Chapter 48: A Poor and Remote Village
Hainan Island is located in the subtropics, without four distinct seasons, only rainy and dry seasons. March is just the dry season of Hainan Island, so the open fields look very dry, with a hint of oceanic components in the air. Due to the dry season, probably due to the lack of rainwater, the weeds on the roadside are yellowish-green, presenting a desolate scene.
A group of people and horses were traveling on the dirt road. Pei Ge had hired 10 horse-drawn carriages in Haikou to transport personnel and goods, heading towards Changjiang County. The distance from Haikou to Changjiang County is approximately 90 kilometers, and this route is mostly hilly terrain with relatively easy roads. The group rested for a night at Ma Kou Town and arrived at the county government of Haiwei Town in Changjiang County before noon the next day.
Changjiang County is a mixed residence area of Li and Han ethnic groups, with a relatively large population. The northwest part, centered on Haitou Town, is a coastal area where Han people live in large numbers. Going deep into the southeastern direction, the half-mountainous area is inhabited by Li residents. Due to the presence of Shilu Iron Mine in the county, its mining history is long-standing, which is the main reason for attracting Han people to come and settle here.
A group of people and horses entered Haitou Town, attracting attention. The county government is located in the central area of the town, although the location of the county government is not bad, it can be seen from a distance that the gate is empty. A group of people and horses stopped in front of the county government gate, bustling with activity. The county government's mansion looks very old, there is no one at the door, and surprisingly, there are no officials guarding the gate. Since the county magistrate died in office due to illness, the county lieutenant is currently handling government affairs.
A group of people got off the carriage, and everyone was whispering to each other. "Lord Kuang! Look, there isn't even a gatekeeper, this is really a poor and remote place, it seems that the officials here are used to being sloppy," Pei Gejin said, waving his hand, and one of his subordinates came forward to beat the drum.
Before long, a yamen runner rushed out from inside in a fluster, this fellow's clothes were tattered and worn, looking extremely slovenly, and he couldn't stop yawning. The yamen runner saw a group of fierce-looking men appear at the gate and was startled, just as he was about to open his mouth to ask questions, Pei Gejian impatiently said: "Are all the people dead?! The new County Magistrate Kuang is here, hurry up and pay your respects!"
The official looked somewhat bewildered, "I am the newly appointed County Magistrate Kuang Jiazhi!" Kuang Jiazhi said calmly. In the past, when a new county magistrate took office, they would only bring their family members and at most one attendant. But this county magistrate had brought so many attendants, he must not be an ordinary person. The official hastily knelt on the ground and said: "Magistrate Kuang, I didn't know you were coming, please forgive me." "Is there a master of ceremonies in the county government?" "Replying to your honor, since Magistrate Lin's death, it has been County Lieutenant Zhang who is in charge. He doesn't live in the prefectural government but in the town, and currently, there are only us few officials living in the prefectural government."
Several yamen runners who lived in the government office heard the news and also rushed out, seeing this array immediately knelt down beside. Kuang Jiazheng entered the main hall, the bright mirror hanging plaque above the front was very dim and old, covered with dust, the table and chairs were also covered with dust. A yamen runner immediately came forward to wipe away the dust with his sleeve, then respectfully invited Kuang Jiazheng to take a seat. The other yamen runners stood quietly on both sides of the main hall.
Kuang Jia-zhi, dressed in official robes, sat upright and said, "Please summon the county magistrate and personnel of the county government. I am going to formally take office!" The yamen runners scurried out like a swarm of bees. "Wait! Leave a few people behind to clean up Mr. Kuang's bedroom!" Pei Ge-jian stood beside him, not being polite at all. About half an hour later, several county government personnel rushed in, looking flustered. One of them, a man in his 40s wearing a worn-out official robe, stepped forward and said, "Mr. Kuang, I am the county magistrate of this county. After Mr. Lin's death six months ago, I temporarily took charge of the county government."
"You are Zhang County Magistrate, this is my official document!" Pei Ge carefully handed over the official document to Zhang County Magistrate. In fact, Zhang County Magistrate had already believed it without a doubt, and only glanced at it briefly, saying: "We didn't receive any notice from the prefecture, please forgive us for keeping you waiting, Your Excellency. Then he presented the official seal, and the handover was considered complete. Next, the storehouse manager came forward with the account book to report on the county government's accounts."
