Chapter 744 New Immigrants
Although the civil affairs department was very thoughtful and divided the refugees into four columns of three men and one woman for registration one by one, because most of the refugees were illiterate and the accent differences between the south and the north caused communication difficulties, the registration process Still being dragged very slowly. But it is useless to rush now. There are currently very few naturalized cadres from the north available, and even fewer of them can read and write. The existing naturalized cadres can only speak half-baked Haihan Mandarin to communicate with the refugees, most of whom are from Shandong.
"Name, age, and whether there are any family members here, please report them one by one." The naturalized citizen cadre responsible for registration repeated these sentences mechanically.
Every newly arrived refugee must first register his or her personal information, and in this process, suspicious and dangerous people must be identified and eliminated as much as possible. As Haihan's recruitment of immigrants in the Ming Dynasty continues to expand, no one can be sure whether the Ming Dynasty's secret service will once again send people to infiltrate the immigrants and change their identities to work undercover in areas under Haihan's rule. In addition to the anti-espionage measures taken by the Ministry of Security, the registration work of the Ministry of Civil Affairs during the introduction of immigrants is also a very important link. Since the Haihan Security Department has Li Qingyang, a former Jinyiwei officer who abandoned the secrets and turned to the light, as a special adviser, the identification ability during the immigration registration stage has been greatly improved. Any token that can vaguely prove the identity of the Jinyiwei cannot escape the inspection at this stage.
"My name is Sun Zhen, I'm nineteen years old, and I came alone." A strong young man announced his name blankly.
This Sun Zhen figure stood out among the refugees who were mostly skinny. The person in charge of registration couldn't help but look up at him and asked, "Have you ever served in the military or as an errand before?"
Sun Zhen shook his head and stretched out his two palms in front of the staff: "My family is farming in Dengzhou."
The staff looked at the calluses on his palms carefully before continuing to ask: "Are you the only one at home?"
Sun Zhen's eyes turned red and he nodded in response: "Kong Youde's soldiers came to the village to grab food, but I was the only one in my family who escaped..."
The staff member sighed slightly, stretched out his hand and handed him a bamboo tag wrapped in a hemp rope: "This is your identity tag. Hang it around your neck and don't take it off. You have to rely on this to get food and shelter here, understand. ”
Sun Zhen had gone to private school for two years when he was a child, but he didn't even recognize any of the convoluted characters printed on the bamboo sign. At the moment, he just nodded in confusion, thinking that this was probably Hai. The characters used by the Han people.
Of course, the words on the bamboo sign are not written in Chinese or Chinese like a heavenly book, but are just Arabic numerals. The first and second digits indicate the immigration camp where he is located, the third and fourth digits indicate the team he belongs to, and the last three digits are his personal number. The seven-digit code is the code name of the immigrant during his stay in Penghu. They have to stay here for at least a month or more before they are assigned to the next real place to stay.
After registering, Sun Zhen followed the people in front of him and entered a large bathhouse made of bamboo and wood. There were several large pools two feet square lined up in a row. The refugees were removed one by one under the command of the staff. They took off their clothes and went into the water to wash themselves in groups of ten.
The last time Sun Zhen took a bath was when the fleet docked at the mouth of the Yangtze River, he jumped into the river water and washed himself briefly. After a dusty journey to Penghu, he already smelled bad, so he immediately took off his clothes and entered the pool. But the Haihan people's requirements for hygiene were obviously beyond his imagination. Not only did they require people in the pool to wash their bodies, but they also required all their hair to be taken apart and washed.
But Sun Zhen also felt that it didn't matter, he felt comfortable after being clean. Instead of the staff blowing the whistle to ask everyone in the pool to come out and line up, he really wanted to soak in the water for a while longer. But when he got out of the pool, he realized that his clothes were gone, and other people nearby had obviously noticed the same situation, and they all covered their lower bodies in panic and looked around.
"Don't be messy! Now let's ask the doctor to check your body. After the examination, you will be given new clean clothes to wear!" The staff loudly reprimanded this group of naked refugees.
