1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 713 New Immigrants from the South China Sea

You Yihan said sternly: "We really can't see what will happen ten or twenty years later, but it is definitely not wrong to make plans early. Xiao Liang, if you have plans to start a family, I can help you pay attention. After all You soldiers don’t have so many opportunities to contact the outside world, but I have met a lot of maritime merchants from Fuzhou and Guangxi provinces here, and many of them are interested in establishing a relationship with our Haihan.”

Xiao Liang smiled and said, "Director You, you are going to change your career to start a marriage agency!"

You Yihan replied: "This is also for the benefit of everyone! After all, there are so many single men in our circle, and there are only a few single women. There must be insufficient internal resources. The executive committee has always advocated the introduction of external resources, and we are also responding Call from the superior!"

"Although the executive committee advocates, there are still some requirements for status in this kind of thing, right?" Xiao Liang was faintly moved by You Yihan's persuasion.He was not yet 25 years old when he participated in the time-traveling operation. He had been serving in the militia for the past few years, but he hadn't given much thought to starting a family.Now that five years have passed, he is nearly thirty years old, and starting a family should indeed be on his personal agenda.

You Yihan put down his chopsticks, wiped the oil stains from the corners of his mouth with a napkin, and then replied, "You are asking the right person. During the fifth anniversary, the executive committee had passed a new policy on household registration, and those who were naturalized through marriage The regulations are more specific than in previous years."

"Tightened?"

"It's not very strict, in fact, as long as the other party's immediate family members don't have serving Ming officials." You Yihan winked and said, "You should understand what the executive committee means."

Xiao Liang nodded silently. Although Haihan had relatively close contacts with the Ming government in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces, they were basically in the name of public to public, and there was no such thing as marriage or sworn relationship. Case.This is also a red line drawn by the executive committee, in order to avoid as far as possible that some of the people who crossed the line betrayed Haihan's collective interests intentionally or unintentionally because of personal relationships.

It is not uncommon for people to marry the citizens of Ming Dynasty at present, but no one has crossed this red line, and the re-examination of the naturalization policy by the Executive Committee this year is equivalent to making a decision on this rule that everyone tacitly agrees to. official explanation.For the special status of a soldier, the implementation of this rule will only be stricter.In a situation like Xiao Liang, if you want to marry a Daming woman and start a family, you must first report to the higher authorities, and the person you want to marry must first pass the identity review of the Ministry of Security.

Xiao Liang was still waiting to ask a few more questions, but at this time, a subordinate came in and reported that hundreds of immigrants from Huizhou had just arrived at the Causeway Bay Wharf. After hearing this, You Yihan put down his chopsticks and went out.In the past two years, the situation in Guangdong has gradually calmed down. The number of immigrants who voluntarily moved to Haihan is not as good as it was a few years ago. It is not uncommon for hundreds of immigrants to come all at once. Of course, You Yihan has to come forward and ask .

In the past few years, Haihan often had to consider how to transport many immigrants back to Hainan Island for resettlement, but in the past two years, with the end of the Annan Civil War, the suppression of bandits in Fuguang and Guangxi provinces has progressed smoothly. The two main immigrants The places of origin are gradually calming down, and the number of people who are willing to voluntarily give up their current lives and settle in Hainan Island is also decreasing year by year.Judging from the executive committee's plan for Hainan Island, there will still be a considerable shortage of labor force in the next few years, and it may even affect the development process of some areas. The main reason for the introduction of war refugees in the northern area of ​​Ming Dynasty.

It is indeed a good idea to introduce immigrants from the Central Plains, but due to the long distance and complicated local conditions, it is difficult to predict the effect of the implementation.Of course, the Executive Committee did not intend to hang on a tree, so apart from the Central Plains, the Executive Committee is also trying to obtain labor from other places.

On May 5, the Annbuna Islands in the South China Sea.

It took Roger and his subordinates more than half a month to rush back here from Penghu.He took over the management of the Abona Islands from Mu Xiabai in August last year, and spent half a year building various fortifications on the island to further strengthen Haihan's defense capabilities on the island.By the beginning of 1632, the situation in the Amberna Islands had eased, thanks to a peace treaty signed with the Dutch last October.And Roger was also able to lead the naval fleet under his command to go north to Fujian after receiving the order from the Military Commission at the end of March, and participated in the Battle of Penghu.

