The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 637 First-Class Duke Hereditary Status

Although Qi Jiguang was the God of War of the Ming Dynasty, he had never commanded such a large-scale battle before.

He led nearly three million troops and fought for more than half a year.

Although the battle was not very intense, the battle line was frighteningly long, stretching for more than 10,000 li.

For the past six months or so, they have been on a forced march with almost no rest, and they have had no time to manage the territories they have conquered.

Even after this battle, there are still many things to deal with.

However, Wanli ordered them to return to the capital immediately to report their military achievements, so they could only hastily arrange their affairs and then board the flying shuttle boat to rush back.

This round trip took nearly two months.

It was already July when they rushed back to the capital.

It was the hottest time of the year in the capital, so it was quite normal for Emperor Wanli to go to the Summer Palace to escape the heat.

On the eighth day of the seventh lunar month, around 5 PM, as the sun was about to set, the flying shuttle they were on finally arrived at the Summer Palace.

They disembarked directly at the dock outside Miyun County and then hurriedly went to the Miyun Imperial Palace.

At this moment, Wanli, Zhu Changxun, and Song Yingxing were waiting for them in the original county government hall.

After the emperor and his ministers exchanged greetings, Wanli said warmly, "Yuanjing and Liqing, you've worked hard."

In this battle, you not only conquered such a vast territory, but also seized so many gold, silver, and copper mines. You deserve a great reward.

Putting aside the soldiers' military achievements, your titles should definitely be elevated.

Yuan Jing, I hereby bestow upon you the title of First-Class Duke, a hereditary title.

"Minister Li, I hereby bestow upon you the title of First-Class Marquis, hereditary without fail."

The titles of duke and marquis are also divided into ranks.

For example, the Duke of the State, from the first to the fifth rank, received a salary that year ranging from 5,000 shi to 2,500 shi.

It seems that during the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, there was only one first-class duke whose hereditary title was perpetual: Duke of Wei, Xu Da.

This honor represents the pinnacle of a subject's achievements.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang repeatedly clasped his hands and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Deng Zilong repeatedly bowed and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then said generously, "You have truly made a great contribution this time, and the soldiers' military merit rewards will be doubled."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang repeatedly bowed and said, "Your Majesty, on behalf of the soldiers, I thank you for your grace."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Have the soldiers of the vassal states raised any questions about rewards?"

They had virtually no military achievements.

Qi Jiguang shook his head slightly and said, "Your Majesty, this battle was basically fought by the Shenshu Battalion, the Shenji Battalion, and the Sichuan Army soldiers."

They would just follow behind, shouting to scare the enemy, or stay behind to guard the territory we had captured.

They received virtually no military credit in this battle; they felt it was little different from regular drills, just a matter of running a little more distance each day.

Even if they didn't achieve any military merit, they still need to be given some reward.

After all, they haven't been paying the soldiers any wages or rations. If they fight for half a year without any benefit, they probably won't be very motivated next time.

After thinking for a moment, Wanli solemnly said, "How about this, we'll give them some money as a reward for their military achievements this time."

money?
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang cautiously said, "Your Majesty, giving them money doesn't seem to be of any use. They don't know how to use money, and there's nothing that money can buy over there."

This one is simple.

Emperor Wanli explained in detail: "They don't know how to use money to buy things, but we can teach them."

As for things that money can't buy there, that's simple. We can have Wanshengtang and other major merchants send hundreds of boatloads of goods over there, and we can guarantee they can buy anything.

The key is to let them know that money can buy what they want, so that we can pay them to work.

We are short of manpower everywhere, especially young and strong men, while so many gold, silver, copper, and even coal mines over there need to be mined.

If we just provide enough food, they probably won't be very motivated to work, and the mining efficiency will be too low.

We pay them based on the weight of minerals they mine each day, and that money can buy them what they want, which keeps them motivated.

The mines over there definitely need a lot of young and strong men to work in.

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

Wanli thought for a moment and then asked, "Yuanjing, have you counted how many Native Americans are in the territory you've taken?"

This has naturally been counted. Qi Jiguang nodded slowly and said, "Your Majesty, I have sent people to count them roughly. There are not many Native Americans in the territory we have taken over, only a little over ten million, and most of them are sallow and emaciated."

