Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 449: Something Incredible
After Li Jia finished speaking passionately, among the four colleagues sitting in the room, Qu Shisi and Huang Zunsu responded, while Du Youning was worried. And what about Peng Xiaodong? After stroking his beard and thinking for a while, he said, "Sir, if we really want to talk about population, we actually have two sources."
"Oh? Brother Ziqin, do you have any good ideas?"
"Isn't this officer responsible for the judicial system of this state? There are a lot of merchant ships coming and going in Singapore every day, so there are a lot of civil disputes. I also often come into contact with the Spaniards. No, strictly speaking, they are not Spanish but Portuguese. According to them, if we need them, they can send black slaves to us from Africa."
"Black slaves?" Huang Zunsu answered, "They are the Kunlun slaves mentioned in the Tang Dynasty, right?"
"What the academician said is not entirely correct. The Kunlun slaves during the Tang Dynasty were mainly Negritos, with dark skin and short stature. Of course, there were also black people in Africa today among the Kunlun slaves at that time. Compared with Negritos, they were much taller and sold at a very high price at the time. Not everyone could afford them."
"So that's how it is. Thank you for your advice." As a scholar, Huang Zunsu liked this kind of academic discussion the most. He would not get angry even if it made him appear ignorant. In this regard, Huang Zunsu really appreciated and admired the erudition of Fangshan students, which also made him have complicated feelings .
"Sir, what I just said are the blacks captured by Portugal from Africa. They are tall , with strong limbs, and their strength and endurance are not a problem. Moreover, compared with the lazy and unruly Malays around here, these blacks are very docile."
"Well..." At this time, the Ming Dynasty did not prohibit the trafficking of human beings. For example, Li Jia and the other three were bought by Cao Huachun in their early years. Therefore, they had no psychological burden at all for the trafficking of black people.
Therefore, after thinking for a while, Li Jia asked: "How much is the price?"
"Governor, everyone, the main destination for the Portuguese slave trade is America, and the Spanish have a huge shortage of manpower there. It is said that the local Indians in America, uh, no, in the words of the emperor, these American natives are descendants of the Yin Shang Dynasty, so they have to be called Yindians. Ahem, in short, these Yindians are not lazy, but they have a strong spirit of resistance and are not very docile. In addition, from a medical point of view, America has been isolated from Eurasia for thousands of years. After Eurasia went to America, the bacteria that are usually not fatal to Eurasia often caused a large number of Indians. People died. The Spanish had a large number of plantations in America covering tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of acres, so there was a great shortage of labor in America. Then the Portuguese and Spanish transported black slaves from Africa to do hard labor. For this kind of trade, Spain adopted a franchise trade, that is, only a few companies approved by the royal family of the country could do such business. If other companies did so and were discovered by the Spanish fleet, their goods would be confiscated and the ship owners would be punished. So, Governor, everyone, if we want to buy black slaves, we can't just find any Portuguese or Spanish. "
"...Okay, then please contact us, Brother Ziqin. As long as the price is not too expensive, we can buy a small batch of one or two hundred to see the effect."
"I obey your order. What is the upper limit of the purchase price? Please mark it down."
"Speaking of this." Li Jia smiled slightly: "I will tell you the bottom line here. It is now October of the second year of Tianqi, and the autumn tax has been counted. In general, this state is expected to pay 37,000 silver dollars in national taxes to the court next year. As for local taxes, in addition to the salaries of civil servants, various administrative expenses and public services, there will be a surplus of about 12,000 silver dollars."
"You've worked hard, Governor. I didn't expect that in just two years, our state would have achieved a surplus."
"Hahaha, it's all because of our solidarity that we have achieved what we have today." After returning the greetings to his four colleagues, Li Jia said, "So, Brother Ziqin, I think the upper limit should be set at five silver dollars. After all, you and I were bought into Fangshan for two taels of silver each. At that time, we were useless people who could do nothing but eat."
"Haha." Recalling the tragic situation before entering Fangshan, Peng Ziqin's teeth couldn't help but twitch for a while, and it took him a long time to come back to his senses: "I know, I will contact the Portuguese after the meeting. In addition, Governor, I heard that the emperor is going to start checking the military yellow book after General Cao has completely dealt with Hu Dun and Tu Han. Is this true?"
