After more than a year, Zhao Yuanhong's letter finally arrived at the capital of the Ming Dynasty.

The reason why it could arrive so quickly was because of the relationship with maritime merchants.

When it comes to letters to the Ming capital, many maritime merchants are willing to help, and even if pirates know about this, they will not stop it.

Although the Ming Dynasty’s navy is currently only in the South Seas region and has not entered the Western region.

But the imperial court's bulletins had already spread throughout the world.

Anyone who reads the contents of the court bulletin will feel a yearning for the prosperous Ming Dynasty. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, the Ming Dynasty is a utopia.

“I never thought that in the far west, the Byzantine Empire had fallen into such a situation.”

After seeing the contents of the letter, Zhu Yuanzhang was deeply moved.

Rome was the Qin Dynasty of the West, possessing the same civilization as that of the East. At this time, just like the former Southern Song Dynasty, it was on the verge of collapse.

If the Byzantine Empire fell, it would be equivalent to the decline of the Roman era.

Compared with the Central Plains, it is like the Qing Dynasty entering the Pass.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang was expelling the Tartars and restoring the Central Plains.

This made Zhu Yuanzhang feel somewhat empathetic.

"If possible, let's try to help the Palaiologos Dynasty."

Zhu Yuanzhang spoke first.

He didn't think that Zhao Yuanhong could accomplish anything in the West. The West was too far away from the Ming Dynasty.

Even if Zhao Yuanhong really made great progress, it actually didn't mean much to the Ming Dynasty.

Because it was impossible to migrate a large number of Han people to the distant West, the existence of a Han person, no matter how great his achievements were, would not have much effect on the Ming Dynasty after his death.

Zhu Yuanzhang saw this point very clearly.

However, it did play some role in spreading the reputation of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if the Nanyang region was taken over, as a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty, the greatest impact would only be in South India.

Crossing the entire Indian Ocean to the Arabian Sea is a very long journey even today.

These aspects are no longer within the reach of the Ming Dynasty court.

However, Zhu Ying had different ideas.

In fact, if you want to develop overseas power, it is impossible to do this through the Ming Dynasty court.

The best way is to support the power of the people, because only the family forces in the private sector can spend huge costs to carry out external expansion.

It’s not that the Ming government doesn’t have the power to do so, but it’s not worth it for the court.

The territory of the Ming Dynasty was already very large, and developing overseas was a very wasteful thing. Moreover, official actions could easily cause resistance from other countries. Once a dispute occurred, the level would easily escalate.

It is different for private groups. They are responsible for their own profits and losses, as long as they feel there is profit to be made.

The original accumulation of capital is often dirty and bloody, and there is no need for the court to bear such a bad reputation.

Outside the direct territory of the Ming Dynasty, the law actually has no binding force.

How to do it depends entirely on one's personal moral standards.

If it weren't for the fact that the Central Plains has always emphasized etiquette and civilization, Zhu Ying would have thought of issuing privateering licenses.

Of course, judging from current behavior, Zhu Ying is actually encouraging private families to communicate with the outside world.

In the Ming Dynasty today, especially in Fujian and the coastal areas of Guangdong, the most prosperous industry is shipbuilding.

The demand for sea vessels from civil groups is growing, which is inseparable from Zhu Ying's secret promotion and policy support.

And because of HNA, the issue of moving the capital has been put on hold.

Today, Nanjing's population is growing due to the gathering of merchants from all over the world and the continuous influx of people from all over the Ming Dynasty.

According to preliminary statistics in the 30th year of Hongwu, the floating population plus the permanent resident population is already approaching three million.

What is the concept of a city with a population of three million at the end of the fourteenth century?

Not to mention three million, even cities with a population of over one million can be counted on one’s fingers in the entire world today.

It is precisely because of the promotion of maritime trade that the population of Nanjing city has been soaring in recent years.

In fact, the biggest factor for population growth is that Zhu Ying continued to open factories in Nanjing.

As a factory in Nanjing, it is one of the best places in terms of treatment and other aspects. As long as you can enter the factory in Nanjing, regardless of the salary, the first thing you are guaranteed is food and accommodation.

