With Weiwei and Chun Han, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's team set off. They did not take the land route as it was not a place where humans could walk. They headed northeast, and it would take at least three months to reach their destination.
Little Bei and the others followed them. They could see the sea this time. They had no impression of the sea. Even if they were born in Lu Zhou, it was impossible for them to stand at the seaside and watch it for a few months.
Old Man Pi and the other two did not follow them this time. They could not afford the hassle. More importantly, they knew that Jili Province had a small population. Naturally, there were few farmers there. It was likely that it would be difficult to even eat there.
The fleet took the Cao Canal, entered the Wei River, crossed the Yellow River, and rushed out from Bohai Bay.
"This is the sea? Why don't I remember? "Little Bei stood on the deck at the bow and looked at the vast sea.
"I was still young then. I'm not like now." Little Yuan found the reason.
"You're not old now. It's convenient to eat seafood now." Little Bei liked to eat seafood. Usually, he ate it by ship, and the cost was higher.
"I don't eat sea fish. It's fishy." Little Yuan wanted to poke his head out to see where the ship was in contact with the water, but the guards held him back mercilessly.
Little Bei was much more stable. He allowed the sea breeze to blow his hair and said, "River fish is fishy. It's earthy."
"Sea fish is fishy."
"River fish is fishy."
*****
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan were not in the mood to look at the sea. The two of them had achieved their goal and were finally arranged to go to Dalian. However, Dalian was not called Dalian at this time, and it was not as prosperous as it would be in the future. The road was difficult, and it was even worse than Sichuan.
The only road that could be considered better was the road that the army used to destroy Korea. However, that had nothing to do with Jili Province. No one would send troops from Jili Province.
"Xiaobao, since the population statistics over there are incomplete, take a look. There are only four hundred households recorded in the booklet in one prefecture, with a population of more than eleven hundred people. No matter how small the population is, it can't be this small."
Wang Juan laid out the information that needed to be used there. She pointed at a piece of data and complained to Zhang Xiaobao.
"It's already not easy to do this. Let alone here, even when we took it, who could say that we could control the entire population?" Zhang Xiaobao made a gesture on a map. If Dalian wanted to develop, it was impossible to build a good road. If they could not afford to build a good road, then they could only go by sea. They needed to find a suitable place to build a pier.
Wang Juan put away the information that she had not read. "That's true. We'll talk about it when the time comes. The problem of population is really troublesome. How do we transport people from other places?"
"It's probably difficult to transport people from other places, but if we transport people from Shandong, there aren't many people in Shandong's Dan Zhou. With so many pieces of land there, who would be willing to come? Later on, there was a large population in the Northeast. In fact, most of them were immigrants from Shandong. But it's different now. There are many people south of the Yellow River, but they don't want to come. "
Zhang Xiaobao did not have any good ideas about population. There were many slaves in Tubo, but they could not be transported here. They could become an army if they wanted to, but in Jili, they would be ordinary people. Moreover, when they left, they would be handed over to the next person.
Wang Juan agreed. "Indeed. The people in the South can grow crops twice a year. In the places further south, they can grow crops three times a year. Who would want to come to the Northeast, where crops only grow once a year? There are not many people here, but there are many resources here. It's just that they haven't been developed yet. Before the reform and opening up, the Northeast Heavy Industry supported more than half of the country's industrial system."
"Yes, especially Daxing City, which is not too far away from Jili. It's also Dan Dong. The manufacturing of cars there is better, and it provides support to the front line. But now, it's not good."
Zhang Xiaobao recalled as well. Then, he said, "The main problem now is how to develop Dalian's specialties and how to sell them. I don't think it's a tourist spot. People would rather go to Lu Zhou than come here. We can't find so many service staff. Let's build one ourselves and enjoy ourselves."
"Then, let's call it Heavenly Earth," Wang Juan came up with a name.
"No, what kind of place is that? It's not good," Zhang Xiaobao objected.
