Jingnan Strategy

Chapter 449 Dongzhou Gold and Silver Mine

"boom!!!"

In mid-June, a dull explosion erupted in the Andes Mountains of Dongzhou.

But this time it was not artillery that made such a noise, but explosives...

When the smoke cleared, a basket of stones was brought to Zheng He, and the faint silver light on these stones represented their identities.

"Is this the Nanguo Silver Mine marked by His Highness?"

Zheng He took a closer look at the silver ore, and the Taixue Mining Master standing beside him nodded:
"It should be here. The purity of these silver mines is good, comparable to Japan's Iwami silver mines."

"This mine covers a large area. It is estimated that at least two thousand pits can be opened, and there is a high probability that there will be other associated mineral deposits."

As a worker with a geological background, Zhu Gaoxu may not know much about other industries. He even needs the help of some craftsmen from the Ming Dynasty to complete the teaching materials. However, he dare not say how much he knows about the geological industry, but he must be better than those of this era. Most people need to understand.

His knowledge was spread to people of this era through teaching materials, and this mining master was one of them.

"Two thousand mines, how many workers are needed, and how much silver ore can be produced?"

After his thoughts fell, Wang Ren also began to make arrangements to recruit men from surrounding city states.

"Okay!" After hearing Wang Ren's words, Zheng He continued: "Recruit miners from their tribes, and also move the defeated prisoners of war over."

Zheng He was explaining to Wang Ren, and now Wang Ren had become the ambassador of comfort to Dongzhou.

Sitting under an umbrella, Zheng He asked the Taixue in front of him, surrounded by hundreds of soldiers guarding him.

When Wang Ren heard this, he quickly bowed and bowed: "There are about fifty-four city-states with a population of not less than three hundred thousand."

Zheng He calmly looked up at Wang Ren, who was slightly surprised next to him.

Since the Eastern Kingdom was prone to famine, Zheng He deliberately asked Wang Ren to go north to open up the Xuanwei Division in Beizhou, and that place already had a location because Zhu Gaoxu had marked it on the map.

After Zheng He left, Wang Ren turned his attention to the basket of silver ore, his eyes showing a bit of greed.

From the North to the East and the South, the hundreds of mining masters he brought to Dongzhou were protected by the army and searched for minerals according to the drawings given by Zhu Gaoxu.

"How many people and supplies are needed? You and Wang Ren will make a list. I will send the Eastern Fleet to transport them when I return to the court."

"General, take your orders!" Wang Ren quickly agreed upon hearing this, and Zheng He glanced at him, agreed lightly, and left the place with dozens of cavalry.

Such news made everyone, including Zheng He, breathe heavily.

"We must build a post road from here to the west coast, and send craftsmen to teach them knowledge and culture. We will not interfere with their internal struggles, but they cannot refuse to buy food without reason. We will also give corresponding rewards to the workers who come here to work. "

Chen Xuan left 3,000 people in Dongzhou, while Zheng He planned to leave 5,000 people and return with more than 2,000 people.

The Taixueshi pushed up his glasses and told Zheng He his deduction.

"As for the supplies, don't worry. I will lead the fleet back next month. By then, there will be a thousand troops stationed here, plus two guards from the Dongzhou Xuanwei Division, which will be enough for you to guard the area."

The mining of gold, silver and copper mines in Beizhou and Dongzhou will determine whether the trade in Dongzhou will be sustainable in the future. Therefore, since Zheng He integrated the city-states within the Southern Kingdom in March of the first year, he began the exploration of the mines.

A large number of fire gate guns and Hongwu iron cannons from the Hongwu period were packaged and sold. Dozens of gold mining teams composed of thousands of people set out from Ma Lindi and panned for gold up the river.

In addition to official gold panning, there is not much to say about private gold panning.

"There are too few craftsmen, and the current gunpowder production is not enough to mine gold and silver mines in Dongzhou."

The laying of these supply points requires enough time, so for a while, Zheng He and the others were not able to bring a large amount of goods.

But even so, the goods he and Chen Xuan brought previously were enough for the locals to consume for more than half a year. After all, the pricing power was in the hands of the Ming army.

He dared to fight and kill for the sake of wealth. Now that he has wealth, he naturally wants to be rich.

In three years, he might be able to make a lot of money and completely escape the poverty of his family.

