The purpose of looking for Xu Pengju silently, on the one hand, was to reassure him, and on the other hand, it was for Luzon.

If the value of Luzon cannot be quickly discovered, "the interests of more people will always be rooted there, and it will always be an overseas enclave, and it will be snatched back at any time because it is not deeply rooted and has no successor."

But if you want the people of the Ming Dynasty to set their eyes on the distant South China Sea and pay attention to the Luzon Islands, which they think is a wild land, it is absolutely impossible to attract it if it is not strong enough. So where is the competitiveness of the Luzon Islands? First of all, of course, is the port, which is, the most important relay station on the route of Daming Spain, the only big port. "It's almost as significant as Malacca's to the West.

However, if it is purely a port, the attraction is still not enough, because the business of controlling the waterway is a business that only dares to hope if you have ships and cannons, so except for the Wang, Xu, and Nan families, the general big families don't even dare to think about it. The problem would be simpler if gold or silver mines could be discovered, as there are several gold, silver and copper mines found in Luzon, but all of them are occupied by local Chinese companies, and the production is not as expected...... The Chinese in Luzon are the objects of silent and strict order to protect, how can they let people share their soup?

He could only focus on plantation, as the Spaniards did in another time and space...... Luzon is located in the subtropics, with sufficient sunlight and rain, "ideal for growing a variety of crops." According to Zheng Ruozeng's report that lasted half a year and traveled all over the Luzon Islands, the entire Luzon Islands can be divided into nine economic regions. Among them, the central part of Luzon Island has the largest Central Plains, accounting for a quarter of the arable land in the whole territory, suitable for planting rice, mulberry, sugar cane and other crops: the southeast of Luzon Island "can grow coconut, mulberry; The northern part of Luzon is a rice, tobacco, and gold mining area; The western part of the Vishapo Islands is a rice and coconut area; The central part of the Misha suburban archipelago is a corn and sugar producing area; The eastern part of the Misapi Islands is home to coconut and corn areas, and Zheng Ruo's report highlights the potential of this new crop, which originated in South America and was introduced by the Spaniards.

There is also the eastern part of Mindanao, which is a hemp, coconut, and iron mining area: the western part of Mindanao is a jade, rice, and coconut area, and Palawan and the Sulu archipelago are rice-growing areas.

Through this kind of division, divide, it is not difficult to see the purpose of silence, he is to use a large area of cultivated land in Luzon to plant the cash crops needed by the Ming Dynasty, so that it is urgently needed in the country to produce raw materials and means of living origin, although the Ming Dynasty has a large land, but in recent years, the north has been in drought for many years, "grain production has been seriously reduced, although the south is still smooth and rainy, but because of the development of commodity economy, a large amount of arable land has been eaten by cash crops, which is a real encroachment, because it has been changed to a mulberry garden for feeding silkworm babies, which has led to a large reduction in the area of cultivated land, The harm is not visible at the moment, but in the long run, "it will inevitably lead to a serious food crisis."

Shen Mo does not want to make compulsory adjustments in the country, because on the one hand, the execution of the local government in this generation is not optimistic at all, the imperial court is very arranged, and it is good to be able to do one point below, and it is simply unrealistic to expect them to complete such a difficult action.

On the other hand, he didn't want to offend those **** owners because of this, and it would be very dangerous to cause unnecessary chaos.

His response "was to make the most of Luzon's land and build a large and planned plantation there to alleviate the pressure on domestic supply...... All of this is controlled and carried out by Nanyang Company, which is to carry out preliminary investigation and development, and then "contract the land suitable for cultivation to the big families and merchants in China, and under the guidance of Nanyang Company, they will carry out the planning of reclamation, and the company will provide protection, support and transport it to the designated port, and the income will be divided into 37 or paid according to the agreement."

However, Shen Mo considered that, first, the plantation is an industry that requires a large amount of labor, and it is difficult for Nanyang to recruit enough manpower, and it is impossible for a single company to blatantly abduct and sell people in China. Second, he hoped that Nanyang Company would always maintain its pioneering ambitions, so at the beginning of its establishment, it adopted this model of protecting and cultivating land, so that it had to continue to open up new land in order to increase profits.

, the land makes people conservative and short-sighted" This is what Shen Mo has emphasized to Zheng Ruozeng many times.

and the advantages of handing over the plantations to the nobles and magnates of the country were also obvious, and their powerful political power would provide sufficient protection for the Luzon and Nanyang companies; Then, by entrusting them with the tedious tasks of recruiting, organizing, and contacting sales, Nanyang can free itself from it and concentrate on what it needs to do: finally, it will also help cultivate the extroverted xìng of the domestic elite, so that they will gradually eliminate the rejection and ignorance of foreign countries.

It is not easy to achieve this last point, and it is also the biggest obstacle to the realization of the plan, the advertisements of the reclamation of Luzon have been continuously placed in the major newspapers in the southeast, and there are many people who have gone to the offices of the Nanyang Company to inquire, but there are very few who have actually signed the intention, and most people are in a wait-and-see state, after all, the plantations thousands of miles away "feel panic no matter how you hear it."

