Emperor Ming Dynasty

General Wang Shiguo of Heilongjiang stood on the city wall of the pier. Opposite him stood a seven-foot-high lighthouse, which was the most eye-catching building in the entire pier.

Looking at the bustling pier and the huge whale, he smiled: "A whale, what a wealth this is!"

Behind him, the chief envoy also said happily: "This is the first whale since the ice sea first melted. It seems that this year's fortune is still prosperous."

Hearing this, Wang Shiguo couldn't restrain the smile on his face, and the folds began to open, like a gorgeous chrysanthemum.

Among the three major regions in Northeast China, Liaodong has a large number of people, farming fields, serving as a logistics base, and producing a large amount of grain, steel, etc.

The Jilin General's Mansion is adjacent to the Modong Grassland. With the convenience of trade, it can be said that it has made a fortune. Fur, ginseng, antler, and war horses are imported into the customs through Liaodong, and there is no shortage of taxes.

Only the Heilongjiang General's Mansion can only take advantage of the thawing period of only eight months a year for fishing.

The whaling industry is the main industry.

Fish meat can be eaten and made into jerky; fish blubber can be used as fuel and made into candles; whale teeth can be used as carvings;

Especially the candles made of whales, after adding some spices, the smell is fresh, there will be no stains after burning, the brightness is strong, and the burning is long-lasting.

It is loved by nobles in the capital, and tens of thousands of roots are bought and sold a year, and the market has reached 10 yuan, and it is still expanding every year.

This, on the contrary, further stimulated the development of the whaling industry.

It can be said that around the whaling industry, thousands of people have gathered in Heilongjiang, and hundreds of whales are caught in a year, and the market is limitless.

The General's Mansion can earn over one hundred thousand a year just by relying on the whaling industry.

"In the past three years, the amount of taxes in Heilongjiang has increased sharply every day. Before the ice was frozen last year, the taxes collected exceeded 50."

The chief envoy happily said: "Thirty to seventy percent, we can get 35 yuan."

"I really don't know how to spend such a large amount of money."

Wang Shiguo was also happy: "Five thousand cavalry infantry, one thousand sailors, plus officials, it is 10 yuan a year, and the rest of the money can be directly used to build the city!"

"There are still too few cities in Heilongjiang."

"Where is it built?" the chief envoy asked.

Today, the three cities of Heilongjiang are all within a radius of [-] miles of the harbor, which can be said to be separated from the wilderness. The rest of the place is full of virgin forests and nomadic tribes of all sizes.

Farmlands, cities, villages, and ports form a beautiful landscape in this bay.

"Nuergan—" Wang Shiguo said in a deep voice.

"It's the old city of Nuer Gandusi. Although it's sparsely populated and colder, how can it be abandoned if it's the old land?"

Nuergancheng is the mouth of Heilongjiang River, which is opposite to Sakhalin Island. It can be said to be a symbol of Ming Dynasty in Nuergandusi.

Wang Shiguo went there once and then came back.

It's really cold there, and it's hard to be self-sufficient if the general's mansion is set up there.

Therefore, Heilongjiang City was built in the bay (Vladivostok), hundreds of miles north of Hunchun, which is close enough to Jilin and not far from North Korea. It can not only replenish supplies at any time, but also recruit immigrants and expand the population.

Facts have proved that this is a wise move. After years of development, Heilongjiang City can't catch up with Jilin in terms of population, but the taxation is not far behind.

So as early as three years ago, that party required Heilongjiang and Jilin to pay [-]% of the taxes to enter Beijing and keep [-]%.

Financial prosperity, population increase, and various products are also very rich, which paves the way for the establishment of Nuergancheng.

Regarding this, the chief envoy hesitated for a moment before agreeing: "Nurgan city doesn't need to be built too big, it's enough to station thousands of people, the main thing is to notify those tribes to pay tribute."

"I understand." Wang Shiguo nodded and said: "In addition to this, a city will also be built in the Beiqinhai (Xingkai Lake) area to expand the scope of cultivated land in Heilongjiang."

"Nowadays, there are more and more people in Heilongjiang Prefecture, and there are more demands for cultivated land."

To set up a reclamation area, let the army cut down trees on a large scale first, and then let the people open up the wasteland after clearing the dangers.

When the arable land and population are sufficient, villages and towns are established, which is a routine.

"By the way, after the ice sea thaws, I have to go back to the capital to report on my duties."

"Before I knew it, ten years had passed, and I would get rusty if I stayed any longer."

Wang Shiguo stroked the white hair at the temples, full of emotion.

