1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 2389
When the vast majority of refugees arrived in Fushan County, they were already in a state of nothing. They had neither property nor food. If they still couldn't get help, their survival period would probably have to enter a countdown state.

However, the aid measures provided by Haihan to refugees are not completely charitable. Refugees must abide by the conditions proposed by Haihan before they are allowed to enter the refugee camp and receive food, shelter, medical assistance and other assistance.

They either accept Haihan's immigration arrangement and take a boat to settle overseas, or they have to sign a three-year labor contract with Haihan, selling their labor in exchange for a chance to survive.

For these refugees, they basically do not have the capital to bargain with Haihan officials, and it is difficult to deny their desire for survival.After all, along the way, I have never seen such an orderly place as Fushan County along the way, and there are sufficient supplies here. The chance of survival here is indeed much higher than that of continuing to wander.

Of course, not all refugees will face such an embarrassing situation. As long as they can provide enough silver taels, they can also enjoy the treatment of a superior person in Fushan County.

The Zhen family from Qingzhou Prefecture is one of these special groups.The Zhen family is one of the famous big landlords in Qingzhou. They own thousands of acres of fertile land in the local area. Some members of the family also work in the government. They have properties in Jinan, Qingzhou, and Laizhou. It can be said that they are rich and powerful.

It stands to reason that the war that took place in Jinan Prefecture had a relatively limited direct impact on the Zhen family, but the Zhen family has a son-in-law who is a general in Zhangqiu County, Jinan Prefecture. There are as many as [-] Qing troops in Jinan City, and there are already signs of expanding the attack range.This news made Zhen Lang, the Patriarch of the Zhen family, very disturbed. He believed that Qingzhou Mansion, which is adjacent to Jinan Mansion, would most likely also become the target of the Qing army.

Of course, the Zhen family can also choose to recall their clansmen and defend the Zhenjiazhuang where the family is located, but the risk of doing so is very high, because during the war, what they have to deal with is not only tens of thousands of refugees, but also people who may be killed in the local area. The Qing army, and even the Ming army withdrawn from the warring area will be defeated.With Zhenjiazhuang's regiment training level, I'm afraid it can only deal with the disorderly refugee flow. If it is really going to be targeted by the army, it will only be a matter of time before it is breached.

Zhen Lang believes that if he defends in Zhenjiazhuang, which is adjacent to Jinan Prefecture, it is very likely that he will be involved in the war. Leaving Qingzhou as soon as possible to seek refuge is the best choice to protect the interests of the family.Anyway, there are contracts for land and real estate, and no matter how much war is fought, these lands will not be taken away. After the war subsides, it will not be difficult to go back to organize farming, and it will not be difficult to make a comeback.

In order to ensure the continuation of the Zhen family, Zhen Lang also specially divided the tribe into two groups, one route went south to Yanzhou Prefecture and Jiangsu, and the other route was led by him personally, heading east to Dengzhou Prefecture.

The reason for choosing Terengganu Prefecture is because the Zhen family's industry also has some overlap with the Ma family in Dengzhou, and they have a better understanding of the special situation in Fushan County.Zhen Lang knew that the Haihan army was stationed there, like a country within a country, and the imperial court had nothing to do with it. It could be said that it was the only safe place in Shandong.

As for whether it would be wrong to go to the area controlled by Haihan to escape the war, Zhen Lang thinks there is no need to worry about it. Relying on the resources of Haihan, the Ma family in Dengzhou has become one of the largest merchants in Shandong in just a few years. I have not seen any state government that explicitly prohibits trade with the Ma family.Moreover, the Ma family had invited him several times, hoping that he would take the time to visit Fushan County as a guest, and discuss the cooperation between the two sides in a wider field by the way.

Before Zhen Lang left Qingzhou, he specifically asked a shopkeeper sent by the Ma family to Qingzhou to manage the business, and asked if he could go to Fushan County to stay for a while. Believe it.

The shopkeeper was also a smart person, and immediately said that he happened to be going back to Fushan, and he could go with Zhen Lang as a guide.At the same time, he also told Zhen Lang that as long as he brought enough money, everything would be arranged properly when he arrived in Fushan.

