The Rise of the European Emperor

Facing the aborigines of several Fanshe who were watching around, Van der Beek, who had just been appointed as the chief of the garrison, was so frightened that he swallowed his saliva. You know, he is called the Chief of the Garrison, but Marin only gave him 10 soldiers. Even with the help of city walls and muskets, he is not confident that he can resist the attack of thousands of aborigines.

Therefore, Van der Beek asked Marin to send more troops to defend Tamsui City together. Or, it would be more appropriate to call it Danshuibao.

But the problem is that Marin has no soldiers to send now. The thousand men and horses he brought were all elites from the Beihai Kingdom, so they would definitely bring them back. As for Kong Tai, the total number of fighters is only one hundred, and it is not bad to be able to distribute 10 people to Van der Beek. After all, Keelung is Kong Tai's base camp, and the safety there is more important.

But seeing Van der Beek's words were pitiful, and it was indeed difficult for 10 people to defend Freshwater Fort, Marin thought for a while and said:

"Why don't you recruit some native soldiers?"

Van der Beek shook his head hastily, joking that these indigenous people are with the locals. If they acted as internal agents to open the door, Danshui Castle would be captured by them in minutes. The biggest enemy of Danshuibao at present is the local aborigines, recruiting aborigines to serve as soldiers, isn't the neck washed and given to the aborigines? Therefore, Van der Beek is absolutely unwilling to recruit local indigenous people as soldiers.

"How about recruiting some people from the Han people in Jilong Village to help defend the city?" Marin asked.

Van der Beek nodded quickly. He still trusted the Han people in Jilong Village on Heping Island. They get along well with Kong Tai, and, like them, they are all outsiders to the local aborigines, and it is impossible to collude with the aborigines.

But Liu Laogen, who was acting as an interpreter for Marin, quit:

"My lord, there are only more than 50 people left in our Jilong Village, and there are only about 20 strong men (in that Japanese pirate attack, many old and weak were killed, resulting in a relatively high proportion of strong men), how can it be enough to help Lord Fan defend the city? Besides, We still have to farm!"

Marin was right when he thought about it. There are indeed very few people in Jilong Village, and they are not enough to dispatch...

"Old man Liu, look, can we get some immigrants from Daming to increase the population? By the way, also recruit some soldiers to help guard Tamsui Fort?"

Liu Laogen shook his head again and again:

"My lord doesn't know that the household registration system in Ming Dynasty is strict, and it is difficult for ordinary people to leave the county, and they have no courage. Also, if life is stable, who would want to leave their hometown? And those smugglers who dare to go out of the county are just idiots. You don't dare to use the ungrateful person..."

"Then you also left your hometown?"

"We were hit by a natural disaster..."

"Yes, I want those victims. I don't believe that Hu Jian has not had a natural disaster in the past two years! The victims have nothing, and I can feed them. Presumably, someone is willing to come!" Marin said confidently.

Liu Laogen thought for a while and said:

"My lord, what you said reminded me. I heard from the businessman on Meizhou Island who was in charge of smuggling goods to us. It seems that last year Ningde was hit by typhoon and frost one after another. Lianjiang was also hit by frost. Disaster victims. Moreover, Ningde and Lianjiang are both close to the sea, so they can secretly pick people up from the sea..."

"Ningde... Lianjiang..." Marin remembered that these two places seemed to be in the north of Fuzhou, close to the sea, which was indeed convenient for transporting people by sea.

"Well then, you are in charge of contacting and finding someone to go to Ningde and Lianjiang to look for refugees. Then, in the middle of the night, they are smuggled out by fishing boats and transported to Danshuibao. Tell those refugees that here, there is enough food!" There is sweet potato a big killer,

Marin really didn't worry about those victims being hungry.

"But... but... the old man only has connections with the smugglers on Meizhou Island, and Ningde and Lianjiang have no connections..." Liu Laogen hesitated.

"Hey, what am I doing? It's just someone looking for someone. You send someone to find the smuggler on Meizhou Island, give him a lot of money, and ask him to introduce you to the smugglers on Ningde and Lianjiang. Know..." Marin has seen this kind of thing a lot in later generations. Moreover, Marin has heard a theory in his previous life - there are no more than 6 people between you and any stranger...

According to this theory, even if the smugglers in Meizhou Island had nothing to do with the smugglers in Ningde and Lianjiang, they could easily be hooked up through some well-connected brokers. In the middle process, you only need to spend a little introduction fee. What's more, Ningde and Lianjiang both belong to Hu Jian, so it's not troublesome to find them.

"But the smugglers in Meizhou Island are not afraid that the smugglers in Ningde and Lianjiang will steal their business?" Liu Laogen asked suspiciously.

"When you send someone to contact him, it means that it's just for those refugees. In addition, give more money, and the other party will tell you." Marin brought a lot of money on board this time, and he was the least afraid of spending money. .

So, Liu Laogen sent Qing Zhuang, who was in charge of smuggling supplies in Jilong Village, to contact the smugglers on Meizhou Island. After spending some money, and the fact that the other party only wanted refugees from Ningde and Lianjiang, instead of improving the delivery channels, the other party readily agreed. And, soon found the way...

Coincidentally, Meizhou Island is the hometown of Mazu, the god of the sea. There is a Mazu Temple on the island, and it is a Mazu Temple. It is a holy place in the hearts of coastal residents who believe in Mazu, Hu Jian. Moreover, many people with the surname Hu Jianlin like to call themselves descendants of Mazu. Of course, Mazu had no children of her own, and they generally claimed to be descendants of Mazu's brothers or cousins. Every year, there are not a few people who come to the Mazu Temple on Meizhou Island to offer incense.

As for Ningde and Lianjiang, there are naturally people who come to Meizhou Island to worship Mazu. Every March 23rd in the lunar calendar is Mazu's birth festival, and many foreigners come to worship at the Mazu Ancestral Temple on Meizhou Island. Coincidentally, Ningde and Lianjiang came here, and they were still stranded on the island and did not leave in a hurry.

Through these people and money, Liu Laogen quickly got in touch with big smugglers in Ningde and Lianjiang. Then, the two parties sent representatives to secretly reach an agreement-the smugglers in Ningde and Lianjiang were responsible for sending people to sea in the middle of the night with fishing boats, and Marin would arrange ships to pick them up. When handing over the "goods", the price is 2 taels of silver for a family with a strong man...

It is said that thousands of disaster victims in Ningde and Lianjiang were displaced, waiting for relief. According to the estimates of those smugglers, there may be more than 3,000 disaster victims who can travel to Taiwan Island.

Hearing that three or four thousand refugees would come, Marin felt the pressure while being happy. After all, there are more than 3,000 people, and if each person consumes an average of three to four hundred catties of grain per year, it will take more than one million catties. And Kong Tai's sweet potatoes in Keelung seemed not enough.

Therefore, Marin ordered that a large amount of land be reclaimed to grow sweet potatoes by the Danshui River near Danshuibao. As for the labor force, it is natural to hire young and strong local aborigines. And this kind of employment is definitely compulsory. Marin's army is still there, forgive these aborigines for not daring to play tricks. And when the more than 3,000 disaster victims were sent over, Tamsui Fort would have enough manpower, so they might not be afraid of those Fanmin. At that time, there will be no problem if you lead the army and leave...

The introduction of more than 3,000 disaster victims is enough to reclaim the Danshui River near Danshuibao into fertile land, which is enough to meet the inspection of officials sent by the Ming court. The only problem is - it seems that there is a lack of cattle again...