1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 233 Colonization of Iron Furnace Port

Yazhou is a place with high mountains and far rivers, and those sent here to serve as local officials generally have little power, and they can't do anything in office that is enough to be transferred back to the mainland to serve. After coming here, they often have to work until they retire.And next year, there will be a wave of retirements for local officials. Several officials in charge of the local military and government will retire. But before that, these adults are still planning to make another fortune for their retirement life. pension.

This kind of phenomenon is nothing new, and it does not mean that corruption was prevalent in the officialdom at the end of the day. The Internet has a special name for this-the 59-year-old phenomenon.Tao Donglai only heard the first half of what Luo Shengdong said, and he already understood the general ins and outs, but he still didn't quite understand some details, so he needed to ask again.

"You said that Fenghuang Town is basically unowned land, so why don't the adults simply enclose the land under their own or relatives' names?" Tao Donglai asked.

Luo Shengdong explained: "The unclaimed land is mostly wasteland. What's the use of enclosing it? My lords will not go to Fenghuang Town to settle down. Instead, I have to organize tenant farmers to reclaim wasteland and farmland. Wouldn't it be troublesome? And enclose it under your own name , On the contrary, it will be given the truth, which will damage the reputation."

Tao Donglai thought to himself that he would care about his reputation even if he was so corrupt, he sneered and said, "That means we will occupy the land in Fenghuang Town, and after we reclaim the land, we will take out [-] mu of cultivated land from it. Is that what it means to give it to several adults?"

Luo Shengdong nodded again and again and said: "That's exactly what he meant. Mr. Tao, don't think that you have suffered a disadvantage. Thinking that Fenghuang Town has a flat terrain, there are always tens of thousands of acres of land, so take [-] acres of land as The exchange is worth thousands of dollars! If the number of laborers in Yazhou is not decreasing day by day, I feel that adults may not be willing to make such a big circle."

How could Tao Donglai be so easily fooled? He smiled and said, "Should I have to pay a lot of deed tax to the government for the land deed of such a large area?"

Luo Shengdong looked around, and said cautiously: "The four adults only need 1000 taels of silver each, and this matter can be arranged by the government. The procedures are complete and there are no mistakes."

Tao Donglai laughed and said: "Mr. Luo is so eloquent, I think you should stop being an officer and start a dental business. With your qualifications, you should be able to do very well!"

Luo Shengdong repeatedly waved his hands and said, "President Tao, please don't make fun of this. Everything I said below is true and definitely not fabricated."

Tao Donglai put away his smile and said, "Even if we didn't have the advice of the adults in Yazhou, we went directly to occupy Fenghuang Town, so what about Yazhou?"

Luo Shengdong's face became a little ugly: "This...then of course you have to pay the deed tax and food to the government..."

"Deed tax and food? Do you rely on the Phoenix Inspection Department to collect it?" Tao Donglai's face was not without mockery: "We can ask them to try it at that time."

Luo Shengdong knows all too well that Wei Ping and his gang from the Yulin Inspection Department are still being kept in captivity by the Haihan people in Shengli Port.If the Haihan people really want to occupy Fenghuang Town, then the Phoenix Inspection Department will definitely enjoy the same treatment.As for paying taxes?The second season of rice planted by the Haihan people is almost at the harvest time, but they haven't heard anything about preparing to pay the grain tax.If the Haihan people refused to pay the food, Yazhou really had no good solution. Sending tax collectors would definitely bring nothing to them. If they had to send troops to collect them armed, they would probably not be able to defeat the Haihan militia, which were all equipped with muskets.

Thinking of this, Luo Shengdong regretted a little in his heart why he wanted to be a lobbyist. Although the title of Chief Qian is attractive, it is not as good as the cash benefits given by the Haihan people.If Tao Donglai was offended, there would be no need for this private salt business in the future. What should I do with this big group of brothers who are used to eating and drinking with me?Once the money is cut off, how will he support his family with the meager military salary in the future?
Luo Shengdong's mind was full of messy thoughts, and he couldn't care less about talking nonsense with Tao Donglai.It was Tao Donglai who took the initiative to start the conversation again: "I heard that Mr. Luo has already married Zhang Tongpan's family in Yazhou?"

