I

While Cheng Jingming was exploring Central America, Li Quan's trading fleet had successfully returned to Manila.

This time they not only brought back silver and goods, but also brought back a group of animals, the ones with greater economic value being turkeys and alpacas.

Turkey's meat is very good, and the chicken legs and wings taste good. But it is large and grows quickly. It is like a meat-producing machine. If it was placed in China in the 17th century, it could provide more meat for the common people.

After returning to China this time, only one year later, Li Quan discovered new changes.

From Luzon to Taiwan, and then from Taiwan to the southeastern coast, the number of Japanese in major ports has increased significantly.

Japanese women, in particular, are found all over the port brothels.

When supplying supplies in Fuzhou, Li Quan couldn't help but ask: "How come there are so many Japanese people suddenly added?"

The port supply dealer laughed and said: "The Japanese shogunate organized them to send women to China to earn money for their skin. Many Japanese ronin also went to sea and walked around the streets with knives all day long. When they saw rich people, they would kneel down and beg for work. These Japanese ronin are quite easy to work with, they are cheap and obedient. Unfortunately, they don’t know anything else, they can only look after homes and homes. There are also maritime merchants who recruit them as crew members and as bodyguards in India."

"The Japanese imperial court organized women to work as prostitutes overseas?" Li Quan was quite surprised and thought this operation was too slutty.

Many Japanese women went to sea in the past, but they were all recruited by colonists, and at most local lords were involved. This time the shogunate personally went off the stage, which indeed exceeded the lower limit.

The cause was the Meiretsu Fire a few years ago, which burned two-thirds of Edo Castle. More than 500 daimyo mansions, more than 700 hatamoto mansions, countless samurai residences, more than 300 temples, more than 400 markets, and more than 100,000 people were burned by this fire.

Edo City, with a population of nearly one million, has seen its population drop by one-eighth, and there are countless homeless people.

The city has been undergoing reconstruction for several years, but it has not yet been completed, and the streets are full of homeless people.

The Japanese shogunate was in financial difficulty and the national treasury was already empty. Even the Iwami Ginzan, which was prohibited from mining, was forced to reopen and the exploitation of the people was increased.

At this time, facing China's occupation of Tsushima Island, the Japanese shogunate could only talk.

In the face of increasingly serious smuggling, the senior officials of the shogunate were completely at ease. Since it can't be banned, let's join. Lao and China, whose territories are far away from the coast, all share the smuggling profits through power. Everyone said it was so delicious, and then came up with a crooked idea, that is, transferring excess labor to China.

So just this year, the shogunate teamed up with local lords to export young girls to China on a large scale. Some of them were shipped to Chinese ports and worked as prostitutes, and the shogunate and the daimyo split the money for their skin and flesh. Some were shipped to China's overseas territories and sold to single Chinese immigrants there.

As a factor of social instability, ronin is also exported to China, and there are particularly many ronin from Edo. Because of the fire a few years ago, all the homes of Edo ronin were burned down. There were no houses and lack of jobs. More than 100,000 ronin were begging with knives, and riots could break out at any time.

When Edo Castle was rebuilt a few years ago, these ronin could still do odd jobs and only needed to take care of the food. Now that most of the buildings have been repaired, there is no chance of making a living by moving bricks. The unemployment of the ronin is getting more and more serious, so they just throw it to China.

The chief secretaries of Fujian and Zhejiang issued decrees one after another, no longer allowing Japanese prodigals to come ashore. Japanese ronin who have landed have a three-month deadline to find a job. Those with an employer can apply for temporary documents. If you still can't find an employer after three months, you will either be sent back to Japan or dispersed and sent to Siberia.

Li Quan's fleet passed by Ningbo and found that the situation was even more obvious here because Ningbo Port is the closest to Japan.

Rich families in Ningbo often take Japanese ronin with them when they go out.

Moreover, he also customized equipment for Japanese Ronin. Bamboo pieces were used to imitate the Japanese Nanman armor. After putting on the armor, the ronin turned into Japanese generals one after another. It seemed particularly bluffing, but in fact the armor had no protective power.

What we want is this effect. When we go out with a group of "Japanese generals", the Chinese rich will feel that Beier has face.

A specific title was also given to them: Japanese general slaves.

Referred to as "Japanese General Nu" or "Japanese General".

In addition, beautiful Japanese girls were also bought by wealthy families to keep as concubines and maidservants. They were called Orihime and Fusohime. Following the trend of Orchid, Fusohime became popular again.

Some human traffickers have returned to their old business, specializing in buying young Hu Ji and Fu Sang Ji, and training these women from abroad according to Yangzhou thin horse training standards. Over the past few years, the profits have increased dozens to hundreds of times.

The Japanese General and Fusangji trend is spreading from Fujian and Zhejiang provinces to Jiangsu and Guangdong.

Local officials went to court one after another to request the court to set control standards. Of course, local governments have already responded, but certain policies require the cooperation of the central government, such as throwing Japanese ronin to Siberia.

An official ship arrived at the Shanghai Post Station. The Shanghai Post Station staff received the official document and immediately sent it to the county government.

The rest of the official documents were transferred to sea ships and sent to other coastal ports.

The content of the official document from the imperial court is as follows:

First, these Japanese ronin can come ashore if they have a Chinese trading company or private employment contract. However, the term of the employment contract must be more than three years.

Second, Japanese ronin after landing must apply for temporary documents and must take a Chinese name.

