Chapter 168 Moon-Watching Island

How could Lu Yuan not feel chilled?

The Ning'an Palace is not guilty, but His Majesty wants him to fabricate evidence out of thin air.

Xuan Jiuqing was guilty and there was evidence, but the emperor pretended not to see it and even executed the censor who accused Xuan Jiuqing.

Although Lu Yuan was scolded by his father for being heartless every day.

But he obviously couldn't accept Emperor Sheng's way of dealing with people.

Before he entered the court, he thought highly of Emperor Sheng.

But after the actual contact, he suddenly realized that perhaps Emperor Sheng was not completely unaware of everything that happened in Sheng Kingdom.

Does Emperor Sheng really not know about the misery of Beicheng?
Otherwise why would he be reminded to bring more people to the North City.

Then does Emperor Sheng care about Beicheng?
No, he doesn’t care at all. Emperor Sheng only cares about the pearls of the North Sea.

Before leaving, Emperor Sheng told Lu Yuan that there were fewer and fewer pearls in the South China Sea, and that there had been no pearl mining in the North Sea for several years. As long as he could pay tribute to the emperor with enough pearls, he would definitely let him return to the capital.

But now, Lu Yuan doesn’t have so many thoughts about returning to the capital.

Although Emperor Sheng seemed to treat him much better than others, Lu Yuan knew that if he did not satisfy Emperor Sheng with the pearl-hunting matter this time, Emperor Sheng would never be tolerant of him again.

This time, Lu Yuan only kept the defective ones of the sea pearls. He did not keep any of the precious ones and presented them all to Emperor Sheng.

Originally, Lu Yuan wanted to let Xu Qiuyue choose first, but Xu Qiuyue was not very interested in pearls, so Lu Yuan presented them all to Emperor Sheng.

If he gave it to his mother, Lu Yuan knew that his father would be unhappy again and would definitely accuse him of squandering the people's money. He might even come and talk to him in person at that time.

So Lu Yuan simply didn't send him off.

Lu Yuan presented the pearls to Emperor Sheng to tell him that he was not giving up and that he was still very obedient.

But in fact, Lu Yuan already had other thoughts in his mind.

The territory outside the North Sea is not the territory of Sheng Kingdom.

He must be able to protect himself, otherwise, he will be no different from the fish on the chopping board, and his life and death will depend on Emperor Sheng's words.

The life of these pirates on the island was extremely poor.

There was nothing on the island, no doctors, let alone textile workers. There were problems with food, clothing, housing and transportation.

Lu Yuan is different. He has manpower and can send those criminals wanted by the court to the island.

For example, once those officials committed a crime, their wives would become official prostitutes and they would not be able to redeem themselves.

It is precisely because of this.

Lu Yuan gave them a chance so that their family could be reunited and the women would not have to fall into prostitution.

They were naturally very happy.

Lu Yuan provided all the supplies needed on the island.

Lu Yuan also adopted many orphans on the island. Lu Yuan planned to train his own confidants.

Xu Qiuyue also went to the island with Lu Yuan.

I have to say that the conditions on the island are really not that good.

Many pirates on the island didn't even have clothes. The only pair of pants they had were tattered. They looked worse than beggars and like savages.

At least beggars have beggar clothes to cover their shame.

It's really miserable.

However, these pirates are not all inhumane.

There are still many of their families on the island. Although the women's lives are not very good, there is light in their eyes. Xu Qiuyue also asked them in detail. Before they became pirates, they were family members and came to this island voluntarily.

Lu Yuan gave the island a new name, Wangyue Island.

All pirates on the island were changed to seamen, and were no longer allowed to be pirates. If caught, they would be executed on the spot. This was the island rule.

If you are short of money, you can go pearl diving.

The price has dropped a lot compared to before, one tael of silver for one pearl.

However, supplies of equal value can be purchased, and Lu Yuan will ask the guards to transport them in by large ship.

Moreover, Xu Qiuyue also brought in a lot of seeds and patiently taught these sea people how to plant them.

After all, there is no way to guarantee a stable income by relying solely on fishing, and pearl diving is risky, so Lu Yuan did not force these people to dive for pearls.

Pick whatever you want.

Every seven days, a manager would drive a boat to deliver a large amount of supplies. The islanders could purchase the supplies on their own initiative, or they could sell pearls and sea fish.

Lu Yuan also issued travel permits to the newly born islanders.

The islanders had no other options before, their assets were no longer clean, and many people had seen them and knew they had become pirates, so it was naturally difficult to clear their names.

But even so, the islanders were overjoyed.

The child has a legitimate identity and can return to North City at any time in the future.

And here on Wangyue Island, many shops have opened.

For example, tailor shops, grain and oil stores, etc.

With the shop, the entire Wangyue Island has become full of vitality and is no longer as lifeless as before.

Originally, everyone on the island wanted to return to North City immediately.

But as time went by, they gradually didn't want to go back.

After the vegetable seeds they planted sprouted, they watched the vegetables grow little by little, and their feelings for Wangyue Island grew deeper.

When they picked the vegetables they had grown and fried them, they decided to stay here forever.

There are no taxes here.

You don’t need to pay taxes unless you open a store. As long as you don’t open a store, you don’t need to pay taxes.

No matter how many vegetables they grow, they all belong to them.

These lands have been divided up according to the number of people, with each person getting one acre of land.

It's the same for men and women.

Naturally, there is no land left for those who come after them, so they can only go out to sea to fish, collect pearls, or inherit the land from their elders.

But no one would think this is unfair.

Moreover, Lu Yuan said that any newlywed couple who got married this month could get an extra two acres of land.

There is no tax on this land.

This also led to a large number of men and women getting married on Wangyue Island this month.

There are many older prostitutes here.

They had no special skills and were all kicked out of brothels, but they didn't mind that these islanders were once pirates.

For them, having a home is enough.

Here, no one cares about their place of origin, and their descendants can grow up like normal people and can even read and write.

And life on this island is actually not hard.

Each of these islanders is a skilled swimmer and is good at collecting pearls. Even if a pearl only costs one or two ounces of silver, they can still make a lot of money.

All the necessary jewelry, fine clothes and exquisite garments are available on this island.

Although no one has opened a restaurant on the island yet, everyone is a good cook and can make money, so they are naturally willing to buy oil and soy sauce. This way, the food they cook will not taste too bad and they will not be spoiling their taste buds.