October 15th. The light rain began to fall in the morning, and at noon, it finally evolved into heavy rain, and the Big Fish River (crossing the river where the public is located, named after Xiao Bailang caught a fish of more than 30 catties in this river. Both banks were soaked in a white rain mist.

There are now nearly 100 simple cabins in the North Shore residential area, and a large number of people have moved their belongings and settled here. A thin wooden fence encloses the residential area, the wood processing plant, the canteen, the warehouse, the toilets in a rectangular shape, and two gates open on the fence: the south gate and the north gate. Outside the south gate is the pontoon bridge connecting the two banks of the Dayu River, and 250 meters north of the north gate is the newly reclaimed vegetable field and water treatment plant. This place can be said to be the real core area of the crossing, as early as the third day after the crossing, Wang Qinian with a squad of guards stationed here, the wooden fence was built earlier than the residential area, and the tall watchtower was also erected at the first time.

On the south bank of the Dayu River is the industrial zone planned by the committee, with three small scattered strongholds, namely a lumber yard, a brick kiln and a mining site, distributed in an equilateral triangle. The lumberyard is a long way to the south, and the woods have contributed thousands of trees to the Crossing Crowd, and the Indians who once spied on the Crossing Crowd in the woods seem to have disappeared. Not long after the brick kiln was completed, the brick kiln was covered with mud and even turf transplanted by Traders. A large number of bricks were piled up in the dry shed in the open space outside the kiln, and a thick layer of thatch or rain cloth was pressed on the bricks. A number of improvised shacks have been erected in the outfield of the mining site, and the sound of tinkling is constantly coming from the sheds, which are people making limestone powder.

The bad weather caused most industrial and agricultural activities to be temporarily suspended, and the bored travelers gathered in twos and threes to smoke, chat, and play cards, and they finally had a rare leisure time in a state of high-intensity labor these days. Just after lunch, Wang Qinian rushed into the office cabin where the committee members had gathered and reported a shocking news: a sailboat had broken into the mouth of the Dayu River.

The committee members who got the news were very shocked, Xiao Bailang immediately made a decision, immediately returned to the freighter and repeated the news with the loudspeaker on the ship, and then sent someone to inform the crossing people scattered on both sides of the Dayu River. Peng Zhicheng began to gather troops in residential areas, and at present there are four garrison squads, two stationed in residential areas, one stationed in vegetable fields and water treatment plants, and one stationed in brick kiln factories, and must be assembled as soon as possible.

Wang Tiehammer began to distribute hunting crossbows to those who remained on the freighter, and it was a rainy day, and there were really many people left on the ship, which was a great luck in misfortune. The atmosphere on the ship suddenly became tense at this time, and many people were restless, crowded through the hatch of the ship to observe the situation outside.

The Dayu River is not a deep-water river, and the average water depth of the current stranded section of Yunsheng No. 1 is only more than 3 meters, and the water depth of the estuary is not much different, 4-5 meters. If the sailboat had gone upstream, it was believed that she would have run aground in no time, and no sane captain would have done such a crazy thing. But what was striking was that the boat was still heading upstream, until she sank into the soft mud at the bottom of the Big Fish River and could no longer move.

Peng Zhicheng led three squads of 45 guards and stumbled through the soft soil. The galleon surprisingly ran aground about a hundred meters downstream of Yunsheng No. 1, and from time to time there were people walking up and down the deck, and people were shouting something. Soon, several dinghys were lowered from the ship, and some sailors on board rowed towards the north shore with a few people in clusters.

"All of them, 8mm featherless arrows are loaded, follow my orders!" Peng Zhicheng couldn't figure out what the other party wanted to do, so he just subconsciously ordered to load the weapon.

The other party abandoned the boat and went ashore, and there were a total of ten people who landed on the shore, with a variety of weapons in their hands, including swords, knives, and a few antique muskets (according to Peng Zhicheng's visual inspection, they were arquebuses). Well, in this kind of heavy rain, there is no difference between an arquebus and a burning stick.

There are weapons! The guards behind Peng Zhicheng were a little uneasy and commotionful. They were still yelling and trying to get closer.

"Poof!" The 8mm featherless arrow sank into the mud less than a meter in front of the opponent's leader. The other man's footsteps froze suddenly, but his tone became more urgent.

