Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

The Goryeo officer said, "Seventeen, all women."

The Ming Dynasty merchant began to inspect the goods, but soon frowned and said, "Just an unmarried woman?"

The Goryeo officer said, "It's alright, married women are good at bearing children."

“That works too.” The Ming Dynasty merchant nodded.

The Goryeo officer said, "The inspections have been strict lately, and it's not easy to get women."

The Ming Dynasty merchant's expression immediately changed: "You still want to raise the price on the spot?"

The Goryeo officer smiled obsequiously and said, "They're really investigating thoroughly."

"Too many women have been abducted in the past two years, and the government and powerful families are keeping an eye on it."

After some haggling, the price was set at five bolts of linen for the married woman and eight bolts for the unmarried woman.

All of it is fine fabric, the kind that commoners in the Ming Dynasty wore.

Once the transaction was completed, the Goryeo officer immediately returned to the south bank, while the Ming merchants sailed towards Nampo Port.

This Korean merchant sold the woman to a Han Chinese merchant from the Ming Dynasty.

Next, they will dock in Shandong, and then be transported all the way to Youzhou, where they will be sold to bachelors on an installment basis.

The local government turned a blind eye to this because the merchants had "legal" permits.

Before boarding the ship and leaving port, they registered the woman as an overseas servant.

Upon arriving in Shandong, they would register and complete the employment procedures again until the goods were transported to Youzhou and sold, at which point the employment contract would be terminated and they would register their household there.

Regardless, it did increase the population of Youzhou and allowed many bachelors to find wives.

Meanwhile, the Goryeo officer returned to his barracks and found his comrades protesting over their pay.

He smiled, too lazy to get involved.

"His Majesty said he would train a new army and reorganize military equipment, but why are our rations and pay still less after we became a new army?"

"That's right, the food rations are getting smaller and smaller, and we're starving every day!"

"We want to eat!"

"..."

It was all for naught. The newly transferred general, Quan Chengxiu, was the son-in-law of a collateral branch of the Anshan Jin clan.

When a new official takes office, the first thing he has to do is make money, since building connections also has costs.

"Anyone who dares to cause trouble again will be beaten with military sticks!"

Quan Chengxiu led his personal guards to attack, each soldier fully armed and brandishing their swords as they began to fight.

The soldiers who were protesting for their pay scattered and fled home.

Their wives and children lived nearby, and the whole family had to farm for the officers; they were both soldiers and tenant farmers.

Because their rations and pay were withheld, more than a hundred soldiers, along with their families, crossed the river that very night to seek refuge with the Ming Dynasty.

Kwon Sung-soo was furious about this, but he didn't really take it seriously.

The soldiers deserted, which is perfect for them to collect salaries without actually working!

.....

Compared to Pyongyang to the north, Jeju Island, although still in Goryeo's hands, had lost control of the island.

They were able to continue appointing officials from Jeju Island, but these officials were all sidelined.

The officials and gentry on the island all hoped to make money from the Ming Dynasty's fleet.

The official fleet of the Ming Dynasty made a trip to Japan once a year.

They stopped in Jeju Island to resupply and traded with the island's residents. They purchased local specialties such as fresh water, vegetables, fruits, honey, and pearls, and sold iron pots, farm tools, and cloth to the islanders. The transactions were harmonious and pleasant.

Furthermore, copper coins from the Ming Dynasty had already begun to be used on Jeju Island.

In late spring, the official fleet of the Ming Dynasty sailed from Tsushima Island, rested for a day on Jeju Island, and headed straight for Haizhou (Lianyungang).

Haizhou was an important port during the Tang Dynasty, where goods from Huainan could be transported to Silla and Baekje.

It was reactivated by the Ming Dynasty simply because the transportation was more convenient than in Dengzhou.

There are salt canals of all sizes here, connecting the Shu River and the Bian River, allowing overseas goods to travel directly to Kaifeng by waterway.

"rise!"

The crane, pulled by manpower, uses pulleys to lift heavy cargo containers, stabilizes them in the air, and then turns.

Then it slowly descended, and boxes of goods landed on the dock.

Ying Xuan, leading a group of naval personnel, and Wang Xiong (the prototype of Bing Guansuo), leading a group of canal transport soldiers, were carefully inspecting and handing over the goods at the dock.

"So many this year?" Wang Xiong pointed to the cargo boxes marked with the word "prohibited".

Ying Xuan explained, "Two more mines have been opened."

“The Japanese people are very poor. Even though mining is tiring and dangerous, many people still volunteer to be miners.”

"Two years ago, Governor White issued a decree that miners could go home with cloth (wages) after three years of mining, and he also deliberately released a group of prisoners of war miners."

"The miners returned to their hometowns with the cloth, causing a sensation throughout Japan and attracting thousands more to come and mine."

Chapter 3545 Japanese Silver

Wang Xiong laughed and said, "That's a good idea."

The dock had been separated by the navy and the canal transport troops, and boxes of silver ingots were being carried out and weighed.

The clerk in the grain transport corps, after checking the scale markings, recorded the information while announcing, "Treasure Chest No. 1, received 3000 taels of silver. Seal the chest and affix the receipt!"

Another clerk also looked at the scale and watched as the transport soldiers packed the silver.

Then, he stepped forward and carefully affixed the seal, stamping and signing it.

"Treasure Chest No. 2, received 3000 taels of silver..."

3000 taels of silver isn't heavy; it's only about 200 catties.

After working for most of the day, the clerk in charge of bookkeeping came to Wang Xiong and said, "Reporting to General Wang, we have received a total of 4500 taels of gold and 25 taels of silver."

