I

Van Diemen, the Dutch governor, fell ill during the rainy season and received the Manila Five Agreement on his hospital bed.

Van Diemen immediately called a meeting and called all the members of the Council. He dragged his sick body and announced with a smile: "Gentlemen, in this year's Battle of Manila, we have fully achieved our expected goals. Although Busuanga Island is barren, its location is very important. It is located between the three forces of China, Spain, and Sulu. It is the local The crossroads of trade. Now, this island belongs to us, we should immediately mobilize manpower and materials to build castles and ports on the island!"

Then, Van Diemen continued: "Although the southern part of Mindanao is full of barbarian natives, there is a bay (Sarangani Bay) there, which is a natural haven. Ports and cities can be established within the bay (General Santos) City). As long as we gain a foothold in America, this will be the first stop from America to the Far East! This can become the second Manila!"

"Snap, snap, snap!"

Lawmakers immediately applauded, but without much excitement.

It will take at least ten years of operation in the southern region of Mindanao, and it will also have to cooperate with the Dutch power in America, before it can truly be turned into rolling silver.

Although Busuanga Island's geographical location is very important, there are several large ports around it, which will suck away the trading ships, making it difficult to make profits in the short term.

The Netherlands obtained these two places. If it is compared to playing Go, it means placing stones in two key positions. Long-term thinking is definitely a good idea, but it doesn't have much effect at this stage. Congressmen who focus on short-term interests always feel that they are at a disadvantage.

Fortunately, the Netherlands has obtained trading rights and can, together with China, monopolize the spices and gems of Brunei and Sulu.

In Van Diemen's eyes, this trade right was incidental to the negotiations, but the congressmen regarded the trade right as a real war bonus.

Van Diemen was so excited that his condition seemed to have improved a lot. When he returned home, he asked his servants to open a bottle of wine to celebrate.

…

Bandan Port.

A senior employee at a trading post was writing to the top brass of the British East India Company:

"Gentlemen, we have just received amazing news. The Dutch East India Company and the Chinese Emperor jointly sent troops to defeat Spain on land and sea. The Chinese Emperor obtained Luzon Island, and the Dutch East India Company obtained two key territories. The two sultanates of Brunei and Sulu have returned to the embrace of the Chinese emperor... By the way, the Dutch East India Company has also joined forces with China to monopolize the spices and gems of Brunei and Sulu."

"Gentlemen, we need a war. Britain and the Netherlands go to war directly. Only war can capture commercial interests. If this continues, it will be difficult for the British East India Company to gain a foothold in the Far East..."

Teddy Holland on the sea is causing trouble all over the world, so naturally he won't have a good relationship with the UK.

Both countries have East India Company, and it is normal for them to compete for each other's business.

More than twenty years ago, the British were doing a good spice business in Java, but the Dutch fleet suddenly came. After a beating, the Dutch forced the British to sign an agreement: the Eastern spice trade was divided into three parts, with the Netherlands keeping only two.

The matter was not over yet. Only a few years later, the Netherlands killed all the British people in the Maguru Islands because of the spice trade, which was known in history as the "Ambuana Massacre".

In the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean and West Africa, the Netherlands also competed with Britain for business everywhere. He even went to the British coast to catch herring and then sold it to the British.

If the British want to be tough, they have to wait for Lord Protector Cromwell. At the moment, the British king has no intention of engaging in a trade war.

Of course, the British, who were having a hard time, are now prospering in India.

Portugal had a bad relationship with the Mughal emperor of India. The British fleet defeated the Portuguese fleet, and the Mughal emperor was very happy. The British then acted like licking dogs and knelt down to lick the Indian emperor crazily. The British king also sent a mission to coax the Indian emperor into great joy in an almost flattering manner.

Therefore, the Indian emperor ordered officials across the country to protect the British.

The British did business in India without any restrictions, and officials from various places were not allowed to harass British factories. Even in some areas, business taxes are directly exempted for British people!

What a great Indian emperor, the British are grateful to him, and they will do their best to repay the emperor's love.

…

Nanjing.

The people standing in front of Zhao Han were all important ministers of the Datong imperial court.

Zuo Xiaoliang said: "It is definitely impossible to establish prefectures and counties in Luzon. The Xuanfu Division can be set up to rule."

Ouyang Zheng said: "This should be the case in a foreign land. Just like the Xuanwei Division in Laos, a Luzon Xuanwei Division was set up to let the local chieftain manage the area."

Yang Zhong then asked: "Can Luzon cultivate land? If it is impossible to cultivate food, it is enough to use chieftains to manage the land."

The ministers argued for a long time about setting up a chieftain.

Zhao Han didn't discuss it with them anymore, because they really had no common language, so he just issued the imperial edict directly.

First, set up a governor of Luzon, a second-rank official, selected by the Zuo Shilang of each ministry. Term of six years, in charge of Luzon affairs.

Second, Luzon civil affairs envoys were set up, officials of the third rank, who were selected by the ministers of each province. With a six-year term, he is in charge of Luzon civil affairs.

Third, set up Luzon Missionary Envoys, officials of the third rank, who are selected by the provincial directors for a six-year term and are in charge of educational affairs in Luzon.

Fourth, set up the Luzon Financial Envoy...

Anyway, the governor monopolizes the power, appoints a bunch of officials in charge, and then sends a censor to inspect once every three years. The censor will take root in Luzon for three years and be responsible for reporting corruption and perversion of the law by local officials.

