Chapter 207 Investigation along the way
The so-called "Greater Sanya" development strategy focuses on the construction of this large area east of Yazhou, south of Lingshui, and located in the southwest corner of Hainan Island. The Executive Committee is prepared to spend five, ten or even more years to build this area into the strongest base for the Haihan regime in the South China Sea.
In the early stage, this development strategy mainly centered on Victory Port and gradually radiated development to surrounding areas. In order to make full use of limited human resources and armed forces, the Executive Committee believes that the current development area should not be too far from Victory Port - of course, resource-based colonization areas like Black Earth Port are a special case, and the traversing group must have coal there Carbon resources to ensure the scale of local steel production.
But in addition to the energy industry, the layout of other industries can only gradually expand outward according to this strategy. Although the development prospects of the Yinggehai Salt Field are very attractive, there are two unavoidable problems for the current Chuanchuan Group. The problem exists. First, the local terrain is flat, with almost no dangerous terrain for defense. The voyage from Victory Port is more than fifty nautical miles. With the speed of the existing Fuzhou or Guangzhou ships, it will take a whole day to go smoothly. If something goes wrong, There is no time for rescue. From a military point of view, the risk of development is relatively high. Although the area available for salt farm development in the Erze Yinggehai area is large, enough manpower must be invested, and the current speed of immigration is probably Not enough to carry out major development projects.
If we do not compare the theoretical output of the two places, but simply compare the difficulty of development and construction and the military risks required, then Tieliang Port's score will undoubtedly be much higher than that of Yinggehai. The only weakness here is probably the northern defense loophole caused by the strange terrain. However, this is not a big deal in the eyes of the executive committee. It is better than the worst, and it is always much better than the geographical environment of Yinggehai. The purpose of the Military and Police Department's inspection is to design a practical and effective defense system based on the actual situation here.
The coastal defense artillery system will definitely not work in the short term. In fact, many people also feel that the Executive Committee is making a fuss - does a salt farm really need to build a fort for protection? If we really want to do this, then Hainan Island will have to build a fort around the island in the future?
The Military and Police Department has no obsession with building forts. Anyway, this is not a victory port. Even if there is a fight, it will only lose some salt. Since you can't rely on artillery fire to confront possible invading enemies head-on, you have to at least retreat to the next best thing and formulate an escape plan. This is also the minimum requirement of the Executive Committee, at least to ensure that the personal safety of the naturalized people working here is guaranteed.
According to the actual situation here, after lowering the requirements by one level, Xiao Liang and Yu Yao's tasks became much easier. The harbor of Tielugang is several kilometers deep inland. In the early stage, it is entirely possible to build salt farms only in the inland areas, and set up observation posts on the coastal mountains, just like what the Military and Police Department did in Yulinjiao, in the event of external threats. As long as a warning is given in advance, the saltworks staff will have at least one or two hours to evacuate calmly, and safety will definitely be safe. Workers in the salt field can evacuate westward along the valley between Yalong Ridge and Baishi Ridge, and return to the vicinity of Tiandu in half a day. Although this valley passage cannot currently be used to transport bulk materials, it is useless as an escape route. No problem.
As for the existence of this valley passage, the Ministry of Agriculture has given a very ideal solution, which is to develop the valley agriculturally, plant oil, hemp, spices and other cash crops on the hillside, and at the same time try to slowly convince those who The Li and Miao mountain people who are accustomed to living in the mountains gradually moved out from the interior and settled in this valley. In a few years, an economic corridor of industrial areas-farms-salt fields will naturally form here.
Although some people have doubts about whether the feuding Li and Miao ethnic groups can live in close proximity to each other, the executive committee has shown an optimistic attitude. The two tribes fought back and forth in the past. In addition to the official intentions of the Ming Dynasty in the early days, in the end it was actually to gain more survival resources in the mountains and forests, even if it was just a small piece of barren hillside cultivated land. Mountain spring will also become the reason for their fight.
