Chapter 34: POW career
The battle with the Dutch solved a difficult problem for Yan Changwu, that is, the cement factory and the labor force digging coal mines.
These two kinds of jobs are labor intensive. The people recruited from the mainland don't like to do it. First, they love to eat in the soil, and second to go to the water to find a living. It is too hard to dig into the factory.
They don't do it, and Yan Changwu can't force them to do it. After all, he lacks people to farm land and serve as a soldier.
The prisoner of war camp is located in the inland area. Trenches have been dug around the camp area with a fence wall inside. The barracks they live in are built with bamboo and thatch and soil. It doesn't look very strong, but it can keep out the rain, and the windows are screened!
The wormwood was planted near the house, and the guard warned them not to step on those plants. If you want to get malaria, it's another matter. They can repel mosquitoes!
There is an aisle in the middle of the barracks along the direction of the roof ridge. On both sides of the aisle are small lattice rooms divided into upper and lower floors, each of which is about 2.5 meters in length, and each lattice accommodates five people. The beds are made of bamboo. , They have towels and blankets. . . It was found from their residence in Orange City, and now it was returned to them. Many of the supplies belonged to them, but the distribution was disrupted.
After everyone settled down, the prisoners of war were gathered together and listened to the translator about the rules and regulations of the prisoner of war camp:
"First, don’t get close to the fence. If you go to the toilet at night, just go back and don’t go around, otherwise we will shoot!
Don't try to escape, those who escape will be punished severely!
Practice continuous sitting, ten people in a class, one escapes, and the rest suffer!
You are waiting here with peace of mind. We have sent people to the Batavia authorities and asked them to pay you back.
We will not abuse you, and will ensure that you can survive. Of course, it is impossible to live well.
Don’t make trouble, obey discipline, and violate discipline, I believe we will make your life worse than death! "The translator finally said something creepy.
So the prisoners of war disbanded and began their career as a prisoner of war camp.
On the whole, the prisoners of war were relatively safe and guarded, and no one escaped. After all, Mingren promised to send them back once Batavia paid the ransom, and there was no need to cause trouble.
The people take food as their heaven, and the food eaten by the prisoners of war is ranked!
Those servants, mainly the indigenous people from Batavia, eat sweet potato porridge!
The staple food is made with a little brown rice and sweet potatoes. The dishes are green vegetables and salted fish (the best fish is fresh fish).
Hong Maofan eats much better than the servant army. They eat brown rice, but the dishes are still green vegetables and salted fish.
There are also red hairpins that eat well. They are the red hairpins who are willing to cooperate with Yan Changwu. They are mainly aimed at experts with skills: such as artillery officers, warship officers, and ship repair masters. As long as these people are willing to cooperate as consultants, they Served deliciously and with a silver collar!
lived in a brick house. The two lived in a house. Beigang specially invited a master to make bread for them. Because they could not produce flour, they had to buy it over the sea.
Bread and milk (there is some milk). The food is four dishes and one soup. In daily life, I have found a washerwoman to wash the clothes for them, and the cleaners clean the place.
The expert treatment silver is paid at thirty taels per month, and another twenty taels of silver depends on performance. The price is not small. Hong Maofan stays away from his hometown for the silver. As a result, he recruits and rushes for it.
But not everyone can take up the post. It has to be assessed, and only 34 people who have real talents are included. Others, if you refuse to do it, or you can’t do it, you have to eat rice.
Those who eat sweet potato porridge and brown rice can neither be used to nor have enough to eat. That is inevitable. Give them enough food and have the strength to escape and make trouble?
So they ate what they could find. They ate boiled rats, wild cats, lizards and locusts, and sometimes dig earthworms to eat!
Ming people are more humane. They got pots and put some prisoners of war to collect firewood, allowing them to cook their own food!
It seems that if there is a chance, they will become cannibals.
Just when everyone was eating rations that were not enough for their stomachs, and when everyone’s stomachs were like fire (almost ten days later), a message reached their camp: Ming people recruited miners and had enough food. Quality improvement!
...
Yan Changwu's predecessor was a map editor. He has a certain degree of research on geography and geology, and he also attaches great importance to mineral resources!
After he gained a certain ability, he immediately stretched out his tentacles and sent people to map and explore. For a year, he recorded the resources and topography of the Tainan area.
Limestone, clay and coal have been discovered in the mineral resources of the area where is located!
So the people in Beigang Town saw a strange scene: Hong Maofan and Nigga carried shovels, bamboo baskets, hoes and carts, and went up the mountain to work for their big leader!
Ninety percent of the captives were dispatched, and the results were soon seen. Limestone, clay, coal and stone were continuously mined.
And what they have worked hard in exchange is firm white rice and fresh fish, chicken, pork, milk and bread!
People die for money and birds die for food. No matter who it is, the days when there is nothing to eat are terrible. No one wants to go back in time. It's nothing to work hard.
Moreover, the Mingren also used some methods, such as grouping competitions, which group collected the most ore, and weighed the number one day later, the fish and the flesh were eaten the best; and which group had the best ore. At least, yes, get back to the original shape and give the original kind of food!
The middle group is still decent food.
Under such pressure, each group can't fall behind, and they have enough energy to mine!
So, no matter who you are, finding a way is very important!
...
This group of miners worked for more than three months to contribute to Yan Dashao’s career. They dug a lot of mines and came to an end: Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia, at the time the Dutch Oriental Colonial Headquarters) sent people.
The three haughty Dutch gentlemen, Peter Poznan, Van Rosmalen, and Simon Sirest boarded the North Harbor terminal. They did not bring any warships. After all, the hostages were in Ming Ren's hands.
They were greeted by Bo Zhang and Chen Hebin, and the main negotiator was Chen Hebin.
"You are very courageous!" Pete threatened: "Although you have got our four big ships, we have 50 of the same ships, and there are also 10 bigger ships! Fortunately, we have come with sincerity, otherwise the fleet will come, smashing your place and leaving your bones dead!"
Know something about the Dutch sent to Batavia to report, and informed Mr. Pete.
Since he is so unkind, Chen Hebin said directly: "As long as you fire the cannon, then we will hang all your people on the tree!"
Knowing that the red-haired fan can't kneel down and can't speak Chinese with a straight tongue, Chen Hebin communicates with them in Dutch. His foreign language level is good, and he can speak Dutch, Spanish and Portuguese.
"If you fire the cannon, we will enter the inland. Whether you can hit us or not is the same thing, but we can definitely hang all of your people on the tree!" Chen Hebin sneered.
Dutch gentlemen suffocated!
Uncle Zhang beside him said quietly: "It's a future thing to fight, gentlemen of the Netherlands, how much do you have as a ransom?"
"Ten silver dollars per person for white people, and one silver dollar per person for ten others!" Pete said shamelessly. (The conversion ratio is 0.68 taels of silver = 1 silver dollar, which means that a white person’s ten taels of silver is not worthwhile, and the price of the Ming Dynasty is in the range of four taels of silver to twenty-four taels of silver. Look at them. Pretty)
Chen Hebin said with an annoyed smile: "Fifty silver dollars per white person, and one silver dollar per other person! We will charge as much as you bring us!"
The three respectable Dutch gentlemen have moved a little bit!
immediately thought that his three views were not correct, and quickly bargained: "We can only get 20 silver dollars per person for white people, and 2 silver dollars per person for other people!"
is it? Chen Hebin didn't bother to talk with the three gentlemen, and took them to see the situation of the white people digging coal, so that they can wake up!
