Compared with Qin, Qi is special.
Because the entire island of Mindanao, as well as hundreds or thousands of nearby small islands, is nominally owned by King Qi.
Land, minerals, woods, rivers, and even savages.
Therefore, a large number of captured savages became wild slaves, either building bridges and paving roads or reclaiming wasteland. As long as there was enough food, more wild slaves could be captured.
Part of the land was distributed to immigrants, while most of it was in the hands of the King of Qi, officials and military officers.
You know, Mindanao alone covers nearly 100,000 square kilometers, which is almost the same as Jiangsu and Zhejiang, not to mention the large and small islands nearby.
Mountains account for about two-thirds of the country, and the remaining one-third is plains, with at least hundreds of millions of acres under cultivation.
In other words, even if there are 100,000 people from Qi, less than 1% of the Mindanao plains are developed.
Two hundred and eighty thousand silver dollars is the wealth created by this reclaimed land this autumn.
Of course, in order to better open up wasteland, the King of Qi would purchase grain at a lower price and then sell it uniformly.
The grain store belongs to the King of Qi, and the merchant ship also belongs to the King of Qi.
Merchant ships from Luzon could only do business with King Qi's caravan at the dock.
It is precisely because of monopoly that Qi State has made a lot of profits.
You must know that three years ago, Qi State was full of virgin forests and wastelands.
"Nearly 600,000 a year?"
King Qi was slightly surprised, and then his eyes burst into intense joy.
Don't look at Suzhou's annual tax of four to five million, but that is just a special case. For an ordinary government in the north of the Ming Dynasty, it is already good to contribute half a million.
Today's Qi State has only one county in Ming Dynasty with a population, but it has created the tax revenue of a whole government. How can we not be excited?
"Your Highness!" Gu Yuan said with a smile on his lips: "After excluding the army, officials, the construction of the palace and city, and the food and drink of the wild slaves, the treasury can still have three hundred thousand yuan left in the year."
"Now that we have captured the craftsmen of Sulu, there will naturally be no shortage of pots, pans, and the like. We can even make porcelain!"
"porcelain?"
King Qi was shocked: "Those Westerners are so cute and can make a lot of money."
"More than that." Zhang Chun couldn't help but said: "The Dutch want porcelain, pottery, animal skins, paper and so on in the Governor's Mansion."
"The Dutch have taken all our sugar."
"The quality of white sugar is not good." Gu Yuan shook his head and said, "The sugar lab in Taiwan has great technology. They make white cotton candy that can sell for five yuan per stone, but we can only sell three yuan."
"Dutch!" King Qi squinted his eyes and raised the corners of his mouth: "Although the Taiwan government is at odds with us, business still needs to be done."
"It's a pity that we in Qi can't plant mulberry trees or raise silkworms, let alone tea trees..."
Speaking of this, he looked full of regret.
In the rainy season of the past six months, there has been continuous heavy rain, and the precious mulberry trees and silkworms cannot survive at all.
This is also the reason why Qi State is slow to open up wasteland. The intermission period is too long, and even if it is two crops a year, it is difficult to speed up.
Therefore, those savages are not really lazy, but the natural environment forces them to have a half-year cultivation period. In addition, they can pick fruits everywhere and do not need to worry about starving to death, so they naturally develop the virtue of laziness.
"After saving this money, I spent 90% of it to buy cattle."
King Qi gritted his teeth and said: "Since the manpower is insufficient, let's exchange it for cattle."
"Your Highness, sesame, soybean, rapeseed, peanut, flax, etc. can be pressed for oil and are of great use, so they must be widely cultivated. In addition, tobacco leaves, jute, cotton, etc. can be exported to the West."
Gu Yuan shook his head and talked endlessly about the steps and plans for establishing an agricultural country: "In addition, in terms of dyes, we must also learn from the imperial court and set up an indigo institute, sow indigo, horse indigo, magnolia, and amaranth, and use It’s blue; plant madder and safflower to get its red; then plant turmeric, gardenia, and acacia to get its yellow—”
Speaking of this, he said excitedly: "Your Highness, do you know Rouge Hong?"
King Qi was stunned: "No."
"This is a dye obtained by the Spanish from the New World. It is very popular among Europeans. Its color is extremely bright. When printed on the fabric, it is as red and tender as rouge."
When he heard that it was as bright red as rouge, King Qi didn't believe it: "Can it be dyed red without safflower?"
Since ancient times, red fabric has been associated with expensiveness. The emperor's uniforms were mainly red and yellow. The price of safflower is really too high.
At that time, the Xiongnu sang "I lost my Yanzhi Mountain and made my women colorless", which was referring to the red flowers of Yanzhi Mountain.
The output is small and the price is high, which naturally makes red expensive.
Obviously, there are no red flowers in Qi.
"Yes." Gu Yuan suppressed his joy: "As long as this carmine is dyed and soaked in silk, this special red color will definitely be a rare color in the Ming Dynasty and can be sold at a good price."
"How much is food worth?"
King Qi thought for a while and nodded quickly: "Yes, we dye cloth and sell it to the savages and Western barbarians, and we dye silk and sell it to the Ming Dynasty. This is a good deal."
