The Shen family fleet has a total of more than 1,000 people, and the living expenses in Keelung are all in order. X had been like this for a few days, and Shen Tingshu felt that it was not interesting to wait like this all the time, so he asked Shou Xuan if there was anything he could do to help.

After consulting with Maiden, Shou Xuan found out that there really was.

After the Medina detachment returned to Taipei, Wang Huizhi left a letter for Shou Order, and as he had previously said, left Taiwan with 12 ships. Taipei's remaining capacity is now in a very tight state.

Shou Xu and Shen Tingshu stood side by side in front of the map, "Lord Shen, there is a Suao Port in the Yilan area east of Taipei, which is surrounded by rocky headlands and can shelter from the wind and waves, among which Nanao is especially good. Apart from Keelung, there is no better port in the whole of Taiwan than South Australia. There is also a Guishan Island off the coast of Yilan. I want to build two forts in Suao Harbor and a lighthouse on Guishan Island, and I need your sand boat to help transport some building materials and manpower. ”

"Okay, my people can help with the construction of the harbor and forts."

"I'll pay your sailors on a daily basis." ”

Now it is the cold of spring, the temperature is relatively low, and there is no need to worry about malaria in Yilan for the time being. Shou Xuan didn't want to develop Yilan now, but after Nanzhili gained an unexpected population, he could at least occupy the Suao port area and gain an entrance to conquer the Yilan Plain.

With the sand boats, Maiden was able to free up two bird boats to transport struvite to Cotton Island, Cotton Island, Pengjia Island, and Vase Island are the three northern islands of Taiwan, of which Cotton Island and Vase Island are more rugged terrain and difficult to set up a stronghold, and Pengjia Island is slightly flatter, and Maiden plans to build a lighthouse here as well, leaving 30 residents.

Pengjiayu is surrounded by good fishing grounds, and the island is large enough to grow some drought-tolerant sweet potatoes. The building materials for the lighthouse and fort came from volcanic mud from Datun Volcano, and the stone needed to be cut in Keelung, and the fuel for the lighthouse was planned to use Miaoli's oil.

The Nanhai and Melville docked at the port to rest, and the ships that had just returned from the Liaohai did not need to clean their bottoms for the time being, and after months of activity in the icy Liaohai, the maggots froze to death.

Shou Xu and Maiden summoned the commander of the Taipei Detachment, Aleman, and the commander of the army, Filhoff, and Shou Xun first asked the navy, "How is the construction progress of Fort Tamsui and Tamsui Port?" ”

Allemand: "The Tamsui Castle is fully completed and will be ready for use in three months, and the Tamsui Port will have to wait a little longer. ”

Shou was very satisfied with their work, "I leave you all the warships except the Nanhai, and you can transfer to the Raphael as the flagship." ”

Allemand's face was filled with joy, "That's great. ”

Order: "You now have 5 battleships, the Raphael, the Melville, the Tempest, the Tamsui, and the Keelung. Lu Congxian also applied to me, and he wanted to join our fleet. ”

Allemand: "That Chinese pirate and maritime merchant? ”

Shou Xuan said: "Yes, his 4 junk ships are of average quality, and all of them have been changed to merchant ships. ”

"Okay."

"The 12 Liao ships I brought back this time can be used as combat ships after being slightly refitted. Lu Congxian's crew and those left by Wang Huizhi are not enough, you have to recruit some more. ”

Allemand looked at Maiden, "The matter of manpower needs the support of the chief executive." ”

Maiden bowed, "If the junk ship is used as a dual-purpose ship for merchant ships and war ships, I will have enough manpower." ”

Allemand: "And the problem of the shipyard, there are so many ships, and the amount of repair work is not small. ”

"Next year you'll have to get the yard ready, at least to be able to complete the overhaul of the ship." ”

"As long as there are craftsmen, the groundwork is not a problem, but what about the wood?"

"There is no teak in Taiwan, but there are a lot of other woods, so you have to organize the cutting and dry it as soon as possible." Shou Xuan took out a map of Taiwan, "In the central mountainous area, there is a towering tree in Taiwan, the Taiwan juniper, which is cut down. Even if you don't need it now, it will be useful in the future. ”

"How big is that wood?"

Shou Xiang smiled: "The biggest possibility is to have more than a dozen people hugging." ”

Taiwanese juniper is tall and straight, and it is enough to make keels. Because teak was too expensive, Taiwanese cypress was used for the decks laid on the battleships of the old Japanese Navy.

Maiden: "As long as I have wood, I can try to build some boats, not only to repair boats, but also to build some small boats." ”

"Teak is related to the repair of the battleship, and I will transport some to you from Jincheng then." There is no way around this, it can only be transported from Kaneshiro.