Compared with his colleagues in the army, Roger was lucky. In the two naval battles on the way from Kinmen Island to Penghu, he sank and damaged many pirate ships, but only one warship on his side needed to be repaired in the dock after the battle.In the second day's pursuit of victory, Roger's fleet made another contribution by sinking three pirate ships and capturing two pirate ships.Such a long-distance march with a round-trip voyage of more than 3000 nautical miles was not in vain.

Originally, there should be a short vacation after being honored with military exploits, but because the location of the Abunna Islands is far away, and the Military Commission, which is short on manpower, has almost sent all its capable officers to Fujian to participate in the war, and there are no other reserve personnel to be sent to the local area for a while. , so Roger could only give up his vacation and hurried back to his station in the South China Sea.After all, the strategic value of the Annbuna Islands is quite special. Although the Dutch have softened, they may not let go of their coveting of the local area.To hand over the Abunar Islands to the management of the naturalized people for a long time, not to mention the executive committee, even Roger himself is somewhat uneasy.

When Luo Jie returned to Port Ambuna, he went directly to the Port Affairs Center. Li Dagui came in with a stack of documents to report before his butt was warmed up.

Li Dagui had been a spy on the island for a long time before. After Haihan took over here, Li Dagui was retained because he was familiar with the local situation, and his department was also transferred from the Ministry of Security to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. In charge of civil affairs and trade affairs.

"Boss Luo, this is the registration information of the ships entering and leaving the port recently." Li Dagui put the notebook in front of Roger, and then explained: "During the more than 60 days of the chief's trip, the ships that docked in the local area, except the ships belonging to Haihan In addition, there are 37 ships from the Ming Dynasty, [-] from Portugal, [-] from the Netherlands, [-] from Annan, [-] from Champa, [-] from Persia, and [-] from Siam..."

Roger quickly scanned the information and saw that there were no obvious mistakes, so he nodded and asked, "Didn't the Dutch cause trouble here?"

"According to the command of the chief before he left, the Dutch ships have restricted the number of people disembarking and the scope of activities during their berthing here. In addition, the militia army has always maintained vigilance, so there is no violation of the rules." Li Dagui replied.

"Be honest with them!" Roger was relieved when he heard this answer.When he went to Fujian to participate in the war, what worried him the most was whether the Port of Ambuna could handle the Dutch merchant ships berthing here without a family in charge.However, judging from Li Dagui's reply, there should be no major problems.While the Dutch may be unhappy with the restrictions they have been subjected to during this stop, who are they to lose?If you want to get better courtesy, you still have to rely on your strength to speak.

"How is the progress in other aspects?" Roger continued to ask.

Li Dagui immediately opened another book and explained to Roger: "Last month, the Ministry of Agriculture sent people to guide the local people to open up wasteland in the inland mountains to plant sugar cane, tea trees, coffee trees, oil palms, rubber trees and other crops. More than [-] mu have been planted, and land reclamation is still in progress, and the area of ​​the plantation can increase by about [-] mu every day."

Roger couldn't help asking in surprise when he heard this: "Are there so many laborers on the island to open up wasteland?"

Li Dagui responded: "During the time Chief Luo left, the Portuguese and the Dutch brought in a lot of Kunlun slaves, and the labor force is enough."

Kunlun slaves generally refer to the darker-skinned indigenous people in Southeast Asia, as well as black people from Africa.Ever since Haihan established diplomatic relations with Portugal, the Portuguese have been trafficking these foreign slaves to Haihan at the request of Haihan, but the scale is not very large.Considering the issue of ethnicity, the Executive Committee did not introduce a large number of black slaves in Hainan Island. Most of the bought black slaves were placed in Annan's overseas territories as laborers.

Roger also knew about this, but Li Dagui's words still surprised him a little: "The Dutch are also trafficking black people to us?"