For a moment, the monarch and his ministers laughed more and more wildly.
After saying this, he left without finishing his words and walked towards the Qi Palace.
After three years of construction, 30% of the palace, which covers an area of 500 acres, has been built. Every year, thousands of slaves rush to it, spending tens of thousands of silver coins.
They cut stones from the mountains and cut down trees to build temples.
In order to prevent fire, nearly half of the palace structure is composed of stone, which can be said to be a lot of hard work.
It seems a bit wasteful, but there is a saying that goes well:
It is nothing but majestic and majestic.
Only by being majestic and majestic can one subdue a hundred thousand vassal savages and frighten hundreds of thousands of savages.
After King Qi left, Gu Yuan sighed: "Your Majesty is in Linzi, so there is no need to report the actual facts. It is really convenient."
Zhang Chun echoed: "The king is wise and can listen to good advice."
"The gold mine is just a plan for the future. The most important thing now is weaving." Gu Yuan said seriously:
"When the cloth industry is successful, why does Qi have to worry about lack of money?"
With two crops a year, the importance of food continues to decrease, but the future of business is bright.
Qi's fabric industry is currently the most suitable for development. How much money can be made by exporting grain?
The level of sugar cane production cannot currently catch up with that of Taiwan, so fabrics are the best way to catch up.
After all, as long as the house did not leak, both slaves and common people could work and make money during the rainy season.
Externally, cloth can be exported in exchange for large amounts of gold and silver; internally, cloth can be traded with Panyi in exchange for large amounts of furs, gems and other materials, and the price difference can be earned.
Its effect is really too great.
…
At this time, Luzon.
Luzon Governor Jin Bao also enjoyed the autumn tax.
Compared with the nascent state of Qi, after decades of construction by the Spanish, Luzon not only had cash crops such as tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane, but also planted many cinchona trees to obtain cinchona frost.
Who in the whole world is not afraid of malaria?
Although the cinchona tree was taken back to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Luzon could still earn more than 100,000 yuan a year from customs duties alone.
Not to mention the gold, copper, and iron mines that have been discovered in the north in recent years.
Because the Ministry of Internal Affairs was unable to do so, it sold the exclusive rights and enjoyed the profits, earning millions every year. No one knows the details.
But Luzon's tax revenue from these mines alone is no less than 200,000 to 300,000 yuan.
"If I can earn 1.7 million this autumn and divide it 30-70, I, Luzon, will be able to save at least 510,000!"
Jin Bao stroked his beard, feeling particularly proud.
This governor should also be repaired...
"How much is the reserve?" Xuezheng asked hurriedly.
These words immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Luzon is now divided into eight counties and two prefectures. Thirty-seven percent is agricultural tax, and this thirty percent is the income of each county government.
Although the mainland's commercial tax system is based on the 532 model, Luzon is overseas and needs watermen, so the imperial court designated it as the 523 model.
That is, the imperial court gets 50%, the county government gets 20%, and the governor's office gets 30% of the commercial taxes.
"The business tax is more than 1.24 million, and the savings can get about 370,000." The chief envoy's face was filled with a bright smile.
Everyone was no exception and laughed happily.
Although it is necessary to maintain naval forces in the reserve, how much does it cost for 3,000 people and some ships?
The rest is their public money, which can be regarded as a small treasury, and is legal for corruption.
The chief envoy cupped his hands knowingly and said with a smile: "This year the treasury is full, and the governor will definitely be promoted. The day when he enters Zhiwenyuan Pavilion is not far away——"
"Haha, that's enough!"
Jin Bao laughed a few times, shook his head and said: "Although I have served as governor twice, I can't compare with the governors of the mainland. At most, I am just a minister."
In the early years of Shaowu's reign, Shuntian Prefecture Yin was promoted from the third rank to the second rank in one step, which led to the promotion of a series of officials.
For example, the rank of a minister from the third rank to the second rank.
The governors of various places hold the title of Metropolitan Inspector, and they also start from the second rank. If they are promoted, they are usually promoted to the rank of Minister.
After all, as a rule, Beijing officials are one level higher than local officials.
When encountering the emperor's superiority, it is directly the eight ministers.
Join the cabinet?
Although there was no shortage of low-level officials joining the cabinet for three hundred years in the Ming Dynasty, the cabinet now acts like a real prime minister, directly leading eight ministries, unless the emperor specifically promotes him.
Otherwise, the only people who would join the cabinet were the censors of the left and right censors, the eight ministers, ministers, junior ministers, and even the governors of various places.
It is obvious that the Governor of Luzon, who is called Governor, is actually a governor, and there is no way he can be in the cabinet.
Not to mention that he hasn't passed the Shujishi exam yet.
"Duke Xian, someone is coming from the capital!"
Suddenly, someone reported it.
When the golden castle was opened, it turned out to be a mission abroad.
"Europe?" Jin Bao frowned: "This seems to be where the Western Yi is!"
Staying in Luzon, he is naturally well-informed and knows clearly about Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, and England, rather than collectively calling them Francois.
"Yes." The inspector spoke: "Europe is its ancestral land and is called Europe. Our country in heaven is called Asia by them. There are also America and Africa in the world."