"Why is it not good? Even Little White said that we'll meet in Heavenly Earth. There's also the unlucky emperor, the one who wrote very well. It corresponds to 'In the dream, I don't know where I am, I'm a guest, I'm greedy for pleasure.' Let's call it Heavenly Earth."
Wang Juan did not want to reject a good name just because something happened when someone else used it.
"Then, let's call it Heavenly Earth." Zhang Xiaobao did not know how Heavenly Earth came to be. When he saw Wang Juan insisting, he agreed. Then, he said, "Did you see Little Li's expression when he arranged the officials for us? It was as if Xiaobei and the others had taken advantage of him. Sigh! The Emperor made him take the position. "
"Yes, I saw it. He thought that he had finally schemed against us this time. Actually, I feel sorry for him. Didn't we just cheat him of a good ranch? Did he have to miss it so much?"
Wang Juan covered her mouth and laughed.
The fleet continued to move forward. When they were about to reach their destination, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan took out new clothes for their younger siblings. They wore thicker clothes than when they were in the capital. It was cold here, and the spring breeze penetrated their bones.
A few days later, when they were about to reach the shore, trouble came. Although they could build a very good harbor here, there was no ready-made one now.
Zhang Xiaobao began to look for the deep water bay according to his memory. The fleet that came out was a sea boat. The shallow bay could not reach the shore. The ships also carried a lot of materials that had to be transported up. Zhang Xiaobao did not want his younger siblings to live in shacks like the locals.
At this time, there were also several fishing boats that were floating on the sea. They stopped what they were doing and shaded their eyes with their hands. They had never seen such a large fleet. Even if there were cargo ships occasionally passing by, or warships before, it could not compare to the scene they saw today.
They saw more than ten mountain-like boats with wheels on both sides. The sails on the boats were like a forest. They formed a diagonal line and approached them. It looked very impressive.
"Father, where did these boats come from?" A young man in his twenties on a small fishing boat was frightened. He asked the person standing at the stern who was about to cast the net in his hand but stopped there.
"Don't be afraid. A boat from the Great Tang. It must be the Great Tang." The person who was asked was also faintly worried.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan's fleet did not fly the flag of the Great Tang. They only had the flag of the rice seedlings. The communications here were not as good as those around the capital, so the local people did not know which side those messy flags represented.
"Send a small boat to check where we can reach the shore. Lower the anchor and lower the sails." When Shang Xiaobao, who was on the boat, saw that they could not continue forward, he gave an order. Immediately, someone began to lower the boat. The boat's anchor was also lowered into the water, and the sails fell one by one, leaving only the mast standing there.
Xiao Bei hurriedly ran back to the cabin. After a while, he ran back to the deck with a pair of binoculars in his hand. He looked at the fishing boat.
"Send people over to comfort the people. Remember to speak properly. This place is not like the places around the capital, nor is it on the two sides of the Yangtze River. Perhaps the people still don't know who we are."
When Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan came over, they had already understood the situation here. The people here were not the original Great Tang people. It was very mixed. There were people from Xinluo and people from Khitans. They might not be as obedient as they were in other places. They might listen on the surface but secretly cause trouble.
Wang Juan stood beside Zhang Xiaobao. She was also using binoculars to look at the fishermen fishing there. She asked Zhang Xiaobao, "What can you see from their eyes?"
"What? I can't see it. I only see curiosity and a little worry. I don't see any hostility towards us. "
Zhang Xiaobao understood the meaning of Wang Juan's question. She just wanted to see the other party's attitude.
Wang Juan looked carefully again and said, "They are curious now because they don't know who we are. They are worried because they are afraid that we will beat them. We have a lot of boats, but once they find out that we are their local officials, they might not be so. Will they fight or not?"
"How can it be as scary as you say? They didn't rebel when the previous emperor was here. Do you think they will rebel now? There is one advantage to this place, and that is that we don't have to pay any tax to the imperial court. We don't even have to pay tribute. "
Zhang Xiaobao did not intend to use force to solve the problem as soon as he came. Force was only a guarantee. People still needed to communicate with each other. When there was force to support it, communication was convenient.
