Water Margin people

Chapter 1441 Liuqiu Island

After finishing his business in Quanzhou, Sun Lei continued his journey by boat.

However, this time he did not go directly south, but sailed eastward. He wanted to go to Ryukyu (Taiwan).

"Ryukyu is actually a pretty good place!"

It only takes half a day at sea to see Ryukyu Island, Sun Lei said with a smile.

"Your Majesty, the environment of these islands is harsh and the natives are not educated. It will take a lot of effort to control them."

Zhu Wu said.

The people of the Central Plains looked down upon Liuqiu and Danzhou, the two islands closest to the Central Plains. They were far away from civilization and culture, sparsely populated, and a barren and malaria-ridden place. The local government found it difficult to be self-sufficient, let alone pay taxes to the court. It was good enough if they did not receive subsidies.

Therefore, Danzhou (Hainan Island) was a common place of exile, and Su Shi was once exiled there.

"Then invest. They are all Qi's territories. What's the point of investing some? I have nothing but a lot of money. If I don't have anything, I will just rob. What do you think, Xiaoqi?"

Sun Lei said nonchalantly, it’s just money, this problem can be easily solved.

"Brother is right. What you want is what we brothers want. There are so many countries overseas. Let's go and rob them. The navy brothers are willing to be the pioneers!"

Ruan Xiaoqi continued.

"Ha ha!"

Sun Lei laughed out loud. This was the naval commander he wanted.

Zhu Wu bowed to Sun Lei to show that he understood.

"This Liuqiu was previously known as Yizhou, and later became Liuqiu. During the Eastern Wu period, there was communication with the Central Plains. The population of the island is unknown, but most of them are coastal residents who have fled, and the rest are some pirates on the sea..."

Zhu Wu introduced the information collected by the Ministry of War.

"We can first build a military port in Liuqiu, where the navy can dock and resupply, and slowly start to develop this big island. The same should be done for Danzhou!"

Sun Lei nodded and said that it was impossible to develop the entire island at once, but with a naval port and a city, it could be developed gradually. The natives on the island had a hard life and would definitely not refuse to embrace civilization.

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhu Wu accepted the order and said that building a naval port was the military's business. Although Liuqiu and Danzhou were desolate, they were located in a key area of ​​the South China Sea. Building a naval port was very important for the navy's external expeditions.

After sailing, they soon arrived at Ryukyu Island, a rather simple port. A large number of natives were looking at the giant ship in horror.

Zhu Wu led his men ashore first, and a person in charge of the port immediately led people to negotiate.

Although Ryukyu is isolated overseas, it is not far from Fujian Road. Many merchant ships pass through here and ships also stop for supplies. The natives rely on this port for their livelihood.

The giant ship did not enter the port but docked outside it. Sun Lei was still a little wary of a group of natives whose background he did not know. After all, this place was not yet considered the territory of Qi State.

"Your Majesty, I negotiated with the natives and they want to see you!"

Zhu Wu took a few skinny and dark natives on board.

“Are you locals?”

Sun Lei looked at the natives and asked.

"I am Wang Zhihe, my ancestors were from the Min Kingdom. When the Min Kingdom fell, our ancestors fled here!"

The leading man spoke.

"Min Kingdom?"

Sun Lei frowned, then he remembered that this was a country near Fujian Road during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It existed for a very short time, only about thirty years.

"How many people are there in this port? Where are they from?"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe and asked.

"There are more than 3,500 people in the port, mainly the survivors of the Min Kingdom and the people who have fled from Fujian in recent years, as well as a small number of natives..." Wang Zhihe hurriedly introduced the port.

Sun Lei now had a general understanding of Liuqiu Island. Almost all of the people on Liuqiu Island were refugees from the southeast coast, but they arrived in different periods of time, and the earliest one could be traced back to the Han Dynasty.

However, those people have lived on this island for too long and have become natives, and their language and culture have been lost.

The population centers on Liuqiu Island are mainly concentrated in several coastal port cities.

"You should know what I want to do this time!"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe and asked. Wang Zhihe was probably in his thirties and very strong, but his skin was very dark, and you could tell at a glance that he was exposed to the scorching sun every day.

However, this man's accent was very standard. It was not the Fujian accent, but the Central Plains accent. This made Sun Lei look at this man with new eyes. Opportunities are reserved for those who are prepared, and the man in front of him was obviously well prepared.

"I know, and I am willing to serve Your Majesty!"

Wang Zhihe quickly knelt down and saluted, a set of Central Plains etiquette that was quite standard.

"Haha, you seem to be very familiar with Zhongyuan?"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe and asked.

"I run and manage this port, and I often deal with merchants from the Central Plains. I have been learning about the Central Plains culture and I know what is happening in the Central Plains. Your Majesty's civil and military achievements are unrivaled in ancient and modern times. It is a blessing for the world. If Ryukyu Island can receive your Majesty's grace, it will be a blessing for the islanders!"

Wang Zhihe spoke quickly, and his words were so standard that even Zhu Wu was a little surprised. These were not words that a barbarian would say at all.

"Good, very good! You are very good!"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe and smiled. He was very satisfied with the man in front of him. This was the key person to open up Ryukyu Island.

"We, Qi, will build a military port in that archipelago, and the navy will be stationed there in the future. You need to transform this place into a civilian port..."

Sun Lei talked about his plan. When passing by the archipelago in the sea, Sun Lei decided to transform it into a military port, and it would be better to separate the army from the civilians.

"The villain obeys the order!"

Wang Zhihe quickly saluted.

"I now confer upon you the title of... um, what is the name of this place of yours?"

Sun Lei hesitated for a moment before realizing that the port in front of him didn't even have a name.

"Uh... this... Da... Takao Port!"

Wang Zhihe blushed and spoke hesitantly. He was well versed in the culture of the Central Plains and naturally knew how ugly the name was. He was obviously going to be given an official title, and it would be much more ugly if he was called the Magistrate of Dagou.

"Takao Harbor? What kind of name is that!"

Sun Lei didn't want to mention the official appointment anymore. It would be a loss of face for him if he was appointed as the magistrate of Dagou.

"You...change your name, it's ugly!"

Sun Lei looked at Wang Zhihe speechlessly.

"Your Majesty, there is a mountain behind Takao Harbor, called Fengshan. Why not call it Fengshan Harbor?"

Wang Zhihe is very smart and has a quick reaction speed. Place names are often named after symbolic objects. Takao Port is just the pronunciation of Fujian Road in the local dialect.

"Fengshan Port? Not bad, sounds good! Then I'll appoint you as the magistrate of Fengshan County."

Sun Lei nodded and said that Fengshan County sounded much better.

Zhu Wu immediately drafted the decree and handed it to Sun Lei after writing it.

Sun Lei smiled, took a pen, wrote his name on it, and used the jade seal.

Wang Zhihe was shaking with excitement at this time, and was in a state of extreme excitement. He thought it was just verbal talk, but he didn't expect that an imperial decree would be issued, and he became a formal official of Qi State overnight.