The Ming Dynasty: A Modern Return, Building an Overseas Empire

Chapter 121 Relocating the Capital of a Feudal State?

Time passed slowly, and everything in Zhu Gaoxu's fiefdom was developing in an orderly manner.

With the support of emerging industries, commerce began to develop in Ryukyu Prefecture.

The reclamation of Luzon Prefecture, with the continuous supply of slaves as laborers, has already taken shape.

The number of Han Chinese migrants has reached 150,000, and the number of slaves is increasing every day.

According to Zhu Gaoxu's plan, a million slave laborers would gather here, and at the same time, the people of the small countries surrounding Luzon Island would all be enslaved.

Construction of the provincial capital Luzon is gradually entering the completion stage.

Every day, large fleets of ships traveled back and forth on the sea between Luzon and Han capital, transporting slaves and resources from Luzon.

Large quantities of gold and copper mines, especially iron, from Luzon were continuously sent to Hanjing.

Zhu Gaoxu also established the Firearms Bureau, Ironware Bureau, and Shipbuilding Bureau in Luzon, which were subordinate to the Three Departments.

In Pingnan Prefecture, Australia, the small town had already been established, and land reclamation and the mining of iron and coal mines began simultaneously.

As the last prefecture to be established, and also the place furthest from the Han capital, Qian Xun personally led 5,000 troops to garrison it.

Zhu Gaoxu then brought in 50,000 slave laborers and over 30,000 Han Chinese, which gradually developed in Pingnan Prefecture, making it the last prefecture to lag behind in development.

Zhu Gaoxu's investments in Australia almost entirely stemmed from the resources available there.

Inside the Han capital palace, Zhu Huan, Mei Qing, Luo Li, and others were all present.

"Your Highness, I believe that the capital of Han should be located in Luzon."

The essential supplies needed here today, such as iron, coal, gold, and copper, as well as spices, driftwood, fruit, and even grain, all need to be transported from Luzon and Binh Nam.

Although the first batch of large ships was completed and had greater carrying capacity, these ships were all used as warships for the navy.

Several large ships retired from the navy were used by the naval forces, while the smaller ships of the naval forces were used as merchant ships.

Each trip involves a limited number of ships carrying cargo, and the ships are used frequently over long periods, resulting in extremely high maintenance time and costs.

Currently, more than 20 ships are undergoing maintenance in the port. After this batch is completed, according to the shipping company's estimate, the next batch of 13 ships will also need maintenance before they can continue sailing.

The number of ships is far from sufficient; at least one hundred new large merchant ships are needed to basically meet the basic transportation needs between the several locations.

As for Luzon, the vast plains that the prince described as similar to the Central Plains of the Ming Dynasty, a granary region, it is now under full-scale development. Although less than one-fifth of the development has been completed, it has already yielded results compared to before.

More importantly, rice can be grown there three times a year, which can effectively meet the food needs.

As long as the Luzon Plain and Cagayan Plain mentioned by the prince, and even the Bicol Plain located in southern Luzon that was discovered later, with its abundant resources, are fully capable of serving as the capital of the prince's vassal state.

Even if there are shortcomings, they can be drawn from other places.

Alternatively, the capital could be established in Pingnan Prefecture, which, according to the prince, also has abundant resources.

Now that the capital of Han is located here, the resources here are far too scarce, and the vast majority of them need to be transported from outside, a process that consumes a tremendous amount of resources.

The group of people looked solemn as they discussed the matter of relocating the capital of the vassal state.

In fact, Zhu Huan was unaware of what he was saying.

However, by following Zhu Gaoxu, he had learned from him about the rich resources of Luzon and Pingnan Prefectures.

He still didn't know where Zhu Gaoxu got the information from, but he trusted Zhu Gaoxu.

And so far, what has been discovered in both places is no different from what Zhu Gaoxu said.

This directly led to Zhu Huan's disappointment with the place.

Without comparison, everything was fine, but with comparison, it's clear that this place is now inferior to those two places in every way.

Both Luzon and Binh Nam have this.

What's not available here, can be found in Luzon and Pingnam.

Given this situation, what value does this place still have as the capital of a vassal state?

Zhu Huan's preferred destination was Luzon.

Because Luzon is located between Hanjing and Pingnan, it can better connect various places.

Mei Qing, who was standing to the side, also spoke up.

"Your Highness, although commercial trade is becoming more stable, trade with Southeast Asian countries is still relatively expensive in many aspects due to the distance."

Luzon is located in the northern part of Southeast Asia, which makes it a good link for trade between Southeast Asian countries and this region.

Although Pingnan has not developed a commercial economy at present, it will inevitably need to expand in the future.

Between Luzon and Binh Nam lie numerous islands, on which live many small kingdoms and tribes.

They relied on powerful states to conduct business in Luzon, or through smaller states they relied on, they used their ships to travel to and from Hanjing to trade for what they needed.

Moving the capital of the vassal state to Luzon would better deter the surrounding smaller states and facilitate better relations.

As Luzon gradually becomes wealthier, these smaller countries may have other ideas.

According to merchants outside, there are no pirates on the sea route between Luzon and Hankyeong.

On other shipping routes, as merchant ships travel, pirates are becoming more numerous. I believe that this is because those small countries want to obtain what they desire through this method.

