Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 1442 Shandong Severe Drought ([-])

This year’s spring came very early. It’s only late May. The Temple Street Port, which used to have a lot of drift ice, is completely invisible now. People from the Port Authority have come to work at the pier. The important town in the outer northeast can finally communicate with the outside world again.

Liao Xiaoyao, who was wearing a thick leather jacket and a sealskin cap, looked at a large group of refugees who had just disembarked with joy and worry. The number of these refugees was about 500. Very bad, I just got off the armed transport ship "Galician Flying Fish", which was confirmed to be decommissioned this year.

They set off from the Jiaozhou Fortress in Shandong Province. The old captain has rich experience and can always find the one that is conducive to navigation in the turbulent near-surface ocean currents, and then use the sea breeze blowing intermittently from the southeast (May is when the north and south winds blow alternately) Season), all the way through the waves, except for a stop at Yuanshanjin on the way to replenish supplies and release passengers, they just rushed on the road with their heads covered, and finally arrived at Miaojie Port under the jurisdiction of the Heishui Pioneering Team on May 5. .

According to the agreement, this batch of more than 400 refugees—there may be many more batches in the future—will be handed over to the Heishui Pioneering Team to settle in the local area to reduce the pressure on Shandong.You must know that in Shandong, where there are thousands of miles of red land and locust plagues everywhere, even if you want to organize manpower to open up wasteland, it is impossible, and the cost-effectiveness ratio is extremely low. In the end, it is just a waste of seeds and energy, so these people are transferred to open up wasteland. That's the truth. The Blackwater Pioneering Team has received a lot since last year, and it seems that they will continue to receive this year. I don't know when the drought in Shandong will end.

"[-] people last year, maybe [-] people came here this year. How did Shandong become like this? I heard that the locust plague in the four prefectures of the east and west of Shanxi has gradually subsided, but it is still happening in the Denglai area. The imperial court is lucky." Liao Xiaoyao looked at the victims, and said helplessly: "Han Qian, you Taiwan Bank has made a lot of money with the support of the government these years. At this difficult time, you don't have to It’s hard to back down. How about this, I know you just brought a boatload of cotton coats from Ningbo to sell, don’t sell them, let’s use them for refugees like this. The weather is actually quite cold, and they may not be used to this place Don’t make people suffer from the cold weather. Well, let’s think of it as the government’s agent for you to sell to these disaster victims. The price is cheap. Don’t think about earning too much. The payment for the goods will be used after these disaster victims settle down and then slowly use your own labor. Pay it back."

Han Qian was depressed again when he heard the words. The income of these regional managers is actually closely related to the performance. As the person in charge of the Heishui District, Han Qian has been caught by Liao Xiaoyao for a lot of things in the past few years. , spent a lot of money.For example, goods were misappropriated to newly established villages and towns, ships were requisitioned, people were dragged to help with work, and bad debts were paid for the government.

Especially after hearing what the merchants of the Dutch East India Company said about the situation there, Han Qian was even more envious.The co-author is also this kind of large-scale trading and colonial enterprise. Why is the East India Company so prestigious? Why is our Taiwan bank like a stepmother who has to do dirty work for the stepmother all day long?Every time he thinks of this, Han Qian can't help but sigh.But fortunately, he is also from the Ming Dynasty, and he has a very deep understanding of the saying that the people do not fight with the government. What's more, more than half of the shares of the Bank of Taiwan are controlled by the government, and their relationship with the government is also complicated. Many government interests (such as renting ships of the Okhotsk Sea Squadron of the Third Fleet, etc.), so it is destined not to be able to achieve the free status of the Dutch East India Company.

Therefore, after Han Qian heard Liao Xiaoyao's order, he immediately stepped forward and agreed: "Please don't worry, Commander Liao, there are a total of two thousand cotton clothes in this batch, and they are all stored in the warehouse at the Temple Street wharf. Distributed to various places. I will go and order the people below to bring the cotton-padded clothes here. Don't worry, all [-] pieces are at your disposal, Commander Liao. The next batch will be used if the victims can't run out. There is no rush to pay for the goods. Wait. They settle down first, and the company can bear it."

