"This Sun Shengjun, he still can't get rid of the habit of being a rogue when he fights." Xie Hansan listened to the reports of several East Coast militiamen who came back, and said with a smile at Liu Ang.

"I was originally born as a thief." Liu Ang wrapped himself in a thick sheep's jacket, took a sip of wine to warm his body, and said lazily: "Besides, just rely on the few crooked melons and cracked dates he has on hand to fight the British?" Or to storm the well-fortified British fortifications? Unthinkable! Isn't the strength of a thief to avoid the real and avoid the weak, I think he played well. And you look at the hell weather now, it's actually snowing heavily, and it looks like the snow is estimated to be going to fall for several days. Ha Luha, this time the British are miserable. ”

At present, almost all activities in the Fort of the River have been suspended, and even the slaves who have been under the two flags are now sheltered in wooden huts covered with hay and reeds to escape the bad weather. Under the teaching of the East Coast people, the lives of these natives have changed a lot, they have built earthen stoves, and they have learned to cook food; Some poor hygiene practices have also been corrected; Children also regularly gather in the castles of the East Coast people to learn the language and simple common sense. On the whole, they have gradually broken away from the ignorant and barbaric state of life in the past, and have begun to evolve in the direction of civilization.

Xie Hansan also picked up a bottle of Daqu in the river on the table and poured it twice, then picked up a handful of peanuts, stuffed it into his mouth and chewed it. He had just finished leading a part of the soldiers on patrol, and the snow was falling heavily, and in just one night, a thick layer of snow had accumulated on the farmland, ponds, ditches, and houses near the Fort in the River.

Before the snowfall, Liu Ang had already organized the construction of many brick houses, which were allocated to the residents of the east coast. However, there are still not enough of them, and many people still live in wooden houses. But fortunately, they have more or less a place to live. In addition, a large amount of firewood, grass and honeycomb coal have been collected before winter. Don't worry about heating up in winter. Compared to the English in Cape Town, who could only live under a leaky canopy, it was a world of difference.

Since it was snowing so heavily, it was no longer possible to let those Eight Banners stay in the mountains. Liu Ang had already signed an order just now, ordering Sun Shengjun to lead the surviving Eight Banners Army to start evacuating. Originally, he was going to let the baggage troops with more than a dozen carts also withdraw, but after being shocked to learn that they had collected more than 20 fugitive British immigrants in the past few days, he decisively decided to let them stay there, and sent more cavalry to expand the search area to see if more British fugitives could be found.

"That's right. I heard that the two Irishmen who fled in the first place have recovered? Xie Hansan asked while drinking.

"Hmm." Liu Ang nodded, "Even if that kid has a big life, there is some inflammation in his body, which causes a low-grade fever." We didn't have any medicine to treat him, so we had to change him into dry clothes and provide him with some hot water, hot food and other care. ”

"Hey, if you don't die, there will be a blessing." Xie Hansan smiled, "You didn't let him go to the castle of the British to publicize it?" Only by contrasting can the will of the enemy be shaken, let him go to the British to propagate more propaganda and propagate how good it is to eat with us. Life is so pleasant or something, keeping it makes those British buns who are almost frozen rush to come to us. To put it bluntly. These people are all trying their luck in overseas colonies because they can't get along in Britain, who are they messing with? We have one more on our side, and one less on the British's side, so it's a good deal. ”

"How could someone as calculating as me not think of this verse? Don't worry, I've already informed the British to go to the castle of Good Hope to encourage the British to flee. If our people don't come forward, let those British go, even if the British come to our door in the future, we will have a statement, haluha. Liu Ang said with a smile. The port of Cape Town was an undeniable threat to the people of the East Coast, and it was even more competitive and oppressive to the Fort in the River. Now as long as there is anything that can weaken the British in Cape Town, Liu Ang is happy to do it.

"Can the British have a future?" Xie Hansan sneered, "It's not easy to get through this level in front of you, so they'd better ask for more blessings." ”

Just as Liu Ang and Xie Hansan were drinking and chatting, guards suddenly came in outside to report that several ships from the mainland had sailed on the dock.

Liu Ang and Xie Hansan glanced at each other, both of them were a little surprised, the transport fleet had just left the river fort for more than 20 days, why did the ship come again? The two of them couldn't care so much, so they simply ran to the dock together to watch.

