Chapter 1214 Arrival at Ampurna
Qiu Xin used his official residence as an example to explain to Tan Juren the benefits of holding power. It was indeed very intuitive and vivid. From this, he speculated on his living conditions in Vung Tau Port. It goes without saying that he should be living very comfortably. After all, both Champa and Annan attach great importance to their diplomatic relations with Haihan, and are worried that Haihan will favor each other. As Haihan's spokesperson here, he naturally enjoys excellent treatment. Looking back on the conditions of the colonies in the previous stops, because there was no competitor like the Champa State, local officials did not have the same level of benefits as Qiu Xin. In the final analysis, the location of the Vung Tau Port was good, being at the junction of the two countries. Otherwise, they would Although you are the leader of the colony, it is difficult to obtain so many benefits with the power in your hands.
Tan Juren quickly figured out the cause-and-effect relationship. He smiled and shook his head and said: "The colonial emperor is indeed easy to do, but the environment here cannot be replicated elsewhere."
Qiu Xin did not deny Tan Juren's statement, and nodded: "Brother, you are right. Of course I understand it, so I don't plan to transfer back to Sanya. I am already old, and to be honest, I can't compete with you. Young people, it’s only a few more years that they can enjoy it! Isn’t it just to live the life of a master when I joined the action and came here with Boss Tao?”
Tan Juren was silent for a moment. The other party was right. Although many people did participate in the time-travel operation with the illusion of making achievements, there is a gap between reality and fantasy after all. Most of them were inconspicuous ordinary people in their original social environment, without any outstanding leadership skills or knowledge. Compared with people of this era, they only have hundreds of years of experience, and this Not all strengths may be used in the process of governing the country.
In the end, most of the people who can stand out from this group are those who have achieved certain achievements in the original time and space. However, Qiu Xin, a time traveler with relatively mediocre qualifications and an older age, does have a lot of room for improvement. There are limits, so becoming a local emperor in an overseas colony like Vung Tau Port is a reasonable choice.
Of course, Tan Juren's values are different from Qiu Xin's. He believes that although his abilities are limited, he is better than his youth, and there are infinite possibilities for everything. It is too early to find a colony to retire in retirement. However, everyone has their own ambitions, and he couldn't say that Qiu Xin's choice was wrong. He lived here like an emperor, without having to worry about safety issues or the pressure of political competition. It was quite good to live leisurely.
It took the fleet a day and a half to complete supplies at Vung Tau Port. During this period, it also brought more than a hundred immigrants recruited from the local area, and then left the port and continued southward. After bidding farewell to the Port of Vung Tau, the next part of the voyage will enter the ocean waters in the hinterland of the South China Sea. The straight-line distance between the next stop, the Ambrosia Islands and the Port of Vung Tau, is a full four hundred nautical miles. To complete this voyage, it will take at least It takes four to five days, provided there are no bad weather or other emergencies during the voyage.
I was really afraid of what would come. A day and a half after the fleet left Vung Tau Port, there was a sudden strong wind on the sea, and then a powerful storm ushered in. Even the warship with the largest tonnage and volume in the fleet can only be tossed like a small sampan by the big waves in the face of the power of nature, unable to struggle at all.
Tan Juren was lying on the bed in the cabin, using the safety belt beside the bed to secure himself to the bed board. This is one of the training he received before setting off, a way to deal with rough sea conditions at sea to avoid being injured in the violent hull turbulence. When he was in Sanya, he rarely went to sea, and he had never encountered such bad weather. He was panicked and panicked. He even had a trace of regret in his heart that he gave up the comfortable life in Sanya and insisted on coming to the unpredictable South China Sea. What kind of official do you want to be? If the body was stuck on the sea due to strong winds and waves, it is estimated that even the bones would not be found afterwards. After the memorial service in Sanya, they would probably only be able to set up a tomb.
Tan Juren was thinking wildly while enduring the discomfort caused by violent turbulence. He rarely went to sea, and he really had no ability to adapt to such a level of wind and waves. His stomach was already churning, and it all depended on his will. Hold on without vomiting.
