Chapter 121: Section Five: Refugees

Seafaring in this era was still very primitive. Before the advent of steam-powered ships, life at sea for sailors was utterly dreadful. They slept packed tighter than sardines, ate food harder than rock, and the fresh water stored in wooden casks aboard quickly turned foul, becoming stinkier than foot-washing water. So, unless they truly had no other way to survive, people from the lowest rungs of every nation in the world refused to become seagoing sailors, and even those who did generally refused to make ocean voyages.

Huang Shi toured Heidao Kangfu’s ocean-going vessel. The smell in the sailors’ quarters was no better than a latrine. No wonder, in this era, going to sea was a gamble with death, with the mortality rate always hovering around thirty to forty percent.

Stored fresh water must first be boiled before being sealed for preservation; only open a new cask after finishing the previous one. They must drink boiled water, must scrub the deck with seawater daily… Huang Shi indiscriminately imposed every hygiene regulation he could think of upon Heidao. This time, he was also sending ten subordinates, including Liu Qingyang, along on the voyage. Huang Shi had no wish for them to die of illness on the way.

The final reform was the hammock, which would prevent the ship’s quarters from becoming too crowded, thereby reducing the outbreak and spread of disease. Huang Shi did everything within his knowledge to improve the conditions of sea travel.

One historical view holds that it was the Little Ice Age, beginning in the mid-sixteenth century, that spurred the arrival of the Age of Discovery. European animal husbandry was dealt an equally heavy blow during this period. The southward shift of the rain belt caused prolonged droughts, leaving generations of European farmers unable to find fodder to keep their livestock through the winter. Historically, during this period, once winter arrived, Europeans would slaughter all their domestic animals except breeding stock, in order to salt and preserve the meat.

This also led to an extreme scarcity of spices. The massive need for meat preservation made spices sell for more than their weight in gold in Europe; in winter, a pound of spice could be traded for three pounds of gold. This suddenly made ocean-going trade so profitable that it was worth risking one’s life for.

In the intercontinental spice trade, the maritime technologies of England, Spain, and the Netherlands all made tremendous progress, and by the early seventeenth century, they began to surpass China.

Yet China at this time had not halted its own progress. The decades-long period of disasters during the Wanli reign forced the Wanli Emperor to once again act against convention. On one hand, he had to relieve his subjects; on the other, he had to wage war externally. Thus, he audaciously overturned the Great Ming’s ancestral institutions, declaring the maritime trade bans abolished without exception. As long as silver was paid to the inner treasury, maritime trade could be freely conducted. For instance, after the war with Japan ended, the Wanli Emperor impatiently restored trade with Japan to increase revenue. These various encouraging measures caused China’s maritime technology and shipbuilding craftsmanship to develop rapidly as well. The race between Eastern and Western coastal civilizations had only just begun.

Previously, the Wanli Emperor had already been frantically dispatching eunuchs to extort mining taxes, porcelain taxes, and tea taxes to support the Nine Frontier Garrisons and relieve disaster victims… Well, the Donglin Party had a better solution to this matter — namely, that the Emperor should accumulate virtue and perform good deeds, so that Heaven would naturally not send down great calamities. In Huang Shi’s previous life, the compilers of the Ming history believed it was the Wanli Emperor’s lack of virtue that caused the great disasters to arrive, and the easing of disasters after 1650 was likewise explained by the literati faction using the virtue of a certain dynasty’s emperor.

On this issue, Huang Shi was a sympathizer and supporter of the Wanli Emperor and the Eunuch Faction… In the sixth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, Liu Qingyang and Heidao Kangfu set sail under Huang Shi’s watchful eyes, slowly disappearing into the line where sea and sky met. This ship was not only laden with Huang Shi’s immediate hopes, but also carried his long-term aspirations for maritime technology: “Maritime technology and the inheritance of civilization — the race of expansion between Eastern and Western coastal civilizations has already begun. This will determine the fortunes of the next three hundred years. I hope that this time, China will not suddenly halt its steps again.”

The transmigrator could foresee that the global catastrophe would end in twenty years. The world would once again become favorable to agricultural civilization. Global grain production and livestock numbers would steadily climb, more and more regions would become suitable for human cultivation, and maritime technology would support Western agricultural nations in developing the Americas. The interior of the Eurasian continent, too, would decline into a tribal state during this seventy-year calamity, thus losing all ability to compete with the coastal regions…

In his original history, Europe’s agricultural civilization at this time was also subjected to frenzied southward invasions by Russia and Sweden. The only difference was that the West withstood it while China did not. In the subsequent great expansion of agricultural civilization, China turned toward the interior and abandoned the ocean.

