A few days later, Ouyang Bijing arrived in Hangzhou. Zhu Mo and Zhang Juzheng led everyone to the reclamation area of Jinshanwei the next day.
In the past period, the vanguard of the Qinu volunteers had settled in the coastal area of Jinshanwei, about three to four thousand people. The rest were escorting the Qinu to the four provinces for land distribution. Zhu Mo did not want to delay on both fronts and had already sent Liu Cunyi to survey the terrain.
This vast coastline, from the mouth of the Qiantang River to the mouth of the Pujiang River, was mostly tidal flats with very hard soil, meaning it was too salty. Although it hadn't reached the level of saline-alkali land, it was already difficult to grow crops.
Zhu Mo remembered that Turtle Mountain, where the Japanese pirates had fled that day, was not far to the north of here. The land was very flat, but unfortunately too hard, so it had never been reclaimed since ancient times. If it were all reclaimed, it would be a very valuable asset. In addition, there were many wetlands of varying sizes, with not much water and mud. If ditches could be dug to divert the water, some things could also be planted. Besides these two types of land, there were also a few slopes, which, although not many, were present in every village and could not be overlooked. Moreover, because it was by the sea and the water network was dense, aquaculture was also very advantageous.
After a tour of the area, everyone suddenly gained confidence. Moreover, Liu Cunyi was very organized and had already mobilized these volunteers. They were organized according to the military garrison system: a squad of ten men, a group of fifty men, then a company, and a battalion. The difference was that a reclamation garrison only needed five companies to form a battalion, and three battalions to form a garrison, with a total of three thousand men, while a border garrison usually had more than five thousand men.
This Liu Cunyi was also quite knowledgeable about water conservancy. The Surveillance Vice Commissioner Liu Yingjie was also an expert in this field, and coupled with the more senior Ouyang Bijing, they all spoke eloquently as they walked. He was also very ingenious, and the planned housing was all located behind the sheltered small hills, and even the slopes could be utilized.
Zhang Juzheng continuously stroked his beard and nodded, very satisfied. At this moment, pointing to the large expanse of salt-affected land, he said,
"Ren Fugo and Lord Liu, these lands still need to be reclaimed. We must find a way to soften the soil, otherwise it would be too much of a waste. But these tidal flats are slightly higher in elevation. Is there any way to draw a lot of water to soak them?"
Liu Cunyi replied sternly,
"Master Zhang, soaking and then reclaiming is not as good as directly digging ditches to soak them... In Jiangnan, water is abundant. I saw several wetlands earlier, and their elevation was not low. If ditches were dug to divert water, it would not be difficult, but... but the reclamation volunteers here only need three thousand men, which is still not enough..."
Mm-hmm,
Zhang Juzheng thought: Combining the two matters into one is naturally very feasible, but regarding the lack of manpower, there is no solution for the time being. After all, the volunteers escorting the Qinu were traveling to many places in the four provinces and would stay for a few days in each place. How could they rush back?
At this moment,
Ouyang Bijing, with a goatee and a thin build, suddenly laughed and said, "Taiyue, and Scholar Zhu, you found me for this, didn't you? Twenty years ago, I developed a set of plows that were very effective in reclaiming wasteland. As long as the capstan is made a bit larger and four people pull together, I think the salt-affected land can also be reclaimed..."
He then took out a blueprint from his pocket and explained it with gestures. Everyone understood and marveled at the practicality of his mechanical knowledge. However, there was one difficulty –
The four-person plow he spoke of required a capstan two to three times larger than usual, which could not be made immediately.
Zhu Mo, upon hearing this, remembered Yu Dayou's water fortress and blurted out,
"I have it! I saw that Commander Yu's water fortress had such large capstans, which were used to sink huge stones for large ships. I estimate they are a bit larger than those of Lord Ren. Shall I send someone to get some?"
Mm-hmm,
Everyone immediately nodded.
Ouyang Bijing smiled, "I have long heard of Scholar Zhu's quick wit, and today I see it is indeed exceptionally brilliant..."
Hahaha,
Everyone had solved a major problem. They thought that soon the vast wasteland would be crisscrossed with ditches, and the water from the wetlands would be diverted to soak it. They were sure to have some harvest this year.
Looking at the vast sea at this moment, a worry subtly emerged in their minds –
The Japanese pirates were still out at sea. If they harassed the coast, this reclamation garrison would not be able to get started for a while.
Liu Yingjie already had an idea and said at this moment, "Scholar Zhu, Master Zhang, everyone, I have an idea... Since the Japanese pirates and bandits cannot be eliminated for a long time, why not set up floating barriers near the coast?"
He pointed to the vast sea and continued,
"That large area, all the way to the reef, can be blocked with floating logs and rope nets. When the Japanese pirates attack, the French cannons will not be able to reach the shore... Here, fixed gun platforms can be built. The cannons don't need to be many, but the ammunition should be stored well, and then they can drive away the Japanese ships from afar..."
Good!
Excellent!
Everyone clapped their hands in admiration.
Zhang Juzheng sighed,
"Zihe, I never thought that you, having just arrived in Jiangnan, are already so familiar with coastal defense! You are truly a good general of the Great Ming..."
Zhu Mo thought to himself: Of course. They were all brought by me from a difficult place. How could they compare to the scholars under you?
Everyone inspected for three days.
The Jinshan Reclamation was basically finalized. It was estimated that it would take about two to three months to take initial shape. This type of reclamation garrison was very different from the original garrisons. Firstly, it was not under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War or the Regional Military Commission, but directly led by reform ministers. Zhang Juzheng was also considering establishing a Reclamation Department under the Ministry of Revenue in the future. Secondly, these reclamation volunteers would participate in many large-scale collaborations, and in terms of agricultural reclamation, like warfare, there were many disciplines.
This would naturally lead to various problems. Zhu Mo and Zhang Juzheng had discussed it several times and both believed that they could only proceed and solve problems as they arose.
...
Everything was settled.
Counting the days, it had been nearly two months since the Siege of Huating.
The last batch of Qinu immigrants had also been settled. The volunteers gradually returned to Jinshanwei, Taizhouwei, Taicangwei, Haimenwei, and Zhenhaiwei. They all followed the example of Jinshanwei, first hastily building houses, distributing land, and then issuing silver. They would then go to the frontiers according to the squad organization to develop wasteland.
At this time,
Next year's silk orders were also coming in. Mulberry saplings still needed to be planted. Other matters such as salt fields and tea also needed to be advanced one by one. With a myriad of tasks, they could only be personally supervised. Zhu Mo was extremely busy.
On this day, returning to Hangzhou,
Zhao Shizhen's new batch of cannons also arrived, totaling 60 pieces. An entire convoy was escorted by personnel sent by the Vice Minister of War, Wang Guoguang. In addition, one thousand firearms also arrived.
Zhu Mo was overjoyed and immediately transported 60 pieces to the Hulushan Water Fortress. Yu Dayou quickly loaded them onto the ships, and the firepower of each ship increased threefold. The remaining 20 pieces were transported to Jinshanwei, two pieces per group, guarding the ten dangerous tidal flat areas.
During this period,
Yu Dayou dispatched a fleet to patrol the outer sea of Zhoushan. However, the Japanese pirates still remained in their forts and did not come out. Considering that the outer sea patrols had loopholes, and no matter how much food the Japanese pirates had stored, they should have consumed it all. This indicated that there were still continuous supplies.