"I've already said it, I'll do whatever you tell me to do." Tang Youde stated his attitude without hesitation, and then asked curiously, "Is this island called Taiwan? I always thought it was called Xiaoliuqiu."

"You're still calling me little rascal. How ugly." Zhao Hao scolded with a smile: "This island is much bigger than Ryukyu. It should at least be called Greater Ryukyu."

After a pause, he said seriously: "Besides, this island is an inseparable part of China. We have the responsibility to build it well and make it a part of Chinese civilization as soon as possible!"

"Well said!" In fact, Tang Youde didn't know what he said well, but it was right to applaud.

"As the saying goes, if the name is not right, the words will not flow. I plan to name this island Taiwan and then dedicate it to the country." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice.

"That's such a waste." Tang Youde couldn't help but say with concern: "How much more fun would it be if we could just have fun on our own like on Jeju Island?"

"On our own, we can only develop a new port city. If we want to expand the scale, we are not capable of it." Zhao Hao shook his head decisively and said, "Besides, the difference between Tamra Island and Taiwan is like the difference between sesame and watermelon! Without the help of the imperial court, how long will it take us to develop it?"

After a pause, he said in a deep voice: "This year is the third year of the First Five-Year Plan. I plan to bring in at least one million people here by the end of the Second Five-Year Plan. This is just northern Taiwan, so southern Taiwan will have at least one million people!"

"Hiss, so many people?" Tang Youde couldn't help but gasp.

"Is it a lot? Not much." Zhao Hao said calmly: "I've told you many times, don't just focus on your own little piece of land, you need to have a global vision. Look at the whole country, and even the whole world!"

"Hehe, Old Tang hasn't been around the young master for these years, and his thinking is indeed backward." Tang Youde hurriedly reflected: "I will listen more to the young master's teachings in the future."

"You just want to take advantage of what's already been done." Zhao Hao scolded with a smile, "Read more of the group's newspapers in the future, especially Internal Reference, and you'll know everything."

"Alas, actually, every time the internal report reaches Xingang, the City Hall organizes a study session." Tang Youde said with a wry smile, "It's a pity that we are not smart enough to appreciate the young master's painstaking efforts."

"That's right." Zhao Hao suddenly understood Tang Youde's distress. Whether it was Xingang City or the group's subsidiaries, the management was all businessmen or scholars who were not even students. It was no problem to ask these people to do business and management, but if they were given political acumen, a new bourgeoisie would be born.

It's not that easy, take it slow.

"In the future, let the Strategic Decision-making Committee organize a touring group to interpret the internal reference for you down there." Young Master Zhao thought for a moment and said.

"That's great." Tang Youde was overjoyed. It was painful to guess blindly at the internal reference. If he guessed wrong or did something wrong, he would be in big trouble. It would be great if someone could give him a standard answer.

"In short, you just need to know that the main contradiction of the Ming Dynasty today is the contradiction between the ever-expanding population and the extremely serious land annexation. If the Ming Dynasty wants to avoid the destruction of the country, it must either solve the annexation problem or solve the population problem!"

"I see." Tang Youde slapped his thigh and said, "I see! Solving the population problem is definitely easier than solving the annexation problem! And if Taiwan Island is well developed, it can accommodate millions of people!"

"That's the truth!" Zhao Hao happily patted Tang Youde's round belly and said, "Old Tang is so smart!"

"That's because of the young master's good upbringing." Tang Youde smiled complacently, then frowned and asked, "But even if we stuff ten million people into Taiwan Island, it won't solve the problem. We have a population of more than two hundred million, so we need at least twenty more Taiwan Island."

"So if we want to avoid the destruction of our country, we have to keep expanding, southwards and eastwards. There is enough unowned land in this world to support at least five more Ming dynasties!" Zhao Hao patted Tang Youde's shoulder vigorously and said with great pride:

"Taiwan is our first step in immigration! Let's work hard, lay a solid foundation, accumulate enough experience, and make a good start for this large-scale immigration that will last for hundreds of years!"

"A century-long migration?" Tang Youde was shocked by this grand vision and felt dizzy. It was much more grand than his ideal of turning "Tang's Southern Goods Store" into a century-old store.

This is why he ignored his current fortune of several million taels and was willing to be Zhao Hao's pawn.

Mr. Zhao can always place you in a grand pattern, making you feel from the bottom of your heart that money and enjoyment are just clouds, and only by doing something big can your life be worthwhile.

Now, Zhao Hao has elevated this cause to a level that concerns the survival of the Ming Dynasty and expanded it to a scale of several hundred years.

It makes you deeply believe that your career is so noble and great, and of great importance! It makes you dare not slack off at all, for fear of letting down your family, the country, and the future generations!

"Centennial Immigration? That's a good name!" Zhao Hao said happily to Secretary Ma who had returned, "Write it down. When you mention this plan in the internal reference in the future, use this name. And make a special statement that it was named by President Tang Youde!"

"Sir, what merits and abilities did I have to receive this honor?" Fatty Tang's face flushed red. Good fellow, now not only his son, but also his grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson will dedicate themselves to this great cause.

