I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 205 The Nanyang Development Strategy Officially Launched

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In early February, Zhao Yu suddenly issued a strange order—to place Penghu under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County, Quanzhou, Fujian, and to send troops to garrison it. At the same time, he ordered Cai Dian, the prefect of Quanzhou, to organize people to explore Liuchiu.

When Zhao Yu issued this imperial edict, many ministers who were unfamiliar with the southeastern region were filled with questions. They didn't know what Ryukyu was or what kind of lake Penghu was.

But those who are well-versed in Chinese history immediately realized:
During the Xia and Shang dynasties, Liuqiu belonged to Yangzhou, one of the Nine Provinces. During the Three Kingdoms period, Liuqiu was called Yizhou, and Sun Quan once sent Generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhi with 10,000 armored soldiers to Yizhou. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Emperor Yang of Sui sent people to explore Liuqiu three times. During the Tang dynasty, with the large-scale southward migration of Han Chinese from the Central Plains and the completion of the development of Fujian, Han people also began to migrate to Liuqiu. During the Five Dynasties period, due to the turmoil and constant wars in the Central Plains, Han people from Zhangzhou and Quanzhou moved to Penghu in Liuqiu to settle down.

Today, under Zhao Yu's leadership, Fujian's maritime trade is booming, Quanzhou Port in Fujian is thriving, and the shipping industry in the southeastern coastal region is flourishing.

This undoubtedly made it easier for mainland immigrants to cross the sea to Liuchiu, and also promoted the initial development of Penghu and Liuchiu.

Cai Dian was from Xianyou, Fujian. His ancestral home was Chihu Jiaoxi Village, Lianjiangli, Xianyou County. He was the grandson of Cai Xiang, a famous minister of the previous dynasty. He and his two younger brothers, Cai Zhou and Cai Shen, were known as the "Three Cais". He was the nephew of Cai Jing and Cai Bian. As early as his time at the Imperial Academy, he was known for his ability and possessed the talent to become the top scholar in the imperial examination.

As a native of Fujian, Cai Dian already had some understanding of Liuchiu, which is just across the strait. He was also able to find people who had moved to Penghu and even people who were active in Liuchiu through various connections.

Therefore, after receiving Zhao Yu's imperial edict, Cai Dian quickly found out the current situation in Penghu and Liuqiu, and in a very short time, he transferred 300 Xiang Army soldiers to Penghu to garrison, while organizing manpower to explore Liuqiu.

A little over a month later, Cai Dian presented Zhao Yu with an imperial edict stating that Han Chinese had already settled in Penghu, and there was also considerable Han Chinese activity in Liuqiu. A large number of Song Dynasty coins had even appeared in Liuqiu, bearing reign titles such as Taiping, Zhidao, Yuanyou, and Tianxi. However, the number of Han Chinese living in Liuqiu was relatively small; the area was primarily inhabited by indigenous people with their own tribes and way of life. While Liuqiu had fertile land, its development was limited, with only some indigenous people engaging in simple farming activities and cultivating crops suitable for the local climate. The indigenous people and the Han Chinese living there mainly relied on fishing for their livelihood…

Cai Dian also reported a very important matter to Zhao Yu: the Ryuchiu forest is vast, with a wide variety of tree species and extremely rich timber resources, including a lot of timber suitable for shipbuilding.

Red cypress, for example, is a light reddish wood with a fine and solid texture. It contains a lot of oil, is slightly fragrant but not spicy, has high resistance to decay, is not easy to rot, and is highly resistant to moisture. It can be used to make decks, hulls and other parts of ships, and can meet the requirements of large ships for the strength and durability of the wood.

Camphor wood, for example, has excellent moisture-proof properties and contains a special fragrance that can prevent insect infestation. It is often used to manufacture the internal structure of ship cabins, such as bulkheads. For large ships, camphor wood can ensure that the cabin remains dry and stable during long sea voyages, and its insect-proof properties can also extend the service life of the ship.

