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

Zhu Gaoxu looked at Zhu Huan; this was what he was most worried about now.

Other issues can be resolved through various means later, but the prerequisite is that the consumption of food and supplies must be kept up.

"Your Highness, I cannot estimate the exact amount. There are simply too many things to do, and we are severely understaffed. It is impossible to calculate the exact number."

However, after three days of work, I can roughly estimate that it can last until next summer.

However, there is still a very serious problem: a large number of people will be relocated from the Ming Dynasty to this area.

It includes not only the families of those brought along, but also the portion of the population that the prince requested from the emperor.

According to the prince, approximately 200,000 people will be transported between this year and next summer.

Our own food reserves were insufficient to last until summer, in addition to this population and the need to save seeds for spring planting.

This grain, along with the supplies we haven't yet transported from the Ming Dynasty, can last until mid-spring at the latest.

The harvest after planting needs to wait until autumn, resulting in a significant gap in food supply.

Zhu Gaoxu sighed as he listened to these words.

The problem eventually came, and even though he was mentally prepared, it was still a huge one.

Zhu Gaoxu was even more aware that there was definitely more to the problem than this; Zhu Huan must have had other things he hadn't mentioned.

Because this is the very issue we are discussing.

Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath. Now that a problem has arisen, he would try to find a solution.

"First, regarding the food issue, you will have Mei Qing take charge of it later. Let him assemble a manpower and fleet, take the money, and go to the Ming Dynasty to do business."

Many of the jewels and specialties seized from Japan were taken to the Ming Dynasty for sale, and then the necessary grains were purchased from within the Ming Dynasty.

Currently, private trade within Handong Prefecture has been temporarily suspended, with all transactions handled by the government. Foreign merchant caravans are also handed over to the government.

All money, grain, and supplies must be strictly guarded. The flow of every penny and every grain of food must be clearly recorded so that they ultimately reach the hands of the people or the places where they are needed. Someone must be responsible for tracing the entire process.

Anyone who dares to embezzle, even a single grain of rice or a single copper coin, will be executed on the spot once the matter is discovered! Their family members will be enslaved!

This message should be relayed later so that everyone knows!

Zhu Gaoxu's expression was serious, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

He doesn't expect everyone he mentors to be honest and upright; that's difficult.

But no matter what happens in the future, at least for now, in this most difficult period, even the King of Heaven has to follow the rules!

These people's families are all here. If they dare to commit a crime at this time, they'd better think twice.

Zhu Gaoxu then added, "That was a punishment, but there was also a reward."

The contributions you make now will be a primary basis for your future promotion.

Furthermore, their offspring can choose one son to enjoy preferential treatment.

In the early stages, direct subsidies such as money and grain can be obtained through targeted channels.

In addition, the rewards can be slightly adjusted based on individual circumstances and desired levels, but this needs to be reported. You should define a range for this.

There must be a reward in addition to the punishment. Zhu Gaoxu was very clear about this, otherwise why would anyone do these things?

Not everyone has such good awareness; only by combining rewards and punishments to spur progress can this be achieved.

At this point, Zhu Gaoxu seemed to remember something else.

"The same applies to those slaves."

While having someone personally oversee the work, every day in each location, three of the most enthusiastic and cooperative slaves are selected, and they are given a full meal and meat soup.

Those who work slowly or are not proactive will be subjected to corporal punishment.

Tell the guards that the whips they hold are not just for show.

Every day, select a few of the slowest workers and the least cooperative, and halve their food allowance again, and give them ten lashes.

If someone spends half the month working the fastest and cooperating the most, they are promoted to middle-class slaves.

Conversely, those who spend half the month squeezing in the slowest and least proactive employees are directly eliminated.

This quantity must be controlled.

We cannot allow too many people to crowd into the middle class of slaves so quickly, nor can we allow too many of them to die.

Zhu Gaochi had a faint smile on his face. To put it bluntly, although these servants were working, the amount of work they did varied greatly.

Nowadays, with the lure of being promoted to a middle-class slave, having enough to eat and drink meat soup, these people would absolutely fight tooth and nail to get a spot.

As for those who have adapted to the current pace and don't want to compete, we have to put in even more effort for them.

That punishment system is designed to set a lower limit.

He wouldn't keep so many people here for nothing, and he didn't want to waste a lot of troops just to have them move a little with a whip.

He is unable to launch an offensive now, not only because of various factors, but also because the army is below supervising these people. Otherwise, a single oversight could cause a major disaster.

Zhu Huan's eyes lit up when he heard Zhu Gaoxu's words.

This method only requires a little more food and some meat to get all these slaves actively engaged.

At that time, no one cared about being punished; everyone only cared about being rewarded.

With a large army guarding them, no one would want to do those things.

Those who dared to do those things and dared not submit to them are long gone.

Zhu Huan felt excited just thinking about it.

"Your Highness's strategy is admirable."

Zhu Gaoxu smiled and waved his hand: "Alright, let's talk less about these empty words and do more practical things in the future."

Besides these slaves, when all their families arrive, they will also be treated according to this system of rewards and punishments.

We can't let them get things without doing anything; they have to make certain contributions to receive them.

Those who work hard in allocating land and resources receive more.

Those who do less, are not proactive, and contribute less will receive less.

If anyone objects or dares to cause trouble, we will investigate whose family member they are and deal with them seriously, regardless of who they are!

When he brought these people out, he gave them everything they were entitled to.

He will also provide the promised land, but the exact amount will depend on them.

Zhu Gaochi did indeed value population, as it represented development potential.

But if anyone dares to refuse to cooperate because they were trained by him, he will not let them off easily.

The initial development was not easy, and those who did not follow his pace were not his subjects.

If that's the case, why keep them around? To waste his money and resources? Or to let these bad apples affect more people?

You can be lenient when you need to be, and you can be approachable and caring towards the people.

But when it was necessary to be strict, and when it was necessary to be ruthless, Zhu Gaoxu could do the same.

Zhu Huan was startled by what he heard, but he didn't say anything.

In special times, ruthlessness is needed to keep everyone in check.

It is precisely at times like these that strictness is needed.

If those who break the rules go unpunished, the number of people who disregard the rules will only increase, leading to complete chaos.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will certainly do my best."

Zhu Gaoxu nodded and continued, "Well, let's get back to the topic of grain. Handong Prefecture is entirely by the sea. Didn't we bring out fishermen before?"

They were scattered in various places, and on weekdays they were sent out to sea to fish. The fish they caught were used as food; some were distributed to the people, and the rest were salted and preserved, using food from the sea to replace some of the grain consumption.

At this point, Zhu Huan immediately said urgently, "Your Highness, there is a big problem here. Pickling those fish is fine, but it requires a lot of salt."

Salt is actually quite scarce here now! Japan's original salt-making techniques were outdated, and currently, we don't have anyone here who knows how to make salt.

Zhu Huan looked bitter; he truly felt powerless to do anything about it.

The Ming Dynasty court kept the salt-making process a closely guarded secret, and outsiders had no idea about it.

Even the private salt produced during the Ming Dynasty was of much lower quality than the official salt, mainly because the production process was severely inferior.

Zhu Huan was truly helpless when it came to the salt-making technology of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Huan did not have much hope of resolving the issue with Zhu Gaoxu.

This was not something Zhu Gaochi, as the Prince of Han of the Ming Dynasty, could have known.