"In terms of military pay, Fujian Province can allocate some funds to support the army, but if there is insufficient food, it will be fatal."
Yang Tingjian shook his head and said with a grimace: "It will take two months until the grain is harvested. This is unbearable."
"Then we can only rob it."
Yang Zhan raised his head and said: "Those Tibetan societies must have a lot of grain in stock, just grab it."
"You must not—" Guo Huai was shocked and said hurriedly: "The Tibetan people are elusive and haunt the mountains and forests. If you provoke them, you may not be able to live peacefully farming in the future."
"No matter how many soldiers and horses the imperial court has, they will never be able to defeat them all."
Yang Tingjian fell into silence.
Before leaving, the emperor told him that he would cultivate fresh water and chicken coops to make these two counties worthy of their names. But now there is insufficient food storage and nothing can be done.
"Today's plan can only be purchased from the Tibetan people and the common people."
Yang Tingjian turned to look at Guo Huaiyi.
When Guo Huai heard this, he shook his head: "There are tens of thousands of people in total. The Dutch exploited them very hard, but they also lacked cattle, horses, and iron tools. Although it is not slash-and-burn farming, it is far inferior to that of the mainland."
"There is very little food left."
In fact, malaria is the key to restricting immigration to Taiwan. Her husband died young, there was a lack of manpower, and the harassment from Tibetans, unless she really couldn't survive, she would never migrate to Taiwan.
In fact, the imperial court not only allocated 20,000 silver dollars as support, but also promised Taiwan taxes for three years for its own use.
However, when the silver dollars passed through Fujian and Zhejiang, they purchased 200 cattle and spent 15,000 silver dollars. Who could have expected that Taiwan would be short of food?
Three thousand soldiers and horses, plus more than 2,000 Penghu naval forces, as well as county and government officials, reached the point where ten people served one official, which can be said to be an extremely exaggerated ratio.
Yang Tingjian and Yang Zhan's eyes met, and then they quickly looked away.
No agreement was reached.
This difficulty can be easily overcome. As long as you face the Ministry of Finance or go to Fujian to ask for help, you will definitely be able to get some back.
But regarding his official career, he may have become a laughing stock.
Moreover, with such a disparity in proportion, even if we persist until the end of the summer harvest, we may not be able to relax much. Tight days are ahead!
You have to think of a complete solution.
Somehow, news of the tight treasury spread to all the officials, and the price of food soared instantly, exceeding three yuan per stone.
The food reserves, which were not much in the first place, were tightly hidden.
At this moment, a Spanish businessman came to the government office in the former city of Relancia.
"I am willing to donate three thousand shi of grain right away, and I will be able to transport a large amount of grain to the generals every month to sell, as long as the prefect can agree to my small request."
As soon as Enrique came up, he immediately dropped a bombshell, making Yang Tingjian fall into excitement.
Immediately, he calmed down and asked: "Your official words are good, but the world never loses its pie. Tell me what you want."
Enrique smiled slightly and said: "As long as the prefect only allows my family to purchase cane sugar produced in Taiwan, I am willing to provide three thousand dan of grain."
"sugar--"
Yang Tingjian frowned: "You only want sucrose for a mere three thousand shi of grain? Do you think I am a fool?"
"Prefect Mingjian, what I mean is that I will purchase all the cane sugar in Taiwan according to the market price, and I will give you two thousand shi of grain as a gift. I will never let you suffer a loss."
Enrique looked extremely funny in a long gown and gray-yellow curly hair.
But this is the threshold for Westerners to integrate into the Ming Dynasty. Short clothes and narrow sleeves are the clothes of barbarians, and they are not worthy of communicating with scholar-bureaucrats.
These words were extremely tempting, and Yang Tingjian fell into a dilemma.
But suddenly, he remembered the conversation he had with the emperor before leaving.
Cane sugar, tea, and grain are Taiwan's three major assets.
Cane sugar is the key to exporting food in exchange for food, while tea trees are an important means of developing the Taipei area. As for food, it is supplied to Fujian, which is short of food.
"No!" Yang Tingjian shook his head and said with a sullen face: "Sucrose is related to the fundamental taxation of the Taiwan government. It cannot be done by one person."
"Then, Your Majesty the Prefect, as long as you give me a letter of recommendation, let me enter Songjiang Prefecture and contact those silk merchants."
Enrique pretended to be in a difficult position and said with a trace of helplessness on his face.
"A letter of recommendation? That simple?"
Yang Tingjian looked at this foreigner suspiciously, it was so strange.
In fact, it's not that simple.
Although the imperial court opened eight major customs offices, including Taiwan Prefecture, there are nine customs customs offices, but the most popular ones are Songjiang Prefecture and Ningbo.
Ningbo has been an important maritime trade center since the Tang Dynasty, while Songjiang Prefecture, adjacent to Suzhou and other places, has the largest stock of silk.
Therefore, Enrique wanted to go to Songjiang Prefecture. He was not familiar with the place, he was not a large sea merchant, and he was not a familiar merchant like Portugal. He could only be forced to be taken advantage of when buying silk.
Once there is the endorsement of the Taiwanese magistrate, those gentry will definitely have more trust and fear, the business will go smoothly, and a lot of troubles can be avoided.
"I just want to go to Songjiang Prefecture to do business, and I just hope that the prefect is willing to introduce me."
Businessman Enrique said sincerely.
"good!"
After some tangles, Yang Tingjian felt that Taiwan and himself would not suffer a loss, so he agreed: "Three thousand dan of grain must arrive within half a month."
"You deceive me, and you know what will happen."
Enrique agreed: "In fact, I already have a thousand stones of food in the palace, and I can give it to you now."
Together, you have stolen all the food on the market.
Yang Tingjian could only unfold the pen and paper, write a simple letter, and stamp it with his personal seal.
"I have a colleague who lives in Songjiang Mansion and his family is wealthy. You can go find him."
The food problem was solved, and everyone in Taiwan breathed a sigh of relief.
A Spanish businessman also used this to develop contacts and start a silk business.
A few days later, a member of the Jin Yiwei family suddenly arrived. He said he was from the Internal Supplies Department and asked for 5,000 acres of land.
This time, the entire Taiwan government was alarmed.
"Domestic Supplies Department?"
Yang Zhanqi said: "Jinyiwei has this? Why do I remember that there is only the North and South Zhenfu Division."
"It seems to be set up by His Majesty, specifically for business."
After all, Yang Tingjian was a Jinshi, so he had many connections and was well-informed.
"Tell him that the senior officials have no cultivated land, only wasteland, and they can be exploited without tax for three years."
Waving his sleeves, Yang Tingjian suddenly became full of strength and his eyes were full of disdain.
"This is an imperial merchant!" Yang Zhan was shocked, why is this scholar so arrogant?
"Your Majesty only wants to compete with the people for profit. How can he occupy the people's land with empty words?"
Yang Tingjian resolutely refused, and sneered: "This must be a villain who is acting recklessly under the banner of domestic demand. Not only will he not allow it, but he will also impeach him."
"I admire the gentleman's style."
Yang Zhan cupped his hands and was filled with admiration.
"Bah, virtue, the little magistrate is so presumptuous."
In Dayuan County, on a wasteland, several businessmen stepped on the land and looked at the endless grass, and they couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed.
"Not only do we have to recruit people for this wasteland, but we also have to spend time cultivating it. There will be no profit for two or three years."
“Why do you have to come to Taiwan to get cane sugar?”