After a superficial communication, General Sha Zhengming's inspection work in Qiongzhou was completed.

After that, with the disembarkation of the fleet's docked crews, the southbound fleet took over its home port in the true sense.

Although the current home port has only just begun to build infrastructure, this is already a good start. With the continuous investment of resources in the future, Sha Zhengming has reason to believe that Baisha New Port will definitely be built at an astonishing speed.

When the first team of ships boarded the dock, General Sha Shen and Shao Qiang "went home" with a group of officials - in the city of Qiongzhou Mansion, the Lord of Futai was still waiting for the banquet, and he couldn't let the adults wait for a long time.

The city of Qiongzhou in the Ming Dynasty, because it was a capital city, and it monopolized most of the sea trade on the island, so it was generally prosperous, and it was not worse than those third-tier cities on the mainland.

Sun Futai of Qiongzhou Mansion is also a kind and interesting official. When General Sha Shen and his subordinates came to the palace, Sun Futai happily set up a banquet in the flower hall to entertain the guests.

During the banquet, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves and exchanged views on issues of common concern.

For the local bureaucracy in Qiongzhou, today's banquet is still very important. Officials now urgently need to know what will happen next for the general so that they can cooperate and continue to reap the benefits.

Of course, everything is premised on smooth negotiations.

So after three rounds of drinking, Sun Futai asked the general on behalf of everyone: "But is there still a place to contribute to the general?" ”

When Sha Shen heard this, he laughed: "People, there is no shortage of anything at the moment, there is a shortage of people!" ”

After a few years in the seventeenth century, they now knew too well what they lacked: people.

People are the primary productive forces.

Everything needs to be created by people. Traversal has infinite technology and relatively abundant resources, and the only thing that is lacking now is people.

General Sha Shen's words did not exceed the expectations of local officials.

Immediately, an official with a big beard and a black and red face stroked his beard and said, "Don't tell the general, it's busy farming now." It is these peasants who have come to work now, and it is also the people of the house who have used the means to make it happen. ”

"Therefore, ....." the bearded official said with a sincere expression: "The people's labor has been consumed too much, and there will be trouble in the next year's tax, and the province will not be able to explain it." ”

Hu Ziguan'er's words, Sha Shen will be indifferent...... This kind of thing is not in his hands as a soldier, so he concentrates on munching on a roast suckling pig on the table without raising his head.

At this time, District Chief Shao Qiang, who was wearing a robe, appeared. I saw him stand up and nod to the bearded official: "The meaning of Ding Tong's sentence has been understood by our side." ”

What the Qiongzhou bureaucrats are worried about is indeed a problem.

For ancient agrarian societies, the most important thing for district officials to do every year was to collect taxes or levy taxes. To put it bluntly, the rest of the social service projects are piggybacking, and the most important weighting item for the evaluation of an official by the superior is whether he can receive the tax in full.

These officials in Qiongzhou Mansion took the opportunity of the higher-ups to send a document to cross the crowd to pay the bill, and linked up with the county officials below to mobilize the people's power to raid and repair the seaport, which can be regarded as a gang to make a quick buck.

However, if the use of these people's power is long-term according to the meaning of the people, the officials will be a little unbearable. Because the people who can be mobilized by the officials are all registered "taxpayers". If these people are tied up at the construction site for a long time and no one is farming in the field, then the next season's grain harvest will be poor, and the officials will not be able to pay taxes unfavorably, and they will be collectively analized by the provincial city bosses.

As a pro-people official who has lived in Daming for several years, Shao Qiang knows this, and he understands the thoughts of officials.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this matter is easy."

After Shao Qiang got up, he smiled and dropped a sentence, and then proposed a solution.

In the current situation, first of all, migrant workers must be recruited in large numbers, which is the basic principle. Since the traversers have come to Hainan, it is definitely impossible to build a port. Taking advantage of long-term, large-scale infrastructure projects to market oneself and peacefully evolve the natives is the core task of crossing the crowd to open sub-bases everywhere.

So according to the internal document "Several Principles for Negotiating with the Local Government of Daming" issued by the previous cabinet, Shao Qiang easily proposed a solution: tax package.

Since Qiongzhou is worried about taxation, it is very good, this year's taxes, the staff of the General Military Office, solemnly expressed his position on behalf of the General Military Office at this moment: We have covered it.

That is to say, this year's Qiongzhou Government's grain tax will be paid by the new district and the Guangzhou Political Envoy Si Yamen, and the Qiongzhou Government will only need to sit and wait for the receipt to be paid, and the rest of the things will not be taken care of.

The above is about the solution to the external problem, and the next is the "internal problem" between the Qiongzhou Mansion and the traversal.

The internal problem is even simpler, it is nothing more than how to distribute the benefits behind closed doors.

Shao Qiang proposed here: Since the General Military Government has contracted the tax, then the Qiongzhou Government must provide the corresponding head according to the total amount of regular taxes in the official register, and the excess will be refunded and the deficiency will be compensated during this period. If the number of heads is insufficient by then, part of the money and food will be returned to him.