Filhoff said: "The army needs to have enough ammunition to replenish, and the current stock will always run out." I think it's the same on the Navy side. ”

Seeing Shou Xuan looking over, Maiden sighed: "It's just that the production of ammunition is not a big problem, we have engineers, and there are craftsmen from China, although we can't cast cannons for the time being, we can produce ammunition, and we can also make the barrel of arquebuses." The problem is that we can't produce our own raw materials. ”

"Sulfur and charcoal are not a problem, saltpeter may need to be imported from China." I am afraid that iron can only be imported. ”

Maiden frowned and said: "This also has to be imported, that has to be imported, manpower is needed everywhere, and we simply don't have enough money and people." ”

Orderly: "So you have to make a good plan, try to produce as much as possible if you can produce your own products, and do a good job in the distribution of import quotas if you can't produce your own products." ”

Maiden was a little anxious: "You also know that the supplies seized from the Spaniards are estimated to run out this year. Our expenses are so great that we have to import even food until the harvest of the farmland in Taipei. Even if there is an abundance of farmland, there may be some hope for yield only next year. ”

"You're right, and it's been difficult for Jincheng to give you substantial reinforcements in the past two years, so you still have to find a place where you can provide money and population."

Shou ordered to change to East Asian charts, picked up a pen, and pointed to Jeju Island.

"Giving you so many ships is not to let you start a war with Zheng Zhilong or other Ming Dynasty sailors, nor to let you shrink in Taiwan and not move."

Allemand: "The island of Chamko? ”

The Dutch called Jeju Island the island of Champus.

"In addition to the possessions that may be available in several cities on the island itself, the island of Champus produces very good raw materials for bows and arrows, and horses, which are very important military supplies. In the trade between the Li dynasty and the Tatars, bows and arrows and war horses from the island of Cham Si were important commodities. ”

Alemand was a little surprised, "Gold, silver and war horses are good, but bows and arrows are useless to us." ”

"But it works for China." Shou Xuan nodded at Weihaiwei and Yuntai Island, "This time I went north, I have established contact with the commander of the Ming Dynasty garrison in Weihaiwei and the minister in charge of maritime transportation in Huai'an Prefecture, and you must continue to expand the relationship to obtain immigrants." It's better to have their fleet to help us transport, as this time, and we'll provide the escort. ”

"What you mean is that we plundered the island of Si and traded the spoils of war with the Chinese government forces in exchange for people and supplies."

"Yes."

The task of plundering the army on the island was heavy, and Filhoff asked, "What about the island's defenses?" ”

Order: "The defense of the island of Occupy is vulnerable. ”

Filhoff calculated, "The current strength can only maintain defense, so I will expand an army battalion in Taipei as soon as possible." ”

Orderly: "I will leave you with the Chezhi Danlian, and with a battalion and sailors, you can do a big job on the island of Chamkoku." ”

Maiden thought for a moment and said to Shouxu: "Now I can't expect you to transport cattle for me from Jincheng, China is the only source of livestock. If there are a lot of horses on Zhanguosi Island, we can also transport some back to Taipei, and the horses can save a lot of manpower. ”

Shou Xuan shook his head slightly, "The horses of Zhanguosi Island are northern horse breeds, which are cold-tolerant and drought-tolerant, not tolerant to humidity and heat, and may have difficulty adapting to the climate in Taipei. ”

Maiden said: "Anyway, it's not used to make war horses, let's try it." If you can't feed it, you will eat meat, and you can think that some of them will survive to adapt to the climate. ”

Alem lay on the map, swiped his finger to Jeju Island, and then connected to Weihaiwei, "In this case, we let one warship and four Junk warships stay behind, gather four warships and 20 transport ships, and after plundering the occupied island, two warships and most of the Junk ships will transport the population and some horses back." The remaining two warships and junk ships carried the traded supplies and war horses to Liugong Island and Yuntai Island to make deals with the Chinese government forces there. ”

Maiden said: "Rushing north at the end of the south wind season, the first wave of ships can return at the beginning of the north wind, which can save time." ”

Shou Xuan was very happy to see that their plan was getting better and better, "Yes, I will make another suggestion, the time window for us to do transactions may not be too much, this year, at most next year, there will only be two large-scale ones." So this year, you'd better make it bigger and try to recruit as many people as possible. ”

"Tens of thousands of immigrants at a time?"

Orderly smiled: "Yes, all the Spanish heritage will be spent this year, and the gold mines will also be intensified." If you don't have enough money, don't care about the interest and borrow from the big Dutch. ”

Taipei's military trio glanced at each other, and Maiden said, "Understood, I'll do my best." ”

Shou ordered to pour wine for the three of them, "Gentlemen, our business has just begun. With 100,000 subjects, our position in Taipei will be unshakable. ”

"For a better future."

"Cheers to the future, Your Excellency."

"Cheers, gentlemen."

