New Shun 1730

"Conditions and so on, that's easy to talk about. At least one thing, working in Nanyang can make you full, isn't that enough?"

The retired officer who came to recruit people gave a condition that the victims could not refuse.

The world at that time seemed extremely magical to later generations.

On the other side of the earth, the indentured slaves in Massachusetts were rioting to protest that they could only eat lobsters every day.

So much so that the colonial government had to introduce a policy that farmers could not feed slaves more than three lobsters a week.

Lobsters in the north, watermelons in the south.

On this side of the ocean, the good people of Dashun who were not slaves or indentured slaves were eagerly looking forward to a bowl of relief porridge. Everyone's bowl did not need to be washed, but could be licked clean by just licking it.

Liu Yu had long told those businessmen that when recruiting people to Nanyang, especially the Huanghuai area, there was no need to consider the so-called "taking advantage of the disaster year".

Because since the Yellow River went south, northern Jiangsu and northern southern Jiangsu have been disaster years almost every year. People will not regard the sun rising as usual as a "God-given opportunity", but as an inevitable background.

The embarrassment here is that it is impossible to go to Southeast Asia spontaneously, and it is too far to go to Guandong. The awkward location makes the "excess" population here have only one way to die in large numbers.

The rotten scars here have not been solved by all dynasties since the Song Dynasty. Now Dashun is finally starting to solve this problem, and the means used are also quite ruthless. But the reality is that the life of a Huanghuai commoner in Dashun is really not as valuable as the leg of a black slave with an average price of 150 taels.

However, even so, once people are full, they still need some dreams.

The various experiences of the Virginia Company can be used as reference by Dashun. When eating corn and pumpkin together, they are satisfied; once there are enough corn and pumpkin, the company can only divide the land and rent it out to ensure the company's profits.

In the end, some land must be divided as "hope".

The traffickers who came to collect people talked about some treatment after eating.

There is no salary in the first three years. The salary of the first three years is used as the payment for the ship ticket and the food expenses for the next three years.

After three years, you will start to get salary.

But the food expenses still need to be deducted.

Or, you can choose not to deduct the food expenses, get a small piece of land, take care of your own food, and go to work every day to earn salary.

The former is a hired labor system.

The latter is actually a variant of serfdom.

Because the small piece of land you get can only guarantee basic survival.

Plant some pumpkins, sweet potatoes, cassava and the like to ensure that you will not starve to death. Then go to the plantation to work every day to earn money.

It has to be said that people who do the same thing have similar ideas. They did not learn the system that caused millions of Irish people to die from potatoes, but just learned it by themselves.

This is also the result of the game between those who decided to go to Southeast Asia and Liu Yu. They believe that a pure wage system, with a minimum wage to ensure that people will not starve to death, and even to ensure that the rest of their family will not starve to death, is more costly.

But if they were given a small piece of land and allowed to feed themselves, but it was impossible to accumulate the transformation to self-employed farmers by farming, then each plantation would waive even the food expenses.

These people could also accept lower wages and reduce costs.

There must be a unified regulatory decree for so many plantations.

Under the game between the two sides, Liu Yu didn't care. The fate of these people was in their own hands. They would first transport them over, and they would naturally find a way to fight for their own interests in the future.

It should be said that the life in these plantations was better than that in the sugarcane plantations and sugar factories in Batavia.

After all, there were no residence permits at that time, and the boss would use the report to the Dutch to serve hard labor to scare those people into accepting the minimum wage. Dashun occupied Nanyang and encouraged migration, at least this point did not work.

Moreover, the plantation model solved the problem of "small farmers are scattered potatoes". Hundreds of people gathered together and worked together. It was also easy to do something and spread some ideas.

Since Liu Yu believed that one has to fight for his own destiny, he did not set up any welfare system of charity or gift.

The conditions finally set were quite favorable to these investors.

Including the annual death quota, as long as it is not too outrageous.

After telling these conditions to the magistrate of Funing County, he took out the drafted charter, which was written in black and white.

The magistrate of Funing read the regulations page by page, nodded and said: "It can be regarded as relief through work, which is also a good thing. Since the Song Dynasty, this place has been poor and chaotic every year. If you can survive in Nanyang, it can be regarded as doing a good deed."

"How many people do you plan to take?"

The trafficker said: "I will take 1,500 people first. There can't be too many people at a time, and food must be prepared along the way, otherwise it will be a problem to reach the port. In addition to here, Jiangsu is suffering from disasters everywhere, and people from other places are also needed. Go in batches. Gather together and then go out to sea."

"Those who can't go this time will come to collect people in a few days. Judging from the situation, it is estimated that we can go down next spring. The wind is good throughout the winter, which is a good time to go to Nanyang, so there is no rush."

"Hasn't the court already allocated a batch of food for relief? It should be enough to last until April or May next year."

"However, when I came, I was told to count the heads and not report a false number."

