Fenghou

Chapter 865 Quanzhou
A hundred ships left Qiantang Bay and continued to travel south along the coastline. In the cabin, Chen Qing drew a map of the big island of Penghu, and Chao Kun was amazed when he saw it. ?”

Chen Qing said with a faint smile: "I heard from others that I am very interested in the big island of Penghu, and I have asked many people who go to sea."

Chao Kun hesitated and said, "Actually, the king of the county will be disappointed when he sees the big island of Penghu."

"Why are you disappointed?" Chen Qing asked with a curious smile.

"Because the entire big island is covered with forests, which are very lush and extend all the way to the sea. There is very little open space. If tens of thousands of people go to the island, there may not even be a place to camp."

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "There are many trees, which means that there are many resources for building houses. This is a good thing. You can cut down trees and advance step by step."

Chao Kun was surprised and said, "Wouldn't it mean that the Year of the Monkey will go away?"

"Sanlang, why did you talk to the county king?" Chao Qing reprimanded dissatisfiedly with his face darkened.

Chen Qing waved his hand, "It's okay, we're just chatting now, not serious business!"

Chao Kun whispered: "I'm telling the truth! There are not only many trees on the big island, but also native people, who have a strong sense of territory. If you offend them, you will be shot to death with poisonous arrows."

Chen Qing said with a smile: "You may have misunderstood. I am not saying that the big island of Penghu will be developed in two or three years. What I am talking about is that the development is calculated in a hundred years. First, a village, with an increasing population, becomes several villages. There are also towns, the first county seat will appear in twenty years, and the second county seat will appear in more than ten years. After a hundred years, there will be four or five county seats, which will form a state capital."

"Hundred years!"

Chao Kun opened his mouth wide in surprise. He thought that the county king would soon garrison and emigrate, but he was talking about a hundred years later.

Chen Qing said again: "But I really want to garrison troops. I consider stationing troops on the Penghu island first. The garrison is part of the Quanzhou army. It is a water army. It also needs to immigrate to the Penghu island. There are about three to five thousand people. Anyone who is willing People who immigrate to Penghu Island or Penghu Big Island are tax-free for life, and their descendants are tax-free, at least for a hundred years.”

Next to him, Chao Qing said: "I really don't understand the humble job. Is the county king wanting Quanzhou only for the big island of Penghu?"

Chen Qing shook his head, "The big island of Penghu is only part of the reason. The real reason is that we need a seaport, we need to conduct overseas trade, we need a place for the navy to station, and we also need a place to build large ships. Mingzhou is actually good, but it It is too close to Lin'an and it is not safe, so I consider Quanzhou, which has a good foundation in all aspects and is worth sticking to."

Chao Kun thought for a while and said, "Beizhi is willing to stay in Quanzhou and be responsible for emigrating to Penghu Island."

This is the reason why Chen Qing brought him here. It was rare for him to take the initiative to speak up. Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Your responsibility is still the Municipal Bureau of Shipping, but at the same time you are also in charge of Penghu immigration. I hope you can calm down and do it in a down-to-earth manner. In the past few years, as long as you have been in office for five years, I will appoint you as the prefect of Quanzhou, or an order from the Municipal Bureau of Shipping."

Chao Kun was overjoyed, "Five years from now, I'm afraid I will only be twenty-four years old, and the county king will keep his word."

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Although I am not a man of words, I must keep my word!"

Quanzhou has always been an important seaport in the Song Dynasty, but it really became the largest seaport in the Song Dynasty in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty. The court of the Southern Song Dynasty had no hope of going north and began to vigorously develop overseas trade in order to obtain huge benefits and taxes. The Maritime Silk Road was also in this period. time formed.

Most of the hundreds of large ships that Chen Qing took were transferred from Quanzhou to Jiangling, and most of the boatmen were from Fujian, and they were familiar with Quanzhou Port.

This morning, hundreds of sea-going ships sailed into Quanzhou Bay mightily. The big ships kept berthing, and [-] troops began to land one after another.

The officials in Quanzhou didn't know about Chen Qing's arrival in advance, so when the [-] troops appeared outside the city of Quanzhou, the officials in the city were frightened and thought it was pirates.

