When Zhu Cihong and Zheng Zhilong discussed how to engage in colonial aggression by deception, Fan . Dimon and Bruce. Fan. The Dutch colonialist mission of Dimenwei has returned to the Shanghai commercial port, which is under construction.

Unlike the last time I rushed by, this time Fan. The Dimen brothers have time to take a good look at it.

And the first target of the two of them was the Wusongsuo Fort and the Baoshan Fort located in the north of the Shanghai commercial port!

These are two fort-type forts under construction, which are located on both sides of the mouth of the Wusong River - the Ming Dynasty's Baoshan Station is located east of the Huangpu River, in the area of the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone in later generations. Across the river from Baoshan is the Wusong River, and the two places are the key points of coastal defense, and there are old forts.

However, Zhu Cihong didn't look down on the dilapidated old-fashioned forts, so he asked people to tear them down and build two really effective fortress forts. It is not a simple fortress built with sandbags, but a masonry fortress made of Yangtze River stone and red bricks as the main materials. Neither of the two bastions is very large, and both have only six protruding solid platforms. Each fortress has three platforms facing the Yangtze River and the Wusong River, and they are all very strong. There are also four gun emplacements on each platform facing the river where a 36-pounder cannon can be placed!

If both fortress batteries are equipped, they will have twenty-four thirty-six-pounder bronze cannons. It was enough to deal a fatal blow to any enemy who tried to come by water and invade the commercial port of Shanghai.

After seeing the construction is still being carried out slowly, it is estimated that there are not two forts that cannot be completed in one or two years, and the Dutch have entered the Shanghai commercial port along a bluestone road known as the "Bund Long Street".

The commercial port of Shanghai is divided into two towns, Pudong and Puxi, and Puxi Town is located at a bend in the Wusong River - this is not the most central area of Shanghai in later generations, but in the area of Jiangwan, Wujiaochang and Yangshupu. To the east is a bay road of the Wusong River (the lower reaches of the Huangpu River and the Suzhou Creek leading to Suzhou in this era are called the Wusong River), and to the west is a 25-mile-long straight masonry wall separating the commercial port of Shanghai from Jiading County, Suzhou Prefecture. The area within the city wall is not small, about 50 square kilometers, half of which was originally the military field belonging to Wu Song, the remaining half was the official land under the jurisdiction of Shanghai County, and the rest was private land.

Both Juntian and Guantian were allocated to a yamen called the Shanghai Trade Bureau, while Mintian was purchased by Wang Zhixin at a high price and placed under the name of a company called Huangpu Commercial Bank, the major shareholder of which was of course Zhu Cihong himself.

At present, most of Puxi Town is still farmland - there are about 50 square kilometers, all of which are high-quality paddy fields, and they can't be opened all of a sudden, so of course they have to continue farming.

And the first batch of "prime locations" to be opened is, of course, the land under the name of Huangpu Commercial Bank. This place is a prime location in Shanghai in the future!

The planning of the first phase of the commercial port was made by Zhu Cihong himself, preparing to build four horizontal, four vertical and eight main streets, and a large passenger and cargo terminal on the land of the Huangpu Commercial Bank.

Of course, a large passenger and cargo wharf was built along the Wusong River, and the wharf was built very long, with a total of sixteen berths, which could dock sixteen of the largest sailing ships of this era at the same time. Because of the sixteen berths, the name of the pier is called "Sixteen Shops".

The four "horizontal streets", all from the east to the sixteen shops, west to the four gates of the commercial port city wall - in order to facilitate the entry and exit of goods, a total of eighteen city gates have been opened on the commercial port city wall, but only four are currently in use. The four main streets all run east-west, from north to south, and are called "Beijing Street", "Ningbo Street", "Tianjin Street" and "Nanjing Street" respectively. The four longitudinal streets intersect with the horizontal streets, all of which run north-south, from east to west, and are respectively "Bund Street", "Sichuan Street", "Henan Street" and "Chengdu Street".

How well did Eight Main Street come up with a name? It's a prime location!

