Two days later, Chen Qing boarded the ship and went to Ryukyu Island for inspection. He originally wanted to put Yu Lian and Yao Mei in Quanzhou, but they both refused and insisted on going with him, so Chen Qing had no choice but to agree.
But a group of officials did not go. They were to supplement officials from various states in Fujian Province. Some were governors, some were chief governors, and some were county magistrates. The governor's name was Cai Shu, who would be the governor of Zhangzhou, succeeding Yue Fei. Yue Fei had resigned from the post of governor of Zhangzhou and resumed his duties.
As a civilian, he was going to Lushan to move his mother's coffin back to his hometown of Tangyin County to be buried with his father, and then he would observe mourning for his parents for three years. Chen Qing immediately approved his resignation.
The fleet first arrived at Penghu Island. Penghu Island was used as a transit to Ryukyu Island. The town on the island has always been small, but a large transit warehouse was built, and then it was transported to Ryukyu Island by thousand-stone ships, so Penghu Island
Almost all the people on the island are engaged in transportation and sugar extraction. Every household has a cargo ship, which is specially used to transport materials to the big island. The big island transports sugar cane, kapok and wood back to the warehouse. The sugar cane is initially processed on Penghu Island and pressed into sugar.
The syrup is then transported to Quanzhou for secondary processing to make frosting sugar and brown sugar.
Chen Qing only stayed on Penghu Island for half a day, inspected the warehouses and sugar pressing workshops on the island, and then continued his journey to Ryukyu Island.
In the living cabin, Chen Qing invited Zhou Kuan and Chao Kun to drink tea with him, as well as his son Chen Ji. Zhou Kuan smiled slightly at Chen Ji and said: "As early as the Soochow period of the Three Kingdoms, Sun Quan wanted to expand his territory.
, also sent ships to search for land overseas. Generals Wei Wen and Zhuge Zhuge led their fleets to Ryukyu Island, which was called Yizhou at the time. By the Sui Dynasty, Ryukyu Island had been occupied by nobles from Funan Kingdom, and a kingdom was established. The capital was Bo
Luotan Cave, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty immediately sent Wu Benlang general Chen Leng to lead an army of 10,000 to conquer the Ryukyus, and defeated the kings of the Ryukyus and the Great Ryukyus. Doctor Zhang Zhenzhou even led his army to destroy the capital city Boluotan Cave, and captured thousands of Ryukyu soldiers and civilians, bringing the Nanyang forces to the forefront.
Everything was cleaned up. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty played an important role in maintaining the Central Plains Dynasty’s control over Ryukyu Island. These are recorded in the "Book of Sui"."
Chen Qing said to his son: "Have you heard that even Emperor Sui Yang knew how to maintain the Central Plains Dynasty's control over Ryukyu Island? We should go one step further."
Chen Ji quickly asked: "Excuse me, father, how far have we gone in governing Ryukyu Island now?"
"Let Chao Shu Ling say it! He has always been in charge of the management of Ryukyu Island."
Chao Kun quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness and the Crown Prince, we have recruited 20,000 laborers from Japan since the beginning of last year, mainly for logging, building docks, and building cities. According to Your Highness's regulations, each laborer can only do at most
Two years have passed, and it has been one year now. Currently, about 10,000 hectares of land have been opened up, the wharf has been built, the city is currently being built, and 20 miles of roads have been built."
Chen Qing pointed to the map and asked: "Where is the county seat built?"
Chao Kun pointed to a river: "This river is called Zhuoshui by the local natives. It is right next to the mouth of Zhuoshui. There is enough fresh water here. The land opened up is on both sides of Zhuoshui. The north bank is where Japanese laborers built cities.
On the south bank are the villages of the common people."
"How many permanent residents are there now?" Chen Qing asked again.
"There are more than 1,000 households, about 1,080 households. They mainly make a living by growing sugar cane and picking kapok. They also grow rice, which can guarantee basic rations. Then other materials have to be transported from Quanzhou."
"Are these more than a thousand households at ease?"
"It seems pretty good so far. Their income is high. Each family has an annual income of about two hundred guan. They are also tax-free for fifty years. Of course, they live very comfortably. That's it."
"Just what?"
Chao Kun sighed and said: "They are just afraid of being unsafe. There are many high-mountain natives on the big island. They are all in peace at the moment. They are afraid that conflicts will break out in the future. There are also pirates from Luzon Island, but we haven't seen them this year."
