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

Zhu Gaoxu pondered for a long time before finally having to pull himself out of his thoughts.

"Let's leave it at that for now. The most important things right now are building cities and houses, clearing land, constructing ports, and cutting down timber needed to make ships."

There's ironwood here; have someone find some to use in conjunction with camphorwood, cedar, and other woods.

These are the key tasks now: to properly distribute all these slaves.

With too many things to do, Zhu Gaoxu could only prioritize the most important ones.

With limited manpower, we can only prioritize tasks.

We will do other things, but the manpower allocation will definitely be weaker than for these few items.

As for ocean-going vessels, this was what Zhu Gaochi valued most.

Whether it's doing other things, engaging in business and trade, or expanding, it all depends on it.

After making arrangements for Zhu Huan and discussing the matter for a long time, Zhu Gaoxu also began to devote himself to the construction.

The first place to adjust was Hanjing, which left behind more than a million laborers, almost half of the slave population.

Within just a few days, the construction of houses within the city had reached a considerable scale, and resettlement sites outside the city, settling in the form of villages, were gradually taking shape.

The construction of the city walls was also continuously strengthened.

Originally, Zhu Gaoxu did not want to build city walls, but his troops were too short-handed. If he did not do these things, his troops would be locked up in guarding local defenses and surrounding passes.

In the past few days, besides making his rounds, Zhu Gaoxu spent a lot of time each day doing things in his room that no one else knew about.

Two more days passed, and everyone's families in the Ming Dynasty, along with a large amount of money, food, and supplies, arrived again.

Zhu Gaoxu was initially puzzled as to why all of them were transported over at once.

When they saw the newly built large ship of the Ming Dynasty, their eyes lit up immediately.

These warships were not only huge, but also brand new.

"Niu Cheng, go and summon Wei Da, Sheng Jian, and Jin Rong!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Zhu Gaoxu waited for a while before Jin Rong and the other two hurried over.

"Greetings, Your Highness."

Zhu Gaoxu did not look at the group; his gaze remained fixed on the newly built ships of the Ming Dynasty.

"Do you see these ships? These are newly built warships of the Ming Dynasty, a total of thirty-five, prepared for Zheng He's fleet."

Now that we've arrived here, we're facing a severe shortage of ships, and shipbuilding isn't something that can be done overnight.

"Go and leave behind fifteen warships, and ten other large ships of other types to be used as merchant ships!"

Zhu Gaoxu made no attempt to hide it; he had long coveted these ships.

But in order to transport the people still in the Ming Dynasty, he had no choice but to endure it.

Now that they've all been transported here, and we've also seen these new warships, if we don't act now to save some, we might never have another chance.

As for whether leaving these ships would displease Zhu Di, Zhu Gaoxu couldn't care less at the moment.

The Ming Dynasty has so much, and he only took a small portion. No matter what, Zhu Di shouldn't be so stingy.

Upon hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, Sheng Jian and the others not only did not hesitate in the slightest, but were all excited.

They didn't care much about the other large ships, but these fifteen warships were something they all really cherished.

"Your Highness, I will take men immediately!"

After the three men disembarked, they gathered a large army and, taking advantage of the ship's arrival at port, seized control of it.

However, the people on the boat offered little resistance and readily handed the boat over.

To resolve this matter, Zhu Gaoxu immediately summoned some craftsmen.

As for the port, Zhu Gaoxu no longer paid attention to it.

With so many ships, it would take a long time to unload all the cargo.

Arriving at an open space, Zhu Gaoxu assigned all the craftsmen tasks.

Having done all that, Zhu Gaoxu first looked at the craftsmen who were building the ship.

"You should elect the best craftsman now, and do it as quickly as possible."

After saying that, he repeated it to the others.

Every task needs a leader, and now Zhu Gaoxu needs to determine the leader so that subsequent tasks can proceed smoothly.

His presence confirms the leader's authority.

Those who come to him now are all highly skilled.

The people elected must be those who can win people's respect through their abilities.

However, after he finished speaking, the expected noisy argument did not come. Instead, it was unusually quiet, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhu Gaoxu was taken aback, then smiled helplessly.

"You don't need to panic or overthink. The person chosen to lead will be given an official position and will receive a monthly salary."

You have always been called craftsmen, but in my eyes, you are all skilled professionals.

I suppose you don't know this yet, but I have already established the Shipbuilding Bureau, which will also have shipbuilding factories under it.

