Chapter 358 Development Plan

After listening to Li Hanzhi's statement, Lin Xiao frowned tightly and was silent for a long time.

Lin Xiao didn't have much of an opinion on the reduction of the size of the military port, as long as he could ensure that his First Fleet was stationed.

After all, except for the need to build a special supply dock for the only 10,000-ton giant ship "Longsheng", the rest of the warships did not need special treatment, and it was enough to build two wooden trestles for barge dinghys to dock.

At present, in addition to the first machine-powered battleship "Qinzhou" in his hands, there are only four Franco-powered sail warships that have just been captured not long ago.

Even with the addition of two other "Qinzhou-class" ships that had just been launched at the Qinzhou and Haiphong shipyards, his fleet consisted of only eight large warships.

What's more, the "Unicorn" that is temporarily far away in Annan, Lin Xiao does not plan to allocate it to the First Fleet.

He hoped that the "Unicorn" would go directly to Temasek as the lead ship of the Nanyang Fleet to strengthen Temasek's maritime power and monitor the Strait of Malacca after completing the mission of Annam under Xiao Kaifeng.

In this way, based on the addition of two sailor squadrons to each battleship, the total number of sailors who really belong to the First Fleet is less than 1,000, and even if sailors and ground crews are added, the scale will not exceed 2,000 for the time being.

On the other hand, in the short term, his sailors do not have many families for the time being, and the pressure on the construction of the family reclamation area is not very great.

And the Chen Qice Naval Division, which mainly consisted of hundreds of small warships, in Lin Xiao's plan, the main function in the future is to focus on coastal patrols, and it is completely possible to still use Shangchuan Island as a base.

It's just that in terms of industry, Lin Xiao always believes that at least one medium-sized shipyard project should be retained.

Even if it is not possible to build large warships here for the time being, it is still quite attractive for the captives to be able to use wood and manpower nearby, to quickly repair damaged warships, and to build some offshore transport ships by the way.

In addition, after the completion of the civil port, the shipyard itself can also provide ship repair services for past merchant ships, which has a certain self-hematopoietic ability, and is not completely a big gold absorber.

Originally, Lin Xiao also planned to build a food processing factory here, but now it seems that due to the serious shortage of water, it can only be temporarily canceled.

Lin Xiao felt that even so, it would be more appropriate for the new marine fish canning factory to be located in Guangzhou.

Of course, this matter has to wait for the recovery of Taiwan, and then go back to Qinzhou to discuss with Nangong Qiang and Yu Gui.

……

After thinking about it for a long time, Lin Xiao finally spoke.

It's just that his first question seems to be a bit out of bounds:

"Now, how many people do you have on the island?"

Total ...... There are more than three thousand three hundred,"

Li Hanzhi didn't know whether Lin Xiao was referring to the troops or migrant workers, so he hesitated for a moment and replied with a smile, "However, there are two thousand prisoners among them, and seven hundred are migrant workers sent by the shopkeeper He......

"Oh, so the total strength is only six hundred?"

"Yes,"

Li Hanzhi nodded and replied, "Three hundred infantry, three hundred sailors." ”

His baggage battalion, with a total of only 600 men, left half of it in Qinzhou this time, so this time he only brought two infantry companies and a machine gun platoon.

Since the "Longsheng" was loaded with a lot of grain, cement, and steel this time, it could not fit too many personnel, so the 1,000 sailors newly trained in the Qisha Fort camp only brought 300 people this time, and the other 700 people will be transported in batches.

"These forces are enough in the initial stage,"

Seeing that Lin Xiao didn't answer, Li Hanzhi continued, "In addition, Xia Bomin left me, the independent battalion that escorted the prisoners over is in Kowloon, and it can be stationed on the island at any time. ”

"Hmm...... I brought you more than a thousand craftsmen,"

Lin Xiao nodded, "In addition, Duan Zhenghong's engineer battalion is also under your control for the time being...... With the addition of this group of people, can the civil port in the north be built? ”

"This ...... There's no material,"

Li Hanzhi smiled bitterly and shook his head, "The stone and wood sent by Jack Li are all piled up in Shek Pai Wan......

"Oh...... Then let them build the road first,"

Lin Xiao paused, turned his head to deal with Xinrui and said, "Send someone to inform Jack Li tomorrow, and the next batch will begin, and the materials will be shipped to Guanfu first." ”

"Yes."

……

After resting for the night, Lin Xiao and others led the fleet to leave the Macao anchorage, pass through Lingdingyang, and enter Seac Pai Wan the next morning.

As soon as he entered the bay, Lin Xiao saw that not far from the sea, a large number of buildings had been built on a flat open space.

In less than a month, the construction of the Seac Pai Van base has been rapidly underway, and in addition to the barracks, several military warehouses have been built, as well as a naval improvised dock.

Such a fast speed is mainly due to Lin Xiao's pre-arranged procurement of a large number of building materials, and in terms of manpower, in addition to the effective help of the old shopkeeper He, the two thousand captives have also greatly enriched the labor team.

After going ashore, accompanied by Li Hanzhi, Lin Xiao and his entourage took a turn around the neighborhood and inspected the terrain on the spot.

Back at the base headquarters in the barracks area, Lin Xiao looked at the wall that was still damp, and asked about the infantry's garrison point.

"In addition to the base,"

Li Hanzhi took out the map and pointed to it, "Several outposts covering the entrances and exits of waterways around Hong Kong have also been completed......

Following Li Hanzhi's fingers, Lin Xiao saw that Li Hanzhi's land defense deployment was still relatively thoughtful.

His men had set up several outposts at Fanguitang, Shek Tsui Kok, Lei Yue Mun, and other places, and planned to establish more garrisons in the southern part of the island and Lantau Island.

"So, the weak point at the moment is mainly in the northern part of the island, far from the fleet......"

Li Hanzhi paused and continued, "I plan to first build forts at Longhu Mountain in the North Point and the West Ring Road to form the initial two support points in the east and west...... They were then connected by concrete roads so that troops could maneuver along the roads. ”

"Well, when the materials arrive, we can build some settlements along this road in the Central area, and then build a few warehouses and trading houses, as well as a market for daily necessities,"

Lin Xiao nodded, pointed to the map and said in a deep voice, "Then start building a civilian passenger and cargo wharf and a fishing wharf...... In this way, a civilian trading port was formed. ”

After inspecting Hong Kong's topography on the spot, Lin Xiao confirmed that the southern part of Hong Kong, except for the military port, really has no development potential.

Therefore, the key development areas should be mainly concentrated on the north and south shores of Victoria Bay, that is, the northern coast of Hong Kong Island, and the gentle slopes around Kowloon Tong on the opposite bank.

"Of course, when a large amount of cement arrives, we must try to build at least one war-ready road connecting the north and the south,"

In the end, Lin Xiao said helplessly, "As for the shipyard, I have to wait for the construction of the island to be completed." ”

At present, with the addition of local residents, the total population of the island has exceeded 6,000.

For the time being, the rations of so many people had to be transported from Qinzhou, and it was impossible to accommodate more migrant workers.

……

(End of chapter)