The Fuyuan, which is a full circle larger than the Zhenman, is more majestic, and it is undoubtedly the first giant ship in today's East Asian Ocean.

The fleet, which was heading up from the lower reaches of the Pearl River, went on a rampage, and ships along the way got out of the way. As for Yu Sibao and his group, they all jumped and screamed on the barge, and also sounded the whistle, trying to attract the attention of the big ship.

It's a pity that people don't pay attention to the civilian ships at all, and go straight all the way, the huge blue and gold hull and the barge pass by, and swagger to the Whampoa Military Port upstream.

Even so, as official officials of the Empire, the people on the barge were still excited. Everyone is now eating Cao Dashuai's meal, and naturally hopes that Cao Dashuai's military strength is thriving.

After the landlord's house was bombed in Shanghai, the Zhenman returned to Taiwan for repairs, and then was transferred to Guangzhou. The fleet with the Zhenman as the core began to kill people in the Pearl River estuary and in the waters of Hong Kong and Macao, exterminated many scattered pirates and private businessmen who broke through the customs, and announced the establishment of a new order off the coast of Guangzhou.

This series of actions is mainly aimed at the Portuguese in Macau. Because frigates are enough to fight scattered pirates, and the giant beast of the Zhenban is ready to take the Portuguese at any time.

It's a pity that the Portuguese were not fooled.

Such a professional warship of more than 1,000 tons is available in European countries on their own soil. But East Asia is a place of trade, and no one would be stupid enough to sail such ships, and everyone used armed merchant ships with high cargo capacity, and the Portuguese could not send armed merchant ships of much smaller tonnage to fight their opponents.

Besides, the Portuguese also knew a lot about the number of warships of all types hoarded on the Taijiang River and the real military potential of the Traversal. They knew that even if they won this wave, it would be equivalent to stabbing a hornet's nest, and there was also the possibility of being attacked by land, so the red hair chose to shrink his head.

Although there was no confrontation, the red-haired people were still scared enough these days - dozens of powerful 24-pounder guns smashed a small boat to pieces in front of their house from time to time, which was a naked display of muscles and provocation, and everyone who saw it naturally understood.

But the red hair can't help it, and now he can only endure it. After all, they are outsiders, and in the face of the powerful "Ming" navy that suddenly appeared, is it possible to go to Guangzhou City to complain?

The Ming officialdom in the city of Guangzhou, but there have always been voices calling for the expulsion of Franco. If things get big now, no matter what the outcome is, no one will say good things for the red hair.

As a result, in the past few months, a new order in the sea off Guangzhou, which was commanded by the Zhenman, was established in this way.

Nowadays, all ships departing from the sea of Guangzhou have to report their water at the customs under Cao Dashuai, and accept the temporary inspection of the "official army" patrol ships. Those who do not obey will be fed into the sea to feed the fish.

In the process, the pattern of pumping in the open sea, which had previously been controlled by both pirates and the Portuguese, was wiped out overnight, and all trading ships had to carry designated merchants on designated routes.

Like the Ming people who used to be very common in the past, they took a boat to Manila to beg for a living, but now it is not allowed. All ships carrying migrants from the coast of Guangdong to the South Seas will be forcibly transferred to Taiwan. In addition, the raw materials of metals, including gold, silver, copper, iron, and mercury demanded by the colonists of the South Seas, are now under control.

The noose has been slowly tightened.

The reason why Macao has not yet been taken is because the procedures in the capital have not been completed, and the emperor has not yet nodded; The second is because Wang Zunde, the governor of Liangguang, is still in office, and the traversers can't let go of themselves here for the time being, so they have maintained such a confrontation situation now.

However, with the passage of time, the situation is developing in the direction of the original plan - Wang Zunde was seriously ill in early June this year, and by the middle of this time, he could no longer get out of bed, and he was about to die.

The people who got the news urgently notified Xiong Wencan in Fuzhou, and at the same time notified the intelligence departments in Beijing and Tianjin, including Xiong Wencan and Cao Dashuai's excerpt room in the capital, and asked all departments to make arrangements in advance, and be sure to make an order to appoint Xiong Wencan as the governor of Liangguang after the news of Wang Zunde's illness and death arrived in the capital.

At the same time, the battleship Fuyuan, which had just finished sea trials, also received an order: go to Guangzhou to replace the Zhenman and come back for repairs.

The above is the background of the Fuyuan coming to Huangpu Port today. Among them, it not only involves the Portuguese in Macao, but also involves the officialdom of Guangdong and the capital, and the internal reasons are more complicated.

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Although the 1,400-ton Fuyuan was huge, it was just a small boat for the Pearl River in the 17th century – in later generations, even in a much narrower channel, a 3,000-ton inland river ship could go directly to Zhaoqing.

Therefore, the Fuyuan is unimpeded, and you only need to pay attention to the reefs and sandbars that have not yet had time to be cleared, and you can directly reach the Huangpu Military Port.

Huangpu Port is at the turning point on the east bank of the Pearl River, and it is still 40 miles away from the city of Guangzhou. Since Mr. Cao took out the surrounding pirates in November last year, Huangpu Port has entered the construction stage. Now, seven months later, it has become an important military base for strangling the outskirts of Guangzhou.

