The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 454: Governing the Country with Both Kindness and Power
With the fall of Edo Castle, Japan was essentially taken into the hands of the Ming Dynasty.

At that time, Japan only had three islands, and Ezo had not yet been taken over by Japan.

However, the Ming Dynasty still had to take the Ezo land.

As for the reason, it is very simple. Japan does not have enough arable land to feed such a large population.

According to the original calculation of the Japanese pirates, the maximum stone level of Japan is about 24 million stones, and has not yet reached 25 million stones.

The so-called stone height is higher than the one stone of the Ming Dynasty, but it is only about 70% to 80% higher, less than twice as high.

If converted according to this ratio, Japan's annual grain production is only about 40 million koku.

This output is not consistent with Japan's existing arable land area, as Japan's current arable land area is approximately 40 million mu.

In other words, Japan's current per-acre yield is very low, with one acre of land producing roughly one stone of grain per year.

How many people can be fed with this little food?

If we follow the Ming Dynasty's standard of 10 dan of grain per person per year, this amount of grain can only feed about four million people!
Japan's current population is about 15 million.

This is also the reason why Japanese ronin and even civilians drink porridge.

If they ate rice like the Ming Dynasty did, they wouldn't be able to feed 30% of the current population!
The problem is that even if they all drank porridge, without meat to fill their stomachs, three stone of grain per person a year would not be enough to feed them.

In other words, even if everyone had to eat porridge and was not allowed to eat their fill, the 15 million people in Japan alone would require 45 million koku of grain.

This may also be the fundamental reason why those ronin will do anything to get enough food.

Because the food produced in Japan is not enough to feed everyone. Even if they all drink porridge, they still cannot be full. Many people just have to endure it with hungry stomachs.

This is just the current population of Japan, which means there is a shortage of 5 million shi of grain a year.

If the Ming Dynasty wants to defend Japan, it must leave at least 200,000 garrison troops.

This is just the garrison. To suppress the rebellion, we need real elite troops, which will require another 100,000.

There are also dukes, marquises and nobles who were granted fiefs. If calculated based on military merits, at least thousands of dukes, marquises and nobles will be granted fiefs this time.

If we count by dukes, there are at least twenty.

In other words, the personal guards of these dukes and nobles must number at least 100,000.

In addition, the families of dukes, marquises, and nobles, the families of these personal guards, and even the families of the soldiers in the garrison camp, add up to more than a million people.

By this calculation, if the Ming Dynasty wants to defend Japan, it will have to migrate at least one to two million people here.

According to the Ming Dynasty's standards for food security, these people would consume 20 million dan of grain a year!

Outside Edo Castle, in the Ming army camp, in the general's tent where maps were specially displayed, Emperor Wanli was carefully teaching his eldest son Zhu Changluo how to govern the country.

The eldest prince Zhu Changluo was completely confused by what he heard. Things like stone height, per mu yield, food rations, etc. were not in the book.

He couldn't even understand how he could survive by just drinking porridge.

These are things that he cannot access in the palace.

He listened for a while, but couldn't understand what he was saying. He couldn't help but ask, "Father, didn't you say we should turn the pirates into slaves? Since they're slaves, why should we care whether they have enough to eat?"

Your idea is dangerous.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Luo'er, the way to govern a country is not just to use coercion. We want to train the Japanese pirates into slaves. Those who don't obey will be killed until they are afraid.

However, we can't just rely on killing. We have to find ways to feed them. You may have never been hungry, so you don't know how crazy the feeling of hunger can drive people.

You have to remember that throughout the dynasties, most of the civilian rebellions were caused by hunger and hunger.

Food is the most important thing for people. If you don't give them food, they won't be able to survive. If you don't want people to rebel, you have to find a way to make sure they have enough to eat.

If you give them the sky and allow them to have enough to eat, they will be grateful, live and work in peace and contentment, and lead a good life.

Of course, this refers to the docile and obedient people, not the brutal Japanese pirates or ambitious people.

Therefore, the way to govern a country is to use both kindness and power. For those who are honest and obedient, you must show kindness, let them have enough food, and even let them have enough food and clothing. For those who are disobedient, you must use coercion and punishment, or even execute them and exterminate their entire clan."

Oh, when they can’t stand the hunger anymore, they will rebel.

We really have to find a way to keep them fed.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo nodded, seemingly understanding, and said, "I understand, Father. How can we ensure they have enough to eat?"