In addition, Senator Shao also kindly reminded that he is not a racist and does not discriminate against Li Miao and other ethnic minorities on Hainan Island...... So, Lordship, you know.

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

After listening to Senator Shao's overall solution for employment, the officials present quickly exchanged heads and exchanged opinions in a whisper.

Soon, the officials came to a consensus with just a few phrases and glances: "The one who came is stupid."

In the eyes of the Qiongzhou bureaucracy, the plan proposed by Shao Qiang is still very operational, after all, as long as someone pays for it in this world, there are not many things that cannot be done. What's more, Shao Qiang's promise can't be faked, aside from the previous large amount of cash, that is, in terms of taxes, the official affairs of the Guangzhou Political Envoy are all public, and you can find out at a check.

In this way, the officials almost instantly realized the advantage of this matter: they only needed to make up the number of heads of the tax payable on the official register and send it to the military port, even if they paid Shao Qiang's difference. However, these heads can completely search for some people who are not on the official register, such as the Li people, Miao people, and those fugitive hermits in Sixiang, etc......

As for after that, the head was enough, and the fool surnamed Cao went to Guangzhou to pay taxes...... Hehe, who stipulates that the old man can't collect another tax on time?

After all, it is natural for the government to collect the imperial grain and national tax, and when the time comes, it will be more or less exempt for the poor people who work for the work, which can be regarded as the emperor's grace...... But everyone should pay the regular tax miscellaneous, that still has to be paid!

Thinking about the benefits that everyone left in their pockets after this matter was completed, and then thinking about the deficits that the yamen at all levels could fill after this matter was completed, the officials at the banquet at this moment, the next moment, nodded their heads and looked at the bearded.

The bearded Ding Tong understood the thoughts of his colleagues.

Regarding Shao Qiang's proposal, it seems that there is no problem in the general direction at the moment. What needs to be done afterwards is nothing more than for the two sides to send someone to bargain and negotiate a detailed amount of money.

Then the only thing standing in the way now is one thing left.

The bearded Ding Tongju immediately raised this question: stability maintenance.

The last concern of the officials is also very practical: if a large number of people go to work on the construction site for a long time, then over time, Qiongzhou, a closed "free trade zone" that hangs lonely overseas, will still have problems: food.

In the eyes of the officials, if a large number of people go to work "without production", grain production will inevitably be reduced in the next year on the general plate of Qiongzhou. Even if Mr. Cao pays this year's taxes, there will be a shortage of grain in the Qiongzhou market at that time, and the price will definitely remain high, and then there will be turmoil in all directions, and the officials will "not be able to rule quietly", which is very detrimental to "social stability."

Shao Qiang laughed when he heard this.

Raising two fingers, Shao Qiang immediately promised two more things. First, all the migrant workers who go to the port should be responsible for the daily food rations, and the food is imported from the outside, and these migrant workers do not eat a mouthful of local rice.

Second, Shao Qiang promised: from now on, he will open a grain store in Fucheng. Qiongzhou ...... At least the price of grain in the capital city of Qiongzhou, as long as the naval base exists, it will be maintained at a normal price. Even when there is a shortage of green and yellow, there will be a large amount of external grain imported into Qiongzhou.

The officials looked at each other.

In the eyes of the natives, the exaggerated promise of "stabilizing the price of grain in a land" is something that can only be achieved by the great efforts of the imperial court, and most people do not believe it. However, thinking about the extravagant side of this group of people before, everyone seems to have a little confidence in their hearts.

The next moment, Sun Futai, who had been silent since the negotiations, revealed his true colors. He stared at Shao Qiang's face fiercely: "Senator Shao, is this matter serious?" ”

Shao Qiang looked around and found that everyone was trying to find evidence of weakness on his face, so he could only put on the same expression as a rich man on the Upper East Side looking at a corn guy in rural Virginia to calm his heart: "I will send a message when I go back today, within seven days, 100,000 catties of rice and 200,000 catties of potatoes will be available in the port." ”

"Could it be that the potato is the exotic potato that has been sold on the market recently?"

"Exactly! This potato is a different species introduced by my general from the Husky country of Haidong, and after eating, he is hungry and hungry, and the Lifu likes it the most. ”

“emmmm......”

Sun Taishou turned his head and looked around, and found that there were a pair of hot eyes everywhere in his eyes, so his old man nodded decisively: "In the future, on the market, five catties of potatoes will be added, and at least one catty of rice will be added, so things will be harmonious!" ”

Shao Qiang said categorically: "Just do what Sun Taishou said!" ”

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

Shao Qiang really likes these officials in remote areas too much.

These people are not pretentious or pretentious, they only have silver in their eyes, they have no Confucius and Mencius, they are open-minded, dare to think and dare to do, everything can be discussed, and they are called kings behind closed doors, and they are really the pillars of the party and the state, the pillars of the imperial court, the vanguard of social and economic construction, and the most ideal object for penetrating through the public.