In the letter, Fenghua reported on the seed production situation of Wang Siniang and her daughter in the villa under the guidance of technicians from the Agricultural Committee. Starting from the twelfth lunar month, a female agricultural technician with naturalized background was sent from Lingao.
Train them to conduct seed production. According to Zhao Yingong's plan, seed production was carried out first in 1632 without sericulture. Seed production was done twice in spring and autumn, and about 3,000 silkworm seeds could be prepared. From 1633, sericulture was promoted on a large scale.
——In this way, he has half a year to annex enough sericulture gardens and make material preparations for large-scale sericulture.
Spring seed production is going well, and the cold storage used to store silkworm seeds has also been completed. The bigger problem is that there has been no rain in Hangzhou since March and April this year, and the newly planted mulberry gardens on the hillside are irrigated with water from last winter.
The wind-powered waterwheel was built to lift water from the Qiantang River at the foot of the mountain. However, the wind resources in Hangzhou are not stable. From time to time, oxen are used to pull the water, which consumes a lot of animal power. The few existing oxen cannot do it at all. Fenghua
In the letter, he asked if he could report to the Senate and get a steam engine to pump water.
This is not difficult at all. The steam engine-powered water pump kits are already quite mature and systematic products at Lingao Machinery General Factory. They are widely used in the fields of agriculture and mining. If you apply for one, you will probably be approved. The problem is that
Coal is hard to find—or just burn firewood?
Zhao Yingong thought and continued reading. The second part of the letter was a report on the construction of Shanshan Hall on the newly purchased open space at the foot of Fenghuang Villa. This is a euphemistic name for the quarantine camp. In 1632, there was a severe drought in Zhejiang Province.
It won't rain since the beginning of the month - this is a devastating blow to agriculture. Failure to transplant rice seedlings in time in spring means that the harvest for the year will be lost. Seeing that the time has entered summer, this year's drought has become a foregone conclusion, and a large number of people
They began to flee the country, and the roads were full of refugees.
The economic collapse caused by agricultural disasters was particularly significant in the industrial and commercial economy. The Senate had endless demand for population. Zhao Yingong came to the south of the Yangtze River to accommodate refugees from Zhejiang. Starting from the end of 1631, he had already accommodated thousands of people in batches.
People are shipped out through Shanghai Port.
Naturally, no one would care about transporting a small number of people, but taking in and transporting a large number of refugees in a disaster year would inevitably attract the attention of the government. Therefore, Zhao Yingong followed the successful experience of the Guangzhou Station in the past - setting up a charity hall.
The name of the charitable hall is "Ci Xin Tang". Zhao Yingong introduced the model of a charity foundation and attracted a group of Jin gentry to join the association. The first step was to recruit a group of Jin gentry from Jiangnan to participate and act as good directors.
The main target of the introduction is of course the Xu family. Xu Guangqi’s banner as a pavilion elder must be used. Not only is Xu Guangqi himself a pavilion elder, but his only son Xu Ji is married to the daughter of Gu Changzuo, the richest man in Shanghai. This is what Gu Changzuo is known as "
"Gu Bancheng" is wealthy and powerful in Shanghai County.
In order to get enough support from the Xu family, Zhao Yiggong, with the support of Father Jin Lige, carried out a key strategy against the Xu family and tried to bring the relationship between the two parties closer. Therefore, the friendship between the two parties is currently very high, and it is objectively difficult to run a charity hall.
It will help spread Catholicism, so the Xu family has agreed to help - not only providing a protective umbrella, but also promising to provide part of the funds. Including Xu Guangqi's in-laws, the Gu Changzuo family, also agreed to contribute several hundred taels of silver.
Secondly, the Catholic gentry under the Hangzhou church system - through the Jesuits, they also recruited several people to serve as directors. In this way, at least in Nanzhi and Zhejiang, the work of Cixin Hall has a certain degree of security.
On a newly purchased piece of wasteland outside Fenghuang Villa, there are "Inquisition House", "Men's and Women's Bathhouse", "Men's Hall", "Women's Hall" and "Orphan Hall".
"Jietang" - a place that takes in lonely widows. Naturally, there are also places like "artisans" that specialize in extracting the surplus value of refugees. In fact, the first factory that Zhao Yingong plans to open is to recruit people under the guise of a charity workshop.
There is open space on the bank of the Qiantang River, abundant water resources, and fast water transportation. It can also be developed as an industrial zone in the future. It is also very convenient to engage in large-scale agriculture.
Refugees were accommodated on the banks of the Qiantang River. Not only were they far away from the busy city during the weekdays, making it easier to hide from others, but they could also be transported directly to the sea by boat at night. This was Zhao Yingong's calculation.
The letter reported that 90% of the construction progress of the shantang has been completed - a large number of refugees have provided abundant labor force, and the veteran architect of Lingao Construction Company estimated that it should be completed on schedule.
Zhao Yingong was very satisfied. As long as it can be completed on time, the Zhejiang part of the engine operation will be half successful.
Although the main purpose of Operation Engine was to transport refugees from Shandong, the elders also had a great interest in the population of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Zhao Yingong knew that many elders were actually looking forward to a steady stream of Shandong refugees, abandoning all kinds of population industries and high-sounding reasons for decisive victory.
Niu and the beauties from the south of the Yangtze River. Zhejiang has been known for producing beauties since ancient times, otherwise the deputy commander-in-chief’s family would not have targeted the Zhejiang area when they were looking for concubines.
