Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 175 The Sixteenth Province of the Ming Dynasty! Great Development!
"Is Dongyi really such a rich place?"

"I read in the newspaper that there is a mountain of gold there!"

"I'm so excited to see it, but I have elderly and children at home, so I can't go!"

"To be honest, if my family didn't have a few acres of thin land, I would definitely go to Dongyi Island."

In the streets of Daming, people were talking about the matter, and their words revealed their endless longing and envy for the Dongyi.

However, when talking about migration, most people still shake their heads.

Although His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an immigration order, everyone in the Ming Dynasty can immigrate to Dongyi.

But the ancient sentiment in their hearts that "fallen leaves return to their roots, people leave their hometown and feel despised" is like a deep-rooted vine that is difficult to give up easily.

Of course, this is for people who have families and jobs.

It was different for the poor tenants and refugees who had nothing.

Just as the saying goes, "A prosperous clan stays in its hometown, while a poor family travels far and wide."

There are many poor people in Fujian and other places who used to dare to worship Mazu in the morning and set off for Southeast Asia in the afternoon.

The risk is a hundred times greater than going to Dongyi.

Today, the Japanese pirates on the sea have been eliminated by the Ming navy led by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an immigration order, which is undoubtedly a spring breeze and rain for these poor people who are eager for a new life. It makes the fire of hope in their hearts burn brightly and they are eager to try.

Early in the morning, the dock of Quanzhou Port was crowded with poor people from Fujian who were preparing to go to Dongyi.

In the past, going out to sea was against the imperial ban and one could only leave secretly at night.

Now, with open immigration, there is no need for these concerns.

"Don't push, line up!"

The officials at the port shouted loudly: "Anyone who doesn't line up will never get on the Dongyi ship."

Order at the scene was gradually restored.

"Listen carefully, before you get on board, you must sign a life and death agreement."

"The sea is dangerous and life and death are unpredictable."

"If you are willing to go, come and put your fingerprints on it."

"If you don't want to, go home now."

The official had someone bring in a table, on which were piles of life and death petitions that had already been written.

"I am willing!"

"I am willing!"

……

If it were in places like Jiangsu and Zhejiang, I'm afraid most of the people would back out on the spot.

But for the people of Fujian, who have a traditional custom of going overseas to make a living, signing a life and death agreement before boarding the ship is an ancient custom and they are not afraid of it.

What's more, this time we were riding on an official ship of the imperial court, and the fare was free.

Then each person came forward in an orderly manner, pressed their fingerprints, and then boarded the boat one by one.

Next to the official, an officer whispered in his ear, "Sir, it's not easy for us to be on duty so early in the morning."

"Since these people are eager to get on board, why not charge each of them two taels of silver?"

"Those who have paid, get on board first."

"Those without money, go to the back and line up."

"Of the money collected, the adults will get 70%, and the remaining 30% will be divided equally among the younger ones."

"This way, it won't violate the imperial court's immigration order, and you and your brothers can also earn some hard work fees."

The official slammed the table with his palm.

He glared at the officer who gave him the suggestion: "You are so stupid!"

"Don't you know that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is now on Dongyi Island?"

"The immigration matter is under the full supervision of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"These people went to Dongyi Island. Maybe His Royal Highness will meet them."

"Now that we have taken their money, if they report us when they see His Royal Highness, will we still have our heads on our necks?"

The officer was scolded and whispered: "It's not that serious. We charge the queue fee, not the boat fee."

"Do you think you can get away with it by changing the name?" the official yelled angrily, "Do you think His Royal Highness is stupid?"

Seeing that the officer still looked somewhat unwilling, he sighed and said, "It's not like before now."

"The news that the imperial court sent them a ship to Dongyi Island for free was published in black and white in the Ming Daily."

“Who doesn’t know this when they come here?”

"You can't fool anyone."

The official spoke earnestly, "Tell the brothers, no matter how much you want to make money, you have to hold back."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is in charge, and you are trying to stroke the tiger's whiskers. That means you are tired of living."

"But as long as you complete the task well, His Royal Highness will definitely reward you handsomely."

The officer's eyes suddenly brightened and he asked, "Really?"

The official lowered his voice and said, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince is not the original Emperor."

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has always been generous and never mistreats those who work for the court."

The officer then smiled and said, "Your Excellency is right. I will abide by the rules and do my job well."

……

Dongyi.

After eliminating all the Japanese pirates in the Penghu Islands, Zhu Yunhuan turned back and landed on Dongyi Island.

I have to say that this is indeed a treasure land with a pleasant climate and abundant resources.

He already had a comprehensive plan in his mind on how to develop this place.

Immigration is an inevitable step.

According to the Ming Dynasty's long-standing tradition, wasteland developed by new immigrants would become their own.

But Zhu Yunhuan did not play by the rules. What he did was to first announce that all the land of Dongyi belonged to the court.

Under the whole world, could it be the king's land.

This is a declaration of sovereignty and does not have much practical significance.

But the next operation is different.

The original territories of the indigenous tribes will naturally remain unchanged and will still be managed by the indigenous people themselves.

And issued a protection order for the indigenous people, prohibiting immigrants from encroaching on their land.

