After Li Jia said these words impassionedly, among the four colleagues sitting in the room, it was Qu Shiqi, Huang Zunsu who responded, and Du Youning whose face was full of worry. And what about Peng Xiaodong? He took the exam for a while and said

: "Prefect, if we really want to talk about population, we actually have two sources."

"Oh? Brother Ziqin, do you have any good ideas?"

"Isn't Xiaguan responsible for the administration of justice in this state? There are a lot of merchant ships coming and going in Singapore every day, so there are also many civil disputes. Xiaguan also often comes into contact with Spanish people. No, strictly speaking, they are not Spanish but Portuguese. According to them,

If we need them, they can send us slaves from Africa."

"Black slave?" Huang Zunsu answered: "It's the Kunlun slave mentioned in the Tang Dynasty, right?"

"The theory of academic politics is not entirely correct. The Kunlun slaves in the Tang Dynasty were mainly Negritos, with dark skin and short stature. Of course, the Kunlun slaves at that time also included black people from Africa today. Compared with the Negritos,

It was much taller, and it was also very expensive at the time, so it was not affordable for ordinary people.”

"I see, I have learned a lesson." As a scholar, Huang Zunsu likes academic discussions like this the most. Even if it makes him appear ignorant, he is not angry: On this point, Huang Zunsu appreciates and admires Fang Shan's student's erudition.

, which also made him have complicated feelings towards Zhu Youdong.

"Prefect, what I just said is the black people captured by the Portuguese from Africa. They are tall and have strong limbs. Their strength and endurance are not a problem. And compared with the lazy and undisciplined Malays nearby, these black people are

The tameness is very good.”

"Well..." The Ming Dynasty did not prohibit human trafficking at this time. Three people, such as Li Jia, were all bought by Cao Huachun in their early years. Therefore, they have no psychological burden at all about buying and selling black people.

Therefore, after thinking for a while, Li Jia asked: "How to calculate the price?"

"Prefect, everyone, the Portuguese are mainly responsible for selling black slaves in the Americas, and the Spanish have a huge manpower gap there. It is said that the local Indians in the Americas, uh, no, in the emperor's words, these native Americans

I am a descendant of the Yin Shang Dynasty, so I have to be called a Yin Di'an person. Ahem, in short, these Yin Di'an people are not lazy, but they have a strong rebellious spirit and are not very docile. In addition, from a medical point of view, America

Eurasia has been isolated from us for thousands of years. After our Eurasians went to the Americas, bacteria that were not usually fatal to our Eurasians often caused the death of a large number of Indian people. And the Spaniards had tens of thousands of people in the Americas.

There were plantations of acres or even hundreds of thousands of acres, so the Americas were extremely short of labor. Then the Portuguese and Spanish transported black slaves from Africa to do hard labor. Spain adopted a chartered trade for this kind of trade, that is to say, only the king

Only a few companies approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs can do such business. If other companies do this, the goods will be confiscated by the Spanish fleet and the ship owners will be punished. Therefore, prefect, everyone, if we want to buy black slaves, we cannot just buy them.

A Portuguese or Spanish person will do."

"...Okay, regarding this matter, please contact Brother Ziqin. As long as the price is not too expensive, we will buy a small batch of one or two hundred to see the effect."

"Your Majesty, please tell me what is the upper limit of the purchase price. Please mark it down."

"Speaking of this." Li Jia smiled slightly: "I am here to give you a brief explanation. It is now October of the second year of Tianqi, and the autumn tax has been calculated. In general, this state is expected to pay 30,000 yuan to the imperial court next year.

The national tax is seven thousand silver dollars. As for the local tax, in addition to the salaries of public officials, various administrative expenses and public services, there is a surplus of about twelve thousand silver dollars."

"Prefect, thank you for your hard work. I didn't expect that the state would achieve a surplus in just two years."

"Hahaha, we are here today because of our sincere unity." After returning the courtesy to his four colleagues, Li Jiada said: "So, brother Ziqin, I think the upper limit should be set at five silver dollars?

After all, back then, you and I were bought into Fangshan with just two taels of silver each. At that time, we couldn’t do anything but just eat."

"Haha." Recalling the tragic scene before entering Fangshan, Peng Ziqin couldn't help but twitching in his teeth. It took him a long time to come back to his senses: "The official knew about it and contacted the Portuguese after the meeting. In addition, the prefect, according to reports

The emperor is planning to start checking the army's yellow records after Cao Shuai completely kills Huduntuhan, is there anything wrong with that?"

