Chapter 16 Arriving at the Island On the way to the coast, Han Dang looked at the more than 2,000 people behind him and couldn't help feeling a little uneasy. Although these were all unarmed civilians, he only had fifty guards under his command. Although the county also sent some yamen runners and soldiers to help, there were less than fifty of them, and their quality was far inferior to that of his guards. Han Dang is just a young general now. He has never had the experience of managing so many people. Faced with this situation, he can't help feeling a little uneasy. Fortunately, the preliminary work on the field embankment was done very well, and the five pounds of fried noodles distributed by Han Dang to each person calmed the emotions of this group of people very well. This group of refugees experienced the feeling of being "full" for the first time in a long time. Some people even had a full meal for the first time in their lives, and it was such delicious fried noodles. Many people shed tears while eating. If they had not recuperated for a period of time in Dongmou County earlier, and if Han Dang had not arranged people to persuade and remind them, some people might have almost been starved to death. Everyone was like a drowning person grabbing a life-saving straw, and they obeyed Han Dang's orders very cooperatively, fearing that they would be abandoned. The journey was surprisingly smooth. Apart from the presence of some elderly, weak, women and children, which slowed down the journey, there were no accidents.
Only after arranging everyone on board in batches did Han Dang finally breathe a sigh of relief. He secretly made up his mind that after returning, he must ask his lord to expand the army as soon as possible, to at least 300 people, otherwise the pressure would be too great. Leading five ships, Han Dang cautiously headed towards Changxing Island. The yamen runners and soldiers returned to Dongmu County with cartloads of copper coins, and they were all so happy that their teeth were not visible. Han Dang told them that so many copper coins included their hard-earned money and the county magistrate would certainly reward them generously. …… On the ship, Xu Liuzi's family of five were resting in the room. There are many rooms inside the ship, each of which can accommodate several people. Because Xu Liuzi's family had a large population, they were assigned a separate room. Xu Liuzi, leaning against the corner, closed his eyes, feeling the slightly shaking hull and the sound of the waves in his ears, and the uneasiness in his heart took a long time to subside. He was not from Dongmu County, but from nearby Guanyang. Although it was not too far from the sea, he had never been out of the village before, let alone seen the sea. It was inevitable that he felt terrified when he first came to the sea. There are many people like him. Even though Han Dang arranged guards to take turns to appease them in the past few days, it didn't have much effect. Looking at his old mother and wife lying on the bed resting, and his two children playing around, Xu Liuzi felt confused. He didn't know where he would go or what he would encounter. He hasn't sat down and thought for a long time. In the past, because he was struggling on the brink of starvation every day, he never thought about the future. He was in a daze and just wanted to eat something to relieve the burning pain in his stomach. All the energy is spent on making ends meet, running around just to survive. In order to get something to eat, he and his family followed the crowd from Guanyang all the way to Dongmu, and then came to this ship.
The person in charge on the ship treated them very well and provided them with adequate meals. Although the guards kept reminding them that they were weak and should not eat too much, otherwise their bodies would not be able to bear it. But when he saw the fried noodles after having the chance to eat his fill for the first time, the rich aroma made him forget everything else. He was like a hungry wolf, stuffing the fried noodles into his mouth without caring about his own appetite. When I felt choking, I took two gulps of water and almost burst my stomach. I felt extremely uncomfortable. Fortunately, the guard gave him a pill, which relieved the pain a little. Although he didn't dare to eat so much again after that, he still ate a lot every time. After two days, he finally recovered and began to think about his situation. The better the person in charge was, the more unsure he felt, fearing that there was a huge trap behind all this. But think about it, your family is poor and only has a few people left, what could others be interested in? Unable to figure it out, he had hardly gone to bed to rest in the past few days. He spent most of his time sitting in the corner, feeling the slight support brought by the cold wall, waiting for the judgment of fate. "Shut up!" A slight vibration sound suddenly occurred. Xu Liuzi remembered what the guard had said before and hurriedly called his old mother and wife. "Hurry up, we think we've reached the destination." While Xu Liuzi checked the fried noodles hidden on the soles of his shoes and on his lower back, he hid the few oranges left in his sleeves in his arms. His wife and children were also hiding their rations. Having been on the brink of starvation so many times, this behavior has become an instinct for them. Soon, just as he had guessed, the tightly closed door of the cabin was opened from the outside. A fully armed guard said to them, "A-number 165 to 169." "All here!" Xu Liuzi hurriedly stood in a row with his family, waiting for the guards to check. After checking, the guard nodded and said, "Follow me." Then he led the five people toward the deck. When he arrived on the deck, the long-lost sunlight made Xu Liuzi unable to open his eyes. After getting acclimated, I saw a huge port coast in front of me. "Congratulations on coming to Changxing Island!" After hearing the guard's words, something in Xu Liuzi's heart finally settled down. The group was divided into ten teams according to their numbers, and they stood in neat rows on the shore. Looking at the equally fully armed guards in front of his team, and the elegantly dressed and distinguished young man standing on the platform, Xu Liuzi couldn't help but take two steps back and get closer to his family.
