Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 361 Yantai ([-])

On December 1643, 5, light rain.

Li Yi sat bored in a temporary wooden house by the pier, watching a group of North Korean peasants raising sweet potato seedlings under the guidance of several technicians from the local Ministry of Agriculture.After nearly ten days of busy work, the people on the east bank have cleared out quite a piece of wasteland abandoned by the local Ming Dynasty people, and are preparing to reclaim and plant high-yield crops such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn that are not available in the East.These crops do not choose the land, are highly adaptable, and have high yields, which are absolutely suitable for the current situation.

And beside the camp of the Eight Banners Army in front, about hundreds of nearby refugees have gathered.People from the east bank set up a large porridge shed here, and then sent cavalry to spread the word in far and near areas, in order to attract people from nearby areas to gather here.These cavalrymen who went out to promote were basically selected from the sailors. They were of Ming and Korean origin and capable men who could ride horses.There were a total of more than ten of them, divided into three groups, one group went east, to Ninghai Prefecture, Weihaiwei, Chengshanwei, etc.; one group went south, to Wendeng County, Jinghaiwei, etc.; the last group went west, Go to Fushan County, Penglai County, Qixia County and other places.

The soldiers of East Asian origin are not much different from the local people in appearance, and it is much better to let them go out to fool people than to send those Europeans and blacks out.It wasn't long before the two prefectures of Deng and Lai were ravaged by the Tartars. There were many tenant farmers who lost all their properties. Eat food to survive in the lean season.

Therefore, when the cavalry of the East Coasters wandered in the dilapidated and empty countryside, they often encountered these refugee teams ranging from small groups to dozens or hundreds of people.At this time, after ensuring their own safety, they will always take part of the dry food (wheat cake, salted fish, beef jerky) they carry with them to give to these hungry refugees, and then talk and gesture to persuade these refugees Follow yourself back to Yantai Fortress on Zhifu Island.After arriving there, they can work under the hands of the people on the east bank, and then exchange for three meals a day for themselves and their families.

Many people who thought it would be difficult to get along in other states and counties followed them on the spot, and a small number of refugees who tasted the delicious salted fish and beef jerky they provided felt that their living standards might be better. Also followed.Of course, there are still a considerable number of refugees, especially those led by elders such as village chiefs and patriarchs. Feeling contemptuous and vigilant, he almost treated them the same as Tartars.Regrettably, the latter type of people still accounts for the majority. They would rather go to nearby Wendeng County, Dengzhou City, Huang County and other places to try their luck with hunger and hunger, rather than fight with these suspicious short-haired people. Outsiders go.

This made many soldiers who were born in the Ming Dynasty sigh, and most of them were also born as refugees. They sympathized with the suffering of these poor people and hoped that they could live in the paradise-like east coast of the world.But the reality is cruel. Most of the time their enthusiasm is met with suspicion, puzzlement and hostility. Many people even suspect that they are fake tartars who came across the sea from Liaohai. They were tricked into going to Liaodong as slaves.

Whenever this happens, everyone can only choose to run away, because if you don't leave, maybe they will tie you up as a tartar and send you to the government to exchange money.Anyway, the seeds have been sown in the hearts of these refugees, and they have already known that there are porridge sheds opened by people from the east coast in Zhifu Island. Then when they arrive in Dengzhou City and other places and find that they still cannot survive, they Remembering today's events, at this time, don't expect everything, at least some people choose to come to the east bank to beg for food, then it's all worth it.

The porridge shed has been set up outside for nearly a week. In a week, more than 800 refugees from Terengganu came, most of them were from tenant households. Reclaiming wasteland and building wharves are extremely busy.Among the refugees are a small number of handicraftsmen from craftsmen, such as carpenters, bamboo craftsmen, blacksmiths, and even a very small number of down-and-out scholars and doctors. These people, as "special talents", do not need to participate in those heavy physical labor Instead of laboring, they switched to some technical work related to their old line of work, which can be regarded as a recognition of their ability by the people on the east coast.

To the delight of all these refugees, these Semu people, who call themselves "people from the east coast", provide them with three meals a day!Breakfast, lunch and dinner, especially for some children who are obviously malnourished, they also give preferential treatment. These children can eat fishy milk and fragrant broth every day. When people on the east coast slaughter livestock They even get some meat.This kind of action quickly bought the hearts of many people, especially those parents with children. Seeing that these "Eastern Barbarians" did not eat people's hearts and children as in the legend, but acted fairly and strictly disciplined—hmm Except for those dark-looking Kunlun slaves, they behaved quite well, and all of them immediately felt relieved.

