The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 632 Border Town Migration Overseas
In early February, Luzon unexpectedly became hot again.

The temperature is about the same as in September now.

The daytime temperature there can rise to over 30 degrees Celsius.

Fortunately, there isn't much rain right now; it's rare to see rain for several days.

Around 1 p.m. that afternoon, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear and cloudless.

Just as Wanli was considering whether to take Zhu Changxun to see the newly established military farms, a Jinwu Guard suddenly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the commanders-in-chief of the eight border towns have arrived."

These guys have finally arrived.

He quickly took out the map, placed it on the table, and then announced loudly, "Announce."

Soon, eight burly men in armor filed forward.

Ma Gui, Dong Yiyuan, Dong Yikui, Qin Banghan, Du Song, Du Tong, Xiao Rulan, Xiao Ruxun—one familiar figure after another appeared before his eyes.

He couldn't help but feel a surge of emotions.

He hadn't seen these fierce generals for a long time, and it was a real waste to leave them all idle in the north.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli smiled warmly and said, "Why are you all dressed so formally? It's incredibly hot here; your armor is practically smoking from the heat."

Thankfully, there's an ice trough here. Someone, bring some dry towels. Sit down and wipe your sweat. Remember to take off your armor when you go out, or you'll get heatstroke.

It's incredibly hot here.

While most border towns are still covered in ice and snow, this place is already scorching hot in summer.

After the eight generals took the towels and sat down, they couldn't help but wipe the sweat from their faces.

Seeing that they had wiped away most of their sweat, Wanli solemnly said, "The main reason I summoned you here this time is to talk to you about the migration of border towns overseas."

Now that we have almost dealt with the northern barbarians, the only thing left in the north of the Ming Dynasty is the Oirat Mongols. There is absolutely no need for us to leave all 900,000 border troops to guard the northern frontier.

As you have all seen, the territory of the Ming Dynasty is now vast, requiring soldiers to be stationed everywhere. Therefore, I plan to gradually relocate border towns overseas.

At this time, the territory of the Ming Dynasty was truly enormous; the area guarded by their nine border towns was less than one-tenth of the Ming Dynasty's territory.

The key issue is that the only remaining enemy in the vicinity of that ten percent of the territory is the Oirat, and they are all garrisoned in the northern border, which is a real waste.

All eight generals nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Wanli pointed directly at the map and said, "General Du, I plan to relocate all the soldiers of the Yansui Border Garrison, including all their families, cattle, sheep, and horses, to Luzon Island."

what?
Du Tong was taken aback upon hearing this.

Luzon is incredibly hot.

It's only early February and it's already this hot. I can't even imagine how hot it will be in July and August.

He was taken aback for a moment, but quickly stood up, cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "This humble general obeys the order."

You think I'm just being relocated without any benefits, right?
Emperor Wanli gestured for him to sit down before explaining in detail, "General Du, I have already asked Wen Huan."

Now, the soldiers under your command on the border all have many children, and their fields and pastures are not enough to go around.

There are plenty of fields and grasslands here. The reason I ordered you to relocate here is also to lead the way in developing this area.

Now, the area from Manila to the north, including Dagupan, is a vast plain of over 300 million mu, while the land cleared by the civilians and our garrison soldiers here is less than 10 million mu.

I can give most of this plain to your Yansui Town.

However, even if all the land is distributed to the soldiers now, they won't be able to cultivate it or graze their livestock.

Here's what I'll do: I'll first allocate twenty mu of land to everyone, regardless of gender or age, and then give each household ten mu of land to build a house, as well as a draft ox for each household.

As for those who graze their livestock, they will be given pastures that are twice the size of their original pastures.

And the fiefdoms of the dukes and nobles under your command, those will also be doubled.

Even if we divide it this way, at most we can only get 20 to 30 million mu of land. There's still plenty of land left.

You should encourage them to have more children. For each child they have, that's twenty or fifty acres of grassland. Let them have as many children as they want; there's plenty of land.

