The silver light and water color of the Tamsui River reflect each other with the distant mountains and near peaks, forming a picture of the green mountains and green waters. Since entering this mountain basin, Lu Chuanfeng, like everyone else, has been attracted by the scenery of the mountain basin, which he has never witnessed for living in the prosperous land of Yangzhou.

This is a swampy area, the jungle thatched in the swamp, the wind and rain and the slanting sun, it seems to be very cold, this is a deserted place, only the original residence here Gaoshan natives, driving canoes to and fro, living a leisurely fishing and hunting life.

The natives refer to the area as "the gnat," which means "flat and waterlogged land." ”

Standing on the boat, Li Zuoyi said to Wang Pingchuan beside him, and their group entered the basin along the Jilong River under the guidance of the native guide.

"The waterways between the chicken coop and the fresh water are not smooth due to the rugged coastline between the two places, and the sea roads are limited by the monsoon and ocean currents. More than 20 years ago, when the Spaniards invaded Taiwan, they sent people into the basin to explore the way. The force traveled upriver along the Tamsui River and then along the Jilong River, finally finding a route between the two places. This exploration also allowed the Spaniards to come into contact with many tribes in the Tamsui River and Jilong River basins, and later the Spaniards conquered these indigenous tribes one after another. ”

As a merchant, Wang Pingchuan is also a guide, in order to be able to enter Taiwan smoothly, this naval expedition in addition to sending the best warships, but also found a number of merchants who have come here to buy sulfur and other local goods, maybe those merchants are not proficient in routes, but they know the natives here.

If it weren't for the help of these merchants, I'm afraid the expeditionary fleet would not have been able to gain a foothold in the chicken coop in a short time.

"Sailboats that sail from afar can also enter the mouth of the Tamsui River from the sea and go up to Mong. The river is well watered and has a deep riverbed, so it is very convenient for large sailing boats to enter and exit, and it is for this reason that the Dutch will build the city of Santo Domingo, that is, the "Red Hair City", on the banks ......of the Tamsui River, if we want to enter the sea from this Tamsui River, we will have to take the "Red Hair City"

The "Red Hair City" in the mouth of Wang Pingchuan, in the early years, was a mission station built by the Spaniards, fifteen years ago the Dutch built it as a fortress, the Red Hair City stands in the direction of the Tamsui River to the Tamsea, high on the top of the mountain at the mouth of the Tamsui River, it can be said that it is easy to defend and difficult to attack, and it is located in the main road of the barrier Tamsui River.

"This "red-haired city" ...... Yes or no, but not now! ”

Li Zuoyi pointed to the mountain pass in front of him and said.

"Our first step now is the Pingwei Basin, and as for the Dutch at the mouth of the river, don't provoke them for the time being!"

For Li Zuoyi, he naturally knows very well what his primary task is, which is to open up the basin and use the basin as the granary of the chicken coop.

"However, this "red-haired city" is close at hand, and there is a lot of contact with the local natives, maybe it will not be long before the news of our entry into the basin will reach their ears, and I am afraid that they will take the initiative to attack me, what should I do then? ”

Wang Pingchuan, who had dealt with the Dutch, knew very well the character of those "red hairy", they would never accept the control of Keelung and the basin by the loyal army, in his opinion, since this battle was inevitable, it was natural to take the other party by surprise.

"It's okay!"

Smiling slightly, Li Zuoyi pointed to the basin in front of him and said.

"You see there's a lot of water and swamps in the northwest of the basin. Along the Tamsui River, the Jilong River, the Xindian Creek and many tributaries, at the edge of the basin, you can see the four natural gaps cut by the river, we only need to send troops to build a fortress on the top of the Tamsui River, we can prevent the Dutch from entering, we will build a fortress at the mouth of the river, and then order people to directly reclaim the fields under the mountain, planting rice, so it only takes a few months, and when the rice is harvested, why not worry about not basing ourselves on Taiwan? At that time, even if the Dutch want to catch up, I'm afraid it won't be so easy! ”

As a soldier, Li Zuoyi naturally knows the truth that "the soldiers and horses have not moved, the grain and grass go first", and without food, everything is empty talk. These thousands of people need 10,000 catties of grain alone every day, and how long can they be sustained by relying on the grain on the ship alone, and if they want to gain a firm foothold in Taiwan, they must first pioneer and cultivate land, and only in this way can they gain a foothold in this place.

"As for the Dutch......"

With a sneer, Li Zuoyi's eyes narrowed into a slit.