46 came to Heilongjiang at the age of seven, and ten years have passed in a blink of an eye. He has worked hard to build Heilongjiang, and he has lived up to the high expectations of the court.

Of course, the products here are rich, and the general, as the leader, can reap countless benefits. Just the top-quality furs, you can get no less than a thousand pieces.

Tiger skin, ginseng, mink, deer antler, etc., the market price exceeds one million.

This benefit alone is enough to last 10 years.

It's enough for a general to be a general.

After ordering the chief envoy to stay behind, he took a boat from north to south to Tianjin, and then got on the railroad track to Beijing.

Jilin General Xin Wencheng, who set off almost at the same time as him, was half a month later than him.

Sea land is much faster than land.

At the same time, bring more things.

The two generals returned to Beijing to report their duties. The emperor was very happy, and they went on successively together.

"Your Majesty, Jilin now has six counties including Jilin, Changchun, Shulan, Ningguta, Shuangcheng, and Guanjie. The number of people exceeds 60, reaching 67."

"2 people on foot and [-] cavalry, among which there are [-] cavalry, all of whom are one man and three horses, exceptionally elite..."

"At the same time, by the end of these years, more than [-] disobedient tribes will be defeated, and more than [-] people will be captured. With Jilin as the center, within a radius of [-] miles, there will be more than [-] surrendered tribes..."

"There are countless wastelands that have been reclaimed, probably more than 300 million mu..."

Xin Wencheng described his political achievements one by one. Although he kept a low profile, he couldn't get rid of the pride in his eyes.

In ten years, the population under the rule has doubled, which is definitely a remarkable achievement.

Although there are credits for land reclamation and construction of the army, but the salary, material supply, etc. are all in charge of Jilin, and the Ministry of Households does not take a penny at all.

Besides, although it is good to build an army, it takes at least three years to open up wasteland and mature a piece of arable land. After it becomes mature and then let it go home to recruit people, the time span will be even longer.

It took four years for a group of soldiers from the Construction Corps to land and settle down.

So the emperor did not blindly trust him, but instead raised an objection: "In less than ten years, the increase will be 30. How many people does your Construction Corps have? Can Jilin afford it?"

A smile appeared on the corner of Wang Shiguo's mouth, which made you proud, let's show it off!
"Your Majesty, among the 30 people, about a hundred thousand are wild people and Mongols who surrendered. They can be regarded as having changed from barbarians to summers and grown up."

Xin Wencheng didn't panic, and added slowly.

"How much is the tax?"

The emperor asked casually, with a hint of interest on his face.

When Xin Wencheng saw it, he was overjoyed, and immediately said: "Last year, before winter, 60 people were collected. This year, the heavy snow melted early, and another group of soldiers settled down. It is estimated that the number can exceed 70."

"70 yuan, that's a lot."

Zhu Yixi said with emotion: "I still remember that Suzhou Prefecture paid nearly 400 million yuan in taxes last year, while Tongzhou Prefecture, which is not far away, only paid 30 yuan a year."

"In Shaanxi, there are more than one million people in Yan'an Prefecture, but only less than 20."

"From this point of view, Jilin is rich in products, but it is a livable place."

Xin Wencheng hurriedly echoed, "In Jilin, if you go anywhere three or five miles away, there are fruits and wild vegetables everywhere, and hares and deer are everywhere. As long as you have the strength, you will not die of hunger."

"The only thing to worry about is that the winter is too long. There is heavy snow in Liaodong for about two and a half months, and Jilin has been frozen for three months. Thousands of mountains and birds are gone, and thousands of people are gone."

Although it is talking about the results, and then talking about the difficulties, it gives people a completely different feeling.

The emperor smiled and nodded, obviously satisfied with him.

In this regard, Wang Shiguo was not far behind, and hurriedly interjected: "Your Majesty, I have been frozen in Heilongjiang for four months, and it is even colder than Jilin. I dare not go outside the house to pee at night, and all those things will be gone."

"There are still some coal mines in Jilin. I don't have any, so I can only cut trees and burn firewood. Every household has to work at least half a month before winter to cut firewood, which delays a lot of things."

"Of course, although ours is colder, but the tax is not far behind, it has already reached 50—"

Having said that, he stretched out five fingers, full of pride.

"What about the population?"

The emperor frowned, but he didn't expect that Heilongjiang would soon catch up with Jilin.

"Nearly 15." Speaking of this, Wang Shiguo became excited: "When Heilongjiang City was first built, there were only more than 8 people. Over the years, I have continuously recruited Korean civilians, and no less than [-] people have come here in a few years."

