Yazhou is a place with high mountains and rivers, and those who are sent here to be magistrates generally have little power, and they cannot do anything in their posts that are sufficient to be transferred back to the mainland. And next year, there will be a wave of retirement of high-level local officials, and several officials in charge of local military and political affairs have arrived at the time of their retirement, but before that, these adults are also ready to earn another pension for their retirement life.

This phenomenon is nothing new, and it does not mean that corruption is already rampant in officialdom at the end of the year, that is, after a few hundred years, this kind of official who takes advantage of retirement is not uncommon, and even the annual "Blue Book of the Rule of Law" released by the state has a special name for this 59-year-old phenomenon. Tao Donglai only listened to Luo Shengdong say the first half, and he already understood the general ins and outs, but he still didn't understand some details and needed to ask again.

"You said that the place in Phoenix Town is basically borderless, so why don't the adults simply enclose the land under their own names or those of their relatives?" Tao Donglai asked.

Luo Shengdong explained: "That borderless land is mostly wasteland, what is the use of trapping? Wouldn't you go to Phoenix Town to settle down, but have to organize tenant farmers to open up wasteland, wouldn't it be troublesome? ”

Tao Donglai thought to himself that he would care about his reputation after becoming like this, so he sneered and said: "That means that we will occupy the land in Phoenix Town, and then wait for us to reclaim the land, and then take out 2,000 acres of mature land from it and give it to a few adults, is that what it means?"

Luo Shengdong nodded again and again: "That's exactly what it means." Mr. Tao didn't think that you had suffered a loss, thinking that the terrain of Phoenix Town was flat, and there were always tens of thousands of acres of fields, and he took out 2,000 mu from them in exchange, which could be described as worth thousands of dollars! If it weren't for the fact that the number of laborers in Yazhou was decreasing day by day, I felt that adults might not be willing to go around such a big circle. ”

Tao Donglai could not be fooled so lightly, and said with a smile: "To do the land deed of such a large place, you should also have to pay a lot of deed tax to the government, right?"

Luo Shengdong looked left and right, and said cautiously: "The four adults can each have a thousand taels of silver, and this matter can be handled by the government, and the procedures are complete, and there are no mistakes." ”

Tao Donglai laughed and said: "Luo Jiang is always so eloquent, I think you should not be an officer at all, go and open a tooth shop to do business, with your qualifications, you should be able to do very well!"

Luo Shengdong waved his hand again and again: "Mr. Tao doesn't make fun of this, what he said below is true, and it is definitely not made up. ”

Tao Donglai put away his smile and said, "Even if there is no instruction from these adults in Yazhou, we will directly go over and occupy Phoenix Town, so what can Yazhou do?"

Luo Shengdong's face became a little ugly: "This ...... Naturally, you have to pay the deed tax and grain to the government......"

"Do you rely on the Phoenix Inspection Division to collect the deed tax and grain?" Tao Donglai had a mockery on his face: "When the time comes, you can call them to try." ”

Wei Ping, the Yulin Inspection Division, and his gang are still being kept in captivity by the Haihan people like cattle in Shengli Port, and Luo Shengdong is very clear about this. If the Haihan people really want to occupy Phoenix Town, then the Phoenix Inspection Division will definitely enjoy the same treatment. As for paying taxes and taxes, the second crop of rice planted by the Haihan people is already approaching the harvest period, but I have not heard of them mentioning that they are going to pay the grain tax. If the Haihan people refuse to pay the grain, Yazhou really has no good way, and if they send tax collectors, they will definitely not receive anything, and if they want to send troops to arm the collection, most of them will not be able to defeat the Haihan militia that is all equipped with muskets.

Luo Shengdong thought of this, and slightly regretted why he wanted to be a lobbyist, although the title of Mr. Qian was attractive, but how could it be as good as the cash given by the Haihan people. If Tao Donglai is offended, there will be no room for this illegal salt trade in the future, and what should this big gang of brothers who are accustomed to eating and drinking with them deal with? Once the financial road is cut off, how will they support their families in the future with their meager military salaries?