Wang Xiong glanced at the accounts, then personally counted the boxes and signed his name.

Historically, the Iwami Silver Mine produced a million taels of silver annually at its peak, but that required a large number of miners and supporting workers.

The same is true of the Sado Gold and Silver Mine, which produces 30,000 taels of gold and more than one million taels of silver annually, with more than 100,000 people employed in the industry.

As the governor-general in Japan, Shiro's biggest problem right now is the lack of manpower.

There is a great deal of gold and silver in the mountains, but there is no one to use it.

He encouraged miners to settle nearby and to get married and have children.

Furthermore, the workload was reduced, with shifts changing approximately every five or six hours.

They were afraid of exhausting the miners to death!

"It's like gold and silver everywhere!" Wang Xiong exclaimed, putting away his brush.

Yingxuan said with a smile, "Even more next year. Three thousand of the miners recruited last year were transported to Sado Island."

“There’s a mine that just opened recently, and its silver production this year will definitely increase.”

While the two chatted and laughed, they kept a close eye on the laborers carrying the loads onto the ship for transfer.

With everything settled, Yingxuan shouted, "Men, let's go into town in batches for a drink!"

The naval officers and soldiers cheered and ran wild outside Haizhou City.

There are many brothels there; a few of the prostitutes are locals, but most come from Japan and Korea.

Wang Xiong, however, dared not drink alcohol and personally escorted the gold and silver on their journey.

They used small boats when traveling along the Salt Canal, then switched to larger boats on the Bian River, heading towards Kaifeng in a grand procession.

Although the capital was moved to Luoyang, some of the national treasury warehouses and mints remained in Kaifeng.

The gold and silver were transported there, pressed into gold and silver coins using water-powered machinery, and then deposited into the national treasury and distributed throughout the country.

……

Imperial meeting.

Minister of Revenue Fang Mengqing said with delight: "Gentlemen, the three regions of Iwami, Sado, and Tsushima produced 4500 taels of gold and 25 taels of silver last year."

"They have all been transported to Kaifeng and stored there!"

"So many?" Zhai Ruwen asked in surprise.

Not only Zhai Ruwen, but all the high-ranking officials present were shocked.

Qin Hui was extremely envious. He thought Bai Chongwu must have amassed a lot of money, the kind that auditors couldn't even find out.

Because there really are loopholes that can be exploited.

Bai Erlang needs to develop his business, so he keeps a portion of it every year.

Furthermore, the Ming Dynasty also had troops stationed in Japan. Although military expenses had to go through the Ministry of War, it was just a matter of going through the Ministry of War once, and then taking the documents to Bai Erlang to withdraw the funds.

The 4500 taels of gold and 25 taels of silver are the figures after deducting the salaries of overseas officials and military expenses, and after retaining development funds!

Chen Dong suddenly said, "The number of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Censorate who go to Iwami every year should be increased further."

"Otherwise, there might be loopholes in the oversight, as there is far too much gold and silver there."

Zhao Quan said, "That's true. Money can be a powerful motivator. This isn't about doubting Governor Bai, but about protecting him from making a mistake."

Zhao Yuan made the decision: "Starting next year, the number of officials from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of War, and the Censorate who will go to Ishimi will increase by three, and the number of clerks will increase by twelve."

Hu Anguo said, "The names of Iwami and Sado are too Japanese and should be changed to Chinese place names."

"Then let Minister Hu name it," Zhao Yuan said indifferently.

Hu Anguo said, "It can be changed to Shijian and Zuodu. Jian means to distinguish, Zuo means left and right, and Du means capital."

“Okay.” Zhao Yuan felt it was unnecessary, as it was just a matter of different translations.

Zhai Ruwen said, "Since the treasure ships are going through Haizhou to enter the port, the three places of Shijian, Zuodu, and Duima can be changed from being under the jurisdiction of Shandong to being under the jurisdiction of Huainan."

Zhao Yuan shook his head and said, "There is no need to change its jurisdiction to Huainan, nor to Shandong."

"The Shijian Governor's Office is completely independent. Its household registration does not need to be registered in any province. It is directly responsible to the Cabinet and the Six Ministries."

"From now on, the rules shall be set: the head of the Protectorate General shall be a military officer, and the head of the Governor-General's Office shall be a civil official."

The matter was thus settled.

Zhang Tang said, "The envoys of the Western Liao have entered Shaanxi. It is likely that the Western Xia and the Western Liao are colluding together."

Zhao Yuan asked, "Does the Privy Council have a contingency plan?"

Li Bao produced a report: "If we are to attack Western Xia in the future, we can proceed in two steps."

"The first step is to divide our forces into three groups and cut off their arms and legs."

"The northern route is Han Shizhong's Southern Protectorate, which seized territory from Western Xia on the southern slopes of the Yin Mountains."

Chapter 3546 The Black Khanate

"The southern route will launch an attack from the Hehuang region and take over the Hexi Corridor."

"The central route runs from Huichuan (Jingyuan) to Hengshan, relying primarily on fortified villages and mountain ridges for defense."

"In this way, the Western Xia lost all four limbs and were left with only a torso."

"Moreover, the armies from the north and south can also block the reinforcements from the Western Liao."

"The second step is to annex Western Xia."

"This can be done in conjunction with the first step. After defeating the Western Liao reinforcements, we can launch a three-pronged attack to destroy the Western Xia, riding the wave of our great victory."

"If we don't have enough food supplies by then, we can postpone the second step for a few years. Anyway, the Western Xia has already been crippled."

Zhao Yuan nodded approvingly: "Excellent."