Chapter 802 Nanzhou Ji: Strange God, Unknown Blessings and Misfortunes

"Lao Xu, don't worry, the earth is here, the sky is on the head, are you afraid that the sky will collapse...... Oh, I see, are you in a hurry to have children with your sister-in-law, haha......"

The farm is still very simple, with only shallow ditches dug around it for drainage, and a haphazard fence is built around it with freshly cut down trees, and the farmers rent tents provided by the company to make do for the time being.

In front of a tent whose military number had not been erased, Fang Wu joked with Xu Fu, and then looked at the honest middle-aged man shyly, and a trace of happiness in his heart swayed.

Everyone is looking forward to a better life in the future, but Fang Wu's future is obviously not comparable to a farmer like Xu Fu who is trying to survive overseas. Fang Wu is the head of the dart team hired by the Coral State Colonization Company, and is in charge of thirty dart masters, responsible for the security of the Coral State mines and residents.

signed a three-year dart deed with the Coral State Company, a basic salary of two hundred taels, plus a number of subsidies, and a copper mine bonus of the Coral State Company, Fang Wu can get at least five hundred taels of silver a year, and his income is almost catching up with the county magistrate in the country.

But silver was not what Fang Wu cared about the most, the experience in overseas territories was a qualification. The imperial court encourages all kinds of talents to expand their careers overseas, and if they lead the dart master in the overseas industry for three years, they can apply for a civil lord, even if they are the lowest level of civil lords, they can also make him a public figure. In the future, whether he continues to mix in this industry, become a chief dart in charge of the business of the first district, or go back to his hometown to be a township lieutenant inspector or even a county lieutenant, this qualification is like the Jinshi background of a scholar, and it is recognized from the court to the people.

Fang Wu, who was born in Suzhou and served in the Jiangnan Volunteer Army, still wants to return to his hometown to become an official, no matter how much he earns overseas, without the envy and respect of his parents and fellow villagers, what is the meaning of life? Therefore, he was very sympathetic to the farmers who settled in Coral Prefecture, and Xu Fu was also from Suzhou, so he would talk to Xu Fu in his spare time.

Xu Fu was told by Fang Wu that he was in his heart. Smiling awkwardly, the daughter-in-law just opened the tent. He hurriedly put on a straight face and whispered, "Go in!" This is talking to the square darthead! ”

It is the coral state thousands of miles away. It is a simple tent, and the peasants still keep the etiquette of their families and avoiding guests. The daughter-in-law obediently shrank back, Fang Wu didn't care about it, but felt that Xu Fu was a little sensitive. I should have been frightened by the fact that the laborers had molested the peasant women in the past few days, and I was even on guard against myself.

Xu Fu's daughter-in-law is less than thirty. looks quite good, but it doesn't touch the side of a beauty at all. And Xu Fu's movement fell in Fang Wu's eyes like a dirt dog protecting. He sighed even more. I'm really open-minded, and I have a lot of fun talking with this kind of mud legs.

Saying goodbye to Xu Fu, Fang Wu went to the sentry tower to inspect. Li Shun had led people and horses to survey the mountainside area before, and there were vague signs of local activities, although the number was very small, and it was a trace of many years ago. But you have to take precautions. Therefore, the farm also built a two- or three-zhang high sentry tower, which was watched every day.

"Then Xu Fu really regarded his daughter-in-law as a treasure. Who doesn't like that kind of big-footed peasant woman!? In Coconut City (Batavia), a small dragon ticket can recruit three foreign girls, one redhead and one blonde, and the remaining one can be chosen at will, and there will be a three-flower gathering! Look at them beware of being like this, it's really mud legs, and they don't know anything! ”

The dart master on duty was called Hu Xi, and when he saw Fang Wu's dealings with Xu Fu, he said with disdain.

At present, among the more than 200 people in Coral State, except for the peasant couple, the others are all strong men with strong blood. In the past month or two, they were busy with infrastructure reclamation, and no one thought much about it. But after June, the weather was even colder, not only could the fields not work, but the miners and machinery had not yet arrived. Everyone didn't have much to do, so they were idle all day, and the matter of the belt gradually became a problem. …,

It's not a big deal for Fang Wu Hu Xi and these dart masters, they can rotate back to Nanyang to rest, there is no need to spoil the future of this kind of thing, Fang Wutu is a civil lord, and Hu Xi is an ordinary dart master who is more counting on the bonus promised by the Coral State Company.

The copper mines in Coral Prefecture are very profitable, and this future tightly binds everyone's hearts, but it still can't stop the idea of beating peasant women with too strong blood and too poor self-control. The dart masters have exerted all their strength to prevent the laborers from going wrong in this matter, and have used whips to severely educate several laborers in the past few days.