Luo Shengdong's chaotic thoughts in his heart were mixed up, and he didn't care about talking nonsense with Tao Dong anymore. (.) But Tao Donglai took the initiative to provoke the conversation again: "I heard that Mr. Luo has already married Zhang Tong's family in Yazhou?"

"Ah? Mr. Tao is really well-informed, and he is indeed about this, and he is preparing to marry Miss Zhang next year. Luo Shengdong hurriedly responded: "At that time, I would like to invite Mr. Tao to Yazhou to drink a glass of water and wine." ”

"Well, let me know in advance...... I want to ask, if Zhizhou and Tongzhi retire at the same time, is it possible for you, the old man, to mention it?" Tao Donglai then asked.

"This ......" Luo Shengdong hesitated: "This matter may not be controlled locally." ”

Zhizhou from the fifth grade, the notice, the general judgment is the sixth grade, in fact, it is half a level, but the appointment of officials of this grade, that is required by the Ministry of Officials directly under the line, it is basically impossible to directly operate in the local black box.

If you put it in another place, vacating such a few official positions may make the candidate for the official position grab his head, but this place is Yazhou, so it's another matter. Almost no one volunteered to serve in this remote area where the prisoners were exiled, so the officials of the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture basically moved around the island to serve, slowly moving up the ranks. If you are lucky enough to be able to rub the prefect or prefect level, then you can hope to leave here and be transferred to the mainland, and these people in Yazhou are obviously a little bit unlucky, and they have reached the age of retirement when they finally get to the peak of their careers. And the vacant positions after their retirement are very likely to be local officials in Qiongzhou to succeed Luo Shengdong's father-in-law, Zhang Tongju, is naturally one of the candidates.

Compared with other competitors, Zhang Tongju's advantage is that he has been in Yazhou for a period of time and is familiar with the local people, and the handover of work is definitely much smoother than that of a new outsider. If the superiors consider it from an official point of view, Zhang Tongju is undoubtedly quite competitive. Of course, there will be other competitors in the middle, after all, Qiongzhou Island is a government under the jurisdiction of three states, and there is more than one official of the six products, and there may be others who have already targeted the position of Yazhou.

But Tao Donglai, based on the information he has learned so far, has some new plans for Yazhou, if he can manage to make Luo Shengdong's father-in-law the leader of Yazhou, what kind of situation will there be in the future?

Tao Donglai asked again: "If you can get the recommendation of the resignation Zhizhou, will this possibility be greater?"

Luo Shengdong listened to Tao Donglai's repeated questions about this matter, and his heart began to live, his father-in-law is not yet fifty years old, if he can be appointed as the governor at this age, it is entirely possible to achieve the goal of transferring to the mainland in the future. If you lose the fight, it is nothing more than continuing to be a six-grade general judge, but if you win, then you will be the emperor of the political side.

Luo Shengdong's thoughts flashed in his heart, and he hurriedly replied: "If there is a recommendation document from the current Zhizhou, it will naturally have a few more chances of winning." ”

Tao Donglai nodded and said, "In that case, you might as well think of a way in this direction, huh...... I also asked what your father-in-law meant, if he also has this will, then we might as well cooperate. ”

"Then the matter of Phoenix Town ......," Luo Shengdong asked tentatively.

"Phoenix Town is not in a hurry beforehand, and we are not in a hurry to develop that land now. Those adults in Yazhou just want benefits, it's not easy, as long as they are willing to jointly recommend your father-in-law to take over the position of Zhizhou, they will naturally have their benefits afterwards. Tao Donglai patted Luo Shengdong on the shoulder and said, "You know that I have always done what I said!"

Luo Shengdong hurriedly bowed his head and responded: "Mr. Tao does what he says, and I deeply admire him. Then please make plans for this matter after returning to Yazhou!"