As for other ideas, he didn't have them and didn't dare to have them.

The thirteenth year of Yongle was definitely a year worthy of being recorded in history books. Not only the Ming Dynasty was panning for gold in Dongzhou, but even Korea, Champa, Sulu and other countries were also panning for gold in Kunlun Continent.

"Since there are silver mines and associated copper mines here, then build a mint here, move all the coin molds on the ship here, and each miner will be paid ten cents."

Zheng He explained that although the Daming Ocean Channel has been confirmed to be safe, in order to better utilize this channel, many supply points still need to be arranged on coastal islands.

He just wants to be rich, and he doesn't dare to have other ideas.

The Taixueshi pushed up his glasses. Naturally, he wanted to stay in Dongzhou. The term of their group of Taixueshi was three years. After three years, they would all return to the Ming Dynasty via the Daming Ocean Channel from Dongzhou City.

In this way, Wang Ren will have 8,000 people in his hands, and these 8,000 people will be divided into eighty hundreds of households to guard the mineral deposits in various places.

With the Southern Kingdom as a warning, the Eastern Kingdom naturally did not dare to make mistakes. After all, the Eastern Kingdom still needed the Ming Dynasty to help them improve water conservancy and agriculture.

They have found many gold and silver mines these days, but there is really no place like Nanguo Silver Mine where one mine can produce three million taels of silver.

After explaining everything, Zheng He stood up and continued to Wang Ren beside him: "I will set off in a moment. You will guard the court well. Someone will come back to replace you in three years. I will also recommend you to enter the Governor's Mansion in three years."

They took over most of the mines in Southland and discovered many new mines, such as the current Silver Mine in Southland.

From arriving in Kunlun Continent with Zheng He last year to now, many teams have found huge amounts of gold.

The battles he fought in Dongzhou were indeed beautiful, but when he was placed in the Ming Dynasty, he knew very well what level he was at.

"How many city-states are there around this mine?"

"With at least 100,000 people, the amount of silver that can be produced every year will not be less than three million taels."

As long as the Dongzhou Xuanwei Division is opened locally according to the map, the Ming Dynasty's ships arriving in Hokkaido from Mutsu, Japan, will have supply points in the future, and they will not have to go all the way south to the vicinity of Beiguo and Dongguo in embarrassment.

Some of them took ships to transport gold back to the Ming Dynasty. When passing through the Malacca Strait, they came up with various ways to evade the navy's search, but most of them were caught.

For the sake of profit, many people began to enter Yunnan by land from Dagula, then took a detour to Jiaozhi, and finally took a boat home.

However, the danger level of this route is self-evident. In just half a year, Yunnan Dusi received dozens of reports with three announcements and ten condolences.

The contents of these reports were mostly the same. They all stated that some Ming businessmen suddenly died suddenly when they came to the local area. The Yunnan Dusi was very curious at first. It was not until the dispatched gangsters found gold in these people that they learned that these people were trying to escape in order to escape. The tariffs in the Manchuria Strait are actually so desperate.

In this era of Southeast Asian rainforests, even the Ming army, which had enough cinchona tree bark, did not dare to go deep into it rashly. It can only be said that these merchants were fearless.

Perhaps the land route was too difficult to avoid transporting gold, so more and more taxes were recorded by the customs in Manchuria.

"It seems that they found a lot of gold in Kunlun Continent."

At the end of June, Zhu Gaoxu in the Chunhe Hall looked at the document handed over by the Xuanwei Department of Jiugang and couldn't help but sigh a little.

"Seven hundred sixty-seven two-five cents and three cents..."

Zhu Gaoxu murmured this string of data, multiplied by ten, it is basically the income of thousands of people from gold mining.

"This may not be all. According to the news from the West Factory, these guys captured tens of thousands of natives to hunt for gold for them, and they probably smuggled a lot of gold."

"Has North Korea recently exchanged copper coins with the court or used gold to purchase goods?"

Zhu Gaoxu asked Yi Shiha sideways, and Yi Shiha nodded: "The transaction was probably less than 2,000 taels, and they were basically exchanged for copper coins. Moreover, they also bought a lot of copper ingots overseas. Judging from the situation reported by the Manchuria Customs, it should be It won’t be less than 20,000 kilograms.”

"Twenty thousand kilograms..." Zhu Gaoxu touched his mustache: "It's not much, but they can get so much gold. It seems that they are enslaving the natives in Kunlun Continent."

