The room goes through the late Ming Dynasty, and the back door leads to North America at the beginni

Jiaoxi County Government.

"Gentlemen," the county magistrate Yan Qing looked at the wealthy Jiaoxi men who were invited, "this county knows that in the past few days, all of you have been worried about the appearance of the maritime merchant Liu Sheng."

"This county can't sleep at night because of this. After all, we all know that these maritime merchants are no different from pirates."

"What's more, Liu Sheng claims that the overseas survivors who went to sea in the Tang Dynasty are not from our country, but they are more likely to be pirates."

Yan Qing is in his early forties, slightly chubby, and has a shrewd face. Although he is wearing the official robe of Dachu County magistrate, he still looks more like a businessman than an official.

There are rumors that he is greedy but incompetent, which is for the position of a county parent official.

When it comes to making money, he is definitely a good player.

After Liu Sheng arrived in Jiaoxi, he bought thousands of kilograms of grain to help the victims, regardless of the high price of grain. He would naturally have ideas after knowing this.

In the past few days, he had sent people to secretly investigate Liu Sheng's background while making some preparations.

Now he is finally ready to take action against Liu Sheng.

If he delayed for a few more days, he was afraid that Liu Sheng would go somewhere else to buy food and spend a lot of gold and silver he was carrying, which would mean that he would lose a lot of money.

There are more than a dozen wealthy squires in the side hall of the county government hall. Not all of them are smart people, most of them are just average people, and some are even brainless.

After listening to Yan Qing's words, some people couldn't help but say: "Since the county magistrate suspected that Liu Sheng was a pirate, why didn't he send someone to arrest him earlier?"

Yan Qing was slightly displeased and said: "When Liu Sheng came to Jiaoxi, he brought hundreds of guards with him, all with long swords hanging on their waists and even short blunderbuss hidden in them."

"With such force, it is not impossible to storm the county seat. How can this county ignore the safety of Jiaoxi and provoke it at will?"

The relatively young head of the family was speechless for a moment, obviously not thinking of this.

Ren Tianxing interrupted at this time and asked: "How are the magistrates going to deal with it? We can't let a band of pirates confuse the victims outside the city, right?"

"It is estimated that the number of victims outside the city exceeds 5,000 now. If they are all deceived by Liu Sheng and really want to attack Jiaoxi County, then we will be in trouble."

Yan Qing said: "In the past few days, I sent people to find out the details of Liu Sheng. Although Liu Sheng spent a lot of money and his men looked extraordinary, he was probably not the famous sea pirates in the East China Sea. He was probably just one of them. Ordinary pirates.”

"This county has sent people to borrow troops from Lingshan Guard and Fushan Guard. In the near future, the two guards will each send 500 soldiers to our county to help suppress the bandits."

"By then, including the county's patrol camp and government officials, there will be a thousand or hundreds of people. We are not afraid that we will not be able to capture Liu Sheng."

"But just in case, please organize the nursing home and domestic servants in the past two days so that the county can call them when needed."

Local squires have the responsibility to assist officials in governing the local area, not to mention that this banquet is to deal with the foreign "sea merchants" who have offended them.

So the dozen or so big family heads who were invited to the meeting all agreed.

···
Outside Jiaoxi City.

In a camp with certain defensive functions, Liu Sheng was talking to his three sons.

"Today we will recruit immigrants among these disaster victims. The three of you will each go to a refugee camp to help the Guards complete this task."

"My son, take your orders!"

The three young men handed over their hands.

Later, Liu Yu couldn't help but ask: "Father, although these disaster victims have no food and clothing to rely on, they may not be willing to move overseas, right?"

Liu Yu was born to Li Xiangyun in the second year of Qianyuan (1643). He is now sixteen or seventeen years old. In many families at this time, he is probably married or even a father.

But Liu Sheng knows that getting married too early is not good for the physical and mental growth of his children, so Liu Yu is not yet married.

On the other hand, the crown prince Liu Rui got married in the first year of Yongxing, when Liu Rui was seventeen or eighteen years old.

Although Liu Yu and others are princes, they are by no means ignorant of world affairs through their studies at the royal school.

All three of them knew the habit of people settling down and relocating.

Liu Sheng said: "The people here are just like the people in Dawei. They definitely don't want to move overseas. But if they want to survive, there will definitely be some people who change their minds."

"What's more, in the past few days, we have gained the trust of these victims and even gained a certain prestige among the victims."

"This time, as long as you can make them understand that not only can they survive by migrating overseas, but they can even live a better life than they do now, I believe there will be many people willing to accept the move."

The three of them nodded and had no more questions.

"My son, please retire."

Liu Sheng said again: "Pay attention to safety."

