Chapter 1043, it seems pretty good to be a Ming person
David and Simon quickly hurried back to the mountains and explained everything clearly to their tribesmen. After a few days, those who could no longer stay in the mountains began to slowly return to the West Pole.
Here in Hong Kong.
After getting over the initial fear and apprehension, I slowly felt at ease.
As they said, these Ming people had done nothing wrong with them. Their houses were not touched, and their belongings were not lost. This made everyone slowly feel relieved.
As time went by, everyone soon discovered that these Ming people were easier to get along with than any previous intruders.
They are very gentle and polite, dress gorgeously, and live a prosperous life. The aroma of food wafting out of the military camp canteen every day makes people salivate.
Sheep and pigs are slaughtered almost every day, and the cooked meat is very fragrant. We eat rice shipped from Tianzhu in the Indian Ocean, and we often give some fist-sized white flour steamed buns to some children.
These make them yearn for and envy them very much.
The South Caucasus has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times. At the same time, due to the tradition of white slave trade, it has been invaded by powerful tribes since ancient times. People's lives are naturally very poor, especially in the Timur Khanate.
Under their rule, they had to pay heavy taxes, which made the people here live extremely poor.
Sometimes, people here really hope that they can become slaves, especially some beautiful women, because after becoming slaves, they will be sold to rich and powerful sultans or nobles of the Ottoman Empire, and they can live a life of ample food and clothing without worries.
A carefree life.
Even male slaves are like this. They are strong and strong. After becoming slaves, they have a great chance to go to the battlefield. As long as they leave behind their merits, they can make a comeback.
The Sultan of the Ottoman Empire had a guard army composed exclusively of slaves from the South Caucasus. At the same time, among the many nobles of the Ottoman Empire, there were some who were former slaves.
Under the military merit system of the Ottoman Empire, even if you were born as a slave, as long as you made meritorious service, you would soon be free, and you could also become a noble of the Ottoman Empire and live a noble life.
At this time, it was time to ring noon again.
"Dang~dang~"
"It's time to eat, it's time to eat~"
Accompanied by the sound of knocking, the cooks in the military camp carried buckets of white rice, white flour steamed buns, vegetables, and meat on their burdens to the port dock.
The construction period is very close, and they must build a complete port and dock as soon as possible to prepare for the arrival of the Black Sea Fleet, so even soldiers have to do these jobs now.
There is no way, this place is far away from the Ming Dynasty, and immigrants are not expected to arrive here until next year, so we can only use soldiers like them to do these things first.
"It's time to eat~ It's time to eat~"
Hearing the sound, many soldiers immediately put down what they were doing, washed their faces and hands, and began to line up neatly to enjoy their lunch.
The food of the Ming army was quite good, because from the very beginning, Liu Jin believed in a saying from later generations: a good soldier must have a good body, and a good body can only be obtained by eating.
Therefore, in terms of food, the Ming army has always been very good. The staple food is rice, steamed buns, and noodles. Vegetables, meat, sea fish, fruits, etc. are also indispensable. This is also an important reason why the Ming army is strong.
Eat like this every day, plus train every day, and choose those who are strong and strong when choosing. In this way, every Ming army will naturally be strong and strong, and they will naturally have more combat effectiveness when fighting.
Here at the port, the Ming soldiers were eating enthusiastically, but the local residents of West Pole Port could only look at them with drooling eyes.
"The people of Ming Dynasty are too extravagant~"
"They have to eat four times a day, but there is still food at noon."
David swallowed, smelling the aroma of meat, it was so tempting.
"Yeah, it's so luxurious~"
Simon also nodded. They are all human beings. Why can people in the Ming Dynasty eat well and have meat every time? Why do people in the Ming Dynasty wear very luxurious clothes, but they can only wear tatters? Why do people in the Ming Dynasty wear tatters?
The house they live in is very bright, clean, and tidy, but the house they live in is very dark, damp, and very dirty.
The adults could bear it, but the children couldn't. I saw a few bold children approaching these Ming people very cautiously, looking at the Ming soldiers who were eating with their big eyes.
"Have you eaten yet?"
Yang Liang looked at the two children beside him. They were both very young, only about five or six years old. Their big blue eyes were staring at the meat and rice in his bowl, and his mouth was watering.
He couldn't help but laugh immediately, thinking of the children in his own home, and asked with a smile.
Naturally, the two children couldn't understand the Ming Dynasty dialect, so they just kept looking at the meat and rice in Yang Liang's bowl.
