Late Yuan Dynasty: I am the true emperor

Chapter 551 Methods of Disaster Prevention and Preparedness
After listening to the groundwork Wang Dayuan had laid for establishing the stronghold, Lu Jin immediately praised him and then discussed specific methods with them.

Firstly, the current situation is that there are few ships capable of carrying out long-distance transoceanic missions. In addition to the Yuanwang, Lu Jin can at most add a 74-gun battleship for them next year's voyage. This is the largest ship in terms of size and cargo capacity besides the Yuanwang.

Next year, we must prioritize meeting the supply needs of Xiangxun Port. Currently, there are too many slaves and too few core Han Chinese in Xiangxun Port, making the population structure unstable. Next year, we need to supplement them with at least 300 more Han Chinese immigrants, as well as various livestock that Yang Hui specifically requested, such as pigs and sheep raised for meat, and large draft animals. Lu Jin chose to prioritize transporting donkeys.

After all, there is a saying among the people: "Iron donkey, bronze mule, paper horse." Horses are too delicate and probably cannot withstand such long-distance transoceanic transportation, while donkeys are very hardy.

Furthermore, the donkeys in North China are quite large, even comparable to Mongolian horses, making them suitable for riding or pulling carts. As for plowing, since there are slaves available, Han Chinese are not needed for the time being.
In this way, the three hundred Han Chinese immigrants and their livestock alone almost filled the Yuanwang ship. After all, the Yuanwang ship also needed to carry a large amount of ironware and various goods to facilitate the continued trade between Xiangxun Port and the natives. As a result, only one 74-gun warship was left to carry out the task of establishing a base, which was obviously not enough.

Lu Jin thought for a moment before saying, "If the two warships go together, you shouldn't encounter any enemies. That way, you can bring fewer gunners and more immigrants. In that case, the Yuanwang only needs fifty sailors and one hundred soldiers, and then bring six hundred immigrants, which is about the same as the total number last time."

“The other gunboat can also be configured in this way: thirty sailors, eighty soldiers, and six hundred immigrants. In this way, with three hundred people per stronghold, you can build at least four strongholds.”

Wang Dayuan reminded him, "Your Majesty, you can't calculate it like that. Last time we were able to establish a stronghold with three hundred people because we were close to the natives of the Aztec Kingdom. There were merchants, markets, food, and labor there. Everything was readily available. We also brought a lot of goods, so we could just buy whatever we needed from the natives. But it's different in other places."

“For example, it would be even more difficult to establish a foothold in Jinchuan (San Francisco) or Yuzhuji (Los Angeles). There is nothing there. The local natives do not even know how to farm or raise livestock. They cannot buy anything they want. There is no labor force. The immigrants have to do all the work themselves, such as clearing land, farming, and building houses. They probably won’t even last the first year before they die from exhaustion and hunger.”

Lu Jin fell silent for a moment, but what Wang Dayuan said made sense; he had been oversimplifying things. So he said, "Sir, you are right. Do you have any suggestions for establishing a new stronghold?"

Wang Dayuan immediately said, "If we still build a base in Zhonglizhou, it would be simpler. After all, there are large-scale native towns there that we can rely on. As long as we bring enough goods, we can buy whatever we want, which is very beneficial for the immigrants who have just arrived to establish themselves."

"If we were to establish a base in a more remote and secluded place, such as Jinchuan or Yuzhuji, I think it would be best to leave a few ships in Lizhou. This way, we can draw manpower from the old base and purchase slaves from Xiangxun Port to transport to the new base to help with reclamation and construction."

"We only need to transport enough goods from the Ming Dynasty and let the strongholds in Lizhou develop on their own, one to two, two to four. Then His Majesty can send reliable officials to manage them. Establishing just a few strongholds in the early stages will definitely be enough."

Hearing this, Lu Jin finally understood why the triangular trade existed. In the early stages of overseas colonization, the demand for labor in the colonies was enormous. Just considering the tasks of clearing land, farming, and building houses, even maintaining basic survival was difficult. At that time, there was no engineering machinery, so after much consideration, slaves were still the most useful option.
The beginning is always the hardest, especially for the first settlers. Once a town has been established, it becomes easier to continue migrating.

At this thought, Lu Jin suddenly had an idea: should he engage in the Pacific triangular trade and sell Koreans and Vietnamese to Lizhou as slaves? But the next moment, he immediately dismissed the idea.

