Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1407 Shandong Severe Drought ([-])

"Don't rob, come one by one, there's something to eat!" On the open space outside the Yexian pier, the officers and soldiers of the Seventh Division of the Shandong New Army were maintaining order, separating a large number of victims from the two prefectures of Qingzhou and Jinan, and then A delicious lunch was brought to them.

The staple food for lunch is steamed potatoes, medium in size, five for one person, plus a deliciously marinated saury. It is definitely not enough to eat, but it is almost enough to maintain the most basic needs for survival.You know, even Liang Xiangjian, the captain of the Denglai Pioneering Team, doesn't know how many refugees will flood in, and the harvest in the second half of this year seems to be very worrying. Some places even reported sporadic locust plagues. Heartbroken.Therefore, food must be saved, and the original work-for-work plan must also be suspended before the arrival of [-] tons of Nanyang new rice, and wait and see what happens.

"As of today (June 1665, 6), we have recruited more than 20 victims from the two prefectures of Qingzhou and Jinan by sea. According to reports from the front of the navy, there are still a large number of people without food and clothing gathered in the hinterland of the two prefectures. The disaster victims, it's a pity that their strength is limited, and they can't go deep into the inland to guide those disaster victims to the sea. Moreover, they also heard that at the beginning, there were local gentry and rich households in Xisifu who opened warehouses to release food and relieve the victims. They all stopped one after another, because the number of victims is too large, and the limited food cannot be rescued at all, and they dare not rescue them." Huang Hanhua, secretary of Liang Xiangjian who followed Liang Xiangjian from Heishui County, reported softly, "Now Hebei and Henan, which are adjacent to Xisifu Prefectures and counties in Jiangnan, Jiangnan and other provinces were also hit by disasters, and a large number of refugees were also created. I really don’t know what to do with the millions of people in Shandong, who will feed them? Are they just starving to death like this?”

"It's not that exaggerated, Xiao Huang." Liang Xiangjian waved the folding fan in his hand and said, "It's true that the four prefectures in the east and west of Shanxi have suffered a lot this year, and there is no harvest, but this does not mean that there is no grain in the locality. Household gentry and grain shops and official warehouses should have a lot of grain in stock, but they don’t know how much. In addition, the Tartar court was originally planning the Southern Expedition last year—anyone who is not blind can see this—in order to prevent When we attacked, they transferred a lot of grain and grass to Shandong, and stored it in Jinan and Qingzhou to supply the military supplies of the [-] troops in the province. This amount is actually quite considerable, and it can save many people. The only problem is whether they want to rescue them or not. Well, now we can see some signs that the Tartars don’t want to rescue them, at least not too much, because the main force of disaster relief is still dominated by local gentry. And it is precisely because they can see that The imperial court didn't want to save them, so the local officials in Shandong turned a blind eye to the people fleeing to sea. After all, people's hearts are full of flesh, and many officials are also natives of Shandong. It’s a tragedy of eating children, so what if we don’t let them escape?”

"Commander, I heard that at the end of last year, the Tartars transferred a lot of troops stationed in Jinan to Jiangnan Province. It should be to join Nanjing and invade Nanming. According to this, the interior of Shandong is actually relatively empty. Shall we send some troops to land and gather the local victims who have no food or clothing? Anyway, they stayed in the territory of the Qing Dynasty, and they were lucky if half of them survived in the end. It would be better to take advantage of us and come to our Second Mansion of Denglai As for life, the disaster here is less serious." Huang Hanhua suggested to his superior.

"I've also considered this issue. To be honest, once I land, things will be a little uncontrollable. This bet is a bit high for me." Liang Xiangjian said: "Besides, what is going on in the four prefectures of Shanxi Province? How many more victims are still unknown. If there are fewer, it is not worth our army to go to war. I estimate that at least 10 people flooded into the territory of Hebei and Henan in the first half of this year, and it should have spread to farther prefectures and counties now. The prefectures of Germany, Daming, Hejian, and Huai'an have also begun to suffer disasters, and they cannot digest so many victims. So, let's wait and see. I am also worried about whether the rice from Nanyang will reach Dengzhou safely. It is unknown how much food the Indian company can raise to transport to the Maluku Islands. Before that, any unrestrained frantic recruitment of refugees may have serious consequences, which is to make our own people suffer What's more, we plan to collect disaster victims in the area controlled by the Qing army in Laizhou Prefecture. This number should be quite large, and it will consume a lot of our food, so let's wait and see. However, before that, small-scale ——Requires a scale of less than 200 people, and the most capable fighters are the best——It is possible to send people to land to respond to the victims, but the frequency should not be too high, otherwise it is difficult to guarantee what the local Qing officials will think.”