"As for the Construction Corps, there are only 4 to [-] people in these years. Not many people are willing to come to the bitter cold of Heilongjiang."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xin Wencheng, and sighed, "Jilin has awarded [-] acres of land, but the officials have raised it to [-] acres, and there are very few people."

Among the three places in the Northeast, the Liaodong area is the granary, so it is the first choice of the people, and it is also an important place for nobles and soldiers to replace Xuntian.

The common people have to work hard to open up wasteland for several years, or buy and sell land. There is no construction model in Liaodong.

Even so, the population of Liaodong exceeded 200 million two years ago just relying on the population overflow of Gyeonggi and Shandong, as well as the exile population.

In a few years, when some soldiers in the Beijing camp are discharged and return to Xuntian's place to retire, then more than 300 million will just wait.

Even the Ministry of Civil Affairs optimistically estimates that if the nobles are more enthusiastic about Liaodong and recruit more tenants to farm the land, the population will exceed 300 million sooner.

This is also one of the important reasons why Xuntian in the pass was replaced to Liaodong. Just count on these nobles and soldiers to open up wasteland!

At the same time, the clans contributed a lot to the land reclamation in Liaodong.

Back then, in order to get rid of the huge burden of the clan, and at the same time, he was afraid that this group of people would starve to death and damage his reputation. Therefore, according to the three levels of lieutenant, general, and county king, he rewarded fifty hectares, one hundred hectares, and two hectares respectively. One hundred hectares of land, let them support themselves.

Having been poor for a hundred years, and after going through troubled times and wars, most of the clans were relatively stable, accepted the conditions, and went to Liaodong to become small landlords.

It is precisely because of the increase in population that Liaodong continues to feed back Beijing, and more than one million shi of grain is transported to the capital every year.

The positioning of the granary in Liaodong makes it possible for the province to collect grain instead of silver coins. Now there are only two provinces in Huguang and Shandong in the whole country.

After all, due to the existence of the customs, a large amount of goods were continuously transported out, bringing in ship after ship of silver, which led to a looser use of currency in the market, and even Guizhou was willing to use silver dollars.

"Why does Heilongjiang pay so much tax?"

The emperor asked softly, looking directly at the general from Yulin, as if once he found out that he was exaggerating or oppressing the people, the guards on the side would take it down.

Wang Shiguo felt the pressure and felt a weight on his back.

It seems that His Majesty's majesty has increased a bit.

He raised his head and said earnestly: "Heilongjiang catches more fish, especially the fishing industry is more prosperous, and whales are especially outstanding."

"In addition, Heilongjiang is adjacent to North Korea, and there are many transactions. In addition, the northern land is more extensive, and there are more special products such as mink fur and Dongzhu..."

"Currently, the Heilongjiang General's Mansion controls more than 20 tribes, and the annual tribute exceeds [-] yuan—"

The emperor nodded slightly, convinced of such a reason.

Because there are more than ten whale oil candles in his hall, three feet long, thick arms, can burn all night, and have no peculiar smell, they belong to the first-class candles.

The market price of such a candle exceeded ten silver dollars.

Just for whale oil, that's a huge sum.

"The two gentlemen have worked hard."

The emperor thought for a while and smiled.

Such a smile, like the sun in winter, drove away the haze in the hearts of the two of them at once, making them feel warm all over.

"The ministers dare not take credit for it—" the two said in unison.

"I will be rewarded for my merits." Zhu Yixi stood up and said in a clear voice, "I will give Xin Wencheng and Wang Shiguo bullfighting uniforms, and each will reward fifty hectares of Xuntian, and Su Duan will each have ten horses..."

A series of numbers came out of the emperor's mouth, and Liu Afu on the side hurriedly recorded them, for fear of missing some.

Finally, the emperor stopped talking after writing a full page.

According to a rough estimate, the rewards for each person are worth more than ten thousand yuan.

"Let's go back!"

The emperor suddenly became dull, he waved his hand, and the two of them left.

"Master, this reward is too generous!" Liu Afu leaned over and said softly: "I heard that General Wang came back, and he pulled three or four boats with him!"

"What do you know?" The emperor said casually, "In the wild lands of Jilin and Heilongjiang, their hard work is hard to measure, and there are still few rewards for this."

"If I didn't see that they made a lot of extra money, I would have made them each a baron!"

"Hey, if the two generals find out, I'm afraid they'll be so regretful." Liu Afu laughed.

"Hahaha, that's right."

The emperor laughed too.

A few ships of goods are really nothing compared to a title passed on for three generations.