1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 745 Immigration Policy
Of course, this journey is not a new immigrant who has just arrived for a month, but a naturalized employee of the Immigration Affairs Department under the Ministry of Civil Affairs.It is true that he was born in Shandong, but he arrived in Hainan Island a year before the Denglai Rebellion broke out.The reason is naturally not because of the war, but because of the wounding case committed in his hometown, and he was exiled to Yazhou to serve hard labor.When the Shilu riot broke out in September of the first year, Cheng Lu was working in the mine, and had already become a foreman in the hard labor camp.When the accident happened, he wisely chose to stay instead of fleeing into the mountains with the mob. This decision gave him a chance to be reborn after the riot subsided.

Cheng Lu was clever and eloquent, and he was born in the north, so after he obtained naturalization, he was recruited by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and assigned to an immigration camp, responsible for publicizing the immigrants from the north.Before the Penghu Immigration Base was put into operation, the Department of Immigration Affairs transferred him from Sanya and took up a management position here as a "new immigrant".

The place where Cheng Lu stayed the longest under Hai Han's rule was the hard labor camp and the immigration camp, so he had a good understanding of the mentality of these new immigrants who had just arrived.To make these newcomers feel at ease as soon as possible and be used by Haihan, the most effective way is to let them have a rough understanding of Haihan's strength and build up confidence in Haihan, the "new owner".

"The chiefs of Haihan have a saying that is often on the lips, that is, there is food in hand, and there is no panic in the heart. Just think about it, the camp on Baisha Island alone has recruited nearly ten thousand people from the north. Consuming a thousand catties of food, if the family has no production, how many days can it last?" Cheng Lu explained to the newcomers unhurriedly: "On the nearby Penghu Island, there are [-] mu of fertile land that has already begun to be cultivated. This year Although the season for planting rice has passed, a lot of other food has been planted. Qiongzhou Island has a radius of [-] miles, how many people do you think will be enough to cultivate the cultivated land? How many people can you feed by then?"

"Then the masters of Haihan made their fortunes by farming? This circle of land is [-] mu, and their style is similar to that of my relatives and relatives of the emperor of Ming Dynasty." Some people were not only shocked.

From the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the royal family began to directly enclose land and directly manage the farmland. The grain and property earned were managed by special eunuchs in charge of the village and included in the materials and funds allocated by the court. "History of the Ming Dynasty Shihuo Zhi" records, "Xianzong succeeded to the throne and confiscated Cao Jixiang's status as a public farmland, and the name of Huangzhuang began from here."Shuntian, Baoding, Hejian and other prefectures in Northern Zhili had a large number of fields under the name of Huangzhuang. By the time of Zhengde, Huangzhuang had an area of ​​more than 300 million mu, and a large number of private fields were encircled by the royal family. The grievances caused are too numerous to enumerate.

Cheng Lu has received relevant publicity training, so he naturally would not agree with such a point of view, he shook his head and retorted: "Haihan's farm is not the same as Daming's Huangzhuang, and ordinary people can have the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of Huangzhuang. A tiny bit? And the output of this Haihan farm is all used on the people under Haihan's rule."

Seeing everyone's unbelieving expressions, Cheng Lu pointed to the porcelain bowl on the table and said, "Brothers, Haihan paid for the board, lodging and shipping all the way here from Shandong. Food, clothing, housing and transportation are all borne by Haihan, where does the money come from? Isn’t it through farming and working? The so-called take it from the people and use it for the people, that’s what it is.”

Someone said again: "Then can we reclaim the cultivated land by ourselves and pay Haihan for food?"

Cheng Lu replied: "The land under Haihan's rule belongs to the Haihan executive committee, and private individuals can cultivate it by themselves, but they will not get the ownership of the land, and if they want to cultivate the land by themselves, they will not get it." Food and shelter. In the situation of the brothers, it is best to obey the distribution obediently first. After a year or two to stabilize, it is not too late to make other plans. When you get the Haihan naturalization permit, then That's the real beginning."

"If you have entered the Haihan nationality, then you are not from the Ming Dynasty?"

"Da Ming can't even give you enough food to live on, so what's the use of keeping it? From the day you board the ship, you'll be eating Hai Han food!" Cheng Lu reminded: "You are willing to be Daming who starved to death. People, still want to live a good life?"

