unclear

Chapter 1043 Planning Asia 2
These factories were either wholly owned or jointly owned with Ming Dynasty merchants. Their products included textiles, chemicals, wood processing, casting, as well as coking, brick making and mining. Except for a small amount of domestic sales and self-use, most of the products were sold back to Ming Dynasty merchants.

This exchange did provide a large number of jobs to the local area, significantly increased commercial taxes, reduced the trade deficit, and obtained a large amount of funds for the shogunate, providing favorable conditions for maintaining the shogunate's rule.

Hong Tao often says that there are always two sides to everything. When you think the world is beautiful, disasters will be getting closer and closer. Not seeing them is just a lack of cognition, not that they do not exist.

The Ming Empire never relaxed its vigilance against Japan, from the military to the imperial court. Tokugawa Iemitsu's actions were not hidden from anyone. Or it could be said that the Tsushima clan leader So Yoshinari, who helped him with the actions, was a traitor who sold out his master for fame and fortune, and secretly had already clung to the Ming Empire.

This time, the suggestion to Tokugawa Iemitsu to introduce investment to build a factory was made in accordance with the instructions of the Royal Advisory Office and the General Staff. Why not just worry about it? As long as this matter can be accomplished, it will be a great achievement.

Why did the Ming Empire care so much for Japan, which had such a wicked ambition? In the words of Emperor Jingyang, this kind of love is worse than no love at all. It is like a chronic poison. The deeper the love, the more toxic it is. When the poison takes effect, the whole body becomes weak, the limbs become limp, and the person is at the mercy of others. There is no medicine to cure it, and life is worse than death.

In Hong Tao's plan, Japan is not only a dumping ground for the industrial products of the Ming Empire, but also a primary product processing plant. Large-scale dumping in the short term will destroy Japan's economy, so it is not only necessary to sell goods, but also to maintain them.

Investing in building factories and transferring technology to Japan, allowing it to develop some basic industries and train industrial workers, may seem to be helping Japan develop, but in fact it is asking the Japanese to provide the most basic services for the Ming Empire's industrial chain, and is also part of the economic war.

Doing so will not only avoid arousing the hostility of the shogunate, but will also make most Japanese regard the Ming Empire as their savior, further relax their vigilance, and become increasingly dependent on such a model. Eventually, the industry will develop abnormally and the economy will become completely export-oriented. Even if they understand it, they will not be able to extricate themselves.

The situation in Korea was the same as that in Japan, except that it had less autonomy. After King Yi Jong ascended the throne, Korea became a complete puppet, and most of its national policies had to listen to the advice of officials sent by the Ming Empire.

Eight years ago, under the supervision and assistance of the Ming Navy, the Kingdom of Korea abolished its standing army and only retained a paramilitary force of about 3 people to be responsible for local security, and handed over all national defense to the Ming Navy Marine Guard.

In fact, Korea did not have any national defense needs at that time. The only country that might invade it, Japan, was being closely watched by the Ming Navy. Would it continue to retain the army to guard against the Ming Empire?

Economically, North Korea mainly relied on mining, smelting, and fishing, supplemented by agriculture. It didn't matter if there was not enough food, they could exchange various minerals, pig iron, coke, and seafood with the Ming Dynasty. Shiploads of rice came in one after another, which was much more stable than farming, and they no longer had to worry about natural disasters and famines.

What should be done when these industries alone are not enough to support more than 700 million North Koreans? As the suzerain state, they will certainly not watch their younger brother starve. Too many people and too little work, right? Easy to do, engage in labor export, and send the abundant labor force to Liaoyang Province in the Ming Dynasty to open up wasteland.

There is a huge need for manpower to reclaim wasteland, build roads and dams, dig ditches and dredge canals. Hundreds of thousands of people are just a drop in the bucket. When they come, they are provided with food, drink, clothing and accommodation. They are replaced every three to five years, and they are paid when they leave.

If you are of the right age, have good performance during work, speak fluent Chinese, and are particularly loyal to the Ming Dynasty, you may be recommended to join the new school of the reclamation group. After studying for three or four years, you can apply for the Ming Dynasty Army or Navy Reserve.

Once accepted, the individual and family would have secured their lives. As long as they were not particularly unlucky and died in battle soon, the monthly military pay would be enough for a large family living in Korea to live like a small landlord. If they could serve for a few more years and improve their honors, and reach a certain level and years of service, they could bring their parents, wife and children with them after retirement and become citizens of the Ming Dynasty. They could use the pension or retirement money to buy a piece of land, or find a job in a factory, and they would be completely free from suffering.

Therefore, most Korean people are happy to enjoy the changes brought by the Ming Empire, and only a few Korean ruling class are resentful because they have lost too much power. But they can't make waves, because without the people's hearts, it is obvious who can make the people live a good life, and it is useless to talk about nation and country.

East Asia was calm, and the Southeast Peninsula was also peaceful. With the presence of the Imperial Navy, the neighboring Nanzhang Kingdom, Cambodia, Ayutthaya, and Johor were much more obedient. No matter what they thought in their hearts, they did not dare to oppose the actual control of the Ming Empire on the surface.

The first issue to be resolved was the border issue. At the call of the Ming Dynasty's Ministry of Rites, envoys from various countries gathered in the capital. They first planned their respective spheres of influence on the map, then took the map back and hired the Imperial Navy to help with surveying and placing boundary markers.

From now on, this map is the legal boundary, and the law to be followed is the Ming Dynasty law. The Imperial Navy will talk to anyone who objects, and anyone who takes the initiative to provoke a dispute and refuses to listen will also be talked to.

The next step is to send envoys to various countries and forces. If the other party is willing, they can also send envoys to the capital. This is to facilitate communication and to monitor the status of various countries at any time. Some things do not need to be dealt with after the outbreak. Knowing the cause early can help you prescribe the right medicine early.

Of course, there were also some tough ones, such as the Toungoo Dynasty of Myanmar. After being attacked by the Ming Empire from both land and sea, the Toungoo Dynasty retreated to central Myanmar, but refused to surrender.

However, they could not hold out for long. The Ming Empire did not continue to attack, but the Ayutthaya Kingdom in the east was really ruthless. After obtaining weapons and equipment and being trained by the Imperial Navy, as long as the season was right and the climate allowed, the two sides would fight in the mountains of eastern Myanmar.

At the beginning, the Ayutthaya Kingdom suffered more defeats than victories, but as time went on, the kingdom's army grew larger and stronger, while the Toungoo Kingdom became weaker and weaker and retreated step by step.

According to the plan of the General Staff, the Toungoo Dynasty and the Burmese were to be completely wiped out, and then the Thais would rule and forcibly assimilate them, and eventually become part of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.

Read more latest popular novels at 6.9*shuba!

These countries are located in the tropics surrounded by mountains and have complex climates, which are not suitable for industrial development. They are mainly based on agriculture, supplemented by forestry and mining.

The empire will not invest too much in them, nor will it exploit them too much. Exchanging industrial products for their minerals and timber is a more appropriate trading model.

However, new schools must be established locally and the official language must be changed to Chinese. We do not need to insist on numbers and enrollment rates, and we do not need to carry out large-scale ethnic integration in the short term.

(End of this chapter)