"Very good. As a country's enterprise, trade pioneer, and colonial sword, Bank of Taiwan should have such an awareness. Manager Han, you are very good. Work hard in the future. I will bring this matter up in front of your Vice President Shao." Liao Xiaoyao glanced at Han Qian, praised Han Qian in a neutral tone, and then said: "I heard that the four 72-ton steamers you ordered at Heishui Shipyard arrived in Hong Kong last year before they were frozen. Is it? Well, we may have to requisition next, and use these boats to transport some victims to the west of the Udi River for resettlement."

It is said that there are more and more ship types being built by Heishui Shipyard. No, in the first half of last year, the Engineering Technology Research Institute, the patent holder of the 72-ton inland/offshore general-purpose small steamer, has officially authorized Heishui The water shipyard builds this very useful ship (of course, many major components, including steam engines, transmission equipment, propellers, etc., still need to be purchased locally), which means that the three major feudal towns in the Far East no longer need to do everything possible to purchase from the local The old ships that have been eliminated can now be ordered to build new ships at the nearby Black Water Factory, which is undoubtedly a big improvement.

After the Bank of Taiwan heard the news in the middle of last year, it raised funds and placed an order for four such ships to carry out shipping business along the Amur River, Ganga River, Ussuri River, and Zeya River, and purchase local wild goods and placer gold. , high-grade furs, medicinal materials, salted fish and other commodities, and sometimes help transport some bulk goods such as building materials, food, fuel, clothing, arms, etc., intending to completely develop the commerce on this vast land.

It’s just that they seem a little unlucky now. These ships pulled some building materials for their maiden voyage to Temple Street Port last year before the Amur River froze, and then stayed in dry dock for the winter.Unexpectedly, Liao Xiaoyao and Commander Liao would be targeted. This would be used to expropriate and transport immigrants. They had nothing to say and could only obey their orders!

And when it comes to the Udi River, it started with Liao Xiaoyao's staking of land in the Northeast after he took office three years ago.At that time, although people on the east bank had signed a border demarcation agreement with Russia in the Far East, the terms were quite vague, and there were no regulations at all in many places. .After thinking about it, Liao Xiaoyao felt that in order to truly occupy this land, there must be people living on it, and an effective early warning and defense mechanism must be established, and the advantages of the people on the east coast in terms of immigration are naturally not comparable to the Russians. Therefore, there was the feat of engulfing the Udi River-Zeya River in the later feat of enclosing land-of course, this also included the factors of enclosing and slowly digesting a large number of local aborigines. You must know that these people But they are all excellent soldiers.

This severe drought, which has been rare in Shandong for decades, and the ensuing locust plague, Denglai Second Prefecture is unable to grow food, so the large number of people gathered (currently more than 25, which is still in the Qing Dynasty) The numbers obtained when Ting strengthened the interception) can only be diverted to other places nearby, such as Ningbo Mansion, North Korea's leased land, the area under the jurisdiction of the Blackwater Pioneering Team, and so on.

Among them, the population of Ningbo Prefecture has been increasing day by day in recent years, and the sown area of ​​economic crops has been increasing day by day, so the population that can be resettled is not too large. Didn’t you see that when resettling immigrants from Huai’an Prefecture last time, they were mostly resettled in local salt fields, construction teams, and logging camps? , after a lapse of several years, the expansion of arable land in Ningbo Prefecture is still limited, and most of it is offset by the new population.Therefore, this time, Liang Xiangjian talked about everything, and Jiang Zhiqing, the leader of the Southern Exploitation Team, reluctantly agreed to accept 8 to [-] victims of disasters to resettle and open up wasteland. Not small.

In addition, after the withdrawal of the officers and soldiers of the Shandong New Army and their families on Jeju Island, it is conservatively estimated that more than 2 resettlement capacity will be released. , and another 3 to [-] people can be placed, which adds up to more than [-], which solves a lot of trouble for the Denglai Pioneering Team.

Finally, it was the area under the jurisdiction of the Blackwater Pioneering Team managed by Liao Xiaoyao.At present, there is a large area of ​​semi-cultivated land in the south of Sakhalin Island, all of which were left by immigrants from Huai’an Prefecture who used to live in collective farms. Last year, the governments of Dabo and Nanku counties organized personnel to clean it up—clear The weeds and shrubs that have grown up after being abandoned - basically can accommodate a large number of victims this year. Even the houses of the collective farms are ready-made, and they can be moved in with just a little cleaning and repairing.