No need to ask carefully, everyone's answer is naturally the same.Many people thought in their hearts that at this time, they should make a living for the sake of making a living, and when there is a turning point in the future, it will not be too late to find a chance to return to Daming.Cheng Lu can naturally guess what these people think, because he did the same when he was naturalized, but after staying for a while, he can naturally compare the pros and cons of the two social systems.Especially after slowly getting to know Hai Han's true strength, there are really very few people who are willing to give up their Hai Han nationality and restore their status as citizens of Ming Dynasty.When these people stay under Haihan's rule for a few more months, most of them will naturally make the same choice as themselves, and maybe they will desperately earn their performance in order to be naturalized as soon as possible.As for the very few stubborn people, places like the Shilu Mine are the best places to go.

Cheng Lu continued to introduce: "As long as you become a Haihan nationality, you can get more remuneration whether it is working or farming. If you want to get the chance to be promoted to be a foreman, you must be naturalized first. In addition, family members must Settled under the rule of Haihan, in the future, children will go to school, and they will ask for medical treatment. Only when they are Haihan citizens can they get preferential treatment. After you have stayed for a few months, you will naturally rush to naturalize. And this naturalization Opportunities are not always available, nor are they available to everyone, the number of places is limited, and only those who perform well can get it."

These aspects that Cheng Lu said are closely related to the lives of immigrants, so everyone naturally listened carefully.Someone asked after listening, "Cheng Guanshi, what you mean, I want to be naturalized, so it depends on the face of the Haihan people?"

Cheng Lu responded: "No matter how rich the Haihan people are, they can't help the Ming court to support the people in vain, can they? They give food, housing and wages, so it's reasonable to pick and choose people. After all, if you If you are not naturalized, how can Haihan people trust you?"

"Cheng Guanshi has only been here for a month, and he is already naturalized?" Someone asked Cheng Lu's previous self-introduction.

Cheng Lu had already thought up the formula, and upon hearing this, he smiled slightly and said, "This is because the chiefs are trustworthy and willing to give you a chance. This kind of treatment is not available to everyone, and it usually takes at least three months to obtain naturalization." qualifications."

"Three months..." Everyone looked at each other, with somewhat unconcealable disappointment in their eyes.

After listening to Cheng Lu's explanation, everyone felt that there was nothing unacceptable about naturalization. Both left and right were working for others, so it was naturally more cost-effective to be a senior wage earner with better pay. In fact, it was nothing more than a disguised contract of prostitution.However, this matter has to be delayed for several months, and it may not be successful. This is indeed unexpected. It seems that the Haihan people are indeed quite different from ordinary landlords.

"There is also a quick way!" Seeing the expressions of these people, Cheng Lu naturally guessed what they were thinking, and said immediately: "The Haihan people have their own private army, called the Haihan Militia. New immigrants only need to If you sign up to join the army and successfully pass the assessment, then you will be directly naturalized."

When Cheng Lu said this, he glanced at the outstanding Sun Zhen: "This little brother's body, it must be no problem to eat military food!"

Sun Zhenzhi replied in a daze: "But I only know how to farm and take care of the crops, and I don't know how to kill people and fight wars."

Cheng Lu laughed and said: "No, you can learn, and this militia can choose to retire after three years of military service, and it's okay to come back to farm again. At that time, at least it will be a steward, and you don't need to start from a low-level laborer. The Haihan militia is considered a second-level laborer when they enlist in the army, and their salary is higher than that of farming. If there is any disadvantage, the training is difficult, but they are not as leisurely as the soldiers of Ming Dynasty."

Immediately, someone asked what was going on with this junior worker, and Cheng Lu had to briefly explain Haihan's labor point grading system again.And this undoubtedly opened the door to a new world for the new immigrants. They never thought that there is such a way to do long-term work for the landlord, and it sounds like there is also an upward channel for promotion. Ordinary workers can step by step. It is not impossible to be promoted to the position of foreman, captain, senior manager or even higher, and to become an official in the government office of the Haihan people. These things were unimaginable in their original social environment.

After listening to Cheng Lu's introduction, everyone calculated in their hearts how long it would take to reach Cheng Lu's current position if they started as junior laborers.But when I think about it, the labor points will not start to be calculated until after naturalization, which makes people feel a little discouraged.

