In Aolai City in August, the autumn mood has really begun to show. Inside and outside the town, it is still lush and green, with green plants everywhere. Aolai is still very comfortable in this season, but this comfort is often short-lived and belongs to the transitional season. However, except for Aolai City, which had been renovated in the "Han style", the rest of the city was still in a desolate primitive state.
In terms of development, in the past few years, Aolai City has had some, at least thousands more Han immigrants, and Han merchants have also set foot here.
But in fact, since the Han army's great march, Aolai City has always been a stronghold for the Han to control the radiation in the Duck River Basin. There are only one battalion of troops stationed there. In addition to guarding the security and defense of the town, it also has to take care of other aspects. Security for hundreds of miles around.
However, the location of Aolai is very important. It is located at the intersection of Duck River and Black Water. From the perspective of water transportation, this is a chokepoint.
In these years, Anton's main development direction was in the area around Suihua, and Aolai's progress was not very obvious, but even so, the Governor's Office began to set its sights further afield.
In the past year, Aolai City has been a lot more lively. The reason is very simple. Someone picked up a piece of gold sand in the Heishui River in the north, boldly went to the bottom of the river to explore, and found gold in the river sand, so the land stopped planting. He stopped fishing and began to work secretly in gold mining.
But this kind of news cannot be hidden. After all, in this sparsely populated place, abnormal behavior and activity traces are easy to detect. In addition, once money and supplies are exchanged with the government, there is no way to hide it.
So, after the news spread, people of all kinds came to the river one after another to find gold. So far, the gold rush in Anton and even the entire Northeast is still continuing and getting more and more fanatical. Compared with farming, logging, and trading, gold mining is obviously the most profitable business. If you touch a piece of gold, you will make a profit.
Of course, this is also the hardest and most risky business. Without any strength, civilians, even armed immigrants, would not dare to participate rashly. In the territory of Andong, as long as it is not within the town, it is full of dangers, especially for gold diggers. Not only do they have to deal with possible attacks by indigenous barbarians, they may also be robbed and killed by their peers. The Han law in the town It is difficult to implement it in the wild, and there are no conditions.
As for the discovery of Aolai gold sand, the Han citizen who took the first bite of crab was very lucky and had the cleverness of a small farmer. Knowing that there was gold at the bottom of the Blackwater River, I couldn't hide it, and I didn't expect to monopolize it for myself. After searching for it secretly for a while, I decisively reported the matter to the government. As a result, I not only received a reward from the Aolai government, but also safely brought it to the government. The more than 50 kilograms of gold I obtained was exchanged for silver coins. Although for such gold diggers, the government exchange was at a substantial discount, even so, I still exchanged nearly 6 million yuan.
For an ordinary citizen, what is the concept of six million dollars? It is about six thousand guans. The development funds allocated by the imperial court to the Anton Dudu Mansion every year are only 1 million guans.
It is more appropriate to describe it as getting rich instantly. You can completely achieve financial freedom, break away from the land and work, and live a life like a master. In a place like Aolai City, you can even directly enjoy an "aristocratic" life.
The deeds of "Lucky Man" Ma Liu have become a legend and an excellent publicity point for Aolai Sands, spreading not only in Aolai but also throughout Anton.
Not only is there an influx of gold prospectors in Aolai, but those who focus on prospecting and mining in other places have also begun to change their goals and start searching in the water. The water system in the Andong area is also quite developed, and there is gold at the bottom of the Blackwater River. , it may not be available elsewhere.
As for Ma Liu, whose ancestors were in smoke, he already had fame and money, but it took some effort to keep it all. The Anton region is not as stable and orderly as the mainland. There is not enough protection. The more wealth there is, the more dangerous it is.
Facts have proved that anyone who can succeed always has something to offer, and Ma Liu has made full use of it in this regard. The first is not to be greedy and report in a timely manner, and the second is to find the most solid and reliable protective umbrella wisely.
In a place like Aolai, those who have the most authority and can provide the strongest protection are undoubtedly the officials and the army. Ma Liu approached these two and directly took out two million from the six million he earned from gold mining. Part of it was donated to the government to support urban construction, and the other part was given to the town general Liu Yongzhen. for protection.
Liu Yongzhen, the town general, was naturally very satisfied with Ma Liu's knowledge and interests. He was so happy that he promoted him to be a security patrolman, making him an authoritative figure and an exploiting class in Aolai City.
Although this small Aolai City is not even a county, and is not even as good as an ordinary town in the mainland, the town general's background is not small. Liu Yongzhen is the nephew of Liu Guangyi, the Marquis of Haining, and also went to Anton at the call of Emperor Liu. One of the noble disciples.
Compared with Dahan, the Andong region does have many differences. For example, the position of town general, which was very "vassal town" in the past, has been re-established.
But Liu Yongzhen, a general in the town of Aolai, had a high rank. He was actually awarded the seventh rank. He not only led the army but also governed the people. In a small place like Aolai, he was undoubtedly the emperor of the country.
In fact, as the nobles' descendants came to explore far and wide, whether they were engaged in politics, the military or business, they all formed their own spheres of influence and had their own territory.
In the development process, although the entire Anton was under the rule of the Anton Governor's Palace and was also within the entire Han system, a status quo that was close to enfeoffment was quietly formed.
These people have also taken control of governance in local business activities, and their influence has gradually become stronger. Of course, this situation is not limited to Andong. Similar situations also occur in areas such as Monan, Shanyang, Northwest, Southwest, and Annan.
Even Emperor Liu, who was far away in Tokyo, was aware of this, especially Anton, which he paid special attention to. However, Emperor Liu did not say anything about this situation and adopted a default attitude.
The Han Dynasty is too big. To firmly control such a huge territory, govern so many ethnic groups, and deal with such complex conflicts, it is all dependent on the imperial court. It is too difficult and unrealistic. These people are also needed to govern for the imperial court. .
The imperial government's all-encompassing governance has long been proven to be impossible in this era. In Emperor Liu's view, it was normal for those noble sons to go to the border areas and get some privileges and conveniences. At least they belonged to the imperial court. Those with vested interests can try their best to safeguard their own interests and at the same time maintain the rule of the Han Dynasty.
In Aolai City, the town general Liu Yongzhen was obviously a person who kept his word, but as far as the Anton Governor's Mansion was concerned, he was really insignificant. Especially when the King of Qin Liu Xudong came to visit, Liu Yongzhen was nervous and looking forward to it. Also be careful with me.
Over the past few years, almost all the military and political officials under the Antong Governor's Mansion have learned one thing. King Qin is not an easy person to serve. The King of Qin who was the governor of the East was strong, serious, strict and even harsh.
At least in Anton, except Anguo Gong Gao Huaide, no one is afraid of Liu Xu. Even the arrogant and murderous Tian Qinzuo has to keep a low profile in front of the King of Qin.
