The sun never sets in America

Chapter 236 Han: Immigration

Hanzhou Jinshan Port...

Several large steam emigrant ships, the newest of which were put into service at the end of last year, were docked in the port.

Not only does it use the most advanced steam technology, it is more powerful and durable than ordinary steam sailboats.

It is a special ship specially developed by Xijing Shipyard for immigrants.

There are several layers of sealing plates and cleverly designed vents on it, which not only ensure the safety of the hull, but also ensure the health of the immigrants.

After all, so many people crammed into a ship for a long time, even if due to steam, the time was shortened from one and a half, or even two months, to one month now. If we keep moving forward at a high speed, it may be less than a month. .

But under such circumstances, when the hull of the ship is basically unchanged, it is of certain importance to improve the lives of immigrants.

After all, with the switch of the Qing Dynasty, immigration has become more difficult than before. Even if there are insiders, but after all, it is such a long distance, so every immigrant seems to be precious.

Because of this, starting from the early Han Dynasty's immigration ships with about 200 people, Han Dynasty has always focused on the safest possible immigration method while ensuring efficiency.

It is completely different from the contemporaries who treated people like piglets.

After all, what Han wanted was healthy citizens, not one-third of the piglets that died when a ship arrived at the port. The difference could be described as a world of difference.

In the words of Wei Changfeng, the new Minister of Immigration of Han Dynasty: "We cannot imitate those European countries in transporting immigrants to their colonies. If we do this, it will be a crime against history, and future generations will scold us. Our immigration work, It must withstand the test of history and make it impossible for people to find fault with it!!”

"We must honor our conscience and let future generations speak of our generation not with ridicule, but with respect!!"

Wei Changfeng's speech at the Ministry of Immigration at the beginning of the eighth year of Longwu.

…………

"Director Luo, this is this batch of immigrants, please sign." Director Huang from the Jinshan Immigration Office took a document and handed it to Director Luo.

Director Luo opened the document in his hand, looked at it carefully, and asked with some confusion: "Why is the number of this batch of immigrants so small? Isn't it said that the number of immigrants is increasing every month? How did they get to us? This Five thousand less per month??" Director Luo didn't understand that among the increasingly popular immigration, for the first time, there was a decrease instead of an increase. In Director Luo's view, this was a very strange thing, maybe This is a signal for certain policy adjustments mentioned above.

"That's right, Director Luo, it said that the immigrants will be divided into batches again. Many immigrants are still on the way or in the Far East, so the number of people this month has decreased..." Director Huang immediately replied to Director Luo.

According to the current immigration strategy of Han State, it is basically to fight once every quarter, and then allocate it to each month.

This is becoming less and less effective as more and more immigrants from Southeast Asia are divided. (The rise of the Han Dynasty caused a large number of Chinese from Southeast Asia to choose to go to the Han Dynasty. In addition, many people immigrated spontaneously. It was easy for conflicts on immigration numbers to disrupt the normal immigration data. Therefore, it is imperative to restructure the immigration strategy. OK, no delay!!)

Director Luo listened to Director Huang's reclassification of the immigration plan, and then asked a more pointed question: "What shall we do then, shall we upgrade or downgrade?"

This sentence awakened Director Huang. It said that it was to develop a more efficient and convenient immigration strategy, but in the final analysis, wasn't it necessary to take this opportunity to adjust internal duties? ?

When the time comes, will they be able to stay in the Qingshui Yamen of the Immigration Department so easily? I'm afraid they will either be transferred or placed elsewhere.

Director Luo seemed to have noticed Director Huang's scruples, and then said: "It says it needs to be changed, but it's not that easy. There are seven to eight hundred people in the entire immigration department, and they have seven or eight hundred mouths. These people are not easy to deal with. There are Very busy!!”

Director Luo's face showed a look of amusement.

Director Huang didn't say anything, he just smiled and expressed his approval. As for what he thought in his heart, that was another matter.