Zhu Gaoxu chuckled, and Yi Shiha nodded and added: "According to the news from Xichang, North Korea has the most enslaved natives, but they are too scattered and difficult to count, but it will not be less than 20,000 at least."

"After this time, North Korea is expected to send more troops to Kunlun Continent, but this is also beneficial. Their gold and silver will enter the imperial treasury."

Having been with Zhu Gaoxu for too long, Yishiha also knew what his Highness was thinking. In the eyes of His Highness, the vassal country was undoubtedly an existence that went to Kunlun Continent to work for the Ming Dynasty.

No matter how much gold and silver they ask for from Kunlun Continent, they will eventually be transferred into the Ming Dynasty's treasury through trade, and this is indeed the case.

"Your Highness!"

Suddenly, the eunuch on duty walked into the palace and presented an urgent memorandum with both hands: "Urgent report from Zhejiang..."

Seeing this news, Zhu Gaoxu also reached out to take it, and after opening it, he frowned subconsciously.

[On Ji Mao, there was an epidemic in Wucheng, Gui'an, and Deqing counties in Zhejiang. Hangzhou sent doctors urgently. More than 3,580 people died, and the epidemic was under control...]

"Let people investigate and find out what the source of the epidemic is, is it rising water or sanitation?"

Zhu Gaoxu circled the red circle with a red pen, and after leaving his comments, he did not forget to tell the eunuch on duty.

With the implementation of the New Deal, especially the promotion of hospitals, the fourteenth chief ministers in the two capitals each had at least one hospital. With the addition of students from medical schools in Shenyang, Jilin, Peking, Nanjing and other places, the medical progress of Ming Dynasty also followed the progress of biology. research and progress by leaps and bounds.

Wherever the New Deal is promoted, there will basically be no plague. The plague in Zhejiang this time is obviously related to the rising tide of the sea two months ago.

Zhu Gaoxu estimated that the epidemic broke out because the subordinate officials in Zhejiang did not implement post-disaster standards properly, resulting in substandard hygiene.

If there weren't enough students at Hangzhou Medical College, I'm afraid the number of people who died this time would have been even higher. Of course, this period is when the floods in southern Zhili and the coastal areas of Zhejiang are at their most serious. If not handled properly, Zhejiang will encounter more major epidemics.

"How is the implementation of Jiangxi's new policy going?"

Zhu Gaoxu raised his head to ask Yi Shiha, who nodded and said: "It has come to an end. The number of people in Jiangxi's "Yellow Book" is more than 12.46 million, an increase of more than 2 million compared with the 26th year of Hongwu. There is no cultivated land. The increase is only over 2 million acres, but many paddy fields pretending to be sloping land have been discovered.”

"After the introduction of the new policy, Jiangxi Tianfu should receive more than 6 million shi this year."

"Hmph!" Zhu Gaoxu snorted after hearing Yi Shiha's words. Previously, he asked Jiangxi to pay more than 3 million shi in fixed land tax, but Xie Jin's group always resisted. Now that the New Deal is being implemented, while reducing the burden on the people, On the contrary, more than six million stones can be collected.

Thinking of this, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't help but think of Jie Jin who died in the snow, and felt that it would be too easy for him to freeze him to death.

"The Zhejiang Chief Minister and the Dusi are ordered to carry out sanitary cleaning in strict accordance with the "Post-Disaster Standards", otherwise the epidemic is likely to continue to break out."

"This slave takes orders..."

Zhu Gaoxu ordered and Yishiha obeyed. The master and servant cooperated very harmoniously.

After discussing things in Zhejiang, Zhu Gaoxu then started talking about things in Guangxi and Beijing.

"How is Guangxi's land-returning process going, and what about Beijing's capital relocation?"

"The terrain of Dadeng Gorge is complex and has not been completely pacified yet. Other places have basically been pacified." Yishiha explained:
"The Chief Secretary of Guangxi is already measuring cultivated land and conducting a population census. It is expected that the "Yellow Book" and "Fish Scale Atlas" will be handed over by the end of the year."

"As for Beijing, most of the nobles have moved north, only the Duke of Wei has not yet moved."

"in addition……"

Yi Shiha hesitated for a moment and then said: "This morning news came from Beijing that the British Duke Zhang Yu passed away at the age of eighty. His Majesty gave him the posthumous title Zhongxian."

