After resting for an hour, the fleet was about to set sail again. The people in the fishing village thanked the governor for announcing the tax exemption and drove their boats to act as guides for them.
More than a dozen fishing boats and three large ships sailed towards Liuqiu Island.
According to the introduction of the fishermen, Liuqiu Island has always been inhabited. In addition to the natives of the island, there are also many fishermen and Hakkas. Generally, the natives live in the mountains to the east and make a living by hunting and gathering, while the fishermen and
The Hakka people live on the western coast and make a living by fishing and farming. There are more than 20 villages spread widely, with a total of five to six thousand people.
One of the important reasons why there are many people on the island is tax evasion. After the Anshi Rebellion, the court's taxes were very heavy. Especially the people who fled from the Central Plains rented local land, so the locals naturally used the heavy taxes.
The taxes were passed on to these Central Plains people.
Many people in the Central Plains could not bear the oppression of taxes and fled to Liuqiu Island one after another. The residents of Liuqiu Island also welcomed the new arrivals, built houses for them, and helped them open up farmland.
These common people, men farming and women weaving, collect soil for pottery and cut wood for houses, leading a paradise-like life. There are even some literate Han people who can teach their children to read and write.
This is a small climax in the development of Liuqiu Island, but it does not mean that it will continue like this. When this generation passes away, life becomes inconvenient, causing their descendants to gradually abandon Liuqiu Island and return to coastal states.
Therefore, the key is to take advantage of this small upsurge in immigration tax avoidance to establish the county seat and government offices on Liuqiu Island as soon as possible.
Under the guidance of the people in the fishing village, they arrived at Liuqiu Island the next day. The fishermen took them to the mouth of a river that entered the sea. The boat sailed directly from the mouth of the river. After traveling for about seven or eight miles, the boat slowly stopped.
Next, they saw a large village in front of it.
The fishermen were very familiar with the people in the village. Someone ran to report the news, and it was confirmed that they were not pirates, nor did they come to collect taxes, but parents and officials came to visit everyone. The common people came out with their children and the elderly, and there were six or seven hundred people.
This is one of the largest villages on Liuqiu Island. It is called Renyi Village. They are all Hakkas and Han people. They settled along the Zhuoshui River and gradually formed this village.
The soldiers brought them many daily necessities, farm tools, kitchen utensils, cloth, weapons, ropes, etc., as well as pens, inks, papers and inkstones, which made the people cheer.
The village immediately set up stoves and killed more than twenty wild boars and goats to entertain the distinguished guests.
A village chief surnamed Ge introduced the situation to Zhang Ping, "I would like to inform you, these wild boars and goats are brought by the natives in the mountains to trade with us for grain and salt."
"Don't these natives feel that you are threatening their territory?"
Village Chief Ge shook his head, "These natives are very simple. Their territory is in the mountains. They also know that we will not enter the mountains. We all get along well with each other. They often trade prey with us for food, salt, pottery, pig iron, etc."
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“Where do you get your pig iron?”
"I went to Jinjiang County to buy it. I could find some gold sand in the stream, but not much. We exchanged the gold sand for pig iron."
Zhang Ping heard that his accent sounded like he was from Guanzhong, so he smiled and asked, "Where is the village chief's ancestral home?"
Village Chief Ge smiled and said: "Reporting to the envoy, I am a blacksmith from Xianyang County, Jingzhao Prefecture. In the fifth year of Tianbao, I accidentally killed a rogue who bullied and blackmailed me.
In order to survive, I fled to Quanzhou with my whole family to make a living. I was a blacksmith, and the villagers came to beg me to go to the island. In the seventh year of Tianbao, I took my whole family to Liuqiu Island. After the old village chief passed away three years ago, everyone
Elect me to succeed the village chief."
"No wonder the accent sounds familiar. It turns out we are from the same hometown. I'm from Yonghefang, Chang'an County."
The elder of Gecun Village was overjoyed and saluted quickly and said: "It turns out that the envoy is from the same village. I have also been to Yonghefang. I know a blacksmith there. He is my senior brother."