Putting aside the fact that Korea and Vietnam haven't been conquered yet, just considering trade, demand creates the market. Historically, the main buyers of enslaved Africans in the Americas were plantation owners. The problem is that there aren't even any plantation owners in Lizhou now. Who would they sell the slaves to? To do this business, they would first have to send the first batch of plantation owners over.
Lu Jin shook his head inwardly before saying, "Then let's do it this way. The personnel will remain as we just discussed. Of the 1200 immigrants we bring next year, 300 will be assigned to Xiangxun Port, and the remaining 900 will be used to build a new outpost in the Isthmus of Central Panama. This will help us connect the two oceans and also prepare for the future development of the Inca Empire. The outpost in Tanzhou will not be built for the time being next year."

"Then there's Chengzhou. Chengzhou is relatively close to China, so there's no need to use ships like the Yuanwang to handle it. I can send a few more Fujian ships to carry immigrants to Chengzhou with you. Then the Fujian ships can stay there and not cross the ocean with you. This way, we can quickly establish a foothold in Chengzhou. If you need anything, you can go back to China to purchase it."

Wang Dayuan immediately nodded, “Your Majesty’s arrangement is good. If that’s the case, I suggest that we establish three or four bases in Chengzhou. We can place one in Sapporo on the west bank, and another one in the east of Chengzhou, where there is a river estuary (Obihiro City, Daiki-cho and Hiroo-cho). This area has both a port and a dense network of rivers, which is convenient for cultivating fields and replenishing fresh water. It is suitable as a departure base, so we can place one here as well.”

"Then we can also set up a base here in Chengnan Bay (Uchiura Bay). It's close to Sapporo and is the only large bay on the entire Chengzhou Island, which is convenient for mooring ships. Alternatively, we can build a base here at the southernmost point (Hakodate City). There is a natural harbor here, although it is not very big, but the location is important. It is opposite Mutsu Bay of Japan. Building a base here will definitely be useful in the future, and it will also make it convenient for us to rest here in the south when we travel between the two sides of Chengzhou Island."

Lu Jin looked at the marks Wang Dayuan had made on the map, nodded and said, "The location you have chosen is indeed good, and I will consider it. However, I'm afraid we still need to find a reliable person to manage Chengzhou."

Wang Dayuan nodded slightly but did not reply. He was only responsible for navigation and providing Lu Jin with advice on overseas operations. As for personnel appointments, he did not get involved, and Lu Jin did not say much to him either.

Next, Lu Jin inquired about the situation of Zhang Chao, Wang Zong, and other officers of the Yuanwang, and then promoted Wang Zong by one rank on the spot, making him the captain of the new ship. He was to sail the new ship with Wang Dayuan to Lizhou next year, and instructed the officers to gain more experience and learn more, so as to master the skills of ocean voyage as soon as possible, so that they could be independent in the future. Zhang Chao and the others readily agreed.

After making arrangements for next year, the group took their leave. Lu Jin watched them leave, then sat behind the table in a daze for a while before suddenly asking Li Dingbang, the guard at the door, "Dingbang, is the First Imperial Guard Division stationed in Liaodong?"

Upon hearing this, Li Dingbang hurriedly entered the hall and said, "Your Majesty, the First Imperial Guard Division is indeed stationed in Liaodong."

"By imperial decree, Zhu Chongba, the Earl of Danyang and commander of the Vanguard Regiment of the First Imperial Guard Division, is hereby summoned back to the capital to report for duty. His position will be taken over by the adjutant of the Vanguard Regiment. He shall depart immediately upon receiving the imperial decree, without delay!"

"Yes!"

Li Dingbang agreed and immediately arranged for someone to draft an imperial edict. At this moment, Lu Jin also stood up and walked to the palace gate, thinking to himself, "Chen Youliang was sent by me to explore the South Seas, so you, Zhu Chongba, will go and explore Hokkaido for me."

"Prepare the carriage and proceed to the Cabinet."

A moment later, Lu Jin arrived at the cabinet, where Li Shanchang and others were already waiting. There was a small meeting to be held today, with two main topics: how to promote the new crops and how to handle and spend the more than ten million taels of gold and silver.
Feng Guoyong had already prepared a draft and spoke immediately after Lu Jin sat down.

"Your Majesty, I believe that the best way to promote new crops is to rely on the Inner Guard system. The Inner Guard has official farms in various prefectures and counties, and it also adopts a system of conscription and rotation of retired soldiers."

“Every soldier in the inner guard comes from various villages and towns in the area. As long as they learn to grow new crops during their service, they can take the seeds back home and grow them themselves. In this way, one household can help ten households, and in a few years, the new crops can be spread to all prefectures and counties of the Ming Dynasty.”

The promotion of new crops is clearly a civil affairs issue. Feng Guoyong, as a military minister, wanted to use the Inner Guard to be in charge of the promotion of new crops, which obviously seemed to be a power struggle. However, none of the people present said anything, because the Inner Guard system was indeed very useful and very suitable for this task.