Huang Hanhua nodded lightly when he heard the words, and understood what his boss and benefactor thought. In the final analysis, his waist is not strong and his food reserves are too small. Jinan Prefecture landed offshore.At that time, as long as a big banner is set up to release food, it is estimated that there will be 2 victims instead of [-] after hearing the news.

It's just that if that happens, they will probably have to fight the Qing army head-on. Although they don't have any capable troops in Jinan Prefecture, it is not difficult to transfer troops from Qingzhou Prefecture to help. Therefore, the cost of this plan is too high. It is really not suitable to implement if there is a big profit.In contrast, sending people ashore on a small scale, and recruiting refugees to go to Dengzhou under the name of merchants or other names, the cost is indeed relatively low, but the income is not necessarily low. It is definitely the most suitable search at this stage. method of immigration.Moreover, it is less likely to cause backlash from local officials in the Qing Dynasty. They can pretend not to see it more easily and let the victims go by themselves. What's more, they may not know the details of the countryside in today's chaotic situation.

"There is nothing to see here in Ye County, just follow the steps. Xiao Huang, quickly pack up your things, and follow me to the south to have a look. It's also very important there." Liang Xiangjian put away the folding fan and told his secretary road.

"Understood, Commander, I will arrange to go." Huang Hanhua replied immediately.

On June 1665, 6, Liang Xiangjian riding an Andalusian horse swaggered into the city of Pingdu without encountering any obstacles.According to the tacit understanding formed between the East Bank and the Qing court over the years, the boundaries of Laizhou Prefecture, which serves as a buffer zone, have always been blurred. , Aoshanwei was controlled by the army of the east bank (in addition, the people of the east bank built a Jiaozhou Fort by the seaside of Qingdao later, so there were two Jiaozhou cities in Laizhou at this time), Weixian, Changyi County, Gaomi County and Lingshanwei were controlled by the Qing army , which is a relatively clear division.

But in addition, there are two big cities in Laizhou Prefecture whose ownership is relatively vague, namely Jiaozhou City and Duzhou City.In these two places, there was no garrison on the east bank, and the Qing army had no garrison on the east bank, and local government affairs were handled by officials appointed by the Qing government. However, when merchants from the east bank came to trade, no one made things difficult, obstructed or levy taxes.Sometimes even when officials from the east bank pass by, the Qing court will entertain them politely, and from time to time communicate with each other and receive some letters. It seems like two communication windows deliberately reserved by the Qing court (and there are already many years).

This may show from another perspective that the Manchu Qing court had never wanted to be hostile to the people on the east bank since many years ago. They have been trying to contact, communicate, and negotiate, but unfortunately the results have not been very great.In fact, if you think about it, you will understand. How could the "yellow thieves" who hoped to get people from China come into contact with "My Great Qing" at that time?It's pretty much the same situation now!

With this severe drought in Shandong, the agricultural harvest in Xisi Prefecture in the first half of the year was determined to be over. In June, Denglai Second Prefecture, which was relatively light before the disaster, also began to worsen, and there was no rain for more than a month.Fortunately, the grain in the field has almost reached the stage of harvesting at this time, and the water conservancy facilities in the Second Mansion of Denglai are good—well, at least the state of Dengzhou is not bad—and the government organization is relatively strong, so the grain in the old land is harvested at least Fifty to sixty percent of them came back, which is already a blessing in misfortune.

Of course, [-]% to [-]% was recovered, and that only refers to the control area of ​​the people on the east coast.However, in the areas governed by the Qing government, such as Weixian, Changyi, Gaomi, Jiaozhou, and Pingdu Prefecture, if the local officials can recover two or three out of ten of the land, they may already be able to obtain the title of "competent". Therefore, the area controlled by the Qing army in Laizhou Prefecture is also a "big famine". If the people can't find food to survive near their hometown, they can only go out to flee the famine, and their first choice for fleeing famine is ready-made, that is Dong shore control area.

