Chapter 3556
Although Roger did not expect to encounter powerful enemies during the exploration of the unowned continent in the south, he was still not completely reassured by the brothers who were commanding such a large operation for the first time. After repeated warnings, he let them go back to rest. Say a good goodbye to your family.
After all, the mission they have to perform this time is not an errand that can be returned in ten and a half days.
The voyage from Star Island to the Unowned Continent is quite long, almost equivalent to the distance between Star Island and the Pearl River Estuary, and the one-way trip takes about half a month.
Moreover, in addition to exploring the shipping route, the fleet also needed to build ports and colonial settlements in the area to establish Haihan's dominance over the area.
Regarding this point, the biggest competitor of the expedition fleet is not the Western colonists, but another fleet belonging to the Luzon region. If nothing unexpected happens, the expedition fleet of the Luzon Region will also set off at the same time and head south to the Borderless Continent to perform similar exploration missions.
Whoever settles in the Continent first will be likely to get more support from the Executive Committee and have the opportunity to lead the development of the Continent in the future.
Therefore, the two regions, Xingdao and Luzon, are extremely enthusiastic about this matter. They have invested a lot of money and manpower to form a large-scale expedition fleet, preparing to seize the first prize.
In terms of straight-line distance alone, the Luzon Region is about one-third closer than the Singdao Region, but Roger believes that this will not give the Luzon Region much advantage, because in the Luzon Region Separated from the Unclaimed Continent are the Banda Sea and the Timor Sea, which are still controlled by the Spanish.
If the Luzon Region wants to establish a safe and stable route between its existing sphere of influence and the Unowned Continent, it will have to fight with the Spaniards again.
Although Star Island is slightly farther away, there are no areas controlled by hostile forces on the way, so establishing a route should be much less difficult than that of competitors.
The departure of the expedition fleet is a major event for the entire Star Island. The scale of this fleet far exceeds the armed fleet organized when attacking the northern end of Malacca. In just over 20 years since the establishment of the Sing Tao Region, its scale has become second to none.
To ensure nothing went wrong, Roger arranged for more than thirty warships to serve as the main force of the fleet, as well as more than a dozen troop transport ships carrying more than 2,000 immigrants, and dozens of heavy-duty cargo ships carrying a large amount of supplies.
There are also more than ten merchant ships that voluntarily travel with the fleet, and they are basically from the relatively powerful major merchant shipping companies in Xingdao.
Once Star Island opens a new colonial area and port in the local area, these merchants who are the first to enter the area will be able to seize the opportunity and occupy the local market for the first time, and the returns in the future will be considerable.
After the two brothers Luo Shenghuai and Luo Shengding said goodbye to Roger, Tan Juren and other officials at the port, they boarded the ship and ordered to set off.
Nearly ten thousand people came to see each other off at the port, waving goodbye to their relatives on the ship.
Most people, including the crew, did not actually know the destination of the expedition. From the previous preparations and the composition of the fleet, they could infer that the destination must be very far away from Star Island.
After the fleet left the port one after another, it headed south.
According to the scheduled plan, the first leg of the fleet's voyage was to sail along the east coast of Sumatra Island to the Sunda Strait. This nearly 2,000-mile voyage is expected to take four days, during which it will also pass through Bangka Island, which is controlled by Star Island. Although the local population is not large, it is one of Haihan's main tin mining areas in the South China Sea.
At the same time, Bangka Island also has rubber, pepper and other tropical specialties. These products can create considerable financial revenue for the Star Island authorities every year.
Six hundred miles south from Bangka Island, we arrive at the Sunda Strait, one of the most important maritime gateways in the South China Sea.
This strait, which is only forty miles at its narrowest point, is one of the two main passages between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Needless to say, the other channel is the Strait of Malacca, which has been held in the palm of Haihan's hands.
The Dutch stronghold in the South China Sea, Batavia City, is not far from the east side of the Sunda Strait. Therefore, for more than half a century, the Sunda Strait has been under the control of the Dutch East India Company.
It was precisely with the help of the important geographical location of the Sunda Strait that the Dutch developed the city of Batavia into one of the most important trading ports in the South China Sea in just a few decades.
Of course, Batavia City's trade status is no longer what it used to be, and its status as a regional trade center has long been replaced by Star Island, which came from behind.
In order to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, before the fleet set off, Roger had already sent a telegram to the Singdao office in Batavia to inform the Dutch that a large Haihan fleet would sail south through the Sunda Strait in the near future.
However, even the civilian ships that were not notified in advance, after encountering this huge fleet flying the Hainan and Han flags in the Sunda Strait, they all wisely sailed to the coastal waters to give way to the waterway.
On the seventh day after departure, the expedition fleet rounded the westernmost promontory of Java Island. This also means that the fleet has left the Sunda Strait and entered the second stage of the entire voyage.
The end point of this journey is the western coastline of the Unowned Continent. However, during the four-thousand-mile journey between the starting point and the end, there were almost no human settlements or islands for supply. It was all the endless sea.
This is also the most unpredictable part of the entire trip. During this period, how to confirm the correct course and avoid sea storms is a big test for the expedition fleet.
Fortunately, Roger prepared detailed charts and route plans for the fleet in advance, and the experienced navigator kept correcting the course. After ten days, the lookout on the flagship mast finally saw the mainland coastline through the telescope. .
The news quickly spread through the entire fleet through flags, cheering up the people who had been drifting at sea for more than half a month. Now that the coastline has appeared in front, it means that the destination is not far away.
When the fleet arrived at the coast, the two brothers Luo Sheng, Huai Luo and Sheng Ding were the first to set foot on a strange continent. After comparing the map and confirming that the location where they landed was a promontory on the west coast of the mainland, the brothers decided to name the place "Star Cape" as a commemorative symbol of the Star Island Expedition Fleet's arrival here.
However, after the initial excitement of the people who landed later, they soon discovered that the environment here was not at all like the "paradise" claimed by the immigration officer on the way. Everything they could see was brown-red sand, with only some sparse vegetation. Low shrubs.
Someone bent down to check the quality of the soil under their feet. These dry soils seemed to have nothing to do with the word "fertile", and no big rivers could be seen at all.
Although the sea next to it can also provide endless food, if the soil here is not suitable for growing food crops, it will not be considered a livable place for immigrants anyway.