Cutting over the end of the Ming Dynasty: a dog-leg knife at the beginning

Chapter 1049 Exile 3
About 3000 miles away from Australia, two large and picturesque islands surrounded by lush vegetation also welcomed visitors from the East.Unlike Australia, the people who were shipped here were not exiles, their status was worse than exiles:

They are a reclamation regiment composed of prisoners of war.

Where there is a war, there must be prisoners of war. The life-and-death battle between the Ming Dynasty and the Manchu Qing Dynasty was shattered. Millions of troops from both sides were bloodied in half the territory of China. In the end, the Ming Dynasty won a complete victory. Countless people followed the Eight Banners and the Ming Dynasty. The brave warriors who fought became prisoners of war.Of course, it was impossible for Daming to spend money to support them, let alone release them back. Emperor Longwu carefully selected a good exile place for them, and transported them by boat to the Australian mainland thousands of miles away. He gave them farm tools and seeds, and asked them to reclaim wasteland for Daming. He promised that after 20 years of working, he would return the prisoners of war to freedom. Of course, 20 years of hard labor is uncomfortable, but thinking about the tens of thousands of unlucky people whose heads were beheaded and built into Beijing Temple in previous battles, the prisoners of war expressed their satisfaction with this treatment!

Just get on the boat if you are satisfied, don't talk nonsense.

So a ship was shipped to New Zealand.

The sea is moody, and you will encounter any kind of situation thousands of miles away. It is impossible to think of an accident. Nearly 12% of the prisoners of war died from shipwrecks or diseases, which can be described as tragic.But this did not shake the Longwu Dynasty's determination to open up new territories. They did not care at all how many prisoners of war would die in the process, they just transported people overseas ship by ship.Not only the bannermen and Mongols, but also the Japanese suffered great misfortune. Jinan Governor's Mansion once again succeeded in plundering Japan, breaking through eighteen cities and capturing as many as [-] young Japanese people. These people They were all put on ships and shipped to Australia and New Zealand to join the army of land reclamation.Japan had sent troops to help the Qing Dynasty attack the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Qiu Longwu wanted revenge, so the treatment of Japanese prisoners of war was much worse than that of the bannermen and Mongols, and the mortality rate was surprisingly high.

For the garrison responsible for developing Australia, Japanese prisoners of war are still relatively popular. They are good at farming, can make good use of the land, and work hard without complaining. They are good coolies.Under the arrangements of the garrison, the vast majority of Japanese prisoners of war were engaged in farming. They used axes and hoes to open up large tracts of fertile land and planted wheat, barley, grapes and various vegetables. With the efforts of these hard-working coolies, this desolate land was restored. Farms soon appeared on the land.The Mongolian prisoners of war returned to their old profession and were engaged in herding.The Mongolian prisoners of war liked this job. In their opinion, this place was simply a paradise. There were fertile pastures and water sources everywhere. They did not have to worry about finding good pastures to feed their livestock. Just walk in groups and nibble wherever you go.The bannermen prisoners of war were responsible for hunting and fishing, providing meat for everyone, and they could be considered as returning to their old profession - they were originally a fishing and hunting people.The New Zealand natives looked at all this with curiosity. They are still in the primitive tribal era, relying on gathering and hunting for a living. The agricultural model can be summarized by the four words "slash and burn". This is the first time they have seen so many people working on the land. Non-stop.What surprised them most was that these immigrants who didn't know where they came from were like them, with yellow skin and black eyes, which made the natives feel more at ease.

Immigrants from East Asia inevitably came into contact with the natives of Oceania.The aborigines in Oceania belong to a milder and more enthusiastic race. Despite the language barrier and different living customs, they are still happy to contact these people from afar, present them with prey and medicine, and lead them to explore this mysterious land. land.And these gentle and kind natives are very lucky. What they encountered were not white-skinned pigs who slaughtered and looted in the name of God and attributed all atrocities to God's will, but liked to assimilate other races in ways other than war. of the Huaxia ethnic group.In the process of contacting immigrants, these primitive aborigines learned a lot of knowledge about astronomy, mathematics, agriculture, medicine, etiquette, etc., and their social structure also changed rapidly.In the end, the vast majority of the aborigines chose to transform into settled peoples. They left the mountains and jungles and migrated to the plains. With the help of immigrants from the Ming Dynasty, they established their own villages, reclaimed land, opened up pastures, and cultivated according to the instructions of the immigrants. , go to herd... In the end, they merged with the immigrants and were completely assimilated. More than 100 years later, when the fleet of British colonialists arrived in this land and tried to plant the national flag on it, they were surprised to find that they were not greeted by natives with bone knives and wooden spears, but lined up in black military uniforms and helmets. A neat line of elite troops slowly approached with bayonets and drums. As for which of them are natives and which are Asian immigrants, I am afraid only God knows.

Of course, the custom of headhunting by the aborigines has been preserved, so the heads of groups of European colonists and explorers who have lived or died have become their trophies hanging on the eaves.

