Chapter 233: The Beginning

Lin Rong's words were meant to sway him, but what he said was indeed practical—if Taiwan could be built into the granary of the Great Ming, then the future of Wu Qun and himself would be bright indeed.

But if one wished to properly manage the island of Taiwan, the first thing to do now was to reduce the Zheng family's influence to the greatest extent possible, and not allow Taiwan to become a private fiefdom of the Zhengs.

"This general understands County Magistrate Lin's meaning. The migrants on the island were brought over before the Earl of Jinghai received his title; at that time the court did not yet have true control over Taiwan, so the Zheng family was allowed to do as they pleased. But now the Earl of Jinghai is a noble house of the court, and Taiwan belongs to our Great Ming—therefore the Zheng family no longer has the right to control the entire island! County Magistrate Lin has only just arrived in Taiwan, and even if he wished to take over the island's governance, he would lack the means. Fortunately, this general has come. Hehehehe~"

Having now understood the situation on the island, the matters that had worried Lin Rong were, to Wu Qun who commanded heavy troops, as trivial as eating and drinking.

Several years ago, Zheng Zhilong had brought landless farmers from Fujian to migrate to Taiwan—first out of kindness, and second because he wanted Taiwan as a retreat and stronghold for the Zheng family. After managing it well, should any unforeseen event occur in the future, the descendants of the Zheng clan would have a place to land.

But even though the Zheng family's wealth rivaled that of a nation, and they had invested considerable capital over several years to build it up, they had only developed a negligible fraction of Taiwan's total land.

The island of Taiwan was simply too large for the Zheng family. Though the Zhengs lacked neither money nor grain, having too few people was the most fatal problem.

Difficulty in leaving one's native soil was a common understanding among the people of this era. As long as they could scrape together a single meal, the vast majority of Great Ming commoners were unwilling to leave their homes. To truly turn Taiwan into a rich and bountiful land would be impossible without millions of people laboring for decades.

After understanding the situation on the island, Zheng Zhilong's interest in developing Taiwan had already waned considerably. Now he merely used it as a transshipment point and staging ground for oceangoing trade.

Especially after being enfeoffed as the Earl of Jinghai—Zheng Zhilong, never a man of grand ambition to begin with—upon learning that the court intended to develop Taiwan on a large scale, had completely abandoned all claims to Taiwan in his heart.

Since he had already become a noble house that would endure with the state, with family assets exceeding ten million, all he needed to do now was cling tightly to the Emperor's leg and pass down the title of Earl of Jinghai from generation to generation—that was enough.

"Assistant Regional Commander Wu, you mean...?"

"Simply a matter of establishing authority!"

Wu Qun replied calmly.

Since some refused to submit to imperial rule, then kill them until they submitted.

Lin Rong was overjoyed to hear this.

He had originally feared that Wu Qun might be intimidated by the Zheng family's reputation and power, and would not dare to use force to resolve the present trouble. He never expected Wu Qun's attitude to be so resolute.

"But what if we offend the Earl of Jinghai? After all, those who control the island were appointed by the Zheng family. If things go wrong and blood is shed, the Earl of Jinghai's household will surely not let it pass!"

Lin Rong still harbored some worry in his heart.

The Zheng family's power in Fujian was too great. If one provoked the Zhengs, they would not dare to do anything to a court general like Wu Qun, but dealing with someone like himself would be as simple as crushing an ant.

"County Magistrate Lin, have you considered this? If the Earl of Jinghai did not want the court to get involved in Taiwan, would we have been able to set foot on this island? Would he have used Zheng family ships to transport disaster victims from the north? The situation is now clear—the Earl of Jinghai already regards himself as a noble of the Great Ming, and will not bother with these trivial matters on the island!"

Wu Qun's words woke Lin Rong as if from a dream. In an instant he understood the key point: the Zheng family had already given up on Taiwan. As long as the Zheng family's docks, sugar mills, and warehouses on the island remained unharmed, they would not care about anything else.

"General Wu sees things clearly after all! This official was indeed thinking wrongly!"