"Exactly, and the price is [-]% lower than that of the Portuguese." Li Dagui explained: "I have consulted the executive committee for instructions, and the chiefs mean that they can buy them at their discretion to supplement the shortage of local labor."

Because of the remoteness of the Ambuna Islands, there are not many people who are willing to immigrate here. Even though the Ministry of Civil Affairs has issued conditions including land distribution and naturalization preferences, not many immigrants have been attracted.The Executive Committee is also counting on the development of the Abunar Islands to recover the previous investment. Naturally, it hopes that there will be more labor on the island and the development process will be faster.Under the application of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Commerce, Ambuna Island was specially approved as a pilot area for trade with the Dutch.

In the list of goods that the Dutch can provide, there are not many things that Haihan really needs. Most of the goods are also capable of being produced in Hainan Island, and the production scale of some things even far exceeds that of the Dutch.After looking at it, Haihan finally chose to introduce the labor force as the main part of the transaction.

These Kunlun slaves who were sold here from overseas are much easier to resettle than immigrants. As long as they have a house that can shelter them from the wind and rain, and food that can fill their stomachs, it is enough for them to work.Therefore, although it needs to be purchased with money, the cost of actual use is much lower than that of immigrants.When Roger left the Abona Islands, the Portuguese and the Dutch had already sent more than 1000 Kunlun slaves, and as soon as these people arrived in the local area, they were immediately used as the main labor force for plantation reclamation.

"More than 1000?" Roger was taken aback again when he heard the number. He didn't expect that the population on the island would change so much after he left for about two months.

"According to the contract signed by the Ministry of Commerce and these two, at least [-] Kunlun slaves will arrive on the island this year." Li Dagui introduced: "If Chief Luo is interested, I can lead the way to the plantation to see these Kunlun slaves." slave labor."

"Then go and have a look." Roger really wanted to see how well the Guihuamin cadres were doing with the pioneering work assigned by the executive committee during the time he was not on the island.

Li Dagui owed his lower body and went out to make preparations.Roger got up and put on his riding boots, put the pistol into the holster around his waist, and put on the Yankee baseball cap that never left his body. At this time, Li Dagui had his servants prepare the horses and wait outside.

Due to limited conditions on Ambuna Island, only the main road from the port to the town has been repaired a little bit decently. After leaving the town, it is almost all wilderness trails. Horseback riding is the most time-saving and labor-saving means of transportation.However, the horses assigned to the island were not the war horses carefully raised by the chief riding instructor Harukon on Hainan Island, but just ordinary pack horses.

Roger's mount is already a "tall horse" specially selected, but the horse's head is not as tall as Roger himself.However, he was not too picky about this, and after getting on his horse, he gave the order to set off.Li Dagui, as the local second in command, is also equipped with a mare as a mount.The other accompanying guards were not so lucky, they could only follow behind on two legs.

Li Dagui led the way. Starting from the port, he walked about five or six miles inland southwest. After passing through a dense forest, he saw plantations cut out of the forest piece by piece on the slope in the distance.

After getting closer, Roger noticed that almost all the laborers in this area were dark-skinned foreigners, and on the outskirts of the plantation, there was a company of militiamen in charge of guarding them.

"How big is the area you're in charge of? How many workers are there? Tell me a little bit about the situation." Roger asked the militia company commander who just appeared in front of him.

After the company commander gave a military salute, he began to explain: "Report to the chief, this is a rubber tree plantation planned to be 870 acres, and it is estimated that [-] to [-] rubber trees will be planted. All the people working here are from last month. The Kunlun slaves brought in total [-] four people."

"How is the labor discipline of these people?" Roger continued to ask.

"Reporting to the chief, the Kunlun slaves also have different origins depending on the region. Those born in the South China Sea tend to be lazy, and they will stop quickly if they don't use beating and scolding methods. The Kunlun slaves from the west of Persia, who are as black as charcoal, are slightly better. , Most of them have very strong physiques, and their working efficiency should be higher." The company commander replied.

Luo Jie turned his head and said to Li Dagui: "Write down what he said just now, and next time when a Kunlun slave sends it, he will make a clear request to the other party."

(End of this chapter)