Chapter 233 Colonization of Iron Furnace Port

Yazhou is a place with high mountains and rivers. Those who are sent here to be local officials generally have little power, and they cannot do anything worthy of being transferred back to the mainland. After coming here, they often have to work until they retire. And next year.

, there will be a wave of retirements among high-level local officials. It is time for several officials in charge of local military and political affairs to retire to their jobs, but before that, these adults are still preparing to get another pension for their retirement life.

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This phenomenon is nothing new, not to mention that corruption is already common in late official circles. Even after hundreds of years, it is not uncommon for officials to become corrupt before they retire. Even the annual "Blue Book on the Rule of Law" released by the state

Xanadu has a special name for this - the 59-year-old phenomenon. Tao Donglai only listened to the first half of Luo Shengdong's words and already understood the general ins and outs. However, he didn't quite understand some details and needed to ask again.

ask.

"You said that the area in Fenghuang Town is basically unclaimed land, so why don't the adults just put the land under their own names or the names of their relatives?" Tao Donglai asked.

Luo Shengdong explained: "The unowned land is mostly wasteland, so what's the use of enclosing it? Sir, you won't go to Fenghuang Town to settle down. Instead, you have to organize tenant farmers to open up wasteland and farm fields. Isn't it troublesome? And it's encircled under your own name.

, but it will be revealed and your reputation will be damaged."

Tao Donglai thought to himself that he was so corrupt and why did he care about his reputation? He sneered and said: "That means that we will occupy the land in Fenghuang Town, and then wait for us to cultivate the fields, and then take out two thousand acres of mature fields.

Is this what you mean by giving it to a few adults?"

Luo Shengdong nodded repeatedly and said: "That's exactly what I mean. Mr. Tao, don't think that you have suffered a loss. Think that Fenghuang Town has a flat terrain, and there are always tens of thousands of acres of fields. Take two thousand acres of it as

The exchange is worth a thousand dollars! If the number of workers in Yazhou hadn't been decreasing day by day, I don't think the adults would be willing to go through such a big circle."

How could Tao Donglai be fooled so easily? He smiled and said: "To apply for the land deed for such a large area, you should have to pay a lot of deed tax to the government, right?"

Luo Shengdong looked around and said cautiously: "It's enough for each of the four adults to pay one thousand taels of silver. The government will take care of this matter. The procedures will be complete and there will be no mistakes."

Tao Donglai laughed and said: "Mr. Luo Ba is so eloquent. I think you should stop being an officer and open a dental shop. With your qualifications, you should be able to do very well!"

Luo Shengdong waved his hands and said: "Mr. Tao, don't make fun of this. Everything I said is true and is definitely not fabricated."

Tao Donglai put away his smile and said: "Even without the instructions of the adults in Yazhou, we went directly to occupy Fenghuang Town, what could Yazhou do?"

Luo Shengdong's face became a little ugly: "Well...of course you have to pay the deed tax and grain tax to the government..."

"Deed tax and grain tax? Do you rely on the Phoenix Inspection Department to collect it?" Tao Donglai said with a hint of ridicule on his face: "We can ask them to try it out then."

Yulin Inspection Department Wei Ping and his gang are still being held captive in Shengli Port by the Haihan people like livestock. Luo Shengdong knows this very well. If the Haihan people really take over Fenghuang Town, then the Phoenix Inspection Department will definitely do the same.

They will enjoy the same treatment. As for paying taxes and taxes? The second season of rice grown by the Haihan people is almost ready to be harvested, but I have never heard of them mentioning that they are prepared to pay grain taxes. If the Haihan people refuse to pay taxes, Ya

The state really had no good solution. It would definitely fail to collect anything if it sent tax collectors. If it had to send troops to collect taxes, it would probably not be able to defeat the Haihan militia, all equipped with muskets.

When Luo Shengdong thought of this, he felt a little regretful about why he had to act as a lobbyist. Although the title of Mr. Qian was tempting, it was not as good as the cash benefits given by the Haihan people. If he offended Tao Donglai,

From now on, this private salt business will no longer be possible. What should we do with this large group of brothers who are accustomed to eating and drinking with us? Once our financial resources are cut off, how will we support our families with meager military pay in the future?

Luo Shengdong was so confused that he couldn't even think about talking nonsense with Tao Donglai anymore. However, Tao Donglai took the initiative to start the conversation again: "I heard that Mr. Luo Ba has already talked to Zhang Tong from Yazhou.

Is the family getting married?"

"Ah? Mr. Tao is indeed well-informed. This is indeed the case. I am planning to marry Miss Zhang next year." Luo Shengdong responded quickly: "I would also like to invite Mr. Tao to Yazhou for a drink at that time."

