Li Xiao quickly read the letter from Ding Wei, head of Taiwan's Colonization Group, and his face was full of thought. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

In his letter, Ding You gave a brief account of how the Tuozhuang Group set off for Taiwan on 15 May this year.

In the letter, he told Li Xiao that because Zheng's return ship was against the south wind, all the colonists finally arrived in Taiwan after sailing at sea for nearly a month.

After arriving in Taiwan, Li Dingguo quickly led the Taiwan army to take over the guard towers and military forts originally garrisoned by the Zheng army. Ding You, Ma Huaxing, the deputy head of the colonization group, and a number of civil officials took over the original Zheng Jun's office yamen, and began to formally follow the plan set by Li Xiao, and like Chi Fengwei, the Department of Civil Affairs, the Department of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, the Department of Money and Grain, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Supervision and Fu, the Department of Security and other departments, and began to officially operate.

Ding You told Li Xiao that due to the long-term turbulence of the sea and the fact that he was not accustomed to the water and soil when he first arrived in Taiwan, more than 700 of the more than 20,000 immigrants were old and weak, either on the way or when they first arrived in Taiwan. The remaining nearly 20,000 people settled in Taiwan smoothly.

Because the number was still small, Ding You concentrated all of them near the Da Belly area, where the government was located, and mixed with the remnants of 5,000 Fujian immigrants who had already existed.

He hoped that this kind of mixed living and intermarrying would reduce the scale of clan power as much as possible and make it easier for grassroots organizations to manage.

In his letter, Ding You reported to Li Xiao in a joyful tone that among the nearly 20,000 immigrants, about 5,000 households have been allocated according to the specifications of five mu of wasteland granted to each household, and so far, more than 22,000 mu of wasteland have been preliminarily reclaimed, and together with more than 1,000 mu of paddy fields from Fujian immigrants, a total of about 23,000 mu of paddy fields have been reclaimed. In this way, when the late rice is harvested, at the standard of two buckets per mu, nearly 5,000 stone of tax grain can be collected.

Of course, this amount is still too small, Ding You said in the letter, according to his investigation in the three places of Datu, Erlin, and Nanshe that he received, only these three places, preliminary estimates, there are still more than 1 million mu of wasteland that can be reclaimed, so he hopes that Li Xiao can send more displaced people over to further speed up the progress of pioneering.

After reading Ding You's letter, Li Xiao quickly made a decision after pondering for a while.

Now, because of the Qing Tartars' entry into the customs this time, burning, killing and plundering, there are a large number of displaced people on the North and East Roads of Xuanfu, as well as in the places of Shuntianfu, so Li Xiao can basically recruit a large number of displaced people without much effort.

Therefore, Li Xiao gave an order to Chen Zilong and Xu Xiuqing, and within a month's time, they would recruit at least more than 200,000 displaced people from these areas, and all of them would be transported to Taiwan for colonization and development.

If there are more than 200,000 immigrants and nearly 50,000 families, Li Xiao believes that these displaced people can at least reclaim more than 250,000 mu of rice fields. In this case, after the next year, it will be levied at the rate of five buckets of grain per mu, but it will be a fixed tax of 250,000 stone of grain.

Li Xiao planned to wait for the output of Taiwan's paddy fields to reach the yield of nearly 3 stones per mu when Zheng Chenggong opened up Taiwan during the Yongli period, and then he would tax it at the standard of eight buckets of grain per mu and twice a year, and it would be a rule forever. In this way, with the existing more than 20,000 mu of reclaimed paddy fields, nearly 280,000 mu of paddy fields can produce more than 440,000 yuan of tax grain.

At present, in Li Xiaojun, Shanxian County, Chifengwei, and Haiyang Island add up, with a total of 1.58 million mu of cultivated land, and a total of 630,000 stone of tax grain in the number of two buckets per mu.

In this way, there are a total of more than 1 million yuan of tax grain every year, which is enough to supply the living expenses of nearly 300,000 people, based on the amount of 3.5 stone of rice grain that a normal adult needs a year (taking into account waste and loss).