We are now beginning to vigorously accommodate refugees, and they will be able to transfer them in the autumn. Zhao Yingong knows very well that the refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang actually agree with the elders, because the refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang who are transferred are not only farmers or fishermen, but many of them are handicraftsmen: they are better than
Farmers are more accustomed to long-term boring work - Jiangnan machinists often have to work on looms for more than ten hours a day.
He put down the letter in his hand and picked up the next one. This one was more important, it was a telegram from Lingao - about the progress of the Shandong engine operation.
Ever since Elder Lu Zeyang defeated the rebels in Laizhou, the entire Denglai battlefield has been plunged into an endless tug-of-war as expected. The entire Dongsan Prefecture was in flames and was filled with refugees.
Shortly after Lu Zeyang's great victory, on the 15th day of the second lunar month, Peng Youmo, who was originally defending Lushun from the left camp of Shenwu, joined the army and led 500 Sichuan troops to Laizhou by sea. On the 5th day of the third lunar month, Liu Guozhu, the commander-in-chief, sent 600 cavalrymen.
Reinforcements were led by General Li Jing and guerrilla Zhang Ruxing, but most of them escaped during the journey, and less than 275 people actually arrived.
Since the troops on Qimu Island only accommodated refugees and did not intercept rebel transportation, after the two sides reached a tacit agreement not to attack the south gate of Laizhou, the rebels began to transport heavy artillery and ammunition to Laizhou City unscrupulously and continuously attacked Laizhou City.
Although Sun Yuanhua was once ostracized by the officials and generals in the city because of the fall of Dengzhou, Peng Youmo, who joined the Shenwu Zuoying Army to help, and Lu Zeyang, who won the great victory at Nanmen, were both under his command, so they had to continue to rely on him, and at that time After the memorial for the great victory in Laizhou was published, he gradually became a central figure in the war in Laizhou and even Shandong.
During the fierce offensive and defensive battles, a group of city-defending officials, generals and gentry in the city "martyr themselves" one after another. Among them are Laizhou Guard commander Li Mengguo and Bai Zhongren who died in the historical battle, as well as some who could have been Manchus. Zhang Xin, the Laizhou gentry who was the governor of Tianjin in the Qing Dynasty, also died in the battle. In short, the local gentry and local officers in Laizhou suffered heavy casualties, and many living members also died in the battle. For a time, Laizhou City seemed to be in danger. situation.
On the twenty-seventh day of the third lunar month of this year, Liu Yulie, the Minister of War, swore an oath as the governor and marched towards Laizhou. He mobilized reinforcements and volunteers from Jimen, Miyun and other places, and a total of 25,000 infantry and cavalry from the three towns. On the second day of April, Emperor Chongzhen also sent eunuchs to send six Hongyi cannons to Shahe to deliver reinforcements.
However, Liu Yulie and other commanders were not familiar with military affairs, and the people and horses from all walks of life were moving forward in a mixed manner, and the discipline was chaotic. During the slow march, more than 800 vehicles of grain and grass escorted by Wang Wensheng were attacked by the rebel cavalry, and they were all killed. The enemy's burning not only caused supply difficulties, but also cut off the road.
Kong Youde ordered to recruit Wang Wensheng's soldiers, and sent people to spread rumors that all three battalions of officers and soldiers were annihilated in Changyi County, where the old camp of officers and soldiers was located. Then he used surrender troops to attack Changyi County. Liu Yulie was greatly panicked and fled directly back to Qingzhou. A few days later, Liu Yulie heard that the officers and soldiers in the three towns were still there, but all the food and grass had been burned, and they could no longer fight. He ordered the withdrawal. The rebels took the opportunity to sneak attack, and the officers and soldiers were defeated in Shahe. Countless people were captured, and a large number of firearms were used. Captured by rebels.
Next, the Ming army made an even bigger joke. Sun Yinglong, an old general in Tianjin, claimed to be brothers with Geng Zhongming and boasted that he could let Geng Zhongming kidnap Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng to surrender. Tianjin Governor Zheng Zongzhou believed his words and gave him sixty terms. Ship, 2,000 men and horses.
Sun Yinglong sent people to persuade Geng Zhongming to surrender. Geng Zhongming used a false surrender method to lure Sun Yinglong and the Tianjin Navy's 2,000-man ship directly to the water city of Dengzhou. Geng Zhongming then beheaded Sun Yinglong. Because of the acquisition of this navy, the rebels were on the water. The force became more powerful and could be easily transported from various places on the Dongjiang River. A steady stream of old Dongjiang troops began to pour into the Denglai area from the sea.
A series of defeats of officers and soldiers caused the situation in Dongsan Prefecture to become increasingly chaotic. A large number of defeated soldiers became bandits or directly joined the rebels. This caused a large number of people to flock to Qimu Island to take refuge. At one time, the entire Qimu Island refugee camp was full and there was no time to transfer. Lu Wenyuan had to set up temporary shelters on the mainland to accommodate more refugees.
The Ming army's incompetence and bizarre defeat caused the elders of the Qimu Island Front Committee to completely lose their last respect for the Ming Dynasty.
"Grab territory! Seize people!" Lu Wenyuan issued an order on Qimu Island, and then the Shandong detachment began a violent territory expansion under the command of Zhu Mingxia, who rushed back. Taking advantage of the local chaos, the Shandong detachment quickly expanded its troops on the spot. , recruited a large number of young and middle-aged people from the refugees and trained them as Xiangyong. They were led by veterans of the detachment. Taking Qimu Island as the starting point, they established several strongholds and fortresses more than ten miles ahead and stationed Xiangyong. Finally, they were actually stationed around Qimu Island. They occupied land with a radius of dozens of miles and took advantage of the chaos to occupy the Zhaoyuan area.