Dongning City, Prince Xin's Mansion.
"Your Highness, these are reports from Qingyu Trading Company and Sunji Trading Company over the past month or so."
Liu Jingxuan handed a document to Li Xin and said, "Over the past month or so, forty or fifty merchant ships have undergone armed conversion."
Over the past month, we have sunk more than a hundred pirate ships at sea, and we have not suffered any major losses.
It was quite a fruitful harvest!
If this continues, I'm afraid no pirate ship will be so blind as to provoke our Dongning merchant ships!
The imperial court is likely to suffer a great loss!
Hahaha……"
As he spoke, Liu Jingxuan burst into laughter.
"Hahaha……"
Li Xin also laughed along.
The thought that the imperial ships disguised as pirates had been sunk by Dongning merchant ships made Li Xin feel somewhat happy.
I wonder what Li Ming's expression will be when he hears this news?
stunned?
shock?
Hahaha……
Anyway, Li Xin is now somewhat gloating and smug.
The bright smile on Li Xin's face revealed his current mood.
"It's more than just a huge loss."
Li Xin said with a smile, "The interrogation results of several prisoners show that most of these ships disguised as pirates are actually naval forces from various places in Jiangnan and Qiantang."
Another part was the fleet controlled by the Ministry of Works.
Once these ships are sunk by us, the imperial navy's strength will be greatly reduced.
From now on, the sea areas of Jiangnan, Qiantang, Minyue, Lingnan, Huaibei and other places will belong to our Dongning merchant ships!
Even if the imperial court were to break ties with us and begin a complete break, at least we would have already gained the upper hand on the sea.
Even if we are outnumbered and outmatched on land, we can open a second front at sea at any time to harass the imperial court's rear.
We can also firmly grasp the initiative in the war in our own hands!
This is the most important thing!
Hearing Li Xin's words, Liu Jingxuan's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected His Highness to have such foresight, already considering the grand strategic direction!
Those who cannot plan for the whole are not qualified to plan for a part!
In this light, Your Highness has already become a qualified lord!
Liu Jingxuan immediately bowed deeply to the ground and said, "Your Highness is brilliant! This humble servant admires you the most!"
Even Zhao Bingzhang on the other side had a gratified smile on his face.
His Highness is mature and thoughtful, which is a blessing for his subordinates!
With such a lord, the future is promising!
"Your Highness has a great talk!"
Zhao Bingzhang nodded and said, "Compared with the imperial court, our disadvantages are obvious."
We only have the territory of Dongning Province, with a population of several hundred thousand and a military force of just over 20,000.
Even with the help of modern weapons like muskets and cannons, this small force was barely able to defend itself, let alone face threats from the northern local chieftains and grassland bandits. How could they possibly conquer the imperial court?
Therefore, before our royal guards have formed a large army, when we break with the imperial court, Dongning Province will inevitably take a defensive stance for the time being.
Just as Your Highness said, our infantry is at a disadvantage, but our sea is our advantage!
Whether it's the Dongning merchant ships or the Dongning warships that are about to be launched, they all possess an absolute advantage.
These ships, whether heading to Jiangnan or harassing the flanks of the capital from behind, will be a tremendous help!
Your Highness's strategy is indeed brilliant!
If the imperial court pushes us too hard, we are confident we can fight them!
Zhao Bingzhang's words were full of praise for Li Xin.
He pondered for a moment and continued, "However, Your Highness, our biggest disadvantage in Dongning right now is our small population!"
Fewer people means fewer soldiers.
Therefore, we still need to do our best to acquire a sufficient population!
During this period, there have been significantly fewer people migrating from places like Jiangnan and Huaibei!
Your Highness, I suggest that while we are still in a brief period of peace with the court, we should use every means to recruit a large number of people to come to Dongning to cultivate the land.
This will be our last chance!
"right!"
Upon hearing Zhao Bingzhang's reminder, Li Xin pointed at Zhao Bingzhang and said, "Mr. Zhao, your reminder is excellent!"
Indeed, this will be our last chance!
We don't know when the imperial court will cut off the migration routes, so we can't hesitate any longer and must seize this opportunity!
He Tongyuan is still in Jiangnan, isn't he?
From now on, all branches of Qingyu Trading Company and Sunji Trading Company are requested to begin releasing this information.
Those willing to come to Dongning will be provided with fifty mu of farmland, houses, and farm tools, and will be exempt from taxes for five years and from population tax for life.
Those who came by boat will have their travel, food, and lodging expenses covered.
Those who came by land received an extra 1,000 strings of cash from Dongning.
The scope should be limited to Huaibei, Jiangnan, Qiantang and other places. We can publish the message wherever there are branches of our business.
We should take this opportunity to attract as many people as possible!
The future of Dongning rests on their shoulders!
Think back to the massive population migration that followed, which led to the exodus of people to Northeast China. In a short period of time, the population outside the Great Wall reached tens of millions!
Li Xin had no idea how fast the population would grow in this era, thanks to their deliberate efforts!
Hopefully, it will meet expectations!
After all, Dongning has already offered enough conditions.
Immortality exempts one from the poll tax, provides fifty acres of fertile land, a house, and farm tools, and grants a five-year tax exemption!
Moreover, the migration route is free.
These conditions are already quite generous!
Whether it will succeed or not depends on the choices made by the people in different regions!
Man proposes, God disposes!
Moreover, the provinces in the interior are not under Li Xin's control after all, and there are too many uncontrollable factors, so Li Xin cannot force the issue.
"Let's leave it at that for now."
Li Xin said, "Let the merchants in various regions do their best!"
"Uh-huh."
Zhao Bingzhang nodded and said, "Merchant ships returning from the inland provinces should take as many civilians as possible."
That's all I have to add. We'll just have to wait and see how it goes!
After the meeting ended, everyone went home.
Autumn is just around the corner, and the hottest weather will soon be over.
For the past six months or so, Dongning has been in a state of temporary peace.
During this period, the most important task was the reorganization and re-equipment of the army.
Thanks to the all-out efforts of the Dongning Arsenal's Firearms Bureau and Artillery Bureau, there are now enough guns and cannons needed for the replacement.
The Prince's Guard also completed its reorganization and uniform change.
The next period of time is for familiarizing oneself with the new tactics and methods, and adapting to the new combat mode as soon as possible!
However, the imperial court did not seem to give them enough time.
Just as autumn began, bad news came from the capital.
A trusted aide strode into Prince Xin's residence, looked at Li Xin, and said, "Your Highness, an imperial edict has arrived from the capital!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
