August is the typhoon season. Five consecutive days of typhoons have destroyed a large area of crops in southern Taiwan. Most of the agricultural land in Taiwan's plains is sandy land. Every summer and autumn, heavy typhoon rains cause mountains and rivers to rush, wash away ravines, and accumulate quicksand. Even mature fields can turn into barren soil. If the sea breeze is strong, the influx of sea water will destroy the countryside on the seaside. Therefore, the Agriculture, Industry and Commerce Department of the Government Affairs Department of the Prince of Jinghai and the Farming Department of the company are busy organizing manpower to dig ditches these days. , build dikes.
The typhoon had just passed, and people all over the north and south of Taiwan were busy with farming. Yin Feng, who usually appeared in the fields, did not show up. Xu Hongji, who was known as the secretary of the Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Office, was wandering around the fields all day long.
The new immigrant farms organized by the company have spread all over the western plains of Taiwan. On the land between the farms, there are many indigenous Pingpu ethnic villages, as well as some natural villages where mainland Han people and indigenous people live together. Although the Chinese company also pays attention to these The indigenous villages have some post-disaster relief, but the main manpower and material resources are still invested in their own farms.
Most of the farm foremen and landowner estate supervisors are veterans of the Chinese Army. They walk in twos and threes on the field ridges and mounds, while supervising large groups of Japanese slave laborers. The farm laborers are constructing water conservancy projects in the farmland of the contiguous western plains of Taiwan. , while chatting with each other:
"Master Lin, your family has planted rice on all the land in Luzon. Didn't you say that growing sugar cane is easy to make money?"
"You know what, the company and the army are purchasing large quantities of grain and transporting it to Jiangnan and Liaodong... The war will start next year, and the price of this grain will definitely rise. Moreover, the shipowner king has said: He will subsidize farmers who grow grain with money per acre... "
"Old Qiantou, have you heard that the ship owner has a son again? He is from Jinling..."
"Hey, your son has entered the Naval Academy at the age of thirteen. This boy will be great in the future. Your family has hope..."
"I heard from my brother that next year the king will march across the sea to conquer the world and seize the Dragon Court of the old Zhu family. Unfortunately, my right arm was cut off by the Qianlu people in Luzon. Otherwise, I would definitely Follow the king to conquer the world,"
"You know, your Majesty wants to build internal security forces in various places, and give priority to recruiting veterans, injured and disabled people...I am planning to do it. What do you old brothers say? Although the salary is not more than being a village head, but again Being able to carry a gun and wear a uniform is better than watching these Japanese slaves working in the bright sun,"
"Hey, who knows what this internal security team does?"
"It is said that they seem to be paid government servants, policemen and villagers,"
"Nonsense, haven't the Zhuang Ding troops been reorganized into militia and pioneering regiments? What about the reserve army?"
"Who knows,...it's said that Chief Mai of the Navy lost his position. Does anyone know what happened? It was really because he appointed a private person as an officer."
"Our king always upholds justice and does things fairly. Manager Mai must have made a mistake when he was demoted."
The man who lost his right hand in the city of Manila suddenly shouted into the field: "That damn dwarf, it's you. Hurry up and work, don't let me see you being lazy again, be careful of your own skin... This batch of people from Southeast Asia The Japanese slaves we have are just not as obedient as the Japanese slaves sent by the Shimazu family..."
After the Chinese army took control of Nanyang, the Japanese towns all over Nanyang were abolished by Yin Feng's order. Except for some Japanese immigrants in places such as Siam and Malacca, most of the tens of thousands of Japanese immigrants in other Japanese towns in various parts of Nanyang were abolished. They were forcibly moved to Taiwan Island and assigned to various farms and factories to do slave labor.
Yin Feng instinctively felt uneasy about these Japanese, and had to keep them under surveillance to feel at ease.
The current lord of the Satsuma Domain, Shimazu Tadashi, has endured nearly ten years and spent all his money to pay compensation to the Chinese company. Now he is finally close to completing all the compensation. At the same time, he also asked his son Shimazu Hisaki to come to Taiwan as a hostage. In the eighth year, Yin Feng sent Shimazu Hisaki directly to the Government Affairs Academy and asked him to read the Four Books and Five Classics.
At the same moment...