Now the Crossing Group can provide them with sufficient food, pig iron, salt and other daily necessities, and as long as they are willing to go out of the mountains, they can live the same life as the Han people. This is true for many young people of the Li and Miao ethnic groups. The temptation is irresistible - as evidenced by the fact that the Li-Miao militia currently accounts for as much as 40% of the militia. Although there are still frictions and disputes between the two tribes from time to time, with the powerful arbiter of the Chuan Chuan Group, there is no longer the situation in the past where entire villages and entire villages would participate in armed fights.
The crew of the "Sea Training 02" ship measured the water depth along the entire S-shaped channel entering Tieliang Port, and in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Chemical Industry, they also conducted corresponding salinity tests on the water samples. According to the test results, the salinity of the seawater here is slightly lower than that of the Saltworks Commune and Yinggehai, but it is more than enough to meet the production needs of the saltworks. It will also be easier to transform the large tidal flat areas throughout the harbor into salt ponds. It’s easy, and you don’t even need as many irrigation devices as the salt farm commune to introduce seawater into the inland salt fields. This task can be completed by the power of nature when the tide rises every day. The production efficiency after development may be higher than that of the existing salt fields. The commune is higher.
In addition to the tidal flat area, there is also a large area of flat area near Tielugang that can be used for agricultural development. Although the land here has high salinity and is not suitable for the cultivation of ordinary crops, the Ministry of Agriculture had already begun to formulate various plans for agricultural development in Hainan long before the crossing. How to develop the saline-alkali land by the sea? , relevant units have already been prepared. For example, samphire is the preferred crop for seawater irrigated agriculture. Its seeds can be used to extract vegetable oil because of its high oil content. Its seedlings and tender tips are also seawater vegetables with extremely high nutritional value, commonly known as sea bamboo shoots. In addition, there are also medicinal plants, black wolfberry, suitable for cultivation in heavily saline-alkali soils, as well as sea fennel, sea kale and other vegetables. In addition to building salt fields, Tielugang can also carry out large-scale agricultural development and build it into one of the production bases of oil crops and vegetables.
It is also worth mentioning that the professional opinions from the Ministry of Construction also played a great role in promoting the selection tendency of the Executive Committee. There are local quarries and abundant forest resources in Tielugang that can be developed, which greatly reduces the difficulty of future development. There was a lack of stone materials near the salt farm commune, and almost all the stones that could be mined were used by the ancestors to make stone salt drying tanks. So when later they needed to build masonry houses, these building materials had to be shipped from Victory Port. Fortunately, the journey is not far and not particularly troublesome. As for the other site selected near Yinggehai, there is not even a mountain within a square kilometer. Not to mention quarrying, even the wood will probably have to be transported from Shengli Port, which shows how difficult it is to develop in the early stage.
After receiving opinions from the military and police, shipping, construction, agriculture and other departments, it is only natural that the executive committee is more inclined to choose Tielugang as the next salt farm development location. Of course, the development and construction here cannot be started immediately by just saying a word from the Executive Committee. After this inspection, the relevant conclusions will be sent to the Executive Committee for the Executive Committee to make a decision. After the location is determined , and will also dispatch at least one or two groups of inspection teams to conduct on-site survey and planning, calculate the required materials and manpower, and formulate a more detailed development plan. It will probably take half a month at the earliest to actually start developing this place.
By the time we came out after surveying Tieliang Port, it was already afternoon. After the sailboat sailed out of the narrow channel, it passed by the east side of Wuzhizhou Island and drew an arc straight to the open sea. On the way to Guangzhou, the expedition team will take a direct route to Guangzhou to calculate the shortest voyage and sailing time. On the way back, it will take a relatively conservative route, going south along the east coast of Hainan Island, and also inspect the coastal areas. The state of the people and the sea.
Although "Sea Training 02" had a large group of veteran crew members, the speed of the ship itself was extremely limited, and it had never run this route before. On the fourth day, the Wanshan Islands outside the Pearl River Estuary were finally seen ahead. Fortunately, the weather conditions were pretty good along the way, and we did not encounter any big waves. This also made the naturalized residents who took a boat out to the open sea area for the first time much better. There was no such thing as the Black Earth Port colonization fleet on the ship. Critically ill patients who are severely seasick and almost in shock.
