Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Suizhou.

Wang Er was that poor man who was forced to migrate.

His family originally owned six acres of land, which, while not wealthy, was enough to support them.

However, an illness forced Wang Er to mortgage his land.

When he recovered from his illness, the mortgaged farmland was forcibly taken away, leaving his family with only 1.8 mu of land.

Wang Er was furious and went to reason with the people who had forcibly taken his land. He was beaten severely and had to be rescued by his relatives and friends.

Then, to pay for his treatment, he borrowed some more money.

The patriarch of the Tang family, Mr. Tang, somehow managed to collect the debts he had borrowed.

Then, with interest compounding, Wang Er's debts increased dramatically, forcing him to use his land as collateral.

Only then did Wang Er realize that the Tang family had their eyes on his land, and he said angrily:
"That guy surnamed Tang is no good!"

“If we lose our land, we will only be able to work for others or even become vagrants.”

"He's trying to kill us!"

"I'm not done with the Tang family."

Outraged, he went to reason with Master Tang.

But how could a poor man possibly argue with the gentry?

After Tang Qizu produced the loan documents and explained Wang Er's debt.

Even if the villagers sympathized with Wang Er, they couldn't say that Tang Qizu was in the wrong.

Lacking legal knowledge, they were completely unaware of the imperial court's regulations regarding usury.

Moreover, local officials tend to favor the gentry, and few places strictly enforce laws that are unfavorable to them.

It wasn't until the imperial court encouraged immigration and sent propaganda teams to perform plays that they learned from the dramas that no matter how the loan agreement was negotiated, the interest could not exceed the principal.

Wang Er calculated the three taels of silver he had borrowed, plus the sixteen taels of debt he now owed, and was instantly enraged, wanting to reason with them again:
"With a principal of three taels, you can pay at most three taels in interest."

"The guy surnamed Tang is trying to scam me; he's just being unreasonable."

But his wife held him tightly, crying as she said:
"Master, what makes you think you can reason with the Tang family?!"

“They have servants and retainers, and there are people inside the government office.”

"If you get injured again, what will we use to treat you?"

They tried to persuade Wang Er not to do this, but they couldn't argue with the Tang family.

Wang Er was an only child in his generation; after his elder brother Wang Da died young, he had no other brothers. In addition, he was taciturn and had few friends, and his relationship with his relatives was not close.

The last time I saved him, I had already used up a little of our affection.

It's simply impossible for them to reason with Master Tang.

Frustrated, Wang Er went to talk to the propaganda team and learned from them that the debt relief company could help him repay his debts. He immediately went to the county town to find these people.

In his view, things couldn't get any worse, and he couldn't let debt drive him to his death.

The debt collection company was indeed very powerful, and forced Mr. Tang to settle his debts.

However, they also set their sights on Wang Er's land. The debt company claimed that his land was less than two mu (approximately 0.33 acres) and demanded that the imperial court's policy of forced emigration be implemented.

"The imperial court has decreed that all those who have no land, or whose own land is less than two mu, must be relocated and migrated."

“Your family now owns 1.8 acres of land, which falls under the category of immigrants.”

“These lands can be exchanged for ten times the value overseas, and I’ll give you eighteen acres of land.”

"Add to that the fifty acres that immigrants are required to own, and you can have sixty-eight acres of land overseas."

"Just enjoy this! This is the Emperor's grace."

Sixty-eight mu of land is thirty-eight times the current value of one mu and eight fen.

But Wang Er did not want this favor; he only wanted to stay in the Central Plains.

However, having signed the agreement, he had no right to back out.

The debtor company is even more difficult to deal with than Mr. Tang. Once the process begins, debt inspectors dressed in black will come to enforce it.

If Wang Er cooperates honestly, it's fine; if he doesn't, they can forcibly relocate him.

Faced with the menacing sight of the muskets and the accompanying constables, Wang Er finally realized his fear and agreed to cooperate with the relocation.

He shouted:

As the saying goes, "Even a broken home can be worth a fortune."

"Although my family doesn't have much gold or silver, we do have quite a few things."

"You have to bring all of these with you, otherwise you won't be able to buy them overseas."

Debt auditors have seen this kind of thing many times and don't care about his dilapidated house.

For him, moving people away was the real achievement; he couldn't force them to their doom and cause casualties.

Whether it's land sales or immigration expenses, debt companies have a hundred ways to squeeze money out of immigrants.

As long as Wang Er is alive, he will continuously bring money to the debtor company.

So he allowed Wang Er's wife and children to stay, and then bring them over once Wang Er was settled overseas.

If they can't make ends meet after Wang Er leaves, they can work at the orphanage and earn money to support themselves.

This was an arrangement made by Zhu Youjian to reduce resistance to immigration.

The able-bodied men, who were more likely to survive, were allowed to migrate first, followed by women, children, the elderly, and others.

