Heilongjiang General Wang Shiguo stood on the city wall of the dock. Opposite him stood a seven-foot-tall lighthouse, which was the most eye-catching building in the entire dock.
Looking at the busy pier and the huge whale, he smiled: "A whale, what a wealth it is!"
Behind him, the chief envoy also said happily: "This is the first whale since the ice sea first melted. It seems that this year's fortune will still be prosperous."
When Wang Shiguo heard this, he couldn't suppress the smile on his face, and the folds began to open, like a gorgeous chrysanthemum.
Among the three major regions in Northeast China, Liaodong has a large number of people, cultivates fields, serves as a logistics base, and is rich in a large amount of grain, steel, etc.
Jilin General's Mansion is adjacent to the Modong Grassland. With the convenience of trade, it can be said that it has made a lot of money. Furs, ginseng, deer antlers, and war horses are imported into the customs through Liaodong, and there is no shortage of taxes.
Only Heilongjiang Jiangjunfu can only take advantage of the thawing period of only eight months a year to catch fish.
The whaling industry is the main industry promoted.
Fish meat can be eaten and made into dried meat; fish fat can be used as fuel and made into candles; whale teeth can be used as carvings; whale baleen can be made into bow strings; whale skin can be made into leather, and shark fins are top-grade; whale viscera can be used as spices.
In particular, candles made of whales, after adding some spices, have a fresh smell, will not leave stains after burning, are bright, and burn for a long time.
When people obtained land, they either worked hard for several years to open up wasteland or bought and sold it. There was no corps-building model in Liaodong.
After instructing the chief envoy to stay behind, he took a boat from north to south to Tianjin, then boarded the railway track and arrived in Beijing.
A series of numbers came out of the emperor's mouth, and Liu Afu on the side was busy writing them down, for fear of missing some.
The two generals returned to Beijing to resume their duties. The emperor was very happy and held a series of meetings together.
Although there is credit for the land reclamation and construction of the army, Jilin is responsible for the payment, material supply, etc., and the Ministry of Household Affairs does not receive a penny at all.
"At the same time, by the end of these years, more than 300 rebellious tribes will be conquered, and more than 10,000 people will be captured. With Jilin as the center, within a radius of 600 miles, there will be surrendered tribes, and their number will exceed 1,000 people..."
A rough estimate is that the value of each person's rewards exceeds 10,000 yuan.
The General's Mansion can earn over 100,000 yuan a year just from the whaling industry.
"Your Majesty, Jilin now has six counties: Jilin, Changchun, Shulan, Ningguta, Shuangcheng, and Guanjie. The number of people exceeds 600,000, reaching a total of 670,000."
"How much are the taxes?"
"That's the old city of Nurgan Dusi. Although it's sparsely populated and colder, how can we abandon it after all it's old land?"
"In Shaanxi, Yan'an Prefecture has more than a million people, but only less than 200,000."
Nurgan City is the estuary of Heilongjiang River, opposite Sakhalin Island. It can be said to be the symbol of the Ming Dynasty in Nurgandusi.
"In addition, Heilongjiang is adjacent to North Korea and has a lot of trade. In addition, the north is wider and has more specialties such as mink skins and Dongzhu..."
It is precisely because of the increase in population that Liaodong continues to feed Beijing, with more than one million dan of grain transported to the capital every year.
"As for the construction of the army, there are only 30,000 to 40,000 people in these years. Not many are willing to come to the bitter cold land of Heilongjiang."
The emperor thought for a moment and smiled.
"Where is it built?" asked the chief envoy.
The positioning of Liaodong's granary means that the province's taxes collect grain instead of silver coins. Nowadays, there are only two provinces in Huguang and Shandong in the country.
"Master, this reward is too generous!" Liu Afu came over and said softly: "I heard that General Wang came back and took three or four boats with him!"
"Why does Heilongjiang tax so much?"
Facts have proved that this is a wise move. After many years of development, Heilongjiang City cannot catch up with Jilin in terms of population, but its tax revenue is not far behind.
"Unknowingly, ten years have passed and I will become rusty if I stay here any longer."
Therefore, Heilongjiang City was built in a bay (Vladivostok) hundreds of miles north of Hunchun. It was close enough to Jilin and not far from North Korea. It could not only replenish supplies at any time, but also recruit immigrants and expand the population.
After being poor for more than a hundred years, and going through turbulent times and wars, most of the clans were relatively stable, accepted the conditions, and went to Liaodong to become small landowners.
When the cultivated land and population are sufficient, villages and towns will be established. This is the normal routine.
"By the way, after the ice sea thaws, I have to go back to the capital to report on my work."
