My Daming New Empire

Page 834

Afterwards, Yang Zhangde became the knife in the hands of the princes. Those princes managed the fiefs with a gentle policy, and almost all the disobedient tribes were eradicated by Yang Zhangde.

Yang Zhangde was also awarded the title of Duke Zhangde because of this, but his duke is more like a joke.Throughout history, almost all duke titles are well-documented, and many are named after ancient places.

But Yang Zhangde's Zhang Degong is named after his own name, and it is not hereditary, but descended from generation to generation.

But Yang Zhangde is not ashamed at all. To him, the title of Duke is far less important than his position as Admiral of the Northern Continent.

Only when you come to Dongzhou can you know how rich this land is.

The west is full of minerals, and the east is full of fertile fields. Except for a little bit more storms, this place is more suitable for survival than Daming itself.

As long as the Yang family can take root here and not get involved in the disputes among the princes, at least they can maintain their prosperity and wealth for hundreds of years.

Moreover, because he participated in the strategic containment of Europe, he also found a way of making money here, which is to open the trade channel between East Continent and West Continent.

The trade between Dongzhou and Daming is completely monopolized by the imperial court and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and no one can participate. The most is to sell the properties of the fief to them and make a little money.

The rage of the Atlantic Ocean is almost a natural barrier in this era. Although there is a map, no one dares to cross it at will.

In the 33rd year of Zhengtong, in Cao Guogong's mansion under King Jin, a cargo ship transporting slaves was lost due to a storm and sailed south from the Songhai Empire (Nigeria) not long after.

They drifted at sea for more than a month. When the fresh water on board was almost exhausted, the ship was blown to Nan'an City (Recife) in the southern continent of Dongzhou.

When the cargo ship carrying more than 600 slaves was discovered by the navy, it caused a huge sensation, and the more than 400 slaves who were alive were bought by the local 76th prince Ying Wang at a price of [-] silver coins per person.

Dongzhou is sparsely populated, especially in the eastern region. In the past, due to the raging miasma, there were not many natives.

The area where Yingzhou is located is a relatively barren area in the southern continent of Dongzhou. This is a hilly area with not only little land, but also few minerals.

King Ying was ranked low among the scholars, and his mother's rank was low. In the end, there were not many good places left, and his life was relatively miserable.

It is close to the equator. At present, rubber trees are planted, rubber processing, and the sale of precious Brazilian wood are the largest sources of income.

These more than 400 slaves were bought by him, and all of them were arranged to work in the rubber plantation, which relieved a lot of pressure for the labor shortage here.

It was also from this time that the princes on the Eastern Continent also set their sights on the Kunlun slaves in the Western Continent.

After the Kunlun slaves in Xizhou were castrated, they were transported to Nanzhou, which has become an important foundation for Nanzhou's economic development.

In the past, the Atlantic Ocean was difficult to cross, and Dongzhou could still rely on its own strength to develop peacefully, but now, they saw a faster channel.

From the 33rd year of Zhengtong to the present, the major palaces of Dongzhou have privately dispatched no less than [-] fleets, always looking for a route to Xizhou.

Today, they have mastered at least three safe waterways, one of which is the route from the Northern Continent to the Marin Dynasty.

Now that Yang Zhangde has mastered this route, he doesn't dare to violate the court's prohibition to trade with the Europeans, but he uses the various palaces on the East Continent to carry out population transactions with the Han Palace and Jin Palace in the West Continent. .

This has now become the largest income for Duke Zhangde's mansion besides the harvest from the fiefdom.

The fiefdoms of Duke Zhangde's mansion in Dongzhou are not in the territories of the major feudal lords, but in the islands between the north and south continents, which are under the direct jurisdiction of the Ming Navy.

Although the scenery there is beautiful, the yield is meager. It is a kind of brown beans that Hanwang traded from Xizhou, which is suitable for growing there.

His Majesty named this brown bean coffee, because it has the same refreshing effect as tea, and it is gradually spreading.

However, the planting time in Dongzhou was late, and the benefits were not great.

It is also for this reason that Yang Zhangde has been looking for new sources of income for the development of his family.

In the admiral's mansion, today Yang Zhangde's third son, Yang Shiyu, came to Dongji City from the fief Zhangde Island, accompanied by several grandsons who just came to Dongzhou from Daming.

They went from Daming to Governor's City, and then from the canal to Xiyang, to their family's fief, where they recuperated for a period of time, and then specially came to Dongji City to spend the Spring Festival with Yang Zhangde.

Yang Zhangde has not seen these grandsons for six years.

They have been living in Daming. Six years ago, Yang Zhangde returned to Beijing to report on his work, and spent some time with them in Yingtian Mansion.

They are all in their prime, from the bustling Yingtian Mansion to the remote Zhangde Island, but they are not at all depressed.On the contrary, they reprimanded Fang Qiu one by one, constantly showing their knowledge in front of Yang Zhangde, and making suggestions for the development of the family fiefdom.

