From the east coast to the west coast of the peninsula, there was originally only a cattle lane. Business travelers shuttling through the dense forest, accompanied by the fearsome Indochinese tiger and reticulated python, can be life-threatening at any time, and must be extremely careful when camping at night.

It took three years to complete the road connecting the two oceans, and the 3-meter-wide mud and gravel road was enough for horse-drawn carriages, so that there was no longer a long horseback ride to return to the territory.

There are post stations and villages on both sides of the road, migrants are advancing, forests are receding, and plantations and rice fields are increasing day by day. There are 5 to 10 young people equipped with arquebuses in each migrant village, and tigers and pythons are endless, and the migrant villagers must have the ability to defend themselves.

Stone arch bridges have been erected over the rivers that pass through them, which no longer serve as an obstacle.

Like all the foundations of the classical era, the roads were built by the people. The exact casualty figure is not known, but Lynch estimates it at between 2,000 and 3,000. Under the high roadbed, the bones of countless slaves are buried.

Located on the shores of the Andaman Sea in the Confederacy, the Acropolis was a small city of 2,000 inhabitants and an almost equal number of slaves. Scattered outside the city are villages and small towns, with only a few buildings made of brick and stone, most of which are common local bamboo and wooden houses, and the smoke is curling at this time, creating a peaceful idyllic scene.

More than ten kilometers north of the city are rolling hills, and over this section of mountainous land more than ten kilometers wide is Trang Ri Province of Siam.

Half of the residents of Lingweicheng are Chinese, and the city wall also uses the Chinese construction method, based on the stones collected on the mountain, rammed earth and bricks, and the entire city wall project is very cheap, the total cost is only 1,000 taels, which is on the same level as the cost of most Chinese counties.

On the south side of the city, the Ling River flows under the blue-gray city walls. Along the banks of the Ling River, dozens of large and small windmills are lined up, lifting water and milling to provide irrigation water for the surrounding farmland.

At the mouth of the lower reaches of the Ling River, a new glass port was built, and two forts guarded the improvised wharf and trestle bridge. There are currently no merchant ships, only dozens of fishing boats and a few brigs.

If you include the neighboring Lingwei Island, the territory of Shou Zhi has an area of more than 700 square kilometers, which is equivalent to a county on the mainland.

The carriage entered the city gate and stopped at the central square. The four city gates, the main road of the cross street, and the roads in the city are paved with stone slabs and blue bricks, and the style is very similar to that of a small city in southern China.

Most of the people living in the city were officers and soldiers of the Order Guard, and there were also some vacant lots for the merchants who had moved to build their own houses, as long as they complied with the town's planning scheme.

The building is simple and simple, with blue-gray bricks dotted with bamboo gardens and fruit trees, and there is no superfluous decoration, which is very comfortable.

Shou Zhi is not at home all the year round, Ling Weicheng can have the scale it has today, and his wife has paid a lot.

"Ruoqiong," Shou Xuan hugged his wife first.

The two talked for a while.

Hai Ruoqiong gently tugged the tips of her hair and took out the account book, "Your Excellency First Citizen, allow me to introduce to you the production of the territory in the past two years. “

"The matter of income will be talked about later", and the financial statements are pushed out in order, which will be too lazy to look at the numbers.

Hai Ruoqiong poured tea for Shou Order, "Then tell me about the war on the mainland." ”

Hainan Island is Ruoqiong's hometown, and most of her father, brothers, sons and nephews are also on the island, so I am afraid that she will not be at ease. Holding his wife's hand and walking into the study, facing the map, the order began with the Battle of Guangzhou. Let's not talk about the scenes that are too bloody and brutal, but the introduction is mostly some positive parts.

Shou Xuan and Qiongzhou's father and brother often sent letters, and Hai Ruoqiong knew about the general progress of the war. The woman rested her elbows on the table and sat upright, quietly listening to the orderly. When it comes to the important points, Hai Ruoqiong behaves very indifferently.

"You don't seem nervous at all?" Orderly.

A smile appeared on the corner of Hai Ruoqiong's mouth, "Can Qiongzhou and Leizhou hold on?" ”

"Qiongzhou is foolproof, and we can only do our best in Leizhou."

"I will definitely be able to hold it," Hai Ruoqiong said, "I believe in you." ”

"Well, I need your favor as well."

"Did you say that?"

"I'm going to recruit another battalion of guards."

Hai Ruoqiong's eyes flickered twice, "I didn't understand." ”

"Well, I mean money. We'll talk about the military expenses later, and we have to pay for the settling-in expenses when recruiting. ”

Hai Ruoqiong lowered her head and opened the account book, "There are more than 8,000 family balances over the years, I'll make up 10,000 taels for you." ”

"Ruoqiong ......"

"Alas, get used to it."

The basic recruits in the territory are veterans of all ethnic groups, with a settling-in fee of 20 taels per person and a military salary of 20 taels for half a year, 250 people can be recruited, and Lin Chuyong's existing more than 100 people are combined, and then it is a full battalion.

Hai Ruoqiong lightly knocked on the door of Shou Order's head, "Alas, don't just think about war. The eldest brother is 7 years old this year, you have to find a good master for him as soon as possible. ”

"Well, it's on me......"

