The four-masted steam engine sailing ship "Exploration" is docked at the dockside of the Zhenhai Harbor Naval Base, and stevedores are loading the last supplies onto the ship. Among them were cured meats, flour, salted fish, wine and other foodstuffs, as well as some weapons, ammunition, and spare parts -- all of which were in extraordinary quantities in order to be able to hold out as long as possible at sea.

After inspecting the ship's facilities for the last time, Second Lieutenant Jiwen, the acting captain of the ship, walked up to Zhang Jinhua, who was the commander-in-chief of the operation, and began to whisper the cargo and personnel carried by the ship.

Zhang Jinhua has just turned 35 years old this year, he was a high school student before the crossing, and after more than ten years of experience, he is now at the peak of his physique, energy, and intelligence. With many years of experience in shipyards and ocean-going merchant fleets, it was fitting for him to lead expeditions to the East.

The "Exploration" has a full load displacement of 1,250 tons, twin shafts and twin propellers of 170 horsepower, a design speed of 10 knots, and a maximum speed of 14 knots. Jointly funded and sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Communications, it has a crew of 24 people, 32 gunners, and 36 members of the expedition, a total of 92 people.

The ship was another expedition ship produced on the East Coast after a few years, and it would carry the members of the expedition to Australia via South Africa, and then from the east coast of Australia to the north and then turn east in search of the legendary Tahiti (Tahiti). This island had the highest yield and highest sugar content of sugar cane in the world at this time, and almost all the sugar cane in the world in later generations had Tahitian blood.

However, this island is not easy to find, deep in the ocean, even if the people on the east coast have accurate charts. As well as sextants, nautical tools such as mechanical watches, and professional climatic knowledge. Finding the island still requires a lot of meticulous preparation. and a little bit of Tianzun's favor. And you'll have to pick a good time – summer and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere to be exact – so that you don't get headwinds or bad weather.

Of course, the Discovery expedition ship was well equipped, well-staffed, and well-stocked, and set off across the Atlantic Ocean into the Indian Ocean, and then even into the Pacific Ocean, with a long voyage and complex sea conditions. It would be a bit of nonsense to go to such lengths just to find some high-yielding sugarcane seeds with high sugar content. Therefore, the "Exploration" expedition ship is actually still shouldering the eastward journey from the port of Jinshan in Australia. The task of exploring the feasibility of navigating along the edge of the westerly wind belt to the Chilean coastline in the Americas is a matter of national re-strategy that must be put into action.

After finally loading the ship with a few boxes of medicines, which were destined for Baleen Whale Harbor, the two boilers of the expedition ship Discovery began to slowly fire and pressurize, while the sailors began to raise and lower the canvas and adjust the booms. It is more reliable and simpler to use steam power when entering and leaving the port, and when you sail to the ocean, you mainly rely on sail power, after all, there is a limit to the amount of coal in the ship's coal bunker.

At 10 o'clock in the morning, the last batch of materials was shipped, and after Zhang Jinhua verified the cargo again, he signed and handed over to the officials of the port authority. Then he boarded the ship and entered the captain's room, spreading out a table full of charts, climate, geography, and currents. and various high-level materials such as the customs and customs of the aborigines, and began their own research.

After Zhang Jinhua, who served as the commander-in-chief, entered the captain's room, the acting captain of the ship, Second Lieutenant Jiwen also stood by the fence of the second deck of the stern building, and began to instruct the sailors to operate the ship and leave the port in high spirits. They were accompanied by a steam-converted large flying shear cargo ship, laden with 450 tons of standard Tacheng refined coal and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition - all destined for Baleen Whale Harbor for the Navy's Temporary Pacific Task Force.

In this way, the two ships arrived at the Port of the Falklands on 31 January, after a day of stopover in Puerto Blanca. In the summer, the harbor is not yet the golden season for whaling, so about a dozen whaling ships from all over the world, most of them Dutch, are moored in the harbor. The whaling sailors got drunk in the quay tavern area, and then drunkenly ran to the homes of some Guaraní women who were engaged in a half-closed business, and spent four riyals to sleep for a night.

Of course, there are some sailors and captains who don't spend a lot of time in Baleen Whale Harbor, but they disembark a little and go out to sea to chase the squid, or go north to hunt down the cod and squid. All the catch was sold to the people on the East Coast, and an East Coast supply ship followed the Dutch and English fishing boats far behind, buying the catch and selling them all kinds of supplies - just like the "pocket boats" that sold sundries in the Newfoundland fishing grounds.

