In the European trade free plan, the Dachu Empire acquired a large number of colonies in the Americas through Portugal and Spain, and then established three new governorates in the Americas.
To develop these three new governor areas requires a large population. Therefore, in the summer and April of the 38th year of Chengshun, the Chu Empire officially issued the "American Development Plan" after a series of preliminary discussions.
The plan focuses on early stage immigration and formulates a series of support policies around immigration, such as increasing the amount of support subsidies for official immigrants, allowing official immigrants to immigrate to the Americas completely free of charge, and the official immigration targets mainly There are not many people in Central America and South America, and the natural conditions are worse, that is, the West American Governorate and the South American Governorate.
The East American governor's jurisdiction, that is, the area east of the Mississippi River in central North America, is not included in the scope of official immigration support.
The main reason is that the natural conditions under the jurisdiction of the East American governor are better and the attraction to immigrants is greater. In the previous thirty-seven years of Chengshun, immigrants traveled to North America through various channels, mainly from the west coast of North America across the inland areas. There have been more than 200,000 self-financed immigrants in the central region, and this place itself has become a new hot spot for imperial immigrants.
Considering that there are a large number of self-funded immigrants going to the central and eastern regions of North America, and the official immigration funds are also limited, naturally not too much funds will be spent in this area, but more funds will be allocated to the tendency of immigration. The smaller Central and Southern America regions.
This series of official immigration support policies is very strong. Boat tickets are free of charge. Temporary simple houses will be provided free of charge when arriving at immigrant settlements. Interest-free loans will be provided so that new immigrants can purchase agricultural tools, grain seeds and other materials needed for farming. Rations for the coming year.
The repayment of these interest-free loans does not require cash, but can be offset by the crops obtained after farming in the next few years.
Considering that new immigrants received free land in the past, they would receive a tax holiday ranging from three to five years and a half-tax period in subsequent years. In fact, after the new immigrants arrived, they cultivated the land and repaid the so-called interest-free loans in the previous years. In fact, it is no different from paying agricultural taxes.
The imperial government only transformed agricultural taxes into loan repayments in name only.
The reason why this is done, rather than purely free official immigration, is that the cost of immigration is still relatively high. Even now that steamships have appeared, the transportation cost of large-tonnage steam transoceanic ships has been greatly reduced compared to the pure sailing era, but It's not cheap either.
At the same time, immigration rations, agricultural tools, and grain seeds all require money.
If the number of immigrants was only tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, the empire would bite the bullet and allocate tens of millions, but now the number of overseas immigrants in the empire is very large. Every year, the empire officials organize as few as hundreds of thousands, as many as even Millions of people immigrated overseas.
If the immigration costs are all borne by the imperial finance, then the imperial finance, which has a big family and a big business, cannot afford it.
Therefore, part of the funds for these government-run immigrants are financial subsidies from Jinling, part are immigration subsidies provided by the government of the immigration destination, and part of them need to be borne by the immigrants themselves.
Of course, this is only general. If the conditions are bad and even ordinary official immigrants are unwilling to go, and the empire needs to maintain a certain population in these places, then the entire process will be provided free of charge. However, these are special cases. , the scale is also small and cannot be regarded as a general rule.
Therefore, the official immigration conditions of the Da Chu Empire today are actually not as good as they were more than ten years ago. When the Da Chu Empire launched official immigration more than ten years ago, it was free of charge... Of course, there were not many official immigrants in a year at that time. Just immigrate.
Official immigration, this policy has a certain military strategic role for the Chu Empire. These policies are often only implemented in strategic areas that really need immigration. As for immigration in most other places, they still rely on self-funded immigration. Lord.
Immigration to the Americas is no exception...but if you immigrate at your own expense, the empire also provides a large number of supportive policies.
In the American Development Plan, a targeted low-interest American immigration loan policy is provided for self-financed immigrants to immigrate to the Americas. Immigrants can apply for immigration loans from financial banks, and the interest rates are very low... Naturally, this does not mean that financial banks do good people and do good deeds without paying interest. , in fact, this part of the interest expenditure is borne by the central government.
In addition to the immigration loan interest subsidies directly provided by Jinling, what is actually even bigger is the government financial subsidies in overseas immigration target areas.
Each region will provide a series of immigration subsidies or other preferential policies based on its own circumstances.
For example, the most basic free allotment of land, agricultural tax exemption for three years, and agricultural tax preferential period of two and a half years for a total of five years. This policy is basically implemented in all overseas territories, but the details are different.
In addition, low-interest loans are provided to provide immigrants with early development of cultivated land to maintain their livelihood. These loans generally use land as collateral.