If able-bodied men unfortunately die during the migration, their widows and orphans will be provided for as families of martyrs.

Wang Er benefited from this policy and was able to leave his wife and children behind.

But having finally found a wife, he didn't intend to choose that path—

He worried that if he left, his wife would remarry with the children, and he would lose everything.

So he asked indirectly if he could bring his wife and children along.

The debt inspector who came to enforce the judgment said:
"Bringing it along is fine."

"But you must understand, it's winter now."

“If a child gets sick on the road, there is a good chance they won’t survive.”

Wang Er was now in a dilemma. He was worried that his son would fall ill during the migration, and he was also worried that his wife would remarry if she stayed behind.

After he hesitantly expressed this concern, the debt inspector surnamed Li laughed and said:

"Brother, you just don't understand."

"The imperial court protects military marriages. As long as you have the status of a soldier, anyone who has an affair with your wife is committing rape."

“Rapists are sentenced to death by hanging, so you don’t need to worry at all.”

"If you ask me, you should join the garrison and become a military household. Not only will you have the protection of military marriage, but you'll also be allocated more land."

This is what they have been advocating, hoping that more people will become military households.

No feudal lord would refuse an immigrant willing to become a military household.

If the emperor hadn't been worried about forcing the immigrants to rebel and demanding that they be given a choice, the debt corporation would have sold all the immigrants as military households.

However, there is the Suiyang Guard in Suizhou, so how could Wang Er not know the suffering of the military households?

If he is willing to become a military household, he can go to the Yellow River Central Guard, which is currently recruiting military households.

But he preferred to go overseas rather than become a military householder, shaking his head as he said:

"I can't become a military household!"

“Soldiers are really suffering. They won’t even be able to find a wife in the future.”

Hearing that he couldn't stop talking about his wife, Inspector Li deliberately sneered:

"You'll still be worried about not finding a wife once you go overseas?"

“You can choose any indigenous woman you like.”

"You can have as many as you want, and there are no restrictions on taking concubines."

They talked at length about the benefits of emigrating overseas, and many immigrants who stayed abroad took indigenous women as concubines. These women were both slaves and concubines, and the court encouraged immigrants to take concubines in order to civilize these natives.

Wang Er's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he secretly glanced at his wife.

He had no intention of divorcing his wife, because he knew it would be even harder to find a Han Chinese woman to marry overseas.

However, he was also very tempted to take a native woman as a concubine. He resolved to have many children to help each other and not let his descendants suffer the same mistreatment as he had.

The thought of having 68 acres of land overseas, enough to support multiple children and concubines, lessened Wang Er's aversion to immigration; in fact, he began to look forward to it.

However, he was still unfamiliar with overseas areas and had some concerns, so he asked:

"Brother Li, do you think they can ever come back after going overseas?"

"What if you are bullied? Who can you turn to for justice?"

Inspector Li and Wang Er had been talking for so long that they were getting a little impatient.

He pointed in the direction of Yuan Keli's house and said:
"If you're worried, you can ask Privy Councilor Yuan."

"He's going to be ennobled as a marquis, and it's even said he might be ennobled as a duke."

"You should know the Yuan family's reputation, right? You can go to their fiefdom."

Wang Er was startled when he heard this, never expecting that the Yuan family from his hometown would become dukes and marquises.

It's a pity he had never heard of the Yuan family opening up fiefdoms, otherwise he would have been eager to go—

He would accept being a military household member for the Yuan family, believing that they would not mistreat him.
-
Many others shared Wang Er's ideas, and the sentiment even spread beyond Suizhou.

Yuan Keli's reputation, built up over decades, made him very popular in the countryside.

After noticing this development, Sun Chuanting quickly consulted with Yuan Shu, the Northwest Garrison Commander who had come to help, and suggested that the Yuan family establish their own fiefdom as soon as possible so that they could take this opportunity to recruit enough immigrants.

"A rare opportunity!"

"If you miss this opportunity, it will be difficult for you to recruit people in the future."

“Now the poor and displaced people of Suizhou are going to be relocated. When you open up the province in the future, it will not be as easy as it is here to recruit people from other places.”

Yuan Shu was also aware of this, knowing that his family's reputation was limited to the local area.

In other places, the gentry may have heard of it, but the gentry have many choices and it is impossible for them to become the base of the fiefdom.

In response to Sun Chuanting's persuasion, he said:

“I will go and suggest it to my father.”

"But once the Yuan family opens up the territory, the Northwest Garrison Commander will have to be replaced."

"I don't know if we'll ever see each other again."

Sun Chuanting smiled and shook his head, saying:
"Your Yuan family is the foremost contributor to the restoration of the dynasty, and you will have many more opportunities to come to the capital in the future!"

