June 4, 1643, Blackwater Harbor Wharf, Sunny.

At the urging of the soldiers, the Koreans, who were in groups of fifty, reluctantly stepped onto the gangplank and boarded the upper deck of the steamship "Chopper". Whenever a group of men came aboard, sailors would come and lead them to the lower cabins, and then order them to sit quietly on the floor and wait for the ship to set sail.

Beside each of them was a bladder full of cool and boiled cowhide and a few dough cakes, which were their food for the day. From time to time, sailors with knives and guns came to patrol the cabin, and they were still muttering precautions as they walked. It is nothing more than the prohibition of loud noises, the prohibition of walking around at will, the prohibition of open defecation, and the immediate raising of hands to report if they feel unwell, etc., they are already familiar with it, because this is also the awareness that the managers of Blackwater Fort have instilled in them all day long.

There was still a steady stream of people coming into the bilge, who, like them, had been resting in Blackwater Harbor for nearly a month, and who had been selected to be physically fit for the voyage. One by one, with numb expressions, they walked forward mechanically with their heads covered under the watchful eye of the soldiers, until the entire ship was filled.

I don't know how long it took, but when the humming sound in the cabin gradually became louder and the air began to become a little dirty, I felt that the hull of the ship shook violently, and the noise of the machine came from the cabin next door getting louder and louder. As the noise of the machine sounded, the hull of the ship began to shake slightly, as if the sailors on the outer deck had pulled up the iron anchor that had sunk to the bottom of the river. A moment later, just as the roar of the machine was at its peak, there was a faint "whoosh" paddling sound faintly outside the cabin. The red sandalwood spliced hull began to move forward and turn; And so it went on for a few minutes. Then there was a big shake on the ship. Many people in the cabin were caught off guard and suddenly rolled over, and the order was a little chaotic for a while.

"Don't panic, the boat will not leave for a while, now please sit in your place, no loud noise!" The soldiers, soothing the slightly panicked feelings, stepped forward and slammed their scabbards on the disobedient and agitated man until he sat down quietly.

"How long will it take for the Breaking Waves to finish loading people?" Captain Li Yi stood at the hatch of the ship, looking at the somewhat chaotic crowd below. Asked with a slight headache. These people need to be transformed in the long run, at least first of all, to make them understand discipline and obedience, which are essential qualities for citizens in industrialized societies, and in short, it seems that there is still a long way to go.

"They waited too long for coal to be loaded, the terminal lacked steam cranes, and the loading and unloading of goods was still too inefficient. I don't know if the local government of Ludao will not allow the Heishui Port to be equipped with steam cranes, if we can, then we will be much more efficient in loading and unloading goods in the future. A young staff officer explained, "We may have to wait another fifteen minutes." ”

Li Yi nodded helplessly. This time they set off for the port of Jinshan in Australia, and each ship was loaded with about 100 tons of black water refined coal in its hold, which was enough coal for them to sail to the port of Jinshan. And in addition to coal burning and basic water. The two ships were all stuffed without any superfluous stuff to say. After the removal of about 1,500 North Koreans. There are about 1,600 people left on the port side of Blackwater, and together with the 500 North Koreans who had been transported to Rishiri a few days ago, the number of people in the entire Sakhalin area under the control of the people on the east coast has dropped to about 2,100. With the existing facilities and resources in the local area, it can almost be accommodated. Otherwise, it would be a tragedy for so many people to be crammed into the current cramped and cramped urban area, with a severe shortage of houses and heating facilities, and wait until the long winter comes.

Although Sergeant Johnson, who is currently in charge of the construction of the Blackwater Port, has the urge to expand the entire city, this is far from being achieved overnight, and many things such as food production and so on will take time to accumulate. Moreover, the construction of the brick kiln factory, the construction of the new dock, the construction of the coal washing plant, the construction of the wharf trestle, etc., each of which was ordered by Mo Ming was a fatal and urgent task, and he could not be distracted to build a new home for these outsiders who exceeded the carrying capacity of the city.

Therefore, it is a good thing for everyone to divert some of the redundant population to the sparsely populated Jinshan Port and Gushan Port in Australia in a timely manner. Moreover, these 1,500 North Koreans who are about to set off will be able to eat and drink well in Heishui Port for a month, and their current physical condition has almost reached the standard of being able to go to sea.