"Ah? Boss Tao is really well-informed. There is indeed such a thing. I am planning to marry Miss Zhang's family next year." Luo Shengdong hurriedly replied: "I would like to invite Boss Tao to Yazhou for a glass of water and wine."

"Well, let me know in advance when the time comes... I want to ask, if Zhizhou and Tongzhi retire at the same time, is it possible for you, old man, to mention it?" Tao Donglai continued to ask.

"This..." Luo Shengdong hesitated, "I'm afraid this matter cannot be controlled locally."

Zhizhou is from the fifth grade, Tongzhi, Tongju is the sixth grade, in fact, it is half a grade behind, but the appointment of officials of this grade requires the Ministry of Officials to directly follow the job, and it is basically impossible to directly operate in the local black box .

Putting it in other places, with so few official positions vacant, I am afraid that the candidate for the official position will be overwhelmed, but this place is Yazhou, so that is another matter.Almost no one voluntarily came to serve in this remote area where prisoners were exiled, so the officials of the entire Qiongzhou government basically moved around to work on the island, slowly moving up level by level.Those who are lucky enough to be at the prefect level or the prefect level can hope to leave here and transfer to the mainland to work. However, the people in Yazhou are obviously a little bit unlucky, and they have finally reached the peak of their careers and have already retired. age.And the positions vacated after their retirement are very likely to be taken over by local officials from Qiongzhou—Luo Shengdong's father-in-law Zhang Tongpan is naturally one of the candidates.

Compared with other competitors, Zhang Tongpan's advantage is that he has been in Yazhou for a period of time and is familiar with the local people's conditions. The handover of work must be much smoother than that of new outsiders.If the superior considers it from a business perspective, Zhang Tongsan is undoubtedly quite competitive.Of course, there will be other competitors in the middle. After all, Qiongzhou Island is governed by one prefecture and three prefectures, and there are more than one official of the sixth rank. edge position.

But based on the information he has learned so far, Tao Donglai has some new plans for Yazhou—if Luo Shengdong's father-in-law can be managed to become the leader of Yazhou, what will happen in the future? ?
Tao Donglai asked again: "If you can get the recommendation of the resigning magistrate, will the possibility of this be greater?"

Luo Shengdong listened to Tao Donglai's repeated questions about this matter, and his heart began to come alive - his father-in-law is not yet 50 years old, if he can be a magistrate at this age, it is entirely possible to realize his goal of being transferred to the mainland in the future .If this fight is lost, it is nothing more than to continue to be a sixth-rank general judge, but if it wins, it will be the local emperor who is on the political side.

A thought flashed in Luo Shengdong's mind, and he quickly replied: "If there is a recommendation document from the current prefect, then there will naturally be a little more chance of winning."

Tao Donglai nodded and said, "Since that's the case, you might as well think of a way in this direction, um... also ask your father-in-law's opinion. If he also has this wish, then we might as well cooperate."

"What about Phoenix Town..." Luo Shengdong asked tentatively.

"Fenghuang Town is not in a hurry. We are not in a hurry to develop that land. Those adults in Yazhou are just looking for benefits. It's not easy. As long as they are willing to jointly recommend your father-in-law to take over the post of Zhizhou, There will naturally be their benefits afterwards." Tao Donglai patted Luo Shengdong on the shoulder and said, "You know I always keep my word!"

Luo Shengdong hurriedly lowered his head and replied: "President Tao will do what he says, and I deeply admire it. Then please make plans after returning to Yazhou!"

"Don't worry, take your time, anyway, we won't know until next year at the soonest." Tao Donglai said with a smile on his face, "As long as you cooperate with us, the benefits in the future will not only benefit Zhizhou and Mr. Qian."

