Chapter 456: The Fishermen’s Gratitude

Yang Chengye was standing outside the temporary command post, holding a basket of fish.

Inside the basket were abalone freshly caught by the fishermen from Chang Island.

Before the barbarians entered the border, Chang Island had always been a fishing ground for the fishermen of Dengzhou. But later, the island was often visited by the Goryeo navy because of its famous Chang Island abalone.

These abalones were known for their delicious taste. The abalones caught along the coast were often sent to the royal palace as tribute. In the past, Chang Island abalone was frequently selected as tribute for the palace.

The emperor and consorts of the Great Yu Empire loved eating it, and the king and consorts of Goryeo also loved it. Before, fishermen from both sides often clashed near Chang Island. But after Goryeo became a vassal state of the barbarians, they no longer held back. Their navy directly drove away and killed fishermen from Great Yu.

The fishermen of Dengzhou felt very sorrowful but had no way to fight back. Dengzhou had no proper navy of its own. Now, for the first time in a long while, they finally saw the Chang Island abalone again.

Behind Yang Chengye were the fishermen who went out to sea this time. After delivering the abalone to the government office, they insisted on coming with Yang Chengye to personally thank Prince Qi.

These years, the fishermen had lived a very frustrated life. Their door opened to the sea, but they were bullied by either the Japanese pirates or the Goryeo people. Today’s naval battle made the fishermen so emotional that tears filled their eyes. Now, for the first time, they felt protected.

“Inspector Yang, please,” a servant came back from Xiao Ming and said.

Yang Chengye then said to the crowd, “Everyone, follow me inside. His Highness is inside.”

The fishermen nodded and followed Yang Chengye into the temporary command post. By the pool inside, he saw Xiao Ming waiting.

“I pay my respects, Your Highness.”

“Greetings to Prince Qi.”

As Yang Chengye bowed, the fishermen were about to kneel and bow. At this moment, Xiao Ming stepped forward and helped the elderly man at the front stand up. He said, “Though our Great Yu Empire has often been bullied by foreign tribes and is slowly weakening, since our founding emperor established the country, the people have never had to kneel before the royal family. Everyone, please stand up.”

The elderly man in front was thin and dry, his skin darkened from the sea wind over the years. His wrinkled face showed a trace of sorrow. But now his expression was full of emotion.

“Your Highness, we brought you abalone from Chang Island. In the past, this abalone was a tribute to the court. For many years, we dared not go near Chang Island. Thank you, Your Highness, for standing up for us fishermen of Dengzhou.”

“Sir, you flatter me too much. Protecting the people of my fief and letting everyone freely fish at sea is my duty. There is no need to thank me,” Xiao Ming smiled.

The old man rubbed his dry hands together.

“Even so, only Your Highness can give us fishermen protection. Everyone is very grateful in their hearts. We had to come personally to express our feelings.”

“Your feelings are well received. It is everyone’s duty, from officials to commoners, to protect the country. If you hadn’t sent your sons into the navy, I wouldn’t have soldiers to command the warships. So, if anyone should be thanked, I should thank you,” Xiao Ming said kindly.

The fishermen all smiled simply at this.

The elderly man looked pleased. He turned to those behind him and said, “They say Your Highness loves the people like his own children. Seeing this today proves it true. From now on, we will have better days.”

The other fishermen nodded.

Yang Chengye’s eyes sparkled with excitement. The fishermen in Dengzhou were a tough group, fighting pirates at sea and trading illegal salt. They were very bold.

During his years governing Dengzhou, these fishermen had given him the most trouble. When recruiting them for the fisheries, many had mocked him. Some even said his fishing boats weren’t enough to fill Goryeo’s teeth.

Now, seeing the Dengzhou fleet slicing through Goryeo’s warships like cutting vegetables, the fishermen were so excited they almost jumped up.

“Old Dong, we have shown Your Highness the abalone. Now it’s time to let Your Highness try it,” Yang Chengye laughed.

“Yes, yes,” the old man called Old Dong smiled. “Your Highness, with that, we won’t keep you any longer. We take our leave.”

“Everyone, take care,” Xiao Ming smiled and cupped his hands in farewell. The people had their own sense of justice. That they came personally to thank Xiao Ming showed he was winning hearts in Dengzhou.

The people’s reaction was the true measure of governance.

After the people left, Yang Chengye said to Xiao Ming, “Congratulations, Your Highness. You have won both the people’s hearts and the abalone.”

Xiao Ming’s expression turned strange at this. He felt the words were odd. Looking at Yang Chengye’s serious face, he said, “Don’t flatter me. Today’s good atmosphere in Dengzhou is also thanks to you. Stay tonight and enjoy the Chang Island abalone with me.”

Hearing this, Yang Chengye’s mouth watered. This was his favorite food. That was why he chose to serve in Dengzhou.

Unable to resist such temptation, he nodded. “Your Highness, besides the abalone, the fishermen caught a lot of fish this time. They will be sent soon. It’s not easy for Your Highness to come to Dengzhou. Enjoy the sea’s delicacies. But we have to thank you. Without your dragnet, the fishing boats couldn’t have caught so many fish. The fishermen respect Your Highness deeply. They say if they had a large fishing boat with a dragnet, a whole village would have enough food.”

Xiao Ming nodded. The dragnet was the modern way of fishing at sea. It was a net shaped like a pouch that he had taught Yang Chengye about.

This net was dragged by the fishing boat sailing at sea. Now his boats all used these nets made of rope. One trip out could catch a lot of fish.

Compared with traditional fishing methods like angling or casting nets, dragnet fishing raised efficiency by dozens of times.

“In that case, you can tell them, my merchant ships will have clear prices. If they want to buy, I can sell to them,” Xiao Ming said after thinking for a moment.

“Sell to fishermen?” Yang Chengye asked in disbelief.

“Yes, the development of Dengzhou’s fisheries depends on many fishermen. The strength of the people is powerful. My few fishing boats alone cannot meet the Great Yu Empire’s market,” Xiao Ming explained.

For him, the next step was to revitalize the fief’s economy. To make the economy active, private capital had to be opened up.

Fishing had to be open. Other product manufacturing must be open as well. Only when there are profits and personal benefits will people throw their full enthusiasm into business. Only then would Qingzhou’s commerce truly come alive.

When commerce grows, the people will have money.

Having money can promote consumption.

Consumption will promote further industrial development.

At the same time, it will provide the fief with a large amount of tax revenue.