So Shen Mo needs someone to demonstrate first, he selected more than a dozen large households in the southeast and ordered each of them to subscribe, 100,000 hectares of plantations" and Xu Pengju here, because he is a dignified national prince, Shen Mo gives him preferential treatment, so it is 150,000 hectares. As for how they should do it, Nanyang has the most detailed instructions, but only if they get their representatives to Luzon first.

一凵一"

"Everything is difficult at the beginning", Shen Mo said to Xu Pengju, who had a bitter face: "You are difficult and I am difficult" We are all reluctant to make it difficult, and insist on the first few years of the past, which is to lay a foundation for future generations. ”

"Is it really making money?" Although Xu Pengju looked a little natural, he was not confused at all, "I know that the matter is big, and I can't just buy and sell because I am silent." Once you really decide to do it, you have to do your best" or you might as well not agree.

"Mulberry orchard can produce silk, tobacco leaves can produce tobacco, sugarcane can produce sugar," Shen Mo counted his fingers and said, "Everything is more expensive than gold." ”

"Well, even if the land is fertile and the climate is suitable," gold can grow in the ground. Xu Pengju looked at Shen Mo seriously and said: "But these require a lot of labor to take care of, take the mulberry garden that is the least occupying." Saying that, he frowned and said: "I asked someone to ask, "A person can take care of up to thirty acres of land, then the 150,000 hectares you gave me will take care of more than 500,000 people" Brother, where can I go to find these people? ”

"Give you 150,000 hectares, not let you plant alone", Shen smiled silently: "You can continue to subcontract, no one can control this." ”

"But someone always has to plant it, right?" Xu Peng shook his head and said.

"There are three sources", Shen Mo said: "First of all, "there are natives on the island itself, and it will not be a problem for you to solve a hundred thousand: then there are famine displaced people in our north", Shen Mo said lightly: "It depends on whether you have the ability to abduct it." ”

"This method can still work if I recruit tens of thousands of people, but if I dare to abduct so many people", Xu Pengju shook his head and said: "Danshu iron coupons can't save my head." ”

"I will do my best to do my best to dispel the doubts of the imperial court in this regard, and there is a way...... "Shen Mo lowered his voice and said: "The Francois are engaged in the slave trade, and they wantonly capture Kunlun slaves and sell them all over the world...... Because of the distance, "the price of selling it to us is very cheap" and how much it costs.

"Ah, I'm afraid there's something to talk about." Xu Peng's heart moved, and his eyes flickered. Although the Ming Dynasty has always bought and sold human beings, it is limited to a small number of households, and if it is purchased and used on a large scale, it will be criticized.

"What are you afraid of" Shen Mo laughed and said: "Who can watch the affairs of thousands of miles overseas, who will care if it is not my race?" Saying that, he said with a cold gaze: "Besides, when the time comes, you will enjoy endless benefits, and the guardian will only turn a blind eye." ”

"That's a good idea." Xu Pengju thought about it and thought about it, and finally gritted his teeth and said: "Cheng, then I'll try to plant tens of thousands of hectares first!" Saying that, he laughed and said: "Look at my breath, plant tens of thousands of hectares first" and I was not afraid of flashing my tongue. ”

"Hahaha", Shen Mo laughed loudly and said, "What I want is this atmosphere!" ”

One, one

Coming out of Xu Peng's house, he sat in the sedan chair, his silent face turned pale, "His right hand clenched into a fist, and he pounded his heart. "It's hard to breathe. In recent times, he has tortured himself countless times, what is the difference between doing so and the infamous, East India Company, series? A hundred years later, in the history books, "I am afraid that I will be stinking for 10,000 years......

However, he has no other way, if he wants the big men in China to set their sights on overseas and be willing to colonize there, he has to be like a nanny and take care of everything for them...... And his own wisdom is limited, although he wants to try his best to avoid the barbaric and cruel Western colonial methods, but unconsciously he still walks their way. I have to admit that "there is no more suitable way to allow the colony to develop production smoothly."

But silence also has a bottom line, he doesn't want his compatriots to be victims...... It is foreseeable that the mortality rate in the early stage of reclamation will be very high, and even if he has to transfer labor from the north, he hopes that this time can be as late as possible, because the later the conditions there will be, and the better the possibility of living well.

He didn't know if this was self-paralysis, because he knew very well that as long as the reclamation of the South Seas continued smoothly, a huge interest group would inevitably rise, and its behavior could not be controlled by anyone. Pandora's box has been opened, "in the end, is it the devil of destruction" or a bloody way of life", he doesn't know", he can only have a worried mood, do his best, and obey the fate of heaven-

This step is too risky and too sinful, but he is really unwilling not to take this step.

Maybe God sent me to the land of China five hundred years ago, and it was for me to take this step, even if the infamy rolls behind me, I have no regrets......

"The adults have returned home, and the idlers are waiting to avoid it quickly!" Silence is in the process of psychological construction", he heard someone talking outside, and then the sedan chair was flattened, and he also regained the appearance of Gujing Bubō.

