Chapter 2615
The Jiangsu and Zhejiang regions have been traditionally prosperous places since ancient times. The living conditions of the people here are relatively good, and there are relatively few natural and man-made disasters. The people's willingness to immigrate is not strong, far less than those areas where the source of immigrants was most concentrated before Shanghai and Han Dynasties. Recruitment conditions such as housing and land allocation have extremely limited effects here. Wang Anguo can only attract some immigrants by spending real money.
As for groups with special skills, such as craftsmen and teachers, they are often reluctant to settle overseas too far away from their hometowns. The recruitment process is even more cumbersome and the cost is much higher than that of ordinary immigrants. Wang Anguo's budget was limited, so the conditions for recruitment were not particularly ideal. In the end, he had to turn to Shi Diwen for help. In the name of the official appointment of the Donghai Region, he organized a group of technical personnel to follow him back to North America. The advance fleet established a new colony locally.
Tao Hongfang listened to his explanation and nodded in approval: "Fortunately, the Donghai Region is willing to help. This can save you a lot of trouble!"
Wang Anguo smiled and said: "And there is no need to file a report and apply. This is really trouble-free, otherwise we may have to delay this matter until the end of the year!"
Although Wang Anguo's words were half-joking, Tao Hongfang still felt something after hearing them. There is no need to report and apply for services in the Donghai Region. This actually implies that the procedures in Sanya are cumbersome and it is difficult to get help from the Executive Committee.
As for whether the unsmooth link lies in the Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Wang Anguo did not take the initiative to mention it, and Tao Hongfang did not intend to ask. The advance fleet did not receive full support from Sanya during the recruitment of immigrants. The factors involved may not only be procedural issues. Tao Hong has been in Sanya for a long time, so he is naturally sensitive to this, and he knows that there may be some things that are not humane to outsiders. The truth is, it is better to do more than to do less.
The question that Tao Hongfang is most concerned about right now is of course when the fleet will set off.
"There are still some supplies being shipped from Quzhou. Once these supplies are loaded in Hangzhou, we can set off. We will go to Zhoushan first to meet up with the East China Sea Fleet, and then we will cross the sea together to North Korea." Wang Anguo paused and said An approximate time was given: "It was probably in the last three or five days!"
This is a reassurance for Tao Hongfang and others. Now that the approximate departure time has been set, they can start packing their luggage, hand over the work at hand, and prepare to leave Hangzhou.
However, before leaving Hangzhou, they all had to visit Shi Diwen again, firstly, to report on their work progress and gains during their stay in Hangzhou, and secondly, to thank Shi Diwen for his care during this period.
Although Tao Hongfang and others may not fully agree with the way Shi Diwen handles certain things, they have to admit that Shi Diwen's authority in the Donghai Region is almost unshakable, and his effectiveness in governing the local area is also quite good. At least during their stay in Hangzhou, everything they saw and heard was a prosperous scene of peace and prosperity. It is no wonder that Shi Diwen had the confidence to persuade the Executive Committee to launch the capital relocation plan led by him.
Although Shi Diwen did not obey their words, he took very good care of them. He also dispatched personal guards to take charge of their daily security, which was considered as fulfilling the responsibility of the elders. As juniors, they should naturally express their gratitude before leaving Hangzhou.
Shi Diwen knew that these young people were about to leave Hangzhou and go overseas, so he readily agreed to their request and agreed on a time to practice it for them in Shifu. However, when Tao Hongfang and others arrived at Shi Mansion, they found that in addition to the brothers Shi Chengwu and Shi Chengxin, there was also a strange young man accompanying them today. This man seemed to be about the same age as Tao Hongfang and others. There was a hint of arrogance in his eyebrows, but judging from his clothes, he did not look like a Haihan person.
"Come on, come on, let me introduce you." Shi Diwen pointed to the young man and said: "This is Zhu Zian, his ancestral home is Henan, but he has lived in Shandong for a long time, so he can be regarded as most Shandong people."
After Zhu Zian met Tao Hongfang and others, Shi Diwen continued: "Zian is a descendant of the former King Mingde. He came to Hangzhou this time specifically to participate in this year's provincial examination. You are of the same age, so we should get closer together. .”
When Tao Hongfang and others heard this, they immediately understood who Zhu Zian was. When Bai Letong was investigating the imperial examination fraud incident, Shi Diwen had revealed to them the reason why the original test question plan was not changed. The reason was that there would be people with special status participating in the provincial examination. If Bai Letong's suggestion was followed, Modifying the test questions and adding content related to Haihan's current affairs may cause trouble for this special candidate.
Although Shi Diwen did not speak too clearly at that time, Tao Hongfang and others understood that the identity of the special candidates should be related to the royal family of the former Ming Dynasty. Shi Diwen’s purpose of introducing special candidates was not only to improve the reliability of the Donghai Regional Examination, but also to demonstrate through subsequent operations the legitimacy of Haihan’s succession to the Ming Dynasty—since all members of the royal family of the previous dynasty came to participate in the imperial examination, he planned to Now that the new dynasty has served, what reason do ordinary people have to remain loyal to the previous dynasty?
Of course, strictly speaking, the descendants of King Deok are not actually members of the royal family. Although they are also descendants of the Zhu family, in terms of status, they are just members of the vassal clan. They are probably not even in the top twenty or thirty in the ranking list of succession to the throne. Can't even squeeze in. Moreover, the Dewang lineage suffered heavy losses in more than ten years. At that time, the Qing soldiers captured Jinan City, the vassal territory, and their wealth was looted. Dewang Zhu Youshu and his son were captured and died outside the customs a few years later.
Later, the throne of Deokwang was succeeded by his cousin Zhu Youqiu. However, after this heavy blow, the Deokwang line collapsed. In addition, Haihan had actually controlled the Denglai area in Shandong at that time, and his local influence even slightly overshadowed the Ming court, so no one cared about the rise and fall of the Dewang line. As for how Zhu Zian was discovered by Shi Diwen and dragged to Hangzhou to participate in the imperial examination, it is currently unknown.
However, Shi Diwen waited for them to greet each other before revealing Zhu Zian's identity. This was obviously intentional. It should be to let them treat each other as equals, without taking into account Zhu Zian's status in the Dewang clan. Whether Zhu Zian's identity is the crown prince or the county king has no practical significance in front of these people in Shi Mansion.
Bai Letong couldn't hold it in any longer and took the lead in asking: "I would like to take the liberty to ask, since Brother Zian's fiefdom is in Shandong, why don't you take the imperial examination organized by our country in the northern region nearby instead of coming all the way to Hangzhou to take the examination?"
(End of chapter)