He knew that this young man might be their master in the future, and his fate would depend entirely on him. "I am Wuzhongtian Chengshou, the head of your family. From now on, you will be my private households." "I will give each of you 20 acres of good land to cultivate, and I will only take 30% of the harvest." "I have opened many factories, and you can also work in them in exchange for wages." “Women can raise silkworms and weave cloth, and children can learn to read and write.” "I have prepared all the housing, clothing, and food you need." "With me, as long as you don't slack off, you will have no worries about food and clothing." "I will lead you to live the life you want!" Because most of the recruits were refugees from the Qingxu area, Tian Ze used the language around Qingxu, which he was not very proficient in, to explain everything as concisely as possible. Although Tian Ze's tone was a little awkward, and the dialects around Qingxu were not exactly the same, Xu Liuzi half guessed and half listened and basically understood what he meant, and his eyes lit up. There was no need for such a big shot to deceive the common people. To them, who just wanted to have a full meal, what the other party promised was like a dream. "Thank you, Master! You are so kind!" countless people shouted. They have no objection to becoming private households, which is normal nowadays. Many of them were private households before, but were driven out by the owner. Many people want to become private households but have no chance yet. Many people had tears in their eyes. The suffering of refugees is hard for ordinary people to imagine. They are like duckweed, helpless and with extremely low status. They may disappear from this world at any time. Now in Tianze, they can own their own homes and land again. Even though the land does not belong to them and they only have the right to cultivate it, it is enough. They will have someone to rely on in the future! Tian Ze's tall figure on the high platform was deeply imprinted in everyone's mind. From this moment on, everything they had belonged to Tianze. The people of this era, who are used to suffering, are so simple and honest. As long as you can give them something to eat, they will be grateful and loyal to you. Next, after having his hair and beard washed and disinfected, Xu Liuzi got his ID card and followed more than 200 people from the same team to Village A under the guidance of the guards. Looking at the endless fertile fields and neatly arranged houses before them, everyone was stunned and burst into cheers. In order to accommodate the refugees who were about to arrive, Tian Ze did not hesitate to squander all his accumulated spiritual energy, and "reclaimed" an additional 5,000 acres of fertile land in each village. The total number of fertile land reached 70,000 acres, which barely met the needs. Xu Liuzi knelt down on the field marked with his ID card number, constantly stroking the fertile land, and the long-lost light appeared in his eyes again. According to the village chief, although they did not own the land, they had the right to use it. There was no difference except that they could not buy or sell it. Xu Liuzi, who had experienced his own land being taken away by trickery, didn't care about it. If there were no exorbitant taxes, he would not sell his land to anyone unless he starved to death.
After visiting the fields, the whole family moved into their own new house and put on new clothes. The village chief also sent them a lot of supplies, including a total of 100 dan of food for a family of five. Xu Liuzi only felt that he was surrounded by endless happiness, as if he was in heaven. The loyalty and sense of belonging to Tian Ze in my heart quickly grew. Tian Ze, who was conducting research and visiting various villages, felt the continuous emergence of spiritual energy and smiled with satisfaction. When he was speaking in the morning, he used the art of looking at the air to take a look around. Among this group of refugees, there were no evildoers, and there were dozens of them with decent qualifications who were quite suitable to be soldiers. As these people returned to their faith, the amount of spiritual energy in the dragon-patterned jade pendant surged again to more than two hundred strands. This wave is not a loss. (End of this chapter)