Another example is cedar, which was also one of the commonly used woods in shipbuilding during this era. It is relatively light, has high buoyancy, straight grain, uniform structure, and is easy to process. It can be used to manufacture ship plates, oars, and other parts. For large ships, cedar can reduce the weight of the hull and improve the ship's sailing performance.

There are also Phoebe zhennan, Fujian cypress, and so on.

Moreover, many of the trees in Ryukyu are ancient trees that are thousands or even tens of thousands of years old, making them very suitable for the keel of treasure ships of five thousand kilometres or even larger.

In Cai Dian's words, the timber resources of Liuqiu alone were enough to build the treasure ships that Zhao Yu wanted. Therefore, he requested permission to build a city on Liuqiu to house troops, craftsmen, and laborers, to further develop the resources of Liuqiu, and to protect the local Han Chinese immigrants and fishermen from the invasion of the indigenous people.

A few days later, Cai Dian submitted another memorial to Zhao Yu, requesting that Han Chinese be guided to migrate to Liuqiu and that control and development of Liuqiu be deepened.

In this memorial, Cai Dian further elaborated on the abundant resources of Liuqiu and outlined a grand blueprint for Liuqiu as an important node in the future Maritime Silk Road...

After reading Cai Dian's memorial, Zhang Chun said to Zhao Yu, "This Prefect Cai only reports good news and not bad news."

Zhao Yu knew that Zhang Chun meant that if Liuqiu was really that good and easy to develop, it wouldn't have been possible for them to develop it in their generation.

It's worth noting that the Chinese may have known about the existence of Liuqiu as early as ancient times.

By now, thousands of years have probably passed.

However, to date, there are still not many Han Chinese living in Ryukyu.

This is enough to show that this beautiful island is not so easy to conquer.

Zhao Yu sent spies from the Imperial City Guard and the Eastern Depot south to investigate briefly, and they learned about some of the risks of exploring Liuqiu.

The first danger is the risk of crossing the sea.

The strait between Fujian and Ryukyu is called "Black Water Trench". The currents are rapid and the water is unpredictable. Sailboats are easily swept away by the currents, and the mortality rate for traditional small boats crossing the sea is extremely high. There is a saying that "six out of ten go, die, three survive, and one returns".

Fortunately, Cai Dian was not a reckless man. He had inquired about the matter before going to Ryukyu and deployed a large ship with a capacity of over a thousand liang, which crossed the Blackwater Ditch in one go.

What followed was Cai Dian and his group's nightmare.

The second risk is the threat of disease.

The subtropical and tropical climate on the island led to a high incidence of infectious diseases and endemic diseases. Soon after Cai Dian's group landed, one-third of them fell ill, and more people continued to fall ill afterward.

Fortunately, among the people Cai Dian brought were a high-ranking monk and a Taoist priest.

This eminent monk learned medicine from his father from a young age, possessing superb medical skills. He dedicated his life to healing the sick and relieving the suffering of countless patients. Throughout his life, he practiced the Medicine Buddha Dharma, which is quite remarkable.

This Taoist priest, born in Putian, Fujian, is a Taoist with profound Taoist knowledge. He is proficient in various skills such as medicine, feng shui, and divination, and is known as a "living immortal," which is quite extraordinary.

Through their investigation, the two discovered that there was a very strong miasma in Ryukyu.

The two men had a large fire set off, which burned for more than ten days, leaving a large area of ​​white land in the western part of Ryukyu before the miasma dissipated considerably.

The two then brewed a special medicinal tea using several local herbs, which cured the sick people.

However, the dangers on the island are not limited to this.

The third danger is the threat from the indigenous people.

The local indigenous people have a barbaric custom called "headhunting." Headhunting involves killing a person, bringing their head back, and placing it in the head shed of their home or tribe to symbolize their glorious war achievements.

