I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

February 6th, near noon.

Shen Nian ordered someone to send out the reply letter addressed to Shen Maoxue, the trade envoy of Liaodong.

Since Nurhaci interfered in the construction of the winter city, Shen Nian naturally wanted to meet with him and give him a warning, letting the latter know the consequences of going against him.

……

February 15th, nightfall, Jizhou City.

The General's Mansion, which was originally filled with armor, weapons, and various military sand tables, has now been divided into many rooms to store documents and materials related to the construction of Jibei Port and Jizhou Shipyard.

At this time, Qi Jiguang had transformed from a military commander into the chief supervisor of construction projects.

Although he was stationed in Jizhou City, many matters in Jibei Port required his approval.

Fortunately, Shen Nian found him many helpers.

For example, retired clerks from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue, teachers from the Mathematics Society, old craftsmen who knew how to build ports, ships and dams, and some project managers from the four major ports in the south were all rehired by Shen Nian and sent to Jibei Port.

Shen Nian's order was absolute: Jibei Port must be officially put into use before May.

Just as Qi Jiguang was busy, a personal guard rushed up to him and shouted, "Reporting to the commander, a letter from Minister Shen!"

Swish!
Qi Jiguang stood up, picked up the letter, quickly tore it open, and began to read it carefully.

After reading it, Qi Jiguang first scratched his head, then sighed and said, "Minister Shen is so efficient! I...I...I'm ashamed!"

In the letter, Shen Nian told Qi Jiguang that he had reached an agreement with a group of Korean and Jiangnan merchants that when Jibei Port was put into use, the merchants would arrive at Jibei Port with ships full of goods in advance. Some merchants from the four major ports had also set off and would come to Jibei Port on their merchant ships to share in the joy and make the new port lively.

In addition, Shen Nian will soon order people to transport some local specialties collected and purchased from Liaodong to the warehouses in Jibei Port.

As a result, the day Jibei Port officially opens for business will be extremely lively, and the transaction volume will be very high.

Qi Jiguang felt ashamed.

This is because, apart from infrastructure construction, Shen Nian provided money, goods, and manpower, and did almost everything else.

However, during his supervision of the construction of Jibei Port, various unexpected events kept occurring.

For example, some officers and craftsmen had disagreements and fought on the spot; some soldiers went to brothels and gamble after leaving the Jizhou military camp; and some soldiers began to extort and demand bribes after gaining some power...

Qi Jiguang always emphasized strict military discipline, and for this reason, he had ordered the execution of more than thirty soldiers who had seriously violated military orders.

At present, Qi Jiguang is also facing a problem.

The generals stationed at Jibei Port, who were in charge of the port's construction, promised him that the entire army would devote all its efforts to completing the construction of Jibei Port by April 20th at the earliest, meaning that Jibei Port could then be put into use.

This deadline aligns with Shen Nian's directive that "Jibei Port must be officially put into use before May."

However, several veteran craftsmen who were in charge of supervising the construction of Jibei Port and providing technical support told Qi Jiguang that the deadline should not be set for April 20th.

They said that after the project is completed, it will need to be put into trial operation and many places will need to be inspected and adjusted, otherwise big problems may easily occur.

They proposed that the port construction must be completed before the fifth day of the fourth lunar month, and then an auspicious day could be chosen between the twenty-fifth and thirtieth days of April to officially announce the opening of Jibei Port.

However, the generals claimed that even killing them would not bring the task forward by half a month.

Because of this, the generals in charge of building the port had many arguments with the veteran craftsmen and kept reporting their difficulties to Qi Jiguang.

The former accused the latter of nitpicking, claiming all the questions raised were conjecture; the latter accused the former of being completely ignorant of engineering and unaware of the destructive power a small detail could have on a port. Qi Jiguang knew that both sides were facing difficulties, both striving for the smooth operation of Jibei Port.

But he didn't know what to do for a moment.

At this moment, seeing that Shen Nian had prepared everything, he felt even more pressured. He felt that Shen Nian had put in seven-tenths of the effort in the port construction, while he had put in at most three-tenths, and he still hadn't done a good job.

After pondering for a long time, he looked at the map of Jibei Port beside him and murmured, "I should listen to the craftsmen, they understand the technology better, while the soldiers should listen to me."

Immediately afterwards, Qi Jiguang began writing letters to the port-building generals stationed at Jibei Port.

He demanded that the soldiers building the port complete their task by the fifth day of the fourth lunar month, or else they would have to pay with their heads.

"If things don't go well, bring me your head."

These eight characters were a phrase he often used when ordering his subordinates to draft military orders.

Military orders are absolute and there is no room for negotiation.

At the same time, he promised to meet the generals' demands as much as possible.

After writing this letter, Qi Jiguang's mood improved considerably.

Treating many tasks as military missions eliminates the need for hesitation and will likely force soldiers to complete their tasks.

Of course, Qi Jiguang would not try every means to exploit the soldiers and craftsmen of Jibei Port.

Because he made money from North Korean merchants, Shen Nian specially approved two special sums of money for Jibei Port.

One sum was allocated to improve the quality of meals, and another to reward those who performed well; it was specifically emphasized that neither sum could be misappropriated.

Qi Jiguang would do his best to improve the lives of those who built the port, to give them hope, and to let them feel that hard work would pay off.

After resolving this matter, Qi Jiguang began to study the construction of the Jibei Shipyard.

Shen Nian's shipbuilding orders from North Korea were all handed over to the four major ports in the south because the Jibei Shipyard had not yet been completed.

Officials in charge of shipbuilding at the four major ports were overjoyed!
This is a large sum of money, enough to significantly increase the commercial tax revenue in their area and ensure their smooth career advancement.

Qi Jiguang had to quickly establish a shipyard so that Jibei Port could make money from it.

Once Jibei Port and Jibei Shipyard are put into use, apart from the relatively difficult daily maintenance, Qi Jiguang will no longer have such enormous pressure. He can then use Jibei Port and Jibei Shipyard to generate wealth, making the surrounding commerce prosperous, ensuring that the people of Jizhou and the Shandong region are well-fed and clothed, and enabling Jizhou's military expenses to be self-sufficient in three years.

……

On February 26th, in the afternoon, Shen Nian received a reply from Shen Maoxue.

The reply also included a visiting card that Nurhaci had specially presented to Shen Nian.

In his letter of invitation, Nurhaci, the commander of the Jianzhou Left Guard, referred to himself as a humble servant and praised Shen Nian extensively. He then said that Liaoyang City was too far away for him to pay his respects in person, so he could only invite Shen Nian to a banquet held at the North Gate of Kaiyuan City on the fifteenth of March, hoping that Shen Nian would grace him with his presence.

He then stated that he would do his utmost to negotiate the land purchase agreement between the trade envoy Shen Maoxue and the Kulka tribe of the Eastern Sea Jurchens, and reiterated his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Nian couldn't help but sigh at the worldly wisdom and shrewdness that Nurhaci displayed between the lines, realizing that he had completely mastered the hypocrisy and cunning of the Ming Dynasty's officialdom.

This man never tells the truth. He claims to be acting for the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, he is absolutely unambiguous during negotiations.

Shen Nian immediately decided to go to Kaiyuan City to see him next month. (End of Chapter)