, and they are also worried that the Nanyang natives will come and compete with them for territory, they are worried a lot."
Chen Ji asked in confusion: "Is there no garrison?"
"have!"
Chao Kun nodded, "There are a thousand troops stationed."
"Since there is a garrison, what are you afraid of?"
"Your Majesty, this is a fear of being alone overseas. There will definitely be an inexplicable sense of insecurity. This sense of insecurity will only slowly subside when the population increases in the future, reaching tens of thousands.
"
At this time, a soldier outside shouted: "Ryukyu Island has arrived!"
Chen Qing stood up and took out a monocular telescope from his arms. This was a lens made of ground crystal. This was not a sudden idea of Chen Qing. The main reason was that there were already glasses on the market with lenses made of ground crystal.
But there is only one side, which is convenient for reading newspapers.
After Chen Qing discovered that there were single-sided glasses, he found a craftsman who made the glasses and asked him to grind a concave lens and a convex lens for himself, which were used as eyepieces and objective lenses. He created a monocular telescope that could clearly magnify twenty
times.
He stood on the corridor and looked into the distance, and sure enough he saw the dock, half of the city, densely packed workers, and several villages on the other side of the river.
"Your Highness, what is this?" Chao Kun asked in surprise.
"Chao Shuling, this is called a telescope, and it is used to see distant objects." Chen Ji introduced from the side.
Chen Qing handed the monocular telescope to Chao Kun and said with a smile: "Try it!"
Chao Kun followed Chen Qing's instructions and looked at the shore with a telescope. Suddenly he was so surprised that he couldn't close his mouth and said for a long time: "Your Highness, this thing is a treasure for navigation!"
Chen Qing nodded and smiled: "This is not only a treasure for navigation, but also a treasure for war. I also equipped Yang Zaixing with one before, but unfortunately it was trampled to pieces by his horse. It happened that the old craftsman who grinded the lenses died of illness.
The skills of his apprentice and son are not enough, and it will take several years to reach the level of veteran craftsmen. I heard that there are also high-level lens grinding craftsmen in Lin'an. I have sent people to find them. When they are found, I will make a few more.
, it will also be suitable for your sailing."
Not long after, Chen Qing's 100,000-stone ship slowly docked at the pier, and the three 10,000-stone ships behind it also docked. A thousand escort soldiers disembarked one after another.
This is Chen Qing's second visit to Ryukyu Island. The first time there were only more than a hundred households. Now he can see a large flat land as far as the eye can see. 80% of the county wall has been completed and will be completed in a few months.
More than a thousand households will be able to move into the county, and the first county will be born.
The area around the county town was busy. They were all short Japanese citizens. Most of them were barefoot and wore uniform gray and black cloth. They shouted slogans and carried bamboo baskets filled with large bricks on their shoulders. They walked towards the city head step by step.
Go.
"How much do these workers earn per month?" Chen Qing asked.
Chao Kun explained: "They work on a daily basis, sixty cents a day, food and accommodation are included, and they don't even have to pay for clothes. It's at least five times higher than what they earn in their hometown, so they all rush to come."
"What if I get sick or die?"
"Sickness must be determined by a doctor. If it is confirmed that you are sick, you will be given three days' rest and half-price wages. If you want to rest for two more days, you can, but the wages will be gone. You can also give food. If you are sick for more than ten days,
, they will be sent back to their country, and if they die, their family will be compensated ten thousand dollars. This is what the contract has signed."
"Is anyone dead?" Zhou Kuan asked next to him.
"Yes! When we first came here, some people were not accustomed to the local environment. More than thirty people died, and each person was compensated ten thousand dollars."
"Are there no deaths on the road?" Chen Qingxiao asked.
Chao Kun shook his head, "It's strange that no one died on the road, not even sick. Some people fell ill just a few days after landing."
A group of people went up to the west city head. The west city head has been repaired. It is made of red bricks and is very solid. There are many guard soldiers on the city head, condescendingly watching the Japanese civilians who are working.
Chen Qing supported the battlements and looked to the west. To the west was the magnificent sea, about two miles away from the county seat. Under the city, a straight avenue led directly to the dock. The dock was very wide and four large ships were moored.
Chen Qing looked to the north again. To the north should be the labor dormitory area. They were all wooden sheds built with simple wood. He could also see some women busy doing laundry and vegetables. Needless to say, they all came with him.
A Japanese prostitute.
Chen Qing saw green smoke rising from several places in the distance, so he pointed at the smoke and asked: "What is the smoke doing there?"