"Over in Guangxi, His Majesty considered that the war has basically been calmed down, so he summoned Zhang Fu to go north to observe his filial piety."

"I know." When Zhu Gaoxu heard that Zhang Yu was gone, he no longer felt any discomfort except sighing.

After all, if he hadn't succeeded in going south, Zhang Yu would have died twelve years ago, and how could he have enjoyed so many more years.

Zhu Gaoxu is now very open-minded, and the withdrawal of the Yanfu faction can be considered a good thing for him.

"How is Hami's situation?"

Zhu Gaoxu stood up and looked at the map behind him, focusing on Hami.

"One thousand troops were stationed and two thousand civilians were stationed here safely. More than 5,000 acres of cultivated land were cultivated and irrigated with karez wells."

"Your Highness, although this place is important, it is too barren. Although it can be self-sufficient in food, it cannot store food at all. It will be difficult to succeed in the Western Regions relying on this place."

Yi Shiha tried to persuade Zhu Gaoxu, but Zhu Gaoxu raised his hand to interrupt:

"It doesn't matter. Once the thermal efficiency of the steam engine is improved, more than a dozen water pumps can be transported to the local area. The local groundwater resources are quite abundant, and irrigating hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated land will not be a problem."

Seeing Zhu Gaoxu say this, Yishiha had nothing to say anymore.

The two of them lowered their heads to deal with the memorial. About two hours later, they heard familiar footsteps.

Looking up, it turned out to be Zhu Zhanhe who was returning to the palace after school.

"How's the score?"

Today is June 30th, so Zhu Gaoxu asked Zhu Zhanhe about his results. Hearing this, Zhu Zhanhe could only shrug helplessly: "I didn't do well in the test this time. I fell out of the top 100."

"It's okay, just work harder next semester." Zhu Gaoxu didn't care much about Zhu Zhanhe's grades. He cared more about his conduct and methods.

At the moment, it seems that Zhu Zhanhe is still too naive. I hope that after he is decentralized in the future, he will become more mature.

But when Zhu Gaoxu came to his senses, he couldn't help but smile bitterly that he had too high demands on Zhu Zhanhe. After all, Zhu Zhanhe was only thirteen years old.

He couldn't use his thirteen years in this life to ask Zhu Zhanhe. For the moment, he had already done a good job.

"The group of first-year students produced twelve first-class students in nine disciplines this year. It's really..."

Zhu Zhanhe put down his schoolbag and clicked his tongue a few times, which aroused Zhu Gaoxu's interest: "Oh, is he better than your classmate Jiang Huai?"

Zhu Gaoxu knew something about Zhu Zhanhe's affairs with Jiang Huai and Guo Shao, and had also read Jiang Huai's information.

To be honest, it is really surprising that two people with serf origins can raise such a child. What is even more surprising is that Jiang Huai has a very high moral character. Keeping such a person beside Zhu Zhanhe also makes Zhu Gaoxu a little bit proud. rest assured.

"It's amazing. The first-year winner this time is Lu Yu from Luzon. I heard that he is also a successful candidate. He is probably the first successful candidate in Jiangning Middle School."

Zhu Zhanhe took a sip of iced drink and said happily who was ranked first in the first grade this time.

"Juren is in middle school, or is he from Luzon?"

Not to mention Zhu Zhanhe, even Zhu Gaoxu felt a little surprised.

Although Luzon has developed due to gold and silver mines, it is far away from the Central Plains after all, and its population is only a few hundred thousand.

It is remarkable that such a population ratio can produce a candidate, not to mention that this candidate is willing to continue studying in middle school.

"I think this person is very ambitious. He is probably planning to take part in the imperial examination after graduating from middle school and win the Jinshi."

Zhu Zhanhe commented on Lu Yu's student and at the same time said: "Dad, do you think he is too confident?"

In response to Zhu Zhanhe's inquiry, Zhu Gaoxu put down his pen and crossed his thumbs:
"A person who can pass the examination and still study middle school knowledge without any effort, doesn't have much self-confidence. Do you believe it?"

"That's true..." Zhu Zhanhe nodded, and then said: "Dad, when will we go to Beijing?"

"When you graduate, we will prepare to go to Beijing. Then you and your brothers will continue to study in Nanjing, and you will go to the military academy."

