latelenovela Chapter 680 Who will go to Taiwan to take charge?
Chapter 680 Who will go to Taiwan to take charge?
Panda played the bad cop, and Liu Ye stepped in to play the good cop, which worked quite well, and the surrounding people were all moved. They thought to themselves, since they can't run away now anyway, rather than suffer physical pain, they might as well go and see what this Marquis has to say about Qiongzhou Prefecture and Dongfan Island. If they are really as good as he says, they might as well stay. If they are not as good as they say, they can always run back.
Xiang Yu was young and impulsive. He had just tried to escape, and the whip marks were still burning. After hearing these words, he immediately changed his mind and asked, "Lord Marquis, do you mean what you say? Is it really true that we only need to pay 30% of the taxes, and the land will all be our own? We can even choose to come back after a while?"
Liu Ye replied with a smile, "Of course I keep my word."
Xiang Yu was overjoyed, raised his fist and shouted, "I'll go!"
Other people waved their fists and shouted, "I'll go too!"
Seeing that the people's emotions had been stirred up, Liu Ye waved and left, handing the scene over to Panda and the others. He was optimistic about the upcoming immigration work. As long as this group of people understood, word would spread, and soon the views of 100,000 people would change—people have a herd mentality and always feel that what the majority believes is right.
As the people chattered excitedly, Zhu Jinhu approached Xiang Yu, nudged his arm, and asked, "Hey, brother, interested in joining us?"
Xiang Yu scratched the back of his head and asked uncertainly, "Join you? Come and be a soldier for a paycheck?"
"Yes. I think you're cut out to be a soldier. It's such a waste to be toiling in the fields. Our pay is very high, guaranteed to be several times better than farming. You'll also have the chance to get promoted and become an officer in the future. Look at me, I've been in the army for less than a year and I'm already a battalion commander."
Xiang Yu's eyes lit up, and he grinned: "That's great, let's drink it!"
From a distance, Liang Xiaoming couldn't help but ask, "Once these people arrive on the island, are you really planning to let them leave whenever they want? Wouldn't that make the immigration process pointless?"
Liu Ye smiled slyly: "Are you stupid? I won't stop them from leaving, but I didn't say I'd send a boat to take them. If they're so capable, they can swim back themselves!"
Liang Xiaoming slapped his forehead in frustration, realizing he hadn't even thought of something so simple. Whether it was Qiongzhou or Taiwan, the Qiongzhou Navy could control all ships and completely blockade the Qiongzhou Strait and the Taiwan Strait. Without ships, no one could leave, and it wouldn't be considered breaking their promise.
He pointed at Liu Ye and said disdainfully, "You're really full of bad intentions. How can ordinary people outsmart you?"
"Haha, you can't just say things like that. I'm letting them cultivate the land themselves and reducing their taxes. This is to save them from their misery. As time goes by, they will naturally understand my good intentions, and they won't even want to leave when I tell them to."
Yan Guang asked, "General, do you plan to send half of the people back to Qiongzhou and the other half to Taiwan? Shouldn't you start recruiting people in Taiwan?"
Liu Ye nodded: "That's right. Plans can't keep up with changes. We didn't originally intend to develop Taiwan so soon, but now we have to speed things up. You keep an eye on things in Tianjin for now, and let Panda assist you. You can also give orders to Xu Zhong. The first few batches of immigrants will be transported back to Qiongzhou first. We'll postpone the ones going to Taiwan. We'll head to Shandong immediately to recruit people to go to Taiwan with the immigrants."
Yan Guang replied, "Yes, sir. General, please rest assured that I will ensure the safe passage of 100,000 people to sea in Tianjin."
After arranging various matters in Tianjin, Liu Ye boarded the "Yangming" speedboat and headed ahead of others to Dengzhou and Laizhou.
Because of Liu Ye's relationship with Lin Tianming, before the Qionghai Army went north, Dengzhou and Laizhou had already become Liu Ye's home ground. He could come and go freely and do things smoothly. This time, he came with an imperial edict, which meant that not only the Dengzhou and Laizhou area, but the entire Shandong province would be brought under Liu Ye's sphere of influence, which was of great significance.
After landing in Dengzhou, Liu Ye and his entourage easily found their way to the governor's office.
Lin Tianming dismissed everyone and ushered Liu Ye into his study, scolding him, "My dear son-in-law, you took too much risks in the capital this time. It was one thing to go against the Vice Minister of War, but why did you have to stage a military remonstrance to the Emperor? If anything goes wrong, it would be a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of your family!"
Liu Ye chuckled dismissively, "How did you find out so quickly, Father-in-law? Your information network is truly impressive. I was only delayed in Tianjin for a few days, and even Dengzhou knows about it. But don't worry, Father-in-law, I won't take any risks. I don't do things I'm not confident about, and this time the harvest has been quite substantial, so even if there were some risks, it was worth it."
Lin Tianming feigned anger and said, "Yes, you took such a big risk to get promoted and even ennobled. Does that mean I should address you as Marquis or General?"
"Hehe, Father-in-law, what are you saying? Even if I'm slow-witted, I won't be ignorant of seniority and show off in front of you. If you're happy, just call me your son-in-law; if you're not, just call me by my name, okay?"
To be honest, Lin Tianming had seriously underestimated the speed of his son-in-law's rise to power, and was initially somewhat apprehensive. In terms of official rank and title, his son-in-law was far superior to him; he was no longer the lowly military officer he once was. Lin Tianming wasn't very confident that his son-in-law would still respect him as before. After all, in officialdom, there are no fathers and sons; even the bond between fathers and sons is fragile in the face of power and status, let alone that between a father-in-law and son-in-law. Now, hearing his son-in-law's answer, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Having resolved his own problems, Lin Tianming thought of his daughter, Lin Shiyue, and asked worriedly, "Shiyue is with you now, you must treat her well, don't forget your wife who shared your hardships just because you've gained official rank and title..."
Liu Ye said solemnly, "Please rest assured, father-in-law, Shi Ying is a good wife. I respect her very much. We treat each other with the utmost respect. No matter how high a position I hold, she will always be my legal wife, and her position in the family will never be shaken."
"That's good. I trust Shiyue's judgment; she won't misjudge people."
Liu Ye noticed his father-in-law's anxiety and smiled, saying, "Father-in-law, you're overthinking it. You've seen more of life than I have, and you've experienced more than I have. There are many things I need your guidance on..."
"What can I possibly teach you now?" Lin Tianming asked, looking bewildered.
"To be frank, I've gained considerable power from the Emperor, overseeing military affairs in three provinces and assisting in government administration. I know what I'm doing, but now that I'm relocating a large number of people to Dongfan Island for land reclamation, I've encountered a problem: there's no government there, and I want to recruit some people to manage things, but I don't know where to start. And who should go there to take charge is even more of a headache—among my current subordinates, either they can't handle things independently, or they're already on other assignments and can't leave..."
Seeing his highly capable son-in-law humbly seeking his advice, Lin Tianming felt a great sense of accomplishment. He stroked his beard with a smile and said, "You want someone capable of taking charge? I've actually thought of someone for you. This person is an old acquaintance of yours, and we have a close relationship. He has extensive experience in governing a region, which perfectly meets your requirements. Most importantly, he's currently unemployed. Whether you can persuade him depends on your abilities..."