Chapter 1096: Haizhou Port

At first everyone was half-believing and half-doubting, but after seeing the sights along the way, they were already eighty percent convinced. Yet none of them imagined their own families would be moved here. By each person's reckoning, having enough food and clothing was already a blessing — how would they dare hope for anything more? They never expected to truly arrive in Xuzhou.

They saw more dignified houses, more level farmland, and this place was closer to bustling market towns. But there were also things unlike the villages of Huai'an North District — for instance, rows of connected buildings that looked like warehouses. These connected buildings covered an area no smaller than the village itself, yet they didn't look like places where people lived at all.

The relocated villagers' confusion was soon answered. The housewives of many families were called over there, along with a few men from some households. No one was particularly worried about this — the Zhao Battalion's rules were very strict, and there would absolutely be no scheming after women. That said, if they'd wanted to scheme, they would have made their move years ago. Inside those elevated, connected buildings were all looms — or rather, they were all machines for spinning and weaving cloth.

Over there, stewards explained the terms to them: each person had their own daily quota. As long as they produced this quota, the taxes owed on their own farmland would be reduced. If they exceeded the quota, the excess would be offset — they could even pay no taxes at all and earn benefits from this output.

Everyone had assumed the quota would be something they'd have to work themselves to exhaustion to meet. To their surprise, it wasn't much more than the labor they'd done back in the old villages. The few men who'd been called over together with the women of each household had initially felt quite awkward, but after hearing this, they were brimming with enthusiasm. This earned far more than farming — they'd have to put their strength into the work.

After explaining the terms, the stewards handling the introductions also took the initiative to ask: if anyone knew any tricks or patterns for spinning and weaving, they should speak up. If it proved useful, their whole family would be blessed.

After returning to their dwellings, nearly every family paid homage to the gods and buddhas, thanking them for blessing them to come to such good fortune, and praying that in the future they would live even better days than this.

And at this time, cart after cart of cotton began to be sent to each village. The previous autumn, the Zhao Battalion had used the connections of the Li family of Linqing to purchase a great deal of cotton. Now it was time for spinning and weaving.

Centered on Huai'an North District, over four thousand households in total were relocated to Xuzhou from the various reclamation areas. These people were settled in the farmsteads southwest of Hejiazhuang. This was where the Personal Guard Brigade was stationed, allowing for close control. At the same time, this area had higher terrain, convenient transportation, and was convenient in every respect.

Apart from this, over two thousand more households were relocated to the Jining area, under the protection of the First Brigade. Dongchang Prefecture and Yanzhou Prefecture in Shandong were cotton-producing regions, and with the convenience of canal transport, it was very convenient there.

The vacancies left by these nearly seven thousand households were filled with newly arrived refugees and displaced people. Being able to enter the life of these already well-established villages was a privilege for them as well.

Those who qualified for this were usually families with able-bodied young men, or those with a craft, or those with martial skills — or else they belonged to some group, such as deserters, miners, and the like.

Time soon reached the second month. News came from Shandong that Lou Daliang, the Mobile Corps Vice Commander of Denglai, had been transferred back to Northern Zhili. Word was he was going to Ji Garrison to serve as a Regional Commander. The Lou family had originally planned to return to their roots in Shandong this time, buying houses and land around Zhangqiu to settle down and manage properly. But no one brought the matter up again. The Lou family members who had already settled and begun operating in Fangjia Town all left along with him.

The Liaodong refugees in Dengzhou Prefecture grew fewer and fewer. After this harsh winter passed, some were recruited to go to Yanzhou Prefecture, while others froze or starved to death right there.

After these few months of familiarization, Cloud Mountain Trading had developed a routine for recruiting Liaodong refugees from Dengzhou Prefecture. There was a group of Liaodong people familiar with Xuzhou permanently stationed in various parts of Dengzhou Prefecture, and others often at the several ports of Dengzhou Prefecture. Whenever Liaodong people arrived, they would begin speaking from their own experience. Once enough people to set out had been gathered, Cloud Mountain Trading would, with practiced ease, purchase supplies and provisions from the local military commissariat, then set out — traveling through prefectures and counties all the way to Yanzhou Prefecture for temporary settlement, after which their future destination would be decided.

This operation grew smoother the more they did it. Moreover, Zhao Jin's large-scale troop movement at the end of the previous year had left a deep impression on the officials and powerful families throughout Shandong. A mere "trivial matter," yet they had produced an army of nearly ten thousand at a moment's notice. And it was precisely this "trivial matter" that had forced a major garrison commander backed by Eunuch Wei himself to leave his post in disgrace. Faced with such might, everyone figured they'd better lower their heads and endure it! So when the Zhao Battalion purchased farmland in Dongchang Prefecture and newly established four estates along the canal, no one raised any objections.

Although the operation was now running smoothly, no one in the Zhao Battalion relaxed or took it easy in the slightest, because everyone knew the busy season was about to arrive. The sea ice had already begun to melt. By the third month, sea routes between Liaodong and Shandong would be open again, and then large numbers of Liaodong refugees would come once more — that was when things would truly get hectic.

Liaodong refugees were far more troublesome than Shandong refugees, especially the deserters among the Liaodong refugees. Don't be fooled by the fact that they couldn't fight the Jianzhou Jurchens — they knew how to band together, and they understood martial skills and killing better than ordinary civilians. Whenever anything seemed off, they would fight over it, and they often had the attitude that, at worst, they'd just take to the hills as bandits and live just as happily.