"Brother, Uncle Emperor really said that we don't need to pay taxes. When we came, he didn't mention this." Xiaohai, who was standing to the side, raised his head and asked Zhang Xiaobao.
Zhang Xiaobao finally reacted. He slapped his forehead and said, "That's right, he didn't mention this. Normally, we don't need to pay taxes. Even if we do, it will only be given to the various commander-in-chief's manors here. The amount is very small, and no one will force it. Aiya, if he insists on waiting for us to develop and send things to the imperial court, it will be troublesome.
I think I have to think about it. "" I think this is Li Longji's plan. He wants to use us as the tip of the knife to break through. No wonder he told us to bring more people. It turns out that he was afraid that someone would do something bad to us. "
Wang Juan also understood. She sighed and said, "Li Longji is not stupid. He has a good plan. Good, this is Li Longji. He didn't let me down."
Zhang Xiaobao was also stunned and thought about it. After a while, he said, "How many people are coming this time? Two teams of 600 people to protect the seedlings. No, that's not enough. I think Li Longji is waiting for us to stabilize before he wants us to think of a way to build a transportation route from here to the capital.
That must be it. He probably wants us to help build a good road to facilitate the transportation of troops. How can that be? Immediately send a letter to Sanshui County and Huayuan County. Temporarily transfer 500 good bailiffs and send them here. They can replenish their troops themselves. "
Zhang Xiaobao thought about the international situation and finally realized that there were many things to do this time. It seemed that not only did they have to govern the place well, they also had to engage in a secret battle with those who were ready to make trouble.
"Transfer Zhang Ying and Zhang Hu over as well. We need them here." Wang Juan added.
The pigeons carrying the letter flew towards Sanshui County with great effort. They wanted to send the order there as soon as possible.
Looking for suitable places to dock, the boats dispersed. Another boat carried a servant girl from the inner courtyard and asked someone to send her to the fishermen. It was easier to send a girl.
The fishermen were very vigilant when they saw the approaching boat. When they saw the fairy-like girl on the boat, Weiwei was relieved.
"Uncle, brother, is this the location of Jili Province?" the servant girl asked.
As soon as she spoke, the young man immediately felt embarrassed. He didn't know where to put his hands. He grabbed his trousers hard and just nodded without saying anything.
Seeing his son like this, the 'old man' immediately understood what was going on. He couldn't see such a beautiful girl here. At this time, his son was shy and had to say it himself. He replied, "It is Jili Province. Where are you from?"
"The capital. I came here with my young master and young lady to take office. My young master and young lady will be officials in Jili Province in the future. Uncle, you have to support them." The servant girl said with a smile.
The fishermen next to them also heard it, but they didn't understand what it had to do with them being officials. Whoever wanted to be officials could be officials. How could they support them? Did they want them to send things to them?
The servant girl was also afraid that others would misunderstand, so she immediately said, "When the time comes, don't oppose. Help us do it together."
"Do we work for free?" A fisherman didn't care whether the servant girl was beautiful or not. The more beautiful a woman was, the more he couldn't get close to her. Why did he care about that?
"Of course, it's not for free. Who would let people work for free? I wonder if this big brother can tell me how much money you earn from fishing in a day?"
The servant girl wanted to know the income of the fishermen here.
The fishermen on the boats didn't understand. How could they earn money? The fish they caught were exchanged for things. If they couldn't exchange for something, they would eat it themselves.
The old man said to the servant girl, "How can there be money? Fishing can't make money. Sometimes no one is willing to exchange for some rice and noodles."
The servant girl understood immediately. The population here was small, so they couldn't eat so much fish. Moreover, there weren't many seasonings when eating fish, so naturally no one was willing to eat it.
Therefore, she began to make promises to the fishermen. "Everyone, don't worry. As long as my young master and young lady take office, even if they are fishing, they can make money. With spare money at home, they can do other things."
When the fishermen heard the servant girl's words, they didn't react strongly. In fact, they didn't feel anything because they didn't believe that fishing could make money. They were satisfied as long as they could eat.