For ordinary people, it is simply unimaginable to have free food and accommodation, and on top of that there is a considerable salary every month.

As long as you don't spend it recklessly, you can save the money you earn.

In comparison, this life is even better than that of some landlords in remote areas.

The factory also provides free dormitories and clothes.

Not having to worry about food and clothing is a life that the people who survived the chaos of the late Yuan Dynasty could not even dream of.

With the golden signboard of "Prince's Grandson", it seems that his status will be raised several levels after entering the factory.

In these concentrated factories, Zhu Ying also specially opened schools so that the children of workers who entered the factories could learn knowledge.

These schools, organized by the factories, are all free for the children of factory workers.

Not only was there no tuition fee, but food was also provided, which saved him a lot of trouble.

Every factory will be equipped with a clinic according to Zhu Ying's requirements.

If workers have any illness, they can go to the clinic for treatment.

The factory's clinic costs very little, and often minor illnesses can be treated with just a few cents.

This even includes delivery services.

no way.

Now the Ming Dynasty is constantly encouraging childbirth, so delivery is a very important issue, which can better ensure the survival rate of newborns.

Midwifery is currently a field that medical schools attach great importance to. The profession of midwife is being eliminated by history and is being replaced by more professional gynecologists.

Nowadays, there is no such thing as a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent, because the rapid economic development has led to the creation of many new jobs.

As for schools, there is no such thing as schools that only accept boys and not girls.

The compulsory education set by Zhu Ying includes both boys and girls.

Currently, gynecology departments are basically all women.

Nowadays, female doctors have become commonplace, not to mention becoming popular throughout the Ming Dynasty, at least for people living in Nanjing.

With the development of the economy, it is normal for women's status to rise.

Of course, after all, historically speaking, it is still a feudal era, and it is obviously very difficult to achieve the same status of women as in later generations.

Moreover, as far as the Ming Dynasty is concerned, although the overall development is constantly rising, the difference between Nanjing's development and other places can actually be described as a world of difference.

Apart from Nanjing, even the current Jiangnan region has not yet fully recovered its former prosperity. In fact, because of Nanjing, it has absorbed a large number of families from Jiangnan to migrate.

If we make an economic ranking of the top ten cities in the Ming Dynasty, the prosperity of the last nine cities combined may not be even half of that of Nanjing.

This is also the key reason why the issue of relocating the capital has been temporarily shelved. The current Nanjing city is so prosperous that if the capital is to be relocated, the impact will be even greater.

Nanjing has two cities, the inner and outer cities. The inner city is the area around the imperial palace.

If we talk about prosperity, Nanjing's outer city is more prosperous.

The expansion of the outer city has been Nanjing’s action in recent years and is also the most basic need.

With the increasing population, the only option was to continue to develop and expand the outer city of Nanjing. Otherwise, when people arrived at the capital of the Ming Dynasty, they would have no place to live.

Cement came in very handy at this time. The newly built houses were not only fast, but also generally had three floors.

Zhu Ying has already planned to build a small Nanjing towards the Yangtze River.

This is to facilitate maritime transportation and mainly to provide a preliminary solution to the problem of population congestion.

You know, in today's Nanjing city, all the inns are full every day due to residential reasons.

If foreign merchants arrived in Nanjing on the same day, it would be almost impossible for them to find a place to live in the city without arrangements made by the government.

The concept of firewood shed no longer exists in the houses in Nanjing city.

Many people who own houses in Nanjing now choose to rent out their vacant houses.

The woodshed can be rented out after a little tidying up, which can bring in a considerable income.

Even for ordinary people who once lived in Nanjing, as long as they had two or three houses to rent out, they would not have to worry about their lives at all, and even the whole family could live on the rent.

Compared with the changes in Nanjing, the changes in the palace were even more tremendous.

Especially in terms of food, a large number of novel ingredients continued to appear on the palace list.

The most prominent ones are the various fruits and snacks.

As for fruits, fruits from Southeast Asia are the best-selling in the capital. Tropical fruits are always fleshy and juicy, and taste much better than those from other regions.

No matter how much fruit was shipped from Southeast Asia to the capital, it was basically sold out on the same day.

The freshest batch was naturally supplied to the palace.

