After receiving the imperial edict, Shi Heng set off immediately, landed at Quanzhou, and then took a train to the capital.
He had been stationed on the Japanese island for a long time and knew very little about some things happening in the country. When he returned to Beijing, what he saw and heard on the way was almost shocking. Only then did he know that the emperor had just experienced a disaster.
"I'm late, please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen looked at him silently and asked, "Have you heard about it?"
Shi Heng nodded and said, "I heard about it."
"It's all a small scene, don't worry. Besides, I will issue an edict when I need you. If there is no edict, it is enough for you to do your own thing."
"I... obey your order!"
"Tell me, how is the situation on the Japanese island?"
Shi Heng replied: "The three islands of the Japanese country are fighting on their own, and no one will obey the other. What I have to do is to support whoever is weak in strength, and suppress whoever is more arrogant. In short, we cannot let them have any power."
Have a good life!”
Zhu Qizhen looked around subconsciously and said nervously: "I sent you to garrison troops to maintain the peace on the Japanese island. It's a good thing, but what did you say? Vulgar words are unacceptable!"
Shi Heng grinned widely and said, "I can't speak, which makes the emperor laugh!"
"If you have nothing to do, read a few books. There is a great scholar named Aoi..."
"It's Sekijo Ichiyo of Japan, and his wife's name is Aoi Aoi."
"Yes, yes, I was confused!"
Zhu Qizhen quickly changed his words, covering up the embarrassment on his face, and said: "I heard that this person is quite powerful. Didn't he come with you?"
"I have an important matter to return to Beijing this time, and I am leaving in a hurry. Ichijo Kaneryoshi said that I need to make some preparations, so I postponed it for a few days."
"Well, keep talking!"
"I discovered several more large silver veins on the Japanese island!"
"again?"
Zhu Qizhen suddenly became interested and his eyes lit up.
When Shi Heng first arrived in Japan, he announced that he had discovered silver mines, and organized a large number of manpower and material resources to mine them. They transported them back by ship every year. The white flowers looked very pleasing to the eye.
I talked about this word today, and I think the result was pretty good.
"With the development of old mines, new veins of minerals are constantly appearing, and the reserves are astonishing, more than ten times the original!"
"Then pick it, what are you waiting for!"
"Back to the emperor, the scale of these mines is too large, and the local human resources are seriously insufficient to further develop them."
Zhu Qizhen thought for a while and said, "Then transfer people from other places!"
"I have this intention, but..."
A mysterious smile suddenly appeared on Shi Heng's face, and he said: "These mines are mainly distributed near Sado Island in the southwest of the Japanese country, which is relatively close to the Ming Dynasty. Since we have to recruit people, why not immigrate from the Central Plains? What does the emperor think?"
Zhu Qizhen understood Shi Heng's original intention to develop silver mines in the Japanese country, and it was basically divided into 30 and 70.
The local government kept 30% to maintain economic operations, and the Ming Dynasty accounted for 70%. In addition to the losses incurred during transportation, only 50% was shipped back to the mainland at most.
Shi Heng doesn't even plan to leave this 30% to others, he just takes it all.
Moreover, if the people of the Ming Dynasty immigrated there, they would not only occupy the mines, but also the land.
With more people mining, there will naturally be a need for corresponding supporting facilities, those who build houses, open restaurants, brothels... In short, this is a siphon effect, and around the development of silver mines, the number of people will only increase.
When there are more people, order must be maintained. At this time, a government can be established. If it continues to develop, it will completely become the territory of the Ming Dynasty.
In this way, the developed silver no longer needs to be transported back by the entire ship, but the development infrastructure is left, which effectively avoids losses during transportation and maximizes its effectiveness.
Zhu Qizhen understood Shi Heng's thoughts and asked: "I told you from the beginning that an appropriate part of the mined silver should be retained for local infrastructure construction. What is the effect?"
"Back to the emperor, the effect is not good!"
Shi Heng shook his head and said: "Those birdmen are very dissatisfied with what I am doing. They all think that those silver mines belong to them and should be left to them. No matter how much they use for construction, they are not satisfied."
"It's unreasonable to rebel against them!"
Zhu Qizhen suddenly became angry and said: "As you said, we will migrate the people there. However, the manpower in the country is also very tight now. I will then issue an edict to Korea and Ryukyu to migrate from them."
Some people, when they arrive in Japan, it's up to you."
Shi Heng hurriedly saluted and said: "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, whether it is Korea, Ryukyu, or the local Japanese, within three years, under my care, they will all become common people of the Ming Dynasty!"
"By the way, the Academy of Sciences has a department that specializes in exploration and mining. You go to Beilin and say that I agree and send you a few capable students."
Shi Heng nodded repeatedly and said, "Thank you for your grace!"
"That...forget it!"
Zhu Qizhen stopped talking and waved his hand.
Shi Heng was puzzled and asked: "What is the emperor's order, but it doesn't matter."
Zhu Qizhen smiled sheepishly and said, "Actually, the Japanese country wasted a lot of manpower, but you didn't make good use of it."
Shi Heng scratched his head and said: "Please make it clear, Your Majesty!"
Zhu Qizhen asked: "What you see should be young and strong men, right?"
Shi Heng nodded and said: "Mining is a laborious job, and only young and strong men cannot do it."
"Where are the women?"
"Your Majesty, are you kidding? How can a woman do such a heavy job?"
"They are not allowed to mine, so why can't they do other jobs?"
"Others..."
"Look, a place where a large number of miners live must have some service industries, right? For example, teahouses, restaurants, tailor shops, and this... brothel, right?"
Shi Heng thought about it and suddenly realized, "The emperor is right, it turns out that I didn't expect it!"
Zhu Qizhen added: "The world has changed and manpower is very tight now. You must be good at discovering and making full use of wasted manpower."
"And the soldiers you brought there may not come back every year or so. What should I do if some of them are not married?"
"What...what should I do?"
"You can find them a Japanese wife locally and get married, and that will solve the problem, right?"
"This, this...is this okay?"
Shi Heng felt very incredible. He had never thought of such a thing before.
Zhu Qizhen chuckled and said: "My soldiers want money and status. Marrying a Japanese woman is to promote them, so why not?"
Shi Heng thought about it and it seemed to make sense.
The Japanese people have a tradition that women should never leave the house or take a step forward, and they should not serve meals to the table. They pay a lot of attention to this.
However, once they get married, they will be absolutely obedient to their husbands and have great skills in serving others.
From this point of view, marrying a Japanese woman seems not bad...