Those colonial robbers didn't treat them like human beings. They forced them to work every day, didn't let them eat their fill, and killed them for the slightest resistance. As a result, their population not only didn't increase but decreased sharply.

"I have heard that there were originally more than 20 million, or even 30 million, Native Americans in that vast area, but now only about half remain."

Colonial robbers are so cruel and tyrannical; the suffering of the colonized is indescribable.

I won't go into that.

Wanli sighed inwardly, then asked, "Have you discussed the division of territory with them?"

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "This humble subject has already discussed this with them. The four hundred li around the coastline will belong to us, and the rest will belong to them."

Wanli nodded slightly, then pointed to the map and said, "So, this means that the entire middle section, which is less than four hundred li wide, belongs to us, right?"

Qi Jiguang nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, most of this area is mountainous, and there aren't many people here to begin with. They wouldn't object to giving it all to us."

This place is very important.

Wanli pointed to the narrowest part in the middle and said, "We can find a suitable place in this area to dig a canal."

This connects the waterways on both sides of the Americas, from east to west, and we no longer need to travel thousands of miles around from the south.

canal!

Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang suddenly realized and said, "Your Majesty is wise; this is indeed much more convenient."

When we first reached the south, transporting supplies was a real problem, because the Viceroyalty of Granada in Spain was two or three thousand miles wide, and the further east we went, the more difficult it became to transport grain.

We had to use ships to transport thousands of grain wagons to barely solve the problem of grain transportation.

If a canal were dug in the middle, transporting grain would be much easier; a thousand centipede-shaped ships would suffice to transport it.

This is natural.

Wanli then pointed to the map and explained in detail: "Our main purpose in digging the canal was actually to guard the Eastern Capital Commandery in North America."

Because we have blockaded the South Seas, while the countries along the Western coast are not weak, it is difficult for European colonial powers to seize colonies.

In this situation, they might very well cross the ocean to seize our North American Eastern Capital.

We must quickly dig a canal and secure that area. I've heard there's an open-pit coal mine there, two or three thousand miles long. From now on, we'll rely on that mine to smelt gold, silver, and copper in the Americas.”

what?
An open-pit coal mine stretching for two to three thousand miles!

How much coal is that?
Upon hearing this, Qi Jiguang was dumbfounded.

Seeing this, Wanli shook his head slightly and said, "Yuanjing, you don't need to worry about these things."

I intend to wipe out the Oirat Mongols and completely pacify the northern barbarians, so that we can relocate most of the border towns overseas to guard and develop them.

Liangyu has now led 200,000 Sichuan soldiers to scout Xing'alin. Once they find a suitable route through Xing'alin, you must quickly arrange for people to build the road.

"Now that this road is open, we can cross the Xing'a Forest to investigate the situation of the Oirat Mongols, and then we can launch a military campaign to suppress them next year."

Oirat?

Those guys roam too much land.

Qi Jiguang looked down at the map before slowly nodding and saying, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Emperor Wanli then instructed in detail: "Liqing, the important task of digging the canal is entrusted to you. You should take the officials from the Ministry of Works and experienced craftsmen there as soon as possible."

As for the laborers to dig the canal, we can recruit them directly from there, and we can pay them one or two taels of silver a month's wages upfront.

The same goes for mining. You need to recruit more laborers there and mine as much gold, silver, copper, and coal as possible. You should also bring along experienced smelters. We need to try our best to increase the output of gold, silver, and copper mines.

After the canal is completed, you must quickly move the Shenshu Camp, Shenji Camp, and Sichuan Army soldiers to the North American East Commandery to build city fortresses in preparation for the invasion of European colonial bandits.

It's also possible that European colonial invaders have already started their invasion there. You'll need to send a message back immediately then; the Eastern Commandery in North America absolutely cannot be lost.

You want me to handle all of this?

I am a military general.

Why doesn't His Majesty send a governor-general to manage these matters?

Forget it, let's not ask about that.

His Majesty certainly wouldn't like to hear that.

Deng Zilong heard this and nodded repeatedly, saying, "I understand."

(End of this chapter)