There was not much surprise to the emperor when he announced his immigration policy. In fact, as early as the Taiping Holy Kingdom period, Feng Yunshan had already begun to emigrate in small batches. At the beginning, during the period of Liangguang, the Hakka people and the locals disputed, so they immigrated nearly 200,000 to Qiongzhou Prefecture, while developing Qiongzhou Island, while helping to plant rubber trees, now those rubber, has been carried out, and in another year or two, there will be a small amount of receipt. Later, after occupying Taiwan Island, Ryukyu Island, and Jeju Island, Feng Yunshan emigrated from Fujian and Guangdong to strengthen development, and the Ryukyu Islands were immigrant sailors and fishermen by him, and Jeju Island was simply used by him for grazing and became a place for raising horses.

Regarding Feng Yunshan's statement, Zuo Zongtang deeply agreed. He is familiar with history, and naturally knows that there have been many immigration moves in all dynasties. Especially for this kind of newly occupied land, it is certainly not possible to occupy it entirely by the army, and if the army withdraws one day and becomes a vacuum, will it not be lost again? The best way to do this is to immigrate and turn the newly occupied land into Han Chinese territory.

Yan Jingming, the new vice minister of finance and taxation, knew why the emperor had summoned him, so he stepped forward and said: "Your Majesty, Wechen wants to know how many people His Majesty plans to emigrate, and how to arrange it, so Wechen can arrange for the treasury to allocate property, grain, cattle and horses. Lord Zuo is also a sergeant to escort him all the way. ”

Feng Yunshan nodded and praised: "What Yan Aiqing said is very true. The main thing I am thinking about this time is that there are a few places where there are immigrants. Not only immigrants, but also soldiers must be stationed in the local area, so ......" turned his head to look at Zuo Zongtang and said: "Zuo Aiqing, you write down the place I said, and then arrange for the soldiers to be captured, and cooperate with the Ministry of Agriculture to organize the relocation of the people." The Ministry of Finance and Taxation has prepared logistics materials, Guanlan, you are in charge of the overall situation, responsible for the coordination between various departments, by the way, I forgot to call Li Aiqing of the Propaganda Department, you can pass it on to them later, so that they can do a good job of propaganda and mobilization for the domestic people in advance. However, it is estimated that it is still difficult to launch, and it just so happens that all the Aiqing are there, and when I inform you of the general direction, I will discuss how to mobilize the people to voluntarily or even if they are forced, but they cannot be forced to rebel against them, and there is a plan. ”

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Feng Yunshan said directly: "The first settlement point is the newly occupied northern land. According to my arrangement, my captive army will wipe out all the remnants of the Manchus and Mongols before the arrival of this autumn, and occupy all the northern lands. For this reason, it is necessary to plan well in advance, and immigrate to one place without waiting for the next year, so that in a few years, the north can be truly settled. In the north, mainly in the northeast of Manchuria, of course, from the Baikal line where Su Wu was shepherd, to the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, all the way to the largest island in the Chinese Empire called Sakhalin, they had to emigrate and send troops to garrison. ”

Speaking of this, Feng Yunshan looked directly at everyone and said, "Let's just discuss it one place at a time." Zhong Aiqing, for this first immigration point, first of all, tell us about your opinions and difficulties? ”

Yan Jingming, Vice Minister of Finance and Taxation, immediately said: "Your Majesty, the Heilongjiang River valley of the remnants of the Manchu Qing Dynasty can be sent to the Heilongjiang River valley with a small number of immigrants, and it is enough to send sergeants to guard it. As for the Baikal area where Su Wu shepherded sheep, it was an extremely cold place, and there was no output, but if immigrants and troops were stationed there, it would inevitably waste money, food and manpower. ”

He Jianji, Deputy Minister of Police, also nodded and echoed: "Your Majesty, Weichen also feels that what Lord Yan said is reasonable. Those bitter cold places, immigrants in the past, can not support themselves, even if they occupy it has no value, it is better to use this manpower to develop mountains and forests or other wasteland. ”

Feng Yunshan secretly said Sure enough, even if he had expected it, he couldn't help but be a little disappointed, and he said expectantly to Zuo Zongtang and Zeng Guanlan: "Zuo Aiqing and Guanlan, you are the head of the military and government, tell me your opinion." ”

Zeng Guanlan frowned slightly and said, "Your Majesty, these are indeed bitter cold places, and they are said to be primeval barren forests that cannot be cultivated. Your Majesty wants to send troops there, there must be Your Majesty's reasoning, and I don't understand it very well. As for immigrating there, I am afraid that it is really difficult and unnecessary. ”

Zuo Zongtang coughed a few times and answered: "There seems to be some truth to everyone's concerns, but none of you are as far-sighted as Your Majesty. Weichen also heard His Majesty talk about it just now, and then he understood. Your Majesty must be thinking about future generations, even if it is a temporary waste of money and food, even if it is a temporary cold place, after a few years in the future, maybe these lands can become fertile fields, as the so-called vicissitudes of life, the future will be difficult for us to predict now. Moreover, taking a step back, these bitter cold lands can be used for grazing and hunting, or reclaimed as farmland, or maybe there are coal and iron things underground. It's just that Your Majesty, what the adults said is also true, those bitter cold places, presumably not many people are willing to move over, even if there is ready-made farmland there, it is difficult to be attractive. Therefore, it is mainly based on the troops stationed in the border, supplemented by the troops who have moved to the nearest cantonment. After a few years they settle down, give them some preferential treatment, and maybe they want to stay there. ”

Feng Yunshan's face softened slightly, and he finally understood someone. However, he also realized that he was indeed a little impatient, and it was also true that for the people of this era, whether it was the shore of Lake Baikal or the mouth of the Heilongjiang River, not to mention Sakhalin Island and the outer northeast, it was a place of exile for the army in the bitter cold, and even the barbarian Manchus and even the Daur and Xibe people did not want to go to those places, let alone the Han people!

It is better to adopt the method mentioned by Zuo Zongtang first.

Thinking of this, his face turned imperceptibly red, and he said in a deep voice: "It is true that these places seem to be bitter cold places now, and there is no reason to immigrate. But I would like to say that these lands are priceless and must be occupied. I predict that in the future, the Heilongjiang River basin and the shores of Lake Baikal can be reclaimed as fertile fields for thousands of miles. And immigration and garrisoning are just the methods I can think of, as long as I can completely occupy these places, even if it costs more money and food, I will not hesitate to do so! However, what Zuo Aiqing said is reasonable, so according to your words, he selected 5,000 soldiers and men from the ancestral homeland of the north to garrison the areas along Lake Baikal and the Heilongjiang River, together with their families, and stationed 1,000 soldiers and 2,000 family members on Sakhalin Island, and all the necessary materials such as cotton clothes, tents, grain, and grass were paid by the state treasury. Guanlan, if you sum it up, the cabinet has set up a special agency, called the Immigration Department, which is temporarily transferred by the Ministry of General Affairs and the Ministry of Agriculture, which is directly managed by the Cabinet, and the treasury expenditure is directly handed over to the officials of the Immigration Department, who will purchase materials nearby and distribute them to the retained army who have migrated with the people. ”

"But in any case, even if we can't do it in large numbers for the time being, we will still do it on a large scale in the future. If the people are not willing, they can use money and food to attract them to pass, but it is not enough, and it is okay to force them to pass with an army. My decision is made and cannot be changed! ”

Everyone was in their hearts, and they had never seen the emperor speak so strongly.