The two half-year-old boys, Yu Xiaobao and Zhang Qianzhi, were even more energetic and spent almost the whole time on the deck. Zhang Qianzhi's family has been a shipwright for eight generations. He grew up in a shipyard and is very familiar with ships. Along the way, Yu Xiaobao learned a lot about shipbuilding and sailing from him.
"Hai Xun 02 Ship" was not in a hurry to sail north into the Pearl River, but adjusted its direction and headed northeast. Before going to Guangzhou, they had another inspection mission, which was to explore the conditions of Hong Kong waters and islands.
Hong Kong has been under the jurisdiction of the government since the Tang Dynasty and was subordinate to Dongguan County. In the first year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, the government carved out land from Dongguan County because it was too far away from Dongguan County and was inconvenient to manage. population, Xin'an County was established. From this time until it was forcibly leased by the British in the 19th century, the Hong Kong area was under the jurisdiction of Xin'an County. The place name Hong Kong actually existed before time travelers came to this time and space. In the art of "Guangdong University" written by Guo Di during the Wanli period, the term "Hong Kong Island" was already mentioned. At the same time, the words recorded in the book In the "Guangdong Coastal Map", the names of Hong Kong, Stanley, Tsim Sha Tsui and other places are marked.
In the current era, Hong Kong's economy mainly relies on agricultural industries such as growing incense, cooking salt, fishing, and farming, among which the incense industry is the most developed. The fragrant wood that is abundant in Hong Kong is a very popular commodity in Fuguang, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The "Xin'an County Chronicle" of the Ming Dynasty recorded the situation of fragrant wood produced in Hong Kong. In later generations, Sha Tin, Lantau Island and other places were rich in fragrant wood products. These products were first It is transported to Tsim Sha Tsui and then transported to Guangzhou for sale on a unique local dungeon ship commonly known as "big-eyed chicken". One theory behind the origin of the name Hong Kong is that the fragrant wood trade here was very prosperous in history.
Hong Kong's salt farms still use the old-fashioned method of boiling salt to produce salt, and the output is very limited. However, the Guangdong Salt Class Promotion Department still set up a management agency here - a small inspection department to check and ban the private sale of salt. For the Chuanchuan Group, the salt output here is almost negligible, and the annual output cannot exceed half a month of the salt farm commune.
In addition to the Inspection Department, there are also naval forces stationed here in Hong Kong, with a small number of troops stationed in Fo Men Tong, Long Chuan Wan, Loke, Tai O, Lang Tao Wan, Lang Bai and other places. Of course, this small amount only refers to the huge military establishment of the Ming Dynasty. According to historical records, at the end of the 16th century, the number of Ming troops and military servants stationed in Hong Kong exceeded 2,000, and there were dozens of large and small warships. Qiyazhou Water Village and the garrison of the garrison are much stronger. Moreover, the garrison here is not just for show. Since the Ming and Zhengde years, the garrison here has had many battles with Western colonists, and they have rarely suffered defeats. The closest confrontation between the East and the West since time travel came to this time and space was when a Dutch warship broke into the Buddhist temple gate in 1622. However, under the strict defense of the soldiers and civilians of Xin'an County at that time, the Dutch did not choose to attack in the end, but left silently. go.
One of the inspection missions of the "Hai Xun 02" ship to Hong Kong is to find out the situation of the navy garrison here. Of course, this kind of thing cannot be done openly. Sun Changmi had people use fishing nets and canvas to cover the ship's name and serial number painted on the side of the ship. Then the Military and Police Department used high-magnification military telescopes to view the ship from several miles away. Conduct local reconnaissance of target areas. The effect of this kind of reconnaissance is naturally very limited, but for safety reasons, Sun Changmi did not dare to let the ship get too close to the Ming army's water village station, so as not to attract attention and cause unnecessary trouble. Although there are more than a dozen guns on the "Sea Training 02" ship, its role in naval battles is extremely limited, and the ship itself is not fast enough. It is not easy to even run away if it is discovered.