However, we still need to set a rule: this land won't be given indefinitely, nor will it be given out continuously.

"This area is all developed and the land has been allocated. If they have more children, there won't be any land left. So, you have to encourage them to have children as soon as possible." Wow, there's so much land here!

That would be great.

Those who have had more than ten children are already a bit worried. With more than ten mouths to feed, the grain grown on fifty acres of land is not enough to feed them all.

If they migrate here, it will be different. There are over 300 million acres of land. They can have as many children as they want, and it doesn't matter if each family has more than a hundred!
Upon hearing this, Du Tong nodded repeatedly and said, "This humble general understands, and thanks Your Majesty for your grace."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Approximately how many people are there in Yansui Town now, and how many cattle, sheep, and horses do they own?"

"I will send ships to transport the goods next month. You must hurry up and finish the relocation; there are still several border towns to be relocated from."

The migration will begin next month?

Du Tong estimated, "Your Majesty, the total population of Yansui Town is approximately 1.2 million, including men, women, and children. The number of cattle, sheep, and horses is approximately 3 million, mainly sheep. There are only about 100,000 cattle and 200,000 horses."

what?
So many people, so many cattle, sheep and horses!
Upon hearing this, Emperor Wanli exclaimed in surprise, "How come you have so many people? You're incredibly prolific!"

Well, it's not just us who can give birth.

Du Tong carefully explained, "Your Majesty, it's not just the soldiers who can give birth, but also the slaves who have been distributed to them."

We haven't treated them badly. As long as they work honestly, we make sure they have enough to eat and wear.

They're very prolific; we now have nearly 200,000 slaves—men, women, and children—under our control.

Oh, and captured slaves too.

With so many people, so many cattle, sheep and horses, we need to migrate quickly.

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then decisively said, "I will order the navy to mobilize fast ships tomorrow, and you will also take a fast naval ship back tomorrow."

We will migrate in three batches. The first batch will begin this month to ensure all people are relocated. As for cattle, sheep, and horses, some can be left there and transported over later.

So urgent?

Upon hearing this, Du Tong nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Wanli then instructed in detail: "General Du, the defense zone of Yansui Town will be handed over to your Pianguan Town for garrisoning from now on. You should also distribute their fields and pastures to your soldiers as I just said."

If there isn't enough land, that's alright. We'll deal with the Oirats sooner or later, and then the border towns will be relocated. I guarantee you'll have enough land."

This General Du is not Du Tong, but Du Tong's younger brother, Du Song.

Du Song nodded without hesitation and said, "This subordinate understands."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and said, "General Ma, next up is your Liaodong Garrison."

I plan to relocate the entire Liaodong Garrison to the Sanjiang Plain. The houses there have already been built, the land has been cleared, and the ditches have been dug.

The key is that you must start migrating in May, so as not to miss this year's spring planting.

"Your men, women, children, cattle, sheep, and horses will be migrated separately. First, bring all the people over to farm; as for the cattle, sheep, and horses, bring them over after the people."

There are still more than two months to prepare, so there's plenty of time.

Upon hearing this, Ma Gui nodded repeatedly and said, "I understand."

Wanli then instructed in detail: "Yiyuan, after the Liaodong garrison is relocated, their defense area will be handed over to you for garrisoning. You should also divide up the land first."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yiyuan nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and said, "Banghan, Rulan, I plan to relocate Datong Town and Guyuan Town to Fangzhang Island and the North American Western Capital respectively."

However, we don't have enough ocean-going ships right now, so the migration will have to wait.

"You two will probably have to wait until next year to relocate to the border town, so you should both prepare in advance."

Upon hearing this, Qin Banghan and Xiao Rulan quickly nodded and said, "Your subordinate understands."

Wanli then gave detailed instructions: "Yi Kui, Ru Xun, after Datong Town and Guyuan Town are relocated, their original garrisons will be handed over to you for defense. You should make good preparations after you return."

Upon hearing this, Dong Yikui and Xiao Ruxun quickly nodded and said, "Your subordinates understand."

(End of this chapter)