Free land granting and the provision of low-interest or even interest-free immigration loans are the two immigration subsidy policies that the Chu Empire has most frequently adopted in the past ten years in terms of immigration policy, and are also the two most effective immigration subsidy policies.
But these policies can only be said to be average. If you want to attract more immigrants to settle down, overseas territories often need to provide more attractive conditions, such as paying money when they come...
Many years ago in southern Africa, Maputo Prefecture under the jurisdiction of the African Governor did this in order to attract domestic people... It doesn't matter how you came, just settle in Maputo Prefecture and receive free land for farming.
And he did not run away after a year, and the land was cultivated and developed. Without saying anything, a certain amount of cash rewards were directly issued... What is important is a person with deep pockets.
There is no way. Maputo Prefecture is home to the largest gold mine in the world. Even though most of the profits and taxes from the gold mines are turned over to Jinling, the local fiscal revenue left by Maputo Prefecture is still very huge. In terms of numbers, it is much richer than the South African government in the south.
Relying on strong local finances, Maputo House has developed very well and its population has increased, so much so that the current African governors have moved their governors' residences to Maputo House.
Previously, the African governor was based in Mogadishu, Somalia... However, that place was still somewhat limited and did not have much control over southern and central Africa, so I wanted to move south... I once considered South Africa, which has a more strategic position. , but in the end I chose Maputo House, which has more money...
There is no way, money is so important these days... If the governor wants to do anything, he must have money.
And Maputo House relied on gold to buy all the way, not only buying immigrants, but also buying the governor... The development path of this place is very similar to that of Jinshan City.
Jinshan City in North America was actually just a small port for trade with Spain at first... Later, after gold mines were discovered in the inland area of Jinshan City, this small coastal port city quickly became a It became the largest city in North America, and then the governor of North America also moved his headquarters here.
Today's Maputo House is also copying the development path of Jinshan City... relying on gold to quickly bring together a large population, and in overseas territories, having a sufficient immigrant population means everything!
With a population, more cultivated land can be developed and cultivated, and it can become an agricultural center. With a population, there can be consumption, handicrafts and some basic industries. In this way, it can become an industrial and commercial center, and then it will naturally become a governor's residence, and then Become a political center... At the same time, in order to protect the large number of local immigrants and agricultural industry and commerce, the military will inevitably increase the number of troops stationed locally, thus becoming a military center.
Therefore, in the development of the overseas territories directly under the Chu Empire, population was the first priority.
Of course, this population is limited to the Chu people themselves...excluding those messy natives...because this is an overseas directly administered territory, not a colony.
The governance model of the Dachu Empire in two different overseas territories is different. There are no restrictions on the overseas territories directly under the jurisdiction of the country. They are basically treated as local territories. The starting point of its war is to fight for more living space for the people of the empire... To put it bluntly, the overseas directly administered territories are used to relieve the pressure on the empire's native population, especially to provide them with a guaranteed escape route (immigration) for those at the bottom who are having a very difficult life in the country, so that they will not be able to survive in the country and then blame the world. Resentful and wanting to rebel...
That’s why the overseas territory model of overseas directly administered territories emerged.
The traditional colonies are easy to understand. They mainly focus on economic plunder. Although they will also set up government offices, they generally will not forcibly purge the indigenous people. Even the indigenous slaves are not allowed to stay... but will use these indigenous people. The population produces and then transports the produced economic crops, mineral products, etc. back to the country.
The many overseas plantation estates in the Chu Empire were basically in these colonies in the traditional sense.
This is especially true in Africa and India, but not in the Americas... because the Chu Empire has always operated the Americas as overseas territories directly under its jurisdiction.
The American region is one of the large-scale solutions used by the Chu Empire to alleviate population pressure... Other solutions include Nanyang and Australia.
There are also potential solutions in Eastern Europe, India, Africa, and even Europe... But judging from the current social development and population growth rate of the empire, some of the potential solutions in the future may not be used.
As the education level of the people in the empire has improved and their lives have improved, they will no longer be limited to the lowest biological instinct of 'reproduction', but will be more inclined to realize their own self-worth.
And now the younger generation in the Chu Empire, especially those who were born after Chengshun in the 1920s and grew up after the advent of high-pressure steam engines. All aspects of the empire developed rapidly and received universal sex education. They are no longer like their parents. They get married early in their teens and risk their lives to have children... Although they will continue to get married and have children, the age of marriage has begun to be steadily pushed back, and the number of children they have has also dropped significantly.