These indigenous people cut off heads not out of hatred or for money, but for reasons that they consider sacred, such as ancestor worship, announcing adulthood, displaying bravery, and warding off disease.

The targets of their rebellions were often unrelated foreign tribes, thus Han Chinese often became the victims.

Many of the people Cai Dian brought were also hunted down and killed, leading to a large-scale war between the two sides. Fortunately, the three hundred soldiers of the Xiang Army, with their superior weapons and good armor, completely defeated the natives.

Furthermore, the island has dense primeval forests, requiring large-scale burning and clearing, making the initial infrastructure construction conditions very difficult.

After learning of this, Zhao Yu issued an imperial edict to Cai Dian:
The Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty decreed:
Your Majesty: I have received the mandate of Heaven and inherited the great foundation laid by past sages. I have worked tirelessly day and night to govern the country, desiring to expand our territory to solidify the nation's foundation and to bring peace to the people and realize our grand ambitions.

Cai Dianqing of Quanzhou, with a grand vision to save the world and a strong ambition to expand the territory, was the first to propose a strategy for the development of Liuqiu. His sincerity is evident and his ambition is commendable.

Liuqiu, a strategic seaport with beautiful mountains and rivers and abundant forests, will surely become an important port on the Maritime Silk Road if properly managed.

However, crossing the sea is fraught with danger, as the Blackwater Trench is turbulent and the winds and waves are unpredictable; landing on the island is plagued by miasma and diseases; moreover, the local people's custom of "leaving grass" frequently disturbs the people; in addition, the forests and wilderness make cultivation extremely difficult.

You led your troops across treacherous shoals, fought against malaria, controlled land scourges, burned forests to clear land, and repeatedly achieved extraordinary feats. Three hundred brave soldiers defended the territory, and monks, Taoists, and other extraordinary individuals brought the dead back to life. These are all pillars of the state and the backbone of the court.

Now, Cai Dian is hereby specially granted a thousand bolts of silk and promoted to Imperial Diarist. His entourage and others will also receive generous promotions and rewards.

The Liuqiu River is quite large and its development is urgent. Quanzhou should work with Fuzhou and Guangnan East Road as soon as possible to develop the Liuqiu River with all its might.

All matters concerning the allocation of funds and provisions, the promulgation of laws, and the deployment of troops can be reported to me promptly, and I will certainly handle them with utmost care.

I hope that you will all strive forward and achieve great success as soon as possible, so as to fulfill my earnest wish to expand the territory and secure the country.

Therefore, this edict is hereby issued, and you should be aware of it.

March of the third year of Hongwu reign of the Great Song Dynasty (1368)
Upon receiving Zhao Yu's imperial edict, Cai Dian was drenched in sweat. He hadn't expected that Zhao Yu, far away in the capital city of Bianliang, would be so well aware of what was happening here. He thought to himself, "Fortunately, His Majesty doesn't want to punish me, otherwise, given the crimes I've committed, I would at least lose my official position."

While secretly rejoicing, Cai Dian's respect for Zhao Yu was even greater than before. From then on, he dared not slack off in his work and never dared to conceal anything again.

At the same time, the officials in charge of Fuzhou and Guangnan East Road also received an imperial edict from Zhao Yu instructing them to organize refugees to develop Liuqiu.

When officials in the two states learned that they could gain great merit in expanding territory without fighting, they actively organized refugees to develop Liuqiu.

The refugees heard that Liuqiu had fertile land, abundant resources, and a thriving fishing industry. They were offered food, lodging, tools, and seeds for clearing the land, and all the reclaimed land would belong to them. They were also exempt from taxes for the first three years. Moreover, the imperial court planned to vigorously develop Liuqiu, which would become an important stop for maritime trade and a place with a thriving commercial sector. Therefore, those refugees who struggled to survive in their own hometowns saw this as a golden opportunity to escape their impoverished homeland and seek a new life. They eagerly signed up to go to Liuqiu to clear the land.