"Well, let me know in advance when the time comes... I would like to ask, if Master Zhizhou and Master Tongzhi retire at the same time, is it possible for you, the father-in-law, to mention it to your superiors?" Tao Donglai then asked.

"This..." Luo Shengdong hesitated: "This matter may not be controlled by the local government."

From the fifth grade of Zhizhou to the sixth grade of Tongzhi, the difference is actually only half a level. However, the appointment of officials at this level requires direct notification from the Ministry of Personnel. It is basically impossible to operate directly in the local area behind closed doors.

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Put it in other places, the vacant official positions would probably cause a lot of competition among the candidates, but this place is Yazhou, so that is a different matter. Almost no one will voluntarily come to serve in this remote area where prisoners are exiled.

Therefore, the officials of the entire Qiongzhou Prefecture basically work around the island, working their way up one level at a time. Only if you are lucky enough to get someone at the prefect or prefect level can you hope to leave here.

Those who were transferred to the mainland to serve in Yazhou were obviously a little bit unlucky. They finally reached the peak of their careers and were already at the age of retirement. And the positions that they will vacate after retirement are very likely to still be

A local official from Qiongzhou took over—Luo Shengdong’s father-in-law Zhang Tongpan was naturally one of the candidates.

Compared with other competitors, Zhang Tongfan's advantage is that he has been in Yazhou for a while and is familiar with the local people. The handover of work will definitely be much smoother than that of a new outsider. If the superiors consider it from a business perspective

, Zhang Tongpan is undoubtedly very competitive. Of course, there will be other competitors among them. After all, Qiongzhou Island has three states under one government, and there is more than one official of the sixth grade, Zhang Tongpan.

Maybe someone else has already targeted Yazhou's location.

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

?

Tao Donglai asked again: "If I could get a recommendation from the governor who resigned, wouldn't the possibility be greater?"

When Luo Shengdong heard Tao Donglai repeatedly ask about this matter, his heart began to get excited - his father-in-law was not yet fifty years old. If he could be appointed as the magistrate at this age, it would be entirely possible for him to be transferred to the mainland in the future.

Goal. If you lose this fight, you will just continue to be a sixth-grade general judge. But if you win, you will be a local emperor who serves the political side.

Thoughts flashed through Luo Shengdong's mind, and he quickly replied: "If there is a recommendation document from the current magistrate, it will naturally increase the chance of winning."

Tao Donglai nodded and said: "In that case, you might as well think of a way in this direction. Well... also ask your father-in-law what he wants. If he also has this wish, then we might as well cooperate."

"What about Phoenix Town..." Luo Shengdong asked tentatively.

"There is no rush in Fenghuang Town. We are not in a hurry to develop that land now. Those adults in Yazhou just want benefits. This is not easy. As long as they are willing to jointly recommend your father-in-law to take over the post of governor,

They will naturally benefit from it afterwards." Tao Donglai patted Luo Shengdong on the shoulder and said, "You know I always do what I say!"

Luo Shengdong quickly lowered his head and responded: "Mr. Tao means what he says, and I deeply admire you. Please wait until I return to Yazhou to make plans for this matter!"

"Don't be in a hurry, take your time. Anyway, we won't see the result until next year at the earliest." Tao Donglai said with a smile: "As long as you cooperate with us well, the benefits in the future will be more than just Zhizhou and President Qian."

The fleet spent half a day bypassing Yalong Bay and slowly sailed into the entrance to Tieliang Port. Luo Shengdong, as the naval commander, was considered a professional after all, and he couldn't help but comment: "I have also

I visited this place many times, but when I saw that the water channel here was narrow and winding, I didn’t go further inside. I didn’t expect that you would fall in love with this place.”

Tao Donglai said: "When this place is completed and put into operation, the salt production will exceed that of the salt farm commune you have visited before. Most of the salt produced here will be sold to Fuzhou and Guangzhou provinces, and even further places. We also

It will become the largest salt merchant in the South China Sea, and you, Mr. Luo Ba, will also become one of the largest salt merchants in the entire Qiongzhou Island."

Luo Shengdong thought to himself that I have worked hard and dedicated my life for Haihan, but just for this day? But with an extremely respectful expression on his face, he said: "This is all thanks to the support of Mr. Tao and the officers of Haihan!"

Although the waterway extending into the inland harbor is not too long, due to the topography, the waterway is winding and winding, and the ships cannot pick up speed at all. Therefore, it took a full hour for the fleet to finally reach the inland harbor.

, this is the Iron Furnace Port in the true sense.

