Princess Ye Guanyin of Yan, together with Kou Zhun, Zhang Xingfang, Concubine Mu, and the Prime Minister of Liao Kingdom Han Derang, inspected Ryukyu. In early March, when Yang Peng was still on the way to annihilate Xixia, Huang Guang felt the expense of land reclamation in Ryukyu.
It was so big that it stopped transporting new farmers to Taiwan. At that time, there were 200,000 farmers on the island of Taiwan who had land to cultivate, and another 500,000 farmers were cultivating new fields. Now the 500,000 farmers who have cultivated new fields have tidied up their fields.
, a water wheel has been set up on the river bank, and a season of late rice can be planted.
When farmers in the old days started farming, Yang Peng no longer needed to pay them wages for land reclamation. These 500,000 land reclamation workers cost two or two months each month, and the 500,000 people spent 100,000 taels of silver each month.
The expense is a huge amount of money. After these people do not need to pay monthly fees, Tianjing New City's finances are greatly relieved, and new farmers can be recruited.
Recruiting new farmers is a very simple matter. Nowadays, farmers in Shanxi know that they can live a good life by following Yang Peng. As soon as Yang Peng posted notices in various states and counties, countless people signed up to participate in Taiwan's land reclamation. However, Yang Peng was worried about finances.
Collapse, and did not dare to recruit too many farmers at one time. Yang Peng controlled the number of farmers recruited to 50,000.
After that, the fleet of Tianjing New City transported the 50,000 people to Taiwan in batches. This time Ye Qi Guanyin followed the fleet transporting farmers to Taiwan to inspect the development of Taiwan. Kou Zhun also sent Zhao Heng this time
After being dismissed from office, Yang Peng sent someone to ask Kou Zhun to come over and inspect Ryukyu. Kou Zhun was also happy.
It was still a bit cool in Tianjing New City in March, but it was still warm in the south. When the fleet was heading south, when it was approaching Taiwan, Ye Guanyin had already taken off her inner garments and protective clothing, and was only wearing a Chinese t-shirt under her official robe.
Yi. When they arrived in Hsinchu, Taiwan, before they even got off the boat, they saw a large commercial market already formed on the pier inside the harbor.
Every time the fleet sails to Taiwan, it will bring a large amount of daily necessities. Including cotton cloth, ironware, pottery, porcelain, cement, farm tools, etc., all need to be transported from the mainland. These goods are organized by Gao Ligong in Tianjing.
What was purchased in Xincheng was sold to farmers in Taiwan when it arrived at the port of Hsinchu. Of course, Lu Hu would not retail these goods one by one. He sold them wholesale to local traders in Hsinchu.
At this time, the fleet docked, and some traders were pushing carts, waiting for the ships to unload goods sold from the mainland. Although these traders were not engaged in agriculture, they could still earn a lot of income by retailing various goods.
Of course, compared to the various cargoes in the ballast, there were more poor people on the ship who came to open up wasteland. After these farmers got off the ship, they immediately saw officers wearing crimson Tianjing Xincheng military uniforms guiding them. Under the guidance of the officers
Next, farmers walked in groups towards temporary resettlement sites across Hsinchu.
Ye Qi Guanyin and the others took a look on the boat and saw that although there were thirty-five people on the boat and the cargo was complicated, all the work was in order under the organization of Lu Ming and Lu Hu. Lu Ming, wearing a bright red official robe, led
Officials from Hsinchu, big and small, were waiting on the pier to greet Ye Guanyin and his entourage. When Ye Guanyin got off the boat, Lu Ming ran up to him and prostrated himself, shouting: "Lu Ming has met Princess Yan. Congratulations to King Yan on being crowned King of Yan. I'll wait with you."
So proud."
Ye Qi Guanyin patted Lu Ming on the shoulder and said: "This time to fight against Khitan and Xixia, you have been promoted to the rank of second-grade Jinyiwei Commander and Tongzhi. Are you happy?" Lu Ming said loudly: "I am happy, Lu Ming is very happy.
Take it, I am grateful, and I am willing to work hard for the cause of the prince." Ye Qi Guanyin laughed loudly, got on the horse brought by Lu Ming, and took everyone to the center of Hsinchu City.
Passing by a temporary resettlement site for newly arrived farmers, Ye Guanyin pointed to his riding whip and said, "Go in and have a look." Lu Ming quickly jumped off his horse and led Ye Xi Guanyin's horse toward the resettlement site. Yao Minle is a Cangzhou Qing
A farmer from the county, his family was lucky this time and chose to join the team that reclaimed Taiwan and followed the fleet to Taiwan.
