ship must not only be able to adapt to the bumps in the waves during long voyages and the violent vibrations during war, but also improve safety. To this end, a special iron hoop is equipped with cushioning cork and treated rubber strips, and then a wick wrapped in translucent glass. The lamp oil cans are also specially made to prevent them from easily breaking apart and causing fires after an earthquake.

If it can be used here, it can naturally be used in other ships and carriages.

It's just that it must be expensive to build now. If the emperor pays special attention to the important national weapon such as the armored ship, how can other warships be equipped with it?

Now the first thing is for the safety of this boat.

There were dull and noisy sounds of construction overhead and around him. Liu Tianhe was led by Shen Qi all the way to the engine room located in the middle and rear section.

"Prince Rui, Xin Shihou and others also come here often." Liu Tianhe pointed to the four improved steam engines in front of him, "If they hadn't been installed and tested here, I wouldn't dare to do it." It is reported that trial production is nearing completion.”

"How about a test run?"

"Now that it's submerged in the water, it's okay to idle." Shen Qi introduced, "Over at the Heavy Industry Park, I tried using the machine there to take the paddle wheel in the water. I heard that it has been spinning for thousands of hours. It was then decided to use this type of steel and style. What the official is worried about now is that the four machines will be driven together. Although this plan has been tested in the heavy industry park, he does not know whether it will work at sea. question."

Liu Tianhe nodded: "No problem. After launching, there is still a sea trial. Now that the civil strife in North Korea has been quelled, there is no need to worry about this ironclad ship."

Shen Qi bent down and said, "If nothing happens, by October, when the official orders someone to start the machine and do some idling tests in the dock, we will be ready to launch it into the water."

"As for the name, Your Majesty told me to ask you what you mean." Liu Tianhe smiled at him and held his arm to help him stand up straight. "It also contains your hard work."

"Your Majesty, I am so kind to you..." Shen Qi was surprised, "How dare you take the credit..."

Seeing that Liu Tianhe seemed to be serious, Shen Qi felt a heat in his chest and said loudly: "Steel bones and iron scales, spitting fire and controlling the wind! If this ship can gallop across the four seas, I will secretly think that it has the power of a black dragon!"

Liu Tianhe laughed loudly: "It shows that Ziyou loves Ziyou deeply and has already thought about it! Let's go and explain it to me in detail. After returning to the capital, let me say more good words in front of His Majesty!"

With years of persistence by Tang Shu, a disciple, the main project to control the Huanghuai River has been completed. The next step is to further observe the effect and make some additions based on the new water regime caused by the Huanghuai River.

Liu Tianhe was already at his last stop, and he was already a veteran before the emperor. Now he could say these words easily.

Any words of flattery are obviously expressions of wanting to support Shen Qi. Of course, if Shen Qi can really take charge of a steam armored ship, an important national weapon that Your Majesty pays special attention to, and continue to improve it, His Majesty will not hesitate to reward it based on his temperament?

So it can only be said that they are making friends with each other and selling more favors.

For Shen Qi, he also needs it. He was a late bloomer with shallow roots. And Liu Tianhe entered the official position with the respect of an elder of the country, and his disciples personally presided over the project of managing Huanghuai. In the future, he will definitely be a minister of the Ministry of Industry first, and then enter the State Palace.

Liu Tianhe continued to inspect here in Zhigu. Naturally, his trip was not only for the armored ships, but also the country's elders, who were in charge of the Ministry of Industry, came here to supervise the preparation and sea transportation of materials for the Ping Dynasty's war against Japan.

He stayed in Zhigu during the hot summer. Hu Zongxian's report from Ryukyu suddenly accelerated after it arrived in Taiwan.

The speed of military information transmission in the Ming Dynasty was completely different.

After hearing the news, people like Xia Yan who were obsessed with military achievements were horrified. Yang Shen even cursed: "This Japanese bandit is really heartless and worse than a beast!"

Yan Song looked at him strangely.

When news of Japanese pirates invading Ryukyu came last year, Xia Yan thought it would be better to take advantage of the situation and go there directly. Yang Shen repeatedly insisted on making more preparations and waiting for the financial expenditure and new grain collection to be completed before making any move this year.

But now, based on his conscience, Yang Shen actually had a little regret on his face.