Fang Wu said solemnly: "How can there be such a comparison? Can a prostitute be the same as a daughter-in-law? I think you kid should also find a daughter-in-law to take care of it, so that you know that women are not just for satisfying their hunger. ”

In Fang Wu's eyes, people like Hu Xi are actually not much different from Xu Fu. Although Hu Xi is also a dart master, he may not have his own future if he struggles for another ten years. At that time, he Fangwu was a celebrity under the head of Hou An Dart of the Zhenyuan Dart Bureau, and he once followed Li Shun to face tens of thousands of people's troops formed by the Jiangnan Salt Merchants in Longmen. After that, he was transferred to the Volunteer Army, mixed his qualifications, and then returned to the dart board as a dart leader. This time, when Li Shun was looking for someone in the Zhenyuan Dart Bureau, he asked him by name.

Hu Xi scratched his head embarrassedly, but his eyes flickered, obviously his thoughts had fallen into the blessing of what he called "three flowers gathering at the top".

"Did General Secretary Li's exploration team go too far? It's time to mention it to Mr. Zhong and send someone to answer it. ”

After counting Hu Xi, Fang Wu calculated for the whole team. In this team, farmers and miners come from all regions, and the dart master is also from all backgrounds, and Li Shun and Zhong Shangli often disagree, but everyone's hearts are hot, even if there is a dispute, they don't want to spoil the whole situation.

Li Shun's exploration team had been out for more than ten days and had not yet turned around, and he was worried that the bell bell was coming from the dock, and the rhythm was long, which was a notice that the ship was coming from the dock.

The farm was boiling all of a sudden, could it be that Mr. Wang came back?

Wang Zhiyan returned to Nanyang to recruit workers and purchase machinery and equipment, if it was really him, it meant that the mine was about to start. For the farmers, Wang Zhiyan will also bring back ploughing cattle and alfalfa seeds suitable for autumn sowing, which also means that the farming industry has officially begun.

Not only Hu Xi and other dart masters were excited, but Xu Fu and other farmers couldn't help but be overjoyed, Fang Wu calculated the time, but felt that it was not so early.

As he expected, a moment later, the dart master came over from the dock with a light carriage, saying that there was a ship from Chongzhou and Dongmingzhou, both of which were here to contact and sell goods, and everyone could go and have a look.

"Cattle, sheep and horses are needed, but in addition to horses, cattle and sheep also depend on whether the farmers are willing to ......pay on credit."

On the dock, Zhong Shangwei was chatting warmly with his acquaintance Ben Bo in Dongmingzhou and Governor Huang in Chongzhou. In the harbor, there are two stilt-masted clippers of six or seven hundred materials, which are the common "traffic ships" of Nanzhou and even the colonies of the South Seas, although the cargo is not much, but the speed is fast. A dozen people can manipulate it, and the labor is cheap. The Coral State Company also purchased such a vessel. At present, it should be carrying Wang Zhiyan. We are active in the South Seas.

"This wine is even better, well, I bought it all!"

Seeing that there was fruit wine on the list, Zhong Shangwei opened his mouth and came. At the same time, the thought of how much to raise is in my head.

"Mr. Zhong, isn't this too unique? It's just a matter of a hundred taels of silver. Why bother to ruin your reputation. ”

The governor of Chongzhou kindly persuaded him, and Zhong Shangwei touched his nose brightly, and said that he was used to it. It's just habit......

Chongzhou is a colonial company run by the Shen family in Chaoshan. The location is in the northeast corner of Nanzhou, a nine-day sea journey, but by land, it is the closest to Coral State, which is a next-door neighbor. …,

Zhong Shangwei hurriedly changed the topic, and his eyes swept around the entourage behind the two. Then he said in disappointment: "Aren't there any women?" ”

Huang Shi and the two glanced at each other, understanding but smiled helplessly. There are only 200 households in Jinghai Port. There are even fewer in Chongzhou, only one hundred and thirty or forty households, which not only do not produce women, but also cannot afford to run a prostitution business.

"Mr. Zhong's hard work in running Coral State really impresses us."

The two of them held the bell on the upper position, and this was not all sycophancy. The problem of male and female distribution in overseas colonies was a key factor in development. Not to mention Nanzhou, which is thousands of miles away, when Funan was reclaimed, Li Shun and those green camp captives could only rely on Annan women to become heirs.

