The blue sky, white clouds, sandy beaches, and the ebb and flow of the blue water are really a refreshing sight. No wonder the Spanish call it the City of Angels.
This piece of land is huddled in a corner of the North American continent, facing the sea and backed by mountains. It is a narrow flat land by the sea, with a few valleys that are exposed to the wind (sea breeze), plus some coastal mountains. Because the mountains lock in the moist air from the Pacific Ocean, this narrow strip of land is still valuable for farming in arid southern California. The annual rainfall is equivalent to that of northern Shaanxi in China, but the climate is very warm, suitable for plant growth all year round.
In addition, because this land has never been cultivated, the nutrients in the land are extremely well preserved. It is considered a very fertile land, and it is suitable for farming and grazing, especially for growing grapes and apples. If the winemaking industry can be developed in the City of Angels, it is estimated that it can capture a lot of the French wine market.
However, for the Spaniards who have occupied too much rich land, this land they named "City of Angels" has nothing to attract them except for the nice name and the pleasant seaside scenery. .
Therefore, during the more than 100 years they occupied this area, the Spanish did not put much effort into development and construction. That is, they built a port and a fort in San Diego, near Mexico, as a stronghold for Spanish rule in California. Later, the arrival of the colonists of the Ming Empire in the Gulf of America stimulated the Spaniards, who had no interest in it at first. They built a civil structure bastion on the beach of the City of Angels and stationed hundreds of defenders. A small pier was built on the seaside.
After the Battle of Flood Valley, everything here was quickly abandoned by the Spanish. Don Juan Jose hurriedly abandoned Angel Castle and retreated to San Diego in the south before the negotiations with the United States of New Zealand began.
Of course, Spanish rule in San Diego could not last long. After losing almost all of California, holding on to San Diego was just to get a little more at the negotiating table... King Philip's son was not as stubborn as his father and knew when to Compromise, when can we tear up the treaty and start a war again!
Although Don Juan Jose still regards the Ming Empire as a serious problem in New Spain, there is nothing he can do if he cannot defeat it! What if we don’t negotiate now and they break into the port of Acapulco later?
Therefore, with the mediation of the Dutch, the peace talks progressed relatively smoothly. By the winter of the fifteenth year of Hongxing, the exchange of prisoners and hostages had ended, and the Presidio Fortress was handed over to the Ming army, and the "Silly King" Zhu Cihuan, who is "silly blessed", also moved his retainers and guards from the Satsuma Valley to the Angel Castle.
Yao Daqiao, the "debt friend" who "escaped the debt" with the Silly King, also arrived at the Angel Fortress in mid-November, and also brought a friend from the Silly King to His Highness the Silly King, who had a land but no money and was almost too poor to open the pot. A good method of "building a country and selling nobles to make money" copied from Zhu Cixiang!
"Your Majesty, since you want to ask for a title, then ask for a title from the vassal state!" In a hall in the fortress that is a bit too frugal and not worthy of the name "Angel Castle", I just walked into the City of Angels. Yao Daqiao, who walked around the beach, said with a smile, "With the status of a vassal state, I can find ways to make money for the prince!"
Mitsuhisa Shimazu and Masaki Hoshina are also in this hall. Now under the banner of the "Silly King", Mitsuhisa Shimazu, Masaki Hoshina and Yao Ohashi are considered to be the three most important ministers. Hearing what Yao Ohashi said, Shimazu Mitsuhisa and Hoshina Masaki didn't quite understand.
"Why is it so easy to make money with the title of a vassal state?"
"Yes, there are not many people here in Angel City, and the place is not too big. It is barely enough to build a vassal town. Isn't it too ridiculous to call it a vassal state?"
Yao Daqiao waved his hands and said with a smile: "The reason why you two are so different is because we have few poor people and lack of products, so we have to raise the banner of the vassal state, because only the vassal state has the right to split the soil and ennoble it. ah!"