Yan Song sighed and sighed: "What the Chief Assistant said is true. But it is really difficult to solve it now. If Ryukyu is not rebuilt, the Toyo Navy will really be alone. To rebuild Ryukyu, manpower and property will be exhausted. It’s not a small amount.”

Even though there are still 20,000 to 30,000 people living on the Yaeyama and Miyako Islands southwest of Ryukyu, they cannot leave their homeland. Although the basic conditions on the main island of Ryukyu are much better, are they willing to go there? Not to mention how long it would take and how many ships would be used to migrate so many Ryukyu people to the main island. After all, traveling hundreds of miles would be risky.

Zhu Houcong's eyes flashed.

There are already prejudices, but in this more barbaric era, the so-called heroes of the Warring States Period do not have to worry about anything.

I have to say, this move is quite cruel.

After all, there are hundreds of miles of sea route from Ryukyu to Kyushu Island. The place that was renamed Okinawa in Zhu Houcong's mind later became an important maritime military base because of this geographical and strategic significance.

This was even more incredible than what Zhu Houcong had remembered, and it was really completely destroyed.

From last summer to this summer, from the initial preparations for a sneak attack to now leaving a dead island, the one who took action should be the Shimadzu family, who Yan Shifan said had suddenly increased their power.

With the advantage of being the closest, how many young slaves have they kidnapped from Ryukyu this time, and how much wealth and materials have they robbed?

"Japanese thieves live on isolated islands, and the vast ocean is a natural moat. Needless to say, they are arrogant, and their civilization and education are also extremely backward." Zhu Houcong said in a cold voice, "All kinds of evil deeds should be reported to the world. The Ryukyu disaster is really inevitable in this world. . If the Ming Dynasty had not gone on an expedition to the South Seas and protected all the countries, what the Western barbarians are doing in America now will be what they will do here in the future. The traitors in Korea caused chaos, the Japanese bandits brought trouble to the neighbors, and the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty conquered the Western Regions. Chaos is beginning to appear in the world of strife!"

Tang Shunzhi frowned and looked at the emperor.

He was silent for a moment, and then said: "Businessmen traveling in Southeast Asia can be encouraged to speak more about their experiences. Can the Portuguese ambassador come forward and speak out?"

"Let him tell!" Zhu Houcong said proudly, "In the past, Portugal plotted against Guangdong and was defeated by the Ming Dynasty. Who knew that they paid tens of millions of taels of silver? Now that they are sending envoys to the Ming Dynasty from thousands of miles away, don't let the people of the Ming Dynasty think they are It is really just a small country. What the world outside the Ming Dynasty is like now, how Portugal and Spain are colonizing all over the world, and how those backward small countries are now slaves, not only the people of the Ming Dynasty should know, but the vassals should also have some understanding."

Yan Song responded.

The Ming Dynasty officially began to attack Korea and Ryukyu, and also conquered Japanese bandits. It was impossible for other vassal states not to have ideas in mind.

Not to mention how they will deal with this new situation, but at least they must take advantage of the fact that the Ryukyu Kingdom was almost wiped out to remove the veil of warm sect-vassal friendship in the past.

Today's world is a cruel world.

If the Ming Dynasty's national power were not what it used to be, and the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty was still plundering the Ming Dynasty's border walls, Outer Yunnan would not abide by the Ming Dynasty's restrictions, and the Japanese invasion along the coast would only get worse.

Propagating that these are really troubled times makes it appear that peace and stability in the Ming Dynasty are rare.

The Ming Dynasty changed the Heavenly Queen of the Three Kingdoms to the east, so that the people there can move closer to the life that the Ming Dynasty people can live. Only in this way can they help the Ming Dynasty gain more support from the people when it plans other directions in the future.

"Especially we should promote it more in Jiangning, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong." Yan Song also suggested, "Your Majesty, the Ryukyus are poor and have few people. In the future, the only way to build a country is through sea trade. I ask Jiangning, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong to encourage them. Maritime merchants brought workers and goods to fill Ryukyu. Now that Ryukyu has been destroyed, the Duke of Taitung has no ambitions. How to deal with Ryukyu can be reported to the world first, so that the maritime merchants of the four provinces can be determined to follow the king of Shu. Ryukyu is undergoing great construction, and everyone in the old Ryukyu people You can work. If you state the laws and regulations, treat everyone equally and receive enough salary, Ryukyu will be greatly grateful for tomorrow's grace."