To the east of Tielugang is the waterway in and out of the harbor, to the south is adjacent to the east-west Yalong Ridge, and to the west is the narrow valley leading to Tiandu Industrial Zone. However, it is still in a virgin forest state at this time. If you want to open up this more than ten miles long

It will take a long time to complete the passage. To the north of the harbor is the key development area of ​​the new salt field, which is a tidal flat area three times the size of the Shengli Port Salt Field Commune.

The early expedition team had already built two trestles near the shore for the large troops arriving this time. The "Speed", which had a shallow draft, slowly sailed to the shore before anchoring. Several crew members carried

Take out a long springboard and build it from the gangway at the stern to the shore.

In terms of the content of the work, this time the colonization of Iron Furnace Port basically repeated the landing mode of Victory Port and Black Earth Port. However, after the experience of the first two times, the entire landing process now seems more orderly and organized.

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All ships, including the warships in Shuizhai, were numbered one by one before setting off. What materials were loaded on each ship? In what order should they dock at which trestle to unload the goods? What were the various unloaded goods?

Detailed planning and arrangements have been made in advance as to where to transport and stack the items. Therefore, the entire landing site appears busy and orderly, without any sense of chaos.

This was the first time for Luo Shengdong to witness such a colonization operation organized by the Haihan people. He was greatly impressed by this orderly scene. After watching it for a while, he couldn't help but turn around and scold the few close followers standing behind him: "

Look at how other people do it, and learn from it! If there can be such an orderly arrangement for loading and unloading, our trip time around the island can be shortened by at least a day or two!"

After Luo Shengdong finished the training, he saw that several of his close associates were hanging their heads and did not dare to answer. He couldn't help but cursed: "Why are you just standing there stupidly, just to see if you can learn? 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, close to the north and south sides of the Tiandu-Tielugang valley exit. The initial construction plan was for a residential area of ​​500 people, but after Tao Donglai came back, the executive committee decided

In order to centrally resettle North Vietnamese immigrants here, the original construction plan has been modified. The residential scale of the first phase has been directly increased from 500 people to 500 households, which can accommodate about 2,000 residents to settle here.

Of course, with the current shortage of building materials such as masonry, cement, etc., the residential area here will still be based on the boat-shaped house with bamboo and wood structure. Only a small number of warehouses and confidential rooms will use stronger masonry.

structure.

The production areas are directly arranged on the coastal beaches around the harbor. With the daily ebb and flow of the tide, the natural rise in sea water levels in these places can save a lot of lifting and irrigation operations, and the production efficiency will exceed the existing Shengli Port.

Saltworks Commune.

A large number of logs and boards were unloaded from the ship and then carried by oxcarts to the divided area. Because the structural dimensions of the houses were highly uniform, these building materials had been prefabricated in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Construction when they arrived in Victory Port.

The building materials are stacked in different categories. When using them, you only need to simply build them according to the prepared structure. This efficiency will be far better than when the Victory Port and Black Earth Port were developed in the past.

For this colonization project, the Executive Committee had to suspend some existing projects and transported nearly 400 laborers from Victory Port. They will use nearly half a month to build a house here that can accommodate 2,000 people.

There are two large villages in the north and south of the country. The construction of the production area here will be carried out through construction and production at the same time. It is expected that it may last for a long time. There is nothing that can be done about it. After all, the salt farm commune in Victory Port still has

A considerable area of ​​​​the area has not yet completed the reconstruction and expansion project, and the production area in Tielugang can only be constructed by the members here through their own efforts.

An hour after arriving at the landing site, the first batch of docked ships had unloaded their cargo and began to turn back. The amount of construction materials brought to Tieliang Port this time was large, and the existing ships alone could not carry it all in one trip.

, you have to make at least two trips. There are thousands of standard load-bearing beams and columns required to build a boat-shaped house. Most of the boats used this time are of small tonnage, and many of the longer column heads cannot be used.

They are stuffed into the cabin and can only be stacked on the deck, so the carrying capacity is extremely limited.

Since the entire process of landing and unloading was extremely tight, the workers could only eat lunch in batches. However, the Executive Committee has always had a preferential treatment policy for hard work, and this time was no exception. All workers participating in the operation were able to eat meat.

The most desperate people among the people who traveled through time were undoubtedly the people from the Ministry of Construction. If the Ministry of Shipping played the leading role when they came here, then after arriving here, the protagonists became these people. Liu Shanxia held a tin microphone and directed all morning on the shore.

My voice was already hoarse while eating, but after finishing two bowls of dry rice, I wiped my mouth from the bowl and went back to the construction site.

After Luo Shengdong sent all his subordinates and cronies to the construction site, he has been watching with cold eyes. Although it was not the first time for him to see such a large-scale labor situation, he still felt very shocked. This is not the working people.
To be continued...