Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1277 As Expected

As this situation gradually became the norm, Yongguo's fishing boats even reached as far south as what is now Mexico, a region where the Spanish had begun colonizing nearly a century earlier and gradually gained control of Central and South America, making it the largest colonized region in the New World.

In this situation, not only Yongguo, but also Songguo had contact with Europeans in the New World. Moreover, there were not only Spaniards, but also people from other European countries, including the Netherlands, Portugal, France, England, and even people from the German region who came to the New World to make a living because they could not make a living in Europe.

In addition, due to the bloody massacres of the indigenous people by the Spanish, the indigenous population declined significantly. With the shortage of people, in addition to immigrants from Europe, a lot of black people were also brought in from Africa. These black people can be said to be the first black people to come to the New World and the ancestors of the black people in the Americas.

Yongguo lacks population, not only for farming, but also, more importantly, for skilled workers.

Huang An was originally a technical official in the Ministry of Works, and he was an expert in technology. While the immigrants from the Ming Dynasty were capable of farming, few of them possessed any special skills. Even those immigrants with craftsmanship skills were often attracted by the more favorable treatment offered by the Song Dynasty and rarely stayed in Yong.

Yongguo's lack of population meant that relying on agriculture, like Songguo, would be very difficult. That's why Huang An suggested starting with shipbuilding and other industries, taking advantage of the local resources to develop industry and make up for its shortcomings.

However, all of this requires skilled personnel. Given the lack of skilled workers, simply considering immigration from the Ming Dynasty itself is impractical, and the indigenous people recruited later are unlikely to be competent. Training them domestically would take even longer, decades, to achieve any results. But the problem is urgent, so Huang An suggests starting with the southern European colonies, finding a way to recruit a group of skilled artisans, and having them join Yongguo as its citizens, thus solving the problem.

To be honest, Huang An's suggestion sounds a bit far-fetched, but upon closer examination, it's not entirely impossible.

Although the south is European territory and many Europeans immigrated here from their homeland, not all of them were nobles or wealthy people. Many were simply ordinary people who couldn't make a living in their homeland because their homes were destroyed in the Thirty Years' War of Europe or because they went bankrupt for various reasons.

If these people had stayed in Europe, they might have struggled to make a living. It was better for them to take a gamble and sail to the New World to seek a living. Poverty exists everywhere in the world, not just in the Ming Dynasty, but also in various European countries. Apart from a small number of these people who changed their situation and revitalized their families, most of them were still struggling on the poverty line. Compared to the slaves, they were not much different except for the status of free men.

However, among these people, there are quite a few with a skill. But they still live in poverty in the south, without proper jobs or their own businesses. They make a living by working for others or doing odd jobs. If Yongguo could offer certain conditions to recruit some of these people, it would not only fill the population shortage but also acquire many skilled craftsmen, which would be a win-win situation.

Listening carefully to Huang An's reasons, Zhu Cizhao couldn't help but be moved. Although he still had some concerns, Huang An was right. If Yongguo relied solely on immigrants from within the Ming Dynasty, it would be no match for Songguo. If it were allowed to develop like this, the gap between Yongguo and Songguo would only widen in the future.

Instead of taking advantage of the current imperial decree granting the title of "Governor-General" to establish his own government, Zhu Cizhao suggested that the country take advantage of this opportunity to recruit local natives and Europeans from the south to serve as subjects of Yongguo. This would solve Yongguo's population problem. Once the population issue was resolved, other matters would be much easier to handle. As for whether these people were of different ethnicities, Zhu Cizhao was not too concerned.

Just as Huang An said earlier, once you enter China, you become a Chinese. What does it matter if you're a barbarian? Even the natives can be educated, let alone those Europeans? Moreover, as long as these people come to Yongguo and become its citizens, they will naturally be no different from the people of the Ming Dynasty after two or three generations.

The Ming Dynasty is magnanimous and forgiving; why worry about these things? As long as it benefits our own country, why not give it a try?

Zhu Cizhao finally made up his mind and agreed to Huang An's suggestion. A few days later, Yongguo set up government offices and yamen at all levels, just like Songguo. Huang An, who was originally the chief secretary, was renamed the prime minister and assisted Prince Zhu Cizhao in managing Yongguo. The appointment of officials at all levels was also issued one after another. In addition, Zhu Cizhao gritted his teeth and took out a portion of his money as rewards. The entire Yongguo instantly swept away its previous decadence, and everyone saw hope and was thus invigorated.

Just as the Song and Yong kingdoms in the New World were making changes and embarking on their true paths to nationhood in different directions, in the Ming Dynasty, with the establishment of government offices and the confirmation of independence of the vassal kings, the influence was not on the officials in the court, but rather on the views of the Ming imperial family, especially the middle and upper-class members.

Although the emperor granted titles to the Prince of Song and the Prince of Yong, this enfeoffment did not bring about much change in reality. This was because everyone believed that while the title was nominally a grant of fiefdoms, it was in fact an exile. This perception stemmed from the Prince of Yong's status, coupled with the rumors surrounding the Prince of Song's failure to secure the throne from the Crown Prince.

Therefore, even after the formal enfeoffment of Prince Song and Prince Yong to the New World and the establishment of their own kingdoms there, it had little impact on the imperial clan, and no one paid any further attention to the matter. But now things are different. With the adjustment of the policy on enfeoffing princes to foreign states, especially with the court's explicit decree agreeing to allow these princes to establish their own governments and become de facto independent, exemplified by the Pacification Commission, the news caused an uproar within the imperial clan. Those who had previously been dismissive or even mocked Prince Song and Prince Yong were now filled with envy. Such a good thing was unheard of; missing such an opportunity would be an injustice!