Fifteen minutes later, the "Breaking Waves" finally raised the signal flag at the ready, and then the two ships left the pier one after the other, crossed the Blackwater River and entered the Tatar Strait. It's already the Sea of Japan, but because it's in the strait, the waves are much smaller. There was a faint westerly wind blowing on the sea today, but it was not very big, but everyone still raised the sails, after all, it is better than nothing, and it is some to increase the speed of the voyage. After turning due south, the "Breaking Wave" took the lead and the "Chopper" followed, and the two ships sailed several hundred meters apart and headed south.

Two days later, they arrived at the later port of Takamatari on Rishiri Island. Of course, at this time, the port was only a small fishing village, and there were only a few dozen Ainu fishermen in the village, which had now been relocated by the people from the east coast, and no breakwaters had been built in the port. A short wooden trestle has only been built at the base of the winter fleet that was planned for the easterners, and about 500 North Koreans who have been sent there are working on a second trestle using dense timber brought from Sakhalin.

Li Yi sent people ashore to bring some food to these people, and then took another roll call, and found that only about 30 of the 500 people had escaped, and most of them were still here. And I believe that with the arrival of winter, those North Koreans who fled are expected to turn back. After all, this small, volcanic island is a natural prison with nothing but trees. If they do not want to starve to death and freeze to death in the mountains and forests, then they can only honestly come back and build a wharf for the people on the east coast in exchange for food and cold supplies, and there is no second way to go.

They spent only one night at Yuanbo Harbor, and after replenishing fresh fresh water, the two ships set sail early on the morning of June 7, leaving Rishiri Island and heading for Kanayama Harbor in the southeast corner of Australia. As it was early summer in the Northern Hemisphere, apart from the occasional crosswind, the two ships had no help and had to navigate with great difficulty on the steam-powered power of the ships themselves. Moreover, there were times when even the currents were not quite right, and the need to be careful to avoid possible Dutch and Spanish ships – although the odds were low, it took the two ships 26 days to reach the vicinity of the port of Rabaul.

Due to the long voyage, the sweltering weather, poor nutrition at sea, and foul air due to overcrowded cabins, about 250 of the 1,500 North Korean migrants who set off have been thrown into the sea, and fewer than 1,300 are still alive. In the face of this situation, Li Yi could only sigh helplessly, it seems that in the future, he can only send immigrants to Australia in winter, not only to help the wind direction, but also to avoid the cyclones, typhoons and other common bad weather that may be encountered in the Pacific Ocean in summer, the whole voyage is not only greatly improved, but even the time will be greatly shortened, and it is estimated that the voyage can be shortened to less than a month.

But it's useless to regret it now, it's important to arrive at Jinshan Port as soon as possible. Therefore, after a short day in the port of Rabaul, the two ships set out on the journey again, following the warm current of East Australia heading south, and arrived at the port of Golden Mountain in Australia in the middle of winter on July 20.

"It's been a long voyage." Li Yi, whose face was not very good-looking, stood on the soft grass of Jinshan Port and let out a long sigh. It took them about 45 days to reach the port of Kanayama, where they were last likely to receive large-scale supplies, and only about 1,100 of the 1,500 Koreans who first boarded the ship made it to the Australian mainland, with a death rate of up to a quarter.

"Let these North Koreans rest here for a while, and it just so happens that we will also have a good rest here, and the sick sailors will be resettled on the spot, and the hull of the ship should also be repaired." Li Yi said sullenly.

And the second lieutenant Yasu, who was standing beside him, also nodded approvingly: "I really can't take this route in the summer in the future, it's really too difficult, and it will kill people, it's not an exaggeration." So, is everything going according to the plan? ”

"Well, in the future, your 'Breaking Waves' will stay in Australia, with Gushan Port as its home port. The conditions there are better than those of Jinshan Port, after all, they can often receive the goods carried by the ships from Xinhua, and you will take it as your home port in the future. In the initial stages of our emigration, it was enough to keep your sailboat here. Li Yi said.

According to the original plan, the people on the east coast transported the people collected from Daming and Korea to the port of Heishui and Rishiri Island for temporary settlement, and then transported them to the port of Jinshan in Australia by motor sailboat. After arriving at Jinshan Port, they will get a period of rest and recuperation, and then they will be pulled to Gushan Port by the "Breaking Waves" to wait for the ships from Xinhua to be loaded back. After pulling a boatload of people to Gushan Port, the "Breaking Waves" can also pull another shipload of goods to Jinshan Port when they return, and the entire immigration work runs in stages and in an orderly manner. (To be continued......)