"Why do you deserve this? You are my first business partner," Zhao Hao said with a smile, "You are the mayor of the first administrative city of the group and the chairman of the first administrative district management committee!"

"Chairman of the Taiwan Administrative Region?" Tang Youde's cheeks were shaking with excitement. Administrative region sounds much better than the island owner of Taiwan.

"Chairman of the Taiwan Special Administrative Region." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "Isn't that impressive?"

"It's very impressive!" Tang Youde was very satisfied. After thinking for a while, he became worried: "But if the court sets up prefectures and counties, what will happen to this management...committee?"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of these things." Zhao Hao smiled and said with indescribable confidence: "In the initial stage, we will do it ourselves. After the stage is set up, I will invite actors to perform."

"I understand." Tang Youde was indeed a worm in Mr. Zhao's stomach, and he understood it immediately.

Actors are the ones who perform on the stage. The one who really has the final say is the boss backstage.

~~

While the conversation was in full swing, after the hot air balloon was ready again, Zhao Hao took Tang Youde onto the hanging basket and took off for the second time, discussing the situation with him.

"Look at how nice this Keelung Port is... By the way, the name Jilong is too rustic, I think we should change it to Keelung, which means 'Base Changlong'." Young Master Zhao accepted the naming rights of Keelung without changing his expression.

"It's a good name change. The pronunciation remains the same, but the meaning is much more elegant. The base will prosper, which is a good meaning!" Fatty Tang flattered.

"Then you must not live up to this good name." Zhao Hao pointed to the long Keelung Bay blocked by the Great Keelung Island and said, "This natural harbor can be used as both a military port and a commercial port. It is also located on the South China Sea route. It is really blessed by nature!"

“It’s good, but the harbor is surrounded by mountains, so the space is a bit cramped…” Fatty Tang was the builder of Xingang City from scratch, and he could see the flaws of Keelung at a glance.

"You should look further ahead." Zhao Hao pointed to the Keelung River in the south of the harbor and said, "We only need to dig a seven-mile-long canal to connect the harbor directly to the Keelung River!"

"That's true." Tang Youde quickly wrote it down in his notebook.

"The Keelung River is the lifeblood of Keelung City." Zhao Hao pointed to the west and said, "Its upper reaches are rich in coal reserves, which can be mined using traditional methods. And the mine is right along the coast! Do you see that peninsula?"

"Yeah." Tang Youde followed where Master Zhao pointed and looked towards a protruding peninsula only five miles away from Keelung Port.

"That place is called Badouzi. 'Badou' means 'witch' in Ketagalan. Badouzi means witches live there." Zhao Hao introduced with great interest: "There is a coal mine there that is enough to be mined for hundreds of years!"

As a symbol of the Westernization Movement in the Qing Dynasty, the Keelung Coal Mine is very famous. In the Ming Dynasty, immigrants used traditional methods to mine coal in Badouzi. During the Westernization Movement, the government began to run coal mines here, using machines for production. It was not until the millennium that it was closed. For more than a hundred years, it has been an important source of coal in Taiwan. During the Japanese occupation period, it was also shipped to Japan in large quantities, with an annual output of more than two million tons!

Judging from the current industrial level, there is absolutely no problem for the Keelung coal mine to support Taiwan and surrounding areas for two hundred years!

"That's great!" Tang Youde was also very excited. He was no ordinary person, and he knew that Jiangnan Iron and Steel Corporation had already replaced charcoal with coal coking as the main fuel for the steel industry.

In addition to Jiangnan Steel, other companies also used coal instead of charcoal as fuel. For example, Jiangnan Sugar used it to make sugar and boil salt; Jiangnan Liquor used it for brewing and distilling; Jiangnan Building Materials made bricks and tiles and fired cement; Jiangnan Ceramics fired glass and ceramics; Jiangnan Chemical produced chemical products such as alum, green vitriol, saltpeter, starch, etc.; Jiangnan Textile processed fabrics and bleached and colored them...

Changguang Coal Mine even had a machine that used coal as fuel to pump water out of the mine. It seemed to be called the "Zhang Jian Steam Engine".

But for him, what he was most interested in was that after rough processing, coal could be made into so-called fertilizer, which could greatly increase farmland production! The farms in Jiangnan relied on this magic weapon to achieve record-breaking high yields year after year.

Tang Youde had been jealous when he was in Tamra, but unfortunately Jiangnan Shipping had limited shipping capacity and could not help him transport coal. Now there was a coal mine at his doorstep, and it was right next to the harbor. He wanted to rush down immediately and start working hard with his pickaxe!

"Don't worry, don't worry." Zhao Hao smiled and put his arm around his shoulders, pointing to the southeast of Badouzi and said, "Do you see the mountains behind Badouzi? The innermost one is called Ruifang Mountain; further east, the valley surrounded by mountains on three sides is called Jinguashi. Guess what's in these two places?"

"What is it? Could it be a gold mine?" Fatty Tang asked, blinking his eyes like copper bells.

"Guessed it right!" Zhao Hao snapped his fingers and laughed, "So, do you still find it difficult to start?"

ps. It’s the beginning of the month, please give me your monthly vote!