From the commanding heights of the North Fort of Taiwan Port, Yin Feng watched the latest fast communication ship Sea Breeze sail out of the port. Lin Xiao, Zeng Rui and a group of selected agents from the Internal Affairs Bureau, Military Intelligence Department and Special Battalion were working carefully. On the ship, the public identities of these people include the secretary of the Huaxing Co., Ltd., the accountant, the shop assistant, etc., as well as traveling monks, Taoist priests and Chinese Catholic missionaries.
Xu Hongji suddenly spoke behind Yin Feng: "Zeng Rui's arbitrary use of power cannot be forgotten like this."
Yin Feng turned around and smiled bitterly: "I was negligent in this matter. I indulged Brother Rui too much. Jiangnan cannot be chaotic. It is our source of wealth...Now, we can only count on Chen Zhongji to stabilize the situation."
Xu Hongji showed his role as a loyal minister and then asked: "Is this the case for Lin Xiao and the Han family?"
Yin Feng put his hands on the firing port of the fort and looked at the sea with a serious expression: "There are too many people involved in this matter. We must have conclusive evidence and strict arrangements before we can take action. Mr. Xu, the affairs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs have been handed over to you. I'm in charge. It's up to you to investigate and handle this matter in secret. Before the matter is revealed, no information must be leaked. You are not a shareholder of the company, and you have nothing to do with the directors on the company's board of directors. That's why I put this I'll leave it to you,"
Xu Hongji nodded: "I understand: the people involved in this matter are all old people from the time when the company started. You are afraid that this matter will be leaked... I will definitely act with caution..."
Yin Feng sneered, not sure whether he was mocking himself or venting: "If this matter is confirmed, many people will be unlucky. This should be another major purge within the China Company after the sailor rebellion."
Xu Hongji nodded slightly and looked at the sea silently. The last sail of the communication ship Haifeng had gradually disappeared at the line between the sea and the sky.
…
That night, the three newly launched "flying scissor" communication ships quietly pulled anchor and sailed to Liaodong, Jiangnan and the Nanyang Malacca Fortress respectively. The passengers on the ship were all personnel from the Supervisory Military Department, the Military Intelligence Department, the Royal Palace Internal Affairs Department, and Several financial personnel of China United Company were all hiding in the cabin of the ship mysteriously, and basically did not appear on the deck during the voyage...
Yin Feng's study room in the palace has been expanded three times. Since he likes to discuss and work with his subordinates in the study room, the study room is no longer like a private study room, but more like an office hall.
He had been busy all night. Princess Li Lihua and Mei Xinlan both sent maids to inquire about the situation. The reward was that the king was writing an article tonight and would not return to the inner chamber.
Three days later, on the first day of July in the second year of Tianqi in the Ming Dynasty, Yin Feng's ruling area began to publicize the "Local Council Law", "Commercial Law", and "Overseas Development Law" that he personally compiled. The commercial law and other things were based on Western laws. Commercial Law and Council Law were compiled by Yin Feng himself based on his previous knowledge and experience and with reference to the British local council system.
The northernmost bank of the Songhua River began to implement the "Local Council Law" and the "Commercial Law" about twenty days later. Liaodong and foreign southern businessmen began to organize various companies. At the same time, various localities began to organize councils and mobilize gentry families. The landowners recommended participation, saying that the council could supervise the administration and financial situation of officials.
However, the Chinese immigrant groups in Sumatra, Borneo, Java and other places in the south did not learn about these laws until a month later due to climate reasons. In the Nanyang region, Chinese companies have long organized groups in various places, mainly composed of Chinese immigrants and businessmen from various places. Council, so what interests Nanyang Chinese the most is the Commercial Law and the Overseas Development Law: the former clarifies that each Chinese company has an equal legal status with the Chinese company, and some trade routes that were originally monopolized by the Chinese company allow other businesses The company intervened, in addition to the arms trade; the latter improved the organizational structure of the pioneering regiment and clarified that the direct management agency was the Regiment Training Division of the Chinese Army Operations Department, also called the "Militia Division" (Yin Feng insisted on bringing in villagers from all over the country) , the security team, and the pioneering regiment were unified under the management of the Militia Department, but a group of scribes such as Xu Hongji were disgusted with the term "militia" and insisted on calling it traditional "regiment training.") At the same time, in peacetime operations, the pioneering regiment was allowed to The members received most of the seized items and were allowed to operate any land independently occupied by the members of the Pioneer Regiment; except for participating in operations commanded by the Chinese Army, the enforcement of military discipline of the Pioneer Regiment was not subject to the supervision of the Chinese Military Supervision and Military Department.