The couple separated from their clan when they got married. They had no land in Tianjing New City, so they farmed 35 acres of dry land owned by Mr. Qiao in the village. Those dry fields only harvested seven or eight bushels of wheat a year.
With 50% of the land rent and a bucket or two liters of seeds, Yao Minle and his wife work from the beginning to the end of the year, and they can only get eight to nine stones of wheat to put into their barn. These grains can barely feed Yao Minle.
Food and clothing.
Even during the Chinese New Year, he and his wife did not dare to eat a bite of meat. They had been married for three years and had a daughter the year before last. However, this daughter did not bring joy to the Yao family, but instead became a worry for Yao Minle.
He was always worried that his daughter would not be able to feed her when she grew up - how could a family of three be fed with eight or nine stones of food?
At the end of July, Yao Minle heard that King Yan was recruiting a second group of people to open up Taiwan, and he signed up without saying a word. Everyone in Qingxian County knew about the prince. As long as he followed the prince, he would have endless good days.
.As for where Taiwan is and what he will experience when he arrives in Taiwan, Yao Minle has not even thought about it.
When I heard that I had raised funds and my family of three could sail to Taiwan on the first day of September, Yao Minle and his wife spent the whole night dancing in the two shabby huts at home to celebrate that the good day was coming.
The official of King Yan's shogunate who was responsible for organizing manpower asked Yao Minle not to bring anything, but to send everything when it came to Taiwan. Yao Minle trusted King Yan very much, and after hearing this, he gave all the pots and pans at home to relatives, and brought them with him.
I got on the boat with my wife and daughter empty-handed and headed for Taiwan.
King Yan's big ship was very tall, and it looked like a fort. But after going to the sea, Yao Minle realized how big the sea was. The big ship he was riding on was like a leaf in the sea, floating with the waves.
The boat was so bumpy that Yao Minle's daughter-in-law vomited, but Yao Minle did not. Yao Minle stood excitedly on the top deck when he was at sea, holding on to the side of the ship and looking excitedly at the sea he had never seen before.
When he arrived in Taiwan, Yao Minle thought he would see a shabby wasteland. But he didn't expect that as soon as he arrived at the port and stepped off the ship, Yao Minle saw a large number of prosperous business houses, with the noise of mules and horses and the bustle of people.
Yao Minle and his family got off the boat. More than a hundred people followed an officer and walked forward for a mile. The officer took two hundred people into a small square full of small stalls. There was a brick at the entrance of the small square.
Shimen, with the four characters "Talent Market" written on it.
The officer leading the way said loudly: "If you don't want to farm, you can find something to do in the job market. Let's go in and have a look!" Is it possible not to farm after coming to Taiwan? Yao Minle was stunned and walked into the job market.
When he walked in, Yao Minle found that there were many stalls in the market. Those stalls were unattended, but each stall had a sign with dense words written on it.
Yao Minle and the farmers behind him were illiterate and didn't know what was written on the stalls. They all looked at the officer leading the way for help. The officer laughed, walked up and pointed to a stall and shouted: "Hsinchu City Zhang Ji"
The restaurant is recruiting two boys. They are required to be between fifteen and fifty years old, with good conduct. Those who have worked as boys will be given priority, those with quick hands and feet will be given priority, and those who are good at entertaining guests will be given priority. The salary is four taels per month, including lunch.
"Dun. If you are interested, please go to Zhangji Restaurant on Chengnan Street in Hsinchu and ask for the shopkeeper, Boss Liu."
Hearing the words "four taels a month, including lunch", Yao Minle opened his mouth in shock. To hire a servant, you need to pay forty taels a month? You know, in Qingxian County, people are willing to pay one tael or five to hire a servant.
A good employer is considered a good employer. Such errands often require more than a dozen people to compete for them. The employer has various demands, and applicants can't get them even if they fight hard. For ordinary errands, people can be recruited with only one or two yuan a month.
However, in Taiwan, a waiter in a restaurant is paid four or two months' worth and a meal is included. Is this a good life to follow the King of Yan?
This is Taiwan! Walking to another small stall, the officer read again: "Gaoji Tailor Shop is recruiting female workers. Our shop is the official cooperative tailor shop of King Yan. It is strong and has long-term custom-made clothing for newly recruited farmers of King Yan."
, the income is stable. The recruitment of female workers must be between fifteen and fifty years old, and skilled female workers are preferred. The wages are based on a basic salary plus piece-based bonuses. The basic salary is two taels per month, and there is also piece-rate wages. The average monthly income of existing tailors is four taels.