It took half a day for the fleet to circumvent Yalong Bay and slowly sail into the gorge where Iron Furnace Port entered the port.Luo Shengdong, as the general of the navy, can be regarded as a professional at any rate, he couldn't help commenting: "I have visited this place many times, but I saw that the waterway here is narrow and curved, so I didn't go in again. I didn't expect you to see it. up here."

Tao Donglai said: "After it is completed and put into operation, the output of salt will exceed that of the Salt Farm Commune you have visited before. Most of the salt produced here will be sold to Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, and even further places. We also You will become the largest salt merchant in the South China Sea, and you, Luo Bazong, will also become the largest salt merchant in the entire Qiongzhou Island."

Luo Shengdong thought to himself that I worked hard and worked hard for Haihan, isn't it just for this day?But there was an extremely respectful expression on his face and he said: "This is all thanks to the support of Mr. Tao and Hai Han's officers!"

Although the waterway extending into the inland harbor is not too long, due to the terrain, the waterway is winding and winding, and the ships can't speed up at all, so it took a full hour for the fleet to finally reach the inland harbor , This is the true Iron Furnace Port.

To the east of Tielu Port is the waterway that enters and exits the harbor, to the south it is adjacent to the Yalong Ridge running from east to west, and to the west is the long and narrow valley leading to the Tiandu Industrial Zone. However, it is still in the state of virgin forest at this time. The channel still needs to spend a lot of time.To the north of the harbor is the key development area of ​​the new salt field, a tidal flat area three times the size of the Shengli Port Salt Field Commune.

The previous expedition team has already built two trestles near the shore for the arrival of the large troops to dock this time.The "Speed" with a shallower draft sailed slowly to the shore before anchoring. Several crew members lifted out the long springboard and took it to the shore from the gangway at the stern.

In terms of the content of the work, the colonization of Iron Furnace Port this time basically repeated the landing mode of Victory Port and Black Earth Port, but after the experience of the previous two times, the entire landing process now appears to be more orderly and full of rules. .

All ships, including the warships in Shuizhai, were numbered one by one before departure. What materials were loaded on each ship, which trestle should be docked to unload the goods in what order, and the various goods unloaded Where to be transported for stacking, detailed planning and arrangements have been made in advance.Therefore, the entire landing site appears busy and orderly, without any sense of chaos.

It was the first time for Luo Shengdong to witness this kind of colonization organized by the Haihan people. He was greatly admired by this orderly scene. After watching it for a while, he couldn't help but turned around and scolded the few relatives standing behind him: " Look at how others do it, and learn from it! If we can have such an orderly loading and unloading arrangement, the time we go around the island can be shortened by at least a day or two!"

After Luo Shengdong finished the training, he saw a few of his cronies drooping their heads and not daring to respond. He couldn't help cursing: "Why are you standing there stupidly? Why don't you learn it? Why don't you all get out and help!"

The residential area planned by the Ministry of Construction is mainly west of the harbor, close to the north and south sides of the valley exit of Tiandu-Tielugang.The initial construction plan was for a residential scale of 500 people. However, after Tao Donglai came back, the Executive Committee decided to put North Vietnamese immigrants here for centralized resettlement, so the original construction plan has been revised. The residential scale of the first phase is changed from The 500 people were directly raised to [-] households, which can accommodate about [-] residents to settle here.

Of course, in the current situation where building materials such as masonry and cement are still relatively tight, the residential area here will still be themed by boat-shaped houses with bamboo and wood structures, and only a small number of warehouses and confidential rooms will use more solid masonry. structure.

The production area is directly arranged on the coastal tidal flats around the harbor. With the daily ebb and flow of the tide, the natural rise of the sea water level in these places can save a lot of lifting and irrigation operations, and the production efficiency will exceed the existing Shengli Harbor. Salt Farm Commune.