Although Zhen Lang was born as a landlord, he was not the kind of short-sighted land rich man, and he had no objection to this method of collecting money to do things.So Zhen Lang spent two days preparing a convoy, a total of fifty or sixty people, old and young, went to Fushan County with the shopkeeper.

Their journey is much faster than that of refugees who rely solely on two legs. After entering the border of Fushan, they have just learned the news that the Qing army has entered Shandong, and they have not yet begun to organize preparations for receiving refugees. It is not difficult to find a temporary residence in Fushan County.On the second day after the Zhen family arrived in Fushan County, the Ma family arranged for them to book an inn and paid for three months in advance.

Then Zhen Lang witnessed with his own eyes in Fushan County how the Haihan people made arrangements to receive the refugees who were about to swarm in.

In terms of organizational ability and efficiency, Zhen Lang believes that the performance of the Haihan people has undoubtedly far surpassed that of the local government of Ming Dynasty.Although the place where the war broke out is only a few hundred miles away, everything in Fukuyama County appears to be in order. Whether it is building refugee camps or organizing relief supplies such as food and tents, every task is proceeding in an orderly manner.

Zhen Lang also followed Ma Dongqiang to meet the young general who was stationed in Fushan County by Haihan. This General Chen also had a special identity as Ma Dongqiang's son-in-law, so Ma Dongqiang confidently assured him that the Haihan army would definitely It will ensure the safety of Fushan County, no matter whether it is refugees, the Qing army, or other armed organizations, it is impossible to cause chaos in Fushan County.

However, Zhen Lang was not surprised by Haihan's intention to transfer refugees overseas for resettlement. He had heard rumors that people from the Denglei area fled to the south and then took a boat to the sea to join Haihan. Obviously, Haihan's demand for population should not be much worse than that of the evil neighbors in the north of Daming.Fortunately, Haihan will not use force to snatch from Daming, but will take advantage of the civil strife in Ming to receive war refugees, and then send these refugees overseas for resettlement.Although doing so was not very kind to Daming, and it was somewhat like taking advantage of the fire, but at least it gave the refugees a chance to survive.

And from Zhen Lang's point of view, keeping these refugees alive is only one of them. If the refugees cannot receive timely assistance, once these people are cornered, rebellion and chaos are almost the only way out.At that time, even if the Qing army retreats from Shandong, there will be civil uprisings in the local area, and the harm that will be caused will inevitably be not small.From this point of view, Haihan's approach is actually conducive to the stability of Shandong.

Of course, the excitement was not in vain. Haihan soon approached Zhen Lang, claiming that he was currently raising food for the relief of refugees, and wanted to know if he could give some help.Zhen Lang knew what this meant, so he donated 1000 taels of silver. ,

However, the money was not donated in vain. The next day, the Haihan people nailed a shield-shaped bronze plaque on the gate of the inn under the Zhen family. Under the protection of luck, manpower will be stationed here later.And this Golden Shield Escort is a militia armed with the nature of Haihan's official, and the objects protected here are basically Haihan's official properties, which is equivalent to giving them a talisman.

It's hard to say whether it's worth it or not for 1000 taels of silver to buy a special treatment, but in this period of war, it's always a good thing to have an extra security measure.Although Zhen Lang felt sorry for the silver at the beginning, but he was able to get this special return, which made him feel that he didn't completely throw the money into the water.

Zhen Lang has Zhen Lang's ideas, but Hai Han has his own schemes.Let these rich gentry and dignitaries who took refuge in Fushan County donate money and food, and by the way, they can roughly classify the strength of these people, and they will provide different treatment according to their level in the future. The protection of deploying golden shields is one of them one.Of course, this kind of protection is only a symbolic measure, and the main purpose is to buy people's hearts.

After living in Fushan County for half a month, Zhen Lang realized that he had chosen the right place to come here. Except that many places were under military control and could not move around freely, other aspects of life were similar to those in Zhenjiazhuang.In particular, the food supply was not as tight as he had worried about before he came here. As long as he was willing to spend money, he could get it, whether it was poultry or seafood, and even fruits from the south.