Sure enough, people in white clothes soon began to look at their bodies one by one. Although Sun Zhen felt a little strange and awkward, he still accepted the arrangement. A very small number of people were singled out by the doctor, and some of them tried to refuse this selection, but soon police in black appeared in the bathhouse and quickly suppressed them.
When checking Sun Zhen's place, the doctor couldn't help but ask a question that Sun Zhen had been asked once before: "Have you been in the army? Have you practiced martial arts?"
Sun Zhen still shook his head and stretched out his hands to show the doctor his calluses: "I am a farmer."
The doctor squeezed his palm, looked at his figure, and couldn't help but praise: "It must be a good move!"
After the inspection, everyone got a set of gray coarse cloth clothes. Although the fabric was not very good, it was clean. However, because Sun Zhen was bigger than others, the clothes seemed a bit tight on his body. The Haihan people were very considerate and gave everyone an extra piece of cloth to tie their hair. As the copper whistle sounded, these people were driven out of the bathhouse before they had time to dress up, because they had to let the next group of people come in to clean themselves.
"Stand according to the white line drawn on the ground, line up, and now I will take you to the station!"
As soon as the order from the front came out, Sun Zhen saw a policeman in black carrying a stick to "help" the refugees line up. Those who move slowly and react slowly will get sticks. Sun Zhen quickly stood next to the white line on the ground. He had lined up like this on the pier just now. Sure enough, when the Haihan police came to him, shouting and beating, the stick did not fall on him.
When Sun Zhen was led into the immigrant camp on the island, he was really surprised. All the buildings in this camp have the same appearance, they are all box-like houses. Looking along the passage in the camp, I couldn't see where it ended. And everyone in the camp is the same as the newcomers, wearing gray coarse cloth clothes,
"There are ten people living in each house. Personal belongings for ten people have been prepared in the house. You can collect them by yourself. You are not allowed to occupy other people's belongings. Anyone who violates this rule will be detained! Everyone stays in the house. Someone will come here later. I’m going to tell you the rules in the camp, remember them all! If you can’t learn the rules, you won’t have a good life in the future!” The staff member who led the team assigned Sun Zhen and other ten people to a room and spoke concisely. After giving a few instructions, he led the team to the next room. Sun Zhen saw that there were five double-decker wooden beds in this room. There was not much space left for a small wooden table and two chairs. On the table was an earthen jar filled with water. On each bed was a set of clothes identical to what they were wearing, which seemed to be for a change of clothes. There is also a large earthenware bowl and chopsticks, which are all their personal belongings.
There wasn't even a cabinet to store personal belongings in the house, but having said that, they really didn't have anything valuable on them, not even any loose money. The money and belongings they had with them had long been exchanged for food during the escape. If they hadn't been desperate, how could they have followed a ship of unknown origin south to seek refuge with a group of overseas landowners they had never heard of just to have a bite to eat.
Seeing that the others were still stunned, Sun Zhen walked to the window and occupied a lower bunk: "I want this seat." After that, he took the earthen porcelain bowl on the bed and drank it from the water jug on the table. I poured a bowl of water, sat down on the edge of the bed, and drank by myself.
Seeing him looking so calm, others couldn't help but remind him: "Brother, the future is uncertain, how can you be so relaxed?"
Sun Zhen responded: "The Haihan people said that they would hire people to farm in the south with food and accommodation included. Not only can I farm, but I can also do it well. I don't have to worry about starving to death in the future. How can I be so relaxed?"
Another person continued: "When I was on the ship, I heard from the crew that these Haihan people are all strangers from overseas. Their living habits are very different from our Ming Dynasty. I'm afraid they are not that easy to get along with."
Sun Zhen said: "There are two people. As humans, we have to eat. If we want to eat, we have to plant crops. I can plant crops, so my boss will naturally give me a bite to eat. When I came here, I said that I would also take care of the food. Can I do that?" Cash it in, we’ll find out later.”
