Fenghou

"Did you not die on the road?" Chen Qing asked with a smile.

Chao Kun shook his head, "It's very strange, but there were no dead people on the road, not even sick ones. Some people fell ill within a few days after going ashore."

A group of people went to the west wall, which had been repaired. It was made of red bricks and looked very solid. There were many guard soldiers on the top of the wall, looking down on the Japanese peasants who were working.

Chen Qing leaned on the battlements and looked west. To the west was the magnificent sea, about two miles away from the county seat. Below the city, there was a straight avenue leading directly to the wharf. The wharf was very wide, and four large ships were moored there.

Chen Qing looked to the north again. The north should be the labor dormitory area. They are all wooden sheds made of simple wood. You can also see some women who are busy washing and washing vegetables. Needless to say, they all came with them. Japanese prostitute.

Chen Qing saw green smoke rising from a few places in the distance, so he pointed to the smoke and asked, "What's the smoke over there?"

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Chao Kun didn't react for a while, Zhou Tao, the chief steward who was following behind, laughed and said, "The smoke should be from the brick kiln!"

Only then did Chao Kun think of it, and said embarrassedly: "I chose the address of the brick kiln, and I have forgotten it. There are a total of three brick kilns, which are kept around day and night to ensure the bricks used for the construction of the city."

Chen Ji asked from the side: "Isn't it okay to ram the city with earth?"

Chao Kun shook his head, "Your Majesty, I don't know. There is a lot of rain here, and the rammed earth will collapse in a short time. It is better to use bricks to be stronger."

"I see!"

Chen Ji thought for a while and asked again: "Then when we build a house, should we use wood or bricks?"

"Both are used. Buildings like government offices and temples use bricks, while residential buildings use wood, which is more transparent and cooler in summer. We will also dig several sewage ditches in the city and build them with bricks. The sewage from every house flows out of the city. Finally flowed into the sea."

After a pause, Chao Kun said again: "There will be a small river dug in the city, the rainwater in the city can be collected into the river, and it will also give the common people a place to take a walk after dinner."

"Good! Well done!"

Chen Qing repeatedly praised that only when officials take the needs of the people into consideration can Ryukyu enjoy long-term peace and stability.

"Let's go to the south bank of the river to have a look!"

The crowd went down to the city and crossed the river on a temporary pontoon bridge. There were soldiers patrolling both the pontoon bridge and the river. Japan strictly forbids civilians to cross the river.Offenders will be shot to death.

There are also thousands of hectares of land on the south bank of the river. There are three villages with a total of more than a thousand households. Almost all of these people came from the Yellow River Flooding Area. Their homes were destroyed and they wandered around looking for new homes. They came to Fujian Road all the way. I happened to see the notice for the recruitment of immigrants in the big island of Ryukyu. They couldn't refuse the very tempting offer, 50 years of tax exemption, two hectares of land for one family, and an annual income of more than [-] guan.

When they found out that these favorable conditions were the promises given by King Yong, they signed up without hesitation.

The village was very quiet, and these two days happened to be rushing to harvest and plant. The first season of rice had just been harvested, and everyone was busy transplanting rice seedlings in the fields, and many people even led cattle to plow the paddy fields.

"According to the plan, after the county seat is repaired, most people will move to the county seat. Only a small village will remain here, and the land will be re-leveled as good farmland."

Chen Qing nodded, "Since the county seat has been built, is there a county magistrate?"

"Not yet. Although the city has been built, it still needs to be approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to officially become a county. However, there is only one person who can be recommended as the first county magistrate."

"It's Zhou Tao, the chief steward. He was originally the boss of Quanzhou. He was transferred to the Municipal Bureau of Shipbuilding from a humble position. Now he is in charge of managing tens of thousands of laborers. He is capable and down-to-earth. He manages [-] people in an orderly manner. The people here are also He is in charge of both sides, and he has a great reputation among the people, and the humble official strongly recommends him as the first county magistrate."