On the pier, the shabby clothes of the immigrants from the Far East formed a sharp contrast with the brightly dressed immigrants from Southeast Asia.

Most of the immigrants from China came from poor families. The only valuable things they had on them were probably the clothes they were given by the Han government when they came, and some toiletries. The rest was really gone.

So much so that even the clothes they were given were treasured by them on the spot, saying they were keeping them for future wear.

God knows what the future is, and what time will be the future? ?

As for the ten taels of silver in the early days, they are long gone now. The current immigrants from Han are mainly spontaneous or organized.

Spontaneity is like those immigrants from Southeast Asia who took the property they earned from Southeast Asia and traveled across the ocean to Han, the legendary Chinese country in America. They hope to live a life free from discrimination and bullying. Of course, if they can When the Han Dynasty becomes rich, the further its business will be, the better it will be.

In addition to these rich people, most Nanyang Chinese have some money in their pockets. After all, their ancestors have worked in Nanyang for so long. Even if they were exploited by the colonists and oppressed by the local indigenous people, they still accumulated a lot of property. .

Of these properties, those that could be sold were brought to the Han State, and those that could not be sold could only be kept and sold slowly in the future.

As for who to sell it to, it is estimated that only the Han merchants in Lanfang would dare to take over at this time.

After all, the relationship between Han and the Netherlands is too delicate now. While the Dutch are worried that Lan Fang under the Han will continue to expand in Southeast Asia and threaten the rule of East India, they are also concerned about the Han behind Lan Fang, or the Pacific Ocean. fleet.

So I've always had a very coy attitude.

The first person to discover this was Lan Fang. In recent times, Lan Fang has been relying on the power of Han to take advantage of the Dutch. Recently, he has made no secret of his ambitions for Borneo, making the Dutch very popular. But In the end, we can only secretly support those countries to fight against Lan Fang.

The Dutch had nothing to do with Lanfang, so they attacked the local Chinese in East India. They encouraged the natives to cause trouble, and they personally found trouble to vent the grievances of the Dutch.

This has also led to the largest wave of immigrants from Southeast Asia in history. According to statistics, in the first three months of this year alone, more than 100,000 Chinese from Southeast Asia came to Han, and this number is still growing. , no decline was seen.

This was also an important factor leading to the reform of the immigration system in Han Dynasty.

But as Director Luo just said, reform is easier said than done! !

.............................................

Xijing Immigration Department Building...

Inside and outside the building, there were officials in official uniforms everywhere, coming in and out.

"Damn it, I've long said that there is no good banquet, and good immigration has become a distribution, saying that it is to reintegrate the immigration plan. I think this is Wei Changfeng's way of retaliating and engaging in personal grudges... …”

As soon as Zhou Xiongjin, director of the Immigration Department, came out, his face immediately turned 180 degrees. He looked full of yin and yang. Minister of Immigration Wei Changfeng, in his mouth, became an immigrant. The greatest disaster in the history of our country.

"Old Zhou, please stop saying a few words. I think this adjustment of the immigration plan and redistribution is not a bad thing. I'm sure it will improve our work efficiency this time!!" The person in charge of immigration statistics Director Wang, on the other hand, approves of Wei Changfeng's reform plan. In his view, the current immigration method, in which you manage one area and I manage another area, and then eventually merge and noisy, will not work at all. In the end, it will have to be changed. , since we have to change it, why not change it now and save the trouble of changing it later! !

"Hmph, it's easy for you to stand and talk. There are only a hundred or ten people in your Statistics Department. Our Immigration Department is responsible for the entire Far East City's immigration. Among them, there are seven or eight division-level officials. What do you want me to do? Is it possible to do it? Is it possible to abolish them all..." Just as Director Wang finished speaking, Director Zhou said indignantly, saying that their Immigration Department had the greatest credit and the most tiring work. Why was it that the unlucky one in the end was... They! !