"Seven hundred thousand yuan is a lot."
The market price of such a candle exceeds ten silver dollars.
This smile, like the winter sun, suddenly drove away the gloom in their hearts and made them feel warm all over.
Financial prosperity, population growth, and various products are also abundant, which paved the way for the establishment of Nurgan City.
So as early as three years ago, it asked Heilongjiang and Jilin regions to pay 30% of taxes to Beijing and retain 70%.
"Twenty thousand people are on foot and cavalry, among which there are ten thousand cavalry, each with one man and three horses. They are exceptionally elite..."
The emperor suddenly became bored. He waved his hand and the two of them left.
It's really cold there, and it would be difficult to be self-sufficient if the General's Mansion is set up there.
Nowadays, the three cities in Heilongjiang are all located within a radius of 300 miles from the harbor. They can be said to be separated from the wilderness. The rest of the cities are covered with virgin forests and nomadic tribes.
In ten years, the population under the rule has doubled, which is definitely an incredible achievement.
Just whale oil is a huge amount.
"I will reward you for your merits." Zhu Yixi stood up and said loudly: "Here, I will give Xin Wencheng, Wang Shiguo bullfighting uniforms, fifty hectares of land each, and ten horses each from Su Duan..."
Because there are more than ten whale oil candles placed in his hall, which are three feet long and thick in arms. They can be burned all night long and have no smell. They are considered to be the best candles.
Wang Shiguo went there once and then came back.
"There are still some coal mines in Jilin. I have nothing, so I can only cut down trees to burn firewood. Every household has to work at least half a month cutting firewood before winter, which delays a lot of things."
Xin Wencheng hurriedly echoed: "In Jilin, if you go anywhere for three or five miles, you will find fruits and wild vegetables everywhere. Hare and deer can be seen everywhere. As long as you have the strength, you will never die of hunger."
The emperor asked softly, looking directly at the general who was born in Yulin. It seemed that if he was found to be exaggerating or exploiting the people, the guards on the side would take him down.
"Let's go back!"
Xin Wencheng didn't panic and added slowly.
At the same time, you have to bring more things.
It is enough for a military general to fulfill his role.
The emperor asked casually, with a hint of interest on his face.
In this regard, Wang Shiguo was not to be outdone and hurriedly interjected: "Your Majesty, Heilongjiang has been frozen for four months. It is even more freezing than Jilin. I don't even dare to go outside to pee at night. All those things will be gone."
This actually stimulated the development of the whaling industry.
Having said this, he held out five fingers, full of pride.
It is deeply loved by the nobles in the capital, and tens of thousands of them are bought and sold every year. The market has reached a size of 100,000 yuan, and it is still expanding every year.
"In the past three years, the amount of taxes in Heilongjiang has increased sharply every day. Before the freeze last year, the taxes collected exceeded 500,000."
The emperor smiled and nodded, obviously satisfied with him.
Wang Shiguo felt the pressure and felt as if a heavy weight was on his back.
Therefore, the emperor did not blindly trust him, but instead raised an objection: "In less than ten years, the increase will be 300,000. How many people do you have in your construction corps? Can Jilin afford it?"
It seems that His Majesty's majesty has become a little stronger.
Zhu Yixi lamented: "I still remember that Suzhou Prefecture paid nearly 4 million yuan in taxes last year, while Tongzhou Prefecture, not far away, only had a mere 300,000 yuan a year."
The emperor nodded slightly, quite convinced by this reason.
Although I talk about the results and then talk about the difficulties, this gives people a completely different feeling.
I came to Heilongjiang at the age of forty-six or seventeen, and ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. I have worked hard to establish Heilongjiang, and I have lived up to the high expectations of the court.
This is also one of the important reasons why the land in Guan was transferred to Liaodong. We just expected these nobles and soldiers to open up wasteland!
"What about the population?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows, but he did not expect that Heilongjiang would soon catch up with Jilin.
"What do you know?" the emperor said casually: "Jilin and Heilongjiang are barbaric places. Their hard work is immeasurable, and the rewards are still small."
A smile appeared on the corner of Wang Shiguo's mouth, which makes you proud. It's revealed!
"Your Majesty, among the 300,000 people, there are about 100,000 savages and Mongolians who have surrendered. They can be regarded as transformed from barbarians to summer and have become adults."
Tiger skins, ginseng, mink skins, deer antlers, etc. have a market value of over one million.
Xin Wencheng was overjoyed when he saw this, and immediately said: "Last year before winter, 600,000 soldiers were recruited. This year, the snow melted early, and another group of soldiers settled in. It is estimated that there will be more than 700,000 soldiers."
