Hundreds of ships left Qiantang Bay and continued to move southward along the coastline. In the cabin, Chen Qing drew a map of Penghu Island, which made Chao Kun wonder, "How could the prince know what Penghu Island looks like?"
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Chen Qing smiled lightly and said: "I heard from others that I am very interested in Penghu Island and I have asked many people who go to sea."
Chao Kun hesitated and said: "In fact, the prince will definitely be disappointed when he sees Penghu Island."
"Why are you disappointed?" Chen Qing asked with a curious smile.
"Because the entire big island is covered with very lush forests that extend all the way to the seaside. There is very little open space. If tens of thousands of people come to the island, there may not even be a place to camp."
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "There are many trees, which means there are many resources for building houses. This is a good thing. We can cut down the trees and advance step by step."
Chao Kun was surprised and said: "Doesn't it mean that the year of the monkey will go away?"
"Sanlang, why are you talking to the prince?" Chao Qing's face sank and he scolded dissatisfied.
Chen Qing waved his hand, "It doesn't matter, we are just chatting now, not talking about serious business!"
Chao Kun whispered: "I'm telling the truth! Not only are there many trees on the big island, but there are also native people who have a strong sense of territory. If you offend them, they will be killed by poisonous arrows."
Chen Qing smiled and said: "You may have misunderstood. I didn't mean to complete the development of Penghu Island in two or three years. The development I mentioned is calculated in hundreds of years. It started with one village, and then the population increased and became several villages."
There are also towns. The first county seat will appear in twenty years, and the second county seat will appear in another ten years. A hundred years later, with four or five county seats, a state capital will be formed. "
"A hundred years!"
Chao Kun opened his mouth in surprise. He thought that the king would soon station troops and immigrate. It turned out that he was talking about something that would happen a hundred years later.
Chen Qing added: "But I do want to garrison troops. I am considering garrisoning troops on Penghu Island first. The garrison is part of the Quanzhou Army and is a naval force. It also needs to immigrate to Penghu Island. There are about three to five thousand people. Anyone who is willing
People who immigrate to Penghu Island or Penghu Island will be tax-free for life, and their descendants will be tax-free, at least for a hundred years."
Chao Qing next to him said: "I really don't understand the humble position. Does the prince want Quanzhou just for the big island of Penghu?"
Chen Qing shook his head, "The big island of Penghu is only part of the reason. The real reason is that we need a seaport, we need to conduct overseas trade, we need a place for the navy to be stationed, and we also need a place to build big ships. Mingzhou is actually good, but it
It's too close to Lin'an and it's unsafe, so I considered Quanzhou, which has a good foundation in all aspects and is worth sticking to."
Chao Kun thought for a while and said: "I am willing to stay in Quanzhou in my humble position and be responsible for immigration to Penghu Island."
This is the reason why Chen Qing brought him here. It was rare for him to take the initiative to speak. Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Your responsibility is still the Municipal Shipping Department, but you are also in charge of Penghu immigration. I hope you can calm down and do your work in a down-to-earth manner.
In the past few years, as long as you serve for five years, I will appoint you as the prefect of Quanzhou, or the municipal shipping office."
Chao Kun was overjoyed, "Five years from now, I'm afraid I will only be twenty-four years old, and the prince will keep his word."
Chen Qing smiled slightly, "Although I am not a man of words, I must be true to my word!"
Quanzhou has always been an important seaport in the Song Dynasty, but it really became the largest seaport in the Song Dynasty in the middle and late Southern Song Dynasty. The Southern Song Dynasty court had no hope of going north and began to vigorously develop overseas trade in order to obtain huge profits and tax revenue. The Maritime Silk Road was also in this period.
time formed.
Most of the hundreds of large ships Chen Qing took were transferred from Quanzhou to Jiangling, and most of the boatmen were from Fujian, and they were familiar with Quanzhou Port.
That morning, hundreds of sea-going ships sailed into Quanzhou Bay. Large ships kept docking, and 30,000 troops began to land one after another.
The officials in Quanzhou did not know about Chen Qing's arrival in advance, so when 30,000 troops appeared outside Quanzhou City, the officials in the city were frightened and thought it was a pirate attack.
The governor of Quanzhou is named He Jing. He is a native of Jianzhou and a Jinshi. He is in his forties and is very dark and thin. He is also quite smart and capable.