Chen Qing looked back and saw that Zhou Tao had already arranged for the civilian husband and was running over from the bridge. Chen Qing nodded, "I will think about it!"

Before the group came to the paddy field, the paddy field was as much as [-] hectares. This is the government's promise. Each household has two hectares of land, and the Quanzhou government also sent [-] cattle as their public property. At present, they practice village self-government. , Each village consists of a few old people to form an arbitration committee to mediate disputes, arrange farming and other affairs.

Although the people are busy planting rice seedlings, Chen Qing does not intend to go to the fields to help. First, it is not necessary, and he will not be able to help, but will add to the chaos. More importantly, Chen Qing has an old injury on his leg, so he cannot use cold water. He had to take care of it carefully, otherwise the scar would be very painful in winter, and the arrow Wanyan Huo Nu shot him in Linyou County still hurt his tendons.

Chen Qing sat down under a big tree. After a while, Zhou Tao found a group of old people from the field. They were all members of the arbitration committees of the villages. Chen Qing also wanted to chat with them.

More than a dozen old men knelt down and saluted, "See His Royal Highness King Yong!"

Chen Qing waved his hands with a smile and said, "You don't have to be polite, everyone, please sit down!"

Under the big tree is a resting place, there are many small stools, the old people sat around Chen Qing, Chen Qing said with a smile: "Everyone has come to settle in Ryukyu, it has been a year!"

"Not only! Not only! The earliest batch is almost three years old, and the latest batch came in the spring of last year, and it has been more than a year."

Chen Qing nodded, "Get used to it!"

"Our group of old men like it very much. It is quiet, rich, and no longer feels pain for life, but the young people are a bit restless, and it may be boring here."

"almost!"

Chen Qing pointed to the city behind him and said with a smile: "That is the new county. Most of your more than 1000 households will live in the city. When the time comes, shops, restaurants, teahouses, and even tiles will appear in the county, and young people will like it. .”

Everyone responded, "Yes! We are all looking forward to it."

"Now the family has an income of [-] yuan a year, right?" Chen Qing asked again with a smile.

All the old people were a little embarrassed, and one old man said: "It's about this amount. The main income comes from picking kapok in autumn. There are too many kapok trees here, and we can't pick even one of them every year."

Another old man said: "Although the income is a lot, it can't be spent. Except for oil, salt and daily necessities, I have nothing to buy. I grow food and vegetables by myself. I use kapok to weave clothes and eat them. The meat is also sent by the natives in the mountains."

Chen Qing was surprised and said, "Do you have any connection with Gaoshan natives?"

"Of course there is. There is a government-run grocery store in the village. At the same time, they receive goods. They also pick kapok and sell it. They buy daily necessities and go back. They often use the venison and goat meat they hunt to exchange food with us. They also catch a lot of fish. The rest will be exchanged for food with us."

"There is no conflict!"

"No!" Everyone shook their heads together.

An old man said: "They are very territorial, just like the beasts in the mountains. As long as we don't invade their territory, there will be no problem. But their territory is in the mountains, how can we go there?"

Chen Qing thought for a while, and said to Chao Kun: "I think it's best to reach an agreement with their leader. The two sides will not invade each other and live in peace."

Chao Kun hesitated and said, "Does Your Highness want to see their leader?"

"If you have time, you can see it, if you don't have time, forget it."

"Humble job arranges as much as possible!"

Chen Qing smiled and asked everyone: "Everyone has any thoughts and requests, and any dissatisfaction with this place, please bring them up, and I will try my best to solve them!"

"Your Highness, can you run a school so that children can study!"

"It's not a big problem. Arrangements are already underway. There is a school in the new county. If we move there, the school will open."

"Your Highness, there is still communication. We want to contact relatives in our hometown and ask them to come too."

"Your Highness, a bridge needs to be built over the muddy water."

……

Chen Qing laughed and said, "Don't worry! Everything will happen, and it will happen soon."

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Chen Qing returned to the north bank with a group of people, but found that there were many Japanese civilians gathered in front of him. Zhou Tao was startled, and hurried to check the situation, and came back soon to report: "His Royal Highness, there was a fight between two soldiers just now , was beaten to the point of bleeding, and attracted many civilians to watch."

