prosperous age

Myanmar is one of the world's largest producers of gemstones, and is known as the "Treasure of Seven Countries". It is also hailed as the "Land of Gems", "Land of Gold", "Land of Jade", and "Island of Pearls".

Myanmar boasts a vast array of gemstone resources that have been discovered and utilized, including rubies, sapphires, jade, South Sea pearls, spinels, peridot, tourmalines, aquamarine, scapolite, and moonstone.

When talking about Myanmar, one cannot help but mention jadeite. As the top-grade jadeite, it has a huge industry in Myanmar, as 95% of the world's gem-quality jadeite is produced in Myanmar.

China is the largest consumer of jadeite, and the saying "a gentleman is like jade" has pushed the value of Burmese jadeite to its extreme.

Although Myanmar is not the only country in the world that produces jadeite, it is the only place that produces gem-quality jadeite rough.

Of course, although Burmese jade was already famous in the Ming Dynasty at this time, many mines were still in a very rudimentary stage due to the lack of mining technology and people's unfamiliarity with minerals.

In other words, the mines that the Ming Dynasty had already mastered, such as the mining and smelting of copper, iron and gold, became the largest pillar of the mining industry in Myanmar.

However, because gemstones are frequently found in some areas, these gemstone mines have been developed, and a large number of locals have been employed to search for gemstones.

Previously, most of Myanmar's rubies came from a place called Mong Su, and most of the treasures found in the Burmese royal palace were collected from Mong Su.

This time, Li Chengliang learned that in addition to Meng Su, Mogok also produces this kind of irresistible gemstone, which naturally made him more interested.

Most of the known mines in Myanmar have already been divided up by others.

Although he could get a share of the profits, it was ultimately only a very small portion.

Well, in Li Chengliang's eyes, the foundation he built by fighting and dying in Burma had all benefited the Duke of Qian and Wei Guangde in the capital.

In particular, Wei Guangde, the chief minister, has now become the largest mine owner in Myanmar.

Wei Guangde's share was already quite large, and now he has swallowed up Feng Bao's share as well.

In terms of share, he has already secured almost half of the profits from Myanmar's mineral resources.

However, since the other party is now the Grand Secretary, Li Chengliang can only feel unhappy in his heart, and he would never say it out loud.

Not only can you not say anything, you have to fawn over them. No wonder you feel terrible about it.

Don't think that Myanmar is far away from the emperor. Li Chengliang already knew about the changes in the capital of the Ming Dynasty through the official gazette.

With Zhang Juzheng dead and Feng Bao fallen, Grand Secretary Wei now holds the reins of power in the court.

However, in the end, money is what truly moves people's hearts.

Looking at the bright red gemstones before him, Li Chengliang decided that he would monopolize the Mogok gemstone mine this time and would absolutely not share the profits with anyone else.

Thinking of this, Li Chengliang's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty.

In this world, the only way to keep a secret is through the dead.

However, he still needs people to help him mine and find gems, so he really can't kill all the people who know the truth.

Okay, if you want to keep all the benefits to yourself, you have to keep it a secret.

After thinking it over for a moment, Li Chengliang made up his mind.

A battalion of soldiers was stationed around the Mogok mine to block information and prevent personnel from entering or leaving and revealing the existence of the mine.

As for the miners, they naturally couldn't leave alive.

Unconsciously, Li Chengliang exuded a chilling murderous aura.

It is easy to imagine how many Burmese people would lose their lives to protect the secrets of the mine.

Even Wei Guangde, in this era, didn't truly understand the unique value of Myanmar.

This value stems not only from Myanmar's unique status.

With Burma as a resource, the Ming Dynasty could gain access to seaports in the Indian Ocean, and also benefit from Burma's rich mineral resources.

In fact, Burma has always been regarded as the jewel in the crown of the British Empire, not only because the British crown usually features various gemstones from Burma, but also because the British plundered a great deal of wealth from the country during the colonial era.

From the Portuguese to the later British, everyone coveted the gold in Burmese temples.

They extensively destroyed temples and looted gold, while also employing locals to mine the area's rich gemstone deposits.

Meanwhile, the grain produced from the fertile fields in southern Myanmar, as well as the later-discovered Yanna oil fields, generated huge profits for Britain.

In the 19s and early 20th century, Myanmar was the richest region in all of Asia.

In 1930 alone, Myanmar's per capita GDP reached $800, surpassing Japan in development level, ranking first in Asia and among the world's top.

Cargo ships in Yangon Port operate day and night, transporting teak to the British for the construction of warships and rice to Shanghai and Mumbai.

At that time, Myanmar's rice yield per unit area was twice that of India, and its exports accounted for 40% of the global total.

Until World War II, Myanmar was the only country in Southeast Asia capable of producing its own automobiles, with an industrial output comparable to that of the entire country of India.

