A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 866 Pioneers

Jiangzhou.

Fan Lou, Sister Hong made a pot of Guzhu purple bamboo shoots for Huaiyu.

"Sit down, don't stand," Huaiyu greeted.

Sister Hong, whose real name is Hongxian, is now a steward in Fanlou, Jiangzhou, specializing in intermediary business. This is also the most profitable business in Fan Building now. Even though Fan Building has three floors and five floors, it is huge, with a total of eighty or ninety people including waiters, chefs, and purchasers.

There is also a team of more than a hundred prostitutes who accompany the wine, play and sing.

The attic rooms in the central building start from three to five guan, and can cost several hundred guan in one night, but the most profitable thing is the intermediary business in Fan Building.

Jiangzhou is an important water and land terminal, and Fan Lou is now the largest restaurant in Jiangzhou. There are many customers here and well-informed. Fan Lou uses this platform to collect and organize various news and intelligence, and then helps lead cooperation and facilitate transactions. Charge an intermediary service fee.

These all charge three to five points, and some transactions even charge one or two percent.

For some large-scale businesses, if a successful order is made, hundreds or even thousands of benefits will be gained.

"Alang, we have almost found the people you need. There are various shipwrights, captains, sailors, veterans, traders, etc. Do you need to screen them again in person?"

"I can rest assured that you can handle the matter. Let's arrange for these people to go to Guangzhou first."

Wu Huaiyu asked Hongxian to recruit an exploration and development fleet. Of course, these were only some of the people he recruited. He was building a development fleet, not only a fleet,

In addition to Liuqiu Island, the targets also include Zhuya Island, Luzon Island, and places further south such as Linyi and Borneo.

The requirements for these expedition crews are simple. First of all, they must have enough courage to take risks and be bold and careful. Secondly, they need a variety of professional talents, including those who build and repair ships, those who can observe the stars, measure waterways and understand the weather, and those who can speak barbarians. Those who understand the language, then those who understand trade and transactions, and then there are armed escorts, doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, blacksmiths, etc.

His development plan was to establish a stronghold after arriving at the destination, then contact the local indigenous people, open a way through trade, then cultivate the land, and then immigrate and colonize.

The first thing is to make money, then to occupy territory, and finally to conquer the natives.

He would not follow the conquest strategy of Sun Quan and Yang Guang, and rush in with a large group of people to do one thing and then leave. This is not in line with Wu Huaiyu's plan and interests.

Therefore, the expedition team did not need to be large at the beginning. Two or three ships and several hundred people could form a pioneering fleet. In the Ming Dynasty, the Dutch sailed into Penghu with only two ships and proposed trade requirements.

Later, they made a comeback, but they only brought a thousand-man fleet to occupy Penghu Island and dug soil to build a fort. After being defeated by the Ming Dynasty, they sailed to Liuqiu Island, landed in Dayuan, built a fort and built a city, and started the colonial plan.

Wu Huaiyu planned to use the Dutch plan to develop Liuqiu, and first built a city and port in Penghu, which would serve as a supply point on the East China Sea route and a transfer station for the development of Liuqiu.

Then go to Liuqiu Dadan, which is a long and narrow peninsula with the best harbor in the south of Liuqiu Island.

"Next, continue to recruit people. As long as they meet our requirements, you can recruit them as long as they are willing. They will do a simple training in Jiangzhou and then send them to Guangzhou."

"I bought an island on the sea south of Bao'an County, Guangzhou. The island has an excellent natural harbor. The nearby stream is sweet and delicious. Ships and sailors often come here to fetch water. I bought the island and used it to make Guangzhou Port spices. Storage, transportation and processing,

However, the island is quite big. The people recruited can be trained on the island for a while before forming a fleet and assigning their destinations. "

This was once known as one of the three largest natural seaports in the world, but it was still unknown at this time. It used to be a small fishing village, but then no one fished anymore. They came to the port to eat and engage in smuggling.

As soon as Wu Huaiyu came to crack down on smuggling, the group of people were sent to Chongzuo in Yongfu to build a city. Huaiyu spent some money to buy the island, mainly because of the deep-water port.

"Next, people who farm, fish, and hunt, as well as those who make bricks and tiles to build houses, and those who are lumberjacks, masons, and furniture builders will also need to recruit more people,"

To develop a colony, of course you have to build forts, and you also have to cultivate wasteland. His colonial sites will definitely be located in coastal harbors, so fishing is definitely a very needed occupation.

While trading, the colony's food self-sufficiency is a priority.

Liuqiu is one of the directions that Wu Huaiyu will focus on next. In this direction, Penghu must be developed first, and then Damuan Island.

In addition, in Zhangzhou on the mainland, Wu Huaiyu must also focus on business.

What he was interested in was Ludao Island in Zhangzhou, which later became Xiamen. But at that time, it was an ordinary island like Hong Kong today. There were settlers from Nanchen and Beixue on the island, and there were not many people.

At this time, even Zhangzhou was extremely backward, let alone an island.

The Huaiyu plan is to connect Ludao, Penghu and Dayuan at three points and one line to open up the Liuqiu Strait.

At least three strongholds must be established in the early stage, so a lot of manpower is needed. Ludao is close to Zhangzhou, so most of the manpower can be recruited locally, but Penghu and Da Yuan are definitely not so easy to recruit, so they still need to be recruited in the early stage. Recruit people from all over.

Recruiting in Jiangzhou, Guangzhou, and even Chang'an, Luoyang, Yangzhou and other places.

Hongxian also has another identity. She was once the first-generation swordswoman, one of the eight personal swordswomen who followed Xuanfu before she got married. Jian San,

This girl has a baby face, but she has thick legs and strong arms, but she is not as fat as a bucket, but as strong as a person who has been practicing martial arts for a long time. Although this girl has a baby face, she followed Xuan Fu to Long. On the right, he is charging on horseback on the battlefield, wearing armor and carrying a horse-killing sword. He is also a fierce man who enters and exits the battlefield seven times.

