Today, there are simply two steam fishing boats moored in the port of Mianhe -- both of which belong to Ma Wanpeng, who just emptied the last few hundred Comorian serfs in his possession yesterday, and today is comfortably lying in his newly built wooden house and villa in the port for vacation, enjoying the cool shade of the trees and drinking luscious wine in the brisk sea breeze.

Three ships gradually opened up on the sea, two of which were of the type of ship he was familiar with, and the other was very slender and beautiful, and the speed was also very fast, and it looked like the kind of clipper ship that neglected life and cargo capacity for the sake of speed. Seeing this, he suddenly became interested, and he wanted to know which of the second forces had come up with such a flashy ship, so he naturally asked his subordinates to bring his own binoculars.

It's just that it's okay not to look at it, but it's shocking when I see it. Where is this Nima on the east coast, it is obviously a British ship, which makes a lot of cold sweat break out on his forehead at once. The port of Mianhe was a small newly opened port, with no coastal forts and few garrison soldiers, who would be able to hold it if the enemy were to attack.

The sailors who stayed on the boat near the shore shouted loudly, and Ma Wanpeng also realized at this time that the problem might be a little strict, so he didn't even have time to change his clothes, so he immediately called someone to pull his mount, and he was not afraid that his crotch would be worn out by the saddle, so he turned over and rode up with big pants, and then rushed straight to the sea. He had to go back to his ship!

……

"Looks like we're scaring the people here." Captain Givens put down his monoculars and joked to his lieutenant, Esposito, "They probably think we're pirates, haha." Yikes! Those guys reacted very quickly. Well. Those boats also look quite small. Tsk, a fishing boat with a displacement of 300 tons, a steam sail hybrid, is really a luxury. ”

"Maybe it's a tuna boat, and it's a local thing, but honestly, I don't think that kind of fish is so good, but it's so expensive. It's incredible. Sergeant Esposito grinned, revealing his rotten teeth, and between his teeth were the remains of the salted fish he had just eaten in the morning.

"That's because you've never eaten that kind of fish at all, and you can't afford to buy it." Captain Givens glanced at Esposito, then turned his head to the other side, he didn't want to be swept away by the foul smell of this guy's mouth, "Alright, don't stand here, go organize the port." It is impossible for ordinary people to own such fishing boats, and perhaps there is a noble gentleman living in this port, so we had better be polite enough. ”

"Yes. Captain. Sergeant Esposito saluted, then paused. He added: "Do you want to signal the Brits and let them follow us into the port?" ”

"Better do it!" Captain Givens left the side of the ship without looking back, and said as he walked towards his captain's quarters. He had to go back and change into a cleaner suit, a captain's suit covered with dust, oil, and salt, which didn't look very good.

The three large ships soon approached the port, and at this time, Ma Wanpeng's two steam fishing boats had also been started and were in a state of being ready to sail away. However, they also realized that perhaps this was just a false alarm, and after sending a small traffic boat to negotiate and confirm, they lowered their sails and returned to the harbor.

"Our ships need to be repaired, sir." As soon as he came ashore, Captain Jiwen took off his hat to salute Ma Wanpeng, and then said bluntly: "The 'Exploration' leaked very badly, we used spare canvas to plug the gaps in those damaged shipboards, and the steam pumping machine was also working non-stop, but this could only slow down the leakage of the boat." Therefore, I wonder if the port of Cotton River now has the capacity for simple ship repairs. Our spare planks and tools were tragically destroyed in the storm, and we can't do anything on our own. ”

At this point, Captain Givens turned his head to look at the so-called "dock" overgrown with weeds, and then said in an uncertain and questioning tone, "Maybe our luck is terrible, and the ship cannot be repaired here, right?" ”

"As you can see, it's just a small remote port that hasn't been open for more than half a year, with very few inhabitants and a drill climate. If you want to repair the boats, you can't do it here, and the Lobster Harbour to the north can barely do simple repairs and maintenance. Your boat is just leaking, the problem is not too serious, I think you can try your luck at Lobster Harbour. Ma Wanpeng, who had already covered a pair of pants over his big pants, frowned and said, his inner thighs were a little worn out just now, and he was slightly in pain at this time.