A large number of logs and planks are unloaded from the ship and then carried by bullocks to the area that has been divided.Because the size of the house structure is highly uniform, these building materials have been prefabricated in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Construction when they were in Shengli Port. It's ok, this efficiency will be far better than the previous development of Victory Port and Black Earth Port.

For this colonization project, the executive committee had to suspend some existing projects, and nearly 2000 laborers were transported from Shengli Port.They will spend nearly half a month here to build two large villages in the north and south that can accommodate [-] people.The construction of the production area here will be carried out in the way of construction and production, which is expected to last for a long time.This is also impossible. After all, the Salt Farm Commune in Shengli Port still has a large area that has not yet completed the renovation and expansion project. The production area on the Iron Furnace Port probably can only rely on the self-reliance of the members here to build.

An hour after arriving at the landing site, the first batch of docked ships had finished unloading their cargo and began to turn around and head back.The amount of construction materials transported to Iron Furnace Port this time is relatively large, and the existing ships alone cannot pull them all in one trip, at least two trips are required.There are thousands of standard load-bearing beams and columns needed to build a boat house. Most of the ships used this time are small in tonnage. Many of the longer columns cannot be packed into the cabin and can only be stacked on the deck. , so the carrying capacity is extremely limited.

Due to the extremely tight arrangement of the entire landing and unloading process, the workers could only eat lunch in batches.However, the Executive Committee has always had a preferential treatment policy for hard work, and this time is no exception. The laborers who participated in the action can eat meat.

Among the time-traveling crowd, the most desperate ones are undoubtedly the people from the Ministry of Construction.If the Ministry of Shipping played the leading role when we came here, then after arriving here, the protagonists will become these people.Liu Shanxia directed the whole morning on the bank with a metal microphone, and his voice was already hoarse during lunch, but after planing two bowls of dry rice, he wiped his mouth with the bowl and went to the construction site again.

After Luo Shengdong sent all his subordinates and cronies to the construction site, he kept watching with cold eyes.Although it was not the first time he saw such a large-scale labor situation, he still felt very shocked.This is not a feeling that the strength of the working people is enough to open up the world, but that these Haihan people are obviously capable and can be pampered and pampered to be a master, but on such an occasion, almost everyone is on the stage with their sleeves rolled up. The work many people do is not much easier than those laborers.He really didn't understand what was going on in these Haihan people's minds, and why they had to do these clumsy things by themselves.

Taking advantage of Tao Donglai's chance to come down from the construction site to drink water, Luo Shengdong asked him this question that had been bothering him for a long time.After Tao Donglai listened, he laughed and said: "The reason why we do these things is not because we are diligent, nor because we are so cheap, it is purely to speed up our development. What we are doing now The more you have, the sooner you will be able to sit down and enjoy the blessings."

Luo Shengdong looked puzzled, and still didn't quite understand the connection between the two.

Seeing this, Tao Donglai said again: "For example, we estimate that after the construction of the salt field is fully completed, the daily output can reach at least [-] catties. If we achieve this goal one day, we will gain thousands of taels of silver, ten days earlier, tens of thousands of taels, and we can use the extra time in other places to make more money. You say If it were you, would you be motivated enough?"

Luo Shengdong clapped his hands and said, "Mr. Tao, when you talk about money, I immediately understand. When it comes to making money, all of you are experts in making money. Before I met you, I could make 100 taels a year. Money, I will think it is an extravagant hope, and now there are thousands of taels in the account every month, it is like living in a dream."

Tao Donglai smiled and said, "Is it a lot of [-] taels? You follow us well, don't talk about [-] taels in a few more years, you can earn [-] taels a month."

Luo Shengdong said intoxicated: "If that day really comes, I will resign from this military post and become a rich man with peace of mind."

"Why resign? Work hard, we still want to make you a general slowly!" Tao Donglai said with a smile: "You don't want to set the end of your life at the height of General Manager."

(End of this chapter)