She blocked the knife for Huaiyu and shed blood for his wife.

Xuan Fu once wanted Huaiyu to take her as his concubine, but when the four sisters of the Fan family married Sword Girl, Wu Huaiyu only took Jianyi in Youzhou in the end.

Later, Hongxian or Xuanfu introduced Bu Qu to her from the Wu family. Although Bu Qu was from the Wu family, he was recommended by Huai Yu for his meritorious service on the battlefield and became a brigade marshal. Unfortunately,

Only a year after their marriage, her husband died in the battle at Yinshan Baidao, and Hongxian became a widow.

Xuan Fu wanted to introduce another one to her, but she never agreed.

"Next time we recruit a group of people, I will personally send them to Xiangdao, Guangzhou." "There is no need for you to go in person. You can recruit a group of people here and arrange for them to be sent directly. Anyway, the road from Jiangzhou to Guangzhou is convenient, all the way It’ll be there soon by boat.”

When Hongxian saw that Huaiyu had finished drinking the tea in his cup, he immediately took another cup, smiled and said, "If I have a chance, I'd like to go to Yizhou and have a look. Maybe I can open a Fanlou there."

Huaiyu smiled,

"Opening up wasteland is very difficult. Although Liuqiu Island is only three to four hundred miles away from Zhangzhou, they are separated by such a wide strait.

To establish a stronghold and fortress in the harbor of that barbarian island, and then build a town, it would be very hard work, and you would even face threats from the barbarian tribes. "

Hongxian said, "They are just some savages on a desert island. I remember when my wife and I were with Alang in Longyou. The Turkic cavalry, Tuyuhun, and Party cavalry were many times or ten times more powerful than us, but we were still not afraid and fought head-on."

“Because it’s land reclamation, I think it’s good to start from scratch. That way you’ll have a greater sense of accomplishment if you succeed in the future.”

Huaiyu didn't even know how to answer it.

This girl is very good, but unfortunately she is not lucky enough. She heard from Xuan Fu that Hongxian was actually a noble lady from Jingzhou, Shannan. Later, like the Fan family, she was convicted by Emperor Sui Yang and was not a palace slave. Xuan Fu was also there. I know Hongxian.

Later, the Fan family had better luck and was rewarded as a slave to Li Yuan. Then he followed Li Yuan in raising an army and became the founding hero of the Tang Dynasty.

In contrast, although Hongxian was later bought by Xuanfu and granted her status as a guest girl, and later she was arranged to be given to her husband as a concubine, but when things failed, he found a brigade commander to marry her, but who could have expected that, One year after the marriage, her husband died in the war.

Not even a single child was left behind.

"Hongxian, do you recognize the stone next to me?"

"I know, from Shuofang, my hometown, he was originally a Mai Ke, but he was appreciated by A Lang and stayed by his side. Later he became A Lang's adopted son and student. He used to be a dark and skinny boy, but now he is tall and strong."

"Well, the great name Shi Shouxin is now serving as a captain in the imperial army. He is very motivated and will definitely be very promising in the future."

The red line bows its head,

"Is it possible that Alang wants to marry him? But I am a widow, and I am much older than him."

"You're not much older. You're only three years older than him. You're a junior girl, so you have a gold nugget. Besides, I found out that this kid has been following me these past few days and often peeks at you. He likes you."

Hongxian didn't look up, holding the tea cup with both hands.

"I know Shitou has a bright future. With his status as Alang's student and adopted son, he is destined to no longer be ordinary in this life.

only,"

She finally raised her head and looked directly at Huaiyu, "Thank you Alang for your kindness, but I can't accept it."

"Why?"

She smiled, gently brushing her hair away from her ears,

"I have also learned from Alang in the past few years, and I have adopted several little orphans, three daughters and two sons, the eldest is five years old." When talking about these adopted children, she smiles all over her face, has light in her eyes, and is very happy. "actually,"

"I can't have children. I couldn't conceive after I got married, so I went to seek medical advice, but the result was the same. It was caused by an injury on the Longyou battlefield that year..."

The sequelae of Hongxian’s injury that year was actually infertility.

After her husband died in the war, Hongxian was no longer willing to remarry. If she had known about her infertility before marriage, she might not have married.

She has been taken care of by the Wu family in the past few years. She is now a widow and has adopted five orphans. However, her income in Fanlou is good and she has bought a few servants to help take care of the five children.

It was the first time that Huaiyu knew that her injury caused infertility, and she felt a little guilty.

"I'll help you diagnose it and maybe cure it."

"I have seen many doctors and have accepted it. It is actually quite good now."

"The way Shitou looks at you, he really likes you,"

"I am a barren waste, so I will not harm him," Hongxian sipped her tea, "Alang, do you know that after I got married, my husband loved me very much, but later he learned that I was infertile, and he began to dislike me. , he would even beat me when he was drunk, and even planned to divorce me,"

It's hard to say what that short marriage brought to Hongxian. It was very complicated, but Hongxian never wanted to repeat these experiences.

Shi Shi seemed to be a good young man, and he might even have a better future than his ex-husband in the future, but even if he liked her now, she was not willing to gamble anymore.

She can also make money now, and her income is pretty good. The five adopted children are very close to her and satisfy her regret of not being able to have children and become a mother, so she is very satisfied with the present.

Unless Alang is still willing to take her as his concubine, maybe this is the only thing she can accept. But she raised her head and looked at him. He was sitting there holding a teacup in his hand.

Well, just like before, he didn't have those thoughts about himself at all.

You shouldn't have such extravagant hopes.

(End of this chapter)