Zhong Shangwei smacked his lips, and said in his heart that I was also thinking about myself, I hadn't tasted meat for three months, it was simply a penance. I knew that I should have quenched my hunger in Dili, and it didn't matter if it was a ghost girl, anyway, the lights were turned off, and the sow was not much different from the sable cicada.

The donor Bo asked curiously: "Since Mr. Zhong is determined to operate in the long run, why didn't he erect the Heavenly Temple?" ”

Governor Huang also said: "Yes, there is a heavenly temple, and there is a village to help everything." Our priests of Chongzhou Heavenly Temple heard that they were going to build a state here, and they also came over, and wanted to talk to Mr. Zhong about building a heavenly temple. ”

At this time, Zhong Shangwei noticed that there were people wearing plain linen robes and having a gentle and elegant temperament, which was the sacrifice of the Heavenly Temple. He shuddered to himself, and shook his hand again and again: "Where do you dare to bother to sacrifice to adults, we haven't seen a shadow in Coral Prefecture yet, and it's hard to say whether it will be successful or not......

The priest laughed; "It's okay, let's take a look at the epidemic prevention here, the country has also been promoting cowpox recently, I will explain to your company's Langzhong, and strive to plant pox here as soon as possible."

Zhong Shangwei breathed a sigh of relief, and secretly said that it was fortunate that Li Shun was not there, otherwise he would definitely have to deal with the matter of building the Heavenly Temple immediately.

The Temple of Heaven played a very important role in the colonial affairs of Nanyang and even Nanzhou, so much so that the colonies took "building a trestle bridge and building the Temple of Heaven" as the first two prerequisites for their careers. By building the Heavenly Temple, you can invite traveling priests to come to the colony to preach, take root, and cultivate local sacrifices. In recent years, with Guangdong, Luzon and Funan as the center, the Heavenly Temple worshippers have also followed the colonial company, stepping all over the Nanyang, and also penetrating into the emerging Nanzhou in recent years.

The Temple of Heaven can not only relieve the homesickness of immigrants and stabilize people's hearts, but also greatly enhance the medical and health capabilities of colonial companies because of its profound attainments in medicine and epidemic prevention. Even the Temple of Heaven undertook the enlightenment and education of the local Chinese when the local government was unable to do so. It can be said that with the Heavenly Temple, the foundation of the overseas territory is exceptionally strong.

Most colonial companies welcomed the Temple of Heaven very much, and took the initiative to build the Temple early on and invite sacrifices. But at the same time, the colonial company has a kind of resistance to the Heavenly Temple, and most of the sacrifices in the Heavenly Temple are from Confucianism, although the sacrificial federation has repeatedly warned not to meddle in local civil affairs, the sacrifices are benevolent, but they always have to stand up and speak, often interfering with the management of the colonial company, and even working against the local government controlled by the colonial company. If the governor and officials who govern the area lack flexibility and vision, they will get into a lot of trouble.

Zhong Shangwei and Li Shun have quarreled many times about this matter, and for Master Zhong, the township and the yamen after the establishment of the state have to spend energy to deal with, and if such a great god as the Heavenly Temple is pressed on his head, it is not easy to do anything.

At this moment, taking advantage of Li Shun's absence, he hurriedly clarified his attitude with this priest, even if he couldn't avoid building a heavenly temple, the later it was, so as to maximize the profits, this was Zhong Shang's calculation. He could see that the sacrificial skills of the Heavenly Temple were just buzzing around his ears all day long, counting the unkindness here and the injustice there, which was enough to make him crazy. …,

Governor Huang, the benefactor Bo and the priest also understood the meaning of Zhong Shang's position, although they felt regretful. Coral State is someone's industry after all, and it's hard to say much.

Put aside the troubles of the Heavenly Temple. To the bell upper position. The arrival of the two ships is still a great event. They brought cattle and sheep, wine, food and tools, all of which were suitable for the breeding industry in Nanzhou, and the quilts and jackets they brought were even better.

They had been inaccurate in their predictions of the climate in the coral state. I thought it was the same as Nanyang, there were only two seasons, spring and summer. The results are here. The weather in June is particularly strange. During the day, it is enough to wear a single clothes, but sooner or later, it is like a winter day in the south of the Yangtze River. Zhong Shangwei was wrapped in several layers of silk clothes, but he couldn't keep warm. It took more than ten days to get better.

The arrival of the two ships set off a wave of joy in Coral State, which had begun to slump due to the long wait. That night, Zhong Shangwei was also full of pride, and held a bonfire party, with wine and meat, which cheered up the more than 200 people in Coral State. Master Zhong now understands people's hearts. I know the truth that if you make the people below comfortable, you will be comfortable. The only drawback. It's just that the exploration team led by Li Shun hasn't come back yet, and there are no dancing girls at the party......

