I

Southerners immigrating to Liaodong do not have to worry about their survival.

Zhu Yuanzhang carried out border reclamation, and most of the criminals assigned to Liaodong were residents from the south of the Yangtze River. They are said to be criminals, but in fact many of them are prisoners of hostile forces, or light-duty prisoners who are not worthy of exile.

At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang's immigration work was well protected in all details. When southerners immigrated to the Northeast, the mortality rate was much lower than when Huguang filled Sichuan in the early Qing Dynasty!

After all, it is a world of ice and snow. Zhao Han organized immigrants from Liaoning this time, and the treatment was far more generous than before.

To confirmed immigrants, each person is given two sets of winter clothes, which also include cotton hats and boots. Based on the principle of nearby arrangement, twenty people in the same village share one cattle. The ownership of the farm cattle belongs to these twenty people collectively, that is, it was given to them by the government.

Next year it is expected that 60,000 people will migrate to Liaoning, and 3,000 cattle will be needed for farming alone. Fortunately, many of them were seized from the Tatars.

Hou Fangyu was appointed as the magistrate of Fushun County. When the Tatars moved their capital and evacuated, the people there were plundered and many people were taken away to work as food transporters. Although it is a county magistrate, the population under its jurisdiction can be more than 10,000 at most.

Moreover, if the war continues, Fushun will be the front line of the Datong Army's battle with the Tatars!

For now, the Datong Army is still sending troops to attack Fushun Pass on the Liao Great Wall - after occupying Fushun Pass, the Datong Army can cross the Great Wall at any time and surround Sarhu City under Tatar control.

Hou Fangyu did not complain about this harsh environment, because he took the initiative to apply to go to the Northeast.

Firstly, for the sake of his own career, as long as he works hard in Liaoning, his political achievements will definitely not be buried;

Secondly, his father Hou Xun was involved in the political struggle of the Qing Dynasty. His legs were broken and he was starved in prison. When the Tatars evacuated Shenyang, Hou Xun was forgotten in the prison. When the Datong army rescued him, Hou Xun was starved and naked. Hou Fangyu went to Fushun, where he could take care of his father.

"Let's sail!"

Several official ships departed from Nanjing, some went to Shanghai, and then took sea ships to Liaoning. Some followed the Grand Canal and headed straight to the Hebei region. As for Shaanxi, most officials passed by Hubei.

Following the officials, there were many merchant ships.

Although the immigrants have not yet set out, they will have to wait until early spring next year to set off from the south. But the merchants could not wait any longer; they would have to arrive this winter. First establish a foothold, set up a simple warehouse, open a store in the city, and wait for the goods to be shipped in spring.

Every time the Datong imperial court expanded its territory, there were unlimited business opportunities, and many merchants made a lot of money.

In the past, the government had to mobilize and let businessmen develop new sites. Nowadays, merchants are crazy about buying new sites in the city, and they have to bid and auction to get them. Even the neighborhoods that were burned to rubble during the siege were auctioned off by merchants and rebuilt with their own money.

For small businessmen, as long as they immigrate with their families, they can have priority in purchasing shops without having to compete with big businessmen in auctions.

Moreover, such small businessmen were protected by the government and could take official ships and set off with officials who were appointed to their posts.

In the blink of an eye, I arrived in Shanghai to change ships. I hadn’t seen Hou Fangyu for several years, and found that Shanghai was extremely prosperous. It is backed by the Yangtze River waterway, and its population is increasing rapidly. Merchants from Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu... provinces along the Yangtze River come to do business.

"Hey, hey!"

The dock workers were shouting labor chants, and the hybrid human-animal crane was slowly pulling up more than 20 tied sacks.

After pulling to a certain height, the buffalo was stopped by the driver.

The workers collectively pulled the rope, and under the action of pulleys and gears, the long arm of the log began to turn and move. Stopping above the deck of the ship, the workers slowly lowered the ropes, and the more than twenty sacks fell steadily on the deck.

Such cargo cranes have appeared in several ports.

Most goods are still handled manually, especially fragile items such as porcelain. But for bulk and heavy goods like grain, especially when you are in a hurry, you will choose to rent a crane at the terminal - except that the loading speed is faster, there is not much difference in cost. After all, the crane also needs to be built and maintained.