In the midst of the scramble, Maiden asked Shou Xiang softly, "I remember you said that in two or three years, the current Chinese government will collapse." ”

"As much as I don't want this to happen, it's true that the regime is beyond salvage. China is too big, the power of outsiders is insignificant, and they can only rely on themselves. "Although there are a few people in the regime who are still doing their best to save it, and I admire them, that doesn't change the final outcome. ”

"I can't imagine what it would be like for a country almost as big as all of Western Europe to collapse."

The orderly words are like a cold wave in winter, "Have you ever imagined the end of the world, my sir administrator, that is the scene of the end of the world, at least the first half." ”

Maiden was a little chilled, "So what are we going to do?" What will the Dutch do then? ”

Shou Xuan thought for a moment, "The impact of this change on the whole of Asia is too drastic for us to be immune to. I will personally come to Taipei to deal with it then. ”

"It's up to you."

"Prepare for the beginning of a miracle, my friend."

After arranging the work in an orderly manner, everyone knew that he was going back to China. Walking out of the chief executive's residence, the officers and administrative staff of Heping Island gathered in the fortress. Shou Xiang smiled and shook hands with the people in the first row, occasionally hugging, climbed the stern of the Nanhai, and waved to the people on the shore.

The Nanhai's hold was filled with whale oil and sulphur, and it was slowly sailing out of the harbor under the tow of the dinghy. Test the wind direction and lower the sails. The castle fired 9 salutes to the order, and the Nanhai returned the salute 9 times.

Shou Xuan looked at Keelung Harbor in the distance, let out a sigh of relief, and returned to the officer's cabin.

Ronald, the captain of the South Sea, walked up to Orderly, "Your Excellency, where are we going next?" ”

After Ronald recovered, Shou Xuan announced his appointment, and was officially promoted from first mate to captain of the South Sea.

Shou Orderly hung up the skin and lit the pipe, "Let's go to Guangdong." ”

"Pearl River Estuary?"

"The Pearl River Estuary is not a problem, someone will go to survey and map in the future. We went to Shimokawa Island this time. ”

Without the drag of the junk, the voyage to Shangxiachuan Island in Xinning County, Guangdong Province was only more than 500 nautical miles, and the Nanhai went at full speed and arrived at Shangxiachuan Island a week later.

The two islands of Shangxiachuan together cover more than 200 square kilometers and are the largest islands in Guangdong. Beneath the rolling hills are bays surrounded by headlands, white sand beaches and swaying palm trees. The islands are large enough to have farmland and villages in the flatter areas. There are also some boats on the shore that are fishing.

Ronald looked through the binoculars and said to Shouxu, "What a beautiful island. ”

"Not only beautiful," said the preface, "there are three or four sheltered bays on the island where warships can be moored. If a few forts were built on the harbor and high grounds, it would have been a strong fortress. ”

"Sir," Ronald shook his head, "you always think of military ports, forts, and fortresses, and never stop to admire the beautiful scenery. ”

Ronald's expression showed that he was not exactly joking, and Shou Xian sighed slightly, "Time is pressing, it's hard for me to be in the same good mood as you." Perhaps you will understand from my position that only by repairing the fort can the officers and soldiers have the leisure to enjoy the scenery easily. ”

Seeing the order and talking about the fort again, Ronald could only shrug his shoulders, "Okay, then the fort." I don't think I'll have a chance to sit in your place. ”

"Anything can happen in the future, Mr. Ronald."

Shou Xuan asked the staff officer to bring the map, and he explained to Ronald: "The Pearl River is divided into the Dongjiang, Xijiang and Beijiang, which connect the whole of Guangdong Province, and the Xijiang River is especially important. The Xijiang River is in Guangxi, and through a great project built 2,000 years ago, it connects the Xiangjiang River and then communicates the Yangtze River. "Orderly, this is talking about the spiritual canal.

Ronald raised his head, "If I'm not mistaken, isn't there a watershed between Guangxi and Huguang?" ”

"Yes, my forefathers lifted the locks to get the ships over the watershed."

"2000 years ago? That's a remarkable achievement. ”

"Indeed."

In China's offshore waters, navigation is more difficult. At the level of junk ships, sea transportation was out of order for most of the year due to typhoons and cold spells, and only inland river transportation could reliably sustain this vast empire. In ancient China, where productivity was backward, accidents were easy to occur in places where there were no inland rivers. For example, Liaodong, Northwest China, Vietnam, and Korea were all territories that China had repeatedly conquered.

Korea and Vietnam were eventually lost permanently, and the Central Dynasty could carefully choose the seasons and wind directions to conquer Vietnam and Korea by sea, but it was difficult to maintain its rule there by sea for a long time after the local ethnic groups developed. In fact, the Liaodong and Hexi corridors are also facing the same problem, but the land conditions in these two places are acceptable.