"It's European!" Now everyone can see clearly, but unfortunately no one can understand what the other party is saying.

Peng Zhicheng asked a few words in English, and the other party was stunned, and then he was still saying something in a language that everyone couldn't understand.

"Go back and call someone, doesn't that Gao Mo claim to know French? Let him try. Peng Zhicheng commanded a person behind him.

"Laydownyourarms!" Peng Zhicheng yelled again. At this moment, the other party seemed to understand, hesitated, and the leader untied his sword, and the others also lowered their weapons. However, they didn't come closer, and the weapons were within their reach.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, and the two sides stood strangely in the mud and confronted each other until the arrival of the reinforcements through the city.

Ma Ganzu, Ma Jia, and Shao Shude organized more than 50 men who volunteered, but before they had time to go to the ship to get weapons, they rushed over with logging axes, shovels, and pickaxes to support.

Carrying a shovel in his hand and his trousers covered in mud, he slipped to the front of the group and shouted to each other in French. The other party seemed to be a little puzzled when he heard it, but he could see that most of them understood, which made everyone breathe a sigh of relief, and then Gao Mo talked to the other party's leader.

"Captain Couayt was the captain of the armed sailing ship 'Orange River' and was employed by the Dutch West India Company." "He and his sailors were attacked by the Spaniards off the coast of La Plata, and the hull was so badly damaged that they could not return to their base in the Caribbean, so they had to run aground on the beach. ”

"Spaniards? Where are they? The crowd was nervous.

"Maybe they're back in Buenos Aires." Gaumo spoke a few more words, and then said, "Captain Couayt got rid of the Spaniards after fighting them. He asked to stay with us for a while, and to leave when the ship was repaired. For this we will have his personal friendship with the Dutch West India Company and, of course, money. ”

Everyone looked at each other, in fact, today's events were so sudden, they hadn't yet figured out what kind of attitude to use to treat these outsiders.

"Old Gao, you tell them that we need to discuss this matter before we can reply." Ma Ganzu spoke, "They are allowed to enter the shed over there to take shelter from the rain, provided that they hand over their weapons and accept our care. Of course, they will be guaranteed security from us, and personal belongings can also be kept. ”

The Dutch, of course, were not very satisfied with this condition, but there was no other way. At present, the ship has rushed to the beach and ran aground, the sailors are injured and sick, and there is not much fresh water left on board, so they can only agree to come down first.

"No! These people must be 'disposed of'! As soon as he returned to the office, Peng Zhicheng was the first to jump out, "Let them go this time, next time they will bring a fleet and sell us all as slaves." ”

"Maybe next time they'll bring something we desperately need?" Liu Weimin disagreed, "We can make a deal with them." ”

"We need a lot of pig iron, gunpowder, lead, copper, graphite, furs." Ma Jia thought about it, and now that he is traveling through the poor and white, he is indeed in urgent need of a trade partner.

"There are also sheep and cattle, cloth, medicines, tools, seeds, and so on." Shao Shude added, "Of course, what we lack most is population, and we need a lot of labor. ”

"But what about security? Can you guarantee that the Dutch will come back and trade with their promises, rather than looting with their fleets? Wang Qinian and Peng Zhicheng are consistent, and always believe that the current crossing crowd is still very weak and does not allow any adventure.

No one spoke now. No one can guarantee what the Dutch will do. The sailors of the Age of Discovery can basically be equated with scum, no matter what country he is, they only recognize money and strength.

"I have only one question, and that is in what capacity do we interact with the outside world? Country? Firm? Or groups in general? Xiao Bailang asked.

"That's a good question. It's been over a week since we crossed over and there is still no formal organization. How long will this temporary self-help committee be temporary? "If you meet the Dutch today, you will meet the Portuguese tomorrow, and the Spanish will come to you the day after tomorrow." We should think carefully about what we should look like in this world, and the current state of looseness cannot be sustained. I propose to convene a plenary meeting to discuss it. ”

Everyone glanced at Xiao Bailang and Ma Qianzu suspiciously. However, this issue is indeed critical, and while the current work of the Interim Committee has been quite effective, it is not necessarily satisfactory to everyone who travels through it. Some things will come sooner or later, and it is better to come early than late, so simply take this opportunity to solve them together.