The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 629 Border Town Problem
On the 25th day of the first lunar month, in the southern waters of Luzon.

As dawn broke, a patch of black dots suddenly appeared on the once azure sea.

This is the Ming Dynasty naval fleet led by Emperor Wanli, with more than two thousand Weiyuan warships and flying shuttles speeding across the boundless sea day and night.

As the sun rises and a gentle sea breeze blows, the sea surface shimmers, and the dense black dots formed by the ships become faintly visible.

At this moment, aboard the flagship, Xiao Zhu Changxun was diligently studying with Song Yingxing, while Wanli was deep in thought, staring at the map on the table.

The vast territory of the Ming Dynasty needed people everywhere.

The problem is that it seems that all the people who could migrate have already done so, and the rest are almost all in the hands of the princes and royal families.

The problem of the princes and their families can only be solved once enough food is grown in the places of exile.

He also had to relocate more than 100,000 households to grow enough food before he could relocate all the princes, royal family members and their relatives by marriage. Otherwise, they would just be dragged there and starved to death!

Although the princes and members of the imperial family had gone too far, they were still members of Zhu Yuanzhang's family and blood relatives. It was one thing to kill a few or dozens of them without restraint, but he absolutely could not do something like dragging tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people to starve to death.

If he did it, his ancestors would never forgive him.

The problem is, where is he going to find so many people to farm?

Now it's not just Fangzhang Island that needs people; Nurgan Commandery needs people, Luzon Island needs people, and the Americas need people even more.

Moreover, these places require far more than just a few people; the initial preparation for planting crops alone would require at least several hundred thousand households.

Where in the Ming Dynasty could hundreds of thousands of households be relocated to farm?
He stared at the map in deep thought for a long time before announcing loudly, "Summon Wen Huan."

Du Wenhuan was the eldest son of Du Tong, the general of Yansui Town. Du Tong was also a nobleman and a high-ranking official. Du Wenhuan had just passed the various tests and was able to stay on duty in the Jinwu Guard.

At this moment, the Imperial Guards were all on the flagship; his arrival was incredibly fast.

In the blink of an eye, he strode over, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general greets Your Majesty."

Wanli nodded slightly, then beckoned him to come to the map before asking, "Wenhuan, do you usually deal with ordinary military households?"

what?
Why did His Majesty suddenly ask this?

Du Wenhuan was taken aback for a moment before nodding repeatedly and saying, "This humble general has visited many ordinary military households because our Du family has many relatives, most of whom are military households."

My father also taught me that if you want to lead your men well, you have to get along with them. So I often visit my relatives.

Some of them were border army officers and soldiers, while many were ordinary military households.

Hmm, not bad. It seems the Du family knows a lot about military strategy.

A general leading troops into battle cannot be aloof. If he is aloof, no one will fight for him in battle. Only by being close to his subordinates can everyone work together as one.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Wenhuan, are there many children in the families of the border troops in Yansui Town now?"

We have so many kids there.

Du Wenhuan nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, everyone has been well-fed and clothed these past few years, and the threat from the northern barbarians has been eliminated. Everyone's lives are peaceful and stable, and those who can have children are having more and more."

"In our area nowadays, families with five or six siblings are considered small; it's usually seven or eight, and quite a few have more than ten."

Sure enough, this applies to ordinary people as well as border soldiers. When they have enough to eat and wear and their lives are stable, they start having babies like crazy.

The border troops in Yansui seemed to be among the first to achieve a life of plenty, so much so that he couldn't even remember which year it was.

In his memory, it seemed that Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, was born after the inner and outer coats were recovered, and the border soldiers of Yansui Town would soon be able to have plenty of food and clothing after the inner and outer coats were recovered.

In other words, the period when they were having a baby like crazy was roughly the same time that Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, was born.

Now, Zhu Changxu, the Prince of the North, is almost fifteen years old. If we calculate based on this little guy's age, the first batch of children born in the border town will also be growing up soon.

These days, fifteen years old is considered an adult, old enough to get married and have children.

In other words, these border troops will soon go from one household to two households, and later from two households to three, four, or even five or six households.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Have they considered what would happen if their children grew up, got married, and the family split into three, four, or even five or six households, and there wasn't enough farmland or pasture?"

This is a problem that naturally needs to be considered.

Du Wenhuan said cautiously, "They have all considered this, and they often discuss it with me."

Some families hoped that their children could become border troops, naval officers, or even officers in the Beijing garrison, so that they could make meritorious contributions.

Some families hoped that His Majesty would once again conscript soldiers from the garrison, so that their children could go to the garrison to farm after they got married.

Some of those who had made military achievements and received substantial military rewards wanted to buy more land so that they could keep their children by their side.

Others, lacking money but wanting to keep their children with them, have no choice but to have their able-bodied members do other work, such as going into business, working in workshops, or even working on ships, in coal mines, or in iron ore mines.

