Autumn of the 17th year of Chongzhen

Chapter 179 Touring the South China Sea and Inspecting Qiongdao

In the fifth year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, Qiongzhou was opened, and its jurisdiction was the northern part of Qiongzhou Island, and the jurisdiction of this dynasty expanded to the entire Qiongzhou Island.

Although the Central Plains regime has ruled Qiongzhou for more than 1000 years, Qiongzhou was actually developed by this dynasty, but even so, Qiongzhou is still far behind the land provinces.

Qiongzhou, which has a radius of nearly [-] miles, exudes a wild atmosphere everywhere. The endless forests, poisonous snakes, insects and ants can be seen everywhere, and the hot and humid climate is unbearable.

Qiongshan County is the seat of Qiongzhou Prefecture. Its original population was only 60, but at this time it increased to nearly [-], which brought great vitality and troubles to Qiongzhou Island.

At this time, Wang Yan was standing beside a simple pier on the coast of Qiongzhou in a rough suit, and sea boats full of tourists docked here, and moved nearly 20 people from the southern provinces of Guangnan to Qiongzhou Island.

Under the scorching sun, Wang Yan's back felt drenched with sweat, but he still stood by the shore, so that the guests who got off the boat could see his figure, and let the guests know that they were not exiled and that the government cared about them. life and death.

In fact, the climate in Guangnan is similar to that of Qiongzhou, and the Hakka people are quite accustomed to the climate of Qiongzhou, but the people of Yangzhou who came to Qiongzhou from the Jianghuai River were considered to have suffered a serious crime.

Over the past month or so, many people in Yangzhou have fallen ill, and once most of them fell, they never got up again, which filled Wang Yan with guilt.

After the blockade of Guangdong was lifted, Wang Yan immediately came to Qiongzhou with a full load of food supplies and a sea-going ship from Langzhong, hoping to help the people through the initial difficult period.

At this time, by the simple pier and along the coast, countless supplies piled up into mountains. A group of peasants unloaded bags of rice from the boat, and another group of peasants loaded the rice into the city.

The guests who got off the boat saw this scene, and saw Duke Chu watching them under the fluttering banner on the coast, and their hearts suddenly warmed up.

Old Li Guangsi and Wang Xiu'an from the Hakka family in Kaiping County didn't expect to see Wang Yan here, so they hurriedly left the team to come to pay their respects.

The two led a group of guests, and bowed down in front of Wang Yan, both of them were full of tears, "The kindness of the Duke to the guests, the guests will never forget!"

Wang Yan hurriedly helped the two of them up, and asked in a warm voice: "Have all the Hakka people in Kaiping moved here? Is it fair for the government to take back the land?"

"The people of Caomin have already boarded the boat, and those who arrived first have already shared the land. Caomin is about to thank the Duke of the country. Lord He is confiscating the land in Kaiping, and the price he gave is one cent higher than the market price. It is the great kindness of the Duke to the guests." Li Guangsi said: "However, the Caomin saw the Duke transporting so much grain and grass to Qiongzhou, but they regretted not exchanging land for land."

The whole family moved to a strange place. The Hakka people in Guangnan instinctively chose to exchange the land in their hands for cash instead of replacing the land in Qiongzhou. After thinking about it, I couldn't help but regret it.

Hearing the words, Wang Yan smiled slightly, and after some encouragement and comfort, he let the guests leave.

The next day, Wang Yan and his party came to Wenchang County, which is close to Qiongshan County.

After the Yangzhou people went ashore, they moved to neighboring counties with Qiongshan County as the center.

At this time, Wang Yan, accompanied by Qian Yifeng, Zhou Zhiwei and many other officials, came to a dense forest near the coast. Many people were busy cutting down giant trees and dragging them to the shore.

"Master Guo, many of the people in Yangzhou used to be wealthy households and are not good at reclaiming wasteland, so some people joined forces to sell the land allocated by the Duke of the country, and then took the land from the belongings they carried. I paid out a sum of money and planned to build a ship in Wenchang County by myself, and then go to sea for trade." Qian Yifeng pointed to the people working around him as he walked, and explained to Wang Yan: "Your official thinks that Qiongzhou Island is full of The trees can be obtained locally, so they agreed to their request, and the craftsmen brought by the Duke from Quanzhou were also arranged by the officials."

Wang Yan watched while listening, and saw that a large area in front of a bay had been cut down, and giant trees were piled up as high as hills.

By the bay, the common people have built neat rows of wooden houses, and on the coast, simple docks have also been built.

Looking at the busy scenes, Wang Yan couldn't help feeling relieved, "Our nation is the most hardworking. As long as there is a stable environment, the people will soon be able to gain a foothold in Qiongzhou."

At this time, he and the others came to the dock, and a group of people quickly put down their work and came to see the ceremony. Their faces were filled with hope and the joy of new life.

Looking at the crowd, Wang Yan was also full of joy. He said that a rich merchant who had donated [-] shi of rice and grain in Yangzhou to help him defend the city asked: "Old Feng used to sell salt, but now this ship can also be built?"

Hearing the words, the old man smiled and said, "I don't know how to build ships, but craftsmen can. I just need to be able to settle accounts and make money, and that's fine."

"Haha~ Old Feng makes sense. Those who are maritime merchants really don't need to know how to build ships, and those who sell butcher don't need to know how to raise dolphins. As an official, you don't need to do everything yourself. You only need to know people and do them well." Yan smiled happily: "Old Feng's views on affairs are clearer than this governor's!"

Feng Yingchang quickly smiled and said, "Don't dare, don't dare."

"When I left Yangzhou, Mr. Ling saw that Ruo's family business fell into the hands of the Qing soldiers, and he was very reluctant to give up. Feng Lao said that as long as he settled down in the south, within a few years, he would be able to earn another fortune. When I watched it today, I realized that what Feng Lao said was true." Wang Yan continued, "It happens that the Guangdong Navy still needs warships, so I can order [-] ships from Feng Lao?"

Feng Yingchang was overjoyed immediately when he heard the words, "Grandpa, this is a great favor to this old man! This old man will definitely build the boat as soon as possible and hand it over to the Duke."

Wang Yan nodded, "Now that the sea of ​​Guangdong is clean, the Governor is opening up the sea in Guangdong again. In a short period of time, maritime commerce will become more frequent. By then, Guangdong's maritime merchants will inevitably expand in scale. This maritime commerce There is bound to be a shortage of ships, and Feng will be able to do a lot when he gets old."

"What the Duke of the State said is true. I have been asking around these days, only to find out that this maritime trade makes more money than I did selling salt in the past." Feng Yingchang deeply agreed, "Our tea and porcelain from Ming Dynasty are shipped to Nanyang. Immediately, it doubles, and then doubles when it goes west to Tianzhu. If it reaches Dashi, or the Western Yi kingdoms farther away, it will increase to more than four or five times. Very tempting, if the old man saves enough money, he will definitely recruit sailors and organize a fleet to go to sea."

Hearing the words, Wang Yan couldn't help but think a little bit in his heart, and then said: "Since Mr. Feng is interested in sea trade, why wait until he has enough money, the governor will take out 50 taels of silver now, and use it as the principal for the elders in Yangzhou to start trade, how about it?"

(End of this chapter)