The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 672 Preparing to Exile the Prince
On the 12th day of the sixth month, the hour of Yi-Mao, the hour of You (5-7 PM) had passed and it was getting dark.

The sea area west of Luzon Island, Linjia Bay, and north of Yansui City.

Many ships appear to be slowly leaving the dock, preparing for a long voyage.

Other ships were docked at the pier, continuously loading supplies.

On the flagship, Wanli looked through his binoculars at the border soldiers on the dock, sweating profusely as they helped transport grain, fresh water, fruits and vegetables, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

It's so hot in Southeast Asia.

It's the hottest time of day here right now; it gets so hot at night that people are sweating buckets.

Therefore, he dared not allow the fleet transporting men, women, and children from Datong Town to stop here.

He wasn't just worried that Zhu Changxun and Zhu Changzhi, the Prince of Nan, would get sick from the heat; he was also worried that the elderly and even the children in Datong Town would get sick from the heat.

By now, the fleet transporting men, women, and children from Datong Town had arrived in the northern waters of Linjiawan.

He immediately sent a messenger to order Yu Zigao to lead the fleet south, but not to enter Linjiawan. This way, the fleet could shorten the voyage by at least half a day, and the men, women, and children of Datong Town would not have to spend half a day in the sweltering heat of Nanyang.

As for him, he led two hundred Weiyuan warships and seven hundred flying shuttles, along with the Shenji Second Battalion, the Jinyiwei, the Imperial Guards, as well as food, fresh water, fruits and vegetables, to catch up with the fleet led by Yu Zigao.

As the last rays of the setting sun faded, all the supplies were finally loaded onto the ship.

Upon seeing this, Wanli immediately ordered, "He Wu, quickly lead the fleet to meet up with Kemai and the others."

Upon hearing this, Pan Hewu immediately issued a loud order, commanding all ships to leave the dock and speed off in the northwest direction.

He had never been to Fangzhang Island, but he knew the waters near Luzon like the back of his hand.

Therefore, Wanli dared to let him lead his fleet out to sea at night to join up with the fleet led by Yu Zigao.

As expected, Pan Hewu lived up to expectations. This guy actually managed to catch up with the fleet led by Yu Zigao by sailing on the dark sea for more than two hours using only a compass.

Around midnight, the sky was pitch black with no stars in sight, but a string of lights, as dazzling as a galaxy, appeared on the sea ahead!

This is the fleet led by Yu Zigao. They don't sail in complete darkness at night; all the ships have several oil lamps on them to prevent nearby ships from colliding with them.

When Wanli saw the endless river of lights on both sides, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

I finally made it.

Before long, the two rivers of lights slowly converged and headed south together.

They traveled day and night, crossing the Luzon Sea, bypassing Penglai Island, and heading straight for Fangzhang Island.

On the 28th day of the sixth month, around 9:00 AM, the massive fleet finally arrived at the port south of Fangzhang Island.

When Cai You and his generals saw the size of the fleet, they were all dumbfounded.

There are thousands of Weiyuan warships and even more shuttle ships. How many people did they bring here?
On the flagship, Prince Zhu Changzhi of the Southern Kingdom couldn't help but exclaim, "Father, it's so cool here!"

It's not just cool here, it's a bit cold.

The seasons on Fangzhang Island are the opposite of those in Southeast Asia and even the Ming Dynasty. In June, it is already winter here, and the temperature is only around 15 or 16 degrees Celsius.

Emperor Wanli naturally understood what was going on.

However, he didn't respond to the little guy's comment.

Because this is too difficult to explain clearly, and if he were to continue, it would take a lot of talking.

He thought for a moment and then said simply, "Zhi'er, this place will be your fiefdom from now on. Fangzhang Island is seven or eight thousand miles long and wide. How about that? Big enough?"

Wow, it's seven or eight thousand miles long and wide!

Upon hearing this, Prince Zhu Changzhi of the Southern Kingdom exclaimed with delight, "Father, isn't Fangzhang Island even larger than the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty?"

That seems to be correct.

Wanli nodded slightly and said, "If we only consider the two capitals and thirteen provinces, not including the border towns and the surrounding military commands and regional military commands, then Fangzhang Island is indeed larger than the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Changzhi, the Prince of Nan, couldn't help but boast, "Haha, Third Brother, my territory is bigger than yours."

This kid, he really speaks without thinking.

You, a vassal king, have a larger territory than the emperor, and you still dare to boast about it?

Upon hearing this, Xiao Zhu Changxun couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Imperial Noble Consort Qin Lan quickly corrected him, saying, "Zhi'er, you mustn't say that. All land under heaven belongs to the emperor, and Fangzhang Island is also part of the Ming Dynasty's territory. You are just managing it for your father and Xun'er."

Emperor Wanli didn't pay any attention to what the child said.

Just then, the flagship docked at the main pier. He simply shoved Xiao Zhu Changxun into Li Xuancheng's arms and waved his hand, saying, "Let's go, let's go down and take a look."

The cabin door was lowered, and Cai You and a group of generals were already waiting for them on the dock.

After the emperor and his minister exchanged greetings, Wanli asked, "General Cai, the river over there seems to be much deeper. What's going on? Has there been a flood over here?"

This isn't a flood.

Cai You shook his head repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, no, this river is just like that. It rises when it's cold and becomes shallower when it's hot."

Oh, it turns out to be a river that changes seasonally.

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Have you tried sailing upstream to test how far the centipede ship can go?"

We've certainly tried that, since we don't have anything else to do anyway.

Cai You nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, we have tried it."

This also depends on the weather. When it's cold, the centipede boat can travel about a thousand li (approximately 500 kilometers) downstream, while when it's hot, it can travel five or six hundred li (approximately 250-300 kilometers) downstream.

