Chongzhen didn't care about the expressions on the faces of Zhao Chengdong, Mao Youde, and Mao Yongxi, he just followed his own train of thought, pointed to the sand table and said: "This island is Phi Island, the station of Dongjiang Town, this is the mouth of the Datong River, and this is Ganghwa Island near the mouth of the Han River. ”

After tapping his finger a few times, Chongzhen went all the way south along the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, stopping at a large island in the sea opposite the southern tip of the peninsula.

"This is what the North Koreans call Jeju Island, and now it is also the Jeju capital of my Ming Dynasty, which is about 1500 or 600 miles away from Phi Island, and it can be reached in 3-5 days by boat.

The area of this island is dozens of times larger than that of Phi Dao, and the climate is more habitable. Zhu Qing probably also knew that the imperial court was trying to get some refugees from Dongjiang Town to move here, so that this island could be completely brought under the rule of our Damei.

In addition to its pleasant climate and habitable climate, Jeju Island is also strategically located in the strait and the East China Sea between the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. But that's not what I'm going to tell you.

From Jeju Island to the north, across the Tsushima Strait, there is the whale sea mentioned in the history books. Directly above the Japanese archipelago is Kuyi Island, which I renamed Sakhalin Island.

The inhabitants of this island are said to have submitted to our Daming Nagong when the founding of the country, but now they have submitted to the Jianzhou Jurchens.

To the east of Sakhalin is the mainland, the so-called Savage Jurchen Land. From then on, until the mouth of the Tumen River in the south, it was a place for savage Jurchens.

Although the savage Jurchens claim to be the same clan of the Jianzhou Jurchens, they are actually a geographical concept composed of tribes of different sizes, and they are not really the so-called Jurchen clan.

The Later Jin State established by the Jianzhou Jurchens, although it is claimed to have unified the Jianzhou Jurchens, Haixi Jurchens, and Savage Jurchens. But in fact, they don't have a strong control over the Savage Girl.

There are hundreds or thousands of tribes of savage Jurchens, distributed in a vast area east of the Changbai Mountains and Xing'an Mountains, north of the mouth of the Tumen River, and west of the Whale Sea. If you want to completely control every tribe here, you can't do it with the national strength of the Jianzhou Jurchen.

Therefore, the policy of the Jianzhou Jurchens towards this area is nothing more than to attract small and medium-sized tribes to take refuge through trade, to conquer the large tribes who refuse to submit by force, and to enrich the population of the Jianzhou Jurchens with the captured wild Jurchen population.

What I want the four of you to do is to use Jeju Island as a rear base to open up a port along the Whale Sea. On the one hand, it was necessary to trade with these savage Jurchens and collect Liaodong mountain goods from them in order to strike at the economic lifeline of the Jianzhou Jurchens;

On the other hand, it is to re-establish the Ming ruling order over the region, support those tribes who have a grudge against the Jianzhou Jurchens, and exterminate those tribes that submit to the Jianzhou Jurchens.

I need you to build another town in the east of the Houjin Kingdom. Even if the Jianzhou Jurchens can't be distracted, they must cut off the source of manpower and material resources that the Jianzhou Jurchens have obtained from the savage Jurchens. ”

After Mao Yongxi and Ye Yuxuan listened to Chongzhen's request, they suddenly became a little eager to try. Both of them tried to prove themselves in front of Chongzhen.

And after Zhao Chengdong heard the name of Jeju Island, he became a little distracted. Only Mao Youde, after listening to the emperor's request, his face began to become cloudy.

He had just been in the capital for a few months, and he had entered the army military academy for a short period of senior officer training, and he had been running around, trying to find a position in the capital for himself before the short-term training course was over.

Compared with Lushun, where life is hard, it is better to stay in the capital or somewhere in the customs than to return to Lushun.

In the past, he did not have the opportunity to change his family, but through this short-term training course, he got to know many instructors from military academies.

What impressed him the most was that almost half of the graduates of the military academy would not return to their original units, but would be placed in a newly formed unit. And among them, the best treatment is none other than the new army.

If he can enter the new army, not only may he enter the emperor's field of vision, but he will also be able to take his family out of the dangerous Liaodong region, and he will not even have to bear the accusation of betraying Mao Shuai.

Being summoned by the emperor today, Mao Youde originally thought that this was an opportunity, but he didn't expect that this opportunity would actually let them go further north than Phi Dao and establish a new Dongjiang Town.

To be honest, Phi Dao is already a poor country in Liaodong, and those who are far to the north, where the savage Jurchen are stationed, how remote it must be.

Just a few years ago, Mao Shuai had ordered a troop to cross the entire Korean Peninsula to attack a fortress near the upper reaches of the Yalu River. The expedition failed, but the returning soldiers brought back the news that Phi Dao was a metropolis compared to that side.

And further north at the mouth of the Tumen River, there is a bitter cold place where even the Jianzhou Jurchens are unwilling to settle, and letting them go there to open up new towns is really too much to hit Mao Youde's utilitarian heart.

"But, but Your Majesty, no one has ever been to this sea route, and if there is any mistake at sea, it will not be a loss of troops in vain. Do you think that you have discovered the sea route before you make a plan? Mao Youde hesitated for a long time, seeing that the people around him didn't speak, he had to bite the bullet and go on his own.

