"Ah? Really?!" Tang Youde was so shocked that he couldn't close his mouth for a long time. Unbelievable, really unbelievable!
Ruifang Mountain is only 7 or 8 miles away from Badouzi, and Jinguashi is also 7 or 8 miles away from Ruifang Mountain. Moreover, all three mining areas are close to the sea, with excellent natural harbors, making mining and transportation extremely convenient. This is simply cheating, okay?
"Am I bragging?" Young Master Zhao smiled faintly and said, "I have asked Jiangnan Mining and Jiangnan Coal and Iron to send mining technicians here. Just wait for good news!"
"That's great!" Tang Youde said excitedly, "As long as we spread the news that there is a gold mine in Keelung, people from China will definitely flock here!"
"Of course." Zhao Hao nodded with a smile. The dream of getting rich is engraved in our national genes.
"So Keelung will be centered around mining and industry, supplemented by the port economy, and will soon prosper." He pointed to the Taipei Basin and said, "As for agriculture, I think we should focus on Tamsui, along the Tamsui River into the Taipei Basin. The land there is fertile and the water is abundant, which is most suitable for growing rice, and it can be harvested three times a year. If the entire basin is developed, it will be enough to feed millions of people."
"Yeah." Tang Youde nodded vigorously and said in shock: "So you even got Danshui. That's amazing!"
"I don't know whether we got it or not," Zhao Hao said with a smug smile, "but it doesn't matter. The whole of Taiwan will be ours sooner or later."
"Of course!" Tang Youde boasted, "Young Master is invincible, totally invincible!"
"Haha, when it comes to flattery, it's you, Old Tang, who flatters the loudest." Young Master Zhao put his arm around his shoulder and pointed at the map of Taiwan Island in his hand and said, "I plan to set up nine cities in Taiwan: Keelung, Tamsui, Yilan, Taoyuan, Taichung, Chiayi, Dayuan, Fengshan, and Taitung. The first batch will be Keelung, Tamsui, and Yilan... The Yilan Plain where Yilan is located is where the Kavalan people live. They also believe in Ryukyu Shintoism. I heard that the prince has agreed to help, so I persuaded them to join our cooperative."
"cooperative?"
"Well, this is the organization I envisioned for cooperation with the indigenous people." Zhao Hao took out a silver wine bottle from his arms, took a sip of brandy to warm himself up, handed it to Fatty Tang and said, "Wait for the representatives of the Ketagalan communities to arrive in a few days, and then formally propose it to them. When we get back to the ship, let's discuss it?"
"There must be nothing wrong with what you think, sir." Tang Youde nodded quickly.
~~
When we landed back on the boat, Qiaoqiao had already prepared dinner.
Zhao Hao invited Tang Youde to dinner, and Tang Baolu also benefited from it.
"Oh, I finally get to eat the stewed chicken and dried shredded vegetables made by Miss Qiaoqiao again." Fatty Tang was so moved that he almost cried. "One bite of this really brings me back to Nanjing in my dreams..."
"Boss Tang has prepared such generous gifts for me and Sister Xianglan. It's only natural that I would cook a meal for you." Qiaoqiao brought a plate of braised mandarin fish with stewed vegetables to the table with a smile.
Lao Tang and Zhao Hao are both from Huizhou, so Qiaoqiao paired it with Jinling cuisine and a few Huizhou dishes.
"Take a bite of mandarin fish and dream of returning to your hometown." Fatty Tang raised his hands exaggeratedly, causing Zhao Hao and Qiaoqiao to laugh so hard that they bent over, as if they were back to the days in Caijia Lane, which was actually the happiest time for her.
"Oh, I was still happy back then." Unexpectedly, Zhao Hao felt the same way. Their eyes met, and a warm feeling surged into their hearts. "Back then, I was so happy to have a good meal. After eating and lying down, I had no worries."
"Haha, that's right. Now the group has hundreds of thousands of people and such a large territory, there are too many things for you to worry about." Tang Youde naturally agreed with him. But Old Tang felt that life was still interesting now.
While eating, the two talked about the policy towards the indigenous people. After listening to Mr. Zhao's idea of the cooperative, Tang Youde was a little unsure and said, "Is it too good to be good to those indigenous people? It's like pie in the sky."
His greatest strength is that he can flatter people and do his work at the same time. He never lets his flattery affect his work, and he never lets his work affect his flattery. Otherwise, how could he become Mr. Zhao's **... oh no, his top horse?
"We still have to give benefits. A thousand gold coins are enough to buy horse bones, not to mention a few pieces of cloth, a few stones of rice, and a few pounds of salt." Zhao Hao ate sea urchin stewed eggs with a thin silver spoon and said slowly: "Besides, how many aboriginals are there in total? It's hard to say whether there are 200,000 in Taiwan. These people are not good at doing things, but they are good at causing trouble. If we don't handle our relationship with them well, we will have trouble in the future."
"Redeem all 200,000 indigenous people?" Tang Youde asked.
"Of course not. We only redeem the aboriginals living in the plains, the so-called Pingpu people." Zhao Hao said dimly, "And it is limited to those Pingpu people who can communicate, are willing to cooperate, and keep their promises."
Tang Youde quickly wrote down the young master's request in his notebook, and then he continued:
"We cannot blindly give in to those who are unwilling to communicate, unwilling to cooperate, and who are untrustworthy and insist on going out to fight." Zhao Hao lowered his voice and said, "Remember, human nature is base, and only by fearing power can one be virtuous. But we must add a coat called benevolence and righteousness, firmly occupy the moral high ground, to avoid the resentment of the locals, so as to make the rule smoother."