Oh, so that means the centipede boat and the flying shuttle boat can't pass beyond a thousand miles. Very good!

He intended to use this place as a place of exile for the princes and their families.

He had originally been thinking about how to ensure that the princes and royal family members couldn't escape.

Now there's no need to think about it anymore. As long as all the princes and royal family members are driven to an area more than two thousand miles north of this river, those guys will never see a ship again in their lifetime!
Emperor Wanli nodded slightly, then solemnly said, "General Cai, I did not bring your families with me this time."

Because the border towns have now been relocated as a whole. Yansui Town has been moved to Luzon Island, Liaodong Town has been moved to Nurgan Regional Military Commission, and Guyuan Town has been moved to the former Burmese Pacification Commission.

This time, I brought with me the soldiers and their families from Datong Town. After you hand over the defense duties to Banghan, you can return to your respective towns.

The fleet just happens to need to return to the Ming Dynasty to retrieve the cattle, sheep, and horses from Datong Town. You can simply take a boat with the wind back.

So all the border towns have been relocated as a whole?
That would be even better.

Upon hearing this, Cai You nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

At this moment, Yu Zigao, Qin Banghan, Xu Guangqi, Wang Xiangjin and others also disembarked from their respective Weiyuan warships, and the other Weiyuan warships and shuttle ships also docked at the pier.

Men, women, and children from Datong Town surged off the boat like a tide, instantly turning the entire port area into a chaotic mess.

It wasn't that they were deliberately making noise.

The problem is that most of them are landlubbers, and many of them have never been on a boat in their lives. This time, they have been on the boat for almost a month, and many of them have gotten seasick.

They finally arrived at their destination and could disembark. They were overjoyed.

Seeing this, Wanli simply waved his hand and said, "Let's go, I'll go up and talk to you."

Soon, all the civil and military officials gathered on the second floor of the flagship.

Emperor Wanli carefully examined the map and then solemnly said, "There is too much land here; we certainly cannot cultivate it all."

We don't even have enough manpower to develop the plains along the great river next to the port.

Here's the arrangement: on the east bank of the river, one million mu of land will be allocated to the Southern King as his fiefdom, and the remaining land, extending five hundred li inland along the river, will be designated as the arable area for Datong Town.

Further in, along the river, a 500-mile stretch of road was designated as the grazing area for Datong Town.

Then, the area along the river, which is one to two thousand miles long, will be left empty for the time being, to be cultivated or grazed by the people who migrate later.

This area, extending more than two thousand li north along the river, will be reserved as fiefdoms for other vassal kings. I intend to relocate all twenty-four vassal kings and their families from the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Great Ming Dynasty here.”

Uh, this is hardly a migration.
This is exile.

Fangzhang Island is tens of thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. They still crammed the princes, royal families, and their relatives into the inland areas more than two thousand miles away from the port. This is to trap all those princes here!
Upon hearing this, no one dared to utter a sound.

This is a matter for the royal family; they should just do whatever His Majesty says.

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "Banghan, how many households and how many people are there in Datong Town now?"

Datong Town is considered one of the largest among the nine border towns. Originally, besides Liaodong Town, Datong Town had the largest number of troops.

Upon hearing this, Qin Banghan replied without hesitation, "Your Majesty, Datong Town currently has over 135,000 households, with a total population of over 1.8 million including men, women, and children."

Great, if each person gets 20 mu of land, that's over 36 million mu.

The climate here is so bad that it can only be planted once a year, but that doesn't matter. There are more than 36 million mu of land. Even if each mu only yields two shi and two liang, that's still more than 70 million shi.

If we add the cattle, sheep, horses, and fish from Datong Town, it can support at least seven or eight million people.

Wanli nodded slightly, then carefully instructed: "First, allocate ten mu of land to each household to build a house and cultivate some vegetable gardens."

Then give each person twenty mu of land, including men, women, the elderly, and children, and even newborns. Keep distributing land until all the land along the five hundred li of the river is distributed.

As for the military households that graze their livestock, you can decide what to do. Anyway, their grazing area is 500 to 1000 li along the river, so you can allocate it to them.

This area seems particularly suitable for grazing. If you let them breed their cattle, sheep, and horses freely, and the space here becomes insufficient, they can graze their livestock in other places.

That would be great.

Upon hearing this, Qin Banghan nodded repeatedly and said, "This subordinate understands."

Emperor Wanli nodded slightly and then instructed, "Zixian, Zijin, the climate here seems to be the opposite of that in the Ming Dynasty."

It seems like it's still winter here, but the temperature isn't very low.

You should think carefully about what kind of plants are suitable to grow here.

I hope that this region can be self-sufficient this year, and that next year it will produce abundant grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Is the weather here the opposite of that in the Ming Dynasty?

They've never experienced this kind of weather before.

This place is like a new world to them.

Upon hearing this, Xu Guangqi and Wang Xiangjin both nodded enthusiastically and said, "Your Majesty, we understand."

After thinking for a moment, Wanli instructed, "Zhenzhi, carefully survey this map so I can see how to arrange the fiefdoms of the princes."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhizao nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

Now it's up to you.

Wanli nodded slightly, then instructed, "Kemai, this time you will take 1,400 Weiyuan warships back and bring over the remaining cattle, sheep and horses from Datong Town, and also bring back the cavalry from the various border towns here."

As for the airships, leave a hundred here; send the rest to Luzon to haul grain. We need to bring over at least ten million shi of grain to feed this many people for half a year.

Upon hearing this, Yu Zigao nodded repeatedly and said, "Your Majesty, I understand."

(End of this chapter)