Hearing Mao Youde's words of fear and shirk, Zhu Youzhen smiled and said: "Regarding the sea route to the north, the subordinates of the East China Sea Patrol Envoy have already gone to explore, and I believe that when they return, they should bring back some good news."

But you don't have to worry too much, the affairs at sea will be handled by Xu Xinsu, you don't have to worry too much about this, I will let him cooperate with you well.

Your main task is to go ashore to explore the geography and tribal distribution of this region, and bring them under the rule of the Ming Dynasty.

In addition, the Four Seas Firm will invest in the establishment of a Siberian Fur Company, which will provide you with the necessary supplies, but they will also follow you into the region and obtain the fur franchise in this area.

Thirty percent of the profits of this fur company went to Xu Xinsu's fleet, forty percent to the Four Seas Trading House, and thirty percent to the Siberian Overseer.

Each of you will get a share of the profits, and the remaining 60% will be distributed to your men. Profits are distributed once a year, but half of them will be temporarily stored in a bank account in each person's name, and will be distributed after transfer or retirement.

In addition, all full-fledged servicemen who participated in the operation will be counted twice as long as their service experience. In other words, it will be automatically upgraded by one level every 2 years. Now, do you have any questions? ”

The conditions mentioned by the emperor made Mao Youde speechless for a while. Aren't all they thinking about fighting men for promotion and making a fortune?

A fine sable fur is worth 3-10 taels in the capital, and it is often priceless, which can be said to be no different from gold.

After dealing with the Jianzhou Jurchens for so many years, Mao Youde naturally knows that most of the ginseng is in the Changbai Mountain area, that is, the territory of the Jianzhou Jurchens.

But fur is different, and the better the fur, the more it is produced in the wilderness where people are rare. Even if it is the Jianzhou Jurchen himself, if he wants a good fur, he needs to collect it from the savage Jurchen.

But the fur of the Ming Dynasty, which was of high value, was an extremely cheap thing in the hands of the savage Jurchens. For them, the furs are not something they hunt for, but only an accessory harvest to the object of their hunting.

These furs are of no use other than to keep out the cold. Relatively speaking, a good bow, an iron knife or an iron axe, or even a few needles and a few packets of salt are more useful to them.

Therefore, the profit of this fur trade is almost 10 times more. For example, his father-in-law, Mao Wenlong, has been engaged in the entrepot trade of furs and ginseng to supplement the huge expenses of Dongjiang Town.

And Mao Shuai is not a first-hand business, just a middleman, and the bulk of the profits are still in the hands of those businessmen.

When Mao Youde was still calculating the gains and losses, Zhao Chengdong seemed to have finally come back to his senses, and he said angrily to the emperor's urn: "Please continue to give orders to Your Majesty, even if there are no these, we are willing to go to the soup for Your Majesty." ”

Zhu Youzhen looked at the other three, and only after they had made uneven assurances did he continue: "In order to open up this area, the imperial court will set up the Siberian Governor's District, and the presiding body of the Governor's Region will be temporarily set up on Jeju Island until a stable new base is set up in front.

For the time being, Wang Huazhen was the top commander of the Governor's District, but Ye Yuxuan was in charge of day-to-day affairs, and the other three were deputy overseers of equal status. If there is any problem between you, small things can be voted on, and major matters will be reported to Wang Huazhen.

After going north, I wanted the Overseer to give priority to the development of these two places, one in the south of Sakhalin Island and the other at the mouth of the Tumen River, along the coastline to the north, there was an excellent harbor called Vladivostok.

Having occupied these two points, you can start from the south of Sakhalin and go north and occupy the whole island. It is also possible to go east from here to find the mainland northeast of Sakhalin; Or explore the large island in the southeast, known to the Japanese as Ezo.

The port of Vladivostok, located on the mainland, can be explored inland along the Tumen River to the south and along the coastline to the north. For three years, your mission will be to explore the geography and natural conditions of the region, as well as the inhabitants of the various tribes of the land.

I will assure you that you will not be asked to launch an attack on Houjin from that place. It also allows you to abandon the fortress and retreat to the sea when the situation is critical. ”

Zhao Chengdong suddenly said with some dissatisfaction: "Your Majesty also underestimates my Dongjiang soldiers too much, I have waited for those Jiannu to retreat without a fight." Even if you die on the battlefield, you can't run away timidly. ”

"You're right, but I think it's better to avoid meaningless sacrifices. As long as you maintain your presence there, then Jiannu will inevitably divide forces against you.

From Shenyang to the east coast, there are lofty mountains or river swamps in between. Jiannu wanted to mobilize a large army to the east coast, and the logistics alone would drain their national strength.

If it's just a small force, I'm sure they won't be able to deal with you, let alone have a sea force to support you.

The only concern is that the Jiannu choose to attack in winter, and the winter seaports will be deprived of aid from the sea, and you will not be able to retreat from the sea. But the bitter cold of winter here is also your best helper, as long as you don't stick to it. ”

The emperor's rebuttal made the other three also breathe a sigh of relief, after all, they also valued their lives very much.