Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 21 Chongming Island Settlers (Seeking monthly tickets, recommendations, and support, thank you!)
When Zheng Guohui returned home, he had only a dozen people with him. But when he left, he had dozens of trucks loaded with large and small bags of goods, and his team had grown to more than seventy people.

Among them were more than 30 people entrusted by his mother Zheng Qian, as well as distant relatives, in-laws, old friends, etc. Zheng Guohui simply brought them all with him.

A sheep is driven, and a group of sheep is also driven.

Tongzhou Port Terminal

The farewell scene was quite grand, and many relatives bid farewell with tears. Zheng Guohui and his party boarded three large ships, two of which went directly to Xishan County.

The many young men and local products that accompanied them all went to the Xishan County camp, where they joined the army.

Another large ship carried only Zheng Guohui and more than ten personal soldiers, as well as hundreds of loads of cargo. After entering the Yangtze River, it turned west and headed towards Chongming Island.

Around 2 p.m.

The large ship that Zheng Guohui was on docked at the wooden pier in the river bay of Chongming Island. This pier was quite hidden and was the river channel that turned from the Yangtze River into Linjiang.

Continue walking about three miles along the waterway, and you will see a long wooden trestle bridge inserted into the river bank, shaded by an endless reed marsh, with the silhouettes of houses of varying heights behind it.

Accompanying Zheng Guohui to Chongming Island was his fifth uncle Zheng Shoucheng, and matters related to Chongming Island have always been managed by Zheng Shoucheng.

Fifth uncle Zheng Shoucheng is strong and powerful, and is well versed in managing people. He is the best candidate to manage Chongming Island.

During the busy farming season

Zheng Shoucheng stayed here for a long time, often not returning home for one or two months, until most of the grain harvested in the village was stored in the warehouse and the new season of rice was planted.

Seeing a ship approaching the dock, dozens of Tongzhou militiamen wearing "Yong" uniforms rushed up, holding shining swords and guns in their hands, exuding an elite air.

When Zheng Guohui stood at the bow of the boat, the militiamen immediately knelt down and said, "Greetings, sir."

These militiamen wearing "Tongzhou militia" uniforms are Zheng Guohui's hidden troops. Some of them are older, and some of them miss their hometown, so they withdrew from the Du Biao Camp and returned home.

This part of the army has more than 1800 people, who are mainly responsible for the defense of the docks and earthen cities, and are also responsible for the public security and suppression of various central garrisons. It is an armed force that can be trusted.

After leaving the Du Biao Camp, Zheng Guohui still gave each soldier one tael of silver per month, and double the salary at the end of the year. Each soldier had an annual expenditure of 13 taels of silver, but no rice was given.

Stationed on Chongming Island

These soldiers had no worries about the supply of rice and vegetables, so they could eat as much as they wanted. They could also get 13 taels of silver every year, which was no worse than the treatment of the soldiers in the Du Biao Camp.

This level is enough to support a rural family of four or five people.

Therefore, many soldiers simply brought their families to the island and rented land on it, charging only 30% rent. They could also raise chickens, ducks, and pigs, and only needed to collect taxes according to regulations, which would still provide a lot of meat.

so
This is a private army raised by Zheng Guohui. They eat and drink his food, and of course they have to work hard for him.

The large ship stopped at the wooden pier. Zheng Guohui strode onto the pier and said to everyone with a smile, "Everyone, get up. Brothers, you have worked hard."

"Yes, sir. We are willing to die for the general!" everyone responded loudly.

Zheng Shoucheng, who was behind him, also stepped onto the wooden trestle bridge and came to Zheng Guohui's side and said, "Sir, let's go to the town to rest first. It's the slack season now, and most people are organizing people to build bridges and roads and dig ditches. These energetic guys need to find something to do, otherwise they will drink and gamble, and if they get drunk, they will cause trouble."

"Oh, do the villagers have money?"

"There are a few. There are many wild animals in the reed marshes of Chongming Island. In my spare time, I can fish and grow vegetables, and I can exchange them for some money at the market."

"Didn't we set up a welcoming pavilion and a sundry shop? Why is there no one there?"

"Sir, you don't know something." Zheng Shoucheng explained as he walked.

Once Zheng Guohui started to act like an official, his fifth uncle would not dare to call him "nephew Guohui", but would have to call him "Sir" out of respect.

The road from the wharf to the town is a smooth gravel road with drainage ditches on both sides of the road to ensure that water does not accumulate after heavy rain and that rainwater does not erode the roadbed.

Chongming Island is located in the south of the Yangtze River. Heavy rains often occur from March to June between spring and summer, and from August to September between summer and autumn. Drainage ditches are absolutely necessary, and they must be dug deep and wide to facilitate the rapid receding of accumulated water.

If you are a little lazy, the village will end up being flooded.

It was mid-November, and the wind howled across the river, so cold that the ground beneath our feet was frozen solid.

Zheng Shoucheng coughed lightly and explained in detail;

"Sir, the total number of people resettled on the island has now reached over 30780, divided into 46 villages, basically distributed along the north side of Chongming Island along the river, with a total of eight central villages.

From our current Guangming Town, extending to the east and west, there is a central avenue along the river bank, connecting to both sides like wings.

According to the instructions of adults

All the immigrant village buildings are more than four miles away from the river bank. Whenever a ship passes by from the north side of the river, there will be no signs of human life on the island.

On the east side of Guangming Town is Yidaowantun, Erdaowantun, Sandaowantun, and so on and so forth until No. 12 Daowantun.