The chief envoy said happily: "We can get 350,000 yuan if we divide it into 37%."
Sea and land routes are much faster than land routes.
"I don't dare to take credit—" the two said in unison.
It will take four years for a group of construction corps soldiers to settle down and settle down.
After all, due to the existence of customs, a large amount of goods were continuously transported out, bringing ship after ship of silver, which led to a looser use of currency in the market. Even Guizhou was happy to use silver yuan.
This benefit alone is enough to be worth 10 years.
Jilin General Xin Wencheng, who set out almost at the same time as him, was half a month later than him.
He raised his head and said seriously: "Heilongjiang has a lot of fish, especially the fishing industry is prosperous, and whales are the leader."
In order to get rid of the huge burden of the clan, and at the same time, the emperor was afraid that these people would starve to death and damage his reputation, so he awarded fifty hectares, one hundred hectares, and two hectares to each of the three levels: lieutenant, general, and county king.
Hundreds of hectares of land allow them to support themselves.
Moreover, although it is good to build a legion, it will take at least three years to open up wasteland and cultivate a piece of cultivated land. After it becomes mature land and then let it go back to recruit people, the time span will be even longer.
Among the three places in the Northeast, Liaodong is the granary, so it is the first choice for the people. It is also an important place for nobles and soldiers to replace their fields.
It can be said that thousands of people have gathered in Heilongjiang around the whaling industry, and hundreds of whales are caught every year, so the market is unlimited.
Wang Shiguo was also happy: "Five thousand cavalry and infantry, one thousand navy, plus officials, that's one hundred thousand yuan a year. The remaining money can be used directly to build the city!"
Farmland, cities, villages, and ports form a beautiful scenery in this bay.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs even optimistically estimated that if the nobles were more enthusiastic about Liaodong and recruited more tenants to farm the land, the population would exceed three million faster.
"Nearly 150,000." When talking about this, Wang Shiguo became excited: "When Heilongjiang City was first built, it only had more than 10,000 people. Over the years, I have continued to recruit Korean people, and no less than 80,000 people came here in a few years."
At the same time, the clans played an important role in opening up wasteland in Liaodong.
"There are still too few cities in Heilongjiang."
Of course, the products here are rich, and the general, as the leader, can gain countless benefits, including just the best furs, and he can get no less than a thousand pieces.
Wang Shiguo touched the white hair on his temples and was filled with emotion.
"The only thing to worry about is that the winter is too long. It snows heavily in Liaodong for about two and a half months, while Jilin is frozen for three months. Birds in thousands of mountains have disappeared, and all traces of people have been wiped out. That's all."
Set up a reclamation area, and first let the army cut down trees on a large scale to remove dangers, and then let the people clear up the wasteland.
"There are countless reclaimed wastelands, probably more than three million acres..."
Xin Wencheng recounted his political achievements one by one. Although he maintained a low profile, the pride in his eyes could not be shaken off.
"Nowadays, there are more and more people in Heilongjiang Prefecture, and there are more requirements for farmland."
"From this point of view, Jilin is rich in natural resources, but it is also a livable place."
"Nuergan——" Wang Shiguo said in a deep voice.
"Currently, the Heilongjiang General Mansion controls more than 500 tribes, and the annual tribute exceeds 200,000 yuan——"
In this regard, the chief envoy hesitated for a while and then agreed: "Nurqian City does not need to be built too big. It can be used to station thousands of people. The main purpose is to notify the tribes to pay tribute."
"I really don't know how to spend such a large sum of money."
"Thank you, sir, for your hard work."
"I understand." Wang Shiguo nodded and said, "In addition to this, a city will also be built in the Beiqinhai (Xingkai Lake) area to expand the scope of cultivated land in Heilongjiang."
As he said that, he glanced at Xin Wencheng and sighed: "Jilin awarded fifty acres of land, and I raised it to one hundred acres, but there are only a few people."
In a few years, when some soldiers in the Beijing camp retire and return to Hountian to retire, then more than three million will just be idle.
"Of course, although our place is colder, the tax is not far behind and has already reached half a million——"
Finally, after the words filled the page, the emperor stopped talking.
Even so, the population of Liaodong exceeded two million two years ago just due to the overflow of population from Gyeonggi and Shandong, as well as the exiled population.
"If I hadn't seen them making a lot of extra money, I would have planned to let each of them become a baron!"
"Hey, if the two generals knew about it, they would regret it so much that their hearts ached." Liu Afu said with a smile.
"Hahaha, that's right."
The emperor also laughed.
A few shiploads of goods are nothing compared to a title that has been passed down for three generations.