Chen Qing's face sank and he said, "Go back to the boat and let the general of the garrison meet me!"

Chen Qing then met Li Fan, the commander of the army stationed on the big island of Ryukyu, on the big ship.

At present, 500 soldiers are stationed on Ryukyu Island and [-] soldiers are stationed on Penghu Island. These [-] soldiers not only protect the safety of the people and monitor [-] Japanese laborers, but also represent the will of the Yong Kingdom. The island belongs to the territory of Yong State.

Of course, Chen Qing also cared about these soldiers, after all, they were the first batch of Western troops stationed overseas.

Chen Qing smiled and asked Li Fan to sit down, "Don't be nervous, we're just chatting casually, not a formal report."

Li Fan straightened his back and looked serious, or nervous. He knew that King Yong's meeting with him must have something to do with the fight just now.

Seeing that he was very nervous, Chen Qing smiled and asked, "General Li was originally Niu Dutong's subordinate, right?"

"Exactly, I joined the army eight years ago, and I have been under Niu Dutong's command. Later, I came to Quanzhou with General Huyan."

"Where is General Li from?"

"Humble job is from Chencang County, Fengxiang Prefecture."

Chen Qing nodded, "It's not easy to come from Guanzhong to stay overseas for a long time. Brothers are satisfied with the treatment now!"

"Reporting to Your Highness, our treatment is very good, and everyone is quite satisfied."

In fact, the salaries of the Western Army are the same, but the allowances of the garrisons in different places are different. The allowances of the frontier troops are relatively high, and the highest is the overseas garrison allowance. There are three per month allowances, and all kinds of meals are very good.

"We should pay more attention to the demands of the soldiers, but we must also strictly enforce military discipline and combine leniency with strictness. Do you understand what I mean?"

"The humble officer understands that our military discipline is strict, and we have never harassed the people."

"But just now there were soldiers fighting openly, and the fight was bad. What's going on?" Chen Qing's tone became severe.

Li Fan hurriedly knelt down on one knee and reported, "It's the humble officer who doesn't manage the army strictly, and the humble officer is willing to take all the responsibilities."

"Who should bear the responsibility is my right. You don't need to do it for me. You just need to explain the matter clearly to me. What's going on?"

Li Fan sighed and said, "Soldiers are strictly forbidden to gamble, but they are lenient when soldiers seek prostitutes. When soldiers are on vacation, they will go to shantytowns to find prostitutes. There are many prostitutes there."

Chen Qing frowned, "Are there no military prostitutes?"

"Not yet!"

Chen Qing also understood the loneliness of the soldiers, so he nodded and said: "After the county is built, there will be brothels, military prostitutes may not be set up, but it's best not to go to the shantytowns...Forget it, you continue to talk, why are you fighting? "

"A group of Japanese prostitutes came a few days ago, about a dozen of them. Today is their first day to receive customers. Many soldiers ran away, and absurd things happened."

"What absurd thing, speak clearly!"

Li Fan smiled wryly: "All of us suddenly fell in love with one of them, and then he wanted to redeem this woman, and the soldiers behind him were all queuing up, and he didn't allow others to touch this woman, and as a result...then a fight broke out."

Chen Qing was stunned, and this kind of thing is really absurd.

"And then, how do you deal with it?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, this Dutou is called Zhong Hui, who has repeatedly made military exploits. Just after I asked him about the situation, His Highness called for him before he had time to deal with him."

Chen Qing pondered for a while and said: "Go and bring the man, I will ask him personally!"

Li Fan saluted and hurried away.

Chen Qing walked around with his hands behind his hands. The reason why he paid attention to this matter was because he needed to understand the situation of overseas soldiers, understand their inner world, and grasp some representative things. A system that is more reasonable and more popular with soldiers can be formulated.

In fact, Chen Qing has already felt that it is women who have the deepest influence on overseas soldiers. He understands the loneliness of soldiers overseas, and he can get some comfort from women.

