Yang Chao followed Zheng Zhilong to make some money in those years and returned to his hometown in Nan'an to build a large-scale construction and become a squire.

At this time, because of Li Chengdong, Zheng Chenggong was forced to retreat to Kinmen and Xiamen, and finally couldn't retreat to Taiwan again. At this time, Taiwan was not as densely populated as described in the Deer and the Cauldron. When Taiwan truly developed, it was the late Qing Dynasty. During this period, Taiwan had a population of more than 10,000 in Tainan, the entire island was native.

Zheng Chenggong had no choice but to retreat to Taiwan. He had to have dinner with hundreds of thousands of people. At this time, Zheng Chenggong sent people back to his hometown to find his father's old brother to help, including Yang Chao.

It is very simple for Zheng Chenggong to find them, they just need food and food. Otherwise, they don’t have to wait for a counterattack on the mainland and they will starve to death in Taiwan.

Yang Chao originally thought that Zheng Zhilong's team would disperse after he joined the Qing Dynasty, but he didn't expect that Zheng Damu had the courage to incorporate the remaining troops of Zheng Zhilong, and drove away the Dutch in Taiwan, occupying Taiwan.

Yang Chao didn't want to have anything to do with Zheng Chenggong. After all, Yang Chao was in his forties and his years of life at sea had caused great damage to his body. He was ready to retire at home. But the old brothers were about to starve to death. No matter how bad they were, they had no choice but to take risks again and start smuggling food, salt and other supplies to Kinmen and Xiamen.

In the first few years, because Zhu Hongsan asked Zheng Chenggong to fight against the Qing Dynasty, the inspection was not strict. However, with the failure of the Qing Dynasty and Zhu Hongsan occupied the whole country, the management of smuggling ships on the coast of Fujian became increasingly strong. Yang Chao also knew that Zheng Chenggong's failure was the general trend, but he had been dragged here, so it would be difficult to escape.

Today, Yang Chao was sitting at home in Quanzhou City. The servants outside the door came to report that the prefect, Master Xin, invited him!

Yang Chao sighed when he heard this. Two years ago, the imperial court increased its investigation and smuggling efforts, and Master Xin became more and more ruthless in asking for money.

But no matter how powerful Yang Chao is, he can't beat the government. What's more, Yang Chao doesn't have the intention to compete for the battle now. His wife, concubine, son and daughter are a lot of people in his family, and he can't bear to leave if he wants to run away.

There was no choice but to notify the accountant, and took out the 5,000 silver bill and went out to the prefect's office.

When he entered the Quanzhou Prefecture Office, Yang Chao learned that the magistrate was waiting for him in the study room of the back house. Yang Chao was stunned when he heard this. Yang Chao was a pirate, and the magistrate was a great master of Jinshi. Although he gave a lot of money to the magistrate, the magistrate Mr. Xin still looked down on Yang Chao in his heart. In the past, he came to give gifts to the second hall of the yamen, and he didn't even have a cup of tea. Today, he asked himself to go to the study room in the backyard?

You should know that those intellectuals who are particular about going to the church to worship their mothers are to let you go to the back house and introduce your wife and children to you. This is only a family friend who can do this. Yang Chao was a little confused by the prefect.

Yang Chao was led to the study room of the backyard by his servants. The prefect Xin Zixiu wore a casual dress and was waiting in the study.

When Xin Zixiu saw Yang Chao coming, he quickly stood up and went to the door to greet him: "Brother Yang, please come in quickly! Come on, serve tea, and use the new Dahongpao this year!"

Yang Chao was so flattered to hear Xin Zixiu say this. When he came here, he was always tea leaves, but he didn't expect to go to Dahongpao today.

Yang Chao didn't dare to have any excessive thoughts. Although Xin Zixiu was so good to him, he must have the etiquette he should have.

Yang Chao knelt down on his knees and said, "Caomin Yang Chao pays homage to his parents!"

"Get up quickly, Brother Yang is a gentry from Quanzhou, please get up quickly!" Xin Zixiu quickly helped Yang Chao up with both hands.

Yang Chao himself knew that although he was a gentry hat, his identity was completely bought with money. As for his knowledge, he even had a rolling pin and knew nothing about it.

After getting up, Yang Chao took out the silver dollar bill in his arms, put it in front of Xin Zixiu and said, "Old parents, this is a little care, and it doesn't deserve respect!"

Xin Zixiu smiled and waved his hand to ask his family to take the silver notes. Xin Zixiu was a fourth-rank prefect, and his annual salary was 3,200 silver dollars. Although he didn't like the five thousand silver dollars, who could still think that money was biting his hand!

"Brother Yang, you won't have to spend so much money in the future! I guess your work is over!"

Yang Chao was shocked when he heard Xin Zixiu say this. He thought the court would increase the intensity of inspection and smuggling. Taiwan, Kinmen and Xiamen have more than 300,000 people, and all the food depends on the mainland. If the food is really not transported, then all these people will starve to death.

Yang Chao was anxious and quickly stood up and asked, "Old parents, is the court going to ban the sea?"