The situation on the ship carrying immigrants was much worse than that on Tan Juren's side. The living quarters of the immigrant ship were on the second and third decks, and they were already filled with the disgusting smell of vomit. Han Zhengshan was responsible for his duties, but he could not lie quietly in the cabin and wait for the storm to pass like his superiors. He was also in the lower cabin at this time, trying to calm the emotions of the immigrants. He was not a person who often went to sea, but after traveling all the way from Zhejiang and traveling thousands of miles, he had gradually adapted to the living environment at sea, which was at least much better than most of the immigrants on this ship.
This sudden storm lasted for a whole day before it gradually subsided. During this period, Tan Juren, who was completely unable to eat due to the strong discomfort, felt that half of his life had been lost. Although the storm had calmed down, his overall condition remained the same. He was in a dizzy state, and it was a little difficult to even get off the ground and walk.
And most of the people in the entire fleet are in no better condition than Tan Juren. Except for those old sailors who have been at sea with wind and waves all year round, how can ordinary people withstand such a day of bumps and toss, and can only lie down? Take a breath and slowly regain your physical condition.
The whole day's storm had an impact on the fleet more than just the physical condition of the passengers. The fleet slowly shrunk the formation that had been dispersed by the storm back together, and at the same time, each ship immediately began to count the damage. The sails on some ships were inevitably damaged to varying degrees in this storm, and the damage to several ships could not be solved by minor repairs on the way. They had to wait until the next stop to stop and replace them. Damaged sails on the ship. Fortunately, the damage to most ships was concentrated on the sail ropes on the deck, and there were no major problems with the hull. However, the wind and waves were strong, and the cabins on the ship were inevitably flooded. As a result, some of the cargo was thrown into the water and had to be moved to the deck to dry.
However, human losses were inevitable, and a total of seven people were missing during the storm. The so-called missing actually means that they fell into the sea and could not be found, and without exception, these seven people were all sailors on the ship. They died while persisting in working on the deck during the storm. In addition, there were dozens of injured people who were accidentally injured due to various reasons, but basically there was no danger to their lives. As for the seemingly most helpless passengers on the ship, because they were enclosed in the cabin throughout the storm, there were no casualties.
Unfortunately, the ship Han Zhengshan was on lost two sailors. When he came to the cockpit, he saw that the captain Ding Xu's face was also very ugly. Han Zhengshan could only say a few indifferent words to comfort Ding Xu first. . "Counting the two brothers who were involved in the accident this time, my ship has lost seven people in the South China Sea!" Ding Xu gritted his teeth so hard that his eyes almost squeezed out of his sockets: "This trip back, there will be more The two families are orphaned and widowed!”
Although Ding Xu is very unwilling, no one can cope with this kind of natural disaster. Of course, the sailors missing in the storm will eventually be classified as killed in the line of duty, and their families will also receive pensions from the shipping department. But such personal losses are What everyone on the ship didn't want to see.
Several immigrant ships and cargo ships drifted several nautical miles away in the storm. Fortunately, each ship was equipped with fireworks flares. After a lot of time, they were finally found and returned to the team. But as a result, the speed of the entire fleet was severely slowed down by the damaged ships, and they could only maintain an average speed of three to four knots and move forward slowly.
So it took the fleet two more days on top of the original voyage time before finally reaching the waters of the Ambrosia Islands. Fortunately, the fleet brought sufficient supplies during this trip. Although it was delayed for two days, there was no crisis in terms of food and drinking water.
On the way, the fleet sent a message to the authorities of Ambona Island via radio so that the island could be prepared in advance to accommodate this large fleet to dock in the port. However, due to the storm encountered on the way, the sails on many ships were obviously damaged, so that when the fleet sailed into the port, it did look a little gray, which surprised the crowd on the dock.
