I'm sure of the prosperous age of Kangxi and Qianlong!

Chapter 498 Development of Luzon
  Zhu Yijiong chatted with Cui Li about the future development of Luzon. Generally speaking, the main focus is on reclamation and immigration, but it is also necessary to start setting up schools. And regardless of the Han people or the indigenous people, they all had to be absorbed in and preached enlightenment.

Moreover, we can also refer to the policies of Liaodong and Monan to encourage intermarriage between Han people and indigenous people, and all children born will be registered as Han nationality.

In a few generations, as more and more naturalized natives learn Chinese characters and have Chinese names, their descendants can also be allowed to register as Han residents. This will quickly expand the Han population in Luzon. .

Since Luzon was to be governed as a Han province, the Han people in Luzon must have the right to advance through the imperial examinations, and the officers and soldiers stationed in Luzon would not only receive land and property, but their children would also be allowed certain benefits. .

For example, senior officials, as well as the children of garrison generals and military officers, can be granted permission to enter the Nanjing Imperial College to study. This can further strengthen the loyalty of the Luzon garrison and government and reduce the risk of the colony losing control of its independence.

Of course, these are only measures at the current stage. What will happen in the future depends on the actual development of Luzon and changes in the situation in future generations. What's more important is how future emperors will do it, but this is none of Zhu Yijiong's business, and he can't control it in the long term.

Zhu Yijiong asked: "How are the Spanish and Dutch in the south doing now?"

Since the Battle of Manila that year, the Philippines has been divided between the Ming Dynasty, Spain, and the Netherlands. The Spaniards must have suffered a loss. After all, the Philippines was originally all their colonies, but now they were forced to share it equally with the Dutch and the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty also took away the most valuable Luzon Island.

Cui Li replied: "The Spaniards have resigned since the Battle of Manila five years ago. The new governor is now actively repairing the relationship with the Ming Dynasty. In addition, starting from the year before last, the silver wire trade has gradually resumed. , the Spanish Philippines restrained our Ming merchants a lot, both in terms of tariffs and the immigration of Han people."

"However, they only treated the Han people. They still treated the indigenous people as they did in Luzon. When the new governor arrived, an indigenous uprising broke out in the area under his jurisdiction. Although the momentum was once very large, due to lack of preparation and dispersion, , was eventually suppressed by the Spaniards. I have inquired, and the Spanish colonial power in the Philippines has become increasingly weak. Only this time to suppress the indigenous uprising, the governor mainly used the method of win-win and division. "

"Moreover, the relationship between the new governor and their colonial parliament seemed to be very bad, and there were various problems with the mobilization of the army. This led to the rapid growth of the indigenous uprising, which even threatened their colonial rule."

Zhu Yijiong looked pleased: "People are not united, so this is good."

Cui Li continued: "Your Majesty, I think there is no need to use troops against Spain for the time being. Firstly, Spain is needed for the silver trade, and a hasty war may affect the original trade tax. Secondly, in the Philippine Islands in southern Luzon, the indigenous tribes are divided , the situation is complicated, and the cost of governance is too high. At this stage, it is better to leave it to Spain and the Netherlands. After they have almost managed the south, I, the Ming Dynasty, will take advantage of the situation and send troops."

Commonly known as peach picking.

Zhu Yijiong thought about it and felt that it was feasible. Now to attack the southern Philippines, the cost was indeed not proportional to the income, and even Luzon had not fully absorbed it.

And Spain is indeed in decline, but they still occupy huge colonies in the Americas, holding a large amount of gold and silver minerals and cotton textile trade, which is different from the rootless people like the Netherlands.

The so-called rotten ship still has three pounds of nails. If we destroy the South Philippines now, it will only completely block the Americas, and it will also affect the future plans of the Ming Dynasty to open up the Americas.

As for the Netherlands, this guy is just a foil. The era of the Dutch has long passed. Now the Netherlands is still in the South Philippines, purely to control Spain, and by the way, to help the Ming Dynasty digest the South Philippine Islands in advance.

Zhu Yijiong nodded: "What Cui Qing said is reasonable. Spain cannot move for the time being. When our Ming Dynasty Navy masters the waterway to the Americas, we can expel these Spaniards from the Philippines."