"Cheng Guanshi, where is the soldier registration, please take me there later!" Everyone was still thinking about it, but they heard that Sun Zhen had already made up his mind.

Cheng Lu sized Sun Zhen up and down, nodded and said, "Okay! After lunch, I'll take you to sign up!"

Cheng Lu stayed in Sun Zhen's dormitory for nearly an hour before leaving. The second brigade under his jurisdiction was assigned a hundred new immigrants, and each ten-person team had to have several cadres in charge of the team complete the conversation work like this. .Looking back, it is estimated that the current accommodation will have to be adjusted again, and some old immigrants will be arranged to live in together as the head of the dormitory, so as to guide these newcomers to adapt to the environment.

At noon, a bell rang, and everyone took their bowls and chopsticks and went out. Seeing that everyone outside was heading in one direction, they followed silently.After walking for a while, I saw several cauldrons lined up under a bamboo shed, and the people who arrived first had already formed several columns, queuing up to receive food.Everyone also knew that queuing is the rule of Haihan people, as long as there are more than three people in the queue, they must queue up, and they also silently stood at the end of the line.

The first meal in Haihan was not rich, but the portion was good. Each person received a big steamed bun and a bowl of vegetable porridge with dried salted fish.The staff who shuttled between the queues to maintain order kept repeating loudly with a tin horn: "After getting the food, go back to your own residence, don't stop here and block the road!"

After Sun Zhen received the food, he could hardly find his own place. Fortunately, there was a careful fellow in the same dormitory, who said that there was a number plate of "Bing Seventeen" hanging outside the dormitory door.So everyone quickly found the dormitory of "C character column", and then successfully found their own residence.At this time, a row of men were squatting under the eaves outside each dormitory, eating big mouthfuls, and the scene was rather novel.

After eating, everyone took their bowls and chopsticks to the sink in the dormitory area to line up to wash the tableware.There is an artesian well here, which supplies domestic water for all dormitories of the Second Brigade.

After everyone returned to the dormitory to rest for a while, Cheng Lu came again. Along with him was a man in gray clothes and gray trousers. He was wearing a short-brimmed cloth cap with a short brim , and a firecracker more than a foot long was stuck in his waist.Everyone had seen similar outfits on the pier, and knew that this was the officer of the Haihan Militia, so they all stood up immediately.

"Second Lieutenant Tang, this is the little brother who wants to enlist in the army." Cheng Lu flipped through the immigration registration book in his hand and said, "Number 19, name is Sun Zhen, from Dengzhou, Shandong. [-] years old, no local family."

The officer known as Second Lieutenant Tang sized Sun Zhen up, nodded and said, "He's in good shape! Are you the one who wants to report to the militia to join the army?"

Sun Zhen nodded and said, "I want to be naturalized early!"

Second Lieutenant Tang smiled and said, "Okay, as long as you can endure hardship, naturalization will only take a few days."

"I can endure hardship!" Sun Zhen immediately responded.

"Then take your things and follow me!" Second Lieutenant Tang looked at the rest of the people before turning his head and leaving. Cheng Lu winked at Sun Zhen and followed closely behind.

Sun Zhen didn't have any personal belongings at all, so after thinking about it, he put away the new set of clothes on the bed, bedroll and pillows, and carried him out of the house.Lieutenant Tang laughed dumbfounded when he saw it and said, "You don't need to bring these things, they will be distributed in the army."

Sun Zhen blushed, went back to the house and put down all his things, and came out empty-handed: "I don't have anything else."

Sun Zhen is not the only new immigrant who intends to become naturalized as soon as possible by joining the army. The lecture in the morning has obviously achieved some results. Sun Zhen followed the two of them around the camp and recruited more than a dozen people one after another. .Sun Zhen still had an impression of the faces of many of them, and they should all be this group of refugees who boarded the ship from Haizhou.

After searching for applicants, Second Lieutenant Tang led these people out of the immigration camp and walked south to the seaside pier.Here Sun Zhen found two other teams led by other Haihan officers, among whom there were many familiar faces.Adding up the three teams, there are as many as four to fifty people, and almost all of them are young and strong men.It seems that these people, like myself, are planning to take the shortcut of joining the army.Soon a two-hundred-meter Guangzhou ship arrived at sea, and after landing, the officers began to invite everyone to board the ship.

(End of this chapter)