There are three thousand troops stationed in Luzon, and the soldiers want to make their homes there.

The Governor-General could not mobilize troops unless Luzon was under attack or there was a riot in Luzon. If you want to use troops externally, you must report to the Ministry of War in advance, obtain permission from the Ministry of War, and then obtain the emperor's order before you can use troops.

In addition, 70% of Luzon's fiscal revenue goes to the royal family and 30% is turned over to the national treasury.

If cabinet officials want to collect more money, they must make the cake bigger.

It is impossible not to give money to the imperial court, otherwise in a few decades, like Zheng He's voyages to the West, the expansion of overseas territories will be criticized as "a waste of people and money." Zheng He definitely made money from his voyages to the West, and some of it was allocated to the treasury, but most of it was used to serve the emperor.

Nowadays, the population in the north is very small, and immediate immigration to Luzon is unrealistic.

Zhao Han then issued an order: If any Han people occupy unowned land in Luzon, they must report to the Luzon government. The upper limit of land owned by each person is 100 acres. You can own more than 100 acres, but for every 10 acres more, the tax on excess land will increase by 1%. In addition, families with more than ten people must separate households.

This encourages immigration and development, while at the same time restricting the expansion of local power.

There are certainly loopholes that could be exploited, even leading to the invisibility of land, just as overseas territories are bound to be hotbeds of corruption.

Spain has set up institutions at all levels in the Americas, and officials check and supervise each other. Isn’t it that corruption and smuggling are endemic?

After Li Banghua read the fresh imperial edict, he carefully savored its profound meaning.

"This land in Luzon can be regarded as His Majesty's imperial palace?" Li Banghua muttered.

Tian Younian said: "The imperial estates are managed by eunuchs, but there are court officials in Luzon. Your Majesty is expanding the territory."

Li Banghua asked: "How much tax revenue can Luzon get every year?"

Tian Younian shook his head: "I don't know."

…

Fuzhou.

Lin Fusheng called two concubines: "This is the imperial edict just sent to Fuzhou. Each person can occupy one hundred acres of land in Luzon. If it exceeds ten acres, the tax will only be increased by one percent. One person can occupy 500 acres of land." , including a 40% tax increase on 400 acres of land, it is nothing in Luzon. Of course, it depends on how much the tax is set. There are not many Han people in Luzon now, and I heard that the red-haired ghosts left a lot of cultivated land. You can go back to your hometown in the countryside. , Invite fellow villagers to go to Luzon to occupy land. Tell them that the Lin family will pay for the travel expenses and provide the seeds."

Lin Yingwen asked: "Father, are you recruiting villagers as tenants?"

"Confused," Lin Fusheng admonished, "there are not many Han people in Luzon. How can we treat some Han people as tenants when we finally bring them there? There are barbarians everywhere there. We can't bother the government with everything. One more Han person will Have more strength. When you bring the countrymen to Luzon, you must treat them well and unite to deal with those savages."

Lin Congwen asked: "Where can we find tenants? We brothers can't cultivate it ourselves."

Lin Fusheng said: "The red-haired ghost left many serfs. His Majesty did not allow slaves, so he turned these serfs into tenants. Also, don't occupy land randomly. How many people work on it will occupy as much land. Taxes are based on acres of land. Those who come to harvest, whether they plant or not, have to pay taxes and grain. If there is not enough manpower and a large area of ​​land is occupied randomly, it will become a loss-making business!"

"Kid, remember this!" Lin Yingwen said with a bow.

Lin Fusheng said with a smile: "Your Majesty has left a loophole for us to take advantage of. You do not need to use your household registration in Fujian, but you can still settle in Luzon, which means you can occupy land on both sides. In less than ten years, our Lin family will become Big landowner! Remember, if you marry more indigenous women, you will have more children and grandchildren. If you have more children and grandchildren, your land will be spread thinly, and the taxes you will pay in the future will be lower."

Of course, the loopholes were left intentionally to encourage private immigrants to open up. Zhao Han just pretended not to see the extra land occupied by his original place.

After all, immigrating to Luzon is risky, and you may die if you don't get used to it.

It is a pity that everyone in rural Fujian has land, and those without land have immigrated to Taiwan long ago, and even if they are encouraged to open up, they cannot be encouraged.

Brothers Lin Yingwen and Lin Congwen came to their hometown to summon fellow villagers.

They offered extremely favorable conditions, provided travel expenses, and provided seeds. When you go to Luzon, you can divide the fields. And as long as you can grow it, it doesn't matter how much you plant. They can also recruit indigenous people to become big landowners. However, few responded.

"I know Luzon, that place is very far away."

"I heard that there is a miasma in Luzon. If you enter the forest, you will die."

"The land in my house is enough for food. If we weave cloth to earn some household income, we can also buy oil, salt, sauce and vinegar."

"..."

After struggling for several days, the brothers only recruited three villagers.

When they returned to the city, they saw a large number of citizens gathered around the imperial edict and talking about it.

Many of these citizens do not know how to farm. They work in the city to make a living. At this moment, many people are tempted. Even if they don’t know how to farm, they can recruit indigenous tenants and landowners!

Ninety-nine percent of the first batch of private immigrants to Luzon were city dwellers!

Especially those who were idle, Zhao Han ordered the local officials to crack down on the gangsters. They were cut off from their sources of wealth and refused to work honestly. Now they finally have the opportunity to go out and make a living.