After receiving the quota of 4,000 recruits again, almost every military household located within the salt field area had one person join the Haw Par Army and become a member of the salt field garrison.

In such a situation, whether it is for the safety of the families of the Haw Par Army or for the generous salary offered by the Haw Par Army, the families of these recruits will become the most loyal supporters of the Haw Par Army and will never betray the Haw Par Army.

In this way, the 5,000 recruits of the Haw Par Army have become the most suitable salt workers in the salt factory.

Because, they are the least likely group of people to leak the secrets of the salt works.

The number of salt workers in the salt field, because of the expansion of the Haw Par Army, has changed from hundreds to more than 5,000 today in just half a month. As for the number of cement crystallization ponds, it has also changed from two at the beginning to more than 40 now.

There are more crystallization ponds, and the output of sea salt has also increased......

Forty or fifty thousand catties of sea salt a day is no longer a problem for the current Wang Daotian and salt farms.

What's more, with the further increase in the number of crystallization ponds, the production of sea salt continues to increase every day......

And this brings up another problem......

Ten merchant ships of the fleet were not enough......

According to Wang Daotian's estimate, after the entire salt field is turned into crystallization pools, the number of crystallization pools will definitely exceed 500. According to the calculation of the daily output of 1,000 catties of sea salt in a crystallization pond, the daily output of sea salt in the entire salt field is 500,000 catties.

According to the calculation that it takes ten days for a merchant ship to travel back and forth between Shanxi and Laizhou Bay, the sea salt that can be produced by the salt farm is at least 5 million catties.

With so much sea salt, there are not fifty large merchant ships. It is simply impossible to deliver to Datong, Shanxi at one time.

Of course, there are also people who have mentioned yì. Directly relocate the refined salt workshop to Laizhou Bay, so that. All the travel expenses will be saved.

However, in the case that Shandong is not the territory of the Tiger and Leopard Army, Wei Zheng did not dare to take this risk. At least until the Haw Par Army completely occupies Shandong, it is impossible for the refined salt workshop to relocate to Shandong, putting a major economic lifeline of the Haw Par Army under the nose of the enemy.

Therefore, the only solution to this problem is to expand the size of the fleet.

The problem of merchant ships is easy to solve, as long as there is silver. On the southeast coast, there are a lot of merchant ships, waiting to be bought.

However, experienced boatmen are not so easy to find.

Besides, the fleet is ostensibly transporting goods to the Haw Par Army, but in fact it is helping the Haw Par Army train sailors. When the time comes, the fleet can immediately turn into a naval army.

Therefore, Wei Zheng's requirements for shipwrights are very high: at least an old shipwright with a few years of experience in driving merchant ships? Of course. If you have ever been a sailor, that's even better.

In order to recruit enough shipwrights in a short period of time, a large number of Haw Par troops in the name of merchants began to penetrate into various fishing villages along the southeast coast. Recruit boatmen who meet the requirements......

At this time, Shenzhen, like history, is still a fishing village with a population of no more than 500 people.

Hundreds of households. Without exception, all of them are fishermen. He goes out to sea to fish for a living.

As the sun sets, dozens of fishing boats go out to sea. Slowly appeared in the family's field of vision, and sailed towards the humble wharf at the entrance of the village.

The family risked their lives to go out to sea to fish, and finally came back in a hurry. As a family member, I should have been the first to rush to the dock to greet my family. However, they didn't.

Because, the tax collector from the county government is carrying a few doglegs, holding weapons, and showing off his face at the dock, waiting for the fishing boat to dock. According to the fishermen's harvest from fishing, determine how much fresh fish they have to take from these fishermen as a tax.

Soon, more than a dozen fishing boats were docked......

Looking at the tax collectors and doglegs rushing towards their fishing boats, the fishermen with brute strength were full of anger. However, in front of the mountain of the imperial court and the official army, the only thing they can do is to dare to be angry and dare not speak.

I watched most of the fish that I had worked so hard to bring back being taken away by the tax collectors in the name of tax collection.

Seeing that the ship's cabin, which was almost two-thirds empty, especially the few big fish in the cabin that could be sold for a large price, were all taken away by the other party, the anger on everyone's faces became even stronger.

Seeing that the tax collector had gone away, a former sailor soldier stabbed the harpoon in his hand into the bow of the boat, and shouted angrily: "These tax collectors of the government are simply too deceitful...... Every time, they only left us with just enough fish for rations, and they had to be held back, which was too much deception, too much deception......