"Don't rush, take your time, anyway, we won't know until next year at the earliest. Tao Donglai smiled and said: "As long as you cooperate with us well, the benefits in the future will not only be Zhizhou and Qianzong." ”

It took the fleet half a day to bypass Yalong Bay and slowly sail into the gorge where the Iron Furnace Port approached. Luo Shengdong, as the general manager of the water division, is also a professional, and he couldn't help but comment: "I have also inspected this place many times, but when I saw that the waterway here is narrow and crooked, I didn't go into it again, I didn't expect you to take a fancy to this place." ”

Tao Donglai said: "When this place is completed and put into operation, the output of salt will exceed that of the Yanchang Commune that you have visited before, and most of the salt produced here will be sold to the two provinces of Fuguang and even further afield." We will also become the largest salt merchant in the South China Sea, and you will also become the largest salt merchant in the entire Qiongzhou Island. ”

Luo Shengdong said in his heart Lao Tzu worked hard and worked hard for Haihan, but wasn't it just for this day?

Although the waterway that extends into the inland harbor is not too long, due to the topography, the waterway is winding and winding, and the ships cannot raise their speed at all, so it took a full hour for the fleet to finally reach the deep inland harbor, which is the true iron-hearted port.

To the east of Tielu Port is the waterway in and out of the harbor, to the south is close to the east-west Yalong Ridge, and to the west is the narrow valley leading to the Tiandu Industrial Zone, but at this time it is still in the state of primeval forest, and it will take a lot of time to open up this passage that is more than ten miles long. To the north of the harbor is the key development area of the new salt farm, which is three times the size of the Shengli Port Salt Farm Commune.

The previous expedition team had already built two trestle bridges near the shore for the arrival of the large army to stop. The shallower draft of the "Feisu" slowly sailed to the shore before anchoring, and several crew members lifted a long gangplank and took it from the stern gangway to the shore.

In terms of the content of the operation, the colonization of the Iron Furnace Port this time is basically a repetition of the landing mode of the original Shengli Port and the Black Earth Port, but after the experience of the first two times, the whole landing process is now more orderly and full of rules.

All the ships, including the warships of the water village, were numbered one by one before departure, and the materials loaded on each ship, in what order and at which trestle to stop and disembark, and where the unloaded goods should be transported to be stacked, all of which were planned in detail in advance. Therefore, the whole landing site appeared busy and orderly, and there was no sense of chaos.

It was the first time for Luo Shengdong to witness this kind of colonization action organized by the Haihan people, and this orderly scene made him feel greatly admired, and after watching it for a while, he couldn't help but turn around and scold a few cronies standing behind him: "Look at how people do it, learn a little! If we can have such an orderly loading and unloading arrangement, the time for us to go out around the island can be shortened by at least one or two days!"

After Luo Shengdong finished the training, he saw that several cronies were drooping their heads and didn't dare to respond, so he couldn't help but scold: "Why are you standing stupidly, can you learn it? Why don't you all go and help!"

The residential area planned by the Ministry of Construction is mainly to the west of the harbor, near the north and south sides of the exit of the valley of Tiandu Iron Furnace Port. The initial construction plan was for 500 people, but after Tao Dong came back, the executive committee decided to put North Vietnamese immigrants here for centralized resettlement, so the original construction plan has been revised, and the first phase of the living scale has been directly increased from 500 people to 500 households, which can accommodate about 2,000 residents.

Of course, given the current shortage of bricks, stones, cement and other building materials, the living quarters here will still be based on the theme of bamboo and wood boat-shaped houses, and only a small number of warehouses and confidential rooms will be made of stronger masonry.

The production area is directly located along the beach around the harbor, where the natural rise of the sea water level can eliminate a lot of irrigation operations as the tide rises and falls every day, and the production efficiency will exceed that of the existing Shengli Port Salt Farm Commune.

