The most arrogant in history

Yan Ju then smiled slightly, clasped his fists and said, "I will take my leave now and go back to arrange immigration matters."

Ye Kun also nodded and returned to the palace to do his work.

Nine departments held a meeting and studied the immigration and management issues of Donghua Changdao for three days, and finally made some preliminary progress.

Ye Kun appointed Yan Ju as the King of Changdao, Donghua, and the title was hereditary.

Yan Ju guaranteed that he would control Changdao for generations, promote Chinese characters and Chinese language throughout the island, raise the Han national flag, wear Chinese clothes, follow Chinese etiquette, and be a vassal for generations, pay tribute every year, accept conscription and immigration management of the Huaxia country, issue Chinese currency, etc.

Ye Kun still had a trick up his sleeve for Yan Ju. He kept the southernmost island of Donghua Changdao in his own hands, implemented county management, and sent troops to garrison there to keep Yan Ju in check.

The big island in the south has a latitude close to that of the Central Plains and the Jianghuai area, and has the most pleasant climate, except for typhoons.

Ye Kun also invested a lot of money to support Donghua Changdao, providing dozens of ships with food, cloth, ironware and tools.

More than five thousand were given to craftsmen and technical medical personnel from all walks of life.

With such a great force, we can ensure that Long Island will be completely assimilated within ten years and the blood transfusion will be completed within twenty years.

After all the affairs of Donghua Changdao were agreed upon, Ye Kun also began to tour the Yongji Canal.

On that day, twenty steam-powered ships set sail from the northernmost pier of Yongji Canal and sounded their horns.

The dock was crowded with people, all of whom were watching the fun.

The two frigates in front led the way.

Ye Kun followed closely behind, taking Jiang Yourong, Liu Yuejuan, Xie Baochan, Wei Caiqin and others to stand on the deck to enjoy the scenery on both sides of the strait.

Sang Buzhi and his wife, along with nine ministers, were on a boat together, drinking tea and chatting at the bow.

The boats behind were carrying representatives of university professors and students, representatives of Zhuo County elders, representatives of merchants from all over the country, representatives of orphanages and nursing homes, and representatives of grassroots officials...

The boat sailed steadily, cutting through the waves.

Jiang Yourong looked around the two banks and sighed:

"It is often said that the country has the power to move mountains. Today, it seems to be true. It is a miracle that such a large canal was dug with manpower. This canal is much larger than the small river in Jianghetou."

Ye Kun smiled and said, "The Yongji Canal was actually a feat of our predecessors hundreds of years ago. We have only been dredging, widening and maintaining it in the past few years. If it weren't for the foundation left by our predecessors, our construction period would have been extended by two years."

Wei Caiqin said: "When the Grand Canal was built, all nine ministers opposed it. It was the emperor's foresight and determination that made it possible for the north-south navigation to be opened today."

Ye Kun also sighed: "Because I know that this canal is related to the destiny of the country for a thousand years, so I insisted on building it. Fortunately, this matter was completed, and it was not a waste of money and labor, but it was hard for those foreign laborers."

It is no exaggeration to say that a well-planned Grand Canal can be used for a thousand years.

The Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou was used until the intelligent era of later generations.

Moreover, more canals were dug in later generations because water transportation has the lowest cost.

When Ye Kun was building the Grand Canal, half of the laborers were foreigners.

The laborers and technicians of the Huaxia clan are only responsible for technology, management, and logistics.

Moreover, the Chinese people who participated in the construction of the canal were all paid.

Foreign laborers can only eat enough to get enough food.

Liu Yuejuan asked: "Your Majesty, where are all the foreign laborers who built the canal now?"

"After the canal was built, most of the foreign workers went to quarries and coal and iron mines. Some clever workers stayed behind to complete the work of the Grand Canal."

The Grand Canal is divided into four major sections.

Yongji Canal, Tongji Canal, Han Canal, and Jiangnan Canal.

Currently, all four sections are open to navigation, but have not yet been connected together.

Connecting them together is also a huge project, requiring the construction of many docks, ship locks, water diversion channels, and water diversion channels...

It is estimated that it will take more than a year for the Grand Canal to be fully completed.

Liu Yuejuan thought for a moment and then asked, "I heard that the emperor had planned to provide cultural training to foreign laborers. Young people who learned Chinese and Chinese characters were allowed to join the Chinese nation and get land and houses. Now, how many foreign laborers have become Chinese?"

Ye Kun smiled and said, "Most of those foreign women have become Chinese and married local civilians and craftsmen. Many of them have already given birth to sons and daughters. According to statistics, there are now more than 100,000 mixed-race children born every year.

There were about 40,000 to 50,000 male workers of other ethnic groups who acquired the status of Chinese citizens, got married, started families, and went to work in production teams in various places.

Liu Yuejuan nodded: "Your Majesty is kind and righteous, these foreign laborers will also be grateful."

Ye Kun smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say.

In fact, the proportion of male workers of other ethnic groups who obtained the status of Chinese citizens was extremely small, less than one percent.

All together, it is estimated that there are less than 10,000 people.

Most of the foreign workers still work for free in exchange for a meal.

The great construction of the empire requires a large number of laborers, and Ye Kun cannot simply give these people the status of free people.

Coal mines, iron mines, copper mines, gold and silver mines, as well as quarries, cement plants, brick kilns, glass factories, porcelain factories, official farms and ranches, even if Ye Kun added another million workers, it would not be too much.

Wei Caiqin smiled and said, "Fortunately, we have introduced so many foreign laborers, otherwise, the people in the country will be overwhelmed."

Ye Kun nodded and said to Xiao Ruliu:

"Your second brother, Xiao Dequan, has sent several batches of natives from Izu Island, tens of thousands of them, and they have all been put to work. The natives of Donghua Changdao will also be immigrated in large numbers to participate in our great construction.

My plan is to bring in another million workers in the next two to three years. Otherwise, there won’t be enough people.”

Xiao Ruliu asked: "Can the problem of food be solved by bringing in so many people?"

"The grain in the government warehouse is enough to feed the entire nation for a year. There is absolutely no problem."

“But how to manage so many people?”

"That's very simple. All the newly arrived laborers will be sent to closed factories and mines for centralized management, and receive enhanced training and education. After three years, when they can speak Chinese and have no problem communicating, they will be sent to open factories and mines, or to official farms to open up wasteland and cultivate the land."

The mining area has always been closed.

Once the foreign laborers entered the mining area, none of them could escape.

After two or three years of training and adjustment, these people have basically learned Chinese and know how to obey management. They are then sent to build roads or open up wasteland for farming.

As long as they have food to eat, these people are relatively obedient.

For those who don't listen, we have to resort to some means.

Ye Kun also has a reward and punishment mechanism. Those who are particularly obedient, work hard, and study hard will be rewarded as role models, given the status of free citizens, become small managers, receive wages, and even be introduced to partners...

Wen Axiu followed Ye Kun to work and was well aware of the overall situation. She whispered:

"Your Majesty, I heard some discussions to the effect that the direction of the Yongji Canal basically overlaps with the route of our railway. Now that we have the Grand Canal, the railway seems redundant. The officials in the Ministry of Finance and Taxation all said that it would be a waste to build a railway when we already have a canal. It would be superfluous."

Ye Kun was surprised: "Do the officials in Zhuo County have such discussions?"