Huang Shi stood for a long time by the seashore. The sun overhead was still perfectly flawless, without a single sunspot, unchanged in fifty years: “Whoever grasps the present, grasps the future.”

That same month, Shanxi, Shaanxi, and Henan each received rainfall, easing the drought conditions in the Nine Frontier Garrisons.

The severe drought in Jiangxi persisted into the seventh month. Local officials reported that all vegetation had withered and the people had reaped not a single grain. The Tianqi Emperor urgently ordered grain to be transferred for disaster relief, and no famine occurred in Jiangxi.

At the end of the same month, after the Later Jin army abandoned Nanguan, the Liaodong Ming army advanced unopposed to the walls of Jinzhou. The Later Jin garrison shut their gates and refused to fight. Liaodong refugees streamed continuously into the southern tip of the peninsula. In the seventh month, the number of refugees surging toward Lüshun reached more than triple that of the sixth month, and Lüshun was almost powerless to transport them onward. With Mao Wenlong’s approval, large numbers of refugees would be diverted nearby to Zhangsheng. Lüshun had previously sent three hundred horses, and on Zhang Pan’s advice, Huang Shi had planted large fields of alfalfa, which were now beginning to be harvested.

To welcome this batch of Liaodong refugees, Zhangsheng Island had made exhaustive preparations. Huang Shi ordered his soldiers to be unfailingly polite to these refugees, to ensure they felt as if they had returned home. He even suspended military training for several days to construct temporary living quarters.

“Everyone must drink boiled water. Any discovery of illness must be reported immediately. After the Liaodong refugees come ashore, give them three days of rest, then organize them to build houses.” Huang Shi concisely reiterated several key points of attention.

“As ordered,” Yang Zhiyuan and Bao Jiusun answered in unison.

“Anyone who dares to harass the civilians shall be dealt with strictly according to military law.”

“My lord, rest assured,” Jin Qiude also guaranteed with full confidence.

When the first batch of refugee ships flying the Lüshun banner arrived, Huang Shi also rushed over to welcome his new subjects. He had strictly ordered the soldiers at the port to support the elderly and guide the young, to take joy in helping others — in short, he had forced them to model themselves after the Lei Feng in his mind. Now was the time to see the results.

When he reached the port, he found a large crowd of soldiers gathered there, and the air was filled with a hubbub of voices, all clamoring to help people carry bundles and luggage. Huang Shi secretly rejoiced; it seemed the propaganda and education had worked quite well.

But as he drew a little closer, he sensed something was off. These soldiers were making a racket and were far too enthusiastic; even his own arrival as the Regional Commander had gone unnoticed.

“My lord!” Someone finally let out a startled cry. Instantly, several hundred soldiers burst into commotion, and amidst the chaos came the sound of people prostrating themselves: “We pay our respects to my lord.”

Huang Shi walked to the edge of the crowd and saw that among this first batch of over a hundred Liaodong refugees, a small portion were women, and a dozen or so of them were still dressed as unmarried girls.

Women! Huang Shi couldn’t help but swallow a large mouthful of saliva. Only then did he notice that most of them had dark, sun-tanned skin. After a few more dazed glances, he finally realized they were basically all coarse-handed, large-footed farm girls.

After silently cursing himself for having no taste, Huang Shi took a deep breath, though his throat still felt somewhat dry: “I am the Dongjiang Assistant Regional Commander, Huang Shi.”

The hundred-plus Liaodong refugees all kowtowed in salute. They had long heard of Huang Shi’s great name, and meeting this legendary general for the first time made them all very nervous.

In the meantime, Huang Shi swept his gaze over the surrounding soldiers. His subordinates, some openly and brazenly, others with cautious glances, all had their eyes roaming over the young women.

No wonder so many enthusiastic Lei Fengs had suddenly appeared. Huang Shi cursed and laughed inwardly, then addressed the refugees: “All of you, rise.”

After the refugees stood up, the fervent gazes of those “Lei Fengs” with ulterior motives remained fixed on the women, causing them to lower their heads one by one, their faces revealing expressions of both shame and irritation. Their relatives also stood, intentionally or not, on the periphery. These refugees appeared casual, but their postures and movements were somewhat stiff, betraying the wariness and vigilance in their hearts.