This is not a question of wealth distribution or any other contradiction, that is to say, it is not a question of not being able to afford a child or support... but a common phenomenon in which people begin to pay more attention to their self-worth after education becomes popular.
In the original time and space, many European and American countries were basically like this after industrialization...
Even Paris has turned into black Paris... Why? Because the local white people no longer like to have babies, capital will find ways to continue to introduce the African population in order to obtain more cheap labor...
In later modern Europe and the United States, many bizarre policies such as Maristization and racial discrimination were elevated to the level of political correctness. In fact, the reason is very simple: capitalists need more immigrants to serve as cheap labor force...
After all, in a modern society where slavery cannot be practiced, immigration can only be practiced.
In order to allow immigrants to come and work with peace of mind, large-scale social cognitive guidance is also carried out, commonly known as brainwashing, and then a group of fools believe it and are immersed in it.
What kind of idiots talk about equality to outsiders who seize jobs, social welfare resources, women, and even want to marry your daughter...
Then the French Republic turned into the Black Republic of France... When Napoleon was resurrected, he would probably burst into tears... Is this still the France that he has fought for all his life?
Perhaps a similar situation may occur in the Chu Empire in one hundred or two hundred years.
But who knows what the future holds!
At least for now, the empire does not have these problems. Although the population growth rate has declined, it is still relatively high, but it is not as crazy as before...
In the early days of unification and the decade, the people of the empire were really crazy about having babies...so much so that the empire still maintained a super-high population growth rate even though medical conditions were limited and the mortality rate was high.
But now, medical conditions have improved and the mortality rate has decreased, but the population growth rate has decreased because people have begun to pay more attention to the expression of self-worth.
But even so, it also led to a direct change in the empire's foreign expansion policy.
Living space is no longer the only overseas expansion goal, economic factors have also become one of the overseas expansion goals.
Of course, although it is no longer the only factor in the overseas expansion of living space, it is still one of the two major factors in the empire's overseas expansion.
Therefore, in many overseas areas, the Chu Empire still firmly implements the survival space strategy, of which America is the core part.
The American region does not have too many messy troubles, and it is vast and rich in products. It will be one of the ideal survival homes for the people of Chu in the future.
Therefore, the senior leaders of the Da Chu Empire have adopted a firm survival space strategy for the Americas. This was the case before, is the case now, and will be in the future!
Therefore, in the areas controlled by the Chu State in the Americas, just like the Nanyang region, there are basically no indigenous people left, and they are all Chu people.
Under such circumstances, if you want to develop, you can only rely on immigrants from your own country.
This is also the main reason why the Americas are so keen to attract immigrants.
On the other hand, in India and Africa, although the African governors and Indian governors are also enthusiastic about immigration, they are limited to a few specific areas, such as Maputo, a gold producing area, and South Africa, Mogadishu, and Ceylon Island, which are strategic maritime transportation hubs. In other places, the support is much smaller.
After the American Development Plan was officially promulgated, a new wave of people immigrated to the Americas... Especially the major official newspapers boasted about how rich the Americas are every day... Before the governor of East America went to the Americas to take office, he specially left a A group of officials set up a propaganda office! If he doesn't do anything else, he just hangs around the officials of the North Korea Newspaper Department every day, asking many affiliates of the North Korea Newspaper Department to publish various flattering articles about Dongmei Province.
In these touting articles, Dongmei Province has become a paradise on earth... The cultivated land is more fertile than the black soil in Northeast China. It is endless as far as the eye can see. And as long as you immigrate there, you can easily acquire hundreds or even thousands of acres. land.
He also said that the transportation is better than there. There are a large number of gentle and navigable rivers, as well as the great east-west railway in America. The various grains or other economic crops produced, and the livestock can be easily transported to the port and sold at a good price...
As long as you immigrate there, you will have enough food and clothing for one year, be well-off for three years, and become rich for ten years... From now on, you will be a gentleman respected by everyone, owning thousands of acres or more of land and a private estate!
Anyway, it's a life-threatening blow... According to the officials sent by the Dongmei Governor's Yamen to stay in the domestic office, as long as you deceive people... no, attracting people is victory. As for the truth of the facts, it doesn't matter. .
After all, you can't say that there are still many natives in North America who are attracted to scalping and attack Chu immigrant settlements every two days...
Not to mention that the Chu immigrants who had just arrived to open settlements in unfamiliar areas had to carry guns and undergo military training. Before large-scale land reclamation and farming, they had to fight several battles and clean up the surrounding indigenous people before they could farm with peace of mind.
Although there is a lot of land... it is all barren mountains and forests. You have to open up the land yourself...