"I understand." Tang Youde nodded. After Zhao Hao said this, he completely understood it. There was no need for the young master to say the unpleasant words afterwards.
He understood that the young master had three intentions. First, to use the Pingpu people to fight the Gaoshan people. Second, to drive the Pingpu people who refused to cooperate into the mountains. Third, it would be best to let the Pingpu people who were willing to cooperate do these things. If that didn't work, then use the Li Dynasty's auxiliary police or recruit people from Ryukyu to do it. In short, try not to let the people of the Ming Dynasty do this kind of thing...
Therefore, Lao Tang’s success is by no means accidental, it is inevitable.
"The redeemed land will be based on the model of Sado Island... It will be the People's City of Zhuangyuan Island, and will be held by the city hall, and farms will be recruited uniformly..." Zhao Hao then told Tang Youde about the land policies he had continuously practiced and summarized in Jiangnan, Tamra, Sado Island and other places, "But Taiwan is different from Zhuangyuan Island. The land there is limited, and the uncultivated land here is almost unlimited... At least it will be like this for one or two hundred years. We can relax the conditions a little bit to increase the enthusiasm of immigrants to reclaim wasteland..."
"Yeah." Tang Youde nodded frequently, taking notes quickly, and occasionally raising his own questions and opinions. He chatted with Mr. Zhao until dark, and then had dinner before saying goodbye to his son and going back to bed.
~~
The next morning, Tang Baolu reported to Zhao Hao that the Ketagalan people had returned to their respective villages to report the news.
"In addition, most of the captured people actually want to stay." Tang Baolu said in a surprised look.
"That's nonsense. This is Taiwan Island with dangerous waves. Who will send them home?" Zhao Hao ate porridge while looking at the latest report of the group brought by Tang Youde without raising his eyelids.
Of course, this is also related to the Jiangnan Group's consistent generous conditions. Even if it is just a temporary worker, the monthly salary is 1,000 wen, food and lodging are free, clothes and bedding are provided, sickness is treated, and there are bonuses for good work... This kind of treatment is beyond the imagination of the people of Fujian and Guangdong, not to mention the Ryukyu people who came from the Cycad Hell and the natives captured from Southeast Asia.
"That's right. They can be said to have found a blessing in disguise." Tang Baolu said with a smile, "But most of them are skeptical about the conditions we promised. They are just afraid that if they don't join us in chasing people away, what will happen? That would be a disaster."
"It's okay. Time will tell. I don't believe that after staying here for a while, anyone will be willing to leave!" Young Master Zhao said with a smile, "While they are recuperating, we should disinfect them thoroughly - shave their heads, take off their clothes, and take them to the disinfection pool for a good soak. Taiwan Island is still full of virgin forests. Only by maintaining good personal hygiene can we reduce the number of deaths."
"No problem, they are still enslaved by the Japanese pirates, they will do whatever they are told to do, they are very obedient." Tang Baolu nodded, thinking that apart from shaving their heads, the Ryukyu and Nanyang people were easy to deal with, but the Ming people probably wouldn't be willing.
People in the Ming Dynasty always shaved their hair at will, but if they were forced by others, the saying "the hair and skin of the body are given by parents" would pop up...
"Oh, if you don't want to shave, then go away." Don Paul gritted his teeth secretly.
~~
Two days later, the Ketagalan people from various villages and communities arrived one after another, and the witches and chiefs competed to come to pay homage to the Ma Tian Zhu Nv. Even many Kavalan people from across the mountains came.
After asking, we learned that the Ketagalan people had asked the Kavalan people for help, saying that if the lips and teeth are gone, they would be in danger. The Kavalan people finally persuaded them. More than a dozen villages and communities united and sent more than a thousand warriors, led by witches and chiefs, across the mountains to reinforce the Ketagalan people, preparing to join forces and fight the Japanese pirates who occupied their sacred mountain.
Who would have thought that just when they had gathered all the troops, the captured people came back on their own, bringing the news that Ma Tianzhunu had led the heavenly soldiers to arrive, had wiped out all the Japanese pirates, and invited all the tribes to meet her.
Out of prudence, each village first sent a few priestesses who had participated in the memorial service in Ryukyu to investigate. When they learned that the one who came to Jilong was indeed the incarnation of the god Junshouma on earth - Ma Tianzhunu, and that the Japanese pirates had indeed been eliminated, they could no longer hold back and rushed to pay their respects.
When the priestesses and chiefs saw with their own eyes that Menan was slowly descending from the sky to the priestess island of Baduzi in a hot air balloon, they all fell into fanatical worship, crying and worshipping, respectfully welcoming this servant of God who had descended from heaven.
The power of religion is infinite. When a miracle happens, there is no longer any logic to it. All you have to do is kneel down and obey.
Moreover, Mei Nan had already secured excellent conditions for them, so good that the heads and witches of various tribes were afraid that the Jiangnan Group would go back on its word. After the meeting, they signed an agreement with the Jiangnan Group at the Keelung City Hall of the Taiwan Special Administrative Region under the witness of Ma Tianzhu.
Both sides also followed the customs of the Ketagalan and Kavalan peoples and killed black chickens, white sheep and yellow cattle to swear to the goddess that they would never break the alliance!
ps. It’s gone tonight…