The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 102 The Real Assignment Template

Zhu Jianxuan criticized the American conservative plan, the British plan, and the radical plan in turn.

George Clinton, Governor of the Dominion of New York, and other senior officials in New York and New Jersey gradually understood what Zhu Jianxuan meant.

We cannot follow European feudal traditions, nor can we learn from Britain, nor can we build our country based on the Enlightenment.

Then we can only learn from the Ming Dynasty’s system.

Zhu Jianxuan didn't wait for them to ask, and directly explained the method to them:

"Only the Ming Dynasty's system is the most suitable for the current United States and can truly save the United States.

"The current state of the United States is very similar to that of the Ming Dynasty.

“There are many sparsely populated plains, many frontier areas that need to be controlled, and many foreign indigenous peoples on the lands that are nominally owned.

“So many of the policies of the Hongwu Dynasty of the Ming Dynasty can be directly adopted and used.

“We should first encourage self-employed farmers and distribute the existing land to free people for cultivation free of charge.

“Freemen were allowed to cultivate the land on their own, and the government would survey and map the land and issue certificates to recognize the ownership of the land.

“But each freeman family could only get a maximum of 100 acres of land, no matter how many people there were in the family.

“But as long as the children are over 16 years old and get married, they can separate and establish a new family, and the new family can open up another 100 acres of land.

“Only in this way can the population in the plains and the number of residents in towns and cities grow rapidly.

“Once basic agriculture is established and cities have a population, industry and commerce will naturally develop, and the value of land will naturally begin to rise.

“At the same time, military settlements and garrisons were built in the wilderness border areas.

“Continue to offer favorable conditions, continue to recruit large numbers of immigrants from Europe and Ming, and send them to the Great Plains in the form of an army to concentrate on reclaiming the land.

"If you find it hard to understand, you can just think of it as an indentured servant who is armed to open up new land. The key is concentration and arming.

“Use a large-scale army to open up the wasteland and ensure that the army is large enough to directly defeat the natives.

"We rely on them to defend the border, guard against enemies, and develop the land.

“The Israeli army defeated and controlled the indigenous tribes in the border areas, recognized their ownership of a certain range of land, and required them to settle in designated areas.

“Subsequently, they will be gradually required to pay taxes to the government and assist the military settlements in managing and developing border wilderness areas.

“This is the only way to truly control the inland and border areas.

“Only in this way can we gradually transform the Great Plains into our core land.

“Other free states have a high degree of autonomy, so it is naturally impossible for local elites to be directly absorbed into the royal government.

“And you all come from the Dominions, and in the future you will be able to serve as officials of some kingdoms, especially those responsible for European immigration affairs.

“So I explain these ideas of governing the country to you.

“As long as you can seriously assist me and manage the future European immigrants of the kingdom, I may confer the title of Marquis or even Duke upon you in the future.

“Even if you really want to be the most traditional feudal lord, you are not without opportunities.

"In the future, you can set aside a fiefdom in the interior, conquer those indigenous tribes there, and turn their population into your serfs."

The best reference for the early days of American independence was every new dynasty in China that was rebuilt on the ruins.

What the current US government should do is to recuperate and encourage land reclamation.

However, we must not copy the systems of any dynasty in their entirety; we must leave room for the development of industry and commerce on the basis of these policies of recuperation and development.

Instead of locking people to the land, that would be a real step backward in history.

At the same time, after these plans were implemented, Zhu Jianxuan also began to openly discriminate against the original Europeans in North America.

The conflicts among the thirteen colonies, which were already difficult to unite, will become even more serious.

People from the Dominions could serve as officials in their own palaces and subsequently assist in the management of new European immigrants, but people from the Free States could not.

At the same time, Zhu Jianxuan also knew the virtues of these American predecessors.

In the original history, they turned the work of granting land to officers and soldiers into a land futures speculation.

The U.S. government issued a military land certificate to the soldiers, allowing them to go home and wait for notification of land distribution.

But what is extremely outrageous is that the land certificate is bearer and can be traded freely, and when the land is divided, the certificate is recognized instead of the person.

The key point is that after the end of the War of Independence, the United States fell into a state of anarchy.

The army was disbanded directly and no military pay was paid.

The American forefathers argued for four years and finally established a purely makeshift team.

Most soldiers did not even wait for the land to be distributed, and because of their extreme poverty, they sold their land certificates to land merchants at extremely low prices.

The largest land speculator in New York State at the time acquired 400 acres of military land, equivalent to square kilometers.

It should be said that it is truly a pure capitalist country. No matter what the policies are, businessmen are the first to profit.

But the consequences of their bullying of the soldiers were obvious: it became difficult to recruit soldiers later.

When the War of 1812 broke out, the federal government was unable to recruit enough soldiers.

It was not until Canadian militia burned down the presidential palace that the insult aroused the patriotic sentiment of Americans and they recruited militia to fight back.