In the process of leading refugees into the interior of Shandong, any clamoring, rioting, or even attempts to murder the leading stewards — all of it originated with the Liaodong deserters.

If this had fallen to some other charitable gentry household, their vitality would have been sapped after a few such incidents — not to mention the expense, there would also be deaths and injuries. The officials and local authorities would certainly tangle with them endlessly. The good deed would go undone, and instead they'd bring disaster upon their own house. But for the Zhao Battalion, this was no trouble at all. Those sent as escorts were all newly promoted household retainers and militia. If anyone stirred up trouble, it was the perfect chance for them to get practical experience drawing blood.

Whenever unrest broke out, it was suppressed with clean, swift force — absolutely no mercy shown. These Liaodong deserters had, after all, seen how officialdom worked. When people were killed on their side, some even tried to file lawsuits in Dengzhou Prefecture, hoping to pin a case on the Zhao Battalion. Handling this was also quite simple. When the officials of Dengzhou's prefectures and counties encountered such cases, they invariably sent the people to the local branch of Cloud Mountain Trading for disposal. If anyone wanted to make trouble — well, the nearly ten thousand government troops in Dengzhou Prefecture weren't there just for show.

Even so, most of the Liaodong deserters were still treated as destabilizing elements. They had fled in the face of battle and had long since lost the nerve to take the field, yet they refused to endure hardship like ordinary commoners to earn their own food and clothing. So the destination for the Liaodong deserters was always Haizhou. There, under the supervision of the Second Brigade, they would build the port.

Building ports and docks along the coast was brutally hard work, especially since Haizhou was in the north and the seaside was bitterly cold. Working there was even more grueling than opening up wasteland or laboring in the fields.

Under such hardship, the Liaodong deserters unwilling to accept their lot would certainly stir up trouble. But what awaited them after any revolt was suppression. After being cut down time and time again, people would eventually bow their heads and behave. Once this port was finished, their temperaments would be ground down enough — by then, they'd be usable men.

Some among the Liaodong deserters, however, did not have to endure such harsh treatment. Those young enough, with sufficiently outstanding skills in archery, horsemanship, and martial arts, were directly selected for training. Others were spotted by the Internal Guard — they would walk a different path entirely.

Haizhou in Huai'an Prefecture was the central hub of the Huai salt trade, and this place was likewise the financial heart of the Great Ming. Without the salt tax revenue collected from the Huai salt trade, who knows how many affairs of the Great Ming could never be accomplished.

Expanding a seaport in such a place was certainly a grave taboo. Yet in officialdom, there was also the saying "out of sight, out of mind." The repair and expansion of this dock and port did not affect the production of the salt fields, nor was it being carried out within the city. As long as no trouble arose, everyone would simply pretend not to know.

Moreover, within Haizhou city, from the salt administration down to the clerks in the subordinate offices, everyone was rubbing their hands together, ready to make a fortune from this port. Who didn't know that access to the sea and ocean meant wealth rolling in? Just look at the ports near Qingjiangpu and how much they'd flourished — and that was only a little clam port. Our Haizhou here is a proper prefectural city, a major town of South Zhili north of the Yangtze.

Even those salt merchant magnates in Yangzhou had bowed their heads to Zhao Jin — we certainly don't need to butt heads with him. Besides, word had already been sent over from Xuzhou: this time, everyone would get rich together.

Xuzhou, Pizhou, and the so-called "Huai'an North District" formed one contiguous area. Further east from Huai'an North District lay Haizhou and Ganyu — one prefecture and one county. It was plain to see that Xuzhou and Pizhou were prosperous and wealthy, and even a desolate, godforsaken place like Huai'an North District was becoming thriving and vibrant. Yet Haizhou and Ganyu remained unchanged.

Haizhou was wealthy from the Huai salt; Ganyu only got the scraps and leftovers of the private salt trade. Neither had gained any benefit from the flourishing changes happening right beside them. Watching this was truly maddening with envy.

As for the local powers in Haizhou, from the salt administration down to the petty clerks, every one of them had eaten their fill and grown fat on the salt business. But people are never satisfied — what they already have in hand they often pay no mind to; it's the newly acquired that excites them.

With this mindset at play, the entire port construction was granted every convenience. Those several thousand Liaodong refugees were an eyesore, but no one said an extra word or asked a single question. As for the nearly ten thousand other laborers bustling about in a blaze of activity — well, that was even harder to scrutinize. So many people appearing out of thin air — there was simply no way to explain it.

Having so many people laboring in Haizhou was likewise a heavy burden for the Zhao Battalion. But there were two advantages to that location: first, it was very close to the Zhao Battalion's farmsteads in Huai'an North District; second, it was on the coast, so a great deal of supplies could be transported by sea from Qingjiangpu via maritime routes.

Yu Zhiyuan had already prepared ample silver, intending to contribute to the port construction in Haizhou. But his goodwill was politely yet firmly declined by Cloud Mountain Trading, who simply said that in the matter of this port, Cloud Mountain Trading's financial resources were quite ample and its manpower sufficient. They asked Yu Zhiyuan to focus on preparing for the task of gathering refugees in Liaodong.

Yu Zhiyuan felt no particular way about this refusal. It seemed the Zhao Battalion wanted him to concentrate his efforts on gathering refugees. As for the newly built seaport in Haizhou, the entire Yu household felt very excited.

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