Cui Li cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

After talking about the business, Cui Li took out the list of items coming back from Luzon this time. In addition to the financial taxes from Luzon, there were also tributes and specialties from many naturalized and friendly indigenous tribes.

There are specialties such as tortoise shells, pearls, gold and silver, and compared with the gold and silver jewelry here in China, the overall quality is very simple. It is certainly not as valuable as it is, but the advantage is that it is a tribute from a foreign country.

Zhu Yijiong was quite novel about this. Although foreign vassals had made pilgrimages to the Ming Dynasty more than once, tributes were still relatively rare. There is no other reason, because Zhu Yijiong is too stingy, and the emperors in the past dynasties paid tribute to foreign vassals, but they were generous and generous. But Zhu Yijiong could only get in and out, and even had to forcefully buy grain from foreign vassal states. If he was worthy of the throne, he would be awarded a king's gold seal.

By the way, North Korea has always paid tribute, but the tributes are all tribute girls, and they are getting younger and younger.

Now there are more and more little babies in Zhu Yijiong's imperial city, and they have all been incorporated into the palace maids. He really can't do anything about them.

Zhu Yijiong only read the list once. Among the tributes from the Luzon indigenous tribes, it was obvious that most of them were gold and silver utensils, and they were generally quite simple. Luzon Island is still very rich in gold mining resources. Two of the five major gold mining areas in the Philippines are located in Luzon Island.

One is the Baguio gold mine on the west side of the mountains in central Luzon. It is also a rare plateau summer resort. The local indigenous tribes have been in contact with the Ming Governor's Mansion and are willing to surrender and make good friends.

There is also the Paracale Gold Mine, which is also under the jurisdiction of Luzon Island, but is located closer to the south. If there was a war with the Spaniards, this place would definitely become a war zone.

By the way, Masbate Island, where the Masbate Gold Mine is located, is also very close to the Luzon Governor's Palace. Strictly speaking, it is still under the jurisdiction of the Spanish.

However, there is no rush. Prioritize land reclamation and immigration, develop local infrastructure, and when the Han population gradually increases, we can start exploring for gold mines and further attract Han people to Luzon.

Just like the later Lanfang Republic, it relied entirely on first-hand gold mines to attract Han people. In the end, the gold mines were no longer important, because enough Han people went there, and they went directly to establish the republic.

Speaking of which, the Han people in Borneo did not take the initiative to contact the Ming Dynasty's Luzon Governor's Palace, let alone go directly. This made Zhu Yijiong a little surprised, but he was just surprised.

After waving Cui Li to retreat, Zhu Yijiong began to distribute the tributes from the natives.

The most exquisite ones must be given to the concubines and their children, while the rest can be given to civil and military officials in the name of the emperor.

The thing is not important. What is important is that it is a tribute from a foreign country and a reward from the emperor. This is a great honor.

Cui Li has officially resigned as Governor of Luzon and will definitely not be able to be re-elected, otherwise there is a risk of losing control. He will be idle for a period of time in Nanjing to allow him to rest and adapt. Zhu Yijiong has also thought about the subsequent arrangements and will directly send him to Sichuan as the chief envoy.

The Governor of Luzon looked at the territory as quite large. In fact, there were only [-] to [-] Han people, and the population was less than [-] including the naturalized indigenous people. They mainly lived around Daimao County and Minbu City, and some also lived on the southern coast. Still too small.

So let him be the chief envoy. Although his official position was reduced by one rank, the transfer to the mainland was at best a level transfer. It also allowed him to experience and adapt. He will definitely be reused later depending on the situation.

Returning to the harem, Zhu Yijiong distributed the tributes evenly to his concubines, including the North Korean concubine. This concubine had been raised in the palace for several years and finally grew up.

She is still young, so she has no children yet, but she has learned Chinese. Most of the women in the palace regard her as an ignorant sister.

This is sincere, because she is a North Korean concubine, and her heirs will definitely not inherit the throne, nor will they become a queen or a concubine with an official title, so there is no conflict of interest.

(End of this chapter)