Zhu Houcong nodded: "According to this arrangement. I will summon the King of Shu immediately, and the Assets Bureau can lend him money and grain, so as to quickly restore Ryukyu's reputation as a supporter of all nations!"

To induce businessmen to hire workers or recruit some Ming people who are interested in changing their destiny to go to Ryukyu, the most effective way is to give them a big cake.

No matter how well the merchants of the Ming Dynasty could bring them, they would still be short of manpower when they went to Ryukyu.

In this round of large-scale construction projects to rebuild Ryukyu, the surviving people of Ryukyu are naturally lucky enough to share these coins.

Although Ryukyu suffered this disaster, it was completely poor, but as long as the Ming Dynasty could borrow money and food to aid, it was not a big deal.

How to repay the debt in the future? We are all one family, so it’s not easy to talk about it?

The emperor took out the money from his own purse, and Yang Shen was not under so much pressure.

But now there is no need to use weapons in Ryukyu. The Japanese pirates are just beggar-thy-neighbors. What the Ming Dynasty will do in Ryukyu can be called benevolent and righteous. What is Yang Shen unhappy about?

Ryukyu is not a big country, but it is another round of official selection.

This time the conditions are more relaxed. Even if you are born in Juren, as long as you are willing to go, you can still get an important job.

There is also the opportunity to meet His Majesty and become the disciple of the Emperor.

Before starting the "aid to Ryukyu" here, the imperial edict Tianen was first sent to Ryukyu. Led by Taitung Gong, the leader of the local strongholds in Ryukyu and other places, he will select nearly a hundred children to study in the Ming Dynasty and return to the country to serve as ministers of the humerus.

After Xue Han's "troop training" trip to Taiwan, he decided to establish a new municipal shipping department in the Penghu area of ​​Tainan.

To the east of the Ming Dynasty in the future, the plan for a new maritime trade route network has begun to take shape.

With this new city shipping company, the shipping routes from Luzon and Ryukyu to the Ming Dynasty were naturally regarded as important nodes, and there was no need to take further sea routes to Guangzhou and Ningbo.

People in the north may still be wary of going to North Korea. The need to relocate is even greater in the north, but Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong have more mountains and less land. Over the past thousands of years, it is unknown how many people have traveled to Southeast Asia and migrated to large and small islands.

Now the Ming Dynasty is going to expedition to the Japanese country to eradicate the Japanese invaders. The Japanese pirates who are so heartless take the lead in preparing a Ryukyu that is almost destroyed to the extreme for the Ming Dynasty.

They thought that in this way they could beggar their neighbors, so that the Ming army from the Ryukyu expedition had to face this huge difficulty.

But it has been many years since the Ming Dynasty banned sea trade, and it has been unknown how long it has been since the Ming Dynasty merchants had tasted the benefits of maritime trade.

Driven by interests, the four coastal provinces became restless.

"Don't you have four sons in your family? Go get one! My master said, if you go, I will find a wife for you, and it won't be a problem. The most important thing is, I will give you five cents of silver per month, three cents for you, and two cents for you. I’ll give him the money to spend there, and he’ll also take care of food and accommodation, so what’s wrong with that?”

The first to take action to obtain more manpower were the shopkeepers and stewards sent out by the most well-informed maritime merchants.

Just kidding: How much of the reconstruction cake you can get from King Shu after you go depends on how much manpower you can bring and what you can do!

Local people? In addition to having the strength to use, how can we compare with the people of the Ming Dynasty who can understand what they say and obey their discipline?

The prosperity of shipping has reduced the frequency and risk of future exchanges. The Ming Dynasty maritime merchants will settle accounts: if they can seize the trap now, they will play an important role in Ryukyu in the future!

Ryukyu originally had a population of more than 100,000 people, but now the situation has changed suddenly, and the coastal provinces are about to prepare for a wave of tens of thousands of Han people going to the East.

This is just the beginning. What this group of maritime merchants are looking forward to even more is Japan, which has a far wider territory!

First come first served!

(End of this chapter)