No one would have thought why the imperial court suddenly issued such a notice. (Due to caching reasons, please visit the browser directly.\nCOM website to watch the fastest chapter updates)
Looking for a tree?
It sounds very unreliable.
But the reward is real.
In just one day, this news spread wildly in the capital, and everyone in the streets and alleys were discussing this.
Ten million Guan treasure notes, plus a reward from ten thousand households.
This is straight up to the sky.
It's converted into 10 million taels of silver. It's basically clear to everyone that it's for the convenience of foreign businessmen.
Obviously, there should be no tree that can shed tears in the Ming Dynasty.
The common people just watched the excitement. What was really exciting were the families and nobles involved in maritime trade, as well as the merchants from all over the world in the capital.
There are also those who are self-righteous and think that there is no tree that can shed tears in this world. The name seems a bit ridiculous.
How can any tree in this world shed tears?
Most of the maritime merchants from all over the world who can reach the capital have spent most of their lives doing business in various countries. The real big businessmen have never heard of this tree.
However, when the latest Capital Residence Newspaper came out, which recorded the detailed information, no one doubted whether the tree actually existed.
First is the origin of the tree.
Zhu Ying made a modification here. In order to give everyone more motivation, he said that he had seen the trunk of this tree when he was in the Western Regions.
He is not a homeless man anymore, but an old businessman.
This tree trunk is the old businessman's last treasure.
Then the tree is introduced in detail.
It is highly poisonous. When the bark is cut, a lot of milky white sap will flow out, which looks like tears, so it is called a weeping tree.
According to Taisun's recollection, the old businessman found this tree in a place with hot weather all year round. The trees around it were tall and dense.
As soon as the detailed description in the newspaper appeared, the non-existent rumor was quickly shattered.
The description is so clear, how could it be fake?
His Highness Taisun doesn’t need to use a fake tree to deceive people.
The key is that the Ming Dynasty Wanhu Hou is so fragrant.
The notice is relatively simple, but the newspaper is very detailed.
First of all, the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households in the Ming Dynasty is hereditary!
And it is a title with real power.
After receiving the title of Marquis of Wanhu, he will also be given the command authority of Qianhusuo.
Secondly, there is the mansion.
This is not an empty mansion. The court will provide all the servants and maids.
With the addition of 10 million guan of treasure money, you will directly reach the pinnacle of your life.
The newspaper also said that anyone who could find this tree would be given it.
Even if he is a three-year-old boy, he will still be sealed.
This capital newspaper is to be published overseas, which means that the imperial court's promise is to the whole world.
Such a large reward is unprecedented and unprecedented.
The most important thing is that this newspaper will be delivered to the entire Ming Dynasty in an expedited manner of 800 miles.
Zhu Ying worked very hard to get rubber trees.
In fact, he originally wanted to raise the reward to 10 million yuan.
However, it was Zhu Yuanzhang who persuaded him to stop.
"If it's too high, it doesn't feel that real."
In this regard, Lao Zhu is experienced, such as Guo Huan at the time.
Zhu Ying agreed after hearing this, so he decided on the number of 10 million strings.
Hereditary Marquis of Ten Thousand Households, tsk tsk, if anyone can really find a rubber tree to bring over, to be honest, even if he is given the position of Duke, Zhu Ying thinks it is worth it.
The first lunar month has not yet passed, and a large number of ships have already started sailing along the coast of the Ming Dynasty.
This feeling is like if anyone is slower, the reward will be snatched away.
Even Zhu Ying did not realize that the emergence of this bounty greatly promoted the progress of the great voyage.
Especially when it comes to expanding your adventure.
The Great Navigation in history was Europe's pursuit of more benefits, including colonization, and is also known as the Age of Exploration.
And now, because Zhu Ying is looking for the tree and offers a huge reward, all the caravans will inevitably embark on the road to open up wasteland.
There is no set time for the reward.
In other words, no matter how long it takes, whoever can find this tree will be rewarded.
In order to ensure the safety of people looking for the tree, Zhu Ying even said in the Di newspaper that if it was inconvenient to take the tree back after finding it, the Ming Dynasty could send a fleet to escort it and protect it.
Even the worries are saved, there is nothing left to worry about.
This brings about a series of chain reactions.
Large families that had not been involved in maritime trade before were now beginning to join in, and they were recruiting crew members on a large scale.
The shipyards began to rotate continuously for twelve hours, and a large number of shipyards began to be built.
There is no way, the orders for seagoing ships have exploded, and some large shipyards have already had orders for three years.
Today's shipbuilding technology itself is rising on a large scale.
Previously, it would take at least three months to build a sea-going ship under full operation. This was something that only large shipyards, such as Jiangnan Shipyard, could do.
