"Commander, the boatswain asked if we were sending people to land?" Seeing that Guo Zili hadn't given an order for a long time, Ji Wen simply came to Guo Zili's side and asked.

When Guo Zili heard Ji Wen's words, he seemed to have just woken up from his contemplation, only to see him frown and think for a while, and then slowly said after a long time: "No, no one is allowed to land!" The whole fleet turned around and sailed out of the bay. ”

"Your Excellency, this is ......," asked Given, a little surprised.

"Execute the order! I'm in charge of everything! Guo Zili said firmly, "The forest here is dense, inaccessible, and the environment is extremely harsh, and it must be fully developed to be suitable for human habitation." Before, we thought about it, and the Executive Committee and the Government Council were too optimistic. The latitude here is low, the environment is humid and hot, and there are many stagnant pools such as small ponds and miniature lakes, which are easy to breed mosquitoes. If we are not prepared for anything, the mortality rate will be staggering. I'll write a full report to the Executive Committee when I get back, and now, the whole fleet will turn around! ”

"Yes, Your Excellency!" Givens saluted, and then gave the order.

Yu Lian and Liu Dafa, captains of the "Red Trout" and "Yangwu," also rushed over by transport boat.

"For what retreat? Is it that scary? Liu Dafa generally knows the reason, but he still wants to confirm it. Yu Lian followed, his face full of questions.

"That's why." Guo Zili nodded and said, "We have fulfilled our responsibility to explore the route, and as for the next development, I don't think it's our responsibility." We are only responsible for proving that the route is viable. and finding out the best routes, climate, currents, and supply ports along the way. The rest of the follow-up development is a matter for the Executive Committee and the Government Council. Of course. In my opinion, I would strongly recommend that the Executive Committee capture the local indigenous people in South Africa to carry out large-scale development here, and then send immigrants to build territories, ports, etc. ”

Yu Lian and Liu Dafa looked at each other, and then nodded to each other. What Guo Zili said also makes sense, the navy really doesn't need to get involved in these things, and it has already fulfilled its obligations by being able to explore this route.

"So, where do we go next? Returning to South Africa at Fort River? Liu Dafa asked.

"Yes, return!" Guo Zili nodded. Then he explained: "Soon the monsoon currents in the Indian Ocean will change in winter and spring, and if we go further north, it will be against the current, against the wind, and it will be too difficult." And it's been almost three months since we set off from home, so let's hurry up and return home. Some of the observations, intelligence, and information are to be reported to the Admiralty, and most importantly, there is a human deal with the Muscat merchants next year. So, let's retreat. ”

Guo Zili is the supreme commander of the exploration fleet, and since he has made a decision, Liu Dafa and Yu Lian will not say much, and the two of them will salute and rush back to their own ships. Then he began to make a slow U-turn and sailed out of Antsiraana Bay.

October 11th. The whole fleet again arrived at the port of Mozambique. The commander of the fort at the port has not yet returned, and appears to be dealing with indigenous riots in the Zambezi River Valley. As soon as the fleet docked, the ships began to supply them with supplies: fresh water, meat, fruits and vegetables, etc.

The Portuguese tax collector named Sergio probed his head on the docks, but never dared to come up to collect taxes. However, the East Coasters soon found him. His "old friend", Second Lieutenant Juan, gave him a fifty-dollar coin again, and then asked him to help hire a transport ship. The people on the east coast had purchased one or two hundred Persian slave girls and children, and they were still stored in the Muscat merchant camp on the island, and it would be troublesome to transport them back to the mainland.

Because the exploration fleet is all warships, there is not much space inside, not to mention that they will also purchase a large number of supplies in the thoroughfare of Mozambique, such as rhinoceros horn, hippopotamus skins, cattle, camels, and some local plant seeds. After all, you can't run away after a trip, so it will be a bit troublesome to bring back so many people, goods and livestock, and you have to rent a Portuguese cargo ship as a last resort.

Sergio, who had put the coin in his pocket, was apparently in a rather happy mood, and assured Ensign Juan that he would be able to hire a ship to-day, and that it would be at a modest price.

The day passed quickly, and the 30,000 yuan in cash that the East Coasters had received from selling their goods to Muscat merchants had been spent, and a large amount of local supplies and specialties had been purchased. On 12 October, three warships of the Exploration Fleet and a 400-ton Portuguese transport ship set sail in the port of Mozambique, turned west-south, and embarked on their return journey.

On 10 November, the East Coast Exploration Fleet again crossed the Mozambique Channel, Cape Agulhas and Cape of Good Hope, and arrived safely at the dock of the Fort in the River on the banks of the Berg River. After more than two months, the current Hezhong Fort is already in full bloom, and the fields are full of farmers who are cultivating the land and sowing seeds.