Xin Zixiu saw Yang Chao's appearance and smiled, "Brother Yang, this is not the case. In November last year, Gui Ni, Zhu Youlang, who was entrenched in Yunnan, was captured alive, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers under him either died or surrendered. Secondly, the most important thing is that Zhu Youlang wrote a letter to His Majesty the Emperor and claimed that he was inappropriate in his throne and admitted that His Majesty the Emperor was the orthodox of the Ming Dynasty. Didn't Zheng Chenggong in Taiwan be the main leader of Gui Ni? Now that his master surrenders, he is about to come!"

Yang Chao felt relieved after hearing what Xin Zixiu said, but immediately raised his mind again. Zhu Youlang is finished. Will it be Taiwan's turn next?

Yang Chao asked carefully: "My parents, since Gui Ni is finished, is the court going to use troops against Taiwan?"

Xin Zixiu smiled and said, "Brother Yang is right. No matter which emperor, there must be no lawless place. But Brother Yang, don't worry, Your Majesty Shenwu Emperor has a clear reward and punishment. The Prince of Yanping was able to defeat the enemy in Nanjing and for the great cause of his family and country, he could draw a clear line with Zheng Zhilong in time. These emperors know that because of this, Your Majesty the Emperor wanted to peacefully resolve the Taiwan issue, which would be annoying to Brother Yang!"

Yang Chao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Xin Zixiu's words, and then patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Caomin has some relationship with Taiwan. If you need Caomin, please arrange it if you need Caomin!" This is Yang Chao's true words. In recent years, Fujian has been peaceful and Yang Chao still has money in his hands. He has lived a few years of comfortable life. Yang Chao doesn't want to go back to the past days of licking blood on the edge of the knife.

Xin Zixiu heard Yang Chao joke and said, "This is going to bother Brother Yang. There is a letter here written by my official. Please find an opportunity to send it to me! Brother Yang, don't worry, as long as the matter is done, according to Brother Yang's contribution, you will definitely be granted an official position. At that time, I will call Brother Yang a colleague!"

Yang Chao was so fond of Xin Zixiu's compliment that he was so excited that his official position was absolutely attractive to him. At that time, Zheng Zhilong was circulating in the seven seas, with more than 30,000 soldiers and thousands of warships. After the court gave him a position as a fifth-rank guerrilla general, Zheng Zhilong went to Quanzhou to report. Now Yang Chao heard that he wanted to be an official position for himself, which is a great thing for glorious ancestors.

Yang Chao knelt on the ground excitedly and said, "Please rest assured, Caomin will definitely deliver the letter and persuade Zheng Chenggong to surrender!"

Yang Chao was excited, but Xin Zixiu did not take it seriously. He was a mature bureaucrat and naturally understood that such major affairs were not something that could be done by a letter. However, seeing that Yang Chao was so enthusiastic, Xin Zixiu was not easy to hit him, so he had to help him up and motivate him with words.

"Okay, Brother Yang, this is a letter, just take it with you! I am waiting for your good news here!"

Yang Chao took the letter from the prefect, and went out in great enthusiasm. When he returned to his home, he immediately arranged a boat and prepared to go to Xiamen.

Although Zheng Chenggong went to Taiwan, most of his strength remained on the second island of Xiamen, Kinmen. The second island of Jinxia is located on the seaside and has great wind and sand. Especially Kinmen Island, facing the Taiwan Strait, the bitter sea breeze always stirs up sand and dust to advance to the mainland, constantly swallowing up fertile fields. Therefore, the fields on Kinmen Island have a large amount of sand and the harvest of rice planting is not high. Since the introduction of sweet potatoes, the islanders have grown sweet potatoes to feed, and the grain shortage has been slightly alleviated. As for Xiamen Island, although rice can be grown, due to the limited supply of freshwater, most islanders make a living by fishing.

Xiamen Bay between Kinmen and Xiamen is an excellent harbor. In the early Ming Dynasty, the imperial court built a military fortress on Xiamen Island and stationed in the Zhongzuo Temple in Yongningwei.

The rise of Xiamen Port in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties was actually the inevitable result of the development of Yuegang and Anping Port. Xiamen is located at the junction of Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, very close to Anping Port and Yuegang, and the port conditions are far better than the above two ports. Therefore, the development of Yuegang and Anping Port will inevitably lead to the rise of Xiamen Port.

Xiamen Port replaced Yue Port in the late Ming Dynasty. Yue Port was first famous as a smuggling port, but its navigation conditions were not good. In the late Ming Dynasty, due to the silt port caused by the Jiulong River, large ships could not enter the port directly, and could only be parked outside the port and transport cargo into the port by small boats.

In addition to the ports, the cities around Xiamen Bay in the Ming Dynasty were Quanzhou Prefecture City, Zhangzhou Prefecture City and Tong'an City. These three cities were large cities with a large population. It can also be said that Anping Port, Yuegang and Xiamen Port all served these three cities. By the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, cities along the coast of Fujian were damaged by war. Quanzhou City was attacked by Zheng Chenggong's army many times under the control of the Qing army. Zhangzhou Prefecture was besieged by Zheng Chenggong's army, and the death data was said to be more than 100,000. As for Tong'an City, there was a Qing army massacre, with more than 50,000 people dead.

During the tug-of-war that lasted for many years, all urban residents were looking for a paradise that could protect their lives. At this time, under the long-term control of Zheng Chenggong, it was difficult for the Qing army to come here. Therefore, Xiamen City became a place for coastal residents to take refuge, and tens of thousands of people entered Xiamen, making Xiamen grow from a city to an important city.
Chapter completed!