Zhu Ying implemented parts processing in the factory, which greatly improved the efficiency of the factory, which increased the speed of shipbuilding. For example, a large shipyard can build a ship in less than two months.
For a small one, three months is enough.
Even so, demand is still in short supply.
Almost all those in the Ming Dynasty who had some money were now involved in maritime trade, and their enthusiasm was too high.
Although Zhu Ying had expected such a situation, she did not expect it to be so high.
Ten million guan of treasure notes may be owned by many big families, but it is really crazy that a hereditary lord with ten thousand households still has the actual power to reward him.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, except for the founding heroes, it was difficult to block titles.
In recent years, it is not that there have been no wars. Fighting against Japan and Annan were wars involving hundreds of thousands of people.
But even so, the imperial court did not award many titles, only promotions based on merit, and more financial rewards.
This also means that the title will become more difficult in the future.
That's why the emergence of hereditary marquises of ten thousand households is so touching.
Moreover, for many families, the sea trade business itself is profitable. Even if the weeping tree cannot be found, the possibility of losing money is not high, so naturally there is no need to think too much and it is done.
In addition, Zhu Ying issued another decree through the Ministry of War.
Ten years of expedition.
Fifty thousand people were recruited for a ten-year expedition. This expedition took the form of voluntary registration.
Restricted age is under thirty-five years old.
Only children in the family are not allowed to register.
Looking at these two items alone, not to mention 50,000 people, but 10,000 people signing up would be considered good.
But what follows is really exciting.
All soldiers who sign up will receive a settlement allowance of 200 guan per person.
With this alone, the hearts of almost a large number of soldiers began to beat.
Before the reform of military pay, the status of soldiers was extremely low. Many soldiers were even criminals and had no self-esteem at all.
Previously, military pay was not settled with treasure notes, but with grains, such as rice and wheat, and the unit of calculation was stones and liters.
For example, if you are a criminal who is sent to the army, if you die, you will die. Once it is over, the court will not pursue your crime, and collecting the body is already the most benevolent and righteous act.
For many soldiers, it would actually be good to give them food, especially in war-torn times, where there would be no pay for serving as soldiers.
As for the regular army, it is divided into combat troops and auxiliary troops.
The treatment of the auxiliary soldiers is very average, just two or three stones of rice and a family certificate will be enough. If there is no family certificate, it will naturally fall into the hands of the commander. Even some who clearly have a family certificate will be raped.
The treatment of soldiers is much better. Under normal circumstances, commanders will not receive pensions for corrupt soldiers. They will be reported to the court and sent to their families.
Of course, in addition to pensions, the military household system is also a benefit.
In the military household system inherited from father to son, after receiving the pension, even if the underage son inherits the military household registration, he can still receive a certain amount of food every month. It is naturally impossible to get rich, but it is absolutely impossible to starve to death.
appeared.
Now that Zhu Ying's army has been restructured, his salary has naturally improved a lot.
First, the hereditary nature of the military household system was broken, which meant that even if the father was a sergeant, the son did not have to be a sergeant.
The second is money and food.
The army is basically responsible for the food and drink of active sergeants, and in addition to this there is a monthly salary.
Ordinary auxiliary soldiers and logistics soldiers can get seven treasure coins per month, and combat soldiers eleven coins. Those with official positions, such as small flags and general flags, will naturally get more.
For example, at the 100-household level, there are almost eighty or ninety yuan of banknotes every month.
This also depends on the region. For example, there will be subsidies in border areas, which will be more.
Compared with the current economic situation of the Ming Dynasty, it does not seem to be very high, but the soldiers are provided with food and accommodation, including armaments, and the monthly money they receive is completely able to be saved.
There will also be war subsidies when you go to war, rewards for meritorious services, and if enough is captured, you can also get a share.
Soldiers in the past dynasties have not received this kind of treatment. It cannot be said to be good, but it can be said to be quite high-quality.
That is to say, Zhu Ying engaged in economic development and made the Ming Dynasty's treasury rich, so he dared to play like this. In other dynasties, such a military pay system could directly bring the country to collapse.
In fact, the key is to attack the aristocratic families. After all, in the previous dynasties, 80% of the money and food produced went into the pockets of the aristocratic families, and the court and the people shared 20%.
Although the imperial court collects taxes from the world, it also has to bear all expenses such as famine, salaries, rewards, military pay, wars, etc. Among them, there will also be a large number of corrupt officials who embezzle money and food from the imperial court. It is said that seeking officials from thousands of miles away is just for money, so the courts of most dynasties naturally
It's stretched thin.
In terms of pensions, today's Ming Dynasty is very high.