"My son, please save it."

After saying that, the three of them each left the camp with a group of personal guards.

With the protection of the personal guards, and the three young men all having certain skills, Liu Sheng was not really worried about their safety, it was just a routine instruction.

···
Outside the west gate of Jiaoxi.

Zhao Zhenwen and his family were preparing to line up for the first porridge of the day when they smelled the aroma of meat.

As victims of the disaster, the Zhao family has not eaten meat for an unknown period of time.

The smell of meat is so strong that a family of five can't help but be greedy. The youngest, only six-year-old Zhao Hui, could not help drooling.

"Dad, who is cooking the meat? It smells so good."

Zhao Hui took Zhao Zhenwen's hand with obvious greed.

Zhao Zhenwen followed the smell and saw that the Liu family's guards were carrying a dozen large steaming wooden barrels - that's where the smell of meat came from.

Based on his little experience, the smell of this meat is quite decent, so the meat should be fine.

It's just that he doesn't understand why the Liu family's guards did this. He can't think of Liu Dashan as giving meat to victims like them today, right?
There are thousands of refugees outside Jiaoxi City. Even if each person is given a piece of meat, it still requires a lot.

The most important thing is that Liu Dashan has no need to do this. If you have money, it would be great to buy more food.

While thinking this, Zhao Zhenwen, like many refugees, subconsciously gathered his family around the big wooden barrels.

Soon, they saw a Liu family guard standing on the wooden table, holding a tin trumpet, and started talking loudly.

"Everyone, our master is a maritime merchant. Not only does he have a fleet, but he has also found a paradise overseas."

"If the folks in Shandong cannot survive in their hometown, our master can help them move overseas for free."

"When we get to the place, we will lend grain, farm tools, and rations on credit without interest to help everyone reclaim wasteland and build new homes!"

"There, the first three years of land reclamation are completely tax-free. After three years, the annual land tax is only one-half of the current land tax in Dachu!"

"The most important thing is that there is a lot of fertile soil there. You can own as many fields as you can cultivate!"

"Right now, if any family is willing to move, come and register immediately. After registering, you can receive a spoonful of broth and a piece of bread!"

This guard of the Liu family, who had a particularly loud voice and was very articulate, spoke three times in a row before stopping.

The gathered victims suddenly began to discuss in a buzzing manner - "Moving overseas? Is there such a thing?"

"It's true or not. They didn't trick us into selling us out at sea, right?"

"How could Mr. Liu Dashan lie to us? To put it bluntly, Mr. Liu Dashan saved our lives."

"We are the common people of Chu. Can we move overseas at will? The government doesn't care?"

"I just want to know, is there really fertile land overseas? Is Liu Dashan really tax-free for three years, and can he borrow grain seeds, rations, and farm tools on credit without interest?"

"···"

Zhao Zhenwen and his family were also quite surprised when they heard this.

Zhao Chen couldn't help but ask: "Master, what do you think?"

Zhao Zhenwen frowned and said: "Nowadays, the laws of the imperial court are weakened. If Liu Dashan secretly moves some people overseas, as long as he gives some benefits to the local officials, the local officials will probably turn a blind eye."

"But now he first went to rescue the victims with great fanfare outside the city, and now he is openly recruiting the victims to relocate. I'm afraid the government won't allow it - unless he bribes the Jiaoxi magistrate."

Zhao Chen was a little speechless after hearing this, and said, "I'm asking you, do we want to go?"

The Zhao family has dozens of acres of farmland, but they have sold all of it in order to survive.

If they stay in their hometown, the most they can do is become tenant farmers.

Mrs. Zhao Chen used to own dozens of acres of land and even had several tenants, but she didn't want to be a tenant for others and act based on other people's faces.

What's more, although she didn't read as much as Zhao Zhenwen, she still had some family background. She also felt that the Chu court was becoming more and more unreliable. Even if the Zhao family survived this year's drought, their future livelihood would be a problem.

Although moving overseas is risky and unpredictable, it is still a way to survive.

Besides, Liu Dashan is quite trustworthy.

Zhao Zhenwen said while thinking: "Although I don't know how true what the Liu family guard said, Liu Dashan shouldn't be a human trafficker - if he wants to traffic people, he doesn't need to help the victims at all. He only needs those big households and the food." , you can buy many people easily.”

Smelling the aroma of the broth again, Zhao Zhenwen couldn't help but follow the greedy mind.

So he gritted his teeth and said, "Our family doesn't have any land anyway, so why not follow Liu Dashan overseas and see if we can have another world?"

Zhao Chen smiled and said, "I will listen to the boss."

