On the sea line from Fujian to Taiwan, more than ten naval vessels escorted a ship in the rough sea.
July and August are the months when typhoons are prevalent. Even though the Taiwan Strait is relatively calm, the wind and waves cannot be underestimated.
"vomit--"
Zhang Qi was lying on the bedside, vomiting in front of the barrel, his face turned pale, his belly was rising and falling, and he was breathing heavily.
He felt like his whole body was shaking and his stomach was churning.
Such days are so difficult.
"How long until we get to Taiwan?"
Zhang Qi wiped the corners of his mouth and asked helplessly.
"Penghu County is ahead, please wait a moment."
The Penghu navy, which was ordered to escort, was standing still, bowing its head, with a look of fawning on its face.
Although the fat old man in front of him only held the title of Jinyiwei, he had two daughters who married the emperor and became his father-in-law.
Not only did he want to curry favor, but everyone in Fujian Province also wanted to curry favor, for fear of delaying him.
"That's good, it's finally here."
Zhang Qi breathed a sigh of relief and finally showed a smile.
Starting from Tianjin Port, we took the sea route, almost walking along the coastline. It was calm and very stable.
But when he got to the real sea, even the Taiwan Strait was still too much for him and he suffered from seasickness.
It's bitter, it's bitter, how could I get so excited that I accepted this job?
However, recalling the conversation in Beijing, Zhang Qi suddenly became excited again, with a trace of blood on his face.
The emperor revealed that due to the excessive imperial property, the eunuchs had limited abilities and could only perform supervisory work, and the specific operations had to be done by outsiders.
As a result, the emperor decided to no longer hang those properties on the Imperial Guard and set up an internal affairs office for management.
Even the palace's external purchases are basically borne by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs has one minister in charge, with the rank of fourth rank, and a number of co-organizing ministers, with the rank of fourth rank.
"Minister in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs..."
"Fourth rank, the same level as the prefect, obediently——"
With his mouth dripping with gurgling, Zhang Qi felt happy: "This trip is worth it even if I have to vomit out the bile."
"However, I heard that there is malaria in Taiwan, so we have to be careful."
As time went by, Zhang Qi settled in Penghu County, and the reception banquet was quite pleasant.
Especially to the Penghu Navy guerrilla Sun Lin, Zhang Qi was so polite.
Without him, this young man in his twenties, whose sister is the virtuous concubine Sun Xuan'er, and whose father is Sun Changzhou, the governor of Xuanda, Zhang Qi did not dare to look down on him even though he lived in Penghu.
"Why did uncle come to Taiwan this time?"
After two years of exposure to wind and rain, Sun Lin was tanned to a wheat color, and the delicate young master also looked like a soldier, with very rough skin.
Last year, he got married according to his father's order and is about to become a father. He has matured a lot.
"Taiwan government!" Zhang Qi sighed and glanced at Sun Lin. There was no need to worry about his identity, and he said directly: "Manage the imperial property!"
"Didn't we open up 100,000 acres of sugar cane fields the year before last? Even if we run something else, we won't need your help!" Sun Linqi said.
"Hehe, I won't hide it from you either."
Zhang Qi said with a smile: "Penghu is close to Dayuan County, so we should understand how profitable the Tangliao is."
"Nowadays, the Taiwan government also has a customs office. The sugar produced is resold directly. The profits are quite large, and it accounts for a large part of the inner court. It is no wonder that His Majesty does not pay attention to it."
Sun Lin suddenly understood, but was inexplicably surprised in his heart.
His family also had a sugar parlor in Taiwan, but he rarely interfered with it. His wife took care of everything. He never thought that making so much money would alarm the emperor.
You know, most of the vassal fields in Huguang and Sichuan have become imperial estates, hundreds of thousands of hectares, but these are still not as good as Tangliao?
It seems that my family will have to develop a manor.
Zhang Qi said a few more words about the situation in the capital, and said with a smile: "Two great lamas came from the plateau before, and now His Majesty's belief in Buddhism is spreading throughout Beijing. Temples throughout Beijing are flourishing!"
The next day, Zhang Qi arrived in Damuan County under the escort of the Penghu Navy.
Although Taiwan Prefecture is relatively large, it only has four counties.
Penghu, Dayuan, Danshui, Chicken Coop.
Damuan County is located in the Jiade Plain. It was the place where the Dutch Zheng Zhilong operated in the past and has a large population.
In particular, before the Portuguese expelled Macau, they announced that Taiwan had its own entrance and exit, which was similar to abolishing the road guide, thus attracting most of the merchants in Southeast Asia.
When Zhang Qi arrived at Da Yuan Pier, he saw a strange sight.
Xiyi people with deep eyes, high noses and curly hair walk freely on the road, kissing and holding hands as if no one else is around, which is extremely offensive.
As for the Han people passing by, and even the government officials, you passed by them without even looking at them.
There are dozens of large and small ships docked at the pier, most of which are Western-style sailing ships. There are also many merchant ships improved from Fuchuan, which is dizzying.
vertex
There are all kinds of strange languages, including Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin, etc., which makes me feel like I am in a foreign country.
"Is this Taiwan? Why is it weirder than going to North Korea?"
Zhang Qi sighed, extremely uncomfortable getting on the carriage and checked into an inn.
At night, he invited Taiwan Magistrate Yang Tingjian, Taiwan Commander-in-Chief Yang Zhan, and Chief Magistrate Guo Huaiyi to a banquet and stated his purpose:
"The number of sugar shops in Taiwan is increasing day by day, and the prices are falling again and again. This is not a good trend. It gives those Westerners an advantage for no reason."
When Yang Tingjian heard this, he smiled slightly and sighed: "It's all the business of those merchants. The court can't control it, and there's no leader to appeal."
"Now that Zhang Yuanwai is here, we are blessed."
"That's what I meant." Zhang Qi nodded and smiled: "According to the idea we had in Huguang back then, we established a sugar guild in Taiwan, and all the businessmen who run sugar shops must join."
"Then set a minimum price that no one can violate. In this way, everyone will benefit and no longer be cheap for those Westerners."
"That's a good way."
At this time, Yang Zhan also nodded. He also bought Tangliao and was overjoyed: "In this way, we can all make money, lest some people take advantage of the loophole and make us lose money for no reason."
If you make less, you will lose.
Yang Tingjian is incompetent, which is a good thing that is conducive to standardizing business order.
There are 300,000 people in Taiwan, 80% of whom are growing sugar cane and selling it for money. Especially those merchants from Fujian are rushing to buy fields to grow sugar cane, attracting a large number of people.
As long as it can ensure that sugar merchants make money, Taiwan will be able to develop rapidly and collect more taxes.
"It couldn't be better."
Zhang Qi was overjoyed after completing the first goal.
Then he opened his mouth again and said, "I want to develop another 100,000 acres of land. I hope it will be convenient for Dayuan County?"
"One hundred thousand acres?" Guo Huai was shocked: "This is not a small amount."