The starting price is fifty guan notes, even for logistical troops and auxiliary troops, the price is the same.
For warriors, there are eighty strings.
If it is a small banner, a general banner, or a hundred households, there will naturally be more.
Therefore, Zhu Ying gave you two hundred gu as a settlement allowance, which is equivalent to giving you several times the death benefit in advance.
Zhu Ying knew very well that the 50,000-strong expeditionary force started from northeastern Asia, crossed the Bering Strait to North America, and then crossed almost the entire North American continent to South America.
The distance is estimated to be at least 40,000 miles.
Even at the normal marching speed, fifty miles a day and more than 18,000 miles a year, it would take almost three years.
In fact it's certainly not that fast.
Unlike the Long March of later generations, this did not require fighting a war. Northeast Asia was almost no man's land. Even if there were some small tribes that dared to provoke an army of 50,000, all the surrounding tribes combined would only have a few thousand people.
The only thing he had to worry about was the harsh natural environment, so Zhu Ying chose soldiers under the age of thirty-five.
The younger you are, the better your physical fitness will be.
This is not a battle, it’s mainly about endurance.
Even after crossing the Bering Strait and arriving in North America, Zhu Ying was not worried.
How can the tribes fight against the regular army of the Ming Dynasty? They are not at the same level. They have 50,000 soldiers.
In fact, it is definitely not said that there are 50,000 soldiers. In terms of combat soldiers, having 20,000 soldiers is already overwhelming. Most of the rest are auxiliary soldiers, including doctors who accompany the army, and talents in various fields.
Even if this were the case, it would still be able to dominate the entire American continent.
Of course, the expeditionary force is not here to seize territory. Their purpose is to find trees, spread the civilization of the Ming Dynasty, and promote the majesty of the Ming Dynasty. Naturally, friendly exchanges are the main purpose.
Due to the harsh natural environment, such as Northeast Asia being almost covered with ice and snow, the marching speed will naturally be slower.
The reason why we chose 50,000 soldiers instead of 100,000 or more was based on this consideration.
After all, it requires a lot of food, especially in Northeast Asia before entering North America.
Naturally, there are restrictions on how much food you can carry. You can't just carry a year's worth of food on a march. This is very unrealistic. You can only collect food while walking on the road.
Therefore, the cooks accompanying the army are also key.
Based on this calculation, it is already very good to be able to reach South America in five years. Even if we are familiar with the road and walk again, it is estimated that it will take almost five years to return.
After ten years of expedition, there really was no water added at all.
In fact, Zhu Ying felt that even if things went well, it would probably take twelve to thirteen years, or even fifteen years.
The fastest scenario is, of course, that the entire 50,000-strong expeditionary force is wiped out.
Two hundred guan notes is the basic military pay for soldiers. In fact, including the officers and doctors, the starting price is at least 30 million guan notes.
In addition to the settlement allowance, Zhu Ying also gave special treatment. Anyone who could complete the mission and return to the Ming Dynasty would be promoted to three levels in a row, and all military pay would be supplemented.
Ten years of military pay is not a small sum.
Even if it is ten guan, there are 120 guan in one year and 1,200 guan in ten years.
However, the settlement allowance, that is, the pension has been paid, and the additional military pay can only be received by those who come back alive.
In terms of military merit.
Ordinary soldiers directly cross the test flag and become a flag officer.
And the general banner can surpass the trial of 100 households and become 100 households.
For example, commanders and envoys, in addition to their official positions, can also be awarded titles.
To sum up all the benefits mentioned above, it is really tempting just to listen to it.
This is even more tempting, especially for new recruits.
How can you be afraid of death when you are a soldier? Besides, no one thinks that any country would dare to go against the Ming Dynasty. Isn't it just a march? As long as you can come back alive, you will have an official position, money, and reputation.
Naturally, when Zhu Ying issued the order, he did not say where he was going, and most of the soldiers did not know how harsh the natural environment they would encounter.
In fact, if Zhu Ying did not issue this order, even if he directly issued a military order, there would be no difference. It was just that he knew how difficult it was, so he gave such a generous reward.
After all, the reward offered is already tens of millions of gold coins, and there are also thousands of hereditary princes, so we can't favor one over the other.
In fact, it was this expeditionary force of 50,000 people that Zhu Ying thought was most likely to find rubber trees.
When the order was issued to the military, it was already boiling.
In fact, even if it is not stated clearly, most people can guess that the purpose of this ten-year expedition is to find the weeping tree mentioned in the previous newspaper.
How could an ordinary military operation last as long as ten years, nor could it give such a high reward?
But no matter how difficult it is, the rewards currently offered encourage soldiers to sign up enthusiastically.