Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 359 Development of Taiwan Island
"Your Majesty, it's two o'clock in the afternoon. Do you want to eat something first?"
"Well, I'm a little hungry. But..." Zhu Youdong touched his stomach, grabbed the teacup and took a big sip of water to fill it up: "Forget it, let's go to the Qianqing Palace. You go find some snacks or something, I can eat on the way."
"……yes."
The reason for such a rush was, of course, because some of his ministers were waiting for him in the Qianqing Palace according to the prior arrangement - that was where he lived and worked as an emperor. If there was no suitable meeting room, it would be okay to hold one or two meetings in Xinghua Palace temporarily. But if he did not work in the Qianqing Palace on a daily basis, it would be unreasonable.
"Your servant Sun Chuanting pays respect to His Majesty."
"Let Boya... wuwu..." Zhu Youdong swallowed the dough in his mouth with great effort, and drank a big mouthful of water, finally taking a breath: "Boya, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long."
"Your Majesty, you are so busy with state affairs, why do you need to apologize to me? But Your Majesty, irregular meals are a big taboo for getting sick. Your Majesty is a person who has been granted power by the Emperor of Heaven, and you are shouldering the earnest expectations of hundreds of millions of officials of the Ming Dynasty. I hope Your Majesty takes care of your health."
"Alas, there are so many things to do in the country, and it's hard for me. But don't worry, I won't get sick. At most, I will just be exhausted and I will be fine after resting for a while."
"emperor!"
"Okay, I know my own health, please rest assured, Boya. Let's talk business first."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please give your instructions."
"I called you here this time because I want you to end your term as magistrate of Wanping County and transfer you to another place."
"I am deeply apprehensive that Your Majesty has to trouble you with the transfer of the county magistrate. I am deeply grateful for Your Majesty's kindness."
"Hahaha, Boya, this is not a good job. This appointment is tantamount to exile in the eyes of some short-sighted idiots."
"I dare to speculate, does the emperor want me to go to Taiwan?"
"It is indeed Sun Chuanting." Zhu Youdong clapped his hands and smiled, "Yes, it is Taiwan. Since the end of February this year, our dynasty drove out the Spaniards and took over Taiwan. Ahem, I originally wanted to set up a provincial government, but I don't know how many people there are now. Therefore, after repeated consultations between the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, we are going to set up a government in Taiwan. You, you will be the first prefect of this Taiwan Prefecture."
"I thank the emperor for his trust and am willing to take on this responsibility."
"Well, Boya, what do you think of Taiwan?"
"Your Majesty, besides this minister, Taiwan is located at the forefront of the fertile land in the southeast of our Ming Dynasty. It is connected to the Ryukyu Islands and the Wakoku Islands in the north, and Qiongzhou and Luzon in the south. It is an extremely important node both in terms of maritime trade and military. With this place, Fujian, Zhejiang and even Nanzhili of our Ming Dynasty will have excellent protection. If this place is controlled by other powerful countries, the several provinces in the southeast of our Ming Dynasty will never be at peace. If the southeast is unstable, the national power of our Ming Dynasty will also be unstable."
"Hahaha, Boya said it well. I have another metaphor that's not very elegant, but vivid enough."
"Your Majesty, please give me your instructions?"
"If the Ming Dynasty is compared to a man, then Taiwan is the man's penis!"
“Pfft~ Your Majesty’s metaphor is indeed not very elegant, but it does make me better understand how to govern and defend Taiwan.”
"Well, Boya come and see."
He led Sun Chuanting to a table, on which was a topographic map of Taiwan drawn by Zhu Youdong based on his memory before the time travel.
"Bo Ya, please take a look. The terrain of Taiwan Island is generally high in the east and low in the west. The east side close to the Pacific Ocean is full of high mountains. The west side facing Fujian has many coastal plains and hills. It has been found that there are no less than 50,000 immigrants from Fujian, Zhejiang and other provinces who have settled on the island. In addition, there are also many indigenous people, many of whom gather in the coastal plains. It is said that there are also indigenous people living in the mountains of the island. But in the short term, we should not have much contact with the indigenous people in the mountains.
After you go there, your tasks are: first, survey the local topography in detail, the basic , and then demarcate the counties. The court has only given you a prefecture now, and your opinion is the most important for how many counties to be demarcated in the future. Second, build ports. These ports should be divided into military ports and civilian ports, and it is best to have them on the north and south of the island. Third, recruit Han people to reclaim wasteland, and let our people on the island surpass the local natives as soon as possible. Fourth, set up schools and thoroughly cover the island with the clothing and culture of our Ming Dynasty. Fifth..."
