Chapter 3437
Li Dechang was not an eyewitness of that era, and most of what he could tell Qian Shaobao at the moment was just a recount of the experiences his father Li Dagui had told.
However, Li Dechang was not a pedantic nerd. He quickly changed the topic to his professional field and told Qian Shaobao about the changes in the design of the immigration ship and the maturation and improvement process of the South China Sea route in the past twenty years.
Most of the early immigration ships were ordinary Fuzhou and Guangzhou ships, which were usually used to haul cargo. There were no special designs on board for transporting immigrants over long distances. They just packed people into the dark cabins without thinking about it. Ventilation, lighting, sanitation, rest, etc. are required, and a high mortality rate during transportation is unavoidable.
Today, the heavy-duty sailing ships of these large shipping companies were born in response to the needs of the times. When designing, they considered that in addition to transporting goods, they would also need to transport large numbers of people over long distances, such as transporting large numbers of immigrants to overseas colonies, or in It was used temporarily as a troop transport ship for the army during wartime.
Therefore, there are more settings on the ship that can be temporarily changed according to actual transportation tasks, such as multi-level bunks that can be installed in the cabin for the crew to rest. Although the narrow multi-storey bunks are nicknamed by immigrants as "coffins that cannot be turned over," they are better than being crowded with people and not even having a place to lie down.
There is also an active ventilation device composed of multiple ventilation pipes leading from the deck to the cabin, as well as a replaceable grille deck, which can ensure the air quality and lighting in the cabin, greatly reducing the risk of suffocation of immigrants due to suffocation. Accident in the cabin.
Qian Shaobao nodded repeatedly and said, "I never expected that Brother Li, who is in the Ministry of Security, would have such attainments in shipbuilding technology."
Li Dechang said: "When the Ministry of Safety designed its own official ships, it specially transferred the design drawings of various civilian ships from the Maritime Transport Department of the Ministry of Transport for reference. I happened to be fortunate enough to participate in them, so I know a little bit about them."
Qian Shaobao took advantage of the situation and asked: "Since Brother Li understands shipbuilding technology, what does Brother Li think of the ships we saw when we visited the shipyard earlier?"
Li Dechang knew that Qian Shaobao was concerned about the warships ordered by the Special Warfare Division at the Cam Ranh Port Shipyard, and responded calmly: "As far as we have seen before, those ships are relatively mature models, whether they are built, delivered, or installed. , should be able to compress the required time to the shortest time.”
Li Dechang spoke more reservedly, but Qian Shaobao understood it clearly. The warships built by the Cam Ranh Port Shipyard for the special warfare division are actually older models. The reason may be to save money, or as he said, to grab time. The correct answer will probably not be known until he meets Qian Tiandun in Phuket.
The two lingered in Cam Ranh Port for three days. Feeling that their physical condition had fully recovered, they boarded an official ship arranged by Qiu Zhiguo for them and set off south to Star Island.
When they set off, the damaged immigrant ships of Zhan's Ship Company were almost repaired. However, due to a delay of several days on the way, the immigration ship needed to replenish a batch of supplies before setting off. In addition, the speed was relatively slow, so it was expected to arrive at Star Island a few days later than the official ship they were traveling on.
Going south from Cam Ranh Port, you will pass near Amborna Island on the way. However, both of them were in a hurry to get to Star Island and gave up their plan to visit the island on the way.
Li Dechang visited Amborna Island several times when he was a boy, and he took this opportunity to introduce the legendary history of this island to Qian Shaobao.
The coast originally captured Amborna Island from the Netherlands in order to have a bridgehead at the southern end of the South China Sea. However, after later occupying the Star Island closer to the Strait of Malacca, Amborna Island gradually lost its role as a bridgehead and was then It was transformed into a gold-selling cave in the South China Sea, allowing people from all over the world to visit the island without restrictions.
To this day, the annual meeting of the South China Sea Trade Alliance, which was founded by Haihan more than 20 years ago, is still held on Amborna Island. When disputes arise between countries in the South China Sea, they often choose to hold mediation and negotiation activities on Amborna Island. Li Dechang's father, Li Dagui, made great achievements as a spy lurking on Amborna Island, and he made a fortune from there. Therefore, for the Li family, Ambona Island can be regarded as the family's feng shui treasure.
Entering the waters of Ambona Island means that they have arrived under the jurisdiction of the Star Island Region.
The current area under the jurisdiction of the Sing Tao Region includes Amborna Island in the north, Java Island in the south, from the northern tip of Sumatra Island in the west, to the Makassar Strait between Borneo and Sulawesi Island in the east. It is also the current geographical dividing line between the Luzon Region and the Sing Tao Region.
After another two days, they could already see the coastline of the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula from the deck.
"We will arrive at Star Island before sunset today!"
Although Li Dechang had not been back for a long time, when he arrived in this familiar sea area, he could naturally know how much distance was left, and he could roughly estimate the time required based on the current speed.
Qian Shaobao was also very excited. Although this was not his final destination yet, it was already a brand new world for him.
In the past, the distant frontiers that could only be learned about in books and documents were finally about to appear before our eyes.
In relevant records, the image of Star Island is not glamorous, and many descriptions are closer to describing it as a wilderness area.
Because at the beginning of Haihan's occupation, the main forces engaged in development and construction were the army stationed here, exiled criminals, prisoners of war, and slaves trafficked here from all over the world.
To this day, the population composition of Xingdao is still very complex, and the proportion of Han people in it is still the lowest among all overseas regions, and is even far lower than that of the North American region, which is even further away from the mainland of Haihan.
Although Sing Tao officials have stepped up domestic publicity in recent years in order to introduce more Han immigrants from the country, in the minds of most Chinese people, Sing Tao is still a border area and has little to do with prosperity and stability.
Although Qian Shaobao has no such prejudice, in his imagination, there should still be a relatively large gap between the construction level of Xingdao and that of China.
But when the official ship they were traveling on arrived at Xingdao Port, Qian Shaobao was still surprised by the level of infrastructure at the port. The scale of port construction here is much larger than that of Victory Port, and advanced port facilities such as large cranes, freight trains, and bulk cargo conveyor belts are also available.
Qian Shaobao couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that the cargo throughput of Xingdao Port is not small!"
Li Dechang responded: "I haven't been back for just a few years. I didn't expect that the port here would be much bigger. Lord Roger had previously said that Star Island would replace the trade status of Malacca Port and Batavia Port. It seems that it is still possible. You’re really not bragging!”