"It seems like I heard some rumors. Oh! Ziqin's reminder is right! After the Mongols are completely defeated this time, the pressure on the northern border will be greatly reduced, and the court will not need to station so many troops in the nine borders. And then check the military yellow books... This will leave at least a million more people with nowhere to go! Hahaha, how can Singapore be short of people! No, I have to go to Beijing in person, otherwise no matter how many people there are, they will all be snatched away by Sun Chuanting and those bastards in Saigon, Phnom Penh, Bangkok and even Yangon!"
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Thank you for taking the trouble to make the trip."
"It's not hard, it's not hard. I will leave after the meeting and make some preparations. It's too late to send a letter to Nanjing and wait for the Ministry of Personnel to approve my entry into Beijing. I will go to the Central and Southern Governor's Mansion first. After Governor Xiong agrees, I will go to Beijing immediately. During my trip to the north, you must cooperate sincerely and build the house quickly. If the emperor doesn't give me 100,000 people this time, I will lie down at the gate of the Forbidden City and won't leave!"
…
Due to geographical reasons, Singapore State was the last to receive news from the central government. In fact, when Li Jia had just made the decision to go north to seek important people, in Yangon State to the northwest, the governor of the state, Hong Chengchou, had already arranged all state affairs and obtained the official approval from the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel to allow him to go to Beijing.
Regardless of how this person is evaluated from a historical perspective, one thing : his specific ability to get things done is quite strong. The Yangon State he governs is much stronger than the Singapore State in terms of current development.
Two years later, the permanent population of Yangon State has exceeded 60,000, of which Han Chinese account for more than 30,000. In terms of industrial development, in addition to port services, Hong Chengchou also vigorously developed agriculture, thanks to the vast Irrawaddy River Plain behind him, and the hard work and tenacity of the Burmese people far surpassing the Malays. Therefore, the agricultural development of Yangon State is many levels higher than that of Singapore.
In terms of business, he took the initiative to lower his status and cooperate with the Burmese king, vigorously building the official road from Mubang to Yangon, and then allowing the goods from the three southwestern provinces of the Ming Dynasty and even the snowy areas to be shipped out from Yangon. As a result, in addition to the Shu Palace making a lot of money, the Han, Shan, Burmese, Mon and other ethnic groups along the entire Mubang-Yangon line benefited from it. In just two years, the name of Hong Taishou as an able official has resounded throughout the entire western Indochina Peninsula.
"Everyone, I am going to Beijing now. This time, I will definitely bring as many compatriots from the north as possible to come to Yangon to enjoy the good life."
"We, your humble servants, respectfully send you off. We hope that you will return victoriously from your visit to the capital."
On October 3, Li Jia and Hong Chengchou set out for Beijing from their respective posts almost at the same time. At the same time, a Spanish galleon entered the port of Yangon that day.
Three years ago, when the Japanese-Thai alliance took the initiative to declare war on the Ming Dynasty, Spain also intervened. After the Ming Dynasty initially reversed the situation, Spain quickly withdrew. Therefore, the two countries never officially declared war. Therefore, Spanish ships can openly enter the ports of the Ming Dynasty.
Of course, since we have entered the port, we must accept inspection by the Ming military.
"Welcome, welcome." A Westerner with a full beard, black-yellow hair, and blue eyes humbly bowed to the Ming soldiers who were boarding the ship, and said in stiff Chinese: "General Li, welcome to my merchant ship again."
"Alright, alright, old Fernando, I've told you so many times, I'm just a lieutenant, far from a general."
"Oh, this is a good wish. Maybe it will come true if you just shout it out?"
"Go away, don't you see that there are people from the Censorate around me? If I really agree to your request, I will be impeached tomorrow. Aren't you harming me?"
Although Captain Li said this, his face was full of smiles, while the staff of the Censorate beside him looked indifferent and said nothing.
"Okay, tell me, what are we doing in port this time? Routine replenishment? Or are we unloading and selling the cargo?"
"Oh, General Li, this time I'm going to Guigang to unload the goods and do business."
"What are you selling?"
"Haha, General Li, what we are selling this time is a new product produced in Spain . It can make people who enjoy it feel like they are floating in the air, and clearly see the scenes of heaven in their minds!"
