Chapter 1113

Pan Yun stood behind, watching Xue Shao teach his disciples, nodding in satisfaction; it seemed she had made the right choice coming here—Xue Shao was even better at teaching disciples than she was.

Heilongjiang was sparsely populated, with settlements clustered mostly in tribes, and some tribes were near each other while others were far apart, some on good terms, others hostile.

Among them were generations-old friendships and generations-old feuds.

When Heilongjiang was still the Nuerkan Regional Military Commissionerate, each tribe governed itself, but because the Jurchen tribes were stronger, the others either willingly or reluctantly submitted to them.

But when the imperial court abolished the tributary prefectures and renamed Nuerkan Regional Military Commissionerate as Heilongjiang, they imposed a fixed leader upon them.

Xue Shao was the first Provincial Administration Commissioner of Heilongjiang, Pan Yu the Commandant—one managed civil affairs, the other military affairs.

Because of Pan Yun, the imperial court had originally wanted to separate the two, since Xue Shao and Pan Yun were close; the court worried they might collude, their civil-military harmony too perfect—what if they rebelled?

But Heilongjiang had just abolished the tributary system, and the tribes were still not fully submissive; at this moment, balance was less useful than cooperation and mutual gain.

Moreover, in the court, few civil-military officials could work together effectively; though Xue Shao and Pan Yu had never collaborated before, Pan Yun bound them together—better to try them.

Thus, after careful deliberation, the Grand Secretariat proposed the two.

The facts proved their choice correct.

After taking charge of Heilongjiang, Pan Yu suppressed the tribes by force; knowing the court now sought to pacify the minority tribes and could not collect taxes or provide much military support, he suppressed his subordinates' discontent and cooperated everywhere with local authorities.

And Xue Shao understood the army's hardships.

To better defend this land and increase population, the army, per imperial orders, gradually relocated soldiers' families to Heilongjiang.

These military households needed to build houses, reclaim farmland, eat, drink, attend school…

Especially basic needs: food, drink, shelter, and warmth.

These military households came from all corners of the empire, many even from the south.

Even Xue Shao, who had traveled far and wide, struggled to adapt to Heilongjiang's cold—how much more so those who came with entire families?

So Xue Shao did his best to find land for reclamation, assisted them in establishing farm colonies, and pressured the Ministry of Works to locate coal mines, splitting them evenly: one half to be mined by the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Household Department, the other half handed to the military.

He also dispatched technicians to teach the military how to refine and burn coal, at least solving the problem of heating.

Xue Shao was generous; Pan Yu returned the favor, willingly leading military households to help repair roads, build irrigation canals, and reclaim wasteland.

Thus, Xue Shao used these newly reclaimed lands to attract large numbers of refugees from central China and the Jiangnan region.

Refugees in central China, Jiangnan, and Fujian had lost their land; even after the imperial court redeemed and redistributed land, and despite high demand for industrial labor, vast numbers of refugees still remained.

Xue Shao directly wrote letters to officials in every prefecture and county, offering to help them reduce their excessive refugee populations.

Heilongjiang would cover travel expenses for these refugees; as long as they came to Heilongjiang, he guaranteed every able-bodied person—male or female—ten mu of land, defining six-year-olds as able-bodied.

Xue Shao knew these prefectural and county officials too well—he had been a Censor, and every official he served under had either been investigated by him or replaced after he removed their predecessor.

Some were his enemies, some his close friends, some had received his favors.

Whether enemy or friend, all who received his letter felt a chill.

Some replied sternly: trafficking people violated Great Ming law, and if officials broke the law, their punishment would be doubled!

This was equivalent to rejecting him and equating his actions with human traffickers.

But some responded positively.

After all, it cost them nothing; helping with publicity and organization could both aid Xue Shao in increasing population and reduce local refugees, improving public order—why not?

Xue Shao didn't care whether they agreed—he had already notified them. He borrowed many soldiers from Pan Yu, sent them south with money, and at every county gate, they set up banners: anyone who agreed could immediately receive three days' rations; once a hundred were gathered, they would immediately hire a local escort agency to escort them north across the pass.

Why hire local escort agencies? Naturally, to let them see Heilongjiang and understand its commercial environment.

After all, records of Nuerkan Regional Military Commissionerate in court archives were scarce; after the Yongle reign, military scouts withdrew from the region, garrisons existed only in name, and the court's understanding of the area gradually faded—let alone the common people.

Only Liaodong had mutual trade with them; local merchants and military households had some knowledge of each other; merchants further south rarely knew anything of Heilongjiang.

But Heilongjiang could not develop relying solely on Liaodong.

So Xue Shao kept those military households stationed to recruit refugees—finish one county, move to the next; they didn't need to escort people back.

He preferred to spend extra money hiring local escort agencies to bring people back to Heilongjiang.

These escort agencies from central China and Jiangnan couldn't just carry one escort; since they'd come all this way, why not find two or three more cargoes?

Thus, scholars wished to visit northeastern Great Ming and see newly incorporated Heilongjiang;

some bold merchants sought to cross the pass and find new trade routes…

And so, large processions set out.

With Xue Shao's registration as Heilongjiang's Provincial Administration Commissioner, these groups crossed the pass smoothly, traversed plains, crossed hills and rivers, and arrived at the vast, primitive land of Heilongjiang.

Upon arrival, refugees were assigned houses, placed in village colonies, and given land.

The refugees included able-bodied adults as well as the elderly, children, and women.

If a family, land was allocated by household; if elderly or children lacked adult guardians, each village colony had a Child Welfare Bureau managed by the government, where they too received land—though managed temporarily by the Child Welfare Bureau.

After these people arrived, Xue Shao provided them with grain, seed, and farming tools.

Heilongjiang, as an agricultural zone, had natural advantages: its soil was fertile, though uncultivated, requiring burning and clearing; but here, oxen and horses were cheap—buyable or rentable—to increase labor.

When Xue Shao took office, he seized funds from the Ministry of Revenue; most had already been spent on establishing the Provincial Administration Commissionerate and settling the army.

Technically, military expenditures were accounted separately, unrelated to civil affairs—but he was exceedingly generous.

And the facts proved his generosity paid off.

Pan Yu understood reciprocity; the simple military households deeply remembered his kindness.

Once settled, they immediately threw themselves into building Heilongjiang.

Numerous factories, workshops, and mines began production; additionally, they squeezed out time to build houses and reclaim land in Xue Shao's planned village colonies, following military colony standards, ensuring that whenever refugees arrived, they could move into new homes and receive tillable land.

Soon, this model was passed on.

Refugees who received houses and land—if they arrived during planting season—took the government-issued seed and tools and began farming.

Xue Shao also rented them oxen and horses, ensuring roughly one ox per three households.

Thus, initially, three households formed one bao, working together—efficient, and accelerating integration.