The large-scale development of Jingxiang is short of manpower. What Zhu Yunying can do now is probably to first transfer some garrison troops to the military farms, or to continuously relocate people to populate these areas.
"Fortunately, although this place is not yet very prosperous, it has a good foundation." Zhu Yunying analyzed seriously, "With a little effort, I believe that in a few decades, this place can become a land of fish and rice, and one of the grain bases of the Ming Dynasty."
Jingxiang has a good foundation, so with conscious policy guidance and large-scale development, it can mature quickly.
The difficulty of large-scale development is relatively low, a fact not only Zhu Yunying understands but also everyone in the court. Everyone is aware that Jingxiang will develop; currently, those areas are second only to Jiangnan in terms of 'wealth'.
"In the end, the development of the Great Northern Wilderness is just too difficult. Even in the industrial era, development was quite challenging, let alone now that we are still an agrarian civilization." Zhu Yunying scratched his head and said with considerable frustration, "Developing those places basically relies on manpower, and to put it bluntly, it requires sacrificing human lives."
The famous "Crossing the Guandong" movement in history refers to the hundreds of years from the Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, during which people from Shandong and other regions outside the Great Wall began to leave their homes and venture into the Northeast.
When talking about venturing into Northeast China, one must mention the "Going West." This movement began in the mid-Ming Dynasty and reached its peak in the Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China. People from Shanxi and other places left their homes and opened up economic and cultural channels between the Central Plains and the Mongolian grasslands, driving the prosperity and development of the northern regions.
“These are all tears of bitterness, these are all paid for with human lives.” Zhu Yunying stared blankly into the distance. “But I have to do this. I certainly won’t live to see these things. But if I don’t set the tone and lay the foundation, it’s hard to guarantee whether my descendants will remember these things.”
The migration to Northeast China was largely due to the repeated disasters that struck the lower reaches of the Yellow River, leaving people in the interior with no other option but to move there.
The reason many people migrated to the Northwest was largely due to the poor soil and frequent natural disasters in northern Shanxi, which forced many to seek a living outside the Great Wall.
Ultimately, whenever disaster strikes, people are forced to flee their homes and seek a living elsewhere.
We haven't encountered that many disasters yet, so forcibly relocating people is inherently difficult. After all, it's hard to leave one's homeland, which is a characteristic of the Chinese people. Another reason, of course, is that people are even less willing to go to harsh, cold places. If there were any other way, everyone would prefer to stay in their hometown.
Historically, it took hundreds of years of development to establish a reasonably good foundation. For Zhu Yunying to develop some areas in just a few decades is basically a pipe dream, almost impossible.
Therefore, he is well aware that all he can do now is lay a solid foundation in certain areas so that future generations can see the benefits of those areas and ensure the continuity of policies. This is the most important thing.
Of course, this also relates to national security. Once the Northeast and Northwest are developed and a certain foundation is established, future generations will not easily abandon those areas. Furthermore, a large part of the essence of agrarian civilization lies in the cohesion that comes with settling down.
Once agriculture is established, it will be difficult for nomadic peoples or tribes still engaged in hunting and gathering to thrive in a primitive environment. Furthermore, the powerful assimilative capabilities of Han culture can subtly eliminate many potential threats.
Thinking about it this way, Zhu Yunying felt even more that he should take these matters seriously and that these matters must be handled well in his hands.
It's unrealistic to expect a population explosion in the short term. The population of the Ming Dynasty was indeed increasing, because it seemed that the country was at peace and the people were increasingly able to feel the prosperity and tranquility of the nation.
However, productivity is limited, and even though land resources don't seem particularly scarce now, there aren't any high-yield crops, so it's not easy for people to feed themselves, let alone start increasing the population at this time.
The population of 400 million is only possible because of the emergence of high-yield crops, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, or pumpkins, which allowed more people to see crops that could fill their stomachs.
"If we have to use human lives to fill the gaps, it can't just be the people of the Ming Dynasty." Zhu Yunying's eyes turned cold as he muttered to himself, "I guess I'll definitely be a mixed bag from now on. Some people might call me a tyrant, while others might think I've brought some benefits to the world."
Since a large population is needed to develop remote areas, and the Ming Dynasty's population is insufficient, and a large number of lives are needed to fill those places, Zhu Yunying can only think of other solutions.
“Nanyang, Korea, and Japan are all good places.” Zhu Yunying slowly stood up and paced back and forth. “If we really bring some people over, I estimate that they will be assimilated after two or three generations.”
Once assimilated, it would actually be a good thing, saving a lot of trouble. After all, throughout history, Chinese culture has assimilated many ethnic groups.
At most, it would be the first or second generation, which would be somewhat troublesome. However, the current Ming Dynasty is powerful enough to suppress some dissenting voices, and the strength of Chinese civilization means that many opposing voices will not need to be taken seriously for the time being.
"Plantations and such, we can consider that." Zhu Yunying was helpless. He was a sinner in history, so be it. "I'm starting a new era. Even if I don't, someone else will. The Age of Exploration has actually started around this time."
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