Among the Liao people who were resettled, there must have been many who had recently fled and sought refuge. It would be obvious whether there were any Jiannu spies among them.
Therefore, it is a very good idea to move a group of trained civilians from the island to serve as the backbone of grassroots stability and to monitor enemy spies.
In the words of Zhu Youxiao, "the eyes of the masses are sharp."
"General." A rider galloped over, dismounted, and saluted. "Lord Wang, the Tongpan of Dongjiang, has arrived by ship. Please go and meet him."
Oh, it comes so quickly!
Zhang Pan smiled and nodded, patted Zhang Zhuzi's arm, jumped on his horse, and headed straight for the port with his personal soldiers.
Although Dongjiang Town has some territory, it is not suitable to establish a county or a government there.
Zhu Youxiao came up with a more vague official title, Dongjiang Tongpan, in charge of civil affairs such as food, agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and litigation in the area occupied by the Dongjiang Army.
In this way, the separation of military and political power also minimized the emergence of warlords. In addition, it also allowed the occupied areas to better develop social production and reduce external dependence.
Wang Yining was courageous and capable of planning, and he was favored by Zhu Youxiao and was appointed from Yuan's staff. Although he was nominally only a sixth-rank official, he had the power to make secret reports, which was something others could not imagine.
Grateful for the emperor's promotion and trust, Wang Yining became even more diligent and attentive. He devoted all his efforts to carrying out the tasks assigned by the emperor in his secret memorial, without any compromise.
At present, Wang Yining’s main task is to build a whaling base and start whaling experiments.
Of course, we can't just rely on catching big fish; the people of each island must also increase their offshore fishing. The necessary fishing boats will be provided by the shipyard on Miyajima Island.
Farming was not possible on the island, but there were many pine and oak trees. Some of the ships used by the Dongjiang Army, as well as a larger number of large and small fishing boats, were built there.
During this inspection of Guanglu Island, Wang Yining brought more than ten medium-sized fishing boats for fishing in the near sea.
At the dock, Zhang Pan greeted Wang Yining. After exchanging pleasantries, they chatted in a house next to the port.
"The imperial court is doing its best to provide for the military and civilians of Dongjiang, but we must also share your worries and try to reduce the burden on the imperial court."
After Wang Yining sat down, he explained the work and purpose of this trip. "In addition to developing fisheries, next spring, we will also plant sweet potatoes and pumpkins on all the islands..."
Sweet potato, pumpkin?!
Zhang Pan didn't know what these two things were. Since he was from the Civil Affairs Department, he didn't ask too much and just listened quietly.
The potato planting was not a failure, but the plan to promote its cultivation was scrapped. Since there was sweet potato, Zhu Youxiao was not too disappointed.
However, Xu Guangqi introduced another high-yield crop that was suitable for promotion and cultivation, namely pumpkin.
Pumpkin began to enter China in the Ming Dynasty and was recorded in the Compendium of Materia Medica.
However, the early Chinese people mistakenly believed that pumpkins came from Japan to the east, so they named them "Japanese pumpkins" or "Eastern pumpkins." The Japanese, on the other hand, believed that pumpkins came from China, so they called them "Tang eggplants."
Therefore, the name pumpkin was determined by the emperor, and names like Japanese squash and Donggua are not official names.
Similar to the advantages of sweet potatoes, pumpkins are high-yielding, easy to grow, and rich in nutrients, and can replace grain in years of famine. In the evil old society, poor people relied on "melons and vegetables as half a year's food" to survive.
After Wang Yining finished speaking, he took a sip of tea and said to Zhang Pan with a smile, "Every place and every island should have a civil affairs officer to supervise management. They don't need to have any honors, as long as they have prestige among the people."
After a pause, Wang Yining added, "It's best to be younger and in better shape. It's a lot of work, and it's not easy!"
A shadow appeared in Zhang Pan's mind, but he was still a little hesitant. After pondering for a while, he still recommended him to Wang Yining.
"There's a retired soldier on this island. Although he has a slight disability in his leg, it doesn't affect his movements too much. He's diligent in organizing the people and training the militia. However—he doesn't seem to have any education, so I'm not sure if he meets Lord Wang's requirements."
Wang Yining smiled and said, "General Zhang summoned this brave warrior. I need to see him before I can make a decision! It doesn't matter if he's uneducated, or if he has a disability that doesn't affect his walking. As long as he's diligent and hardworking, I think he's a good person."
Zhang Pan was delighted and quickly sent someone to call Zhang Zhuzi over so that Wang Yi Guan could interview him.
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