When Zheng Haizhu came to Taiwan this time, he also brought his nephews Zheng Shoukuan and Gu Shouguan, Han Ximeng and his wife, two guys from Zhenjiang Shipping Insurance Co., Ltd., and weavers and embroidery workers from the Han family in Songjiang.
Han Ximeng gave birth to his son Gu Zuoyou early this year.
When the baby was full moon, it happened that Zheng Haizhu returned to Songjiang to transport artillery.
Zheng Haizhu squeezed out two or three hours to get together and talk with Han Ximeng, who brought her the first good fortune in her life.
She was keenly aware at that time that although Miss Han, who became a mother soon after her marriage, was considerate of her husband Gu Shouqian and well taken care of by her servants, she still felt a bit of disappointment between her eyebrows. Faintly visible.
They were both women of a young age, and their family background was far superior to that of Zheng Haizhu. Seeing that her former employees were prospering everywhere, even to the extent of assisting in the military and receiving rewards from the court, Miss Han had some subtle emotions in her heart, and she was very... normal.
When Zheng Haizhu said goodbye, he did not have the sense of superiority of a grassroots counterattack and successfully crushing the real daughter.
Han Ximeng is a woman who needs character, integrity, and ability. She should not be confined to the back house just because of marriage and childbirth.
As people of the same sex who cherish each other, they should understand each other's sadness and do their best to create opportunities for each other to break out of their cocoons.
So, when Zheng Haizhu returned to Songjiang again in early autumn, Zheng Haizhu stayed at the Gu Mansion in Mingzhe Garden for a while. After confirming that the Gu family and his wife were very affectionate and that the baby Gu was in good health, he proposed that they go to Taiwan to visit Yan Siqi and bring Songjiang with him. We learned about weaving and embroidery skills, talked about business, and spent the Chinese New Year in Taiwan.
Of course, she also invited Ximeng’s mother-in-law, Lu, and Miao Atai, who is originally from Fujian. She also vividly described how Taiwan is still as warm as spring in the middle of winter. Going to Taiwan to celebrate the New Year is better than celebrating the New Year in the cold and humid Songjiang. , much more comfortable.
Mu Atai said that as he got older, he was afraid of the bumps of the boat and the carriage, but Lu declined because he had small feet.
But these two elders, an open-minded and easy-going person, were not at all dissatisfied with Zheng Haizhu's efforts.
The group then set off smoothly, passing through Jiangxi into Fujian via inland waterways, arriving at Yuegang, and then transferred to the sea ship to arrive in Taiwan. The travel and fatigue they experienced along the way did not affect the pleasure of the fresh-faced Gu couple.
Even more happy is that Yan Siqi and the female chief of Siraya, Wen Akun, have also given birth to a daughter.
When the Gu couple saw this young mother holding a baby in her arms, they were inspecting the affairs of the village. When they wanted to teach the tribe's youth how to shoot archery, they put the child in the basket on their backs without affecting the power of the bow.
This kind of female ecology is completely different from that of Jiangnan young ladies who are forced to stay in seclusion and practice dishonest women's ethics. This is an eye-opener for the Gu and his wife.
…
After safely handing over the Gu family and the weaving workers to Wen Akun, Zheng Haizhu took his nephew Zheng Shoukuan, led by Yan Siqi, to appreciate the changes in Tainan this year.
After all, Yan Siqi was a subordinate led by Li Dan, the first-generation Chinese business tycoon, and he was very methodical in opening up new worlds.
The Baodao aborigines of the Siraya and other tribes, the mainland immigrants recruited from Zhangquan, Fujian, and the maritime merchant brothers who left Japan and took ships to join Yan Siqi. These three groups of people were arranged very well by Yan Siqi.
The aborigines are good at fishing and hunting, and they also take care of a small amount of planting. The mountains, forests, lakes on the island, and the harbor where the waves are calm and the boats can be safely parked are all reserved for them. Yan Siqi was very generous and took the initiative to visit several tribes adjacent to Siraya, presented blunderbuss to the chiefs, and also brought them high-quality food seeds.
Mainland immigrants were good at farming and were responsible for producing cash crops such as grain and tea. Yan Siqi gave them plain areas with good irrigation and fertile soil, where they could grow rice and develop tea gardens on slightly higher ground.
Farming civilization is more in line with the traditional Confucian ideological system, so the descendants of Zhu Xi from Nanxi whom Zheng Haizhu asked Ma Xianglin to invite more than a year ago were also placed in academies in large villages as the first batch of Confucius in Tainan.
The old brothers and subordinates from Hirado, Japan, each brought their own sailors and ships. Some of the guns and cannons on the ships were just exchanged for them from the Portuguese or Dutch in Japan. Their strength should not be underestimated.
Yan Siqi divided the nearly 1,000 people into ten villages and arranged them at the surrounding traffic hubs to perform defense duties when on the island and facilitate travel when going out to sell goods.
】
After Zheng Haizhu witnessed Yan Siqi's efforts in the construction of Tainan, he proposed that he and his nephew Shoukuan take a boat around the island to visit the north and east.
The straight-line distance between Tainan and Taitung is about three to four hundred miles. However, the central part of Taiwan Island is still a large area of virgin forest, and the land route is far more dangerous and time-consuming than the sea route.
Yan Siqi then chose a medium-sized lucky ship, hoisted the legitimate "Yan" flag of Taiwan's Xuanfu envoy, set out to sea from Mosquito Harbor in the west, went south to north, passed through Kaohsiung, Hengchun and other places in later generations, and arrived in Taitung. .
During the four-to-five-day voyage, Zheng Haizhu and Yan Siqi explained in detail the new situation on the mainland.
"Brother Yan, this time in Liaodong, I urged Uncle Mao not to delay business during the war. Taking advantage of the military glory and the favor of the general soldier, I went to destroy the Pidao Island in North Korea in the name of blocking Nurhachi's backyard. We've got it. In the area around Pi Island, we can go to Dongying, Denglai, and the Songjiang River, which is about to open and close. The waterways are all easy to navigate by sea-going boats. If the weather cooperates, we can arrive in as little as two or three days, or at most five or six days."
Yan Siqi nodded.
He was the one who rescued Mao Wenlong near Shenmi Island, so he was naturally familiar with the situation on Pi Island.
He listened to Zheng Haizhu's idea. The headquarters of Haoming Trading Company in Hangzhou serves as a Chinese military account for dispatching goods and transportation routes and collecting money. It connects inland and sea transportation through Pidao, Songjiang, Daishan, and Taiwan, which it currently controls. The port monopolizes sea traders from Liaodong to Fujian and Taiwan.
At the same time, Yan Siqi was also indoctrinated into some fresh theories of shipping insurance by the young Zheng Shoukuan.
Zheng Haizhu added: "Brother Yan, you are now a dignified and dignified envoy of Taiwan with imperial titles. If you were like Dengzhou Xundao or Li Dan, asking for protection fees from ships passing by, no one would dare not refuse to pay. But this approach is bandit-like and not worthy of publicity. It is better to make the ships entering the port pay shipping tax and insurance premiums, turn the underworld into white money, and launder dirty money into clean money."
After Yan Siqi thought about it carefully, he said: "Azhu, once we have the land, how do we make money to support people and the land? I won't underestimate the method you suggested. At worst, let's try it first. But to tell you the truth, since Now that the imperial court has recognized my Yan family’s entry into Taiwan, I’m getting more worried every day.”
"What are you worried about?" Zheng Haizhu asked.
"I'm worried that I will become the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Shen Wansan."
Zheng Haizhu smiled.
"Brother Yan, you are right to worry, but it is not right either."