Then I heard a voice like a silver bell: "Don't you let us see if it's our uncle?" I heard the guards scolding again.

Shen Mo felt strange, so when the sedan chair entered the house, he "lifted the sedan curtain and looked out, just looking at a pretty girl with a small body and wearing bright ethnic minority costumes."

The girl also saw him, "Jumping up to her feet excitedly" and beckoning: "Uncle, are you my uncle?" ”

Shen Mo frowned slightly, and said in his heart, who is this? Looking at the few men with black cloth buns and wearing navy blue clothes beside her, a flash of lightning flashed in her mind: "Zhuang ......, and suddenly countless past events came to mind" In a trance, he was carried into the mansion by a sedan chair.

Seeing that the door of the mansion was slowly closed, and the pushing and shoving outside also stopped, the guards of the mansion expelled those uninvited guests and said: "Hurry up and leave, otherwise you will all be arrested!" A man with a black cloth head and a head like a head "said next to the beautiful girl: "Master, let's go back and find a way." ”

The girl's little face was full of disappointment, and she bit her chún tightly and nodded, "Let's go back." Then he turned and departed, under the guard of his people.

At this time, the door of the mansion opened again, and a tall shì guard came out of it and said, "Everyone, stay here." The girl stood on her feet and looked back at him with eyes that seemed to speak, "Ask him what he wants."

"Where are you from?" Shì Wei asked in a deep voice.

"We are from Tianzhou, Guangxi," the leader of the girl's guards replied on her behalf: "My master is the sister of Tianzhou Tusi, and he has come to meet the officials. "Do you know my family? ", the guard asked.

"There is a friendship......" The leader was halfway through speaking, and the girl grabbed the conversation and said: "You tell my uncle that Aman has come to see him, and if you don't see me, then I will go back." "Sure enough, it's Miss Aman. The guard changed his expression and said sideways, "Please come in......"

One "one" one "one

The girl in front of her "has a goose-egg-like face, a healthy crescent moon and white skin, a pair of big eyes as bright as the morning star, and two shallow pear vortices, always with a smile, which makes people happy from the bottom of their hearts when they see it." She wore a rabbit-fur deerskin hat on her head, and two strands of fine red jade chains hung from the brim, and the red jade glittered in the sunlight "to reflect the light and softness of her hair on both sides."

Her upper body is a light green sè embroidered with a short collar and a color sèhuā edge, and a white neck is "wearing a silver sè collar" and a short sleeve with a short placket, which is very different from the Central Plains. A brocade belt is tied around the waist, and the lower body is a pleated long skirt embroidered with red thread in black sè, and a pair of embroidered shoes embroidered with colorful sè butterfly huā are produced. So many sè colors are worn by women in the Central Plains, "Eighty percent are going to become huā eldest sisters, but in this girl, it only makes people feel full of youthful beauty, as if as long as she stands there, even the air becomes vibrant.

Gradually, gradually, in the silent mind, her image finally connected with the cute little girl with baby fat......

This time, you invited me to eat grilled fish, and I will also invite you to eat, so let's say, what do you want to eat? ,, Roast birds, roast frogs, roast fish, roast shrimp, roast yellow toads, roasted fish, roasted snails, roasted loaches, ......, we are friends, right? ,,I have to go back and ask Grandma ...... first,,So what's your name? ,, I have to ask Grandma to say. ,, So what do I call you? ,,Ashu ......"

"Aman", looked at her with a silent smile and said, "Is it really you, you have become a big girl." ”

"Well, it's Aman." The girl nodded and said crisply, "Uncle, you have also grown a beard." ”

"Hehe......", Shen Mo twisted his beard and smiled: "Twelve years of reincarnation, my uncle is in his thirties, can he not grow a beard?" ”

"Aman has also grown up...... "Aman looked at Shen Mo, "Somehow, when I saw her, I thought about it, Uncle Shen Mo" The little girl couldn't find the familiar feeling at the beginning, she only felt that the uncle opposite, the bearded uncle, "Although he has a lovely smile, he is more majestic than the old man of Zhizhou, and people dare not get close."

After a moment of silence, Shen Mo asked softly, "How have you spent all these years?" I'm so incompetent as an uncle. ”

"When Grandma took me back to Tianzhou, I soon fell ill and died" Speaking of herself, Ah Man was a little less jiāohan, and fell into recollection: "My ten-year-old brother inherited the official position when he was old, and under the care of the elders in the clan, his life was carefree. "And later. Shen Mo asked in a low voice.

Later, when Aman gradually grew up, "I realized that our situation was not so wonderful." A Man said with a little sadness on his face: "The Tusi of Guangxi originally had two major forces, one was our Cen family, and the other was the Wei family. But fifty years ago, Wei Chaowei, the previous leader of the Wei family, gathered a crowd to rebel and confront the imperial court. And our Tianzhou Cen family has always obeyed the imperial court, "so they sent wolf soldiers to help the officials and soldiers clear ......"