While everyone was talking, a man in his thirties came in from the door. He was also dressed in gray clothes that were the same as them, but he was wearing an aqua blue belt around his waist. After the man came in, he bowed in a circle and then introduced himself: "I came here a month earlier than you all on Xiacheng Road. I am now the manager of the second production brigade of the No. 1 Battalion. I am here to say something to all the newly arrived brothers." Talk about the rules in this immigration camp. If you don’t understand anything, you can ask it later and I will try my best to answer it.”
Although no one knew what the position of "steward of the second production brigade of the No. 1 Battalion" was, it sounded like there was an official in this place, and they all called him "Manager Cheng" politely. Or "Brother Cheng" and ask him to sit down and talk. However, there was obviously nothing in the room that could be used to entertain him. Finally, someone brought a bowl over and poured a bowl of water on the table as a token of respect.
Cheng Lu obviously did not reject this performance of the newcomers. He smiled and waited for everyone to finish the scene before continuing: "I am from Laiyang, Dengzhou. To be honest, before this war, I was considered a young man. A wealthy country squire. However, when two evil stars, Kong Youde and Li Jiucheng, caused trouble in Dengzhou, all their property was robbed, and the whole family almost died in the war. Later, they fled all the way to Huai'an Prefecture, where they were rescued by nobles. I have traveled all the way to Penghu. Although I don’t know where you are from, I believe that the brothers can gather here because of Kong Youde’s rebel army.”
Speaking of Kong Youde, the culprit, everyone was naturally gnashing their teeth. If his troops had not rebelled, Shandong would not have suddenly broken out into chaos, and these people present would not have to leave their homes and come to this southern island to live under someone else's roof. Even Sun Zhen, who had a dull temper, cursed a few words bitterly.
Cheng Lu obviously had a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He waited quietly for everyone to express their emotions before continuing: "Kong Youde's people poisoned all living beings, which is naturally hateful, but at least our brothers saved their lives from the war. Although this place is better than I don’t know my hometown, but I can tell you that working under the Haihan people is not a bad thing. If you are interested, I will pick up some things you know and tell them. ”
"We are new here and don't understand anything. Please tell me, Manager Cheng." Naturally, curious people spoke up to support Cheng Lu.
Cheng Lu then said: "It is said that these Haihan people are the descendants of merchants who went overseas during the Han Dynasty. Their country is tens of thousands of miles away from the Ming Dynasty. Although the number of these Haihan people who came to the Ming Dynasty is not large, they are good at commerce and trade. Within a few years, a huge situation has been established in Guangdong. I heard from the sailors traveling here that the Qiongzhou Island in Guangdong is now almost entirely controlled by the Haihan people.”
Everyone seems to have heard of Qiongzhou Island, but everyone is at a loss as to where it is and how big it is. Cheng Lu seemed to have expected this reaction, so he went on to explain: "Qiongzhou Island is located in the sea south of Guangdong and Guangxi, with a radius of about 500 miles. It is the largest island in the Ming Dynasty. There are hundreds of thousands of residents on the island. In the past, It was a place where prisoners were sent into exile, but it is said that it has become the most prosperous place in the South China Sea. The people on the island are all working and farming for the Haihan people, which is a wonder of the South China.”
Someone asked: "This Haihan people are so public in the local area, are they not afraid of official censure?"
Cheng Lu said with a smile: "If you have money, you can sell it. The local adults must have already knelt before the Haihan people's gold and silver mountains. The imperial court is so far away that it can't control Qiongzhou Island."
Some people with quick brains have already thought of what they are seeing, and ask: "What about Penghu Island?"
"The islands within a few dozen miles of the sea are now under the jurisdiction of the Haihan people. The Fujian government does not interfere in the affairs here." Of course Cheng Lu also knew what the man wanted to ask, and before he could finish the question, The answer has already been revealed: "The Haihan people have great influence in Fujian. The Fujian government has granted Haihan the management of the Penghu Islands, but they are only nominally under the jurisdiction of the Ming Dynasty."
"Manager Cheng, do you think these Haihan people, who have spent money and food to bring so many people from the north, really intend to let these people farm for them in the south?" Another person raised a question that he was concerned about. How to survive after arriving here is probably a question common to all immigrants who have just arrived in Penghu.
(End of chapter)