Heilongjiang General Wang Shiguo stood on the city wall of the dock. Opposite him stood a seven-foot-tall lighthouse, which was the most eye-catching building in the entire dock.邂
Looking at the busy pier and the huge whale, he smiled: "A whale, what a wealth this is!"
Behind him, the chief envoy also said happily: "This is the first whale since the ice sea first melted. It seems that this year's fortune will still be prosperous."
When Wang Shiguo heard this, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and the folds began to open, like a gorgeous chrysanthemum.
Among the three major regions in Northeast China, Liaodong has a large number of people, cultivates fields, serves as a logistics base, and is rich in grain, steel, etc.
Jilin General Mansion is adjacent to the Modong Grassland. With the convenience of trade, it can be said that it has made a lot of money. Furs, ginseng, deer antlers, and war horses are imported into the customs through Liaodong, and there is no shortage of taxes.
Only Heilongjiang Jiangjunfu can only take advantage of the thawing period of only eight months a year to catch fish.
The whaling industry is the main industry.邂
Fish meat can be eaten and made into dried meat; fish fat can be used as fuel and made into candles; whale teeth can be used as carvings; whale baleen can be made into bowstrings; whale skin can be made into leather, and shark fins are top-grade; whale viscera can be used as spices.
Especially candles made from whales, after adding some spices, they smell fresh, will not leave stains after burning, are bright and last long.
It is deeply loved by the nobles in the capital. Tens of thousands of them are bought and sold every year. The market has reached a size of 100,000 yuan, and it is still expanding every year.
This actually stimulated the development of the whaling industry.
It can be said that thousands of people have gathered in Heilongjiang around the whaling industry. Hundreds of whales are caught in a year, and the market is unlimited.
The General's Mansion can earn over 100,000 yuan a year just from the whaling industry.
"In the past three years, the amount of taxes in Heilongjiang has increased sharply every day. Before the freeze last year, the taxes collected exceeded 500,000."
The chief envoy said happily: "If we divide it into 30-70, we can get 350,000."
"I really don't know how to spend such a large amount of money."
Wang Shiguo was also happy: "Five thousand cavalry and infantry, one thousand navy, plus officials, that's 100,000 yuan a year. The remaining money can be used directly to build the city!"
"There are still too few cities in Heilongjiang."
"Where is it built?" asked the chief envoy.
Nowadays, the three cities in Heilongjiang are all located within 300 miles of the harbor. They can be said to be separated from the wilderness. The rest of the cities are covered with virgin forests and nomadic tribes.
Farmland, cities, villages, and ports form a beautiful scenery in this bay.邂
"Nu'ergan——" Wang Shiguo said in a deep voice.
"That's the old city of Nurgandusi. Although it's sparsely populated and colder, how can we abandon it after all it's old land?"
Nurgan City is the estuary of Heilongjiang River, opposite Sakhalin Island. It can be said to be the symbol of the Ming Dynasty in Nurgandusi.
Wang Shiguo went there once and then came back.
It's really cold there, and it would be difficult to be self-sufficient if the General's Mansion is set up there.
Therefore, Heilongjiang City was built in a bay (Vladivostok) hundreds of miles north of Hunchun. It was close enough to Jilin and not far from North Korea. It could not only replenish supplies at any time, but also recruit immigrants and expand the population.
Facts have proved that this is a wise move. After many years of development, Heilongjiang City cannot catch up with Jilin in terms of population, but its tax revenue is not far behind.邂
So as early as three years ago, it asked Heilongjiang and Jilin regions to pay 30% of taxes to Beijing and retain 70%.
Financial prosperity, population increase, and various products are also abundant, which paved the way for the establishment of Nurgan City.
In this regard, the chief envoy hesitated for a while and then agreed: "Nurgan City does not need to be built too big. It can be stationed with thousands of people. The main purpose is to notify the tribes to pay tribute."
"I understand." Wang Shiguo nodded and said, "In addition to this, a city will also be built in the Beiqinhai (Xingkai Lake) area to expand the scope of cultivated land in Heilongjiang."
"It's dark now
There are more and more people in Longjiang Prefecture, and there are more requirements for farmland. "
Set up a reclamation area and let the army cut down trees on a large scale first. After removing dangers, the people can then open up the wasteland.
Once the cultivated land and population are sufficient, villages and towns will be established. This is the normal routine.邂
"By the way, after the ice sea thaws, I have to go back to the capital to report on my work."
"Unknowingly, ten years have passed and I will become rusty if I stay here any longer."
Wang Shiguo touched the white hair on his temples and was filled with emotion.