Seeing these imposing grandsons, Yang Zhangde has always felt a sense of family prosperity in his heart.

"Father, now that the route between East Continent and West Continent has been opened, Grandfather and the others are developing very smoothly in West Continent. As long as our two families form an alliance, the slave trade in the future will be the biggest source of income for our Yang family."

The eldest grandson Yang Chuyuan, who brought several grandchildren here this time, is almost 30 years old this year. He and Yang Zhangde's eldest son have been living in Yingtian Mansion, serving as hostages there, while taking care of the younger generations of the family.

Hearing the third uncle's proposal, he said with some disapproval: "Grandfather, the slave trade is harmful to peace. My grandson visited Zhangde Island for some time this time. Zhangde Island is suitable for coffee planting. See, in the future, this coffee will be the same as tea leaves, and become a source of wealth for the country. As long as my Yang family develops with heart, this coffee planting is the long-term solution."

Yang Shiyu said disapprovingly: "It is true that coffee cultivation will continue for a long time, but what my Yang family needs now is to develop it as soon as possible. Besides, when it comes to coffee cultivation, how can we compare with Yaowang?"

Yao Wang is the 46th son of Zhu Zhanji and the second son of Concubine Lan Gui.

Concubine Lan holds a high position in the harem. The eldest son was enfeoffed to the North and South Islands (New Zealand) in the southeast of Nanzhou. When the second son was entrusted, Concubine Lan personally came forward and asked His Majesty the largest Hengduan Island in Dongzhou as a fiefdom.

This Hengduan Island is actually the Cuba of later generations, and Zhangde Island is the Jamaica of later generations, which belongs to the fief of Yaowang Mansion.

Yang Chuyuan said: "Third Uncle, my nephew came to Dongzhou this time and met with His Majesty before he left. His Majesty told his nephew: Zhangde Island is a treasure land of geomantic omen for coffee plantation. This treasure land was wasted."

Yang Zhangde smiled and asked the other three grandsons, "What's your opinion?"

The fourth grandson Yang Chuyu is 20 years old this year. When receiving higher education, according to the needs of the family and personal preferences, he chose agriculture.He said: "The grandson doesn't have the foresight and foresight of the big brother, and he only thinks about how to improve the property of the family fief."

Although the fifth grandson, Yang Chuwen, has Wen in his name, he loves martial arts since he was a child and graduated from Habayashi School of Health.He said: "The grandson is willing to be a pioneer in the slave trade and gather wealth for the family."

The sixth son, Yang Chushan, said: "My grandson thinks that our Yang family can try anything that is not explicitly prohibited by the imperial court. The family is in the midst of 75 princely fiefdoms. If we follow the steps, it may be difficult to succeed."

Yang Zhangde said with a smile: "You are really right to ask you to study the Fa. My Yang family wants to develop, so we can't do it step by step, let alone be a young bird. You have come to Dongzhou this time, have you met the brothers of the Donghai Gong family?"

Yang Chuyuan nodded and said: "We stayed in the governor's city for five days, and we had several gatherings with more than a dozen brothers of the same generation from the Donghai family."

Yang Zhangde nodded and said: "You can't write two Yangs in one stroke. Duke Donghai is in charge of the Dongzhou Navy and is more valued by His Majesty than me. Our two Yang families should advance and retreat together. Also, after the new year is over, let Your third uncle took you to Liang Guogong's mansion in Nanhua City. It is said that Liang Guogong's young daughter looks like a fairy, and the three of you are also of marriageable age, maybe you can make a good marriage."

Yang Chuyuan is married and has three children, so he naturally knows that this is none of his business.He pondered for a while and asked: "Duke Liang has always wanted to marry the royal family, didn't he mean that he still wanted to give this daughter to King Meng?"

Yang Zhangde shook his head with a smile and said: "Their eldest son married Princess Xiaoyuan, how could he marry his daughter to the royal family. Besides, King Meng is not in good health, so he may die soon."

King Meng is the 73rd son of Zhu Zhanji, the fourth last of his adult princes.His fief is in Mengzhou Capital, which is the southern area of ​​the Argentine Pampas grassland in later generations.

His concubine only gave birth to a daughter for him, and then died of illness, and he is also seriously ill now, and has no offspring so far.

If he died, King Meng's branch would have no male offspring, so he might be expelled.

And in Nanhua City, Admiral Zhang Wu was worried about the seriously ill King Meng. This was the fiefdom farthest from Ming Dynasty. It might not be enough to go back for two or three months.

Moreover, King Meng can't take advantage of the boat now. If he dies halfway, they will be more responsible.

As a last resort, he could only send people to the Governor's Mansion to pick up the imperial doctor there, while at the same time sending people to take good care of King Meng.

Zhang Wu is 63 years old this year, but because of his long-term martial arts practice, he is still strong and strong.