Matthias, the mayor of Baleen Whale Harbor, was inspecting the construction of the livestock pen near the docks, and when he saw two more large ships coming from outside, he immediately rushed over happily, and said as he ran: "God forbid, are the ships to the Pacific Ocean back?" ”

"No, it's the ship heading for the Pacific Ocean that's about to depart!" Ensign Given's pedals made his swift arrival on the dock, and the turbulence of the ship caused by the swelling of the harbor did not seem to affect his movements in the slightest.

"That's a shame, I thought the number of cattle in Baleen Whale Harbor was going to increase again." Mayor Matthias, who is in his 40s, walked over wearing a black tunic and rain boots. He was followed by three dirty children, according to whom his three sons and daughters were introduced, who seemed to have gone to take care of the sheep in the sheepfold, and there was a fishy smell on their bodies.

"Since last month, there have been three consecutive months of ships coming from the other side of the Pacific." "Every ship was loaded with livestock, gold, silver, coins, works of art, and all sorts of other things. Gold and silver coins are of no use to us, and they need to be turned over to the state, but we are able to keep most of the livestock. It's a pity that these livestock are obviously leftovers, skinny, not big, and it seems that healthy adult livestock has been picked up by the people of Magellan's intelligence station. ”

For the residents of Baleen Whale Harbor, it is no secret that the storage of Magellan's intelligence station is not a secret, almost everyone knows this place, but the specific location is not very clear, after all, the ships that transport supplies there need to stop at the baleen whale harbor for supplies, and even many materials are temporarily stored in the warehouse here, waiting to be used at any time.

Some time ago, the Navy's Pacific Task Force fought continuously in Chile and Peru and captured a large amount of supplies and livestock. Useful materials such as copper, cocoa, cane sugar, tobacco, leather, and fluff were naturally stored in the Barbelen Whale Harbor warehouse, waiting for the right time to be shipped back to the mainland. As for the thousands of cattle and sheep that were seized, they were distributed on the spot to Magellan's intelligence station and Baleen Whale Harbor under the direction of the Government Council, and of course a small part was given to the Araucans who accompanied the people on the east coast.

Since the climate and geography of the vicinity of Magellan's intelligence station were not suitable for large-scale cultivation of crops - at present there were only a small number of cultivated oats, rye, and potato fields, and the yield was extremely low, so in order to maintain the survival of this important node where the population was tending to increase, the Government Council granted permission to intercept the large number of cattle and sheep seized by the navy from Chile and Peru, and use the endless grasslands here for grazing, so as to expand the population as much as possible.

Similar to Magellan's intelligence station, the Falklands Baleen Whale Harbor was also granted permission to intercept the remaining livestock, mainly sheep. The cold and humid climate around Baleen Whale Harbor is where the local population now grows potatoes, a hardy crop. Of course, potatoes are only used to provide some starch, and the grains from the region need to be imported locally. In addition, the protein can only be supplemented by fish, and the fat is raised by the livestock themselves.

The environment of Baleen Whale Harbor is still very suitable for grazing, and there are currently more than 6,000 livestock in this important transit port city for ships on the east coast to the Indian and Pacific Oceans, with 5 livestock per capita. More than two-thirds of the livestock are sheep, which graze around the city. There are not many wild animals on the island that can threaten the sheep, except for a few wild foxes or Antarctic wolves, and the sheep can basically grow rapidly.

In later generations, the archipelago's main exports were wool and mutton, and hundreds of thousands of sheep brought handsome profits to the island's small inhabitants. The income of more than 1,200 residents on the eastern shore of Time Island (30% Guaraní, 30% Charua, 20% Europeans, and 20% Ming) is not bad, and the average annual income is more than 75 yuan, nearly 30% higher than that of the mainland. It's just that money is not very useful in this desolate and isolated place, where commerce is still quite primitive, and many residents are still used to bartering. The commercial development of Baleen Whale Harbor began in the past two years after the population of the port increased and a large number of foreign whaling boats and fishing boats poured into the port.

Zhang Jinhua and the others did not intend to stay in this cold place for long, and after spending a day unloading the cargo (weapons, ammunition, medicine, and some food), they loaded the ship with a large amount of spiced whale jerky, which is the standard food for long-distance ships, and a large amount of seal oil.

Due to the large number of seals, sea lions, sea otters and other animals stored on the Falklands, the fur of these animals can not only be made into high-quality leather, but also their fat and internal organs can be boiled into high-grade industrial lubricants, which is also the material that the two expedition ships urgently need. The island's population of these animals is now large, and according to central policy, local residents can kill a certain number of seals and sea lions every year during the non-whaling season, and then make hides and lubricants locally to supply ships on the east coast to and from the port - which is an important source of income for local residents at this stage.

On 2 February, the two ships led by the Exploration left Baleen Whale Harbour and headed first due east, then northeast with currents and westerly winds, heading straight for South Africa's River Harbour. (To be continued......)