"It's just a bunch of things that bully the soft and fear the hard! It can't be the climate! ”

When he said this, Li Zuoyi looked at the hard labor prisoners who had already gone ashore, the key was still in these people, and some of them should not miss this opportunity now!

After the others went ashore together, Lu Chuanfeng occasionally cast his eyes on the mountains in the distance, although the lush mountains could hide his figure, but thinking of the snakes and insects encountered in the forest along the way, his heart was still tight. If they are all like this, it is a question of whether they can reach the territory of Hung Maoyi alive.

When he carried the shovel and other tools to the shore, he saw Bai Guangtao talking to the natives who could speak Chinese, although the Chinese spoken by the natives was Fujianese, but along the way, the kid could barely understand what they were saying.

No wonder this kid can become Dasu's spy.

When he was thinking like this, he saw Bai Guangtao walking towards him, and whispered beside him while he was working.

"Brother, pack up your things, let's leave tonight!"

What the? Leaving tonight?

Looking at Bai Guangtao in puzzlement, looking at the face that looked a little treacherous and slippery, Lu Chuanfeng asked a little nervously.

"Today...... Wouldn't it be too early, after all, we don't even know how to get there? This is feeling blind, where is it going? ”

Looking at Lu Chuanfeng's nervous look, Bai Guangtao looked at the sampans on the shore that they had made when they entered the basin, and whispered.

"Take the waterway! Go all the way down this river, and when you reach the mouth of the river, you can see the Red Hair City! ”

That night, when he learned that a hard labor prisoner had taken the opportunity to escape from the camp, Li Zuoyi did not rush to send someone to chase after him, but only ordered someone to write down the name of the fugitive, and then ordered someone to strengthen control to prevent anyone from escaping again.

And when he ordered someone to punish several people who sat in his team, Li Zuoyi secretly sneered.

"Hmph, sure enough, just as the Admiral expected, since someone took the initiative to escape, it would save a lot of effort! Since this news can't be hidden, it's better to tell them directly! ”

In the original plan, there was no idea of "sneaking into Taiwan", after all, the Dutch have been operating in Taiwan for decades, and even those natives have been bought by them, in this case, how to gain a foothold in the early stage has become something that has to be considered, unlike other people who want to "sneak into Taiwan", he chose to swagger into Taiwan, of course, this swagger is only relative, and someone needs to leak information to the Dutch who occupy the mouth of the Tamsui River.

And the candidates for revealing the information are naturally those who are designated as "traitors", and it is precisely because of this that after arriving at the chicken coop, Li Zuoyi will deliberately talk about Hongmaoyi in front of the prisoners many times, the purpose is to tell them that there is a chance to escape here.

Everything is just as Li Zuoyi expected, some of these hard labor prisoners are naturally unbearable to be "bullied", they decisively seized the opportunity and chose to escape, but for Bai Guangtao and Lu Chuanfeng who escaped, they didn't know that all this had long been calculated, and even the reason why they were able to escape was deliberate.

Of course, for Bai Guangtao, who had fled to Hongmao City, he naturally didn't know that he was just a pawn, and when he entered Hongmao City, he thought he was free, and he immediately showed his skills in a hurry, knowing everything, and telling everything he knew about the red-haired Lord in front of him one by one.

"There are a total of 18 ships, of which 8 are gunboats, 10 are sea ships, among these 8 gunboats, except for the "Fubo", which has dozens of cannons, the others only have 12 cannons, there are less than 2000 soldiers on board, and 2500 prisoners like villains, if the adults can send troops, they can naturally help the adults repel the pirates......"

"8 warships, 2,000 soldiers......"

As the governor of Santo Domingo, Captain Charlie learned the strength of this Ming army that broke into Taiwan from the mouth of the interpreter, and his heart suddenly beat a drum, after all, he only had a few dozen soldiers in his hands. Not to mention driving them out of Taiwan, if they can not fight, God will already bless them. This man actually suggested that he attack these Chinese? This man is simply insane!

"Okay, I know, Sun, arrange food and shelter for a few of them!"

After ordering the interpreter to arrange food and lodging for these fugitives, Charlie looked at Lieutenant Dowding beside him and said a little nervously.

"Lieutenant, what do you think we should do now?"

"We can't do anything, after all, we are facing thousands of Chinese, they have warships, they have muskets, so I think the best option for us now is not to take the initiative to attack them, but to figure out their purpose and origin, and then make plans."

Dowding's suggestion made Charlie nod quite approvingly, looked at the departing fugitives, and thought of the meaning of the words tattooed on the faces of these people that the interpreter had told him, and he held his chin and said thoughtfully.

"Perhaps, for the time being, we should be patient and wait for the decision of the city of Geranza......"