Hoshina Masaki asked in confusion: "What does the power of breaking the soil and ennoblement have to do with making money?"
Yao Daqiao smiled and said: "Of course it does matter...crack the soil first and ennoble it, and then sell it at a high price!"
"Crack the soil and sell the title at a high price?" Shimazu Mitsuhisa touched his goatee, frowning into a ball, "How can this be done? Is this possible? How can the country's title and title be sold? "
"Why not?" Yao Daqiao said, "Didn't a lot of the titles of the United States be sold? One special stock can be exchanged for a viscount! Isn't this selling titles? If the emperor didn't sell the titles of the United States, he would Where can we get so much money to establish the United States of New Continent?"
Frankly speaking, the United States of Xinzhou was created by Emperor Zhu burning money! The money Emperor Zhu burned came from the stocks and title circles of the United States of New Continent.
Yao Daqiao said with a smile: "Since the emperor can build and sell the titles of the United States of Xinzhou, why can't the prince also create a vassal state to sell the titles and lands? Besides, with the vassal state, we people can also What kind of Marquis and Count is having a great time!"
That's true! Although the marquis and count of this poor vassal country don't have much luck, their reputation is still good!
"Can it be sold?" Shimazu asked.
Yao Daqiao patted his chest, "It's all on me!"
"How much can it be sold for?" Shimazu asked again.
"Then it depends on how many princes are sold..." Yao Daqiao thought for a while and then asked, "How big can our country be? Deserts and mountains don't count, let's count it as fertile soil!"
Hoshina Masaki replied: "At least 16,000 miles square!"
The "16,000 square miles" he said actually means sixteen thousand square miles - not square kilometers. The Ming Dynasty did not use the metric system. And one square mile is about a quarter of a square kilometer, and sixteen thousand square miles is almost four thousand square kilometers, or six million acres!
Of course, this is just a conservative estimate, not an accurate measurement. The actual number is definitely higher.
Yao Daqiao did some mental calculations and then said: "One mile is about 3,780 acres. Let's calculate it as one mile and 400 acres, and the fertile land area will be calculated as 15,000 miles... This king He is a county king. According to the rules, the country of a county king can be granted four titles: marquis, uncle, son and baron. Let's use baron as the basis. One man governs an area of ten miles square, which is four thousand acres of fertile land that can be cultivated. Fifteen thousand The land can be broken down into 1,500 taels. Let's keep 1,000 taels for ourselves, and then sell 500 taels. If we charge 10,000 taels per jue, we can get five million taels! Your Majesty, do you think this business is okay? ?"
"Five, five million?" Zhu Cihuan's eyes widened!
You can still do this in business!
Wouldn't all his debts be cleared?
"Can it be sold?" Zhu Cihuan asked.
Shimazu Mitsuhisa and Hoshina Masaki also stared at Yao Daqiao, 5 million taels! This money is stored in the Daming Salt Merchant and Maritime Commercial Bank, and there is no problem in earning 300,000 taels of interest a year. This is equivalent to taking 300,000 stone fiefdom in Japan...
"Of course it can be sold!" Yao Daqiao smiled, "Scholars, farmers, industry and merchants, scholars are the first, and merchants are the last! And the title of Ritsutu is still above the scholars. At the highest level, he is a prince, and at the smallest level, he is also a doctor. ah!
The businessmen spent ten thousand taels of silver to elevate themselves from the bottom of the people to the status of a doctor. This was a very good deal. Besides, there were many non-eldest sons from noble families in the Ming Dynasty! If they want to keep their status as nobles, they have to join the military and perform meritorious service... That's difficult! It would be easier to spend ten thousand taels of silver to buy a title! "
Yao Daqiao, the profiteer, is right. Chinese people are officials. No matter how much money a commoner has, he is still inferior to big bureaucrats. Nowadays, if you spend ten thousand taels to donate to a viscount, there will still be cracks in the earth. No matter how far the earth is sealed, he is still a lord, and he can be more confident when he meets the official...