.Interested persons please apply at the Gaoji Tailoring Courtyard on Chengxi Street, Hsinchu."
Another recruitment job that earns more than 40 taels a month. It seems that it is not difficult to earn 40 taels a month in Taiwan. The officer leading the way looked at the excited farmers and said: "In Hsinchu, tenants farm Yanwang's fields.
As long as you are more agile, you can collect an average of 20 taels of rice into your own granary in a year. According to the current price of 2 taels and 5 taels per shi in cheap grain stores, this is fifty taels of silver."
"After all, the monthly income of a farmer in Hsinchu is more than 4 taels of silver. Therefore, when recruiting people in other industries, the monthly income must be higher than 4 taels of silver to recruit people." It was already March of the sixth year of Xianping, and people from all over the Song Dynasty were everywhere.
The price of grain in China has remained at a high level due to last year's military disaster. Yang Peng's affordable grain store adapted to the situation and changed the buying and selling price of grain to 2, 25 yuan per stone. This change has greatly increased the income of farmers.
.
The farmers in Taiwan are now considered well-off. The officer leading the way said: "Of course, labor in Hsinchu is more expensive, and everything depends on sea transportation, so prices are also higher. Except for the price of food, which is the same as that in Tianjing New City, everything else is the same.
It’s 30% more expensive than Tianjing New City, and silver isn’t as durable.”
The farmers had no reaction when they heard the officer's words. These farmers have been living below the subsistence line, and their living expenses are basically food, and they have not developed various consumption habits. They secretly thought that it doesn't matter if things are 30% more expensive, as long as food is cheap,
You can raise more children. Just spend less on things other than food.
The officers smiled when they saw that the farmers had not realized the qualitative change in their lives after earning four taels a month. The officers read all the job advertisements on other stalls. Speaking of which, there are many farmers in Hsinchu now, and it is urgent to develop supporting facilities.
commerce and service industry. However, most of the farmers who came to Hsinchu by boat were willing to work in agriculture, and fewer people were willing to do odd jobs in the city. There is a serious shortage of people in various positions in the city.
Every time the farmers heard about the salary of four taels a month, they would marvel, as if they could never recover from their surprise. However, after hearing from the officers that farming could earn more than four taels a month, only a very few people were interested in going to the city to do it.
matter.
The officer shook his head and continued to lead the new farmers forward. Paddy fields had been opened up on both sides of the road, and only thousands of hectares of fertile fields could be seen. It was September, and the late rice seedlings had been planted. In the fields
It was a green area, and many farmers were busy working in the fields. This was the first time for the farmers in Tianjing New City to see paddy fields. They only knew that paddy fields were highly productive and that they would grow such paddy fields in the future. They were all very interested.
The good days in the future will depend on these paddy fields. Along the smooth road paved with gravel, the officers led the farmers through Hsinchu City. Although Hsinchu City has just been founded, it is already quite large, with four gates and four floors.
It is high, with a wide doorway built below. The eight-mile-long earthen city wall surrounding the city has been repaired, and the cross roads in the city are all paved with bluestone slabs. Like Tianjing New City, Hsinchu City also has drainage ditches on both sides of the road, and the roads are every other
There is a trash can two hundred steps away.
Compared with the dirty county towns in Qingxian County, Hsinchu City is much cleaner and tidier. Walking on the clean and wide road, Yao Minle felt like walking in a paradise. In the center of the city, there is a majestic and dignified "Yan".
"Prince's Mansion", the two big stone lions at the door are taller than one person. The officer told the peasants that the place to do business is not here. The place to go to the government to do business is in the "General Office" in the south of the city, where Mr. Lu sits. This Prince Yan Mansion is the residence of Yang Peng
Di.
At this time, Hsinchu City had just been built, and there were not many shops in the city. What was more lively was the affordable grain store in the middle of the city. Farmers who had harvested early rice came here pushing large carts and small carts of rice to sell. The farmers who sold out the grain got money.
I was happily looking for something to buy in the city. Therefore, the shops on both sides of the cheap grain store were doing very well.
Yao Minle looked at the small shops on both sides of the cheap grain store and saw that there were butchers selling meat, tea, tobacco, shochu and rice wine, and even children's toys. These shops at this time
The capital is bustling with people, and the gate is full of farmers who have harvested a good harvest and have money in their pockets.
Yao Minle secretly sighed, sighing that the farmers in Taiwan are really rich. After passing through Hsinchu City, the farmers walked into the temporary resettlement site. The resettlement site was several large yards built on a hill, with rows of covered buildings inside.
A row of brick houses. Yao Minle held his wife in his left hand and his daughter in his right hand. As soon as he walked into the resettlement site, he smiled happily.