At this time, the soldiers said outside the cabin: "Your Highness, they are here!"

"Let them in!"

Not long after, Li Fan brought in a sergeant. The sergeant knelt on one knee and cupped his fists and said, "Zhong Hui, the head of the overseas military battalion, sees Your Highness!"

Chen Qing saw that Zhong Hui was about [-] years old, tall, strong, and handsome, so he asked him, "What achievements have you made?"

"Reporting to Your Highness, when the Western Army seized Jingxing Pass, I was the first to rush to the pass. He once beheaded 19 Jurchen soldiers and jumped from soldier to capital."

Chen Qing nodded secretly. These contributions are not small, so he asked coldly: "Since you are a person who has made great contributions, you should understand military discipline better. Are you taking credit for yourself?"

Zhong Hui hastily said: "I have never violated military discipline. This is a fight with me. I do violate military discipline. I am willing to be punished, but don't let innocent people be implicated!"

"Your Highness, Zhong Dutou means that there is a reason for the incident." Li Fan next to him couldn't help interceding for him.

Chen Qing glared at Li Fan, and said to Zhong Hui: "You first explain the matter clearly, and I will make a decision later."

Zhong Hui lowered his head and said sadly: "Bizhi originally had a wife in his hometown, who unfortunately passed away due to dystocia ten years ago. He has always missed his wife in his heart, and originally didn't want to marry again, but five days ago, when he was on duty by the river, he met Several laundry prostitutes, they are all new here, but one of them is not the same, not very gregarious, ridiculed by others, I feel that she does not look like a prostitute, she has a different temperament, and I met again by the river the next day When I saw her, I talked to her a few words, and found that her smile was somewhat similar to that of the lowly deceased wife."

An old story, Chen Qing shook his head and asked again: "And then?"

"Then I couldn't forget her. Later, I chatted with some brothers and said that among the new prostitutes, there was a good girl who had never received a customer. Everyone wanted to fight for the first one. I suspected that it was that woman, so I found a brothel overnight. The old bustard bought that woman’s No. [-] brand with five pennies, and it turned out to be that woman. She was really the first time. Later, she told me that she was a woman from a good family with too many brothers and sisters. She was the second child. , in order to marry a wife for the eldest brother, he sold himself to the sea..."

"How do you talk, do you understand the language?" Chen Qing interrupted him and asked.

"Reporting to Your Highness, I have been guarding Japanese laborers in humble positions for two years, and I can understand quite a few of their languages."

"Go on!"

"Then I pulled her out, forbade her to receive any more customers, and told the bustard that I would redeem her body, but the soldiers in the queue at the back quit and came to arrest her and go back to her room. Her speech was ugly, and the humble officer couldn't help it for a while and started fighting. .”

Chen Qing suddenly said angrily: "Because of a prostitute, you fought with your brothers and ruined the reputation of the Western Army. I think you are thinking about women and getting lost."

Zhong Hui knelt down and wept: "Humble wife has passed away for ten years, served in the army for seven years, and has never been attracted to other women. This is the first time in ten years. Your Highness, she is not a prostitute. Humble is her first man. The humble official wants to marry her."

Li Fan also knelt down on one knee to intercede for Zhong Hui: "Your Highness, Zhong Dutou is 35 years old, his parents have passed away, he has no brothers in his family, and he has no heirs so far. I implore Your Highness to grant him. For matters of military discipline, low-ranking officials will punish him separately! "

Chen Qing was quite moved by Li Fan's words. He was 35 years old and had no heirs, and he was still guarding the sea for himself. The anger in his heart finally disappeared.

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"Where is that woman?"

"She's just under the boat. I'm afraid that something will happen to her, so I keep her with me."

Chen Qing walked to the side of the boat and looked down the boat. Sure enough, there was a Japanese woman in a white kimono, about 20 years old at most, standing alone on the shore. Other prostitutes should be a good family woman, otherwise it would not be the first time.

"You really want to marry her?"