Since the reign of Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di), the lives of members of the imperial clan have deteriorated year by year. Not only were the high-ranking members kept like pigs in pens, but the lower-ranking members faced even greater hardship after their stipends were reduced. Even though the current emperor has adjusted policies for the imperial clan after ascending the throne, improving their living conditions and relaxing restrictions on the lower-ranking members, frankly, many members of the imperial clan still find life difficult.

High-ranking members of the royal family, such as princes and dukes, may have no worries about food and clothing, but their lives, confined and even closely monitored from birth to death, are truly unbearable. This kind of predictable existence is utterly despairing; what other option is to live a life of debauchery and decadence?

The Zhu family members didn't choose to give up; rather, they had no other options. If they harbored ambitions or wanted to accomplish something, they risked being accused of treason. This had been commonplace since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, with many high-ranking members of the imperial family being stripped of their titles or even imprisoned. With no other path to take, these members of the imperial family had no choice but to live this way. What other options did they have?

Now things are different. With the adjustment of the policy of enfeoffing princes overseas, these members of the imperial family suddenly saw another way out. That is, if they also requested to be enfeoffed overseas, they would no longer be subject to the same strong constraints as those in the mainland.

Although venturing overseas is risky, once one obtains a fiefdom overseas, one is no longer a nominal vassal king but a true monarch. Owning a country means one can do whatever one wants and act as one pleases. Within one's own country, one's word is law, and this foundation can be passed down to future generations. Isn't this better than being a vassal king in name only on the Ming Dynasty's mainland?

Leaving aside their abilities and skills, these members of the imperial clan were all quite shrewd; none of them were fools, and none were without ambition. Even the most esteemed princes of the Ming Dynasty harbored similar thoughts. Although these princes lacked neither wealth nor honor, they were ultimately bound by the same constraints as other vassal kings in their fiefdoms, making their lives extremely difficult.

In less than a month, 31 princes and dukes from various regions submitted petitions, volunteering to be granted titles outside the capital. Among them, six were princes of the first rank, the rest were dukes, and there were also high-ranking members of the imperial family such as generals of the state and generals of the state. As for those below them, there were no more, because those below the rank of general of the state were considered mid-level members of the imperial family. Especially from the rank of lieutenant of the state, the Ming Dynasty had basically relaxed the restrictions on them, and since their titles were not high to begin with, the possibility of being granted titles outside the capital was very small.

“Your Majesty, we are not qualified to handle this matter. It requires Your Majesty’s wise decision. It is not something that the Imperial Clan Court can do.” On this day, Prince Kang, Zhu Yujian, and his two Imperial Clan Court officials, Zhu Minfeng and Zhu Minchuan, specially entered the palace to see the emperor. Although Zhu Qiuqi also held a position in the Imperial Clan Court, his main focus was on the Imperial Household Department. He was now the right-hand man of Xu Xiancheng, the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, and his power was no less than that of the Imperial Clan Court officials.

Zhu Yujian's title of Prince of Tang was changed to Prince of An due to previous reasons, and later changed to Prince of Kang. This was because the title of Prince of An was given to the former Crown Prince of the Chongzhen Emperor by Zhu Shenzhui, so Zhu Yujian had to accept it.

However, Zhu Yujian didn't care about this. In any case, he was just picked up as the Prince of Kang. Because he was punished during the Chongzhen era, his title of Prince of Tang had been removed and replaced by his younger brother. He was now the first prince in the Ming Dynasty to be honored as a prince without any real title. So whether he was called Prince of An or Prince of Kang, it made no difference to him.

Zhu Shenzhui knew the purpose of their visit. Although he had anticipated it, he did not expect the reaction from the various regional princes to be so strong, with so many people voluntarily requesting to be granted fiefdoms outside the capital.

What surprised Zhu Shenzhui even more was that Prince Fu, Zhu Changxun, also requested an external title. However, he did not request the title himself, but rather wanted his heir, Zhu Yousong, to be granted one. This greatly surprised Zhu Shenzhui.

However, upon closer reflection, Zhu Shenzhui understood Prince Fu's intention and couldn't help but sigh inwardly that Prince Fu was truly not foolish; not only was he clear-headed, but he also submitted this memorial at the most opportune moment. Although Prince Fu ranked among the top three princes, his current situation was actually quite awkward. After all, Prince Fu was a prince of Wanli, and in terms of bloodline, Prince Fu's lineage was closest to that of the previous Chongzhen Emperor, being his uncle.

Emperor Chongzhen is now the retired emperor, and the bloodline of the Ming imperial family has shifted from the lineage of Zhu Di, the Prince of Yan, to the lineage of the Prince of Jin. As for the lineage of Zhu Biao, the crown prince among Zhu Yuanzhang's three legitimate sons, let's not talk about it for now. The lineage of the Prince of Qin has been extinct for several years, and the current Prince of Qin is a collateral successor, which is not comparable to the lineage of the Prince of Jin.

From this perspective, the Fu Prince's lineage held a prominent position. If the empire were still in the hands of Emperor Chongzhen, the Fu Prince would naturally be the most prestigious and highest-ranking prince. However, now that the throne has fallen into the hands of Zhu Shenzhui, the Fu Prince's situation is entirely different.

(End of this chapter)