It would be a miracle if the United States with such a character could have the combat capability at that time.

In addition, the United States has restrictions on the scale of land purchases by ordinary people, requiring buyers to purchase at least 640 acres at a time, which starts at 3840 acres.

How can ordinary people afford it?

They tried every possible means to turn immigrants into their hired workers rather than self-employed farmers who owned a certain amount of land.

There is nothing wrong in engaging in industry and commerce, but it is wrong to ignore one's own objective conditions and force growth without limit.

If I don't interfere in the internal affairs of the Free State in the future, they will most likely do so again.

As long as New York and New Jersey adopt their own recruitment plans, the two places will definitely become the preferred destinations for new immigrants.

Moreover, in the future, after the residents of other free states learn about the policies of the dominions and provinces, they may well ask the ruling class of the free states to learn as well…

It depends on how much people like George Clinton can achieve.

Zhu Jianxuan did not have very high expectations for them. After all, these people were actually part of the American "pioneers."

George Clinton and others were also very excited, feeling that the king really treated them as court nobles.

As for the management solution provided by Zhu Jianxuan, they actually didn’t quite understand it.

We can only vaguely assume that we need to accumulate a sufficient population first before thinking about developing industry and commerce.

Since this is the solution once used by the Ming Empire, and the Ming Empire was the richest country in the world, it must be useful.

It's definitely better than the British and French proposals.

However, if all the land is distributed like this, how can I still be a land aristocrat?

Clinton and others actually don’t care much about the last feudal lord.

They were born in 18th century England, and what they truly envied and yearned for were the British landed aristocracy.

After completing the high-intensity land annexation, the new land aristocracy in Britain became the de facto ruling class of the entire country.

Clinton carefully asked Zhu Jianxuan:
“Your Majesty, if we give the land directly to the free people to cultivate, even if the city has a population in the future, the land will not belong to us.

“Even if the population increases in the future, we can operate large farms, or the value of these lands increases, and some people want to buy land to open factories and businesses.

"Back then, the farmers who got the land now were the ones who made money. We could no longer get operating profits or rents..."

Zhu Jianxuan himself had actually thought about this. Zhu Jianxuan originally wanted to be a land aristocrat, occupying the best land near New York, waiting for the land price to rise to the point where every inch of land is worth a lot of money in the future.

They are also prepared to directly operate large-scale farms of a capitalist nature.

But this is not realistic in the United States today.

America’s core problem is a lack of people, not a lack of land.

The fastest way to increase population is to create enough self-employed farmers, who are the absolute main force of population growth.

They are inefficient at agriculture but efficient at population growth and are extremely easy to manage.

Zhu Jianxuan sighed and continued to teach Clinton how to make money:

“The more you want to possess it all, the more impossible it is to possess it completely.

“If we want more people to come and live on our land, we must provide enough benefits.

“If you really want to make a profit from these lands, then you should divide the land rights into ownership and management rights.

"In the Ming Dynasty, this was called the bottom and surface of the field, or the bones and skin of the field.

“We can only distribute the right to use the land to farmers, and prohibit farmers from using it for other purposes or trading it, so that they can only use it as farmland to grow crops.

“When the local population increases and the value of the land increases, when you are ready to change the land for other uses, you can spend money to redeem the farmers’ right to use the land.

“Since we already own the property, we only need to redeem the limited right of use, and the actual cost will be much lower than the market price.

“In terms of military settlements, you can establish a New York Duchy and a New Jersey Duchy to correspond to the dominions, and you can directly serve as senior officers in the Duchy.

“We can agree that after a certain number of years, when the cities near the military settlements are built, or when the indentured servitude contracts expire, these official military settlements will be disbanded.

“The land reclaimed by the military settlement will be distributed to all officers and soldiers. As the highest leaders of the military settlement, you will of course get the largest share.

"But remember, you have to give out more than half. You can't take it all for yourself. That would be no different from recruiting pure indentured servants."

Clinton and others' eyes lit up quickly when they heard these plans:

"Your Majesty is truly... the embodiment of wisdom. You are truly a genius nobleman and a genius businessman."

Zhu Jianxuan waved his hands in boredom:

"This is the basic plan. When you go back, think carefully about it and turn these ideas into practical plans."

Clinton and others immediately bowed and obeyed the order:
"Your Majesty, we will accomplish your will as soon as possible."

Although Zhu Jianxuan has not yet been crowned, these people have already regarded Zhu Jianxuan as the king.

Clinton and others felt that inviting this prince to be the King of the United States was truly the right choice.

Not only can it directly bring a title of nobility with sufficient value, but it can also directly guide oneself on how to obtain more commercial benefits.

After Clinton and other representatives from New York and New Jersey left, Zhu Jianxuan met the officers of the North American Expeditionary Force and the Guard Corps.