Look at the sturdy house, the rows of wooden bunk beds in the house, and the complete set of sheets, pillows and other items on the bed. This is simply the life of a master. This is just a "temporary" settlement.
Then if you officially settle down in the future, what kind of good life will you live?
After the officers brought one hundred farmers into the resettlement site, they began to allocate rooms and beds to them. In the resettlement site, sixteen people shared a room, husband and wife were separated, and men and women were placed in different yards.
The first thing after allocating beds was to take a bath. The farmers were taken to the large bathhouse by the officers. As soon as Yao Minle entered, he was startled by the mist-filled bathhouse. He took a closer look and discovered the bathhouse.
There is a large pool built in the bathhouse, filled with warm water, which is constantly emitting water vapor. Dozens of men are taking a bath in the bathhouse.
The officer gave each farmer a piece of soap, briefly explained how to use it, and then asked the farmer to take off his tattered old clothes.
The old clothes were thrown into a big basket. Yao Minle asked the officer what to do with the old clothes? The officer replied: "Burn them!"
Yao Minle secretly sighed and jumped into the bathhouse to take a clean bath. After taking a bath and walking out of the bathhouse, Yao Minle had just wiped himself off when he saw a clerk coming in with a big basket of new clothes. The clerk walked up to
Yao Minle stood in front of him and asked: "How high?"
"Five feet two inches." The clerk pulled out two sets of brand-new middle-coat clothes from the basket, and stuffed two sets of brand-new cotton round necks into Yao Minle's hands, saying, "Pack them away!" Yao Minle was given new clothes now?
Min Le grabbed the new clothes in his hand and couldn't restrain a smile on his face.
Yao Minle worked in Hsinchu for a month. Every day he followed the team leader to burn wasteland, level the land, dig and ram soil to build canals. Although it was hard work, Yao Minle worked hard because the resettlement site had enough food to eat - temporary
The resettlement site provides three meals a day, including white rice, lots of vegetables, and occasionally meat.
At dinner on March 15th, the day Yao Minle's family of three had meat, Yao Minle burst into tears. This is how people live. In the past, in Qing County, even during the Chinese New Year, a family of three would not be willing to cut a piece of meat.
Meat. His wife had been with him for three years and had children for him. After three years of hard life and not eating meat during the New Year for three years, Yao Minle felt very guilty. However, when he arrived in Hsinchu, he was just an ordinary person.
After a meal, the prince gave meat to the land reclamation team.
Yao Minle was reluctant to eat the large piece of meat. He wiped his tears and gave the piece of meat to his wife, saying, "I don't like eating meat. You can eat it, wife!" Yao Minle's wife smiled and took the piece of meat.
He handed it to his daughter and said, "The bird eats meat!" The bird looked at the two large pieces of pork belly in the bowl and said, "The bird has meat!"
Yao Minle's daughter-in-law touched her daughter's head and said, "The bird eats the bird's meat, and the bird eats daddy's meat." Yao Minle's daughter then burst out laughing and bit into the pork belly.
It smelled so good. Seeing the happy look on his daughter's face, Yao Minle shed a few tears. He secretly said that he would work harder to repay the prince for his kindness.
What shocked Yao Minle even more was that on March 20, after having breakfast, Yao Minle was getting ready to go to work when he heard the team leader yelling, "Go to the yard, we're going to pay you monthly wages!"
Yao Minle was dumbfounded at that time. What kind of monthly payment should he pay? If he could open up wasteland and have a house with bricks and tiles to live in, food to eat, new clothes to wear, and meat to eat, why should he pay himself a monthly payment?
Seeing Yao Minle standing there dumbly, the squad leader pushed Yao Minle and said, "Yao idiot, why don't you hurry up and line up to get the money? If you don't want it, you can give it to me if you get the money!"
Yao Minle then put away the shovel and shovel in his hands and ran out to collect his monthly payment. In the yard, hundreds of land reclamation farmers gathered in front of the small platform in the yard, waiting for the team leader standing on the platform to hand out the money.
The captain shouted: "You farmers who opened up wasteland were transported to Taiwan by the prince's fleet. The prince organized you to give out new clothes and rice. You have decent houses to live in and meat to eat. How are you living?"
The farmers below shouted in unison: "Have a good life!"
"Good days!" said the team leader who distributed the money: "Not only that, the prince will also give you monthly money. Each person will receive two taels of silver a month. Those who work hard this month will also receive bonuses!" The farmers below heard this.
At these words, everyone's face was full of surprise and their eyes were shining.