At present, the battalions of soldiers, factory workers, and government personnel, as well as all kinds of prisoners of labor reform and construction laborers, who need Li Xiao to provide food, can be counted as a total of 160,000 people, and the existing food supply is completely more than enough. In addition, it can be seen that even if the existing food supply is maintained, it is enough to support Li Xiao's next expansion plan.

Money and food in hand, I have the world. If there is enough money and food, Li Xiao's ambition will no longer be restricted.

When the two heard Li Xiao's magnificent immigration plan, they were very happy, and they promised loudly that they would successfully complete this task.

Chen Zilong even smiled and said: "Master Li, I can find a way to live for these homeless people who are struggling on the line of death, as soon as this news comes out, I am afraid that I don't know how many homeless people want to come." ”

After the matter of recruiting the displaced people was decided, Li Xiao immediately sent a message to Zheng Zhilong Feige, hoping that he would abide by the agreement made last time and send at least 500 ships over to transport the more than 200,000 displaced people newly recruited by Li Xiao to Taiwan again.

Five days later, Zheng Zhilong received a letter from Li Xiao and couldn't help but be shocked by Li Xiao's generosity in immigration. After feeling emotional, Zheng Zhilong, who had tasted the sweetness last time, replied to Li Xiao very happily, saying that he had immediately ordered Zheng Cai and Zheng Lian brothers to take 600 large and small ships to Chifengwei immediately to the north to transport displaced people and materials, and to purchase merchant goods.

After learning the news that Zheng Cai and others were going to lead a team north to return to Chifengwei, many of the immigrants who pulled out Taiwan still had relatives in Shandong and other places, and they either wrote letters or asked for a message to inform their relatives in the north of the current situation or simply report their safety. There are also many people who beg Zheng Cai's fleet to bring some Taiwanese souvenirs as gifts to their relatives in Shandong.

After communicating with Zheng Cai and others with Ding You, the head of the Taiwan colonization group, Zheng Cai finally agreed to help these immigrants bring back these letters and gifts, but considering the inconvenience of the ship's load and handling, Zheng Cai requested that only small gifts be delivered.

After receiving the news that the ships of the Zheng army going north could bring letters and small gifts, Zhao Wencai, the civilian officer in charge of the second cavalry brigade in the Taiwan Dispatch Military Supervision Department, was very happy.

After returning to his own bamboo and wood house in the barracks that day, Zhao Wencai immediately lit an oil lamp, spread out a letter paper, and wrote a letter to his brother Zhao Wenhuan in Chifengwei, Shandong.

Zhao Wenhuan and Zhao Wencai, two brothers, were originally children in Huang County, because Kong Youde rebelled in Shandong that day, the whole family was killed, and only the two brothers sneaked into the mountains and were able to escape.

Later, the two brothers were recruited to work in Li Xiaojun, the elder brother Zhao Wenhuan was originally a clerk of the Civil Affairs Department of Chifengbao, and later, after Li Xiao merged Zhaoyuan and Huangxian, his brother Zhao Wenhuan was appointed as the deputy director of the Civil Affairs Branch of Anyuan Township, Zhaoyuan District.

In May this year, the Flying Harrier Cavalry was selected into the Taiwan Dispatch Army, and Zhao Wencai naturally went to Taiwan with the army.

From crossing the sea that day to settling in Taiwan with peace of mind, Zhao Wencai felt a lot of emotion in his heart. Under the jumping and flickering oil lamp, he swiped his ink and soon wrote several pieces of paper with gusto.

In order to facilitate the reader's viewing, the content of Zhao Wencai's letter is now displayed in semi-vernacular form as follows.

The respected brother is above, and the foolish brother pauses, and may the whole family be well.

Since May this year, the foolish brother crossed the sea from Chifengwei Longkou Port to Taiwan, and it has been nearly four months since then.

The foolish brother set off on 15 May and sailed at sea for nearly a month, finally arriving at Penghu without incident, and then transferred to the potbelly land in central Taiwan by boat.