The name of the governor of Quanzhou is He Jing, a native of Jianzhou, a Jinshi background, in his forties, very dark and thin, and quite smart and capable.

When he heard that there were tens of thousands of troops at the harbor, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately thought of pirates. The imperial court had never sent tens of thousands of troops to Quanzhou, and the Privy Council had not sent any documents in advance.

He hurriedly ordered the city gates to be closed, and summoned a thousand soldiers from the countryside to defend the city. Although a thousand soldiers from the countryside couldn't stop an army of tens of thousands, it was better than nothing.

At this time, Cai Shouzhi, the county magistrate of Jinjiang, came running and shouted from a distance, "Governor He, they are not pirates!"

He Jing stepped forward and asked, "How does Caizhi County know?"

Cai Shouzhi raised the letter in his hand, "This is a letter shot into the city from outside. The Western Army is outside, but Chen Qing has arrived in person."

"Western Army?"

He Jing was stunned, of course he knew about the Western Army, and Chen Qing's name was already well known, but why did the Western Army from Sichuan and Shaanxi come to Quanzhou?

He quickly took the letter, which read, "King Yong of the Great Song Dynasty, Grand Master, General Hushi, and Sichuan-Shaanxi Propaganda Envoy Chen Qing to the officials and people of Quanzhou." '

He Jing quickly took out the letter, which clearly stated that Quanzhou had already come under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Envoy, and they had the court's jurisdiction transfer letter and the emperor's handbook.

"Governor, what should we do?"

He Jing sighed, "What else can I do, quickly open the city to welcome the arrival of King Yong."

Chen Qing's [-] troops did not enter the city, but set up a large camp outside the city. Chen Qing came down to the gate of the city under the escort of [-] soldiers. Qing's arrival.

Chen Qing asked Chao Qing to read the emperor's handbook aloud, officially announcing that Quanzhou was no longer under the jurisdiction of Fujian Road, but under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Envoy.

Of course, Quanzhou still belongs to Fujian Road, which is determined by its geographical location, but its jurisdiction has changed. It has nothing to do with Fujian Road or the imperial court, but belongs to Chen Qing's sphere of influence.

It's just that the court used various legal regulations and language to describe this matter, but the essence is that it was ceded to Chen Qing by the court.

The officials in Quanzhou were all shrewd and immediately understood this truth. Their future allegiance is not to the emperor, but to Yong Wang Chen Qing.

Chen Qing did not embarrass them, and gave them ten days to make a choice. If they are willing to be loyal to themselves, then they will stay in the post. With generous resignation money, they are invited to return to their hometowns.

Accompanied by officials, Chen Qing inspected Jinjiang County, which is a large county with a circumference of [-] miles and a population of more than [-]. There are also tens of thousands of merchants living here. Most people's jobs in the county are related to overseas trade.

Chen Qing climbed onto the city wall, and could clearly see the harbor and bay in the distance, as well as the densely packed ships moored in the bay.

"May I ask Governor He, how long does it take to take a boat from here to Penghu Island?" Chen Qing asked.

He Jing scratched his head, "May I ask whether King Yong is asking about the big island or the small island?"

Chen Qing smiled slightly: "Let's talk about the island first!"

"Depending on the wind direction, weather, current and the condition of the boat itself, it takes about three to four days for a normal [-] stone fishing boat. If you want to go to the big island, it will take two more days."

"Does Jinjiang County have jurisdiction over the Penghu Islands?" Chen Qing asked again.

He Jing was really not familiar with Penghu Island, so it took him a long time to search for some memories.

"We have a little jurisdiction over the small island of Penghu. There is a civil servant in Jinjiang County who will go there every two months. Check the situation on the island and come back after staying for a day. It seems to be like this. Caizhi County, that's right! "

Cai Shouzhi nodded, "That's right!"

Chen Qing nodded, "How many people are there on the island?"

He Jing really didn't know now, he turned his head and glanced at Cai Shouzhi, the county magistrate, Cai Shouzhi quickly bowed and said, "Reporting to King Yong, there are less than two thousand people, mainly fishermen, there is a small town, and there are people in the town. There are some shops, and the county even set up a school in the town the year before last."

Chen Qing nodded and said, "What's the name of that clerk who goes to the island every two months? I want to meet him."

(End of this chapter)