The crown prince Zhao Kuanghuan landed at Lushunkou.

Zhu Yuanzhang recovered Liaodong that year, and it was here that he landed across the sea and renamed Lion's Mouth Lushunkou.

Lushun, that is, travel smoothly.

In the entire Ming Dynasty, Lushun is the most important outlet to the sea in eastern Liaodong, and a large number of Northeast native products are shipped to Shandong from here. Commodities from the north and south were also transported from Shandong to Lushun, and then diverged to the entire northeast region.

The Datong court emigrated to the northeast for many years, and organized the Jurchens and Mongols into households, and now there are more than one million people in Liaoning Province. Although the population is certainly inferior to that of the Ming Dynasty, commerce is much more prosperous, as can be seen from the prosperity of Port Arthur.

Before Zhao Kuanghuan got off the boat, he saw the lively and busy wharf scene.

There are no lever cranes here, everything is handled by manpower. And the wages are comparable to Shanghai, after all, Liaoning is full of land to be cultivated, the population of cities and docks is not large, and there are few people who are willing to carry the contract to do coolies.

Most of the pearls, furs and even Siberian specialties from the Heilongjiang River basin were imported into the mainland through Lushun.

Before the prince entered the port, there were already warships to clear the harbor, and all merchant ships had to get away. After all, merchant ships are allowed to carry six small cannons, so what if there is one who is not long-sighted, how can you fire a few cannons at the prince's ship?

Immediately after that, the pier also opened a passageway, and the busy commercial activities came to a halt in an instant.

Zhao Kuanghuan, under the protection of the guards, slowly came to the shore. He was a little unhappy when he saw that everyone was being driven away, but he also understood the work of the guards.

"The tall man, call him over." Zhao Kuanghuan pointed to a coolie in the distance.

The coolie was brought to the prince, and he was a little excited while being apprehensive, and subconsciously wanted to kneel and bow, but Zhao Kuanghuan held him up with his own hands.

"How much is the monthly salary?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The coolie replied, "Five or six pieces when there is more, and two or three pieces when there is little." ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "What is the price of grain this year?" ”

The coolie replied, "Two cents a pound of rice and seven pounds of wheat, both of which are more expensive than last year." ”

"What is a bag of rice?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The attendant next to him whispered: "Your Highness, the rice is corn." ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "What about rice?" ”

The coolie said: "Liaoning grows little rice, and the price is very expensive, and the poor cannot afford to eat it. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "How many people are in the family?" ”

The coolie gradually became less nervous, and said like a bamboo tube pouring beans: "My father came here in the sixth year of the Minshi, and the government helped marry my mother, who used to be a slave of the Tartars. There is an eldest brother in the family, and several younger siblings, all of whom have been allocated land in the countryside. I can't do farming, and I can't study, so I came to this dock to carry my bag. Although it is tiring, it is much faster than farming to make money. I also courted my wife three years ago, I have been married for two years without children, and not long ago I gave birth to twins, and my wife is still confined at home. ”

"Can one person support a family?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The coolie grinned, "It's going to be a good day." My wife was confined, and I also bought her chicken stew soup to eat. In the countryside, I will bring money back to honor my parents during the Chinese New Year. In Datong Bank, I have saved more than 10 yuan, and I can still eat bank interest every month. I'm renting a house right now, and I'm planning to buy a house next year. ”

"It is indeed a good life to have a wife, a house, and children." Zhao Kuanghuan said with a smile.

The coolie smiled and said, "It's all the blessing of Lord Banzai." ”

After walking dozens of steps, Zhao Kuanghuan pointed to a middle-aged man and called the person over for questioning.

"What do you do for a living?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The middle-aged man replied: "Back to Your Highness, the grass people are running business for the owner. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "What kind of business?" ”

The middle-aged man replied: "At first, I collected ginseng in Shenyang and Liaoyang, and shipped it to Lushun to sell. Later, he began to collect fur, and the owner's business became bigger and bigger, and he went to Hailan to open a semicolon a few years ago. ”

"I didn't ask the owner, I asked yourself." Zhao Kuanghuan said.

The middle-aged man said: "The grass people are the third shopkeepers of the Lushun branch, who specially contacts the southern merchants and sells the goods from the northeast to the south. ”

The big shopkeeper can be understood as the general manager, the second shopkeeper is equivalent to the financial and administrative director, and the third shopkeeper is responsible for sales and operations.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "How much do you get paid every month?" ”

The middle-aged man replied in detail: "The monthly salary is 15 yuan, and there is a red reward at the end of the year." If it is a big business, the owner will have another reward. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan smiled: "Then you are a rich man." ”

The middle-aged man also said: "Thanks to the blessing of the Lord Banzai, it is a good time." When the grass people were young, there was chaos everywhere, and there was no way to do business. Fortunately, His Majesty swept the four seas, and only then did he have today's good situation. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked again: "How many children are there in the family?" ”

The middle-aged man said: "There are four daughters and one son, and the son is in his thirties. However, the grass people are not spoiled, they should still be beaten, and now they have graduated from primary school. The study is not bad, and I guess I can get a secondary school diploma. If you don't pass the public scholarship exam, you will go to university at your own expense, and you may be able to become an official in the future. ”

"Then I wish Ling Gongzi the title of the gold list." Zhao Kuanghuan arched his hand and said.