In short, no matter how good the conditions are in the East American governor's jurisdiction, it is actually impossible to become a paradise for immigrants, that is, the poor people at the bottom... It is just a guaranteed escape route for the poor people at the bottom of the empire from the top of the empire, not a road to great wealth.
The newspaper boasts nicely, but how can it be so easy to become a real landlord in the Americas... The same laws are implemented in these overseas territories and the mainland.
This naturally includes laws related to agricultural taxes... and the agricultural taxes of the Dachu Empire are implemented in a stepped and progressive agricultural tax. If it exceeds a certain amount, you will lose all your money just by paying the agricultural tax.
However, large-scale farms do exist, but they are generally government-run large farms or farms run by specially approved private enterprises. These farms all have certain characteristics in common, that is, they are sparsely populated in remote areas and are suitable for large-scale mechanized farming. area.
For example, there are many government-run farms in the Northeast, and there are also some corporate-run farms, and there are many in the Americas.
As for the purely private large-scale farms, there are none...
The official purpose of setting up these large farms is mainly to develop remote and backward areas and increase food supply, not to make some groups rich...
Therefore, it is impossible for any real big landowners to appear in the Chu Empire, whether at home or in overseas directly administered territories.
However, many people have wishful thinking that they can make a fortune and become a decent landowner by going to the Americas... and then resolutely board the ship to the Americas!
If nothing else happens, most of these people will become farmers in the Americas... As long as they are not killed by the local indigenous people, then there will definitely be no problem with food and clothing, but getting rich is also a luxury.
But a small number of those who are capable and lucky enough can still find opportunities to make a fortune in America.
Song Erniu is one of them... When others were digging for gold, he bought the canvas work clothes worn by miners, and then earned the first pot of gold and quickly became rich.
In the past two years, its clothing business has expanded rapidly, and it has even become one of the military uniform suppliers for the American garrison, becoming a veritable clothing giant in the Americas!
After Song Erniu became famous in America and quickly became a rich man, he also set out to return to his hometown in the summer of the 38th year of Chengshun.
This trip is not only to pay respects to relatives and ancestors, but also to resolve personal life-long matters... It is outrageous that such a rich man does not even have a wife, let alone an heir!
If you want to find it locally in America... to be honest, it would be too difficult for Song Erniu!
After all, Song Erniu was also a man who suddenly got rich. He didn't need money but status, so he wanted to find a daughter from a respectable family to marry, preferably a legitimate daughter from a scholarly family with a century of history and a traditional official family...
But although the population in America is large, most of them are people from the lower class, with little background, and no scholarly family background...
The local middle- and high-level officials serving in the Americas have very good family backgrounds, but the current officials also look down on Song Erniu, who has suddenly become rich with little education and no foundation.
Song Erniu felt that it was not that they disliked him for his lack of education and low background, but that he, a suddenly rich man, had not made enough achievements...
Even if he has no money, Song Erniu has accumulated a net worth of millions. Even in Jinshan Mansion, he can be regarded as a second-tier rich man.
Speaking of being rich...it's actually not that much. At least the official families from those centuries-old scholarly families really look down on your worth, and they won't marry their legitimate daughter to you because of this...
After all, it is impossible for Song Erniu to give away all his millions of assets as betrothal gifts...
There are two different concepts between having a net worth of one million and spending one million as a betrothal gift that will not be recovered when marrying a wife!
Therefore, when Song Erniu has no culture, no family background, and no money to give out, the official family would be stupid to marry you.
So in the past two years, Song Erniu also wanted to find a suitable person to marry, but unfortunately he failed... He searched through the upper class people in Jinshan Mansion and even nearby areas, but he couldn't find a suitable target!
Well, in other words, Song Erniu can like him, but others don't like him... Song Erniu, who can like him, doesn't like others.
As a result, Song Erniu's marriage was postponed, and later he asked someone to find someone in the mainland...
This month, Song Erniu received a letter from his uncle in his hometown, saying that the Chen family in the county had some intention of getting married after hearing about his deeds in America!
The Chen family in the county... Just hearing the name Song Erniu immediately bought a first-class ticket to return home.
The Chen family was a scholarly family in their hometown county for a century. There were many officials in the previous dynasty, and many people became officials during the imperial dynasty.
In Song Erniu's memory, wherever the Chen family is in their hometown, it is the symbol of the upper class!
When he was young, Song Erniu worked as a cowherd boy on a farm outside the city owned by the Chen family!
A cowherd boy like him had the chance to marry the eldest lady of his employer... Every time he thought about this, he just wanted to return to his homeland immediately!
