met free Page 2183
Page 2183
Xue Daoguang smiled wryly and said, "This humble Taoist has a past relationship with Your Majesty and the Emperor."
How do you know there has been a change of dynasty?
"On our return voyage, we stopped in Korea to resupply our ship,"
"I learned the news from Goryeo officials."
.....
Dengzhou and Laizhou
It has been merged into Denglai Province.
Qingzhou, Mizhou and Weizhou,
It was then merged into Qingzhou Prefecture.
They were all major mining and metallurgical towns.
In the future, we will also develop maritime trade.
During the Yuanfeng era, the annual gold production of Dengzhou and Laizhou was...
It has already reached 9583 taels.
It accounts for 89.5% of the country's total output.
This is only the data that is publicly available.
The actual gold production is far higher than this.
During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song,
The emperor once issued an imperial edict,
He purchased tens of thousands of taels of gold in Shandong in a single transaction.
When Zhao Yuan left the capital,
The imperial court has received a petition from the prefects of Dengzhou and Laizhou requesting that the court formally establish Qixia, Zhaoyuan and other counties.
Other parts of Shandong suffered a sharp decline in population due to war.
Meanwhile, the population of Denpa and Lai has exploded.
A large number of refugees fled to Jiaodong.
They were reclaiming wasteland while simultaneously panning for gold.
Some were also hired to mine gold.
Each gold mine has been assigned territory.
Forming organizations of all sizes
It's like a gang or a guild.
The peasant rebel army attacked.
Their submission was merely symbolic.
They also handed over some gold to express their loyalty.
These local bullies have also learned to band together.
The peasant rebels from outside the region dared not confront them directly.
By the time of the Ming Dynasty,
Zhang Shuye also primarily employed appeasement and pacification strategies.
Then, combine this with the use of force to suppress a few who stand out.
Now, we are applying to establish several new counties.
Firstly, because the population has reached the standard for establishing a county.
Secondly, it also facilitates the imperial court's management of local areas.
The gang's influence must be weakened!
Same situation,
It also happened in Yizhou.
Two months ago,
The imperial court ordered the establishment of a new Yinan County.
This was also because too many gold miners had gathered there.
The first officials in charge of these key gold mining areas,
They were all county magistrates who had been transferred from censors.
This means dispatching officials from the capital to intimidate local authorities.
He also took care of those gang leaders.
Zhao Yuan stayed in Yizhou for several days.
Then they went to Banqiao Town in Mizhou.
Jiaoxi County was re-established here due to the opening of the fishing season.
Chapter 1937 City Pas
"Cargo shipped south from Banqiao Port,"
"Mainly timber, ironware, and mountain products,"
"It will be transported to Hangzhou for sale."
The Jiaoxi Maritime Affairs official introduced Zhao Yuan to the situation.
"There's a lot of cargo being transported from the south,"
"Silk, lacquerware, tung oil, ceramics, rice... all kinds of things are available."
"Many people in Jiaodong and Jiaoxi are now engaged in metallurgy and iron smelting,"
"There simply isn't enough local food to feed them,"
"Fortunately, rice from the south was brought in by sea."
"This year's grain prices are only 70% of last year's!"
Zhao Yuan asked, "Are there no traders going to Korea or Japan?"
A maritime official said, "After Shandong reopened its ports,"
"All trade with Korea went through the port of Dengzhou,"
"How did you end up in Jiaoxi?"
"As for Japan, I've heard they're implementing a maritime ban,"
"Most of them were smuggled over from Zhejiang."
Zhao Yuan gazed at the harbor and the sea.
It was indeed very desolate.
There aren't many ships anchored here.
After all, this was only the first year that the fishing season opened in Shandong.
Zhao Yuan guessed,
There must have been sea transport.
They smuggled Shandong gold into the Jiangnan region.
However, the imperial court will not intervene for the time being.
Gold can be used to attract merchants from the Jiangnan region.
Strict anti-smuggling measures will be implemented once the maritime trade in Jiaoxi County has flourished.
Because of legal provisions,
Shandong gold is prohibited from being transported out of the province without authorization.
Besides selling to the government...
The remaining gold can only circulate within the county.
Merchants from Jiangnan wanted to transport the gold from Shandong away.
Therefore, it must be done under the guise of normal trade.
They hid the gold among other goods.
Each batch of gold smuggled
That's equivalent to transporting a ship full of seafood.
This is highly beneficial to Shandong's economic development.
On the third day of my stay in Jiaoxi County,
Zhao Yuan finally received news of Xue Daoguang's return.
He immediately set off for Dengzhou.
I met Master Xue at the Denglai Prefecture Hotel.
"It's been a long time, Daoist Master," Zhao Yuan said with a cupped-hands gesture and a smile.
Xue Daoguang was deeply moved and bowed as a Taoist priest, saying:
"Years have passed since we last met, but Your Highness remains as charming as ever."
Xue Daoguang looked much older.
My skin has darkened.
I have more wrinkles now.
I imagine they suffered a lot overseas.
Zhao Yuan asked, "Could you tell me about your overseas experience?"
Xue Daoguang recounted in detail: "Eight years ago, the eunuch Cui Hu led a fleet of ships to search for immortals at sea."
"He traveled south via the Ryukyu Islands,"
"Heading to Mayi (northern Philippines)."
"Although the immortal has not been found,"
"But they brought back a large number of rare and exotic goods,"
"We made a fortune selling them in Hangzhou."
"However, we encountered a storm along the way,"
"Three ships and their crews perished at sea."
"Cui Hu almost died too,"
"I was so scared that I never dared to go out to sea again."
"Seven years ago, I was ordered to take over the fleet,"
"Besides seeking immortality,"
"I will also be sent as an envoy to Japan."
"The official... Zhao Ji is ambitious and eager for quick success,"
"They want to bestow the title of King of Japan,"
"Personally writing a letter of state to Japan,"
"But Japan has not given any response,"