“Privy Councilor Yuan will retire next year; now is the time to prepare for the establishment of fiefdoms.”

"Many meritorious officials who helped restore the dynasty are watching, and the emperor also hopes that you will choose your fiefdoms as soon as possible."

Yuan Shu nodded, knowing that many of the heroes who had helped restore the dynasty were indeed watching his side.

The choice made by the Yuan family will determine the attitude of many meritorious officials who contributed to the restoration of the dynasty. There will certainly be nobles who are willing to open up vassal states around their fiefdoms, forming a group of fiefdoms to stick together for mutual support.

Upon returning home, Yuan Shu discovered that his father had sold off the land and was preparing to go to the capital. He advised him:

"Our family isn't short of money, why sell our land now?"

"Anyone who didn't know better would think the Yuan family had fallen on hard times and needed to sell land to raise money."

Yuan Keli shook his head and advised his son:
"His Majesty values ​​land the most and has always been very strict in limiting land ownership and the number of slaves."

"Even the founding nobles in the capital who were granted fiefdoms were limited to owning only 1,000 mu of land. How much more so should we?"

"Think about it, if meritorious officials have fiefdoms overseas, but also thousands of acres of land and hundreds of tenant households in the local area, how can the emperor feel at ease?"

Yuan Shu listened to the teachings and exclaimed with delight:

"Does Father mean we should prepare to establish a fiefdom?"

"Have you chosen a location yet?"

Yuan Keli stroked his beard slightly and said:

"We had already chosen Annam."

"Now there's a new option, I wonder if you'd like to go?"

Yuan Shu asked, somewhat puzzled:
"What new options?"

"Where does Father want his child to go?"

Yuan Keli took out a map and pointed to Sumatra, saying:

"This place was originally granted to the Tang and Qin vassal states by the emperor, and it was conquered by the grandson of the Tang king."

"The Qin vassal state has already decided to go, but the Tang vassal state is now facing problems."

Then he shook his head and said:

"This descendant of the Tang Emperor is capable, but he is too reckless and unruly."

"The old Tang king had just passed away, and he had his two uncles beaten to death."

"This is utterly outrageous and reckless!"

He was so angry that he slammed his fist on the table, believing that the grandson of the Tang emperor was too dangerous.

It's not easy for a member of the royal family to produce a capable person, yet he has acted so recklessly.

Those officials who were worried that the vassal states would not obey after the enfeoffment had already called for the death of the Tang prince and the abolition of his status.

The plan to establish a Tang dynasty has now fallen through. The emperor has sent a letter inquiring about how to arrange things for the grandson of the Tang king and asking if he would be willing to establish a vassal state on Sumatra.

Clearly, the emperor did not want to grant Sumen Island entirely to a vassal king, but rather to entrust it to multiple nobles for joint administration.

It is sufficient for Qin Fan to occupy the eastern part of Sumen Island, while the western part of Sumen Island can be distributed to meritorious officials.

After listening to this news, Yuan Shu pondered for a moment and then asked:

Is the land in Sumatra fertile? How does it compare to Annam?

Are the natives there easy to manage?

Yuan Keli held the emperor's letter:
"The land of Sumatra is not fertile, far inferior to that of Annam."

“The local people are also difficult to manage, as many of them adhere to other religions.”

"His Majesty's intention is to have the grandson of the Tang Emperor subdue these heretics and take them to India."

"Sumen should relocate more Han Chinese there and become a vassal state with Han Chinese as the main population."

As he spoke, he said to his son:
"To be honest, this is not a good job."

“Sumen Island is not only difficult to govern, but also has limited development potential.”

"It is still too far from the Ming Dynasty, not nearly as close as Annam."

“If you are unwilling to go, we will choose a fiefdom in Annam.”

Yuan Shu nodded, indicating that he understood.

Sumatra is not a good place compared to Annam, no wonder the emperor let them choose for themselves.

Knowing that his knowledge and abilities were far inferior to his father's, he replied:
"A son listens to his father!"

"Father, which fiefdom do you think we should choose?"

Yuan Keli looked carefully at his son, and realizing he was speaking from the heart, stroked his beard and said:

"If we only look at the immediate situation, then of course we should choose Annam."

However, granting fiefdoms and establishing vassal states is a risky business.

"Whether it is direct rule by the imperial court in the future or the possibility of a local rebellion, the risks to Annam are greater than those to Sumatra."

"For the long-term benefit of the family, I believe we should choose Sumatra."

"The local people there won't cause any major trouble. As long as the Ming Dynasty controls the seas, it can send troops to quell any unrest at any time."

"Moreover, even if the imperial court wanted to directly govern a region, it would prioritize wealthy areas like Annam."

"Only when the entire Southeast Asia was directly administered would impoverished and remote areas like Sumatra be directly governed." (End of Chapter)