From a business development perspective, I believe that moving the capital to Luzon would be more convenient.

After Mei Qing finished speaking, Luo Li immediately followed suit.

"Your Highness, I am in charge of the Foreign Affairs Department, and the communication with Southeast Asia is extremely time-consuming and inconvenient."

In addition, beyond the Strait of Malacca, in places like Persia, I have the desire to extend my influence, but I lack the power to do so.

"If we could travel from Southeast Asia to those places, it would undoubtedly be much closer, our connections would be much stronger, and our influence could be further extended westward."

Zhu Gaoxu listened quietly. What Zhu Huan and the other two said all had the same purpose: to persuade him to move the capital of his vassal state to Luzon.

In fact, he knew everything the three of them were saying; in fact, he knew it better than they did.

It is a fact that resources are scarce and limited here.

Developing this place will indeed be very difficult.

Luzon is rich in resources and its location in Southeast Asia makes travel to and from various places more convenient.

He was also aware of the numerous islands and straits connecting Luzon and Binhnam.

Especially the islands east of Java, that is, north and east of East Timor, actually have abundant resources.

In particular, its gold and copper mines are among the largest in the world.

It also possesses other resources that are currently unusable, and has numerous rivers and a well-developed water system, as well as coastal plains that can be used for development.

He knew everything they were saying, and even more. Didn't he want to move there?

But now he can't move at all, and he's not allowed to move.

Developing just these few places right now is already a huge challenge.

Even with the slave system in place, where the original barbarians were enslaved and the labor force was constantly increasing, development was still difficult.

The current population and other resources are insufficient to support the simultaneous development of more areas.

Given the current level of development, this place is actually the most suitable; it's just that resources are scarce, but not nonexistent.

The current development here is more than enough, but if we want to develop further, the potential is indeed insufficient.

Under these circumstances, this area has already been developed to a considerable scale, far surpassing Luzon in terms of development level, while Binhnam is not even worth mentioning.

Human resources are also the most abundant resource here; neither Luzon nor Binhnam can be considered a resource-rich area.

More importantly, his fiefdom was located here.

If he were to move to Luzon, it would be difficult to explain to Zhu Di, but more importantly, it would inevitably arouse Zhu Di's dissatisfaction and suspicion.

If we want to get to Luzon, we must deal with Japan as soon as possible.

But if the Japanese were dealt with too quickly, wouldn't Zhu Di have some ideas?

Once Zhu Di went to Luzon, his suspicions would immediately arise. At that point, it would be impossible to keep it a secret from Luzon, and it would inevitably arouse the interest of the Ming Dynasty.

He is not publicizing Luzon as one of his fiefdoms because he wants to delay Zhu Di's discovery as much as possible, giving him more time to further develop the territory.

That's the advantage of being overseas; as long as you want to keep it a secret, Zhu Di won't find out so quickly.

Trying to take on the pressure from the Ming Dynasty too early, given our current strength, is too weak.

This is also Zhu Gaoxu's current predicament.

In fact, if he were given ten years—no more, just ten years—he was confident that he could fully cope with the pressure from the Ming Dynasty by then.

The challenge now is how to get through this ten-year transition period.

There are some things he doesn't want to reveal too early.

Making a fortune quietly is the best approach, and the same applies to developing and accumulating strength.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the group and slowly shook his head.

"What you said makes some sense, but it's not entirely true."

I can also tell you that the capitals of vassal states do indeed move.

But it won't be now; perhaps it will be ten years from now, or maybe twenty or thirty years from now.

As the center of his fiefdom, Zhu Gaoxu never intended for this place to remain the center forever.

Besides its scarce resources, its geographical location also makes it unsuitable to serve as the center of other vassal states.

In the early stages, he will expand into Southeast Asia, where resources are key to his development.

Only when the basic conditions for traveling to the Americas are met will this location become important.

But that was far too early, so early that Zhu Gaoxu didn't even want to think about it.

Amidst the doubts of the group, Zhu Gaoxu slowly recounted what had happened.

He wouldn't hide these things from his trusted confidants and the few people who had helped him develop this place.

Only by explaining things clearly can we put their minds at ease, allowing them to continue working diligently and strive to do even better.

Some things can be kept secret and only you should know them.

However, if some things are not clearly explained, it is inevitable that misunderstandings and negligence will arise.

This is a time for comprehensive development, and everyone must work together.

After hearing what Zhu Gaoxu said, Zhu Huan and the others fell silent.

They can understand most of it, but there are some things they really don't understand.

At least they saw Zhu Gaoxu's ambition, and what they needed to do next, and in which direction they needed to go.

"Your Highness's insight is admirable, and I will certainly live up to Your Highness's expectations."

"Alright, no need for these words. Now that you know, go and get back to work."

With this matter resolved, Zhu Gaoxu breathed a sigh of relief.

Without time to rest, Zhu Gaoxu then began to show concern and offer comfort to the army.

After reading everything in detail, Zhu Gaoxu frowned slightly.

Now his army is not enough, not enough at all.

More than 20,000 troops, 5,000 naval personnel, and 20,000 slave soldiers.

This troop strength is sufficient if it only covers Hanjing and the surrounding cities.

But now they also have to divide their troops to guard Ryukyu, Luzon, and Pingnan, which makes the situation particularly tight.

"Expanding the army is imperative!"