This problem has been unresolved by many emperors throughout the dynasties, especially those who lost their country. Wanli explained in detail: "This must be adapted to local conditions.

For example, Japan does not have enough arable land and the yield per mu is low, so we should find ways to find more arable land for them and increase the yield per mu.

There are many ways to find more arable land. Taking over the Ezo land is one way, reclaiming wasteland for farming is another way, and building terraces if there is no flat land is another way.

As for ways to increase production, there are even more, such as developing water conservancy projects, improving rice varieties, applying fertilizers, controlling pests and diseases, etc.

If increasing arable land and increasing per-mu yields are not enough, there are other ways, such as fishing. There are a lot of fish in the waters of Japan, and we can completely develop the fishing industry to solve part of the food problem.

For example, making money to buy food.

Japan is blessed with natural advantages because it has ready-made gold and silver mines, and it is no problem to produce seven or eight million taels of silver in real gold and silver every year.

If calculated based on the grain prices in Liaodong, these gold and silver coins could be exchanged for about 30 million shi of grain. Of course, this also requires taking into account the transportation losses of grain.

Another way is to make money by selling labor. You can find a way to open some workshops here that make money purely by labor, or you can simply organize young and strong Japanese slaves to go to the Ming Dynasty to help farm, build roads, repair houses, build cities, etc.

This not only gives these Japanese slaves something to do during their slack season so they don't have to think about rebellion, but also allows them to earn money in exchange for a lot of food, clothing, daily necessities, etc.

In short, there are many ways to solve the problem of food and clothing. You need to read more, learn more, think more, and act with careful consideration."

Uh, where can I see these?

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo asked carefully, "Father, do I need to go back to the Ming Dynasty to take a look and learn something?"

I know all this, why are you still going back to the Ming Dynasty?

Wanli slowly shook his head and said, "You don't need to go back to the Ming Dynasty to learn these things. I will start teaching you now.

For example, we can start building roads and cities now, because spring plowing in Japan has ended, and we can fully mobilize young and strong people to build roads and cities."

Are we building a city in Japan?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo was quite puzzled and asked, "Father, why are we building a city in Japan?"

How can you defend Japan if you don’t build more cities?
Wanli explained in detail: "This is for our convenience in defending Japan. Among the existing cities in Japan, only Kyoto, Osaka, and Edo are of some decent quality. The other cities are not even as good as our county towns.

This isn't the Ming Dynasty. We must build many fortresses that are easy to defend and difficult to attack to prevent the Japanese from rebelling. These fortresses are to be guarded by nobles and garrison soldiers, and must be built according to the regulations of our Ming Dynasty's citadels."

Oh, so it’s to defend Japan.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Highness understands."

You don't understand.

Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Building a city is not that simple. We have to choose a construction site, prepare materials, and gather craftsmen to teach these Japanese slaves how to build it. There are so many things to do."

Why is there so much trouble?
Upon hearing this, Zhu Changluo touched his head and said in embarrassment: "Father, I don't know any of these. Why don't you teach me?"

There is no other way, you have to teach patiently.

Who says you are my son?

Wanli nodded slightly after hearing this, and then patiently taught: "We must choose the location for building the city according to the needs.

Now we need to build a lot of cities. We need to build at least dozens of cities guarded by garrison soldiers, and at least hundreds of cities guarded by dukes and nobles.

Furthermore, we must select fiefs for them based on their military merits and the actual conditions of the soldiers, and we must use the military merit book and the map to do this."

Is it so troublesome?

Wanli was patiently teaching his son while holding the military merit book and looking at the map, when the tent suddenly became dark.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan walked in and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, it's already evening, and you haven't finished your discussion yet. Why don't you eat first? Don't let Luo'er get hungry.

When we came here, Concubine Gong held my hand and talked to me for a long time, asking me to take good care of Luo'er's daily life."

When Zhu Changluo heard this, he instantly felt his stomach was empty and he was very hungry.

He couldn't help but touch his stomach and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Yes, Father, how about we eat first? I suddenly feel very hungry."

You boy.

Wanli nodded slightly, and did not forget to teach: "Now you know what it feels like to be hungry, right? You are just beginning to feel hungry. If I let you go without food for a few days, can you bear it?"

Who can bear it?
Zhu Changluo nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand, your son. We must not let anyone go hungry. The feeling of hunger is truly unbearable."

(End of this chapter)