"Your Majesty is right. Juyan is a place with abundant water and grass, and fertile land. It is now deserted and could be developed!"

"Yes, that place could become the central hub for defending the northern grasslands and advancing westward into the Western Regions!"

Officials unanimously agreed with and supported the development of Juyan, but how to develop and attract immigrants became a problem.

"Your Majesty, the Guanzhong region is still in the development and immigration stage. There are also large areas of barren land in the border areas of You, Bing, and Liang provinces that urgently need to be reclaimed and settled. The population is already insufficient to support the immigration and settlement. I don't know what to do?"

Chen Fan also looked at Liu Hong with a worried expression.

With the re-establishment of the horse administration, Juyan has now become particularly important.

However, the Han Dynasty at present simply does not have enough people to develop that area.

Liu Hong sat on the imperial throne, lost in thought, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, making a series of "thump-thump" sounds.

Liu Hong also knew that the Han Dynasty wasn't short of people, but rather that not enough people were willing to go there.

It is said that it is hard to leave one's homeland. People would never leave their homeland to go to other places unless they could not make a living.

As the Han Dynasty grows stronger and more prosperous, its people will certainly be even less likely to leave, which will undoubtedly become one of the biggest obstacles to the Han Dynasty's future expansion.

A series of ideas flashed through Liu Hong's mind, eventually settling on "developing colonies".

Currently, Juyan only has garrison troops, but no civilians or various forces. It can be regarded as an experimental base to accumulate experience for the future imperial colonization plan.

Thinking it over, Liu Hong's eyes lit up, and then he looked at the officials and said in a deep voice:

"I have a plan here that might be feasible!"

"Oh? What is the plan?"

Chen Fan and all the officials looked at Liu Hong with curiosity.

"Now that Juyan has recently been incorporated into the territory of the Han Dynasty, most of the land there, apart from the land used as rewards for soldiers, belongs to the imperial court."

Since the people cannot be relocated and the imperial court is unable to develop the land, then let's just contract out those lands!

The imperial court and military personnel could sell the land "management rights" for ten to fifty years.

This operating right includes cultivating various crops, developing various resources, and building factories, workshops, and other construction projects.

As for its price, it is categorized and priced according to the degree of fertility, resource value, and geographical location.

Once someone purchases the "operating rights" to those lands, they own all the output of those lands for a specified period, except for necessary taxes!

The sale of land there was strictly prohibited; anyone who wanted to cultivate or develop the land could only apply to the imperial court and the military for permission to operate.

Of course... if any people are willing to immigrate there and help the imperial court develop the area, they only need to pay 40% of their output each year!

Subsequently, Liu Hong explained in detail to the officials his planned concepts of "colonial manor economy" and "immigrant land protection".

"Your Majesty's suggestion is excellent; it will bring more direct benefits to the court and the military!"

"That's good. This way, the imperial court and government won't have to go through the trouble of organizing and developing it themselves!"

The officials nodded in agreement, amazed by the emperor's bold idea.

"Your Majesty, however, the management of those 'colonies' will certainly differ from that of the counties and prefectures within the Han territory. I wonder how we should manage them?"

Another thing is to prevent those people from becoming too powerful to control in the future!

Li Ying stepped forward with a worried expression.

Although the colonial plan proposed by the emperor is currently very beneficial to the court and the Han Dynasty, in the long run, wouldn't it just become another kind of powerful force?

"Hmm, the Grand Commandant's concerns are indeed not without merit! I wonder if any of you gentlemen have a way to properly manage and resolve this?"

"this......!"

Upon hearing the emperor's question, all the officials fell into deep thought.

This was the first time they had heard of the colonial plan proposed by the emperor, and there were no precedents to follow regarding how it should be implemented and managed.

After a moment's hesitation, Chen Fan stepped forward and said respectfully:

"Your Majesty, I believe we could follow the example of how the Western Regions were managed in the past, with the court directly appointing a Protector-General to Juyan to supervise and manage those estate owners on a daily basis!"

The Protector-General was responsible for local land sales, taxation, infrastructure construction, and commercial management, and was directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court!

They also stationed troops in the area, directly dispatched by the central government, to protect the safety of those people, and to provide them with food and supplies!

As for local law and order, everything is based on the laws of the Han Dynasty!

"The Grand Tutor's words are very wise!!"

Liu Hong smiled and nodded.

The stationing of troops and the appointment of governors-general were essentially the beginnings of colonial administration.

Li Ying said, "Your Majesty, the development of those lands requires a large influx of people, and those people should be managed by the court to prevent them from becoming the private property of those manor owners!"

"The Grand Commandant is right. Population management must be in the hands of the imperial court!"

Liu Hong frowned at the question raised by Li Ying.

Unlike within the Han Dynasty, they and the imperial court could implement a powerful set of measures for population control.

Too much interference in colonial affairs will inevitably dampen the enthusiasm of the farmers.

But how can we prevent those farmers from escaping control?

After a moment's thought, Liu Hong suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said:

"To avoid future problems, it is essential to prevent those farmers from having direct contact with those people!"

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