Wei Guangde was completely unaware of all of this.

In his mind, the gems looted by Britain must have come from India and Sri Lanka, and he had no idea that most of them actually came from Burma.

The reason why the British incorporated Burma into British India and made it a province under their jurisdiction was simply because the British wanted to make it easier to govern.

It can be said that if the Ming Dynasty had truly and seriously managed Burma, it could have propelled its national strength to a higher level.

Unfortunately, Wei Guangde only saw Burmese gemstones, and so far knows nothing about the products of southern Myanmar.

Meanwhile, Li Rusong in Toungoo was much more relaxed than his father. The Burmese people in southern Burma were less resistant to the Ming Dynasty. However, looking at the vast tracts of fertile land in Burma, Li Rusong, who was used to the battlefield, had no idea how to develop it.

At this moment, he was still troubled about how the Ming Dynasty should procure grain from Burma.

"Steward Liu, according to what you said, levying summer and autumn taxes in Myanmar according to domestic regulations seems a bit too low?"

Because the Ming Dynasty did not send officials to Burma, it implemented military control in Burma, and local officials were mostly military clerks.

In fact, even if a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the Ming Dynasty were willing to come, the Ministry of Personnel would not send him/her for the time being.

After all, the Ministry of War was only planning the division of prefectures and counties in Myanmar, and had not yet involved the arrangement of officials.

Myanmar was also unfamiliar to the Ming Dynasty. In the south of the Ming Dynasty, two harvests a year was already the limit, but what they saw in the rice-producing areas of southern Myanmar was rice fields that could be harvested three times a year.

Thus, Li Rusong, a veteran general who should have been a battlefield hero, became entangled in the question of how to collect taxes in Myanmar.

"Young General, the imperial court implements a two-tax system in both the north and the south, which is what I just mentioned as the summer and autumn tax."

Myanmar is strange; their fields can actually yield three harvests a year, producing more crops than even the more fertile south.

I really don't know how to levy taxes.

Therefore, we can only refer to the grain tax collection method used in the Jiangnan region.

The head steward, Liu, lowered his head and answered Li Rusong's question cautiously.

In fact, in Liu's view, the grain tax collected by the court was enough to cover most of the Ming army's food and pay in Burma.

If the Li family hadn't been so ruthless with their taxes, they could have covered the full cost of an army of 100,000, and there wouldn't have been any shortfall.

For lower-ranking officials, all they see is the wealth that Myanmar has collected, but they know nothing about how that wealth is distributed.

Most of this wealth actually ended up in Wei Guangde's pocket, while the remainder was divided between the Li family and the Duke of Qian.

Therefore, the remaining meager funds were used to pay the military salaries of the Ming army stationed in Burma.

The shortfall was made up by the Yunnan Provincial Governor. It can be said that, in order to ensure that the current situation in Myanmar is not leaked, the various stakeholders are trying every means to conceal their interests.

In Yunnan, Mu Changzuo, the Duke of Qian, constantly used the situation in Myanmar to his advantage, saying that the unrest in various parts of Myanmar was ongoing, military expenditures were huge, and local tax revenue was difficult to cover, so Yunnan's financial support was needed.

Li Chengliang also reported the minor riots and even small-scale conflicts in Myanmar to the Yunnan governor, describing them as riots by the Burmese people who were not submitting to the rule of the king.

As for the capital, Wei Guangde directly drafted proposals on Burma affairs within the cabinet, emphasizing the importance of Burma while also instructing Yunnan to find ways to raise military funds to ensure the expenses of the Ming army stationed in Burma.

It could be said that the Ming Dynasty court viewed Myanmar as a burden, but in reality, it had been continuously contributing enormous wealth to a certain group of people.

Wei Guangde was so accustomed to his wealth that he had become somewhat numb and hadn't looked at the accounts from Myanmar for a long time.

"But look, according to what you wrote, the yield of rice per mu in Myanmar is as high as 7 shi, while the yield of fertile land in Jiangsu and Zhejiang is only 5 shi per mu per year."

With such a large difference, are you still collecting taxes according to the tax rates of Jiangsu and Zhejiang?
That doesn't make sense, does it? So the extra two stones won't be taxed?

Their fields yield one more harvest than those in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

"If we can collect a grain tax and sell this batch of grain to maritime merchants, I reckon it could cover the shortfall in military pay."

Li Rusong only looked at the numbers and didn't want to delve into the details.

He knew that the place that his Li family had once considered a poor and remote place actually contained such rich wealth.

In just a few years, the Li family's wealth more than quadrupled, far exceeding what they had earned in Liaodong.

What he wants now is to continue collecting grain taxes from Myanmar.

Well, according to the usual practice of the Ming Dynasty officialdom, the taxes earned were the officials' perks.

Before the imperial court set a quota for the Ministry of Revenue, the wealth could not be left behind and was instead divided among officials.