When he heard that tens of thousands of troops appeared at the harbor, his expression suddenly changed, and he immediately thought of pirates. The imperial court had never sent tens of thousands of troops to Quanzhou, and the Privy Council had not sent any documents in advance.
He urgently ordered the city gates to be closed and summoned a thousand rural soldiers to defend the city. Although a thousand rural soldiers could not defend against tens of thousands of troops, it was better than nothing.
At this time, Cai Shouzhi, the magistrate of Jinjiang, ran over and shouted from a distance, "Governor He, they are not pirates!"
He Jingying stepped forward and asked, "How does Magistrate Cai know?"
Cai Shouzhi raised the letter in his hand and said, "This is the letter sent into the city from outside. It's the Western Army outside, but Chen Qing has arrived in person."
"Western Army?"
He Jing was stunned. Of course he knew about the Western Army, and Chen Qing's name was already well known, but how could the Western Army from Sichuan and Shaanxi come to Quanzhou?
He quickly took the letter, which read, 'King Yong of the Great Song Dynasty, Taishi, General Hussar, Chen Qing, the envoy of Xuanfu of Sichuan and Shaanxi, to the officials and people of Quanzhou.'
He Jing quickly took out the letter, which clearly stated that Quanzhou had come under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Envoy Division, and they had the imperial court's jurisdictional transfer ultimatum and the emperor's handwriting.
"Governor, what should we do?"
He Jing sighed, "What else can we do? Hurry up and open the city to welcome King Yong."
Chen Qing's 30,000-strong army did not enter the city, but set up camp outside the city. Chen Qing, escorted by 3,000 soldiers, came to the city gate. He Jing, the governor of the state, Yan Wenlie, the general judge, and Cai Shouzhi, the county magistrate, and other general officials went out of the city to greet Chen.
The arrival of celebration.
Chen Qing asked Chao Qing to read the emperor's edict loudly, officially announcing that Quanzhou was no longer under the jurisdiction of Fujian Road, but under the jurisdiction of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Xuanfu Envoy Division.
Of course, Quanzhou still belongs to Fujian Road, which is determined by its geographical location, but its jurisdiction has changed. It has nothing to do with Fujian Road or the imperial court, but belongs to Chen Qing's sphere of influence.
The court used various legal regulations and language to describe this matter, but the essence was that it was ceded to Chen Qing by the court.
The officials in Quanzhou were all shrewd and immediately understood this truth. From now on, their allegiance would no longer be to the emperor, but to King Yong Chen Qing.
Chen Qing did not embarrass them and gave them ten days to make a choice. If they were willing to be loyal to him, they could continue to serve. If they could not accept loyalty to anyone other than the emperor, then there was no need to force them. They could choose to resign. Chen Qing gave each of them a sum of money.
With generous resignation money, they were invited to return to their hometowns.
Chen Qing, accompanied by officials, inspected Jinjiang County. It is a large county with a circumference of 30 miles, a population of more than 200,000, and tens of thousands of businessmen living here. The county is well managed, the carriages and horses are well organized, and the commerce is very developed.
The livelihood of most people in the county is related to overseas trade.
Chen Qing climbed up the city wall and could clearly see the harbor and bay in the distance, as well as the densely packed large ships moored in the bay.
"May I ask, Governor He, how long does it take to get to Penghu Island by boat from here?" Chen Qing asked.
He Jing scratched his head and asked, "Is King Yong asking about the big island or the small island?"
Chen Qing smiled slightly and said: "Let's talk about the small island first!"
"It depends on the wind direction, weather, current and the condition of the boat itself. Normally, it takes about three to four days for a two thousand stone fishing boat. If you want to go to a big island, it will take an extra two days."
"Does Jinjiang County have jurisdiction over Penghu Islands?" Chen Qing asked again.
He Jing was really not familiar with Penghu Island, so it took him a long time to search for some memories.
"We have some jurisdiction over the small island of Penghu. There is a civil servant from Jinjiang County who will go there about once every two months. He will take a look at the situation on the island, stay for a day and then come back. It seems like this, Caizhi County, that's right!
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Cai Shouzhi nodded, "That's right!"
Chen Qing nodded, "How many people are there on the island now?"
He Jing really didn't know now. He turned back and glanced at Cai Shouzhi, the county magistrate. Cai Shouzhi quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to King Yong, there are less than two thousand people. They are basically fishermen. There is a small town.
There are some shops, and the county also opened a school in the town the year before last."
Chen Qing nodded and said, "What's the name of the civil servant who goes to the island every two months? I want to meet him."