However, now these eight "golden streets" are empty, and on both sides of the bluestone paved streets, there are basically rice fields and vegetable gardens, and only the section on the Bund Long Street near the 16-shop wharf is a little marketable.

Along the west side of the Bund Long Street, many Chinese and Western-style houses have been built, and many construction sites are under construction.

Among the buildings that have been built is a two-storey inn with a hint of Manueline style (a Portuguese architectural style) called the Hotel Cofloe. It was opened by a Western businessman who moved from Ho O, because the current Shanghai commercial port has not really risen, so the business of the hotel is not very good. Fan. Dimon's mission simply chartered an entire hotel as a base for them to settle on Chinese soil.

Standing on the balcony of a large guest room facing the Wusong River in the hotel, Fan. Dimon and his brother Bruce noticed the shipyards and ironworks on the other side of the Wusong River.

Unlike Puxi Town, which is cold here, the industrial zone in Pudong Town, although it covers a limited area, only encloses a small piece of military land that originally belonged to Baoshan, that is, a narrow stretch of land along the Wusong River. But there are two shipyards, and two iron works have been partially built and are in the process of construction. From a distance, you can see the bustling scene there.

Fan. Dimon raised his binoculars and watched for a while, and now in the two shipyards, several slipways were already in use, huge keels were laid, and many workers were busy.

It is clear that the construction of large ships capable of ocean voyages is being started, and warships are not excluded!

In addition, Fan. Diemen also has Europeans on two of the slipways.

It seems that the shipyards on the other side of the river have introduced European shipbuilding technology...... This is a real concern!

In total, the present East India Company had less than forty warships - the East India Company was, after all, a commercial company, and it was impossible to invest too much in military ...... If the Great Tomorrow Dynasty starts investing heavily in the navy, it may not be long before it can build a fleet that can compete with the East India Company Navy in the open ocean!

Thinking of this, Fan. Dimon's eyebrows tangled.

"Your Excellency the Governor, the four factories you saw belong to Mr. López and Mr. Shen respectively...... "The owner of the Coflo Hotel, a Portuguese merchant who was a little older and a little short and stocky, was invited to Fan. In the large guest room where Di men lived, he introduced the factory on the other side of the Wusong River to the latter in stiff French.

"It's Alfonso of Macau. Lopez? "Fan. Dimon asked.

Alfonso. López is also the number one person among the Westerners in the East, a big arms dealer who dares to sell anything when he sees money! Fan. Dimon not only knew him, but he was also familiar with him. However, the relationship between the two sides is not good, because López is Portuguese, and Portugal and the Netherlands have made several big moves in the Indian and South Oceans in order to compete for the eastern colonies!

"Yes." Coflall also disliked the governor of the Dutch East India Company in front of him, but in order to earn money. Dimon had a guilty pocket full of money, but he answered the question truthfully.

"Who is Mr. Shen?" Fan. Dimon asked again.

"He was China's minister of Beiyang and a wealthy maritime merchant...... He is the owner of the Haisha Company. ”

"Haisha Company?" Fan. Dimon didn't understand, "Selling sand? ”

His younger brother Bruce, who was more familiar with the situation in East Asia than he was, said with a smile: "It is not a sand seller, but a merchant who is active on the routes between China and North Korea...... His position on the North China coast and the North Korean coast was comparable to that of Zheng Zhilong. ”

"Oh." Fan. Dimon nodded, then motioned for Coflo to leave his large room.

After the Portuguese merchant left, Van . Di Mencai said to his younger brother: "Without the consent of this Mr. Shen, can our people enter the North Korean port?" ”

"Into North Korea?" Bruce was stunned, "It doesn't depend on Mr. Shen. ”

"Then who has the final say?"

Bruce. Fan. "It depends on the king of Joseon...... This country, like the Ming Dynasty and Japan, pursues a closed country. Because Joseon used to be a vassal of the Ming Dynasty, it was open to Ming merchants. ”

"In the past, he was a vassal of the Ming Dynasty? Not anymore? ”

"No," said Bruce, "now the Kingdom of Korea is a vassal to the Tatars who occupy northern China. ”