But in reality, due to the backwardness of civilization, the indigenous tribes occupied very little land.

Most of the places on the treasure island are undeveloped virgin land.

Zhu Yunhuan ordered that all new immigrants who wanted to develop wasteland after arriving had to purchase it from the imperial court first, and the imperial court would then designate areas for development.

The price of land sales was unified at one tael of silver per hundred acres.

Although this price seems ridiculously low, you have to know that before this, the Ming Dynasty court had never charged money for developing wasteland.

After all, the imperial court has always encouraged land reclamation.

Whoever reclaims the land will automatically own it.

There are even rewards.

Even wasteland has to be sold for money. This is the first time since the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

To be more precise, there has never been such a thing in any dynasty.

Unowned wasteland has always belonged to whoever reclaimed it throughout the dynasties.

There are three reasons why Zhu Yunhuan did this.

First: The more money is needed to buy it, the more people will think that the land of Dongyi is fertile, and thus they will yearn for it more.

On the contrary, if it is announced that whoever reclaims the wasteland will own it, they will all think that Dongyi must be a barren land.

Second: Whoever reclaims the land owns it. This may seem like a benefit, but in fact, because the ownership of the land is unclear, the weak can easily lose control of the land they have reclaimed.

This is the key reason why landless refugees and poor people do not reclaim wasteland.

A poor man worked hard to reclaim a piece of wasteland, but someone else who was rich and powerful said that the land was reclaimed by him and forcibly snatched the land that the poor man had reclaimed with so much difficulty from his hands.

This kind of thing happens every day everywhere in this era.

In short, it is precisely because land can be obtained for free through reclamation, and because whoever reclaims the land owns it, that the powerless poor have in fact lost the right to reclaim land.

Reclaiming wasteland became the exclusive domain of landlords and gentry.

Without power and authority, and without being able to protect the land, one cannot reclaim the land.

Otherwise, reclaiming the land will only serve as a favor to others.

The poor could only rent land from landlords and could not obtain their own land by reclaiming wasteland.

But what if the wasteland itself was purchased from the imperial court?

The title deed is clear, and the ownership of the rights is clear, so no one can take it away!

Zhu Yunhuan also set a purchase limit. A middle-aged man could only purchase a maximum of 1,000 acres of wasteland, and after the purchase, the reclamation had to be completed within three years.

Otherwise, the wasteland will be returned to the court.

As for the poor people who can't even take out one or two taels of silver, it seems that they cannot buy land, but in fact there is a very simple solution.

It is difficult for someone who has purchased wasteland to reclaim it by himself, and he will inevitably need to hire manpower.

A poor man can earn money by selling his labor and getting paid.

The immigrants who came to Dongyi to open up wasteland must have been strong and healthy people. In addition, the demand for land reclamation was strong and the price of labor would rise, so it was not difficult to earn one or two taels of silver.

Even if we take a step back, the government will also carry out a lot of infrastructure construction, such as paving roads.

They could also earn money by working for the government.

The third reason is that the ownership of land is clearly defined, which reduces disputes between immigrants and between immigrants and indigenous peoples.

If immigrants are allowed to reclaim wasteland, some of them will inevitably reclaim the land originally occupied by indigenous tribes, thus causing contradictions and conflicts.

This big trouble could be avoided if the imperial court designated wasteland and immigrants purchased it.

In addition, the scale of land reclamation can be controlled by the government to avoid the destruction of forest land and the complete damage to the ecological environment.

Of course, although there is a time limit for reclamation of wasteland, no tax will be paid for the next ten years.

As for further business and trade, Zhu Yunhuan believed that these would become natural things with the arrival of immigrants and the close and frequent exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.

In order to speed up the realization of this goal, he also announced the opening of a fixed ferry between Dongyi and Fujian.

Unless there are strong winds and waves and the weather is not suitable for navigation, personnel and materials are transported back and forth every day.

Regarding the management of the Dongyi, both Yao Guangxiao and Yang Shiqi proposed setting up a government.

However, after careful consideration, Zhu Yunhuan decided to establish a province.

This demonstrated the court's utmost importance to this place.

And cleverly promoted the ranks of the officials who were appointed to the post, solving a historical problem.

Unlike homeless refugees and penniless poor people, officials have always been very resistant to serving in frontier areas.

This is a chronic disease throughout the dynasties and it is also human nature.

Forced dispatch will not only fail to inspire diligence, but may also lead to perfunctory work and lack of commitment.

This cannot happen while the treasure island is being developed.

The only way is to give them promotions and higher positions.

Just imagine, a county magistrate who was originally unknown could become a prefect once he was ordered to go to Taiwan.

When he returns home at the end of his three-year term, his worth will have doubled and his official rank will be high.

Under such temptation, officials will no longer resist, but will flock to it, viewing it as a "gilded journey" in their careers.

After coming here, no matter how difficult the conditions are, our enthusiasm for work will be greatly improved.

This proposal was quickly agreed by Lao Zhu.

Soon, the 16th province of the Ming Dynasty was officially established, and according to Zhu Yunhuan’s suggestion, it was named "Taiwan"!
……

(End of this chapter)