Zhang Ping was startled, then smiled slightly and said, "You don't know Blacksmith Jiang, do you?"
"Yes! Yes! It's him. The father and son opened a blacksmith shop."
With common acquaintances, the relationship suddenly became closer. Village Chief Ge was originally a little wary of Zhang Ping, but now he knows that he is also a real person, not a child of a famous family, and he does not put on airs when he becomes the governor.
He was no longer wary of Zhang Ping and introduced him to Zhang Ping about the situation on Liuqiu Island.
Zhang Ping smiled and said, "Don't you understand the situation in the imperial court?"
"You know, An Lushan rebelled and so many people from the Central Plains fled. We all know the situation in the imperial court. I went to Jinjiang County to buy crude iron not long ago. I also heard that the imperial court moved its capital to Luoyang. Now the King of Qi is in charge of Chang'an. It is another imperial court.
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Zhang Ping said with a smile: "We are the officials appointed by the King of Qi. Quanzhou was handed over to the King of Qi. The King of Qi attached great importance to Liuqiu Da Island. He hoped that more people could migrate to live on the Da Island, and he also promised that within a hundred years
Liu begged the people to be exempted from all taxes."
Village Chief Ge's eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "Will the court agree?"
Zhang Ping said calmly: "King Qi will become the king of the world sooner or later, and his promise is the promise of the Emperor of Tang Dynasty."
"That's great!"
Village Chief Ge was extremely excited. They were fugitives and their household registrations had been canceled by the government. If the court agreed to grant them tax exemption, they would become common people of the Tang Dynasty again.
Zhang Ping understood his excitement and smiled slightly: "I am the governor of Quanzhou. According to the arrangements of His Highness King Qi, we will build a county on Liuqiu Island, called Liuqiu County, which is under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou Prefecture. All of you are
The people of Liuqiu County, including the natives in the mountains."
"Where does King Qi want to build the county seat?"
"I would like to hear your views?"
Village Chief Ge said: "Actually, I suggest that we build it here. It's not because I have any selfish motives, but because ships come from Quanzhou. If there are storms, they can take shelter on Guilong Island in the west, and they can also transfer at Guilong Island."
, when the second county town is built, we can go to the far north."
Zhang Ping nodded, "I will go back and report to His Highness King Qi. If His Highness King Qi agrees, then we can start implementing it."
"That's great. There are shops and schools in the county. It's convenient to buy things, and the children can also study."
Zhang Ping thought for a while and asked: "How many villages are there nearby?"
"Including ours, there are five villages in total, all within a radius of twenty miles, and they all live along the river."
Zhang Ping said happily: "Then build a town first, and then build a military camp. I am going to station a thousand troops here to protect everyone's safety."
Village Chief Ge was overjoyed. With the garrison, they no longer had to fear pirate attacks.
Zhang Ping immediately went to see the farmland in the village. The farmland was developed along the Zhuoshui River. It was about several thousand acres. It was planted with rice, which was harvested twice a year. It had good water and fertilizer, and sufficient heat. The yield per mu was six to seven hundred kilograms.
They were indeed able to support themselves, and they still had enough food to trade with the natives for prey. In addition, gold sand could be found in the upper reaches of the Zhuoshui River. Everyone was hardworking and worked hard, and they lived a good life.
Zhang Ping then held a discussion with a group of old people and listened to their ideas and difficulties. The old people unanimously agreed to build the county seat and they could become common people of the Tang Dynasty again.
As for the difficulties, they are the same as those of the people on Guilong Island. One is safety, as they are afraid that pirates will come to kill and rob them. The other is the problem of children's education, hoping that the government can run schools.
Zhang Ping recorded all the investigations. He could arrange some things as soon as possible, such as garrisoning troops, which His Highness King Qi had long requested, and building towns and military camps. He could also do it first, and other things would be reported to Qi.
His Royal Highness.
The next morning, the three large ships returned. With everyone reluctantly waving, the fleet sailed into the sea and headed towards Quanzhou.