The person currently in charge of the Ambrosia Islands is Mu Xiabai of the Army, and he has returned here after a long journey. In 1631, Mushabi garrisoned this place and led the defenders to defeat a Dutch fleet that tried to regain control. But later he was transferred back to Annan, and the place was successively handed over to Feng Annan and Roger. However, Roger was transferred south to Star Island Base the year before last, and the Ministry of National Defense transferred him back to his old place.
But Ambona Island is not a military-controlled area in the traditional sense. Since the year before last, it has been transformed into an entertainment paradise in the South China Sea. Various casinos and hotels have sprung up on the island. The wildlife area built by biologist Zhang Yun on the south side of the island has also begun to take shape and has become a must-see for tourists who come here.
Those who have the financial resources to visit this island in the hinterland of the South China Sea are either from wealthy families or are dignitaries from various countries, and everything on the island is prepared for these high-ranking officials who spend a lot of money. Although it is still in the stage of recovering costs, the Ministry of Commerce believes that the prospect of profitability can be expected - after all, the development plan of Ambona Island was formulated and implemented by Schneider himself, and no loss can be tolerated from any perspective.
Of course, the tourist facilities on the island alone are not enough to attract enough tourists. After all, entertainment venues such as casinos and brothels can be found in every country. People who have never been there will not find anything particularly strange, and the wild places on the island Although there are many rare birds and animals in the animal area, it is just a hunting ground. People who are not good at this will not go across the sea to hunt here.
But Schneider has his own trick. He holds a South China Sea Trade Fair on the island in the first half of every year, and arranges a meeting of the South China Sea Trade Alliance member states in the second half of the year. During this period, there are various small celebrations and trade talks held from time to time. Even cross-border military competitions and so on. The people who come to participate in the event are basically rich or noble. Just two large-scale events are enough to maintain the popularity and popularity of Ambon Island. Haihan is very proficient in the management of commercial institutions. All kinds of business methods from hundreds of years later are used here. According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce, the proportion of repeat visitors here is astonishingly high, especially those who come here every year. Almost everyone among the upper-class people attending large meetings had a bunch of membership cards at various commercial institutions on the island.
Tan Juren had naturally heard about the prosperity of Amborna Island before he came here. However, when he got off the ship, he was still a little dazzled by the scene in front of him, because the level of port infrastructure here seemed to be even higher. Higher than Sanya. Although the port area is not large, almost all the ground in the entire port area and the roads leading to nearby towns have been hardened, and the cement required for construction must be transported across the sea. Considering the limited transportation capacity, the cost of such construction One can imagine.
The various buildings that can be seen on the port are not as simple as the dusty blue brick houses in Sanya. The houses here obviously pay much more attention to the treatment of the exterior walls. They are either painted with paint or painted with paint. It is simply wrapped with cut stones or ceramic tiles, and the appearance of the building has obviously been carefully designed, full of various exotic styles and colorful colors.
"This place... is really..." Tan Juren could not think of a suitable adjective to express his views on the scene in front of him, but in terms of infrastructure level alone, this place was indeed the highest level he had seen on his trip south. . Tan Juren didn't know how much money the Haihan Ministry of Commerce had invested here to create the current environment, but it was obvious that a lot of effort had been spent. According to his previous understanding, this place is still in the first phase of construction. In other words, there will be at least several years of investment in development and construction in the future. This shows how much the Executive Committee and the Ministry of Commerce value this place. .
The island received a telegram notification from the fleet in advance, and a place has been set aside on the north side of the port area, where a large number of tents have been set up as a temporary residence for the fleet personnel. This is also thanks to the fact that there are various activities on the island every once in a while. The dignitaries who come here often have many entourages. Obviously, it is impossible for all of these people to follow the owner and stay in expensive hotels. Therefore, the island has also prepared a large number of Tents were provided for temporary accommodation by humble servants. Although thousands of people arrived in the fleet at once, and the tents were somewhat insufficient, at least some people could be diverted to live temporarily ashore instead of all being crowded on the ship.
(End of chapter)