His father was making money for the family. He collected grain taxes in Toungoo, which turned into cash, which became Li Rusong's slush fund and private stash.

It's a pity that the richest places in Myanmar are central and northern Myanmar, where there are many mines and money can be made the fastest.

Southern Myanmar, though important as it controls the Burmese people's food supply, doesn't actually yield much money in cash.

Naturally, raising taxes, especially drastically raising taxes, became the solution Li Rusong could think of.

Li Rusong could not accept paying the same grain tax as other farmers on fertile land that yielded three harvests a year.

“I don’t care about all that. From now on, increase the grain tax in Myanmar by 40% and transport it to Bago or Takorn to sell to sea merchants.”

There is a food shortage in the country. The official gazette says that the grain in the Jingtong warehouse is running low, and those maritime merchants are tasked with transporting grain overseas.

This, in a way, can be considered as us sharing the burden for the imperial court.

Li Rusong stroked his clean chin and said, mimicking his father's manner.

"But what if taxes are suddenly increased, and the Burmese people riot?"

Just as Steward Liu hesitated, Li Rusong sneered, "Heh, the South is just too peaceful, which is why they've forgotten that we still have knives in our hands."

In the past two years, the riots in Myanmar have been mainly concentrated in the northwest of Myanmar, while the south has remained peaceful.

At this moment, in Li Rusong's eyes, it was because they had not killed anyone in front of the Burmese to establish their authority, which made them dare to easily display their power and prestige.

"Add taxes, increase them heavily."

"If they dare to cause trouble, it'll be a good opportunity for the Erlangs to sharpen their knives."

Li Rusong glanced at Steward Liu and said disdainfully.

"Yes, yes, yes, I will go and make the arrangements right away."

Seeing that there was no way to avoid the matter, Manager Liu could only nod in agreement immediately.

After all, in Myanmar now, the Li family is the law. What they say goes, and who can stop them from doing what they want?

In the so-called battlefield in Myanmar, who would care if a few people died?

Even when an imperial edict orders someone to be killed, the court intervenes.

In Myanmar, if the Li family wants to kill someone, even the Heavenly King himself can't stop them.

After everyone left, Li Rusong looked at a document on his desk. It was handed to him by the Western Sea Navy, hoping that the Ming army stationed in Burma would help him mine Burma's teak resources.

Well, in their words, teak from the forests of Myanmar is a superior material for making the keel of warships, even better than the timber mined from Dongfan Island.

This was also discovered by the craftsmen who accompanied the army to the Bago military port. In the past, teak was used to make houses in Myanmar.

When the craftsmen discovered it, they said that the wood was a good material for the keel of a warship.

Thinking of this, Li Rusong had a sudden thought.

In China, many mountains were also the private property of landlords, and the local people would at most go up the mountain to collect some firewood.

Logging is absolutely forbidden.

Landlords only send people up the mountain to cut down trees when they need them, and the wood can be sold for money.

There are many forests in Myanmar. Who says that only what is buried in the ground is a mine? Aren't these forests also mines?

The navy wants teak, no problem, but they have to pay for it; it's not like they can just give it away for free.

Thinking of this, Li Rusong immediately called someone over to find out where the main woodlands in his jurisdiction were located.

Then, with a flourish of his pen, he sold the entire grove of trees to himself for one hundred taels of silver.

In the future, I will own a timber mine. I will send some soldiers to guard my forest and wait for the navy to select trees. Then they will have to pay me, the landlord, for the timber.

With this idea in mind, Li Rusong followed suit and spent another three hundred taels of silver to buy three forests.

These days, changing owners for these things is the easiest thing to do; it's just a matter of owning a pen, buying and selling them yourself, and setting your own prices.

Once the imperial court takes over this place, it won't be easy for them to do anything shady again.

"Many of those fields are still in the hands of the locals. How can we find a way to get the land deeds over?"

With the act of buying land, Li Rusong's mind was opened up with new ideas.

Earlier, after the Ming army entered the area, they "did not commit any offenses against the land." At the time, they were unaware of the value of those fields, so they did not take any action against them.

But now, Li Rusong has realized that the output of land that yields three harvests a year is of considerable value.

Li Rusong's mind started to wander again as he concocted land deeds and became a major landowner in southern Myanmar.

Gradually, an idea surfaced in his mind.

I'll exchange the deeds from the locals, turning their land into land they're renting from me, adding a land rent on top of the grain tax.
Once his mind was unleashed, Li Rusong's ideas quickly took shape.

"This is a big deal, I need to discuss it with my dad."

Li Rusong began preparing to write another letter.

The Li family came to Burma unwillingly at first, only after Wei Guangde offered them a noble title.

Now that the Li family has tasted the benefits of Myanmar, they are no longer willing to leave easily. (End of Chapter)