The middle-aged man hurriedly bowed: "Ouch, Your Highness has tormented the grass people." With the auspicious words of His Royal Highness, if the dog can be named on the gold list, he will definitely be a good official who is loyal to the monarch and serves the country. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan invited several people to inquire again, and found that Lushun was thriving.

The main reason is that at the end of the Ming Dynasty, Liaodong was broken, the land was vast and sparsely populated, and the land was reduced or exempted for many years, and the peasants could live a good life by farming. As for the city, especially the wharf, there are many farmers who enter the city, just because the city and the wharf make money quickly, and they are more energetic than digging in the soil.

I also asked two merchants, and they both said that the officials did not exploit it, and paid the shop tax according to the rules every year.

Continuing north, you pass a village.

Zhao Kuanghuan first called an old farmer and asked, "Old man, where is your ancestral hometown?" ”

The old farmer replied, "The grass people are from the south, Koreans. However, the hometown of the grass people, I heard that it was also classified into Liaoning, and a few years ago, Long Live Lord beat it down. ”

"Then you speak Chinese very neatly." Zhao Kuanghuan said.

The old farmer said: "When the grass people were young, they were captured by the Tartars and brought to Liaodong to farm. Whipping every day is not a man's life. Later, he followed the Tartars to Hebei and still farmed for the Tartars. When he returned to Liaodong, he was finally rescued by the imperial court, and he also got his wife to share the land. The life of the grass people was given by the Lord of Long Live Heaven. ”

"There are a lot of Koreans in the village?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

The old farmer stretched out a slap: "There are only five whose hometowns are in North Korea." There are also twelve Liaodong natives, three from Jiangsu, two from Anhui, two from Jiangxi, and one from Zhejiang. Earlier, we were the only ones in the village, and at that time there was wasteland everywhere, all of which we had reclaimed. Later, more than 10 families moved into the village, and the village chief also came from that group. The village chief is a lame Datong army, and he took the whole village to dig a canal, which was dug and more grain was harvested. ”

"Where's the village chief?" Zhao Kuanghuan shouted.

A middle-aged farmer came running crappily with mud on his trouser legs, presumably just coming back from the field. He came to the prince, stood up straight, clenched his fists and crossed arms in front of his chest, and saluted the prince: "Li Guigui, the sergeant of the 1st Brigade and 1st Regiment of the 13th Division of the former Datong Army, see His Royal Highness the Prince!" ”

Zhao Kuanghuan said happily: "Okay, you have spirit, your legs and feet are inconvenient, and you sit down to talk." ”

"Yes!" Li Guigui also sat up straight.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "Is there any difficulty at home?" ”

Li Guigui said: "No. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Your official words are good, where is your hometown?" ”

Li Guigui said: "My hometown is in Anhui. ”

"Did your parents bring you to Liaoning?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Guigui said: "My father has passed away, but my mother is still there, and she was raised by my brother in my hometown, and I did not bring it to Liaoning. After Datong Bank opened a postal transfer, I sent money to my old mother every three years. There is not much money, but it is a heart. ”

"Really filial," Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "do you have a wife and children locally?" ”

Li Guigui said: "Yes, my wife is still the concubine of the Tartar nobles, and she was caught by drawing lots when she was a soldier. Very promising, three sons, four daughters, all of them are supported. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "How many acres of land is at home?" ”

Li Guigui said: "More than 40 acres. ”

"A lot, can you plant it?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Guigui said: "The first to plant can't be planted, the eldest and second in the family are more than ten years old, and they can help now." ”

If the soldiers who have retired from the army in Liaodong are willing to stay in Liaodong, they have resettlement fields, and they are all good fields. Wasteland is everywhere here, and Li Guigui's children, as long as they are at least 12 years old, can apply for land division when they are registered.

When all his seven children grow up, it is estimated that the family has nearly 100 acres of land, and after a few decades, he will be considered a small landlord.

Zhao Kuanghuan asked: "Does the government oppress the people and arbitrarily levy taxes and miscellaneous taxes?" ”

Li Guigui smiled: "I don't know anywhere else, and Liaoning definitely doesn't." Basically, in every village, there are one or two veterans. A veteran soldier, both as a village chief and as a peasant captain, which corrupt official dares to mess around? ”

"Hahahaha." Zhao Kuanghuan was amused by these words.

It can only be said that there are too many veterans in Liaodong, some of them are disabled and some are discharged when they are old. The society here is relatively pure, not as complicated as in the south, and if something happens, the veterans really dare to take the peasants and soldiers against the officials.

Not so in the southern provinces, veterans don't count anything, so it's more convenient to find certain jobs.

"Is there a school in the village?" Zhao Kuanghuan asked.

Li Guigui said: "There was no one before, firstly, it was difficult to find a gentleman, and secondly, there were not many children in the village. Five years ago, a small school was built, and the government did not pay for it, and every brick and tile was built by the villagers. In the school, there is only one teacher, and he teaches from the first to the third grade...... Not very well taught. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan asked, "What's wrong?" ”

Li Guigui said: "In the past five years, there have been two batches of students who have completed primary school, but only one child has obtained a graduation certificate, and the others are all graduation certificates. ”

Zhao Kuanghuan couldn't cry or laugh, the teacher here really didn't have any level.

Whoever completes elementary school has an elimination rate of more than 50%, but not everyone can graduate from everything.