The "Hai Xun 02" ship spent a day cruising around the waters between Lantau Island and Hong Kong Island. By the way, it also visited the commercial ports in Tsim Sha Tsui and the typhoon shelter area. The Victoria Harbor at this time was naturally unable to compare with the prosperity of later generations, but sails could be seen everywhere on the sea, and many merchant ships from Fuzhou and Guangzhou docked at the port pier. Sun Changmi considered that the clothes of the people on his ship were too conspicuous, so he did not choose to dock the ship here. Instead, after completing the reconnaissance mission, he sailed out of this sea area and passed through the waterway between Ma Wan and Lantau Island. , then turned northwest and re-entered the Pearl River Estuary.
During the more than one day of inspection in Hong Kong, most of the passengers on the ship were in a state of nervousness. It was not until they returned to the Pearl River Estuary that they slowly calmed down. Not only do they have to beware of their purpose being discovered by the Ming army stationed there, but they also have to guard against pirates that often appear near Hong Kong waters - according to Li Nai, there are several large and small pirates in the waters of Daya Bay west of Hong Kong. Pirates, from time to time, take advantage of loopholes in naval patrols and launch attacks on merchant ships and civilian ships in nearby waters.
However, the naturalized people obviously don't know that the leaders have so many worries in their minds. They simply think that this is just a normal journey. With the omnipotent leaders on this ship, where in the world can they go?
That night, the ship anchored outside a small fishing village at the mouth of the Pearl River, and contacted the General Office of the People's Republic of China on the radio to arrange a meeting time for the next day. Although everyone wanted to set foot on land as soon as possible to rest and recuperate, this place was still dozens of kilometers away from Guangzhou City by waterway, and it was upstream, so it was obviously impossible to move forward in the dark.
As soon as it got dark the next day, the anxious crew rushed the crew up onto the deck, quickly raised the sails and anchor, and even ate breakfast after departure. But it was useless even if they were anxious. The speed of sailing upstream was more than twice as slow as riding the wind and waves on the sea. It was not until the sky had darkened that the lookout standing on the bow reported that he had seen the city of Guangzhou through the telescope. of city walls.
After Schneider and He Xi finished their work in the afternoon, they went to the pier only a few hundred meters away from the Guangdong Office to wait. After waiting left and right, they were both very hungry and wondered if there had been any accident on the way to the ship. When the situation was under control, I finally saw the "Hai Xun 02" ship with a conspicuous red cloth tied on the top of the mast appearing in the river.
"Hurry up and put up the slogans!" He Xi ordered the young servants who followed.
The servants quickly erected the bamboo poles and unfolded the banner. On the two-foot-wide white cloth, several large black characters were very conspicuous - Guangzhou welcomes you! This was not because He Xi was trying to impress people, but because they were afraid that the ship would arrive too late and not be able to see the situation on the shore as it passed by, so they specially made a conspicuous sign. Of course, it also showed the presence of the General Office in Guangdong. However, this thing is only useful when it is dawn. If it continues to get dark, He Xi will have to order someone to light the torch. Fortunately, it was getting late at this time, and there were not many people on the pier. The banner they displayed did not attract crowds who did not know the truth.
After finally waiting for the boat to dock, the first people to step off the gangplank were their old acquaintances Sun Changmi and Doctor Morgan. Schneider and He Xi came forward to greet them, and their four pairs of big hands held each other tightly: "Thank you for your hard work. It’s been a hard journey!” “It’s not easy for you either!”
Xiao Liang, who disembarked after him, said thoughtfully: "How does this look... a bit like the Red Army's victorious rendezvous in northern Shaanxi?"
"We have just taken the first step in the long march of thousands of miles, and this is where we are going!" Yu Yao responded with a smile: "Let's go, get off the boat quickly, I don't want to stay on the boat for a second anymore."
(End of chapter)