The internal guards come from various villages and mainly serve in their hometown counties, rarely having to travel far. They are subject to a three-year compulsory military service system, with the first year involving basic military training and cultural studies.

In the second year, he served in various government offices, such as guarding cities, patrolling key points, maintaining public order, supervising construction projects, guarding prisons, and assisting the police in arresting wanted criminals.

In the third year, they would work on government-run farms, assist local schools in organizing agricultural and military training, and also choose a technical skill, such as carpentry, blacksmithing, or animal husbandry. In the fourth year, they could retire and return to their hometown.

Therefore, according to this arrangement, each batch of new recruits of the Inner Guard Army had to stay in the government-run farms for at least a year. After learning how to plant new crops on the government-run farms, they could plant them in their own fields immediately after retiring and returning home. This was very convenient for promoting new crops, after all, this was the first time in history that an organization had gone deep into the grassroots of villages and towns, and that imperial power had reached the countryside!
Feng Guoyong then said, “There is another advantage to promoting planting on the official land of the Inner Guard Army. Yesterday, I learned about the planting methods of potatoes and sweet potatoes. Potatoes are easy to grow. They are suitable as both vegetables and grains, and there is no problem with eating them for a long time. Promoting them is not difficult.”

"But what the Marquis of Bowang wrote in his booklet is that sweet potatoes cause heartburn if eaten for a long time. They can only be considered as coarse grains and are not suitable for long-term consumption. They are good for famine relief and emergency use. The leaves can be eaten as vegetables and the sweet potatoes can relieve hunger."

"And sweet potatoes are grown by cuttings. This method of planting means that if a disaster occurs in a place, the county should be able to provide enough sweet potato seedlings immediately so that the local people can replant sweet potatoes and get through the disaster year."

"It will also save us from the situation in the past, where a slight disaster would cause a large number of people to flee. Firstly, refugees are inherently harmful, and if they are incited by someone with ulterior motives, they might raise a flag and rebel. Secondly, even if they don't rebel, a group of refugees begging everywhere could end up with cannibalism, which is not a good outcome."

Everyone present nodded in agreement, including Emperor Lu Jin.

Natural disasters are unavoidable in any era, even in the modern age with its advanced technology. Lu Jin was well aware of this. With such advanced technology and powerful engineering capabilities, the modern world can only focus on disaster prevention, mitigation, and reducing losses; it is impossible to completely eliminate the occurrence of disasters.

So, how to minimize losses and maintain social order when natural disasters strike is what they need to do, and potatoes and sweet potatoes are undoubtedly the best famine preparedness supplies for this era.

Feng Guoyong continued, "So, if we want to ensure that each county has a large number of sweet potato seedlings in the long term, we need to ensure that there is a certain planting area every year. This is the perfect task to entrust to the official fields of the Inner Guard Army. Once a famine occurs in a local area, seedlings can be taken directly from the official fields and distributed to the people for replanting. Depending on the extent of the disaster, sweet potato seedlings can also be collected from the official fields of surrounding prefectures and counties that are not affected by the disaster to provide support."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and Li Shanchang added from the side.

"Regarding disaster prevention and famine preparedness, the imperial court could actually be more forceful and mandate that every household must plant at least one mu of sweet potatoes after the new crops are widely adopted."

"At yesterday's palace banquet, all the officials tasted the sweet potato. It tastes quite good when cooked into porridge; it's very sweet. If each household only grows one acre of sweet potatoes, they can easily consume several thousand kilograms."

“When there is no disaster, we eat our own food. But when a disaster occurs, we can collect sweet potato seedlings to replant. After all, there is a saying that ‘human help is not as good as heaven’s help, and heaven’s help is not as good as self-help.’ In addition to the government’s efforts, the people must also actively help themselves in order to prevent disasters and prepare for famine.”

Lu Jin nodded in agreement, finding both of their suggestions to be reliable. As for forcing each farmer to plant one mu of sweet potatoes, it wasn't actually that difficult.

Firstly, in the original history, Emperor Zhu issued an order requiring every household to grow cotton, so there was a precedent. Secondly, we should not underestimate the ancient people of this era and their obsession with filling their stomachs. Lu Jin is, after all, a modern person and has never experienced the bitterness of hunger, but these people of the Ming Dynasty have actually seen people starve to death, and probably many of them have never truly been full.

Putting aside the exaggerated yield of sweet potatoes, which was enough to fill one's stomach, even if they were only used for famine preparedness, there was no need for the court to forcefully urge them to do so. Don't underestimate the sense of crisis among the ancient people; they valued famine preparedness more than anyone else.

(End of this chapter)