I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

March 15th, afternoon.

On the north gate of Kaiyuan City, Shen Nian and Shen Maoxue couldn't help but laugh when they saw a cloud of dust rising in front of them.

After the luncheon, Nurhaci feigned composure and said that if the Kurkha people refused Shen Nian's proposal, he would help the Ming navy deal with them, appearing loyal to the Ming dynasty.

But once outside the city, he immediately spurred his horse and galloped away.

If the contract for the sale of land by the Kurka people is not delivered to Kaiyuan City within half a month, the consequences will be unimaginable.

A day later would mean a loss of a thousand taels of silver.

This money will most likely need to be advanced by Nurhaci, who came up with the bad idea.

Seeing Nurhaci's desperate efforts, the two knew that the matter was about to succeed.

Shen Nian looked at Shen Maoxue and said, "We can proceed to the next step!"

"Leave the rest of the task to me!" Shen Maoxue said excitedly.

Shen Maoxue was appointed by Shen Nian to be in charge of building Winter City and Eastern Harbor.

After successfully acquiring the land, Shen Maoxue was able to organize the personnel to build Winter City and Eastern Port, and transport the port construction materials.

The personnel are mainly deserters and military households from the Liaodong region. Shen Nian has already made arrangements in various city garrisons. As long as he gives the order, there will be no problem in organizing 30,000 people to enter the Dongcheng region within two months.

As for the materials, they will be provided by merchant ships from the four major ports in the south for the time being, and Shen Nian will pay them according to the market rates.

Currently, Shen Nian's plan is to use half of the profits from the operation of Jibei Port to build Dongfang Port. Once Dongfang Port is completed and can generate profits through trade, it will gradually become self-sufficient.

Building Winter City was not in such a hurry.

If we want the people who are about to become residents of Winterhold to consider Winterhold their home, they need to experience the value that Winterhold brings them first, and then they will be willing to protect Winterhold.

……

The next morning, Shen Nian left Kaiyuan City.

After returning to Liaoyang, he still needed to prepare for the opening of Jibei Port.

On that day, he needed to arrive at the scene to liven things up and spread the name of Jibei Port.

……

On March 21, Shen Nian returned to Liaoyang City.

Upon returning to the city, the first thing he did was to send out a team of spies to monitor Nurhaci.

Once Nurhaci's tribe grows to more than 8,000 people, Shen Nian will immediately find a way to create obstacles for him, either by making enemies or by creating internal strife. This will prevent Nurhaci from ever becoming powerful and also make it difficult for the Jurchens to gather strength.

On March 25th, Qi Jiguang sent a letter confirming the auspicious date for the opening of Jibei Port: April 30th.

Since it had been previously announced that the opening date of Jibei Port would be between April 25th and April 30th, some ships from Jiangnan have already set sail.

This time, Shen Nian will travel to Jibei Port by water, instead of by land.

Starting from Liaoyang City and heading southwest, one can take a boat (Bohai Sea) directly to Jibei Port, a journey that takes about half a month.

The boat was already prepared, and Shen Nian planned to depart on the tenth day of the fourth month.

……

On the second day of the fourth month, Shen Maoxue wrote a letter saying that on the last night of the third month, Nurhaci ordered someone to send the land sale contract of the Kurka people to Kaiyuan City.

Shen Nian felt relieved.

With the construction of Dongfang Port completed, Shen Nian's layout in Jiliao will be in a closed loop. All that is left is to follow the plan and proceed step by step.

……

April 7th, nightfall.

In Jizhou City, inside the General's Mansion, Qi Jiguang paced back and forth, looking anxious.

In February, he demanded that the generals responsible for building Jibei Port sign a pledge to complete the project by April 5th, or face military punishment. Regardless of whether the project was completed or not, Jibei Port would submit a written report to him.

Two days have passed, and given the speed of the courier, the document should have been delivered to him before dusk today.

However, even as night fell, there was still no movement.

Qi Jiguang was getting anxious!

If there are problems with the construction progress of Jibei Port and it delays important matters, he will have no way to explain it to Shen Nian.

About half an hour later.

One of Qi Jiguang's personal guards rushed into the front hall and said, "General Qi, news has come from Jibei Port, but it has been delayed for several hours because a postman fell off his horse and was injured!"

Qi Jiguang took the document, let out a long sigh, and tore it open.

Upon seeing the results, Qi Jiguang's face broke into a bright smile. He gave a smug hum and said, "I knew it! The soldiers I trained could never disappoint me!"

The construction of Jibei Port was completed in the last hour of the fifth day of the fourth lunar month.

It is currently under inspection.

In this way, even if minor repairs are needed, it will not delay the opening of the port on April 30th.

……

On the tenth day of the fourth month, Shen Nian left Liaoyang City. After riding a horse overland for a while, he took a sea ship to Jibei Port.

On April 26, in the afternoon, Shen Nian and his party arrived at Jibei Port.

He stood on the deck, looking at the seawall and docks on the coast ahead, the houses faintly visible behind, and the sails of ships drifting in the distance, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

All things considered, the construction of Jibei Port took only six months, and Shen Nian is already very satisfied with its current scale.

A moment later, Shen Nian disembarked from one of the docks.

He was greeted by Qi Jiguang, who had arrived at Jibei Port the night before, and a group of generals behind him.

"Greetings, Minister Shen!" Everyone bowed in unison.

Shen Nian walked over quickly, first looking at Qi Jiguang, and said, "Commander Qi, you've worked hard!"

Then, he looked at the group of generals behind him and said, "Gentlemen, you've worked hard!"

Without checking the situation at Jibei Port, Shen Nian repeatedly said "Thank you for your hard work," which warmed the hearts of the generals, making them feel that their efforts over the past six months had not been in vain.

Qi Jiguang then led Shen Nian on a tour.

To prevent seawater from overflowing, a ten-mile-long dike was built in Jibei Port, along with an inland river port specifically for large ocean-going vessels. There are eight wharves in the middle of the dike.

In addition, there are twelve large warehouses, 120 shops in the front and warehouses in the back, and behind them are commercial streets for people to live in, inns, restaurants, teahouses, as well as temples for worship such as Mazu Temple and Guandi Temple.

The Jibei Port government office is located at the innermost part of the commercial street, while the Jibei Shipyard is located at the southernmost part and is currently under construction.

Shen Nian praised it as she looked at it, very satisfied.

After the tour, Shen Nian looked at Qi Jiguang and asked, "General Qi, what is the current inventory situation in the warehouse?"

Qi Jiguang said with a smile, "All ten large warehouses are fully stocked, with 60% of the goods being specialty products from Jiliao. Some Koreans have tried to use their connections to buy them in advance, but I have refused them all!"

Shen Nian nodded in satisfaction.

On the day the port opened, a trade fair was also launched.

Many Korean and Jiangnan merchant ships arrived carrying goods, which might be exchanged for goods or money.

In addition to earning maritime trade taxes (including pilotage tax, water tax, land tax, and additional tax), Jibei Port can also earn a profit from the price difference of goods stored in its warehouses.

Once this trade route is established, Jiliao will have its first giant cash cow. (End of Chapter)