The real advantage is that when moving items like heavy siege guns, that's the correct way to use a crane.

Hou Fangyu got off the official ship on the inland river and walked along the dock. Together with other officials, he went to board the navy ship. What he saw along the way made him feel fresh. There was a big difference between this place and Nanjing.

On the pier, you can occasionally see Japanese people. They are all Japanese ronin who secretly came to China.

Tokugawa Iemitsu's policy changed again, and the previously open ports were once again closed by the shogunate. There was only one port of Nagasaki left for trade between China and the Netherlands, and business was only allowed with the shogunate.

After a brief period of opening up, Japan once again chose to close itself off, so the so-called Japanese pirates reappeared.

These Japanese pirates did not have the courage to come to Chinese waters and only robbed around Ryukyu.

They were the private armies of certain feudal lords. Tokugawa Ieyasu repeatedly requested to establish diplomatic relations with China. Every time he made some progress, he would be destroyed by Japanese pirates. Behind the scenes, these feudal lords must be causing trouble.

There is another situation that seems to be unexpected and is being cleared up.

When Zhao Han first opened the port, there were European merchant ships in every port. But now, European merchant ships have almost disappeared, and there is only a French trading station in Guangzhou.

The reason is that China's maritime merchants have collectively exerted their efforts and commercial monopoly on China's coastal import and export trade.

Chinese shipping companies offer lower prices and have local advantages, beating European shipping companies in terms of price. Merchant ships from various European countries are now simply waiting in Vietnam and Java. Buying Chinese goods from those places is cheaper than sailing to China themselves.

France, which was always causing trouble, was expelled by various forces in Southeast Asia and was forced to go to Guangzhou to buy goods at high prices.

Hou Fangyu successfully boarded the warship, stood on the deck and observed, and then two European ghost guys came up.

"Mr. Wei is also going to Liaoning?" Hou Fangyu took the initiative to say hello.

Wei Kuangguo said: "A Jesuit was sent to Nanjing, but was not received by His Majesty. However, Your Majesty allowed him to observe and learn about the situation. Hearing that Liaodong was planning a large-scale immigration, I accompanied this Jesuit on the trip. "

Hou Fangyu looked at the other ghost guy.

Wei Kuangguo introduced: "The Chinese name of this church member is Nan Huairen. He is south of Nanjing and Huairen is the Taoist."

"Nice to meet you!" Hou Fangyu handed over his hand.

Nan Huairen said in broken Chinese: "Nice to meet you!"

When Nan Huairen came to China this time, he first went to Macau, where a total of more than ten missionaries came.

The churches in Macau are almost unable to open due to the lack of financial support from the Netherlands and relying entirely on the support of Portuguese believers in Macau. I heard that it was even worse in other places and missionaries had to work to make a living. These new missionaries left China one after another.

Only Nan Huairen chose to stay. After all, the silly son of a landlord could live in China for a few years with enough money - his father was a hereditary judge and tax collector in the Netherlands.

The three of them left the deck and went into the cabin to chat.

Since Wei Kuangguo came to China only a short time ago, he did not hold a position in the Hanlin Academy, but he became a disciple of Ai Julius and Tang Ruowang.

Guard, protect.

Help the country, help the country.

This name means that it is the Ming Dynasty that needs to be defended and supported...

"What knowledge is Mr. Wei currently studying?" Hou Fangyu asked.

Wei Kuangguo replied: "I am studying Chinese history. I plan to write a history book to introduce China's Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors to the Qin and Han Dynasties to Europe. That is, the history of East Asia from the birth of mankind to the birth of Christ. Europeans do not understand this. , they should and must understand that China already had a glorious civilization before the birth of Christ Jesus."

Hou Fangyu nodded in approval: "This also has the effect of enlightenment. I wish you success in compiling the book."