I came to Heilongjiang at the age of forty-six or seventeen, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. I have worked hard to build Heilongjiang, and I have lived up to the high expectations of the court.
Of course, the products here are rich, and the general, as the leader, can gain countless benefits. Just the best furs can get no less than a thousand pieces.
Tiger skins, ginseng, mink skins, deer antlers, etc. have a market price of over one million.
This benefit alone is enough to be worth 10 years.邂
It is enough for a military general to serve this purpose.
After instructing the chief envoy to stay behind, he took a boat from north to south to Tianjin, then boarded the railway track and arrived in Beijing.
Jilin general Xin Wencheng, who set out almost at the same time as him, was half a month later than him.
The sea route is much faster than the land route.
At the same time, you have to bring more things.
The two generals returned to Beijing to resume their duties. The emperor was very happy and held a series of meetings together.
"Your Majesty, Jilin now has six counties: Jilin, Changchun, Shulan, Ningguta, Shuangcheng, and Guanjie. The number of people exceeds 600,000, reaching a total of 670,000."
"There are 20,000 infantry and cavalry, including 10,000 cavalry, each with one person and three horses. They are extremely elite..."
"At the same time, by the end of these years, more than 300 rebellious tribes will be conquered, and more than 10,000 people will be captured. With Jilin as the center, within a radius of 600 miles, there will be surrendered tribes, with more than 1,000 people..."
"There are countless wastelands that have been reclaimed, probably more than three million acres..."
Xin Wencheng recounted his political achievements one by one. Although he kept a low profile, he couldn't get rid of the pride in his eyes.
In ten years, the population under the rule has doubled, which is definitely an incredible achievement.
Although there is credit for the land reclamation and construction of the corps, Jilin is responsible for the payment, material supply, etc., and the Ministry of Household Affairs does not receive a penny at all.
Moreover, although it is good to build a legion, it will take at least three years to open up wasteland and cultivate a piece of farmland. When it becomes mature farmland and then let it go back to recruit people, the time span will be even longer.邂
It will take four years for a group of construction corps soldiers to settle down.
Therefore, the emperor did not trust him blindly. Instead, he raised an objection: "In less than ten years, the increase will be 300,000. How many people do you have in your construction corps? Can Jilin afford it?"
A smile appeared on the corner of Wang Shiguo's mouth, which makes you proud. It's revealed!
"Your Majesty, among the 300,000 people, there are about 100,000 savages and Mongolians who have surrendered. They can be considered as transformed from barbarians to summers and have become adults."
Xin Wencheng didn't panic and added slowly.
"How much are the taxes?"
The emperor asked casually, with a hint of interest on his face.邂
Xin Wencheng was overjoyed when he saw this, and then said: "Last year before winter, we recruited 600,000 soldiers. This year, the snow melted early, and another group of soldiers settled in. It is estimated that there will be more than 700,000 soldiers."
"Seven hundred thousand yuan is a lot."
Zhu Yixi lamented: "I still remember that Suzhou Prefecture paid nearly 4 million yuan in taxes last year, while Tongzhou Prefecture, not far away, only had a mere 300,000 yuan a year."
"In Shaanxi, Yan'an Prefecture has more than a million people, but only less than 200,000."
"From this point of view, Jilin is rich in natural resources, but it is also a livable place."
Xin Wencheng hurriedly echoed: "In Jilin, if you go anywhere for three to five miles, you will find fruits and wild vegetables everywhere. Hare and deer can be seen everywhere. As long as you have the strength, you will starve to death."
"The only thing to worry about is that the winter is too long.
It snows heavily in the east for about two and a half months, but Jilin is frozen for three months. Birds in thousands of mountains disappear, and every trace of people disappears on every footpath. It’s nothing more than this.邂
Although I talk about the results and then talk about the difficulties, it gives people a completely different feeling.
The emperor smiled and nodded, obviously satisfied with him.
In this regard, Wang Shiguo was not to be outdone and hurriedly interjected: "Your Majesty, Heilongjiang has been frozen for four months. It is even more freezing than Jilin. I don't even dare to go outside to pee at night. All those things will be gone."
"There are still some coal mines in Jilin. I don't have anything, so I can only cut down trees to burn firewood. Every household has to be busy cutting firewood for at least half a month before winter comes, which delays a lot of things."
"Of course, although our place is colder, the tax is not far behind. It has already reached half a million——"
Having said this, he held out five fingers, full of pride.
"What about the population?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows, but he did not expect that Heilongjiang would soon catch up with Jilin.
"Nearly 150,000." When talking about this, Wang Shiguo became excited: "When Heilongjiang City was first built, it only had more than 10,000 people. Over the years, I have continued to recruit Korean people, and in a few years, no less than 80,000 people came."
