Guo Song returned to Jinjiang County, and it was just after noon. They had a simple lunch, and then he went to the Ryukyu Economic and Strategy Office established in Jinjiang County.
The Ryukyu Island is today's Taiwan. The imperial court specially established the Ryukyu Economic and Strategic Office for the development of the Ryukyu Island. The economic and strategic envoy was led by Pan Liaoyao, the right prime minister. The following specific matters were handled by the left and right prime ministers.
Therefore, the Ryukyu Economic and Strategic Prefecture is divided into the East Prefecture and the West Prefecture. The West Prefecture is responsible for immigration, material transfer, etc. The West Prefecture is located in Jinjiang County, Quanzhou. The East Prefecture is on the Ryukyu Peninsula and is responsible for the development of Ryukyu Island and resettlement of immigrants, etc.
The Prime Minister of Xifu is called Han You, and he is the second grandson of the elder Han Huang. He is only thirty years old and is young and promising. When he heard that His Highness the King of Jin was coming, he quickly came out to greet him.
Guo Song looked at the government office and asked with a smile: "The government office doesn't look big, so why is the open space behind it so vast?"
The government building covers an area of only five or six acres, but behind it is an open space of dozens of acres, which is very wide and surrounded by walls.
Han You quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to Your Highness, there are usually hundreds of large tents set up behind to provide temporary residence for the people who are preparing to immigrate to Ryukyu Prefecture. A group of immigrants just left by boat two days ago, and the tents were all dismantled and cleaned.
, so it looks like an empty space.”
"There are only a hundred tents, are they enough to live in?"
"It's barely enough. We all have hundreds of families traveling together. If it's not enough, we can increase the size of the tent. Our place here is big enough."
Guo Song nodded and walked into the government office, but found that it was a little deserted. He asked again: "How many officials are there in Xifu?"
"Your Highness, there are normally fifty-seven officials on duty, but forty are stationed in various states and are responsible for recruiting immigrants. There are also ten people who have sent immigrants and supplies to Ryukyu Prefecture. Currently, there are only seven people here, including ministers.
"
"No wonder it's so deserted."
Guo Song also understood that the Jinglue Mansion was not an official office, and officials had to run around.
Guo Song sat down in the lobby, and the tea boy came in to serve tea. Guo Song took a sip of tea and asked Han You: "How is the progress on Ryukyu Island?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, the first county seat has been formed. It has not been officially named by the court, but everyone calls it Beixian. The second county seat is under construction, but the progress of the construction is slow and I am not sure."
Only then did Guo Song realize that Han You was the Prime Minister of Xifu, and he was in charge of the mainland, not the Ryukyu Island.
"How is the recruitment of immigrants going?" Guo Songxiao asked.
"Just force it! If you want to come to Quanzhou, some people are willing to do it, but I heard that everyone is very worried about going overseas and won't do it no matter how good the conditions are. Your Highness, I have a little suggestion."
"you say!"
"Weichen suggested that we change the name in the future! Don't call it Ryukyu Island, call it Ryukyu Prefecture. Weichen feels that the people are very sensitive. When they hear the word "island", it is like dragging them to be assigned, and directly kicking our officials out of their homes.
If he is talking about Ryukyu Mansion, at least he can listen to the preferential conditions later, and then they will weigh it, and the tempted people will be willing to immigrate!"
Guo Song laughed and said, "You are right. In fact, that big island cannot be called an island. It is almost the same area as Jiangnan Road. From now on, it will not be called an island, but Ryukyu Prefecture."
After a pause, Guo Song continued: "There is another thing. Many people have reported that they have too little contact with Ryukyu Mansion. Their families who went to build the city have not been contacted for more than a year. Of course, this is not your business. I said it is a navigable ship. It can
We cannot operate a boat regularly to facilitate people to visit relatives."
Han You smiled bitterly and said: "Actually, we have thought of this problem a long time ago, but we can't!"
"Why?"
"The people who immigrated to Ryukyu Prefecture were actually deceived. Once the ship is opened, it is guaranteed that everyone will escape back. We really don't dare to open it!"
Guo Song was surprised and said: "Although it's a little harder over there, it's not so exaggerated!"
"Your Highness, it's not a matter of difficult conditions, but loneliness. It's really like being exiled, isolated from the world, not knowing anything about the local situation. They all miss their hometown, and now that the world has been unified by Your Highness, it's not like before.
Having been brutally exploited by the feudal lord, they want to return to their hometown."
Guo Song walked a few steps with his hands behind his back: "If there is no navigation, they will be isolated from the world, more lonely, and more eager to escape. In the end, it will form a vicious circle. Navigation still has to be open, just restrict boarding, and give them a mentality
To comfort them, we then arranged for Quanzhou to print the "Kyoto Express" and distribute it in Ryukyu Prefecture, so that they could keep abreast of world affairs. We also often arranged for some actors to go to the island so that they could watch military dramas and so on every night.