He has a son and a daughter, a son who is 7 years old and a daughter who is 5 years old. The son is the most destructive age, and he has been fighting all the year round, and there are actually some strangers between the son and the father, and the daughter is slightly better.

Ling Weicheng has a children's primary school, and Shou Xu plans to send his son to the Navy Middle School after graduating from primary school. Although Hai Ruoqiong did not object, she still insisted on finding a Confucian master or something to teach children Chinese studies. The order has been dragging on and I don't want to do it, and I can only give in if I take the money.

Seeing that Shou Xiang agreed, Hai Ruoqiong was in a good mood, and said to Shou Xu: "Sister Song in Taipei, you should take it back, you don't want people to be far away from the ocean." ”

"Forehead ......" was silent and silent, and it was wrong to answer this way.

Qi Jiguang was a hero, and his wife knew about taking a concubine, and he made a joke about inviting his wife to parade, which is not worth learning.

After a few days of idle life at home, he went to the museum in the city.

The museum houses a collection of animal and plant specimens collected from South America to Asia.

One of the most precious rooms is the specimens or skeletons of the South African lion, Asiatic lion, Bengal tiger, Indochinese tiger, South China tiger, Indochinese leopard, water monitor lizard, saltwater crocodile, Ze crocodile, reticulated python, Burmese python, king cobra, Malayan bear and other top predators in their respective fields.

Zhu Youliang is copying a Sunda clouded leopard skeleton, standing beside him for a while, the clouded leopard has the most beautiful cloud-like leopard prints, the long canine teeth and the body proportions are very disproportionate, if you only look at the skeleton, the clouded leopard is easily reminiscent of one of the top big cats in history, the saber-toothed tiger.

Zhu Youliang was engrossed, and after drawing the most conspicuous teeth of the clouded leopard, he found that he was standing beside him.

"Teacher." Zhu Youliang bowed.

"No need to be polite, sit down." Shou Xuan pulled Zhu Youliang to sit down and chatted about family life.

In Nanyang, the identity of Prince Zhu You Liang Hui is meaningless. Many clans of the Ming Dynasty were exiled in Nanyang, and regardless of their previous status, the Quang Nam, Burma, Siam, and Chenla kingdoms all regarded them as commoners. Politically, the main Tusi of a border village is more important than these people.

The education of the clan is not bad, and teaching immigrants to read and write is the profession they choose the most. Since ancient times, teaching has been a decent job, and the descendants of the Zhu family have experienced the collapse of the world at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and they only want to live without interference and support themselves.

Zhu Youliang and Chen Shangchuan worshiped together under the door of the order. But unlike Chen Shangchuan, who entered the military academy, Zhu Youliang's background was always sensitive, and he chose to study naturalism, learning from a Dominican Catholic monk about the identification and classification of animals and plants.

In addition to classes, Zhu Youliang worked as a teacher in several immigrant villages, teaching children to read and write, and his life was also fulfilling.

"You Liang, it's been 3 years since you went to Ling Weicheng, is there a girl you like?"

Zhu Youliang's face turned red.

After all, he is only 20 years old and thin-skinned.

"If you have, just say it, I'll help you propose. If not, I'll let your wife pay attention. ”

"Teacher, in fact, there is a ......"

Shou Xuan smiled slightly, "That's good, tell me which girl it is." ”

Ling Wei, like the rest of the Federation, is generally more male than female. The officers and soldiers who settled here have young children at home, and Zhu Youliang has a crush on a Siamese girl.

I checked the order, there is nothing wrong with the background, an ordinary peasant girl, maybe with some Chinese blood, and her appearance is similar to that of a Chinese. Immediately send someone to the dowry and pick an auspicious day to get married. The wedding ceremony was relatively simple, and the old brothers were invited to drink a big meal by the way.

A few days later, he went to Bo Harbor and Lan Wei City on the island to inspect it.

The Haijia and several Chinese officials of the Shou Zhi still used the traditional Chinese way of running their direct territories, with men farming and fishing, and women weaving nets and cultivating mulberry and silkworms. There are no mines in the territory, and Lingwei Island produces a little secondary saltpeter made from bat dung, which all depends on the primary industry of agriculture, forestry and fishery.

The yield per acre of land is increasing, but more people are needed to accelerate development. As chairman of the Senate China Committee, the "Defection to the Angry Sea" program is still a work of order.

Lin completed the recruitment of soldiers, and these Indian, Mon and Thai soldiers who had migrated to the West Coast could speak Chinese to some extent, and after mixing with the Chinese, they exchanged a strange mixture of languages.

Shou led more than 400 people to bid farewell to the fathers and elders in the city, and embarked on the journey again in the farewell of the women and children with the sound of crying.

Arriving at the capital port, the south wind was gentle, and the military flag fluttered gently in the air.

Collingwood had already led a fleet to the Philippines, and only two old ships, the Rafael and the South Sea, remained in the harbor.

In the shipyard, the skeletons of the three newly built Goddess-class and one Majesty-class 70-gun three-stage battleship have been formed, and they should be ready to be launched by this time next year.

Shou orderly boarded the frigate Yuexiu, set off with a fleet of 100 grain ships, and headed north to Qiongzhou.