Zhao Lan, Zhao Jian, and Zhao Hui all looked happy, and Zhao Hui couldn't help but said: "Dad, can we eat meat now?"

Zhao Zhenwen picked up his little daughter and said with a smile, "I'll eat it soon."

After that, he took his family forward to register.

At this time, most victims were still hesitant.

Although the overseas reclamation life described by the Liu family guards was very good, the Chu court and government were also very disappointing. But the thought of floating on the vast sea and going to unknown places to reclaim wasteland for survival makes most people feel fearful.

In this way, the Zhao family became the first family to register for relocation in the refugee camp outside the west gate.

When the master in charge of making meat soup saw Zhao Zhenwen and his family registering, he deliberately said loudly: "Our master said that the first household to register will be given three large pieces of meat to each person in the family!"

As he was talking, he scooped out three large pieces of fish for everyone in the Zhao family.

This broth is made from sea fish, pork, and pork bones. Although there is very little pork, it also makes the fish fragrant.

Zhao Zhenwen's family of five held bowls and ate meat, noodles, and broth nearby, which immediately made other victims even more hungry.

Thinking about what the cook said, the victims who were already a little moved did not hesitate anymore and came forward to register one after another.

Liu Heng, the third son of the emperor in charge of this place, saw this and shouted loudly: "Everyone line up, don't mess around. As long as you accept the migration, we guarantee to give you broth and noodles!"

Coupled with the Liu family guards maintaining order, a long queue quickly formed here.

When the queue on the immigration registration side stopped growing, the other side started serving porridge for the first time today.

When Liu Heng saw the Zhao family finishing their meal, he came over to greet them personally - this was the first immigrant family he had recruited, so he would naturally pay more attention to them.

When he came up, he bowed his hands and saluted, and asked: "I heard that Mr. I just spoke clearly and clearly, and his handwriting was quite elegant when he registered. Are you a scholar?"

Zhao Zhenwen took a look and knew that the young man in front of him was probably the son of the Liu family. He quickly returned the courtesy and said: "I have indeed read some books, but he is just a poor scholar."

The Da Chu system was very similar to that of the Ming Dynasty, but some "optimizations" were made.

For example, when it comes to treating scholars, scholars have almost no privileges, except that they can be exempted from some labor.

Therefore, in Dachu, the status of scholars today is much lower than that in the late Ming Dynasty, and the number of scholars is also larger.

If their status was acceptable, Zhao Zhenwen's family would not have fallen to this.

Liu Heng said: "It is not easy to be admitted as a scholar in Da Chu. Mr. Zhao does not need to belittle himself."

"For our Liu family, talents like Mr. Zhao are quite rare. When we go overseas, there will be a place to display our talents."

Zhao Zhenwen didn't take it seriously.

Going overseas to cultivate wasteland requires hard work. Where is there a place for a scholar like him to display his talents?
Liu Heng added: "Since Mr. Zhao has signed the relocation contract, he no longer wants to live in the refugee camp. Let's move to the immigration camp."

"Immigration camp?"

Liu Heng explained: "It is a camp specially established by us for immigrants. The conditions are much better than those in refugee camps, and it is also easier for us to manage."

Zhao Zhenwen nodded, "Okay, let's go pack our luggage now."

At the same time, I secretly sighed in my heart: This Liu Dashan is not only a good person, but also a good teacher of children. Maybe if you follow him overseas, you can really break into a new world.

···
County government.

After the squires left, Yan Qing was listening to his concubine singing in the back office - this concubine was specially purchased from Yangzhou before he took office. He spent more than 500 taels of silver, which was so expensive that he was bleeding.

But this concubine sings really nice songs, her appearance is really cool, and she is only fourteen years old.

Yan Qing often felt sorry for the more than five hundred taels of silver, but he also believed that the money was well spent.

He was listening happily and was about to reward his concubine when he saw a family of servants coming in to report.

"Sir, Liu Sheng actually openly recruited disaster victims outside the city, saying that he could help them move overseas to reclaim wasteland for free..."

This servant was sent by Yan Qing outside the city to lurk among the victims and keep an eye on Liu Sheng and his gang.

Therefore, when he saw Liu Sheng's people openly recruiting victims, he hurried back and reported the matter in detail.

After hearing this, Yan Qing not only did not get angry, but laughed out loud: "Okay, this county was originally afraid of wrongly accusing a good man and couldn't find any concrete evidence to convict him, but now he has handed over the evidence to this county!"

As he spoke, he changed his words for emphasis, but imitated his concubine and sang a song adapted from the story of the Three Kingdoms.

"Now everything is ready, all I need is the east wind! Cao Cao, the national thief, wait for me to burn Red Cliff and see where you run away~~~" (End of Chapter)