To the west of Guangming Town are Shouweitun, Erweitun, Sanweitun and Baweitun.

As we head further into the heart of the area, the names become more confusing, with names like Huxintun, Hebiantun, Gushantun, Peijiatun, Ganxitun, Minnantun, etc., all of which are newly opened settlements.

Compared with the old settlements, the new settlements have fewer problems. As long as you work and have enough food to eat, there are not so many troubles.

According to the adults' deployment
Each village has a grocery store, allowing people with skills to run their own business and collect taxes based on the size of the store. Now, each village has basically developed.

Especially in Laotun

Tofu shops, various breakfast shops, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, cooking restaurants, blacksmiths, and all kinds of small businesses have developed, and the market is more prosperous than before.

The Yingchun Hall set up in each village has 8 to 13 women, and in the central village, there are to women.

Each time I count the rice by a bushel, there are also cheap goods worth half a bushel, so the daily income is quite good.

In this way, the surplus food in the hands of the villagers was basically collected.

Many of the male immigrants from these villages would save some food and rice even if they had to endure hunger, so that they could enjoy themselves in the Yingchun Pavilion.

Hygiene is strictly controlled. Anyone who comes to Yingchun Pavilion must take a hot bath and pay attention to physical cleanliness to avoid spreading diseases. It is much better than outside.

Wherever there is a general rule, there must be an exception.

Among the settlers who moved to Chongming Island, there were many who were skilled in crafts, and some were good at archery. After paying a deposit in the village, they were allowed to make their own bows and arrows for hunting, and they caught a lot.

Some people who are good at fishing and hunting set up nets in the reed marshes to catch fish and sell them at the market, making a lot of money.

The money they saved was used to buy wine and meat, or to set up gambling schemes. This led to many disputes, and there were more than a dozen cases of brazen murder.

After hearing this detailed explanation, Zheng Guohui nodded in agreement and said approvingly;

“You have put in a lot of effort to build Chongming Island into the magnificent place it is today. The attention to detail is truly remarkable.

How about this, you give me a list of no more than ten people.

In the Du Biao Camp under my command, I will reserve a seventh-rank official position for these meritorious officials, and also provide them with rewards of grain, rice, gold and silver, 30 taels of silver and dan of rice for each person.

Unmarried persons

You can choose to marry one of the women on the island, and I will also give you 5 taels of silver as a reward, which can be regarded as a generous gift from me.

As for those who buy wine and eat meat, they are capable people and do not need to be intervened for the time being.

In addition, regarding setting up gambling, gambling is human nature, and it is better to ease it rather than block it.

Let’s put it this way: set up a gambling house in every village, and only allow gambling in the gambling house, and no private gambling is allowed.

Once discovered, the offender will have one arm chopped off immediately, and the rest of the group will be sent to a hard labor camp without mercy. What do you think of this approach?"

"That's great. Those gamblers will have a place to relax and have fun without worry, and with the deterrent effect of strict laws, they won't gather to gamble privately, and public security will be much better." Fifth uncle Zheng Shoucheng has been a manager for more than 20 years and has a lot of experience in governing unruly citizens. He clapped his hands in approval when he heard this.

In this era, no one prohibits gambling, no one prohibits prostitution, and no one prohibits smoking. Everything is based on personal preference.

If you are willing to gamble, even to the point of selling your house, land, and children, that is your business. Others will at most call you a "gambler" and ignore you.

The method Zheng Guohui came up with was "loosening rather than blocking". Anyone who wanted to gamble could go to the gambling house in the town. All it needed was one or two rooms and a few tables, and there was no cost at all to open a gambling house.

Chongming Island
The Tongzhou militia stationed in each village numbered about thirty people, and there were more in the central village, but the number did not exceed a hundred.

As long as the gambling house is set up next to the militia camp, the villagers will not dare to cause trouble even if they are very brave.

The rules on Chongming Island are not completely laissez-faire rural rules, but more like the military farms of later generations. Each group is divided into groups of 12 people, and each group is given a field to cultivate. % of the harvest is handed over, and the remaining grain harvest is divided equally among the group members.

As for hunting or fishing, etc., they are all grouped together in groups of 12, and those who are capable get more.

These team members not only work together, but also share the harvest. If they break the law, they are jointly responsible and implement the "collective responsibility system", which greatly reduces conflicts and crimes.

If one person picks up a knife and wants to attack someone after drinking, the other 11 people must stop him.

If they are not stopped, these 11 people will be in trouble and will most likely be thrown into a hard labor camp, and will hardly see the light of day in the future.

The hard labor camp was a place feared by all the residents of Chongming Island. People here had words burned on their foreheads, and were forced to do hard labor 365 days a year, doing the dirtiest and most tiring work and eating the worst food.

If you don't work hard, you will be beaten with whips and sticks at any time. If you die, you will be rolled up on a straw mat and thrown into the river.

The labor camps were responsible for the hardest work in reclaiming wasteland. No matter how tough one was or how unruly one was, once here one would become as soft as a thread and live a very humble life.

It is precisely because of the existence of the labor camp, and because people can see that there are people who have a harder life than themselves, that the public security on Chongming Island has remained stable and orderly, and the difficulty of management has been greatly reduced.

Otherwise, if these more than 3 strong men, most of whom were elite warriors who had emerged from the pile of corpses, started to cause trouble, the more than 1800 Tongzhou militiamen would not be able to suppress them.

(End of this chapter)