After listening to the treasurer's report, Kuang Jia-zhi felt very depressed. The entire county treasury was empty, and even so, it still owed 10,000 taels of silver in taxes, and the personnel inside the county government had not been paid for half a year. When Kuang Jia-zhi saw County Magistrate Zhang wearing his worn-out official uniform, he felt a pang in his heart. Pei Ge-jian saw that Kuang Jia-zhi was having some difficulty, so he stepped forward and whispered in his ear.
Then Pei Ge instructed his subordinates to bring up the boxes, and everyone was puzzled. The box opened, revealing a large amount of silver. Pei Ge said loudly: "County Magistrate Kuang has come to Changjiang this time to take office, it is to change the poor and backward appearance here, and benefit the people of the whole county. Just now, after listening to the report, I know that you are having a hard time. In addition, County Magistrate Kuang decided to reissue your full salary. Also, County Magistrate Kuang decided to take out 20,000 taels of private silver to supplement the tax payment."
This move stunned everyone, it was the first time since the creation of heaven and earth, and it was unheard of. Zhang Xiancheng led the way, kneeling on the ground and saying: "Your Excellency's kindness to his subordinates is grateful and tearful, and he will definitely work hard like a horse!" The crowd followed with cheers. Afterwards, the treasurer reissued each person's salary according to the payroll.
Everyone in the crowd held white flower-shaped silver ingots, and quickly had a sense of belonging. Each person's heart was shocked and subdued by the new county magistrate. It is worth noting that the power of silver bullets is also great, and money can make ghosts push mills, which is not false. Finally, Pei Ge carefully handed over 20,000 taels of silver tickets to the treasurer in front of everyone. The treasurer's age was around 50 or so, probably this life he had never seen 20,000 taels of silver tickets, and his hands were shaking slightly as he carefully collected them.
Kuang Jia-zhi looked at Pei Ge-jian with gratitude and said: "I, Kuang Jia-zhi, will take the position of Changjiang County Magistrate. I promise that if the silver in the treasury increases, I will increase everyone's salary. I hope everyone will work together to help me." His words were too refined. Pei Ge-jian spoke bluntly: "Magistrate Kuang is kind-hearted and considerate of his subordinates. However, if you all do not unite to assist Magistrate Kuang, those who do not will be expelled from the county government and never re-employed."
"The superior is above, and if the subordinate has two hearts, but the superior will be responsible for punishment without complaint!" Everyone responded in unison. In the afternoon, Kuang Jiazhi treated Zhang Xiancheng to understand the situation, and at night, Pei Gejin and Kuang Jiazhi discussed it. "Brother Kuang, according to Zhang Xiancheng's statement, the county's agricultural tax revenue is not calculated, if you want to increase tax revenue can only collect business taxes." Pei Gejin came up with a plan. "But the imperial court clearly stipulates that business taxes are not allowed to be collected! Especially in remote areas, business taxes cannot be collected." Kuang Jiazhi was somewhat perplexed.
Pei Ge said: "Brother Kuang, as for how to operate, I am also an outsider. Mr. Deng's intention is that we can collect transaction taxes and take advantage of the dock's advantages. Mr. Deng said that transaction taxes seem insignificant, but goods are traded every day, and over time, they will be very impressive. This time, Mr. Deng sent a person who has worked in the Shanghai Pudong Trading Market to handle the transaction market."
"That's great! Mr. Deng thought it through thoroughly! As for how to handle Pei, I'll leave it up to you!" Kuang Jiazheng said with a smile. Pei Gejian said: "The dock is only 5 kilometers away from Haitou Town. On the one hand, we need to expand the dock, and on the other hand, we will build the trading market in Haitou Town. Moreover, the Shilu Iron Mine is within our territory. Mr. Deng attaches great importance to this iron mine, so we must grasp it firmly."
"Mr. Deng wants to set up an iron factory?" Kuang Jiazhong asked in surprise. "Yes, Mr. Deng plans to build a steel mill in Dongguan and needs the ore from here. Do you think it won't be lively around here after that?" Pei Gejin said with a smile. "County Magistrate Zhang said that the iron ore is privately mined, aren't we suspected of competing with the people for profit?" "Don't worry about this, can't we just buy the ore they dig up? There won't be any conflict."