Liang Xiangjian had been an official in the Heishui area for many years before. The collective farms and collective farms were built by him and Liang. Collective farms, but the scale is far smaller than that in southern Sakhalin) The collective farms in the two counties have not been abandoned in large areas-this is not groundless worry, because with the peak of 50 immigrants from Huai'an Prefecture that year were removed, there were not enough people in the fields It is natural to cultivate such familiar land slowly—then it will not be a problem to resettle tens of thousands of people this time. Of course, this may require paying the first year’s rations in advance, otherwise it may be unsustainable. After all There are few local people, and the surplus food is limited, so they can't afford to support too many people.

After removing these places, there are only 8 to [-] people left in Shandong who need to be resettled.With such a small population, find some places in Terengganu where the locust plague is not so serious and the water conservancy facilities are not bad. Slowly toss and cook slowly. You can always harvest some food. Although it is a little less, it is better than No good, who said that other places can't be accommodated now?

"The Qing court is a corrupt court. There has been such a big disaster in the country, but the relief is so ineffective. What is the use of such a bird court? Presumably the people of the Qing Dynasty in Qingzhou, Jinan, Dongchang, Yanzhou, and Hejian today, Are they all extolling the benevolence and righteousness of our Dadong’an? If you attack it with all your strength at this time, you will reap great achievements! It’s a pity..." At this point, Liao Xiaoyao also shook his head and smiled, not going any further. After we talked, he changed the subject and said: "Nowadays the dry locusts in Shandong are bursting out, and the people are struggling to survive. The Amur River Basin has to accept more than ten thousand victims of the disaster. This task is not easy to say. Grain, fish, and meat can all be eaten. You have to get everything ready, otherwise you won’t be able to support so many victims who are starving for food. Don’t babble, many of you were unkempt back then, and you weren’t as good as they were. Didn’t you survive by relying on other people’s relief? Now, let’s help each other Others are also ordinary, saving a life is better than building a seven-level pagoda, although this is a Buddhist saying, there is a certain truth in it."

"In addition, in such a vast land in the Northeast, the Bohai Kingdom, Goguryeo, Liao, Jin and other regimes have risen in history, but they are all Hu people's courts, and Han Jiaerlang rarely comes here, especially in the fertile soil of the Northeast. .Since our East Coast Country is inherited from the Great Song Dynasty, we have the responsibility to come here to expand our territory and strive for a future living space for our people. What's more, there are few competitors here, and their strength is not strong. At best, they are only a few It’s just a thousand Siberian Cossacks, can’t it be stopped?” Liao Xiaoyao said again in high spirits, obviously showing some royal habits in his body: “So, this group of immigrants will mainly be resettled on the Udi River-Zeya River line. Make this line of control solid, block the prying eyes of the Russians, and then slowly digest the natives within hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. I estimate that there will be more than 20 if not [-]. If this is digested, for Our own strength has also been greatly improved. Therefore, at this critical moment, everyone must work together and work hard. The large number of disaster victims sent to Shandong this time is both a burden and an asset for us. It depends on you How do you look at it? If we can’t make it through, of course we will stop talking about everything. If we make it through, our power will increase greatly, and the Russians will no longer have any possibility of competing with us. They can only withdraw their claws in despair. Go, how can this great place between the white mountains and the black waters take advantage of the vulgar and illiterate old man?"

"Commander Liao is far-sighted, I can't wait." Han Qian was the first to flatter, and then naturally aroused the support of others.Everyone clamored, how can we afford to support tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Amur River?Even if you really can't afford it, let Heixiazi port send more seal meat, whale meat, etc., and it will be able to support it for a while; The indigenous tribes of Dehan and the Tsar are more or less supplementary, and I don’t believe they can’t do it!

Speaking of this, everyone's emotions gradually became warmer. For the men in the Amur River Basin, grabbing other people's things has always been reserved as an "entertainment item", and it has always been "loved to hear and see"!

(End of this chapter)