"That's unfortunate." Captain Givens sighed, "But that's okay, we're heading north." Maybe we can hold on a little longer, go directly to Xinhua Port for overhaul, or even scrape the bottom of the ship in the dock, otherwise we won't be able to sail to the Arabian Sea at all. ”

"To the Arabian Sea? Hehe, then you're not in a bad situation, at least until late April '49, you won't be able to go there. Ma Wanpeng said in a regretful tone, "After April, the wind direction and ocean currents there will change, and it will become suitable for people to sail from west to east and from south to north, but it is obviously not possible at this moment." Well, with all due respect, are you going to India? When did the country have plans to sail to India? It's amazing! ”

Captain Jiwen hesitated a little when he heard this, but considering that the news of their voyage was not a secret, and Ma Wanpeng was a young and promising "nobleman", he was not ready to hide it, and said directly: "No, sir, we are not going to India, we are going to Persia." In fact, we are completely going for the Persian raw silk, of course, if we can establish a certain friendship with the Persians, and take the opportunity to open the Persian market, then it will also be a good thing. And then we will make a trip to northwestern India, if possible, to see if we can connect with the local population, where one of the traditional exports is wild silk from Punjab and Kashmir. This kind of silk is very strong and tough, and it is also very important for China's textile industry. ”

"That's what it was for." Ma Wanpeng nodded, then beckoned them and said, "I understand." In this case, you send someone ashore first, and I will help you get some supplies, and then set off for Xinhua Port, and I happen to be going too, so let's set off together. Let those British also come ashore, we have nothing to hide from them here, it doesn't matter. ”

"Very gladly, sir, you are such a generous man. We need your help, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs has entrusted us with more than 2,500 exiles, most of them Clandi, and a few Guarani and Spaniards. According to the instructions given to us by our superiors before departure, it seems that these people should all be placed in the port of Cotton River. Captain Givens immediately said happily, and then ordered the lieutenant to arrange for manpower.

"Indians again? A bunch of poor guys. Hearing that there were new immigrants coming, Ma Wanpeng immediately said in a tone of pity: "These people lack the ability to resist the diseases of the Old World, their ability to adapt to the environment is also poor, and their nutritional status is generally poor. Uh, well, here is the arid savannah region, maybe helping more of them survive and adapt successfully here. Anyway, good luck to them. ”

There is no doubt that today's East Coasters are creating what is one of the largest "great migrations" in the world. For example, the Indians of South America were exiled to South Africa, New China and Australia, the Slavs of Eastern Europe came to the east coast in large numbers, and the Ming people from the Far East crossed the sea to South America, so far there have been almost more than 200,000 people, almost the same as the Mongols in the Middle Ages and Stalin in later generations.

This is the fundamental principle of the East Coast people, who cannot remain in their ancestral lands, whether by forced displacement or physical extermination. And the large-scale migration of these Cranti people of La Plata to the island of New China is a product of this line of thinking. In fact, they are lucky, at least much better than those of their fellow people who were caught by the East Coast to build roads or slaughtered, although most of them are destined to die in these foreign lands because they can't adapt to the environment, but after all, they have a chance to live, don't they?

More than two thousand five hundred deranged Klandians were taken ashore one after another. Next, they will use their own hands to start building their own dwellings on the north bank of the cotton river, of course, in the first days they will have to sleep in the wild, but this is a savannah area with dry and hot temperatures and few mosquitoes, so the problem is not very big.

They were accompanied by a large shipment of sorghum from the South African River Port, which would be their ration for the rest of the period. After the initial settlement, they will also be organized to reclaim land (no more than 30 acres) and plant some drought-tolerant and barren-tolerant sorghum, so as to solve their own survival problems first, after all, it is always unrealistic to blindly import food from the outside world to feed them.

After finishing these trivial tasks, the "Exploration" and other three ships replenished some fresh water and food on board, and then pulled anchor again and set sail, following the fierce southeast wind and the warm current of Mozambique in the strait, towards Xinhua Port, the capital city of New Huaxia Island. After they left, Ma Wanpeng's two sail fishing boats also left the port at sunset and headed north, where they would first go to the lobster port to resupply and then decide whether to continue north near Zanzibar to catch the abundant bigeye tuna. (To be continued......)