Three days later, the sea-going ship that had been hired arrived again, carrying fifty peasant families and a hundred miners, mining and smelting equipment, as well as steam engines and coal, as well as officials from the Nanzhou Colonial Affairs Yamen of Zhongshu Province. It turned out that Wang Zhiyan took advantage of the power of Liang Boyan to act vigorously and resolutely, not only in advance in Luzon and Boni to gather enough manpower and equipment, but also to dot Zhongshu Province, so that it could send personnel to establish the identity of the Coral Prefecture as soon as possible, so that the copper produced could get the greatest profit.

Wang Zhiyan is also recruiting more miners in Nanyang, but with the manpower in front of him, he can not only establish a state immediately, but also start small-scale mining and smelting.

This official of Zhongshu Province has already eaten enough money, and he can also write a considerable amount of money in his qualifications when he goes out of Nanzhou to do business, so he is particularly active. checked the local residents, set up the household register, and accepted the list of township courts and resolutions handed over by Zhong Shangwei without looking, even if the formalities were completed.

To establish a state, there must be a township first, but Wang Zhiyan can take care of it, and at the same time, the Nanzhou trusteeship land is sparsely populated, and the affairs are all decided by the colonial company. As long as they don't make a big deal that hurts the heavens and reason, and they are poked out by the Heavenly Temple and others, the government will turn a blind eye, so the township court is still just a formality.

Even the administrative officials who should have been sent by the country, that is, the chief book, were determined by the colonial company itself in Nanzhou. In the Nanyang Trust Land, the lord Bo and the governor appointed by the colonial company also fought against each other, each in charge of their own affairs, but in Nanzhou, the lord Bo was a subordinate of the governor. Here in Coral State, the company treasurer is directly the chief manager, and the governor, the three of them discussed and took turns, first Li Shun.

After completing the formalities, facing the more than 400 people gathered together, the official said in a loud voice: "...... The people in the state should enjoy the benefits of the country, and at the same time, they must be loyal to the country and the monarch, and abide by the laws of our country! I declare, Coral State, founded! ”

The applause was like thunder, everyone's faces were filled with a strong sense of joy, and Zhong Shangwei almost slapped his face, and he could finally make money!

Xu Fu and the others drove the cattle and began to plough the land, while Zhong Shangwei squatted directly on the mine, staring at the craftsmen to set up the mine mouth and smelter. On June 26, an auspicious day of the zodiac, the steam engines roared like savage invaders, pulling out a cloud of black smoke over this lonely wilderness. In the distant plains, once ravaged by fire, a few ploughing oxen mooed and dragged iron ploughs to turn the fields that were once barren grass and shrubs into ploughland.

So far, the colonization of Coral State has been smooth sailing, but this land is strange after all, and the heavens here have a different face. The good days of the "aggressor" began to suffer setbacks, and the beginning of it all was just a small accident. …,

"Mr. Li!?"

Li Shun's exploration team returned, and Fang Wu was the first to meet him, but what he saw was a dozen or so pale subordinates, as well as Li Shun, who was cold and swinging.

Lang Zhong in the team said: "It's not malaria, I've already used cinchona jelly." ”

When Zhong Shangwei arrived, Fang Wu had already learned the whole story.

The natives, they met the natives in the depths of the land about four or five hundred miles away, and there were only about a dozen of them. There was no basis for communication between the two sides at all, blowing arrows and spears on the one hand, muskets and bayonets on the other, and the battle ended almost instantly.

The natives were all wiped out, and they injured one, and the one who injured was Li Shun, who was pierced in the thigh by a blow arrow.

It must be poisonous, but I don't know what poison it is, it's not fatal, but Li Shun seems to have malaria and can't afford to get sick.

Zhong Shangwei is sweating on his forehead, what can I do?

After returning to the camp, Hot Tang was served, and Li Shun's condition was slightly better, but he could still only rest in bed. The final opinion of Lang Zhong was, wait, wait for Wang Zhiyan to come, and before his condition has improved at that time, he will be transferred to Yingyang Port for treatment.

This is actually nonsense, although there is a sampan left in the coral state at the moment, it is impossible to float across the ocean, and Zhong Shangwei faintly regrets that he should keep the sacrifice.

Li Shun said stiffly: "Don't worry, how could the people who came from Lao Tzu's rain of bullets be sent to see the king of Hades by a disgusting little arrow with saliva from the native!?" Old Zhong, don't stay by my side, or keep your mind on business. ”

Neither Clock nor Li Shun expected that this was just the beginning...... Bring the cute girl