northernbook Chapter 787: Give up?
Chapter 787: Give up?
The island pointed out by Xiao Dequan is the largest island in Africa, Madagascar.
Ye Kun only knew that the climate there was tropical, but he didn't know if there were any indigenous people at that time.
There may be some indigenous people, but definitely not many.
Ye Kun had no idea about the island's resources.
There were also sailing teams that landed on this big island, but they did not see any indigenous residents. They only said that there was dense vegetation and abundant fruits.
Ye Kun thought about it and said with a smile:
"King Wu, I don't know the situation of this big island. I suggest that you send someone to take a look first. If it is suitable, give it to Princess Liu's prince. If it is not suitable, we will choose another place."
In fact, Europe's land and climate are obviously better than those in tropical regions.
The first choice for immigration is Europe.
Ye Kun had no choice but to develop the South Pacific islands.
Because the South Pacific Islands are too close to China.
If China does not annex Nanyang, its descendants will be restricted from going out to sea in the future. Even if the Nanyang island countries rise, they will threaten China.
So Ye Kun first occupied Nanyang to save his descendants from future troubles.
Xiao Dequan was very happy and said with a fist:
"Your Majesty, can I take a thousand people with me to investigate first? If it is suitable for living and development, I will leave a few hundred people there to build the area, and then slowly migrate there. When Princess Liu's son grows up, we will move there together."
Ye Kun was also frightened by Xiao Ruliu's tantrum, and immediately agreed:
"I agree with your plan. You can recruit some people and go over to investigate. If you need any technical experts, I will arrange them for you. If you need food seeds, chickens, ducks, cattle and horses, you can bring them over."
Xiao Dequan was overjoyed and whispered, "Your Majesty, if I build that big island, you won't transfer me back, right?"
"Don't worry, I can swear. As long as Concubine Liu is willing to go to that big island with you, I will let you be the king's uncle for life, and you can live there for generations."
Ye Kun pointed to the big island and said, "This place is very big. It is larger than the Jiangdong you controlled before. It is surrounded by the sea, so you don't have to worry about being attacked by others. You can help the prince there and establish a foundation that will last forever."
"In this case, Your Majesty, please give this island a Chinese name."
"That place should be quite hot, so let's call it... Entei Island."
"Thank you, Your Majesty. I will make some preparations and lead the expedition team out to sea immediately."
"I will grant you a special approval of 10,000 taels of gold as funds for your sea adventure. The expenses for immigration in the future will also be mine."
Ye Kun is still as arrogant as ever.
Xiao Dequan bowed and said goodbye, and left happily.
Ye Kun was indeed very worried.
I was worried that Xiao Dequan would change his mind after landing on that big island.
Because Ye Kun had participated in the development of Dasong Island and Datang Island, he knew the hardships of working in the tropical rainforest.
Since Ye Kun came back, Datang Island has sent several telegrams to report to Ye Kun on the construction progress, which is very slow.
Judging from the current situation, if it were not for the continuous support provided by the Chinese headquarters, it would be difficult for the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince of Datang Island to survive.
Ye Kun also felt guilty towards the Ninth Prince and his immigrants, so he tried his best to take care of them, giving them almost everything they asked for.
In the past few months since he came back, Ye Kun has ordered Guan Bao to send six batches of supplies to Datang Island, including a large amount of ironware, porcelain, clothes, mosquito nets and sanitary products. He also captured two groups of criminals and packed them up and sent them to Datang Island.
Ye Kun was worried that the living environment on the largest island in Africa would be even worse than that on Datang Island!
In early May, He Zhongshu sent a good news from Xihai Lake.
More than half of the 100,000 cavalry of the Western Iron Dynasty were wiped out, and the rest fled in all directions.
Our army captured more than 10,000 prisoners alive, seized a large number of cattle, sheep, horses, as well as gold, silver and other valuables.
Ye Kun ordered that the prisoners were no longer needed as there were enough domestic laborers, and asked He Zhongshu to release the prisoners or deal with them at his discretion.
He Zhongshu left behind some of the timid and cowardly captives as coolies.
All other prisoners should be killed.
In mid-May, He Zhongshu led the army and continued to advance westward, further pursuing the remnants of the Xitie Dynasty and clearing out the northwestern prairie.
Ye Kun, however, continued to recruit soldiers in the country, mainly recruiting female soldiers and sending them to Xihai Lake.
It was announced to the public that the battlefield needed medics, the more the better.
In a few months, Ye Kun sent more than 30,000 female soldiers to Xihai Lake. They were all young, unmarried women who were literate.
Sang Buyi was worried and tried to persuade Ye Kun again: "Your Majesty, the recruitment of female soldiers in the country should be stopped. The battle of Xihai Lake has been won, and it is time to stop."
Ye Kun, however, was as hard as stone and said with a smile:
"Prime Minister, our strategic goal this time has not yet been achieved. At the meeting that day, the strategic goal was to fight all the way to Europe and take over the European Great Plains.
Now, we have only just built the Yumen Pass of the Great Wall, it is still early."
"But if we continue to fight, the domestic economy won't be able to keep up!"
"We no longer need domestic support for food and supplies. He Zhongshu has achieved complete self-sufficiency by fighting to support the war."
Ye Kun said lazily with a smile: "The country only needs to provide weapons and elixirs. We can still afford this amount of money."
"But there are still immigrants. Sending these newly recruited female soldiers to Xihai Lake will also cost a huge amount of money!"
"What kind of expenses can there be? Isn't it just a meal on the way?"
Ye Kun was unmoved: "Prime Minister, as long as there is no rebellion in the country, we will continue to expand abroad. If there is a rebellion, then just send all the rebels overseas!"
"Your Majesty, you have changed."
Sang Buyi sighed:
"Many years ago, the emperor cared about people's livelihood and did everything for the benefit of the people. But now, the emperor is as hard-hearted as a rock and has emigrated millions of people. Do you know how many people have died on the way to emigrate? How many people have died in a foreign country? How many people have been separated from their families and will never see each other again?"
Ye Kun stood up and said, "Lord Sang, are you blaming me? My prince also immigrated abroad and worked hard in the rainforest!"
"Can ordinary people compare with your prince?"
Sang Buyi's eyes were red. "Which of your princes doesn't lead tens of thousands of immigrants, have a large following, and have people take care of their meals three times a day? Do other overseas immigrants and soldiers have such treatment?"
Ye Kun also got angry and said angrily:
"Does it mean that as long as the Chinese have food to eat, they will stay at home for the rest of their lives and cannot go out to explore new horizons? If everyone stays at home and has children, a hundred years later, when the population exceeds 200 million, how will the imperial court feed everyone?
My external expansion and large-scale immigration are for the descendants of Yan and Huang, not for myself! "
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry."
Sang Buyi finally held back and bowed, saying, "I am old, and I spoke nonsense, which offended the emperor. I request to resign and return to my hometown. Please select another capable person to preside over the nine ministries."
Ye Kun said angrily: "You like to quit when you don't agree with something, right? Fine, I allow you to resign. You can leave immediately and go back to your hometown to retire!"
Jasmine heard the quarrel and hurried in to try to mediate between the two sides:
"Your Majesty, Prime Minister, what's wrong with you and your subjects? Why are you arguing? Calm down and take care of your health."