In the following days, Zhang Xiancheng personally accompanied him to the seaside dock and said that the dock was actually a small fishing village. After some planning, the expansion plan of the dock was roughly determined. Then Pei Gejian also planned the scale of the farm on the banks of Liangshui River. Buying land is simple, and there are many wastelands here under official jurisdiction, which is easy to work with. Pei Gejian initially decided to build two farms first, and this aspect was well prepared.
On this day, the newly appointed county government was going out for inspection. Their destination was Shigui Town, where the Shigui Iron Mine is located. This time, Pei Gejin brought 10 mining personnel from Shanghai, who were specially recruited by Deng Zixuan for the Shigui Iron Mine. The county magistrate's procession moved slowly and it took two days to arrive in Shigui Town before starting the inspection of the Shigui Iron Mine.
The mining of Shilu Iron Mine began in the Ming and Qing dynasties, mostly on a small scale. Due to Hainan Island not producing coal, smelting was greatly restricted. The iron ore has never been transported out, so nearly 500 million tons of ore still sleep underground. The term "Shilu" originated from the 47th year of Qianlong, when the iron ore presented a peacock stone color, and the semi-born copper ore presented a green color, hence the name.
The magnetite is buried very shallow, basically on the surface. The magnetite is known as Asia's first rich iron ore, with an iron content of almost 50%, and it can be directly smelted without mineral processing. In addition, most of the metal in the magnetite is semi-vital, with a large proportion of copper, so Deng Zixuan attaches great importance to the magnetite.
The iron ore is located one kilometer south of Qingtang Town. A group of people and horses left Qingtang Town and arrived in less than an hour. Due to the limited smelting conditions on Hainan Island, the mining of minerals here is very limited. At this time, what appears before everyone's eyes are piles of ore and pits of various sizes and depths all over the ground. Due to the limited demand for minerals, the amount of excavation here is very small, and the iron ore transported out is very rare. Although this place belongs to the county government, because the iron ore does not make money at all, it is almost a place without management.
Due to the large amount of ore piled up from excavation, there were very few excavators here. The county magistrate suddenly visited this place, causing a small number of miners to panic. The miners who were digging here gradually gathered around, and at first glance, there were only dozens of people, and they could be counted on their fingers. At this time, the several men who followed, seeing the piled-up ore, immediately became excited, and they ran over to pick up the ore for examination.
One of the men brought a piece of ore to Pei Gejian's face and exclaimed, "Master, this is a rare rich iron ore. I've been mining for decades and have never seen such good iron ore. I guarantee that 100 catties of ore can produce 50 catties of iron. Haha, this place is indeed a treasure trove." It was clear that this guy was an old hand at mining. "Brother! Look what I found!" Another man rushed over with a green stone in his hand.
"Master, this is copper ore, there's copper mine here!" The man exclaimed excitedly again. Then the man rushed to the pile of ore to take a closer look, everyone was so excited that they could hardly control themselves. Seeing the miners gathering around, Zhang County Magistrate shouted loudly: "Everyone, our new county magistrate, Kuang, is here, let's pay our respects!" The miners knelt down on the ground with a rustling sound.
Seeing the miners in tattered clothes, Kuang Jiazheng felt uneasy and said: "Everyone, the county magistrate has come to inspect this place, which is also an examination of the people's sentiment. From today on, the county government will effectively manage this place." "Sir! Will we have to pay taxes for mining from now on? We can't even sell a few stones in a month or two, sir, if you collect taxes, the common people won't be able to survive, please be clear-sighted!" The miners then discussed it among themselves.
"Villagers, the government will not levy taxes, but only strengthen management and planned excavation. Moreover, the iron ore you excavate will be purchased by the county government. And I responsibly tell everyone that whatever you excavate, the county government will purchase it, and the price is fair and reasonable!" The miners were stunned, they almost couldn't believe this was true, but how could the words of County Master Jin be false?
Seeing the miners' skeptical faces, Pei Gejin said loudly: "You don't believe it, do you? Now we have purchased all these iron ores, and they are paid in silver." At this moment, a man among the miners shouted: "Just now that big brother was holding a green stone, does he want to sell the green stone?" Before Pei Gejin could answer, the big man holding the green stone hastily said: "Yes, yes, yes! We want as many green stones as you have!"