I saw that on the deep-water pier where the river fort has been dredged, a huge double-deck warship and two small boats are silently docked, and the three ships with the top mast of the sea army's double sword goshawk flag hunting and flying, and the double-headed eagle yin and yang fish national emblem pattern with teeth and claws on the sail is even more eye-catching.

The sky was gray, and the goose-feather snow was falling on the ground, the river, and the deck of the ship, and Navy Lieutenants Guo Zili, Yu Lian, and Liu Dafa were now walking towards Liu Ang and the others surrounded by adjutants.

"Lao Guo, what are you ......" Liu Ang looked behind him with his head right, and never saw a more senior naval officer coming.

"Don't look at it. Lao Guo Rongsheng was promoted to the captain of the newly commissioned battleship 'Free Trade', and this time we came here for a mission. Navy Lieutenant Liu Dafa looked at his home and said.

"Rub, the 'Free Trade' is in service!" Liu Ang said in amazement, "I'll just say, such a majestic double-deck battleship looks different from the other two. ”

"Alright, don't stand here." Xie Hansan, an outlier who is very popular in the army and navy, grabbed the arm of Guo Zili and others, and waved his big hand: "Go back to the house and drink, go!" ”

A few people quickly got into the warm office, and the orderly brought hot tea and coffee.

"We're here for a mission this time." Guo Zili, as the leader of this line, took the lead in opening the conversation, "When we set off, Dongfang Port had already set off a transport ship full of cloth and weapons to the port of Izmir in the Ottoman Empire. Of course, the ship will first dock in Bordeaux and will continue on to the Eastern Mediterranean after contacting the Hornisian family. After all, a long time has passed, and it's hard to say whether there have been any changes there. Although the Atlantic route is now passable for the time being, the Executive Committee is still very anxious about opening up the African route. As you know, the role of the African route is huge. In addition to being able to make accidents, sailing east along this route can also reach Southeast Asia, and arriving in Southeast Asia means that Daming is not far away. Therefore, the Executive Committee is currently taking the opening of this route as a major task. ”

"So, you're here to explore the African routes?" Liu Ang asked.

Guo Zili nodded: "At present, the officers and sailors on the three ships are basically selected from the whole army, some of them have excellent skills, some have excellent knowledge, some have rich experience, and some are familiar with the route. Three ships, including a battleship, a high-speed cruiser, and a frigate, the smallest of which had four or five hundred tons of tonnage. We fought to get past the storm zone of the convergence of the two ocean currents outside the Cape of Good Hope and then into the Indian Ocean. After entering the Indian Ocean, the first choice is to find a foothold in the northern side of the island of Madagascar, and if it is really not possible, it can also be temporarily stationed in Portuguese East Africa. This is the goal of the first phase, and after the completion of the first phase, the fleet will return to Fort River, where it will wait for the next action plan of the Executive Committee. ”

"Yes, it's good to be cautious." Liu Ang commented, "But the climate in the Antsirana region is hot and humid, do we have enough anti-malarial drugs? The cinchona tree brought back from the mountains of Chile hasn't grown yet, has it? There are not enough anti-malarial drugs, and at this stage it would be unbearably high to establish a foothold in a hot and humid region with a tropical rainforest climate, such as Antsiranana. ”

At this point, everyone was a little silent. The harsh natural environment is a very real problem, mosquitoes, fruit flies and even some local parasites can cause great harm to everyone's health, especially if the preparation is not very sufficient, which is completely filling with human lives.

"Antimalarial drugs must be solved by the Executive Committee, otherwise this opening up of routes is an empty word. Everyone on the East Coast is precious, especially since this dispatch is a good hand in the navy, and we can't afford any loss. Forget it, don't think about it that far, let's get to the Mozambique Channel smoothly first. Guo Zili concluded.

"When are you leaving?" Xie Hansan asked on the side.

"As soon as possible." "We're going to rest here for two days to replenish fresh water and food, and then we'll head south around the Cape of Good Hope and explore the route." By the way, I heard that the British built a port in the Cape Town area, how is it now? ”

Liu Ang and Xie Hansan looked at each other and smiled when they heard this, and said, "Hanging half-dead, it's almost over." If the bad weather continues, and if there is no outside help, I really doubt that by the time spring comes, they will have a few people left alive. ”

"Hey, hey." After hearing Liu Ang's words, everyone laughed. How can the British endure such provocative behavior by brazenly building a port under the noses of the people on the east coast, whether it is to make the British suffer hardships? If the port of Cape Town were to take shape and be able to supply the British ships that came and went, it would not be a blessing for the people of the East Coast. (To be continued......)