Large quantities of logs and planks are unloaded from the ship and then carried by ox carts to the already divided area. Because of the high uniformity of the size of the structure of the house, these building materials have been prefabricated in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Construction in Shengli Port, and all the building materials are stacked in different categories, and only need to be built in accordance with the prepared structure when used, which will be far more efficient than when developing Shengli Port and Black Soil Port before.

For this colonization project, the Executive Committee had to suspend part of the existing work and bring in nearly 400 laborers from the port of Victory. They will spend nearly half a month building two large villages in the north and south that can be inhabited and lived by 2,000 people. The construction of the production area here will be carried out in the form of construction and production, which is expected to last for a long time. This is also a helpless thing, after all, there is still a considerable area of the Yanchang Commune in Shengli Port that has not yet completed the reconstruction and expansion project, and the production area on this side of the Iron Furnace Port can probably only be built by the members here on their own.

An hour after arriving at the landing site, the first ships to dock had finished unloading their cargo and began to turn back. This time, the amount of construction materials transported to Tielu Port is relatively large, and these existing ships alone cannot be pulled in one trip, and they have to run at least twice. The standard load-bearing beams and columns required for the construction of the boat-shaped house alone are in the thousands, and most of the ships used this time are small tonnage, and many of the longer column heads cannot be stuffed into the cabin at all, so they can only be stacked on the deck, so the carrying capacity is extremely limited.

Due to the extremely tight arrangement of the whole landing and unloading process, the laborers could only eat lunch in batches. However, the Executive Committee has always had preferential policies for drudgery, and this time is no exception, and the workers involved in the action can eat meat.

The most desperate among the people who crossed the crowd was undoubtedly the people of the Ministry of Construction. If it was the Ministry of Shipping that sang the leading role when he came, then after arriving here, the protagonist became these people. Liu Shanxia took the tin microphone and commanded on the shore all morning, and his voice was already hoarse when he ate at noon, but after shaving two bowls of dry rice, he wiped his mouth with the bowl and went to the construction site again.

After Luo Shengdong sent all his subordinates and cronies to the construction site, he has been watching from the sidelines. Although it was not the first time he had seen such large-scale labor, he was still shocked. It's not that the power of the working people is enough to open up the world, but that these Haihan people obviously have the ability to be pampered and be the master, but on such occasions, almost everyone rolls up their sleeves and goes on the field, and many people do not do much easier work than those laborers. He really didn't understand what these Haihan people were thinking in their heads, and why they had to do these stupid things by themselves.

Taking advantage of the opportunity for Tao Donglai to come down from the construction site to drink water, Luo Shengdong asked him this question that had been bothering him for a long time. After listening to this, Tao Donglai laughed and said: "The reason why we do these things is not because of how diligent we are, nor because we can't stay idle, but purely to speed up our development." The more we do now, the sooner the day will come when we can sit down and enjoy the blessings. ”

Luo Shengdong looked confused, and he still didn't quite understand the connection between the two.

Tao Donglai saw this and said: "For example, at present, the construction of this salt farm, we expect that after the construction is fully completed, the daily output can reach at least 20,000 catties or more, even if it is calculated according to the salt price we give you now, the sooner we achieve this goal, we will have more than 1,000 taels of silver, ten days earlier there will be tens of thousands of taels, and this extra time, we can use it elsewhere to make more money." You said if it were you, would you be motivated enough?"

Luo Shengdong clapped his hands and said, "As soon as Mr. Tao said money, I immediately understood." When it comes to making money, you are indeed an expert. Before I got to know you, I could earn a hundred taels of silver a year, which would be a luxury, but now I have thousands of taels of money every month, which is like living in a dream. ”

Tao Donglai said with a smile: "Is there a lot of 1,000 taels? You can follow us well, don't talk about 1,000 taels in a few more years, you can earn 10,000 taels a month." ”

Luo Shengdong was intoxicated and said: "If there is really that day, I will resign from this martial arts position and be a rich man with peace of mind." ”

"Why do you resign? Keep doing it, we still want to slowly make you a general!" Tao Donglai said with a smile: "You don't want to set the end of your life at the height of the general." ”