"I seem to have heard some rumors, oh! Ziqin reminded me! After the Mongols are completely defeated this time, the pressure on the northern frontier will be greatly reduced, and the imperial court will not need to station so many troops on the nine sides. Then we will conduct an inventory of the troops.

Yellow book... This will at least leave millions of people with no place to live! Hahaha, how can there be a shortage of people in Singapore? No, I have to go to Beijing in person, otherwise no matter how many people there are,

They will all be robbed by Sun Chuan Ting, as well as those bastards from Saigon State, Phnom Penh State, Bangkok State and even Yangon State!"

"Your Majesty has exactly this idea and asked the eunuch to make a hard trip."

"No hard work, no hard work. In this way, I will make some preparations after the meeting and set off. Alas, it is too late to send a message to Nanjing now and wait for the Ministry of Personnel to approve my entry to Beijing. In this way, I will go to the Central and South Governor's Mansion first. Governor Xiong agrees

After that, I will go to Beijing immediately. While I am going north, you must cooperate sincerely and build the house quickly. This time when I go to Beijing, if the emperor does not give me 100,000 people, I will lie at the gate of the Forbidden City and not leave.

!”

...

Due to geographical reasons, Singapore was the last to receive news from the central government. In fact, when Li Jia had just made the decision to send dignitaries north, in Yangon State to the northwest, the governor of the state, Hong Chengchou, had already

All state affairs were properly arranged, and through the Nanjing Ministry of Civil Affairs, he obtained the official approval document allowing him to enter Beijing.

No matter how you evaluate this person on a historical basis, you must admit that his specific ability to do things is quite strong. Judging from the current development situation of Yangon State, which he presides over, it is much stronger than Singapore State.

.

In the past two years, the permanent population of Yangon State has exceeded 60,000, of which more than 30,000 are Han Chinese. In terms of industrial development, in addition to port services, Hong Chengchou also vigorously developed agriculture, benefiting from the vast Irrawaddy Plain behind him.

In addition, the Burmese people are far more diligent and tenacious than the Malays. Therefore, Yangon State's agricultural development exceeds that of Singapore by an unknown number of levels.

In terms of business, he took the initiative to cooperate with the King of Burma and vigorously built the official road from Mubang to Yangon, and then allowed items from the three southwestern provinces of the Ming Dynasty and even Tibetan areas to be exported from Yangon. As a result, in addition to the Shu Palace, he made a lot of money.

Outside Manchuria, the Han, Shan, Burmese, Mon and other ethnic groups along the line from Mubang to Yangon have benefited from this. In just two years, the reputation of Grand Administrator Hong as a capable official has resounded throughout the West, Central and South China Peninsula.

"Everyone, I am going to Beijing now. This time, I will try my best to bring as many compatriots from the north to come and enjoy the blessings in Yangon."

"I'm waiting to send you off to the prefect. I hope the prefect will return to Beijing in triumph this time."

On October 3, Li Jia and Hong Chengchou set out for Beijing from their respective offices at almost the same time. At the same time, a Spanish galleon sailed into Yangon Port on that day.

Three years ago, when the Japan-Thailand Alliance took the initiative to declare war on the Ming Dynasty, Spain also stepped in. After the Ming Dynasty initially reversed the war situation, Spain quickly withdrew. Therefore, the two countries never formally declared war. Therefore, the Spanish

Ships can sail into the Ming Dynasty's ports openly.

Of course, once you enter the port, you must undergo inspection by the Ming Dynasty military.

"Welcome, welcome." A Westerner with a beard, black hair, and blue eyes bowed humbly to the Ming soldiers who were boarding the ship, and said in stiff Chinese: "General Li, welcome.

Board my merchant ship again."

"Okay, okay, old Fei (Hernando), how many times have I told you, I am just a commander, far from a general."

"Oh, this is a good wish. Maybe it will come true if you shout it?"

"Go, go, don't you see someone supervising the Yushi Yamen around me? If I really respond to you, I will be impeached tomorrow. Aren't you harming me?"

Although Mr. Li Ba said this, his face was full of smiles, while the staff of the Yushi Yamen next to him had indifferent faces and did not say a word.

"Okay, tell me, what are you doing when you enter the port this time? Regular supplies? Or do you want to unload the goods for sale?"

"Oh, General Li, this time I want to unload cargo in Guigang for business."

"What are you selling?"
Chapter completed!