The person you have elected will directly become the Director of the Shipbuilding Department, a fifth-rank official, enjoying the same treatment as a fifth-rank official.

All others who enter the Shipbuilding Bureau, including those in its subordinate shipbuilding factories, will henceforth receive their salaries directly from the imperial court!

All those in charge can enjoy the benefits corresponding to their official rank.

These are all gifts from me!

Now, you elect the most capable person, the one you all respect!

As soon as Zhu Gaoxu finished speaking, everyone was shocked and stared at him in disbelief, unable to recover for a long time.

It wasn't that they lacked self-control, but rather that Zhu Gaochi's gifts were far too generous.

They were just craftsmen; during the Ming Dynasty, who even gave them a second glance?

Let alone being an official, even enjoying the benefits of an official, and receiving money from the imperial court, is extremely rare.

However, Zhu Gaochi is now directly appointing them to official positions—that's what official appointment means!

Everyone else, as long as they are in charge, has an official position and can enjoy the treatment that officials are entitled to; everyone in the system receives a monthly salary.

Although the exact amount is unknown, judging from the fact that Zhu Gaochi gave them money before they arrived, and the fact that he appointed officials to observe it, it couldn't be bad.

After a long while, a man in his forties hesitantly walked out.

"Your Highness, is everything you just said true? Your Highness, are you really not just fooling us?"

"This humble subject is not questioning Your Highness, but simply cannot believe it; this has never happened before..."

As the man spoke, he became somewhat flustered and knelt on the ground, trying to explain, but the more he spoke, the more incoherent he became.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at the man in front of him and helped him up.

"What you just heard is all true!"

However, although you will also have ranks, you will only enjoy the benefits associated with them.

If you want to go to the imperial court, there is no way, it's impossible.

Do you understand now? You have corresponding ranks, and once you reach a certain rank, you can receive the corresponding benefits.

For example, if you are now the Director of the Shipbuilding Department, a fifth-rank official, then your salary and benefits are equivalent to those of a fifth-rank official.

Although you are not the same as those officials, your rank is equivalent, and you are also a fifth-rank official.

However, you will not participate in court politics; you will only be responsible for the affairs of the Shipping Bureau.

Zhu Gaoxu looked at everyone and made his promises and spoke frankly.

He didn't need to do this at all; he's setting a precedent.

But he didn't care about those things; he knew that the most important thing for developing science and technology was talent.

He can give these people money, and others can give them the same money in the future.

These people are here today, and one day in the future, once they demonstrate their abilities and technology truly advances, others will be able to poach them using the same methods.

Moreover, the system established in that way was too weak, and many things needed to be kept more confidential.

The development of science and technology requires these people to have a strong sense of initiative.

Doing things passively is completely different from doing things proactively.

The establishment of these systems by Zhu Gaochi is a deliberate attempt to elevate the status of these artisans, demonstrating respect and preferential treatment for them.

These people are all people who have experienced hardship.

Although the gifts given now are plentiful and will increase the financial expenditure of the vassal state, Zhu Gaochi still did so because in this way, these artisans would establish a stronger and unbreakable relationship with him.

Looking across the world, including the Ming Dynasty, is it possible to offer these things to these people?

Today's act of kindness is enough to make these people determined to stay and do everything they can to complete the tasks he will assign them in the future.

Especially after their status is elevated, they will attract more people to join them.

The more people join and the more skilled they become, the faster technological progress will be, and there will be no need to worry about a talent gap in the future.

As for the Shipping Bureau, and many other government offices that would be established later, no one else was assigned to manage them.

In Zhu Gaoxu's eyes, it's about professionals doing professional things.

All of Zhu Gaoxu's current investments are for the future, so that he can see the results he wants to see.

Having arrived overseas, with the vassal state already established, he had no way out but to do everything he could to continue down this path.

Upon hearing this, the craftsmen finally erupted in excitement, their hearts filled with gratitude and emotion towards Zhu Gaoxu.

Zhu Gaoxu's words finally turned their lives around.

At this moment, everyone was extremely grateful that they had been chosen to come out with Zhu Gaoxu.

Staying in the Ming Dynasty offers no hope whatsoever.

"Your Highness, this humble subject thanks Your Highness~"

Everyone was secretly weeping, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to Zhu Gaoxu, each person crying tears of joy.