"Okay!" Zhu Zhanhe's eyes lit up when he heard about the military academy, and Zhu Gaoxu also promised:
"When you join the military academy to study, your grandfather may go to the north. Then you can follow your grandfather in the north."

"That's even better!" Zhu Zhanhe smiled happily when he heard that he could join his grandfather in the northern expedition.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at his schoolbag and said, "Go and have a good rest so that your mother doesn't have to wait for me to eat."

"Okay!" Zhu Zhanhe stood up, picked up his schoolbag and walked out of Chunhe Hall. Not long after he left, Yi Shiha asked:
"Your Highness, do you mean to send troops to Mobei in seven years?"

Zhu Zhanhe is now in the second grade of middle school. He will graduate in three years. He will study in the military academy for four years and then join the army and take the military assessment in the fifth year. In total, it will be seven years later.

Seven years later, it was the 20th year of Yongle, but Yi Shiha estimated that His Highness would not wait until that time to ascend the throne. He estimated that it would be time to ascend the throne after the affairs in Jiangnan were resolved.

"Absolutely. Wang Rong recently said that the populations of the Tatar and Oara tribes are recovering very quickly. It is estimated that in seven years, Mahamu will be able to recruit another 40,000 to 50,000 people, and Alitai will have at least 40,000 people. "

"We must let them both consume and consume, or see if the Tatar nobles can still fight. If they can't fight, it is also a good thing to move them inland."

Zhu Gaoxu commented on the Tatar and Oara tribes in Mobei. Now the Tatars are the envoys of Yanran in the Ming Dynasty. Although they obey the orders, they will inevitably backfire on the Ming Dynasty as their strength expands.

The Ming Dynasty had absolute strength, but Zhu Gaoxu was still unwilling to fight if he could avoid it.

Before the advent of the railway, there were only expenditures and no income from the war in Mobei. Every battle was a loss. If this war situation continued, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Ming Dynasty.

However, if there is a railway, the mineral resources in Mobei can be developed, and it will be much easier for the Ming army to station there.

Zhu Gaoxu rubbed his brows: "There are too many things going on now, and my father has gradually stopped taking care of things, so the burden is all on me."

As if to reassure himself, the old man basically doesn't interfere with the affairs of the Six Ministries now. Except for occasionally accepting tributes from various countries, he spends other time studying his own palace. The location of his palace is very interesting. It is in the area of ​​the Summer Palace and Old Summer Palace in later generations. .

The old man planned to invest 2 million guan in building the palace, but considering that the treasury was empty, he divided the construction into two years and invested 1 million guan each year.

There were also courtiers who impeached him, but Zhu Gaoxu suppressed his voice.

Although he didn't know how long it would take for Zheng He to deal with the Inca Empire, considering that Spain did not spend much effort to eliminate the Inca Empire in history, and Zheng He's appeal was not to pursue the elimination of the Inca Empire, so it should be handled quickly.

As long as Zheng He's side gets things done, there will be no shortage of money in Ming Dynasty.

Of course, it would be a different matter if you meet an emperor who is very happy with his achievements.

Thinking like this, Zhu Gaoxu opened a memorial, and the content of the memorial made Zhu Gaoxu smile.

This is a memorial written by Wang Xuan. The content is about the completion of the post road from Xijiang Town to Manmo.

The completion of this road means that the Ming army can rely on the Great Jinsha River (Irrawaddy River) to control the Myanmar plains in the future, and its value is self-evident.

"In the missionary order, the Commander-in-Chief Qian served Wang Xuan, and he promoted the Commander-in-Chief of the Left to the rank of Uncle Longchuan!"

"Yes!" Hearing that Wang Xuan finally received the Earl's award, not only Zhu Gaoxu was happy, but Yi Shiha on the side was also very happy.

Wang Xuan's role in Jingnan cannot be announced, but he is very important to the entire process of Jingnan. If it were not for the three of them and Fu Zhong to contain Muchun, the Southwest Corps would definitely appear on the battlefield of Jingnan in advance. It is very likely that It is possible to block the Bohai Navy in the Huaihe River.

After thirteen years, Zhu Gaoxu finally had the opportunity to confer a title on Wang Xuan, and the title of count was just the beginning of his rewards for this good brother...

(End of this chapter)