Due to the abundance of cattle, seeds, and farm tools, the area of farmland reclaimed outside Hezhongbao City has reached an unprecedented 8,000 mu this year, of which 5,000 mu is sorghum, 2,000 mu is wheat, and the rest are planted with some vegetables, peanuts, sesame, watermelons, and other cash crops. The cattle and sheep that had survived the winter were now growing stronger, and the fields north of the Fort were full of grazing sheep and cattle, and the sheep and milk produced every day could not be eaten, and even the slaves who had been under the two banners benefited from this and improved their food.

Along the banks of the Berg River, numerous small ponds have been dug in the area of the river fort, some edible aquatic crops have been planted, and many fish have been raised in the ponds. A number of duck sheds were erected with wood above the pond, and a large number of ducks were kept in the sheds. These ducks spend their days swimming in the Berg River to catch food, and then come back in the evenings to live in the duckshed. Its excrement falls directly into the pond below, and it is perfect for raising fish. All of the above are established by local residents under the guidance of technical personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture, which is called ecological agriculture.

The Berg River is wide, flows continuously throughout the year, and has an abundant amount of water, which can be said to be the life river of the Fort in the River. In order to reduce soil erosion and endanger the safety of the downstream waterway, afforestation activities have been carried out on both sides of the Berg River for two consecutive years. The seedlings planted are basically all peach, pear, jujube and other barren-tolerant tree species transported from the country, and of course, the most important ship material, oak trees, must be planted on the largest scale.

After last year's intermittent expansion of the city wall, now to the north, to the west of the extension of a long section, the circumference of the entire city wall has reached 1,800 meters, the wall is made of cement, lime, sand mixed with grout and then made of red bricks, strip stone, the average thickness is more than three meters, strong and abnormal. It is estimated that after a year of construction this year, it will almost be completed.

The city is home to the South African Pioneer Corps, the town government (with a population of 1,000 and has been approved to establish a town), the headquarters of the South African garrison, a river winery, an oil mill, a leather processing workshop, a drinking water treatment plant, a supply store, a public bathhouse, and a primary school (teaching Chinese to children and literacy to adults).

All in all, everything in the river castle looks thriving, and the faces of those ordinary people from the Ming Dynasty are now extremely ruddy, and even their voices are louder, and this spirit is completely different from when they first came. In stark contrast to them are the British in the Cape Town area, where sporadic exodus began in late August and peaked by mid-September. Within half a month, three hundred people had fled to the side of the river fort.

Immigrants fled in large numbers because of hunger and cold, and some died of cold, sickness and starvation, and now there are fewer than 500 Britons left in the Cape Town area. Had it not been for the help of two passing British ships at the end of September, Cape Town, which was plagued by hunger and disease, might not have been able to hold on.

These newly fled more than 500 English and Irish people were arranged to live alone in wooden houses outside the city of Hezhong Fort, and together with the natives of the two banners, they planted vegetables, raised sheep and fed pigs to Hezhong Fort, so they were nicknamed "Eight Banners of Foreign Countries" and "Eight Banners of Yellow Hair" by the local Ming people.

After the return of the exploration fleet, the more than a hundred Persian slave girls they brought back from Mozambique caused a great sensation in the Fort of the River. For well-known reasons, the ratio of men to women in the river fort is even more incongruous than on the east coast, with 750 of the 1,200 inhabitants being male, of which the majority are adult males, about 700; Excluding those who are married, there are more than 300 adult men who are still single and single.

How to find a wife for them to multiply the population had become a pressing issue for the newly formed town government of the river town, and the 105 Persian slave girls brought back from East Africa by the exploration fleet were intercepted by them as soon as they got off the ship. They also know that there is a shortage of women in the local area now, and it would be wishful thinking to expect them to send some women to Fort River, so South Africa still has to rely on itself to solve the problem.

Liu Ang, who had been promoted to the mayor of Hezhong Town, came to the dock with a large group of militiamen carrying large and small boxes. He kicked over a box, pointed to the things that rolled out of it, and said, "Dog's head gold!" ”

Then he opened several boxes one after the other, "Ivory! "Antelope skin! "Ostrich skin! "Hippopotamus skin! ”

"Take as much as you want!" Liu Ang held his head high and said, "It's all yours!" If you take it back, you can sell it for at least 70,000 or 80,000 yuan, and you can keep some of it yourself, and hand over the rest to the treasury. Hello me, hello everyone, right? You take the things, and the people stay! (To be continued......)