Because there were simply too many refugees who signed up, the imperial court couldn't provide enough boats, as well as the corresponding food, lodging, tools, and seeds. Many refugees even made their own sampans and risked crossing the turbulent Blackwater Ditch to head towards that legendary treasure island.

Upon learning of this, Zhao Yu was filled with sorrow!

In the early Song Dynasty, class contradictions were quite acute.

As early as the reign of Emperor Taizong of Song, Li Jue, a scholar of the Imperial Academy, pointed out to Zhao Guangyi the state of land ownership at that time: "The land is owned by different people, and some households have no land at all. The rich have fields to look at, while the poor have no land to stand on. The strong have no land to cultivate, and the land has no strength to cultivate. Rain and dew fall, but the harvest is not good; cold and heat change, but the grain is not harvested. The rich have raised many livestock, while the poor are unable to support themselves."

Because the Song Dynasty did not curb land annexation, allowing high-ranking officials, noble families, wealthy households, and powerful merchants to plunder the land of peasants, land became even more concentrated in the future.

By the time of Emperor Renzong of Song, it had developed into a situation where powerful officials and wealthy families occupied unlimited amounts of land, engaged in land annexation and fraud, and this had become a common practice that even the court's strict prohibitions could not stop.

By the eve of Wang Anshi's reforms, 70% of the cultivated land in the country was no longer subject to land tax. This means that 70 percent of the land was occupied by officials, gentry, and wealthy families who enjoyed feudal privileges and were exempt from taxes, while self-cultivating farmers and small and medium-sized local areas together owned only 30 percent of the land.

At that time, the prevailing situation was one of extreme wealth disparity: the rich possessed vast fortunes across the land, while the poor were impoverished and confined to ditches and ravines.

This not only caused a severe political and economic crisis for the Zhao Song Dynasty, but also made the plight of the vast number of peasants who lost their land increasingly miserable.

Many people, with spring debts unpaid, are burdened by autumn debts. Public and private debts are constantly fought over and seized. Grain is not yet harvested, and silk is not yet unloomed, yet it is no longer theirs. Poor people toil all year, yet their wives and children still suffer from cold and hunger. Even worse, some are able to seize land, property, wives, and daughters at the whim of powerful and wealthy families, leading to the ruin of their families and the loss of their own lives.

Some families, unable to survive any longer, drowned their newborn children.

After Zhao Yu ascended the throne, he repeatedly reduced land taxes and poll taxes, which indeed relieved many poor people of the Song Dynasty.

But Rome wasn't built in a day, and Zhao Yu had only been on the throne for a little over three years. How could he possibly change this situation completely?
That's why so many refugees were willing to go to Liuqiu to reclaim wasteland, and were willing to be relocated by the Zhao Song Dynasty to Longyou, Xixia, and Yundi, areas newly conquered by the Zhao Song Dynasty, in order to find a way to survive.

This also alleviated the pressure on the court regarding the problem of displaced people to some extent, and also eased the increasingly intense social contradictions within the Song Dynasty caused by land annexation, thus maintaining social order and preventing greater social unrest caused by a large number of unemployed and bankrupt farmers, giving Zhao Yu time to reform the status quo.

This is also one of the reasons why Zhao Yu promoted border expansion.

However, to be fair, Zhao Yu chose to develop Ryukyu during this period mainly to develop maritime trade and prepare for future enfeoffment.

The Americas are too far away for Zhao Yu and his ilk, beyond their reach. But the Indochina Peninsula and South Asia are different. As long as they have Ryukyu as a stepping stone, they can fight their way all the way to Australia without much difficulty.

In short, thanks to Emperor Zhao Yu's personal promotion of this matter, and the mobilization of manpower, material resources, and financial resources from the three prefectures, the development of Liuchiu quickly swept through Quanzhou, Fuzhou, and Guangnan East Circuit, and the Zhao Song Dynasty's strategy for the development of Southeast Asia was officially launched...

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(End of this chapter)