"My Director Zhou, it's not like Wei Budang has abolished all of them, it's just to transfer them to other departments. Why are you so excited? It's as if it's killing you. I think it's better to obey the arrangements. , after all, no matter what you do, it is all for us, the Han Dynasty!!" (After the chief officials of the Han Dynasty's various ministries entered the cabinet, they were also called ministries)

After that, the director acted as if he didn't understand Director Zhou's words and just comforted Director Zhou.

What seems like comfort is actually education! !

"Hmph!!" Director Zhou heard this and left without looking back, walking very resolutely.

Director Wang looked at Director Zhou's leaving figure and could only say in a slightly mocking tone:

"This rat still has a moving day, let alone a human being!!"

…………    "These people are still opposing??"

Wei Changfeng looked at the reform plan in his hand and asked his secretary Jiang Yun somewhat meaningfully.

"Lord, if you ask me, these guys really don't know how to count. They are still fighting among themselves. They always think about the chair under their butts. They don't even think about where they came from without immigrants. them!!"

Jiang Yun mentioned these opponents with a contemptuous expression on his face.

After Wei Changfeng heard this, he said with emotion: "It's easy for this person to stay in the old ways, but it's hard to change the old and replace with the new!!"

There was a sense of desolation and calmness in Wei Changfeng's tone.

"If you ask me, the key is whether to be old-fashioned or not, whether to renew or not, the key is that people's hearts have changed. If people's hearts have changed, no matter what, it will be difficult to deal with!!" Jiang Yun continued with a mocking tone.

Wei Changfeng just smiled this time without making any comments.

"How was the reform this time??" Wei Changfeng did not dwell too much on those matters in advance, but focused on the reform.

"The current general direction of change is Nanyang and the Far East, both directions, as well as the mainland." Jiang Yun immediately reported to Wei Changfenghui.

"Let's talk about Nanyang first!!" Wei Changfeng stood up and walked to the window. He looked at the clock tower of the Imperial Bank opposite and frowned slightly, as if there was something on his mind.

"The situation in Nanyang is very simple. Basically, an additional immigration department will be dispatched to Lanfang to issue visas and review the local Nanyang immigrants in the future..." Jiang Yun reported directly without even thinking about it.

"How to review??" Wei Changfeng asked without looking back.

"The review will be based on the immigrant's family conditions and whether there is a criminal record." Jiang Yun replied to Wei Changfeng without hesitation.

The reason for the review is that compared with the miserable immigrants from China, the Nanyang immigrants were extremely complicated internally, and there were all kinds of people. In the early days, there were even fugitives who killed several people and fled to Han. In Han, I did a lot of major cases, and later because of this incident, the review of immigrants, especially those of Nanyang immigrants, became stricter.

The review by the Immigration Department just mentioned is actually similar to the visa issuance by the embassy in later generations, and the questions asked are basically very different.

Wei Changfeng stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the bustling Xijing City, listening to the report on the immigration work, and suddenly felt that the future of the big man was in his hands.

That is a feeling that is difficult to express in words.

On the sidelines, Jiang Yun continued to report on plans for immigration reform:

"At present, most of the immigrants from Nanyang to Han are small businessmen. These people carry a lot of cash and the journey is extremely inconvenient. Someone once suggested opening a special route to mail property in Lanfang. I wonder if it is feasible?" Jiang Yun I asked about a very sensitive topic, money.

In the Han Dynasty, only the Ministry of Finance can directly deal with money. Other departments have more or less taboos to avoid being accused of corruption. You know, the current Inspectorate has been under the supervision of Director Li since he took office. , has brought down four or five cabinet ministers one after another, and almost replaced the Han cabinet, not to mention the group of people below.

Under such circumstances, whoever dares to commit a crime against the wind at this juncture will risk his life! !

Wei Changfeng didn't speak for a while, which made Jiang Yun very nervous. It wasn't until the next sentence that he relaxed:

"I will do as you say and send an additional mailing line. I will take the responsibility!!"

Wei Changfeng's words were already very clear.

After Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief, he continued to report: "Nanyang immigrants are mainly private individuals. It is difficult to sort by head of population and arrange immigration dates like those in China. It was very confusing in the early days. Now the plan is to imitate immigrants from China, set up files and register, and wait until they arrive. The boat will sail after the number of people has been met, and the boat fare will be borne by the Nanyang immigrants themselves..."

As the saying goes, immigrants from China are poor, so it is free, but immigrants from Nanyang are rich, so naturally you have to bear more.

In fact, this is not why we use the money of Nanyang immigrants to plug the holes of immigrants from China! !

After Wei Changfeng heard this, he smiled and did not make any answer, obviously acquiescing to this way of complementary wealth.

Jiang Yun, who was on the side, was still reporting the plan: "In addition, we will make unified arrangements for Nanyang immigrants, especially to guide some of them who have a large amount of funds to invest in various industries in our country, including stock market……"

It seems that the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Finance, and even the Ministry of Taxation are working behind the scenes in order to make the most of the funds from Nanyang, so as not to let them sit in the bank and earn interest, idling.

After all, money is most profitable only when it circulates! !

And it can benefit everyone. If the money does not move, even if it is real money, it is just a piece of waste paper and has no use.

Wei Changfeng was well aware of the thoughts of other departments. During these processes, he did not say anything or mention anything, which was actually equivalent to acquiescence.

“The distribution of immigrants from Nanyang is also different from immigrants from China, because they are mainly engaged in business and plantation, so they are mainly guided to immigrate to Hanzhou and Xihai, these two areas, to enter the local rubber planting industry... …”

"As for the lower-class Nanyang immigrants, the conditions are relaxed and they are allowed to settle freely, but they must be in the three provinces of Oregon and the entire northern region..."

This is actually an alternative distribution of northern immigrants. It looks fair on the surface, but no matter how fair it is, in the end, you still have to go to these places, which is the north of Han.

"We must let the immigrants from Southeast Asia know how we are treated in the north." The treatment Wei Changfeng mentioned is actually the land allocation law revised by the Han Dynasty in recent days, which increased the original 100 acres per family to 200 acres, and the corresponding , the original benefits have also been reduced.

"Yes, Wei Butang!!" Jiang Yun immediately agreed.

"As for immigrants from China, the immigration routes will be re-divided into continental and Pacific coasts..."

The so-called continental route is actually the route from the continental shelf to the Americas. This route is the safest, but takes a long time, so it has always been an option for independent immigration. Official immigrants mainly take the Pacific Ocean because there are a large number of supply points.

"In addition to these, the fleet will be divided from small to large, and officials under the original departments will be responsible for the fleet. A responsibility system will be adopted. Whenever there are problems with the immigration and a certain number is reached, the salary of the fleet chief will be demoted. If the circumstances are serious, they will be transferred directly to the Ministry of Punishment..."

When he said this, Jiang Yun secretly glanced at Wei Changfeng's expression and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he had no reaction.

After all, if this kind of thing is not done well, it is indeed easy to offend people.

In the early years, some people were investigated and punished because of a serious immigration accident. However, because the rules were not established for a long time, we had to wait for the incident to be dealt with urgently. It was very troublesome and protracted. The judgment was not good, and it was easy for the subordinates to let people down. People have a sense of luck.

Wei Changfeng obviously understood this truth. He didn't say anything on the surface, but he was very supportive in his heart.

"As for the country, we rely on the original receiving points to unify and integrate them to better coordinate with local work..."

The so-called work is actually how immigrants are distributed. This is a technical job. If it is not done well, it can easily cause dissatisfaction in other places.

There were several conflicts that broke out in the past, but they were all resolved by previous predecessors.

When the report ended, it was already four o'clock in the afternoon. After Wei Changfeng listened, he made a certain range of modifications, then signed it and stamped it with the official seal of the Immigration Department.

This plan, known as immigration reform in later generations, was officially adopted and distributed to various departments and offices at all levels.

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(End of this chapter)