Zhu Yuanzhang now truly lives a good life, which is much more comfortable than before.

The pressure on government affairs is reduced, and the delicacies from all over the world are even more of a pleasure.

Every afternoon, Zhu Ying specially arranged fruit desserts.

Not only Zhu Yuanzhang, but everyone in the palace can enjoy it.

Even the palace guards on duty could get a small portion of dessert and fruit.

Even the young eunuchs who had just entered the palace could have a few bites to eat.

Inside the Qianqing Palace.

Every day after lunch, there is fruit as dessert.

Of course, what Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Ying ate were the freshest and most expensive fruits.

"Why are the pineapples today so much sweeter than usual? Where did they come from? They don't have the sour taste they had before."

Pineapple is Zhu Yuanzhang's favorite fruit, which is actually pineapple.

Pineapple is a name given in later generations, and now it is called pineapple.

"Your Majesty, today's pineapples were shipped from Dongfan. The palace found that these pineapples are sweeter than the previous ones, so they are specially presented to Your Majesty and the Crown Prince for your enjoyment."

Liu He replied respectfully.

Because there are so many kinds of fruits shipped to the capital now, the palace also has to screen the fruits.

If something does not suit your taste, it certainly cannot be presented to Your Majesty.

When Zhu Ying heard the word Dongfan, his heart moved slightly.

The place called Dongfan is Taiwan in later generations.

In the early Ming Dynasty it was called Dongfan, and in the middle of the Ming Dynasty it was also called "Dawan" and "Mayuan".

It was not until the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty that the name Taiwan came into being.

As for Taiwan today, it has almost no communication with the Ming Dynasty, especially the people in Fujian. With the development of HNA, they are more familiar with the distant Luzon.

Taiwan is only a hundred miles away from Fujian, but Taiwan today is more like a primitive society.

Qiongzhou can be considered an island in a remote area. Due to the development of HNA, its economic level has increased rapidly. Dongfan, which is similar, does not even have a government at present.

In name, Dongfan belonged to the Ming Dynasty, but in reality, no one went there.

The reason for this is that the Taiwan Strait seems to be very narrow, but in fact it is much more difficult to cross the sea from Fujian to Taiwan than to Ryukyu or Luzon.

The Taiwan Strait may not look wide, but in fact, crossing the sea from Fujian to Taiwan is much more difficult than going to Ryukyu or Luzon.

In addition, the Penghu Channel between Taiwan and Penghu has a complex seabed topography, and the ocean currents and strong winds caused frequent shipwrecks in ancient times, which led to it being called the Black Water Channel. It is not easy to get to Penghu, and it is even more difficult to get to Taiwan.

Not to mention the early Ming Dynasty, even in the late Ming Dynasty, Fujian, which was closest to the country, knew nothing about the Dongfan.

However, due to the continuous development of sea navigation, there are always some ships arriving in Dongfan.

In fact, there is a safer route, which is to start from the mouth of the Yangtze River and go straight south. It is a calm route and is far less dangerous than from Fujian to Dongfan.

"It seems that there is no government of our Ming Dynasty in Dongfan, so it has always been a place without the rule of the king?"

Zhu Yuanzhang ate a pineapple and recalled what happened.

Pineapple and pineapple are actually the same kind of fruit.

However, pineapples have a strong sour taste and need to be soaked in salt water for a period of time to eliminate the sour taste before they can be eaten.

This is not necessary for pineapples produced in Dongfan. If you eat them directly, they will not have any sour taste.

It was this pineapple that made Zhu Yuanzhang notice Dongfan.

"Dongfan is not far from our Ming Dynasty, but it is quite dangerous to sail there. However, there should be a safe route. We can go and look for it, and we can also let Dongfan accept the teachings of our Ming Dynasty."

Now that he knew about Dongfan, Zhu Ying certainly had no intention of letting it go. After all, Dongfan was relatively suitable for living and could develop a good farmland economy.

Although I have no memory of a safe route to Taiwan, I know that it is definitely not possible to depart from Fujian.

Find some experienced people, issue an order, give some rewards, and it shouldn't be difficult to find a safe channel.

Taiwan is a place that cannot be missed, and it is a perfect place for large-scale migration and immigration.