After Zhu Youdong finished speaking, he patted Sun Chuanting's shoulder heavily and said, "Boya, as a pioneer, you have a long way to go. If you have any requests, you can tell me now. As long as it is not too difficult, I will do my best for you."
"Your Majesty, when I heard about this today, I feel that Taiwan has a lot of things to do, and there are too many things that need the help of the court and Your Majesty. So..."
"Well, it's okay. I'll tell you first what the court is going to give to Taiwan ."
"Yes, Your Majesty, please give your instructions."
"First, it's about money and food. The Grand Tutor has already agreed. This year, the 46th year of the Wanli reign, half of it is left, so I'll give you 100,000 yuan. Starting from the first year of the Tianqi reign next year, the Ministry of Revenue will not only stop collecting taxes in Taiwan, but will also give you 200,000 yuan every year for three years. In addition, this year, the warehouses of the Taicang Warehouse and the Royal Bank will also transfer 200,000 shi of grain to you, and for three consecutive years thereafter, they will provide you with 300,000 shi of grain every year free of charge. However, starting from the fourth year of the Tianqi reign, there will be nothing! At that time, it will be the Taiwan Prefecture that pays taxes to the court. Are you satisfied with this?"
"That's enough, that's enough! I would like to thank the Emperor and all the superiors for their consideration!"
"Second, the army. I have asked Liu Shimin to prepare an army from the four Tengxiang guards, totaling 1,000 soldiers, 500 horses, five 105mm cannons, and a flintlock rifle for each soldier. This army will not have a battalion commander, and you will lead it all. After all, this Taiwan Prefecture is not like those prefectures in the mainland. There won't be big battles, but there will definitely be a lot of small battles. So the prefect must be given the power to command the army... Uh, don't even think about the new army, because the court is now fighting against Siam and Japanese pirates. I am not good enough myself."
"How dare I be so ungrateful? Your Majesty, please rest assured that no matter what army it is, I have the confidence to turn it into an elite force."
"Okay, I am confident about this. Then I will move on to the third point, the Imperial Guard . This is to monitor and contain you, but it is also to protect you. I hope you can understand."
"Your Majesty, rest assured. Taiwan is isolated overseas. I govern the people and lead the army. Even if Your Majesty does not mention it, I will ask Your Majesty to send the Royal Guards. But, I don't know who will be the Royal Guards?"
"Well, this guy's surname is Chen, his given name is Xiaotian, and his courtesy name is Yunong. He is your classmate, but he is also my student at Fangshan School. If I had known that this kid wanted to be a Jinyiwei, I would not have allowed him to participate in the imperial examination. He wasted my quota for Jinshi... I won't talk about these. I will let him be a captain of the Jinyiwei Taiwan Prefecture. In addition to protecting you as I just said, he is also responsible for dealing with the local indigenous people of Taiwan Island. You know how to do it, right?"
"Yes, Your Majesty, please rest assured. I understand. In short, divide and disintegrate, and use both hard and soft tactics."
"I am relieved that you can think of this. Finally, I will return you to me."
"people?"
"Yes, the Han people on Taiwan Island have all migrated there spontaneously in recent decades. Most of these Han people are poor and can't make a living on the mainland, or have committed some crime and have to flee. These people lack gratitude and awe for the court. If you rely on these people to fight against the local natives, you will definitely suffer a great loss. Therefore, I plan to draw 50,000 people from the almost abandoned garrisons on the southeast coast, convert them all into civilian households, and then hand them over to you to send them to Taiwan to settle down collectively."
After saying this, Zhu Youdong smiled and said to Sun Chuanting: "Well, what else do you want?"
"Your Majesty." Sun Chuanting bowed respectfully, "Your Majesty has treated me so well, I am so grateful that I shouldn't ask for anything more. But Your Majesty, what about the officials? I can't handle all the affairs of the whole government by myself."
" Well, the question is this. Boya, you were a newly-appointed Jinshi two years ago. If Taiwan wasn't such a remote place at this time, you would never have been the magistrate of this prefecture. Therefore, you go first, take care of the general affairs and start the military control! Next year, after the spring examination of the first year of Tianqi is over, I will send someone to you. By that time, I guess you have already demarcated the county and other things. I will send the newly-appointed Jinshi here to be the county magistrate, and then end the military control in Taiwan. Isn't that just right?"
"I understand. Your Majesty has thought it through. I admire you. Your Majesty, please rest assured that I will bring peace to Taiwan within three years!"