Huangpu Port is not open to civilian ships, and in peacetime, except for warships, it is a battalion of soldiers stationed in the port area.

The identities of the soldiers in this battalion are changing at any time. Sometimes it's a poor local guy who is openly recruited, sometimes it's a battalion of soldiers with primary training, and of course, when needed, a battalion of elite troops from the empire will pop up in the closed Whampoa military port...... Maybe two battalions and three battalions may not be possible.

When the Fuyuan slowly leaned against the No. 1 pier of Huangpu Port, Mu Longcheng, who was wearing a white rear admiral uniform, disembarked with several officers and came to the trestle.

He was greeted by Ding Liqiu, the mayor of the Guangzhou Special Economic Zone.

After seeing Ding Liqiu, Mu Longcheng was a little surprised, and hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands: "Oh, this is amazing, Lao Ding, why did you come in person, Lao Mu, I am flattered!" @”

"Less." Ding Liqiu scolded with a smile: "I am still the director of Huangpu Port, so I can't come to see it from time to time?" ”

"That's a good relationship, let's have a few drinks today."

"It's hot, just beer, I'll be fine with two less drinks."

After that, the two set up tables and chairs on the roof of the small red brick building of the port authority, and drank home-brewed beer.

After two rounds of drinking, Ding Liqiu slowly explained the military threat facing the Guangzhou Special Administrative Region at present -- he is the head of the Guangzhou Special Administrative Region who has every opportunity, so naturally he will not come to pick up the ship without nothing.

The plot of land in the Special Economic Zone located in the later Guangdong South Railway Station on the map is currently working on infrastructure construction.

To engage in construction, first of all, you need cement, bricks, and steel bars. In addition, the special zone plot is only planned for administrative areas and commercial and residential areas, but not for industrial zones, because the planned industrial zones will not be crowded with administrative districts, but will be scattered in places with resources.

For example, steel mills will be located near areas with iron ore in northern Guangdong, and cement brick factories will also be located in areas rich in limestone resources.

Generally speaking, since Guangdong will be regarded as the base camp of the Crossing Congregation for a period of time in the future, then both the industrial and commercial layout must be in accordance with the scientific plan, focusing on the whole province, and can no longer squeeze everything together like Tainan.

In this way, Ding Liqiu faced a problem: banditry.

The Pearl River Delta has a developed water system and rivers everywhere, and in this time period at the end of the Ming Dynasty, it is no exaggeration to say: bandits everywhere.

The so-called bandits are just a general term, and there are many kinds of them: water bandits everywhere, mountain bandits in mountainous areas, Xu people who live in no fixed place, boat gangs who are half merchants and half bandits, and private soldiers who set up cards to pump water...... And so on and so forth.

In short, if the people want to set up factories and enterprises in various parts of Guangdong, and want to circulate businesses in various places, the urgent problem they are facing at present is to suppress bandits.

Compared with this incident, in fact, the Portuguese in Macao are not so serious, because if they really want to do it, the Portuguese will probably not last more than three days in the hands of the crossing people. And the dense waterways in Guangdong, as well as the various bandits hidden in them, cannot be done in three days.

Therefore, Ding Liqiu, who is currently actually presiding over the planning work of the whole province, specially came to the station today for the purpose of communicating with military personnel to see what countermeasures there are.

Mu Longcheng was not surprised when he heard this: "Lao Ding, I have also read the staff report before about the situation you said, but the topic you gave is too big, and we can't handle it." ”

Speaking of this, Mu Longcheng took a sip of wine from his cup: "If you say that you are making a small fuss around here, then I have no problem, and I will be a soldier." But if you want to engage in the whole province, or take a step back from the main road to crack down on bandits, then you will have to go to a cabinet meeting. ”

Mu Longcheng stretched out three fingers at this time and counted them: "First of all, two or three regular battalions must be required, and a large number of auxiliary troops must cooperate, including local troops who are familiar with the situation, which is equivalent to a large-scale mobilization, and we and Guangdong officialdom must move." ”

"Secondly, a large number of shallow draft vessels on inland rivers are a must, and all types of vessels must be available."

"Moreover, the unmanned aerial system, the special combat team also has to be mobilized. Don't underestimate these bandits hiding in rivers and reeds, without strong reconnaissance methods, our ordinary soldiers will suffer. ”

"With so many resources to be mobilized, it is necessary to go to the meeting."

Mu Longcheng leaned back in his chair at this time and said with a smile: "The banditry in the Pearl River Delta is very complicated, and we have never experienced this situation before. Therefore, I personally suggest that this matter should not be rushed, first apply for an elite small unit to come over, and practice around Huangpu first to sum up experience. When the time is ripe and the cabinet invests all the resources, let's make a big deal. ”

Ding Liqiu thought about it for a while after listening, and finally nodded in agreement with Mu Longcheng's opinion: "Well, it makes sense, step by step." In that case, when I go back today, I will send a telegram to apply, and when the people and equipment are coming, you just keep an eye on it and worry more. ”

"Well, anyway, I've been in Guangzhou recently, so it's no problem."

In a few words, the two of them made a plan.

Reading is exciting, reading is wonderful!

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