It was under such a background that Liang Xiangjian entered the city of Pingdu Prefecture. The Zhizhou appointed by the Qing court went to the countryside in an emergency to "seek secrets" a quarter of an hour ago. Trembling, with the expression of a dead old lady, watched the officers and soldiers of the cavalry regiment guarding Commander Liang slowly enter the city.It's a pity that many of them are not as tall as the black water horses ridden by people from the east coast. They originally wanted to stop them, but they didn't have enough food for a few days, and they lacked strength. They were jostled by those heavily armed cavalry. The formation turned upside down, and as a result, Pingduzhou City changed its owner so easily.

"Set up a big camp in Pingduzhou City, cavalry go out, Xiaoyu is far and near, so that hungry people from all over the country come here on their own, and they will definitely not lose a bite of food." After sitting in the signing room of Zhizhou Yamen, Liang Xiangjian sat proudly. Directly began to issue orders to the subordinate officials of the Qing Dynasty and Zuo Er officials in the yamen: "The Qing court has no way, and when it encounters a sudden famine, it cannot protect the people. What is the use of such a court? Let's go today. There is still a bit of compassion, and I am willing to guide the elders in the countryside to come to Zhoucheng for food, and Liang is very grateful."

After issuing an order to expel a group of old officials in the state government, the people from the east coast erected a banner in the state city in a grand manner.At the same time, he also sent envoys to the area of ​​Qingzhou Prefecture to negotiate with the Qing army, saying that the march into Pingdu Prefecture was purely for disaster relief, and there was no need to be too "surprised", and they would naturally retreat later.In addition, he also said that if there are disaster victims in the prefectures of Qingzhou, Jinan, and Yanzhou who have nowhere to eat, they hope to make a way out so that they can come to Laizhou. Know if they have the guts to accept it.However, Liang Xiangjian also expects that this move will not attract too many victims. After all, there are heavy troops stationed in Qingzhou Prefecture, and disaster victims generally will not flock here. It is estimated that 3 or [-] people will eventually flood into Laizhou Prefecture. — With this number of people, the people on the east coast are still sure to settle down.

It took half a month for the flag of the people from the east bank to be erected in Pingdu city.In the past half a month, there has been an endless stream of disaster victims from Pingdu Prefecture, Weixian, Changyi, Gaomi and other places. In a short period of time, more than 6 people have gathered, which surprised the people on the east coast. It is estimated that there are only 3 people at most!As a last resort, they could only shorten the training time for these people, and immediately began to evacuate them, and they were resettled in batches in Dasong County (formerly Dasongwei), Jinghai County (formerly Jinghaiwei), Rongcheng County ( The original Chengshanwei), Weihai County (formerly Weihaiwei) and other places resettlement.These Weigai counties are sparsely populated and have a lot of wasteland, which is quite good for housing disaster victims. If they are developed in the future, it will be their basic board.

It is worth mentioning that news also came from Jiaozhou Fortress, Jimo County, Aoshanwei and other places in the south. Many hungry people flocked to neighboring Jiaozhou City, Lingshanwei and other places. There are as many as 7000 people; in addition, some disaster victims from Qingzhou Prefecture come by sea, there are about [-] to [-] people, hope that Yantai will quickly mobilize a group of ships to transport them.

On July 1665, 7, transport ships departing from Fuding Seaport in Ningbo arrived at Jiaozhou, Rongcheng, Weihai, Yantai, Dasong, Jinghai and other ports respectively. The 8 tons of rice that Jiang Zhiqing had previously withheld and had not released finally It arrived in Terengganu, probably because the last batch of returning immigrant transport ships brought back 30 tons of rice from Nanyang (which cost more than [-] yuan in cash), and probably the Dutch East India Company The first batch of trading ships has also arrived at the port of Zeelandja, which also included a large amount of rice.

The grain reserves on the east coast, which were a bit dangerous because it absorbed more than 9 victims, have been slightly relieved so far.If the food promised by the North Korean side is delivered on time, and the East Bank Korean Company and the East Bank Japanese Company can also purchase a considerable amount of food, then it will be even more secure.After all, the more than 9 disaster victims did not just eat or work. Immediately organize them to reclaim wasteland in a few Weigai counties with a lot of wasteland (specially pick places near rivers and creeks, hope the rivers are not completely dried up), it should be It is unlikely that there will be no food at all, and this will solve a small part of food consumption.

And on July 7th, a group of overhauled motor sailboats also set off from Yantai, Jeju and other places to head south towards the Maluku Islands, preparing to transport grain to the Dutch—in this season when the southeast wind dominates , which means that these motor sailboats can sail regardless of the season, of course, this is also a great risk.

(End of this chapter)