In order to prove that what she said was credible, the servant girl took out a string of copper coins from her sleeve and said to the fishermen, "It just so happens that my young master and young lady want to eat fish. Why don't you sell the fish to me? One copper coin for two catties of fish. I'll buy as much as you have today. This is the deposit."
As she spoke, the servant girl threw the string of copper coins at the feet of the very shy young man just now. It made a slight noise when it touched the wooden board.
The fishermen's eyes lit up. That was a real copper coin to buy fish.
"You really want to buy fish? One copper coin for two catties? Won't you regret it? "The fisherman just now confirmed in disbelief.
"Of course we'll buy it. We've already given the money, so how can we regret it? Everyone, go ahead and I'll send someone to pick it up later. My young master and young lady have always been good to the people. If you don't believe me, you can ask around. The Zhang family of Sanshui County."
The servant girl said affirmatively and mentioned Sanshui County again. However, the fishermen were at a loss. They had never heard of Sanshui County, and they also didn't know who the Zhang family was.
The fishermen didn't know, so they didn't think too much about it. The most important thing now was that the fish could be sold for money. This was really not easy. All of them promised that they would fish more. Only then did they watch the servant girl leave on the boat.
When the servant girl's boat was far away, the fishermen watched the shy young man pick up the copper coins. They felt like they were in a dream. Suddenly, many big boats came, and then a fairy came down. Then, the fairy wanted to buy fish with Kaiyuan Tongbao. What was going on today?
"Father, the money." The young man didn't dare to take the money himself and handed it to his father.
The old man took the money and said to the other envious people, "Leave the money with me first. Go fishing. We'll calculate it after you're done. This is only the deposit. There's still the big part."
When the others heard the old man's words, they began to disperse and went to their respective positions to fish with all their might, hoping to catch more. This was money. It was difficult to exchange fish for things, but it wasn't difficult to buy with money.
Rich people were stupid.
After fishing for a while, the people on one of the boats seemed to be lucky. They cast a few nets in succession, and a lot of fish came up with each net. In the past, it was rare for this to happen.
After fishing happily, the people on the boat moved to the old man's side and said to him, "Third Master, do you think they're really here to be officials? That servant girl is so beautiful. I wonder how the young lady inside is like. "
"Go, go, go, go catch your fish. Are you still thinking about other people? Even if you have a hundred heads, it won't be enough to chop them off. Whether it's true or not, we'll know when they come over. "
The old man didn't fish much, so he impatiently waved his hand to chase them away.
The people who were chased away laughed. As they moved slowly to the side, they said, "Third Master, they're here. What about the original officials? The original officials always come here to collect things. If we don't give them to them, they will rob others. I heard that Lord Li's family is very rich. Wanguans. "
This person probably didn't know how much the boats in front of him were worth, and he didn't know how much money the people on the boats had. A wanguan was already a lot for him.
The old man stared at him, "Where are the wanguans? How can you get a wanguan by robbing those things? What else can we do? The new ones are here. The original ones will go down. Hurry up, or I'll go to your side to fish. I'll leave this side to you. "
"No, no, no. I'll go back now. I'm just worried that the new ones will rob more ruthlessly than the original ones. The original ones only had a hundred people. Look at the new ones. They have a group of big boats. They can't beat them. But they're also stupid. They actually used cash to buy fish."
The person said. He was afraid that his position would really be snatched away, so he didn't say anything else. He sailed the boat back, humming an unpleasant song. He seemed very happy.
Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan also released more small boats to go into the sea to catch fish. Unlike the fishermen here, who cast nets one by one, they used two boats to pull the nets together. The nets they used were a mixture of cotton and linen, which was stronger than normal fishing nets. They were not afraid that the nets would be broken when they were pulled by bigger fish. Even if the nets were broken, they could still drag the nets to catch fish.
Two boats were in a group. After dragging for a while, they poured the net of fish onto the boats. Immediately, people began to clean up. Very quickly, the people with nimble hands removed the internal organs with a knife. The iron thorns were removed with a few brushes and the scales were removed. Some of the fish were still moving when they were thrown into a bucket at the side.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