It doesn't matter who they are, as long as they can feed themselves.Especially when they saw their children following the buttocks of those lecherous soldiers every day, begging for some candy, dried meat and even unheard of canned food from time to time, they really began to accept these people from the bottom of their hearts.Perhaps these people are not as bad as the gentlemen say?They should be different from those Tartars who burned, killed and looted everywhere, right?

Luo Tiansheng came back from Qishan Institute the day before yesterday. As a reward for his willingness to lead the way, the East Coast people handed over all the about [-] Ming people on Zhifu Island to him for management, and assigned him to lead the way. The deeds were widely publicized among Ming people, and then a lot of rewards were given in public - this made Luo Tiansheng's face turn pale.Of course he understood that the people on the east coast had put him on a par with him, telling him to cut off some of his petty thoughts early on, and from now on he would wholeheartedly work for the people on the east coast.However, the people from the east bank did not treat him badly. The east bank silver dollars worth hundreds of taels of silver had already been handed over to him the day before yesterday, along with a large number of various flower cloths.This made Luo Tiansheng, who had never seen so much property, almost stared out of his eyes, and he was not so resistant to doing things for the people on the east coast.

Today, Luo Tiansheng also has a few helpers around him. The people from the East Bank have also confirmed the identities of these helpers, and formally signed a work contract with them. Each person can receive a monthly salary of two yuan or the equivalent food, and Luo Tiansheng's salary reached five yuan per month, which was an affirmation of his status as a manager.

"Lord Li, the first batch of bluestone brought back yesterday has been used up. Jin Wugui urged me this morning, threatening that there will be no more new stones. I am afraid that the foundation will be postponed. The villain dare not be good at it, so I am here to ask the Lord for instructions. How should things be handled?" Luo Tiansheng applied for permission outside Li Yi's office before entering, and then reported what happened to Li Yi.

Jin Wugui is the manager of the North Koreans appointed by the people on the east bank. He and about a dozen of his subordinates are all family members of North Korean prisoners exiled on Jeju Island, so they have a deep-seated hatred for Li Chao.Driven by this kind of hatred, it is only natural to turn to serve the East Coast people who helped them get ahead, and improve their status and living conditions along the way.At present, the [-] North Koreans here are under the management of Jin Wugui, and they give the big name "Chief Jin", who is considered one of the prominent figures here, and they have a vaguely competitive relationship with Luo Tiansheng, Chief Luo.Luo Tiansheng and his henchmen even slandered Jin Wugui as a "golden turtle" for secret fun.

"The bluestone is gone, so let's dig it!" Li Yi said impatiently, "There are 1600 people at Qishan Institute who are demolishing and transporting the city, and another 300 people were sent to them yesterday. Continue to send more! Until enough! Anyway, there are not too many people here at the moment. Reclamation, digging rivers, and repairing reservoirs can leave me with a thousand strong men and women, and the rest can be sent there. Uh, Don't move those dozens of children, I have to teach them how to learn."

As soon as Luo Tiansheng heard his eyes roll, he felt that he could send all those North Korean sticks to the Qishan Institute to do the heavy physical work of demolishing the city wall, and it would be best if he could also kick the golden turtle who was an eyesore.As for those Ming people, they can naturally stay in the local area and do some relatively easy work such as cultivating fields.

"Yes, my lord, the villain knows what to do." Luo Tiansheng said with a smile on his face, and after thinking for a while, he added one more thing: "Yesterday someone spread the imperial court in the camp... well, the court of the Ming Dynasty To send a large army to wipe us out, many foolish men and women believed in it, and were incited to panic. Last night, some people wanted to escape at night..."

"Well, I also know about this. It was caused by the scholar who broke his reading head, right?" Li Yi said casually, "I have already taken him down and sent him to farm on Rishiri Island. Let's go together."

Luo Tiansheng nodded silently when he heard the words, then bowed his head and quit the supervision work under Li Yi's signal.

In the afternoon, Mo Ming and a few followers came back from Qishan Institute on horseback.He has entrusted all the affairs over there to Xiao Xi, the company commander of the 102nd company, and he himself will return to Zhifu Island to sit in charge.As for Li Yi, he will leave and return to Heishui Port with several ships currently moored in the harbor.After arriving at Heishui Port, Li Yi will lead the "Broken Wave" and "Chop Wave" to carry about 1500 North Koreans towards Jinshan Port, as the first batch of immigrants transported back this year.

(End of this chapter)