These border soldiers really have a lot of ideas.

Fortunately, some people want their children to go to the garrison to farm after they get married.

Moreover, most border soldiers value family ties.

Wanli thought about it carefully, and then asked, "So you mean that most of the border soldiers want to keep their children with them?"

"Of course." Du Wenhuan nodded slowly and said, "Yes, most soldiers want to have a large family, a lively and prosperous life, and it's also good for the family to support each other when they are together."

For example, when it comes to daily meals, my mother and her wives would cook a big meal together. Eating together as a family is not only lively, but also saves a lot of trouble. If we ate separately, we would have to buy several sets of pots, pans, and even oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar for each family. Moreover, cooking separately would waste a lot of time.

For example, if one of the wives has a baby, the mother or other wives can help take care of the baby, so that the young couple won't be unable to work because of childcare.

Hmm, that's a good idea.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Wenhuan, what do you think about moving the entire Yansui Garrison to Luzon?"

what?
How do you say this?

Du Wenhuan thought for a moment before cautiously saying, "Your Majesty, I don't know what everyone will think, but if Your Majesty issues an order to relocate, everyone will certainly obey and move over."

Does that mean they're not really willing?
It’s hard to leave your homeland.

That's somewhat understandable.

However, this migration was inevitable.

It's not good if the border troops are forced to move here unwillingly; I need to give them some motivation.

After thinking it over carefully, Wanli decisively said, "Wenhuan, tell me, if I gave each person twenty mu of land, each household an ox for plowing, and another ten mu of land for each household to build a courtyard for growing vegetables, would they be willing to come?"

So much land, plus oxen for plowing, and a huge courtyard of ten acres?
Upon hearing this, Du Wenhuan cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, is it that everyone, regardless of age or gender, will be given twenty mu of land?"

of course.

Wanli nodded without hesitation and said, "Yes, regardless of gender or age, even newborns are included, and those born after that are also included."

I guess most people would want to come.

However, there is still a problem.

Du Wenhuan thought for a moment, then carefully said, "Your Majesty, many border soldiers in our area are herders, and herding requires more pasture than arable land."

What I lack now is not land, but people.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli replied without hesitation, "I will double the amount of pastureland they will receive. That is to say, those who originally had 100 mu of pastureland will be given 200 mu after relocation."

Then there is no problem.

Upon hearing this, Du Wenhuan nodded repeatedly and said, "If we really give them land and pastures like this, they should all be eager to migrate here."

That'll do.

Wanli nodded slightly and then waved his hand.

Du Wenhuan quickly bowed and took his leave.

At this moment, young Zhu Changxun couldn't help but ask, "Father, why did you move the entire Yansui Garrison here? Isn't there any need to guard that place anymore?"

That area naturally still needs to be guarded.

Wanli shook his head slightly, then explained in detail: "We are short of people right now. No one is coming to develop Luzon Island, Nurgan Commandery, North American Western Commandery, or even Penglai Island and Fangzhang Island."

It's a waste to leave these lands empty. If they were used to grow crops or raise cattle, sheep, and horses, who knows how much grain and meat they could produce.

Another point is that the population of the border town is increasing rapidly. If we don't give them enough land, their lives will get worse and worse.

We have plenty of land, but no one is cultivating it. Why don't we double the amount and give it to the border troops?

And the most crucial point is that the nine border towns were originally used to defend against the northern barbarians.

The situation in the north is now completely different from before. The northern barbarians are basically just the Oirat tribes, who at most have tens of thousands of cavalry.

Each of our border towns has 100,000 troops, and they are either cavalry or chariot soldiers.

In this situation, one of our border towns would be enough to deal with the various Oirat tribes.

Why should we leave all the border troops from the nine border towns in the north?
We need border troops to guard the east, west, south, and north. Right now, there's only the Oirat Mongols to the north; we don't need to leave all nine border towns there.

Oh, so the nine border towns were originally used to defend against the northern barbarians.

Now that the Northern Barbarians have few troops left, there's no need to leave all nine border towns in the north to guard them.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun slowly nodded and then said, "Father, it seems a bit problematic that you said all children born in the families of border soldiers would be given twenty mu of land in the future, right?"

If they have a crazy number of children, with each family having eight or ten sons in each generation, wouldn't they be just like the princes and royal families, multiplying dozens of times in a hundred years?

"Where will we get so much land to give them then?"

Hey kid, not bad.

No one reminded the Hongwu Emperor, which led to a proliferation of vassal kings and members of the imperial family.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli nodded in approval and said, "You are right. We need to set a deadline. We can't just keep giving out land indefinitely."

Let's set this period as the development phase. Once this area is developed and there's no more land left, the land allocation will end.

(End of this chapter)