"As for the construction of the army, there are only 30,000 to 40,000 people in these years. Not many are willing to come to the bitter cold land of Heilongjiang."
As he said this, he glanced at Xin Wencheng and sighed: "Jilin was awarded fifty acres of land. When the minister raised it to one hundred acres, there were only a few people."
Among the three places in the Northeast, Liaodong is the granary, so it is the first choice for the people. It is also an important place for nobles and soldiers to replace their land.
When people obtain land, they either work hard for several years to open up wasteland or buy and sell it. There is no construction corps model in Liaodong.
Even so, the population of Liaodong exceeded two million two years ago just due to the overflow of population from Gyeonggi and Shandong and the exiled population.邂
In a few years, when some soldiers in the Beijing camp retire and return to Hountian to retire, then more than three million will just be idle.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs even optimistically estimated that if the nobles were more enthusiastic about Liaodong and recruited more tenants to farm the land, the population would exceed three million faster.
This is also one of the important reasons why the land in the pass was transferred to Liaodong. We just count on these nobles and soldiers to open up wasteland!
At the same time, the clans played an important role in opening up wasteland in Liaodong.
In order to get rid of the huge burden of the clan, and at the same time, the emperor was afraid that these people would starve to death and damage his reputation, so he rewarded fifty hectares, one hundred hectares, and two hectares each according to the three levels of lieutenant, general, and county king. Hundreds of hectares of land allow them to support themselves.
After being poor for more than a hundred years, and going through turbulent times and wars, most of the clans were relatively stable, accepted the conditions, and went to Liaodong to become small landowners.
It is precisely because of the increase in population that Liaodong continues to feed Beijing, with more than one million dan of grain transported to the capital every year.邂
The positioning of the Liaodong granary means that the province's taxes are collected on grain instead of silver coins. Nowadays, there are only two provinces in Huguang and Shandong in the country.
After all, due to the existence of customs, a large amount of goods were continuously transported out, bringing ship after ship of silver, which led to a looser use of currency in the market. Even Guizhou was happy to use silver yuan.
"Why does Heilongjiang tax so much?"
The emperor asked softly, looking directly at the general who was born in Yulin. It seemed that if he was found to be exaggerating or exploiting the people, the guards on the side would take him down.
Wang Shiguo felt the pressure and felt as if a huge weight was on his back.
It seems that His Majesty's majesty has become a little stronger.
He raised his head and said seriously: "There are more fish in Heilongjiang, especially the fishing industry is prosperous, and whales are the leader."
"In addition, Heilongjiang is adjacent to North Korea, and there are many trade exchanges. In addition, the northern land is wider, and there are more specialties such as mink skins and Dongzhu..."
"Currently, the Heilongjiang General Mansion controls more than 500 tribes, and the annual tribute exceeds 200,000 yuan——"
The emperor nodded slightly, convinced of this reason.
Because there are more than ten whale oil candles placed in his hall. They are three feet long and have thick arms. They can burn them all night long.
It's completely odorless and has no odor. It's a top-quality candle.
The market price of such a candle exceeds ten silver dollars.
Whale oil alone is a huge sum.
"Thank you, sir, for your hard work."
The emperor thought for a moment and smiled.
This smile, like the winter sun, suddenly drove away the gloom in their hearts and made them feel warm all over.
"I dare not take the credit——" the two said in unison.
"I will reward you for your merits." Zhu Yixi stood up and said loudly: "Here, I will give Xin Wencheng and Wang Shiguo bullfighting uniforms, and also reward each with fifty hectares of land, and Su Duan with ten horses each..."
A series of numbers came out of the emperor's mouth, and Liu Afu on the side was busy writing them down, for fear of missing some.
Finally, after the words filled the page, the emperor stopped talking.
A rough estimate is that the value of each person's rewards exceeds 10,000 yuan.邂
"Let's go back!"
The emperor suddenly became bored. He waved his hand and the two of them left.
"Sir, this reward is too generous!" Liu Afu came over and said softly: "I heard that General Wang came back and took three or four boats with him!"
"What do you know?" the emperor said casually: "In Jilin and Heilongjiang, the wild lands, their hard work is immeasurable, and the rewards are still small."
"If I hadn't seen them making a lot of extra money, I would have planned to let each of them become a baron!"
"Hehe, if the two generals find out, they will regret it so much that their hearts will ache." Liu Afu said with a smile.
"Hahaha, that's right."
The emperor also smiled.
A few shiploads of goods are nothing compared to a title that has been passed down for three generations.
