Father can be an enemy country

Chapter 1404: Military Settlement Results
"What a good idea!" Hu Quan exclaimed: "Your Majesty can always think out of the box and solve problems from a higher level!"

"Haha, actually I am just an ordinary person." Zhu Zhen laughed.

"Your Highness is really too modest." Hu Quan naturally didn't believe it.

In fact, Zhu Zhen was not overly modest. The reason why he could always come up with unexpected solutions and solve difficult problems beautifully in the end was because he could learn from history.

It's just that the history that others know is the past history, and what he knows is the 'future history'...

Now everyone is cheering for the fact that Dongchuan’s copper production far exceeds that of the previous dynasty, but Zhu Zhen knows that the copper production in Yunnan during the Ming Dynasty is nothing compared to that of the later Qing Dynasty.

During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, when the mining industry was at its peak, Yunnan copper accounted for more than 80% of the country's copper production. At that time, the country's copper materials were basically supplied by Yunnan. The output of Dongchuan Copper Mine accounted for more than 70% of Yunnan's copper production. Therefore, the current output of Dongchuan is less than a fraction of the peak period.

Why is there such a big difference when there is no obvious progress in mining and smelting technology? There are many reasons, but one of the most important is that in the fifth year of Yongzheng's reign, Huize County was established in the mountains of Dongchuan Prefecture, and all copper smelting was transferred to the county seat, changing the original situation of decentralized smelting in nearby mines.

There are so many benefits of centralized smelting, such as easier production and transportation, and of course safer. It allows mine owners to make long-term investments with confidence, build larger-scale mines, and greatly improve production efficiency.

Only when the living environment is safe will more people be willing to come to Dongchuan to make a living. The biggest obstacle to the development of Dongchuan Copper Industry - shortage of manpower - has been solved.

Since then, the development of Dongchuan's copper industry has officially entered the fast lane. During the Qianlong period, it became a veritable "Copper City", supporting the "half-coin empire" of the Qing government's finances.

Some even say that half of the credit for the Qing Dynasty's ability to rule China for more than 200 years should be attributed to Yunnan copper.

So if Boss Zhu knew about this, he would never give Yunnan to Mu Ying. I guess Lao Liu would be driven to Outer Yunnan, never to get close to his treasure pot.

It's a pity that if Zhu Zhen didn't tell him about this, he would never know...

~~
The city that Zhu Zhen wanted to build in Yunnan was Huize. However, he was not short of funds, so he was not in a hurry to create a copper capital. He just let it develop and grow step by step.

It is enough to solve the public security problem in Dongchuan for now.

The three of them walked along the bluestone path beside Jinchi Lake, under the weeping willows, not feeling the scorching heat of midsummer at all.

"Let's talk about the situation of the military settlement." Zhu Zhen said to his uncle again.

Today, it was actually Hu Quan who was reporting on his work as the commander-in-chief of Yunnan. Hu Quan had naturally already made up his mind and said:
"When the prince left Yunnan, it was the end of the 17th year of Hongwu. At that time, Yunnan had 23 guards, 8 imperial guards, and 18 garrisons. In the past few years, the court has successively transferred 20 guards, with a total of 108,000 troops stationed there."

"Not counting Guizhou and Outer Yunnan, the entire Yunnan Regional Command now has a complete system of 43 guards, 8 guards, and 28 guards, with 251 thousand-household guards, 2,551 hundred-household guards, and 320,000 troops. Among them, 250,000 garrison troops are stationed in towns, dam areas, along post roads, as well as ferry crossings, passes, key points and other strategic locations. This can prevent thieves and Tusi rebellions; it is convenient for gathering for war and for dispersing for planting, forming a strong control over the entire Yunnan!"

"What about farmland, grain and livestock?" Zhu Zhen asked again.

"According to statistics at the end of last year, Yunnan Dusi had a total of 243,000 horses, including 52,000 war horses, and the rest were Yunnan horses used to pull carts and plows; there were 180,000 t of tung cattle; 2.57 million mu of military farms, and 2.33 million shi of grain stored in the garrisons! Not only has it achieved self-sufficiency, but it is also enough to support the army's expeditionary warfare!" "Good, the development is very rapid." Zhu Zhen nodded with satisfaction.

Of course, this was not due to the natural growth of the population, but to Boss Zhu's strong immigration and reclamation policy. In order to attack Luchuan State, the 200,000 troops were mobilized. Although they did not fight, most of them stayed in Yunnan and were stationed there.

Now, more than two years have passed, and these people have settled down. Most of them have brought their families to Yunnan for permanent residence. Now, there are as many as 1.5 million military households and their families in Yunnan.

There are only more than two million Han people in the whole of Yunnan, and the number of military households exceeds 70% of the total population.

Most of the Han people in Yunnan were military households, and their advantage was that they were particularly good at fighting and obedient, so Zhu Zhen was able to quickly open up the situation and gain a foothold in Yunnan. Therefore, the early immigration and development of Yunnan mainly relied on Zhu's military settlement policy.

The reason why Boss Zhu supported Yunnan so strongly was, firstly, the importance of Yunnan itself made him determined to digest this "wild land", and secondly, his preference for Zhu Zhen made him always give too much without realizing it.

Another very important reason is that the timing is right. There is no war in the world anymore, and Boss Zhu's army of more than two million has no place to use its power. Reclamation in the interior will compete with the common people for land and cause trouble. It is better to send them to the border as much as possible and let them cause trouble to the barbarians.

With favorable timing, location and people, the number of military settlements in Yunnan naturally experienced explosive growth.

Zhu Zhen revealed to Hu Quan: "Before I returned to Beijing this time, my father and my elder brother told me that they would send another 40 garrisons to Yunnan to cultivate land in the next five years. I will accept all offers, but my uncle will be worried."

"Haha..." Hu Quan said with sweat on his forehead, "This is indeed a headache. The main reason is that after the 180,000 people were settled, there are not many good places left. If there are another 40 garrisons, there will definitely be conflicts with the chieftains if we settle them all down."

"Hey, didn't uncle just say that we should break out of the rut and look at the problem from a higher level?" Zhu Zhen said with a smile.

"Your Highness means..." Hu Quan was stunned.

"Dad, the prince said, isn't there Outer Yunnan?" Hu Xian reminded his father.

"Yes, young people are still quick-witted." Hu Quan slapped his head and said, "Outer Yunnan is not Yunnan!"

"That's right. Next, our focus should be shifted to Outer Yunnan." Zhu Zhen said, "If you just eat it but don't digest it quickly, it will be excreted again. It's a waste of time."

"Your Highness's words may be harsh, but his point is valid..." The father and son of the Hu family were sweating, thinking that the prince had been hanging out with soldiers for too long, and his speech was becoming more and more rude.

"In short, our next work focus will be on Outer Yunnan. We will strive to make sure that within ten years, there is no distinction between inside and outside Yunnan! Everything will become the same." Zhu Zhen said firmly.

At this time, he saw Deng Duo, Pan Yuanming and Dao Tong coming from a distance, so he smiled and said, "They are here, let's discuss it together."

(End of this chapter)