During the same period, due to the war situation in the Jiangnan region, in addition to the Commercial Law, the "Local Council Law" was announced in the public, but the Jiangnan Governor's Office also announced that its implementation would be suspended.
When Chen Zhongji, the general manager of Jiangnan, was in charge of Jiangnan, he did suppress the power of the Jinxi clan in Jiangnan at the beginning, and several families were confiscated and exterminated. In the second year of the Chinese army's rule over Jiangnan, the situation began to stabilize. Due to the Jiangnan garrison's promotion of commerce Trade and agricultural taxes were not collected for three years, labor was abolished and all people were hired with money, and the interests of ordinary small and medium-sized landowners were protected. The eastern region of Jiangnan, which had a strong commercial atmosphere, was increasingly prosperous.
After several large landowners in Songjiang and Qingpu had their homes confiscated, their land was equally distributed to tenants and landless poor people. This made the Jiangnan aristocratic families who were closely related to each other very angry. Under the instigation of Xu Guangqi, they unanimously spent money to organize team training, which made The financial problems during the initial establishment of the "New Army" were solved, but as the attention of the imperial court and the Chinese Army shifted to the Northeast, the Jiangnan region had a decline in cotton production due to the smooth export channels for silk, tea, porcelain and other products, as well as the need for war preparation relief. , the purchase and sale of grain were booming, and the entire Jiangnan commercial trade prospered rapidly. The civilians who were not burdened by government land taxes and labor naturally supported the Chinese army. Needless to say, the weavers and craftsmen who were originally operating in a decentralized state also began to organize large-scale workshops. Producing cotton clothes, uniforms, and various military and civilian metal products for Zhonghua Company. Since there is no price monopoly by government officials and merchants, they can make huge profits. Those small and medium-sized landowners and gentry who have tasted the sweetness of economic prosperity and social stability can also Began to change his attitude towards the Chinese Army.
When the mutiny in northern Zhejiang suddenly broke out and spread to the entire Zhejiang Chief Secretary and Southern Zhili and other places in just one month, those gentry families who had part of their family property outside the areas controlled by the Chinese army were threatened, and they all panicked. , there is no need to count on the Ming army, we still need to worry about them causing a mutiny on the spot!
As a result, many Jin gentlemen came to the Jiangnan Governor's Mansion in Qingpu County, and they all sent in requests to visit Chen Zhongji.
As Yin Feng's most trusted student and disciple, Chen Zhongji has been in charge of the southern half of the Yangtze River for many years. He has moved around to cultivate his energy. He is only over thirty years old. He has completely changed his original image of a capable young man. He already has the magnanimity to control a powerful figure. At this moment, he Sitting firmly in the backyard of the town government office, enjoying the service of two slender and beautiful Jiangnan women, his Siraya wife Xilan did not follow him to Jiangnan, and Chen Zhongji had already taken two concubines in the local area.
There were Chinese Army soldiers inside and outside the garrison, indicating that it was the administrative headquarters of the military-controlled area. The messenger quickly ran into the room. Chen Zhongji waved the two concubines to leave, and the messenger then saluted with his hands crossed in front of his chest. "Report to the General Manager, fifteen gentry families from Suzhou, Songjiang and other places in the south of the Yangtze River have submitted posters to ask for an audience with the General Manager regarding the establishment of the council," he said, handing over a bunch of famous people.
Chen Zhongji stretched out, took a bunch of posts, smiled, and put them on the table without looking at them.
"Now, these gentry have finally asked for something from us. Go and announce that I will meet them in the lobby of the town hall at noon tomorrow."
A second lieutenant from the Military Supervisory Department wearing a helmet with a red tassel suddenly appeared. Chen Zhongji's face suddenly became serious. He waved the orderer out, and then whispered: "Aren't you busy at the mouth of the Qianjiang River... What, what are the movements of the rebels?" ,"
"It's not a matter of mutiny and rebellion. A communication ship from Taiwan docked at Jinshan Guard and brought the king's handwriting."
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My work and family affairs are not going well, so I have been delayed for a long time. Now I am resurrected and out of the palace. Please forgive me.