Lin Rong clasped his hands and bowed to Wu Qun.

"When this general set sail from Tianjin, the first batch of Shanxi migrants had already arrived at the docks, and they will reach the island in a few days. County Magistrate Lin should first survey the vacant land for settling the migrants! This general will send men to follow County Magistrate Lin's orders. This matter is the top priority at present—everything else is of no consequence!"

Several thousand migrants would arrive very soon. These people would need large tracts of land to build dwellings, and the various daily necessities they required were numerous. Though the Zheng family had already shipped large quantities of grain and medicine to the island, the massive distribution of supplies and resettlement of people—these trivial matters—could not be completed within a month. Never mind one Lin Rong—even ten more would not be able to keep up.

"County Magistrate Lin, it is not that this general thinks little of you—setting aside the large numbers of migrants to come, just the several thousand people arriving shortly—there is absolutely no way you can properly settle them by yourself. Though I have two thousand soldiers under my command, they can only help maintain order; when it comes to civil administration, they are helpless. But the migrants will arrive imminently, and there is no time to recruit additional help from within the Great Ming to assist you. I am rather worried on your behalf!"

Wu Qun voiced his concern.

"Since matters have come to this, this official can only do his utmost! I spent many years in the household registry office of Quanzhou, dealing with farming households on a daily basis—I am no stranger to such affairs. General Wu may have forgotten one thing: this official is certain that since the court is sending migrants from Shanxi this time, they will surely dispatch officials to accompany the ships and maintain order. Barring any accident, they should be personnel from the county offices where the migrants are registered. With such assistance, plus the General's full support, the resettlement of migrants will surely proceed smoothly!"

Lin Rong was unwilling to seek help from the Fujian provincial government.

For him, only by managing his jurisdiction through his own efforts alone, and claiming sole credit for settling the migrants, could he advance further in his official career in the future.

His guess was absolutely correct.

To facilitate the resettlement of disaster victims in new locations, the Grand Secretariat had indeed sent a directive to the Shanxi Governor's office, requiring that county offices under which the migrant artisans were registered must send personnel to supervise them throughout the journey, and these personnel had to remain in Taiwan for a full three years before being permitted to return.

Under the carrot-and-stick inducements offered by the various county magistrates—a monthly salary of five taels, thirty taels of burial money should they die, and conscription into the army for those who refused—the yamen runners selected from each county embarked on their southward journey accompanying the migrants, in pain and yet with pleasure.

They might as well treat it as conscription with pay. Hadn't their colleagues gone on official errands before? Those runners who escorted the families of disgraced officials into exile in Yizhou were gone for over a year round trip, and no small number died of illness on the road. In the end the government never paid out the burial money either—and so what? That was just how it was.

A few days after Wu Qun's troops had set up camp, the fleet carrying the Shanxi artisans and their families arrived at the docks of Taizhong County.

After the first few ships docked and gangplanks were laid down, Lin Rong, Wu Qun, Sun Rengui and others boarded the vessels separately, gave a few instructions to the officials on deck, and then disembarked. Following their orders, the officials called out names one by one from the registers and loudly warned the assembled migrants not to make noise, then led the artisans of their respective counties off the ships in turn. Afterward, soldiers guided them to open ground on both sides to assemble and wait.

This approach made the entire process more efficient and orderly, preventing any chaotic scenes from occurring.

Lin Rong stood with his hands clasped behind his back, side by side with Wu Qun at one end of the dock, watching groups of men, women, old and young pass before him. The commoners looked at him with eyes full of reverence and awe, and a surge of pride rose in his heart: from now on, all these people would be his subjects, and his official future was staked upon them.

"County Magistrate Lin is truly talented! This method shares much in common with military discipline. This general had thought that when several thousand commoners with no sense of order arrived at once, the scene would be utterly chaotic—yet under County Magistrate Lin's direction it has been so swift and orderly. This general is truly impressed!"

Lin Rong smiled with self-satisfaction: "General Wu flatters me! These are but minor tricks! The tasks ahead are difficult and numerous—this is only the beginning!"