"It's so pitiful~"
Yang Liang shook his head slightly, and put a piece of meat up to the child's mouth. When the child saw that there was meat to eat, he boldly ate it in one bite, and his eyes lit up as he ate.
"Eat slowly and have some rice~"
"This is the finest Tianzhu rice, transported from the Indian Ocean to Persia."
Yang Liang smiled and touched the other's head, and then carefully and slowly fed the two children meat and food.
This scene was seen by Simon and David, and also by Huo Ying.
"Bakar, go talk to the locals and tell them that we are recruiting workers. As long as they come to work for us, we will give them fifty cash and three kilograms of rice a day."
After thinking about it, Huo Ying also said to the translator beside him.
The construction schedule is a bit tight, and I'm afraid it's still too late to rely solely on the soldiers under my command, not to mention the fact that we have to clean up the remnants of the Kingdom of Georgia, so we still have to make use of the local labor force.
Moreover, by hiring them to do things in a way that can better promote communication and understanding between each other, it is also conducive to Ming's rule here.
"Yes, sir~"
When Bakar heard this, he nodded quickly, and then hurried to convey Huo Ying's order without even having time to eat.
"Dang~dang~"
In the West Pole Port, Bakar kept banging the gong, and soon a large group of people gathered around him.
Simon, David and others looked at Bakar nervously. Everything from the Ming Dynasty was transmitted through Bakar, with gongs and drums beating every time, which made everyone very nervous.
"I wonder if the Ming people are going to tax us?"
"It must be true. The people of Ming Dynasty eat well, drink well, and wear well every day. If we don't tax us, they will eat and drink whatever they want~"
"Do you think the taxes on people in Ming Dynasty will be very heavy?"
"Absolutely, otherwise you think how could the people of Ming Dynasty live such a good life? It's all collected from taxes from various places."
"The people of Ming Dynasty are actually quite nice. All the food they can't finish is given to our children."
Everyone was talking and looking at Bakar, feeling a little uneasy and uneasy.
"Everyone, General Huo just said that he now needs to recruit some people to work for them, mainly to build ports, houses and roads. He needs some strong people to work."
"Anyone who is willing to do something can come and sign up. Everyone can get fifty copper coins per day and three kilograms of rice per day as a reward."
Bakar looked at the crowd gathered in front of him and conveyed Huo Ying's words very loudly.
"How much is fifty copper coins?"
Someone didn't know the purchasing power of copper coins and asked loudly.
"Copper coins are one of the main currencies of the Ming Dynasty, and they are also the currency that everyone will use in the future. In the Ming Dynasty, one copper coin can buy two eggs, and five copper coins can buy almost a pound of rice or flour."
Bakar thought for a while and then explained: "Don't worry about having nowhere to spend the copper coins. In a few days, a caravan from the Ming Dynasty will arrive here and bring a large amount of Ming Dynasty goods."
"In the future, this West Pole Port will become the westernmost port of the Ming Dynasty, and will become an important place for the Ming Dynasty's products to be sold to Europe. With the notice of the Ming Dynasty, everyone's life will only get better and better."
"As for the tax issue you just mentioned, I have already communicated with General Huo. The tax in Daming is not heavy. If it is farming, the tax is only 10%, which is one-tenth. If it is doing business,
If so, you will need to pay business tax.”
After hearing Bakar's words, everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes in disbelief.
"Fifty copper coins. If you calculate it like this, you can buy ten kilograms of flour for one day's work. If you include the additional three kilograms, it will be thirteen kilograms~"
"Yes, thirteen kilograms of grain is enough for our family to eat for half a month. If we save a little, we can even eat for a month~"
"Count me in, count me in~"
Some people forgot about it and raised their hands on the spot. When others saw it, they all raised their hands one after another, unwilling to lag behind others. Such a good thing must be done quickly.
“I have never heard of such a low tax, and I don’t know if it is true or not~”
"It must be a lie. In the past, we had to pay at least half of our food to the higher authorities, and we also had to pay various taxes every year."
"It's hard to say, maybe it's true."
"I heard that the Ming people from the far east are very rich. There are mountains of gold and silver everywhere, endless food, and countless cattle and sheep."
Everyone kept discussing and seemed very excited.
Now it seems that becoming a Ming citizen is quite good. At least if the tax can be reduced, their life will be much better. Of course, the most important thing is that they are much safer now. It seems that there is no