Wei Kuangguo introduced: "This Christian Nan Huairen graduated from the University of Leuven. He is proficient in astronomy, geography, mathematics, calendar, mechanics, philosophy, and all kinds of knowledge. He is also good at casting artillery. Although His Majesty has not summoned him , but admired his knowledge very much, so he was allowed to take a warship to travel to Liaodong. After traveling to Liaodong, he would also travel to the north before preparing to go to Sichuan."

"It's a great Western scholar, so rude, so rude!" Hou Fangyu said with his hands raised.

Nan Huairen hurriedly handed over his hand: "I...Chinese...study...forgive me...please."

Hou Fangyu smiled and said, "It won't be a problem."

The warship set sail two days later, accompanied by more than 20 merchant ships. One-third went to North Korea for trade, and two-thirds went to Liaodong.

North Korea has made peace with Chinese merchants, and its rulers and ministers are happy to trade. They exchanged ginseng, minerals, and even Korean grain for various commodities from China, and made huge profits from it. As for ordinary North Korean citizens, it doesn't matter how many they starve to death, as long as they don't rebel.

A few days later, the fleet arrived at Lushunkou, where trade prospered rapidly after the war and a group of dockworkers immigrated in advance.

The workers are also willing. Due to the lack of labor, the wages of working in Lushunkou are much higher than those in Shanghai.

Hou Fangyu took the officials of Fushun County all the way from Jinzhou to Shenyang. He introduced to two Europeans along the way: "This is our territory of the Han family, which was stolen by the barbarians, and now there are not even ten Han people left. Your Majesty is wise and mighty, and has defeated the barbarians and rescued the living Han people. Even the Mongolian and Jurchen civilians , and some were forgiven and were able to share the land and settle down with the Han people."

I can always listen to Nan Huairen’s Chinese, but I don’t know how to speak it. I have been communicating in Chinese these days and am already more fluent than when I was in Shanghai.

He observed the situation along the way, asked some questions, and started writing a diary when he arrived in Shenyang:

"I followed Chinese officials to the old Tatar capital. The arrogant Tatars captured the Chinese capital a few years ago. Even Shenyang, the old Tatar capital, was taken away from the Chinese. Now, And was recaptured by the Chinese Emperor..."

"China has a vast territory. This place designated as Liaoning is larger than many European countries, and the climate is similar to Northern Europe. The Chinese here were killed too many by Tatars, and the Chinese emperor decided to immigrate. The number of immigrants next year is set. At 60,000 people. This is not an army of 60,000 marching, but families of 60,000 people. Land needs to be resettled, seeds and cattle need to be given to them, and even the Chinese emperor provides winter clothing. I don’t think any monarch in Europe can do."

"What's even more frightening is that immigration on this scale has been carried out many times in other provinces. The 60,000 people who will immigrate next year will only arrive in Liaodong. At the same time, 100,000 people will immigrate to Shaanxi, and 100,000 people will immigrate to Hebei... It's unimaginable. The scale of immigration.”

"His Majesty the Pope prohibits Chinese believers from worshiping ancestors and worshiping Confucius. I think it is ill-considered. China has its own traditions and they have their own beliefs. Christianity must follow this traditional custom, otherwise it will be difficult to carry out missionary activities..."

"Today, I watched the execution ceremony in Shenyang. A group of traitors were beheaded collectively. I heard that the benevolent Chinese emperor wanted to send these traitors to mine. But the emperor's teacher, an old wise man, still A large number of Liaoning officers wrote letters requesting severe punishment for treason. The emperor allowed them to execute all the notorious traitors who were traitors before the Tatars entered the customs..."

Shang Kexi had been beheaded by the formation long ago. Kong Youde, Zu Dashou, Wu Sangui and others were all beheaded outside Shenyang City in public.

Zu Dashou cried and complained at the execution ground: "I have defended Ningjin for twenty years. Even though I was besieged and ran out of food, I ate human flesh and refused to surrender. In the end, I surrendered without reinforcements. My ancestor Dashou lived up to the Ming Dynasty!"

Wu Sangui just knelt on the execution ground and said nothing, watching blankly as the traitor next to him was beheaded, while the people watching burst into cheers.

"puff!"

The executioner sprayed liquor on the blade of the knife and pressed down on Wu Sangui's neck.

brush!

The sword flashed and the head fell to the ground.