The county magistrate understood that this was because the court was afraid that both parties would report false numbers, and that the relief grains created by the false numbers would be divided by the partnership. Then he said: "You and I are not familiar with each other, you follow your rules, and I follow mine. Let's count the number of people honestly, and when they are clear, we will deliver the goods. Sign and pledge, so that we will not be confused in the future." "

The trafficker also nodded in agreement and said: "This will trouble you adults. Some things here still need help from adults. I just don't know if it can be completed within three days?"

When the Funing County Magistrate heard this, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head: "You have been in the army for a long time. How do you know how different the affairs in the army are from the local affairs? Three days? I think, thirty days If you can finish it, it will be a great blessing.”

"There is a saying that a broken family is worth a thousand dollars. Although this place has saline-alkaline soil and frequent floods and droughts, some people still have two or three acres of land. Once people leave, how will the land be counted?"

"Also, as long as anyone is willing to leave, who is not in debt? In this place, those who can live without debts will not be willing to leave; those who are willing to leave will be in debt. The gentry has a place to hide from the flood, but the family members But here you are staring, it’s not easy to get out of debt. How can you repay the debt?”

"The affairs of one county are trivial and can't be compared to the military orders and prohibitions."

The trafficker hurriedly said: "Didn't the people over there also think about this? The Duke wanted the land to be separated by field skins and field bones. Those who left took away the field bone deed... Even if it is sold now, no one will buy it. The land will be given to others to plant, and we will deal with it in the future. If it is done well, who will come back and ask for an acre or two of land that is not enough for the boat ticket?"

"If the person dies there and has no descendants, that's it. It saves trouble."

"As for the debt owed... doesn't the court have laws? The maximum interest rate on the loan can be doubled, so the county government will arrange it, write the IOU, and let the person go. I will pay it back in the future... In fact, adults also know that if you stay here, you can't If you don’t pay enough, you will earn more in the future.”

The Funing County Magistrate thought, if someone from above comes up with an idea, someone from below will break their legs. The small fields of three to two acres are most troublesome and mixed.

You guys, please keep your mouth shut, we're going to be busy.

As for the debt, hey, what is this thing called? The county government will guarantee it? The county government comes to guarantee it, how to guarantee it?

It doesn't matter to us. Anyway, the poll tax is spread out. One less person or one more person will have no impact on the county.

But the creditors won't let me go and are nagging me again. Wouldn't this trouble all fall on us?

Even the imperial court would only provide relief if there was a famine. But I dare not say that once the disaster year comes, the debt will be canceled directly.

The court won't say this, but we will do things that offend people?

The county magistrate stroked his beard and said: "The people I associate with the Duke are all big businessmen. They all say that every injustice has its owner and every debt has its owner. I think if you are unwilling to advance the debt, can you If the debt is transferred to you, you will help deduct it from your salary? "

"I also know that you are afraid of trouble. But the thing is, that's the thing. Those who don't owe money can survive, and who is willing to leave? But among those who are willing to leave, seven out of ten will owe money. Woolen cloth."

"There are big businessmen over there. Put the money down first and deduct it from your wages later."

The trafficker shook his head and said, "This is definitely not possible. If you pay off your debt here, what if you die when you leave?"

The county magistrate sighed and said: "If this is the case, it will be really difficult for me to release people. It is only natural to pay back debts. Even if there is more profit than Dashunlu, the excess profit will be deducted, but It can’t be said that they are all waived. It really doesn’t matter to me. The poll tax is gone, so what’s the point of keeping people here? But the creditors here..."

After a brief pause, the county magistrate had no choice but to say: "Even though Funing is a small county, it is also poor and prone to disasters. But not all of it is a saline-alkali place like the coast. There are also a few good people in the west city..."

"The Duke is not an ordinary person, so the Duke thinks this matter is easy. But for people like us, it is difficult. How about... I can talk things over with them again? As you said, ask them if they are willing. Even if they are willing. How many years will it take to pay back the money? This needs to be explained, right?”

"If you really don't pay back, who will be the guarantee? You can't go to Nanyang to collect debts just for a few cents of money, right?"

The trafficker couldn't help but curse: "Haven't we all studied the books of sages and sages and talked about benevolence and righteousness?"

The county magistrate said helplessly: "Building bridges and repairing roads is a philanthropic act, and donating money for disaster relief in disaster years is also a philanthropic act. But when you should collect rent, you still have to collect rent, and when you should lend money, you still have to lend money. These are two different things."

"You used to get military pay. It's hard to say that you don't need military pay because you are loyal to the emperor and patriotic, right? Isn't this the same truth?"

"It is a kind act and benevolence to collect the rent and then provide some relief in the disaster years. If you just don't collect the rent, how will the scholars in the world live?"

"Even the most radical Yan Xizhai's idea of ​​equalizing land and mines also said that those who passed the imperial examination can still keep the land and collect rent. Only the land that failed to pass the imperial examination was equalized."

"Collecting rent and lending money is a matter of course. This is the rule in the world. Even Emperor Taizong didn't say it would be changed."

"How can this be confused with benevolence and righteousness?"