Third, if the Japanese ronin who have landed do not have an employer, they will all be managed centrally. Most of them were sent to Xuzhou for registration, and a small number were sent to Chengdu for registration.

Fourth, the ronin registered in Xuzhou will be sent to the Anton Protectorate next year. The ronin registered in Chengdu will be sent to the Kangzang area next year. These ronin immigrants are resettled in the countryside, and each village can accept up to 10 ronin.

In Heilongjiang and Kangzang areas, the imperial court first established post stations, and then developed Han villages and towns around the post stations.

This policy is equivalent to placing ten Japanese immigrants around each inn. In a remote and bitter cold place, ronin cannot cause trouble, and they must have Chinese names. Over time, they will be assimilated into Han people.

It not only solves the problem of wanderers along the coast, but also enriches the population on the frontier.

Especially in the outer Xing'anling area, the Han people were unwilling to go there, and the number of exiled prisoners was not enough. These wanderers were considered waste.

…

Luzhou (Yakutsk).

Zhang Tingxun has been staying here. He has been promoted to the general manager of Luzhou, and has great military and political power.

In theory, his jurisdiction is larger than the entire Fujian Province.

But what can really be managed is the one-third of an acre in Luzhou City.

The soldiers rotated every year and the number increased to 80. Many soldiers married aboriginal wives. After the change of defense, their wives and children stayed in Luzhou and would come back for reunion next time they changed defense. They were left to the care of their comrades in peacetime.

There were also few prisoners assigned here. Over the past few years, there were only six of them, and they all married indigenous wives one after another.

Counting underage children and indigenous wives, Zhang Tingxun had a total of more than 200 men.

Women's dystocia and infant deaths are very common in the cold Luzhou, and military doctors can only lower the data slightly. Zhang Tingxun's indigenous wife gave birth to a son and a daughter. The daughter died at the age of six months.

In addition, several nearby indigenous tribes often fight over pasture.

Zhang Tingxun is in charge of mediating. The root cause of tribal wars is the increase in population and insufficient pasture distribution. To put it bluntly, it is the conflict between man and land. In this case, the excess population can be relocated to Luzhou to settle, which is mainly engaged in fishing and farming and can accommodate more people.

The number of indigenous people under Zhang Tingxun's direct administration has quickly increased to 150, and they all live near Luzhou City.

Next year, 10 Japanese Ronin immigrants will be allocated.

At the same time, the surrounding tribes also began to learn farming techniques. They exchanged ivory, fur and other goods for Han Chinese farm tools and seeds. Crops such as potatoes and barley began to be promoted, which greatly improved the lives of indigenous tribes.

The soldiers and supply teams who came to change defenses last year brought troops to Zhang Tingxun.

He must lead his army westward along the Lena River, attack 1,300 miles, and capture the Cossack stronghold there (Olyok Minsk).

This year, the river had just thawed, and Zhang Tingxun led his army to set off.

Because of the war, the soldiers who were on rotation last year did not leave. Zhang Tingxun had one hundred regular troops under his command. Several nearby tribes, as well as the indigenous people of Luzhou City, selected 200 people as auxiliary soldiers and civilian husbands.

They took a boat all the way to the west, casting nets for fishing along the way.

This bastard Khabarov is of great use. He not only teaches everyone how to grow food in the frozen soil, but also teaches the Han people how to make Cossack ships. There are also Han craftsmen in Luzhou who improved the Cossack ships by combining them with Han shipbuilding technology, making them very suitable for sailing in the far north.

Best of all, this thing can be disassembled. After landing, carry it and run, and reassemble it when you encounter a river. It is extremely practical in sparsely populated Siberia. The heavy mast can be thrown at any time, and it can be used by cutting one before launching it into the water.

This improved Cossack ship was called a "deer ship".

A large deer boat that can seat thirty people.

A small deer boat that can accommodate seven or eight people.

The indigenous auxiliary soldiers who accompanied the army all rode birch bark boats, which are the traditional ships of Siberian indigenous people.

More than a hundred ships, large and small, headed towards Olekminsk in a mighty manner.

The ultra-long distance of 1,300 miles can be reached in a month, and you can stop to rest along the way and cast a net to catch fish to increase supplies.

"Hey!"

Once again, when the net is cast out, there is always something to be gained.

Inaccessible Siberia is rich in fish resources. The prerequisite is to have excellent fishing nets. The local indigenous people lack net-making materials, so the fishing methods are very primitive. The hemp rope fishing nets brought by the Han people are hot commodities for the indigenous people and can bring them rich fish catches.

On the shore, two hundred indigenous auxiliary soldiers took out traditional dipping sauces and began to slaughter fresh fish and eat raw fish.

As for the Han soldiers, they cooked fish soup honestly.

As long as they can eat cooked food and drink boiled water, soldiers are prohibited from eating raw food and drinking raw water. This order is written into the Datong Military Code, and exceptions can only be made under extreme conditions.

The Lena River has been renamed Lujiang.

Zhang Tingxun looked at the sparkling river water, and his thoughts had already flown to Nanjing. After this battle, he should be promoted and transferred away. He had to go back to Nanjing first to see that his mother and first wife were still waiting for him.

Siberia is indeed very difficult, but as long as you work for a few years, you can be promoted quickly. Especially those who are stationed for a long time and do not change defenses. Once transferred, they will be promoted 100%, which makes more and more soldiers willing to stay permanently.