"There are four continents in the world."
"Your Majesty naturally has a profound meaning in sending envoys to Europe. It is not for us to figure it out."
Only then did the news from the Ming Dynasty Gazette appear in his mind.
This is real.
Thinking of this, Jin Bao immediately stood up, his eyes were bright, he patted his sleeves, and then said: "He is an angel after all. I will go and greet him after cleaning up."
So, a group of people washed up and went to the dock to greet them.
At the dock, a large ship with three thousand materials was docked. A huge flag with the words "Da Ming" written on it was made of yellow satin and fluttered in the wind.
What makes people even more curious is that a dragon flag with a red background is particularly dazzling.
The five-clawed golden dragon moves forward high-spiritedly, chasing a yellow ball, while its tail curls around a white ball.
Obviously, that's the sun and the moon.
Minister Dong Ren stood on the deck, looking at the ant-like crowd in disbelief.
He is wearing a genuine fourth-grade crimson regimental collar official robe, with extremely eye-catching cloud geese on the patch, a plain gold black gauze hat on his head, a loose jade belt around his waist, and long white-soled cowhide soap boots, which makes him look majestic.
Anyone can tell by looking at him that he is the backbone.
Diplomatic envoys are divided into three grades: those who are close to the vassal are imperial envoys, with the title of third grade, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, and the title of deputy censor of the capital procuratorate (the third grade); the ambassador of the country they belong to, who is also a doctor, and the title of censor of Qiandu (fourth grade).
The Western Yi countries served as public envoys, and they were also appointed as censors of Qiandu, which was also the fourth rank.
Although he is only of the fourth rank, the minister still carries the title of imperial envoy: the minister in charge of affairs of the Western European countries.
"Luzon has always been regarded as a smog-stricken place overseas. People would rather go to the Northeast to suffer the cold than come to Luzon."
"Looking at it now, this statement is completely false."
"Yes, when it comes to prosperity, Luzon is no less prosperous than Hangzhou."
Hearing what he said, there stood next to him a big man wearing powerful clothes and mysterious clothes. He had big arms and a round waist, and wore silver deerskin boots. He looked like a military general at first glance.
His name was Han Mi, who was born in Qianhu, Jinyiwei. He was the military attaché of the legation and was responsible for intelligence collection throughout Europe. Although he was not affiliated with the legation, he had to take orders from him.
At the same time, he also led the military escort to protect the safety of the legation.
"Luzon has two crops a year, golden roosters and frost, and no worries about malaria. It is really a good place for migration."
On the right side of Minister Dong Ren, there is also a person standing. He is also wearing a scarlet robe, but he has a square face and a serious expression. At first glance, he is a serious person.
He is the counselor of the legation, Fan Zheng, from the fourth rank, responsible for daily civil affairs. He is the head of the civil servants of the legation and the second person in the legation.
At the same time, he also shoulders the responsibility of supervision, and all members of the legation can be monitored.
Behind the three people were twenty or thirty people, all of whom were members of the legation and were responsible for national exchanges throughout Europe.
"Tsk tsk, there is no shortage of people in Luzon. People from Guangdong, Guangxi and Fujian often come to Luzon. Now there are nearly 700,000 people, including 400,000 natives from Xiyi and 300,000 Han people."
Han Mi was worthy of being born in Jinyiwei, and said as if he were a member of the family: "Last year, he received nearly two million yuan in silver, which is comparable to that of several high schools in the country."
"As far as I know, Guizhou Province only has 1.7 million people."
Minister Dong Ren shook his head and glanced at the people at the dock.
The traffickers and footmen wore short clothes, but the gentry and scholars wore shortened robes.
The wide sleeves were eight points narrower, leaving only a fistful of space; the hem was reduced from dragging on the heels to below the knees, to around the calves.
In this way, its close-fitting trousers are also revealed.
What is insulting to politeness is that many people even wear the rare wooden clogs and walk in the market openly.
Han Mi and Fan Zheng also looked at each other and frowned.
"It's an insult to politeness!" they both said at the same time.
After Han Mi finished scolding, he shook his head and said: "Luzon is more humid and hot than Guangdong and Guangxi, so clogs are popular, otherwise it is easy to get athlete's foot."
"Although it's insulting to politeness, we have to change to clogs on the ship."
The sweat-soaked laborers and the unloading and loading of ships made the whole dock lively.
After waiting for less than half an hour, a group of government officials opened the way, and a dozen civil and military officials in official uniforms came quickly.
What made the three of them happy was that their official uniforms remained the same as before and had not been changed in any way.
"It seems they don't have the guts yet."
Dong Ren smiled.
"This is a serious crime." Han Mi said coldly.
"Jin Bao, the governor of Luzon, brought hundreds of officials from Luzon to meet with the imperial envoy——"
Led by Jin Bao, all the officials bowed down in unison, bending their waists at ninety degrees.
Dong Ren did not come to Luzon on official business, but was just a way, and he had no control over them, so he only needed to pay homage to them, rather than kneel down.
"Governor Jin, colleagues in Luzon are polite!"
Accepting his courtesy, Dong Ren and others also bowed down.