Because the people who took the boat were all northerners, they were not used to ships, there were many seasickness people, and the foolish brother was not adaptable, vomiting for days, rice was difficult to eat, and after a few days, he gradually adapted to the sea turmoil. However, the young and strong people such as us can still hold on, and among the immigrants, the old and weak are even more difficult. Since leaving Shandong, from time to time there are old and weak seasickness and illness and death, because of the hot weather, in order to prevent the outbreak of plague, so the corpse can not be kept, all thrown into the sea to give up. Looking at the sad state of his family, he cried on the board, which was also pitiful.

After arriving in Taiwan, our Taiwan sent troops to hand over to the Zheng army stationed there and took over its barracks watchtower. The second team of the Flying Harrier Cavalry, where the foolish brother belonged, was first stationed along the coast of Big Belly, and then was transferred to the near mountain area to prevent the local natives in the mountains and wilderness.

Brother Zun, in this place of Taiwan, the scenery and climate are very different from those in Shandong. Its ground is very humid and hot, the giant trees and grass are miscellaneous, the closer to the aborigines in the mountains, the more there is miasma and smoke, the sea breeze is sluggish every day, there are often heavy rains suddenly, we and other northerners, it is really difficult to adapt to such a hot and humid weather for a while. The foolish brother was lucky and did not get sick yet. However, there are many people who are sick, or suffer from heat stroke, or fever, or diarrhea, and many old and weak immigrants who are not accustomed to the water and soil have died, which is really sad.

However, Confucius Day, once it comes, it will be safe. Since Taiwan has become the land of Lord Lee, it is our duty to defend the land. But he also had to live in a hut made of bamboo and wood by the craftsmen who came with the ship, just like the Fujian immigrants, and still had to talk about relieving the heat and thinking of survival.

Later, fortunately, the doctors who came with the army cooked and distributed medicine every day, so that most of the immigrants gradually disappeared from the disease, and they became more and more accustomed to the environment of Taiwan.

Subsequently, Lord Ding, the head of the Taiwan Colonization Regiment, began to grant land to each household, and each household was granted five acres of wasteland to cultivate by themselves. Even the original 5,000 Fujian immigrants, if there were less than a few, were given five acres of land for their cultivation and cultivation.

According to the government's arrangement, the northerners and the Fujian immigrants got along with each other, living in each other's houses, as if they had become one. After all the immigrants, they were divided into several townships, and each township set up a civil affairs branch, and since then the law and order have been quiet and there is nothing to do in the countryside.

According to Lord Ding, Lord Li, the chief soldier of Chifeng, cared for the people and gave rice seeds to every peasant household for free, and agreed to use taxes to offset them after one year. In addition, a group of ten households, including Fujian immigrants, were provided with free farming cattle purchased from Penghu and iron farming tools produced in our Tielong City, and they also agreed to offset the price of tax grain in the coming day, so all households were very happy and praised the kindness of Lord Li.

Because of Master Li's good governance, a group of Fujian immigrants were extremely moved, and they spontaneously came to help me and other northerners to immigrate and teach rice planting techniques. Looking at the scene, I sighed in my heart, as the old saying goes, those who sow the spring breeze are the rain, and now the two immigrants are kind to each other, but they are also in their words.

In the view of the foolish brother, this place of Taiwan, although the climate and environment, are not very good, but its land, is very deep fertilizer, very suitable for planting rice, along both sides of the Da Belly River, but more than a month, is a piece of newly opened rice field, looking at the rice seedlings in the distance, the green and picturesque, the view is gratifying.

Brother, since then, all the immigrants who have gone south have been completely settled. However, although our immigrants were safe, many local natives began to harass the watchtowers where our troops were stationed.

According to General Li Dingguo's plan, Taiwan dispatched troops to carry out the policy of soothing and appeasing the natives who came. All the Taiwanese natives who maliciously wanted to sneak attack our army immigrants, steal goods, loot livestock, and even hurt people were killed without mercy, and their heads were cut off and a Beijing temple was built at the entrance passages of various townships to follow suit.

Brother Zun, in the deep forest of Da Belly Creek, there is a soil king named Big Belly King, this person has always been brave and ruthless, subdued many local villages nearby, and coveted the immigrants and goods of our army, and came to our army to attack and raid the captives, most of them are the people of his department. At the beginning, because of the fierceness of our troops and the unpreparedness of our army, many people were poisoned by it. After General Li Dingguo designed, taking advantage of his hundreds of troops, to plunder the occasion, in a canyon, intercepted before and after, the officers and soldiers attacked and killed together, poor this longitudinal and horizontal king and hundreds of elites, was killed by our army cleanly, not a piece of armor left. Hundreds of heads were transported back to the official office by our army and built into a Beijing temple.