Zhu Jianxuan would of course offer better conditions to these true compatriots and direct subordinates, and now he directly explained his arrangements for them:

"In New York and its surroundings, there are now 300,000 acres of cultivated land, all of which belong to the king.

“I will set up a special company to run the business, and the net profits will be used as an additional reward for active-duty officers and soldiers in North America.

“This is an extra reward, and the normal military salary will be paid as usual, and it will not be reduced.

"Fifty percent is the minimum, regardless of merit or seniority. Officers and soldiers are equal, and all are equally divided. Those who join the army will get one, and those who leave will get none.

"30% is paid as compensation, which is distributed according to the officers' and soldiers' individual seniority and rank. The higher the seniority and rank, the more money they will receive.

“Twenty percent will be used as a reward, and rewards will be added up when rewards are given. If too much is accumulated, then land will be purchased.

“I’m not taking any of the proceeds.

"At present, North America is in a state of disrepair and has little room for commercial profit. It will first be used as food fields for officers and soldiers and cultivated by the North American Central Guards.

"At the same time, we will select suitable plots of land to build public housing for all active-duty officers and soldiers' families, so they can live there when they join the army and move out when they leave.

“In addition, all the current military settlements and garrisons immigrants, including the North American Central Guards who arrived this time, as well as the North American fleet and expeditionary soldiers who are willing to stay.

“All officers and soldiers were to be given another 100 acres of wasteland around New York, and their respective garrisons were to concentrate on reclaiming 30 acres of it.

"It is up to you to decide whether to continue to cultivate the remaining land into farmland, or use it as forest land or pasture.

“All current soldiers and officers will be given an additional piece of wasteland on the Great Plains, which will be distributed according to rank this time.

"The first rank is 100 mu, the ninth rank is 200 mu, the seventh rank is 500 mu, the fifth rank is 2,000 mu, the third rank is 5,000 mu, and the second rank is 10,000 mu.

"For officers and soldiers of the former expeditionary force and the North American fleet, since they have served in North America for three years, the amount of land granted on the Great Plains has been doubled.

“Two hundred acres for the lower class, twenty thousand acres for the second class.

"The land was distributed on the vast plains, with the sites selected and the land allocated based on the garrisons, and the garrisons were responsible for centralized and unified reclamation.

“Those with military merit titles will be allocated separately according to their military merit titles.

“The land grant policy will be implemented for a long time. After there is no more wasteland to be divided between New York and New Jersey, we will select the most developed towns on the Great Plains and continue to grant land around them.

"After today's impromptu meeting, Admiral Qin Nanxing and Governor Li Anbang returned to the camp. Let's start counting the officers and soldiers willing to stay tomorrow.

"After the statistics are completed, we will hold a meeting to reorganize the North American Governor's Office's guard system."

The original meaning of “王有” is “belonging to the king”.

However, in the ancient concept of land ownership, the actual meaning is closer to "state ownership".

It means land that is managed by the king through the court institutions and is not directly owned by any individual.

Zhu Jianxuan very much hoped that all the officers and soldiers who had fought in North America for three years could stay.

After all, they are already familiar with the local environment and have participated in at least a few actual combat operations.

Zhu Jianxuan can't offer very good conditions now. There is a shortage of supplies in North America, so giving money directly doesn't make much sense.

We can only focus on giving out some land first and then raise the expectations for future profits.

If the land given by Zhu Jianxuan was all from the Ming Dynasty, then it would definitely be a condition that everyone would be happy with.

One hundred acres of land in the local area is enough to make you a small wealthy man, and twenty thousand acres will make you a wealthy man.

But in North America, these are relatively common conditions.

Before the advent of agricultural machinery, land had to rely on enough farmers to cultivate it. Without enough farmers, no matter how much land there was, it would be useless.

But Zhu Jianxuan is at least much better than Americans in history.

The point is not how much land is divided. Land in North America is not valuable anyway. The key is how to divide the land.

Zhu Jianxuan directly gave the land and asked the entire guard corps to divide it together. Everyone went to one place and developed it together.

Ensure that everyone has access to useful land.

Zhu Jianxuan believes that America’s future is bright and that it will become stronger faster than the United States in its entire history.

Now I have given them an opportunity to obtain original shares of the American Kingdom.

The right to dividends on 300,000 acres of land in the most central area of ​​New York, and ownership of 100 acres of land next to the most central area of ​​New York.

Zhu Jianxuan couldn't estimate how high the future value would be.

If they are willing to stay, their descendants for generations will have no worries about food and clothing.

It depends on whether these officers and soldiers can grasp it.

The Governor of New York is George Clinton. I wrote it as Henry Clinton in the previous chapter. Henry was the former commander-in-chief of the British Army in North America. I had written it before and got used to it, so I have changed it now.

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(End of this chapter)