And the refugees who continuously entered Fushan County were taken in the refugee camps immediately, which did not have much impact on the business district near Majiazhuang and the daily operation of Zhifu Port. The operational ability of the Han people has a new understanding.

On this day, some wealthy people temporarily living in Fushan County received an invitation from Chen Yixin to go to Zhifu Port to witness the first batch of Shandong refugees who were about to be sent overseas for resettlement.

Chen Yixin openly invited these wealthy people to visit the departure ceremony, of course not because they have nothing to do. He hopes that through this method, these upper-middle-class figures in Ming society can learn more about Haihan’s immigration methods, and by the way, he also shows Check out Haihan's sea transportation capacity, so that they can have more confidence in the future cooperation between the two parties in cross-border trade.

Due to military control, Zhen Lang and others who were invited all entered Zhifu Port in horse-drawn carriages provided by the military.When they got out of the car, they found that the pier here was already full of dense crowds. Judging from their behavior, they should all be refugees who had recently taken in.There are at least hundreds of heavily armed Haihan Army soldiers on the periphery of the crowd. Under their surveillance, the pier is silent, and there are no refugees even whispering to each other. It can be seen that their experience in the refugee camp has played its due role. role.

Dozens of sailboats were docked at the pier, which seemed to be used to transport these refugees away.However, boarding has not yet started, obviously waiting for the order from the big shot.

Chen Yixin rode a horse and came to the dock under the guard of a group of cavalry.All the invited people had already seen General Haihan, and when they saw him coming, they all bowed their heads to show their respect.

After Chen Yixin got off his horse, he cupped his hands at the crowd and said, "I would like to trouble everyone to be here today to witness that all the people sent away today voluntarily accepted our country's arrangement to take a boat to settle overseas."

Immediately, someone who reacted quickly responded: "General Chen's bodhisattva's heart, let these common people have a way of life, it is really admirable!"

Another person was not to be outdone and said, "If it hadn't been for General Chen's action, I'm afraid Fushan County would have been starved and killed. These people are really lucky to be rescued by your country!"

Zhen Lang was thinking about how to say something different, but Chen Yixin said again: "Everyone, you are welcome! The money and rations for the relief of refugees are also part of the thoughts of everyone present. This is not the work of someone Chen. , but the result of everyone's concerted efforts. Chen has nothing to repay, but can only try his best to ensure the safety of everyone during their temporary stay in Fushan County. In addition, if you encounter any problems that cannot be solved in the future, you can also come to Fushan County for help at any time. "

At present, people even claimed to praise "General Chen's benevolence and righteousness". When they donated money, they didn't think about making a false name for themselves, they just thought it was spending money to buy themselves peace.But what Chen Yixin said was that he gave them a share of the credit for helping the refugees, which made people feel very comfortable. Who wouldn't want to have a good reputation as a good man?

"I would like to say a few words before these refugees depart, and I ask you to wait a moment."

After Chen Yixin finished speaking, he took a tin horn from the side, stood on the temporary high platform, and said loudly to the people on the pier: "Everyone, you will go to sea today and leave here, and go to the new home arranged for you by our country. You will get everything you need to start a new life, you don’t have to worry about hunger or war, your life will be well guaranteed, and your descendants will have the opportunity to be educated, and you don’t need to worry about them dying because there is not enough food. Died!"

"I know that many of you are reluctant to leave your homeland. I am here to tell you that you will have the opportunity to come back here in the future, just like the people you met in the refugee camp who went to Haihan country a few years earlier than you. My compatriots, they can go back to Shandong, and you will be the same in the future. So don’t worry about it, maybe after two or three years, some of you will return to your hometown with great glory!”

Although what Chen Yixin said is indeed true, it is not complete. These people who immigrated from Shandong and returned here either worked for the government, or joined the army like Sun Zhen. back.But as long as these refugees can be given some hope of returning to their homeland, the resistance when they leave here will be much reduced.

(End of this chapter)