After the captain finished speaking, he began to call his name. The farmers whose names were called went up one by one to collect the money. When Yao Minle was called, he walked up to the captain and saw the captain stuffing an envelope into his hand:
"Yao Minle, you work hard and your performance is considered to be top-notch. You will receive a monthly salary of 20 taels and a bonus of 5 taels, totaling 2 taels and 5 cents of silver."
Yao Minle actually became a little nervous. He took the envelope with trembling hands and walked off the platform. He opened the envelope and saw that there were twenty or five pieces of silver in it. Yao Minle worked in Qing County with his face facing the loess and his back facing the sky. What?
Have you ever held so much silver in your hand? It felt like a huge sum of money. He took a bite of the silver and felt that the silver was soft and of excellent quality.
Yao Minle felt that Taiwan was giving him surprises one after another. Yao Minle was excited when he suddenly saw a dozen soldiers from the Zhenhai Regiment rushing into the yard. He checked the yard back and forth to make sure there was no one in the yard.
Holding offensive weapons, they then controlled the entrance and exit of the courtyard. After a while, two soldiers wearing gilt full-body armor stood at the entrance of the courtyard and shouted:
"Princess Yan has arrived!"
Seeing this posture, the captain was the first to kneel on the ground. Under his leadership, all the farmers who were clearing the land knelt on the ground, prostrated and kowtowed. After a while, the guards walked into the yard holding gorgeous flags and placards.
Uncle Xingguo shouted in front of him and rode in on a tall horse under the protection of hundreds of personal guards. Under the guidance of Mr. Lu in red official robes, he walked in. In the middle of the yard, Ye Qi Guanyin jumped off the horse and said:
He looked at the farmers clearing the wasteland with interest.
Ye Qi Guanyin took Kou Zhun and Zhang Xingfang into the farmer's house, inspected the living environment of the farmers who opened up wasteland, and then walked back to the yard. Ye Qi Guanyin looked at the kneeling farmers and suddenly asked Yao Minle
"What's your name?" Yao Minle raised his head and looked up. When he saw Ye Guanyin looking at him, he quickly replied: "The younger one's name is Yao Minle!"
Ye Qi Guanyin asked: "Yao Minle, stand up and talk, what did you eat this morning?" Yao Minle stood up, swallowed his saliva, and replied nervously: "The little one ate two large bowls of white rice.
Porridge, an egg."
Ye Qi Guanyin nodded and asked: "Is the life of opening up wasteland difficult?" Yao Minle shook his head and said: "Here we have good food, good clothing, good housing, and monthly money, but there is nothing to do even with a lantern.
Looking for a good life is not hard at all."
Lu Ming, who was standing behind Ye Qi Guanyin, shouted loudly: "Yao Minle, the prince has given you such a good life, how will you repay uncle in the future?" Yao Minle's face turned red and he said with some excitement: "The prince has given you such a good life."
With such a good day, Yao Minle will definitely work hard in the future. The prince asked Yao Minle to go east, but Yao Minle will never dare to go west!"
When Ye Qi Guanyin heard Yao Minle's words, she laughed loudly, waved her hand and said to the farmers: "Get up." The farmers got up from the ground. Ye Qi Guanyin did not stay long, and got on the horse again surrounded by his guards.
, and left the yard on horseback.
Ye Qi Guanyin left the temporary resettlement site on horseback and said to Lu Ming with a smile: "Lu Ming, you have organized well in Taiwan, and you have contributed a lot!" Lu Ming cupped his hands and said: "Hsinchu can be built like this only because of the material supply from the prince.
Lu Ming doesn't dare to take credit." Ye Qi Guanyin asked: "Is there any problem?" Lu Ming thought for a while and replied: "There is a problem, that is, the red hair covets our wealthy Hsinchu and always wants to rob us. From last year to this year
, the Zhenhai Regiment has already defeated Hongmao’s team twice.”
After listening to Zheng Hui's words, Ye Qi Guanyin said calmly: "If you are not of my race, your mind must be different! Hongmao has Relanja City in the south of Taiwan Island. It is convenient to sail the ship to Hsinchu to rob." After thinking about it,
Ye Qi Guanyin said: "This time I came to Taiwan with two thousand soldiers from the Zhenhai Regiment, plus one thousand soldiers from the Zhenhai Regiment stationed in Hsinchu, so there are three thousand soldiers. Let's go to Relanze and pull out Hong Mao's stronghold.
Yes!" Lu Ming cupped his hands and said: "The princess is wise, if Hongmao doesn't have a base in Taiwan, he won't care about the wealth of Hsinchu."
What happened after all? Let’s look at the breakdown next time.