It’s no different back home.”
"This is great. I hope the court can implement it as soon as possible."
Guo Song nodded, "The imperial court will implement it soon. Tomorrow morning, I will also go to Ryukyu Mansion to see it on the spot!"
.........
Early the next morning, Guo Song left Quanzhou and headed for Ryukyu Island. Zhang Lei also finished his business matters and accompanied Guo Song to Ryukyu Island.
"Brother, have you been to Ryukyu Island?" Guo Song stood on the bow of the boat with his hands behind his hands and asked with a smile.
"I went there last year. Kapok was abundant there, and I bought tens of thousands of kilograms."
"Tens of thousands of catties?"
Guo Song didn't believe it and said with a smile: "Are there so many people? Who will help you pick?"
"Yes, there are quite a few local people, and a batch has accumulated in the warehouse. I bought them all in one fell swoop."
"How do you feel there? Tell the truth."
Zhang Lei thought for a while and said: "There is a county over there. I lived in Beixian for a few days and it feels like it is just a small county. It is no different from the small counties in the Central Plains, but to be honest, it is boring!"
"How do you say this?" Guo Song asked with interest.
"Hey! Life is so easy for people over there. You can eat and drink well without doing anything, but what can you do if you earn dozens of dollars growing food? I go to restaurants every day. There are only two restaurants, and there are too many people to sit in.
There is no place, and the food is no different from home.
Go visit a brothel, sorry, there is no one! There are no casinos either. Whoever wants to save a bunch of silk dresses doesn’t have so many supplies. In a word, if you have money, there is no place to spend it. Everyone is rich, but they can’t enjoy it.
What's the point of living like a rich man and not even having a place to hire a maid?"
Guo Song burst out laughing. Officials probably wouldn't tell the truth, and ordinary people wouldn't dare tell it. Only his senior brother would tell the truth like this.
"What you said makes sense. People have pursuits, and they must have what they should have. Later, you can recruit a group of Japanese prostitutes to come to Ryukyu Mansion to make money."
"Bah! Let me open a brothel. Do you think I am someone who would do such a thing?"
Guo Song saw that he had a small head, a round body, and one hand on his hip. He looked like a big teapot. He couldn't help laughing, "Why aren't you? It's so suitable."
Zhang Lei's mind suddenly moved, and he asked tentatively: "Since Ryukyu Mansion has no servants, maids, and maids, I will simply go to Japan to recruit a group of women, maybe a few thousand people! What do you think?"
"Is it possible?"
"Of course it's feasible. It's not like asking them to sell themselves as slaves. They're just going to be maids or maids. They can work there for three to five years and then go back. They can still make money every month. It's guaranteed that every household will be vying to send their daughters and recruit a group of prostitutes.
It’s not bad to serve the garrison.”
Guo Song thought for a while and said: "Let's try recruiting a few people first. You don't have to do it yourself. You can just arrange for a big manager to take charge. I will explain it to the Ryukyu government later."
.........
Two days later, a fleet of ten large ships arrived in North County, Ryukyu Prefecture. North County is today's Hsinchu. The terrain is flat and there is an endless forest in the distance. On the edge of the forest, large areas of rice fields and sugar cane fields have been opened up.
The county seat of Beixian is not far from the sea, only one mile from the dock, and the perimeter of the city wall is about 20 miles. It is equivalent to a medium-sized county in the Central Plains, but it has a population of only more than 4,000 households, some of which live in the county seat, and some of which have formed villages.
The Ryukyu Prefecture has not yet been established. There are currently two government offices, the Ryukyu Strategic Envoy Tofu and the Beixian County Office. Among them, the county government is only responsible for the management of Beixian, while the Ryukyu Strategic Envoy Tofu is responsible for the development of the entire Ryukyu Island.
Don't govern the people.
The Prime Minister of the East Prefecture of Ryukyu was named Li Su, who was born as a Jinshi, and was a sixth-rank official, while the magistrate of Beixian County was called Liu Shixiu, who was also a Jinshi, two terms later than Li Su. One of them was from Fuzhou and the other was from Jianzhou.
When His Royal Highness Prince Jin's fleet arrived at the pier, a group of officials who had been waiting for a long time came forward to greet them.
Cai Yong, the governor, and Han You, the prime minister of the Western Prefecture, also accompanied Guo Song. Cai Yong had the highest official rank and introduced several major officials to Guo Song.
Guo Song happily said to everyone: "This is my first time to come to Ryukyu Mansion, but when I set foot on this land, I can feel a vibrant atmosphere. It is like a piece of white paper, and you are the painters.
What Ryukyu Prefecture will look like in the future depends on your painting skills. I hope you can create a masterpiece that will be handed down from generation to generation. Once everyone lands on this land, they will never want to leave again. I am looking forward to that day.