After the power of this battle, our army in the Taichung area, the prestige has risen, and the natives are all deterred. Since then, there have been almost no natives who have come to the villages to steal. Yu Nai sighed, since ancient times, the barbarians have been afraid of power and have no virtue, and it is not a special word to look at it today.

And those who just want to exchange money and goods with our army, buy supplies, and help the natives who live, our army will soothe them. After General Li Dingguo and Lord Ding discussed, a vacant land at the bend of Da Belly Creek was turned into a field, and it was agreed with such natives that the last two days of the month, that is, a total of six days, would be exchanged for trade with them.

After the opening of the field, the foolish brother also went to see it, and on the day of the opening, it was strictly guarded by our soldiers outside to prevent malicious disturbances by natives with ill intentions. Everywhere in the city, our army set up many trading platforms to sell sea salt, woolen wool, ironware and other goods, while many natives set up small stalls along the road, selling deerskins, horns, coconut wine, pearls, jade and other things. After the stalls were set up, a large number of Han Chinese and indigenous people entered the market to buy goods and goods.

Brother Zun, do you have to wait, these Taiwanese natives live in extreme poverty, almost all of them are ragged and dove-shaped. They are extremely interested in the products of our army, and every time they open up, the commercial goods supplied by our army are basically bought out by them. They are especially happy to get the iron tools of our army, and the kitchen knives, wood knives, kettles, iron buckets, iron pots, shovels, shovels and other items made by our army are often the first to be snatched up.

The foolish brother took advantage of the vacation in the army to wander around the field twice, and also bought some goods from the aborigines, such as a good deerskin, a large buffalo horn, twenty sea pearls, and several bottles of coconut wine.

Now, I have asked the tailor in the township to make a piece of shoulder, which is extremely warm, and it is extremely cold in Shandong in winter, just so that my brother can wear it to keep out the cold. In addition, two bottles of coconut wine were given to the brothers, which were made of coconut meat, with a sweet and mellow taste, and the entrance was very suitable, and they were also given to the brothers to taste.

As for the buffalo horn, the foolish brother has asked the craftsman to make a handful of horn combs, which is said to have the effect of caring for hair and warming the skin, so he gave it to his sister-in-law. Twenty pearls from the sea, and a necklace made by a craftsman, which looked quite good, and was also given to his sister-in-law as a gift.

Another happy event, the foolish brother also wants to show to the respected brother, I have been set up by someone, I know a local Fujian immigrant woman, who is very gentle and obedient, I am very happy, I want to marry as a wife, and settle down in Taiwan. Yu Nian's marriage is a big matter, and in this letter, I ask my brother for permission.

Brother Dear, when I thought that my two brothers hid in the mountains to avoid the rebellion of the Confucian thieves, how could they have imagined that there would be such a stable life today! It's just that although Yu is now living a stable life, every time he thinks of his parents and relatives who were killed by Confucian thieves, he is sad from his heart, and he is always unable to restrain himself. The son wants to raise but the relatives are not there, such as the pain, and the rest of the heart is deep.

The paper is short and long, and there is not much to say. Only if you are willing to respect your brother and the whole family, and live a good life in Shandong, if there is a reunion between the north and the south in the future, and the whole family will be reunited, then the remaining brother will be very happy.

After Zhao Wencai finished writing the letter, he carefully put it into an envelope, sealed it with wax and mud, and then took the gifts that had already been wrapped, and strode towards the postman outside the barracks who was collecting letters and gifts in a centralized manner.

On this night, the bright moon was shining, the sea was windy and waves, Zhao Wencai had a dream, dreaming that in his hometown in Shandong, which was already full of wind and snow, his brother Zhao Wenhuan, who had always cared about him, was roasting charcoal fire, and was reading his letter carefully under a flashing oil lamp, with a gratifying smile on his face。。。。。。 (To be continued.) )