At this time, a middle-aged man glared fiercely at the young man who had just shouted, and scolded loudly: "Shut up for me...... Don't forget, we're not sailor soldiers anymore. These officials casually whispered a few bad words about us in the ears of the county magistrate, and we were well treated. So, don't cause trouble to the people of the entire fishing village for the sake of your own momentary pleasure. ”

"Besides, the tax collectors have taken most of our fish, but they still have our rations to keep us alive. As a naval army for the imperial court, in addition to being able to eat a full meal for himself, less than fifty percent of the military salary, and even a month's ration for his family is not enough. ”

"So, for the sake of my wife and children at home, even if I am angry, I have to hold it back......"

"Don't forget, we are the people, they are officials, and since ancient times, the people have not been able to fight officials."

"Okay, pack up, bring your own fish and goods ashore for food, and go home to reunite with your family......"

Hundreds of fishermen had just returned home with helplessness, and the sound of gongs began to sound in the dim fishing village.

Subsequently, a piece of news spread to every household in the fishing village......

"There's a caravan from the village to recruit some boatmen from the fishing village who have gone to sea. As long as they are selected, they can earn enough money for their family every month......"

As long as it is human, there will be a hint of luck.

So, whether they wanted to leave home to work as boatmen, the fishermen who heard the news gathered with their families in the open space in the middle of the village to see what was going on......

In less than half an hour, the open space in the middle of the fishing village was filled with hundreds of fishermen standing in the middle of the fishing village.

At this time, a platoon commander of the Haw Par Army dressed as a businessman jumped directly onto a platform made of tables. Angry dantian, he shouted in his loudest voice.

"Brothers, fishermen, we are businessmen from Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces...... Because I wanted to form a large-scale fleet, I came here with the intention of recruiting a group of shipwrights from the fishing village......"

"Of course, not all boatmen we have to ......"

"However, as long as you meet the requirements, you will become our shipwrights...... We will give you a very generous salary, and ensure that your family will always have no worries about food and clothing. ”

"Now, I will inform you of our requirements for recruiting shipwrights......"

"A shipwright who has been at sea for five years and has piloted large merchant ships. As long as you join our fleet, you can receive a salary of three taels of silver per month......"

"I used to be a sailor, and I was a soldier in the imperial court. As long as you join us, you can receive four taels of silver every month. ”

"In addition, in order to solve everyone's concerns and make everyone feel at ease ......"

"As long as everyone signs up to join us, each boatman can receive a settling-in allowance of ten taels of silver."

"The last one, because the formed fleet is to transport goods to the Shanxi Governor's Palace. Therefore, in order to make everyone feel at ease as a shipwright, the Shanxi Governor's Mansion did things for the Shanxi Governor's Palace. The Governor's Mansion of Shanxi Province has a special advantage for the shipwrights who are willing to join us. ”

"As long as everyone is willing to join us and is willing to bring their families into Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces. The Governor's Mansion of Shanxi will distribute ten acres of fertile land to each of you according to the number of people in your family......"

Speaking of which, the platoon commander of the Haw Par Army doesn't care whether everyone has fully digested what he just said.

With a face full of fanaticism, he continued to shout: "Brothers in the fishing village, such a high salary, and a settlement fee of ten taels of silver, distribute land to everyone for free...... Such a good thing, even with a lantern, I can't find ......"

"What are you waiting for, why don't you hurry up and sign up......?"

"As long as you meet the requirements, you can get ten taels of silver from us...... Your family can also follow you to the two provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi to grow food with the fertile land allocated to you by the Governor's Palace......"

"In this way, you don't have to worry about food in the future, and your life will get better and better......"

The salary of the fourth tael of silver per month is higher than the military salary when he was a soldier in the naval division, and more importantly, the military salary will be deducted, and the salary will not be deducted.

It also means that as long as you are willing to be a boatman, you can get a real four taels of silver every month.

Here, four taels of silver represent two loads of grain. At that time, my family will eat white rice every day, and I won't be able to eat two loads of grain in a month......

Faced with the huge temptation of four taels of silver, more than a dozen people in the fishing village who had served as sailors were directly moved.

For them, the boring life of fishing is a torment for them.

What's more, I fish every day, and I can't let my family have enough to eat.

And being a boatman is different.

Not only can you return to the big ship with your old business, but you can also feed your family.

What's more, being a boatman is definitely much less risky to yourself than driving a fishing boat out to sea. After all, the merchant ships piloted by the shipwright are all large ships, and their ability to withstand storms is much higher than that of ordinary small fishing boats.

Comparing the two, more than a dozen sailor soldiers in the fishing village immediately made a decision in their hearts.

Then, as if they had been discussed, they walked to the registration point at the same time.

As for whether the whole thing will be a hoax, more than a dozen middle-aged people who have been soldiers have laughed it off.

Compared with ordinary fishermen, they who used to be soldiers are obviously much more rational and have their own analysis. (To be continued......)