The development of a new continent is not achieved overnight. Longwu used his amazing perseverance and courage to pour astronomical human and material resources into the Australian continent for ten years without caring about the loss.In order to obtain the manpower necessary to develop a new continent, in addition to vigorously encouraging immigrants, Ming Dynasty also repeatedly used troops against Japan and Southeast Asia, capturing a large number of young and strong and transporting them to Australia.Japan, which used to go to the coastal areas of Daming to burn, kill, and loot for decades, now tastes what it feels like to be burned, killed, and looted by someone breaking into its own home.The Tokugawa shogunate was forced to maintain an army of as many as 30 people for a long time to deal with the invasion of Ming Dynasty, but it was useless. Bullets, they fought with the Ming army, they lost more than they won, and they were beaten up again and again until their noses were bruised and their faces were swollen.The Tokugawa shogunate has nothing to do about it. Most of them will send envoys to Beijing. At first it was a strong protest, but soon it turned into begging for mercy... Unfortunately, they can't even enter the city of Beijing, so let's continue to put on a good posture and be beaten !

Fifty years later, Daming's investment has finally paid off.After 50 years of hard work, tens of millions of acres of fertile land have been reclaimed and turned into high-quality rice, wheat, and cotton production areas.A large area of ​​grassland is surrounded by barbed wire, and pastures are planted to form a boundless pasture. A large number of cattle, sheep, and horses migrate within the barbed wire. Produced, most of them are shipped back to China for domestic people to enjoy.In addition, the iron ore buried in the ground has also been continuously mined and shipped back to China by boat... Before that, many people questioned the policy of immigration to Australia, thinking that it was a waste of money. Now no one doubts that it is a waste of money. up.

Of course, with so many prisoners of war, it is impossible to throw them all overseas.Even if Emperor Longwu wanted to do this, there were not so many boats to pull people, so a large number of prisoners of war and prisoners were thrown to the northeast.They built roads in the northeast, felled bushes, built water conservancy projects, drained swamps, and dug coal mines and iron mines... Many prisoners of war and prisoners died there.With the strong encouragement of the imperial court, a large number of civilians living in impoverished areas also left their hometowns and moved to the Northeast.These areas are either mountainous and lack of land, or lack of water. Anyway, life is very difficult, and the common people are fed up with it. They had no choice before, but now they have the opportunity. Of course, they want to live in better places.The influx of a large number of people made the Northeast prosper very quickly. Cities and villages and towns appeared on the Northeast Plain like magic. The land at an extremely heavy price has become the largest granary in Ming Dynasty, and the grain produced here is enough to feed the entire population!Before the development of the Northeast, the rulers of the empire were always worried about the lack of food, but after the development of the Northeast, they were worried about the low price of food and the resentment of farmers... Only when the rulers of the empire were worried about too much food, When food prices are too low to worry about, this empire can be regarded as truly ushering in a prosperous age, a prosperous age without a trace of moisture.

However, these are things that will happen decades later, and the development of the Northeast is still in its initial stage. It is a bottomless pit, and no matter how much money is thrown into it, there will be no sound.The development of Northeast China requires money, and the development of Australia requires money. Emperor Longwu has hundreds of millions of taels of silver in his hands, which is not bad for money, but facing such a situation, he is still feeling weak for a while.The emperor’s eldest brother is all futile, let alone others. At a court meeting, Fang Yizhi tried hard to persuade: "Your Majesty, money is needed everywhere now, and the finances are beyond the means. If things go on like this, there will definitely be big troubles. It is better to temporarily reduce Liao's income." Instead of investing in land or Australia, spend the money where you can get benefits in a relatively short period of time!"

Emperor Longwu shook his head: "No, right now is the most critical period of development. Instead of reducing investment, we must increase it as much as possible! Champion Hou said that the initial investment in these two sites may be amazing, but once developed, children and grandchildren Sun Du will benefit endlessly!"

Fang Yizhi smiled wryly: "These ministers all know, but the treasury really can't bear it!"

Emperor Longwu frowned: "I have no money? What should I do then? North Korea is so poor that Japan has robbed it several times, and they can't rob it any more. Who should we rob now?"

Fang Yizhi is absolutely invincible, the way for you old man to solve the lack of money is to grab it, right?Are you an emperor or a bandit?He sighed and said, "Your Majesty, please pay attention to your dignity as an emperor!"

Emperor Longwu pretended not to hear, he walked to the map and looked at the map very seriously, even if he was playing with everyone to find trouble.Needless to say, the boss of the emperor, who was completely disabled by Yang Menglong, was looking for prey to see which other country he could grab a vote to solve the current big problem of the national treasury deficit.But his luck is not very good. Daming has already occupied the best territory in East Asia, and the surrounding countries are all poor ghosts. One is poorer than the other. Japan is a little bit expected, but after a few rounds of snatching Japan can't squeeze out any oil and water, so who else can it grab?
The emperor's eyes fell on the territory of Tianzhu.It is said that this place is rich in gold and spices. With just a few ships, hundreds of people can grab money, food and territory. The Ming Dynasty has hundreds of thousands of elite troops. It would be a shame not to grab a vote. !
"What is Champion Hou busy with?" He asked without thinking.

Fang Yizhi was stunned for a moment, and replied: "I don't know, maybe I'm still sleeping late in Nanyang."

Emperor Longwu said: "He is quite content...send someone to Nanyang to summon him to Beijing. He has been lazy for two years, so it's time to move!"

(End of this chapter)