The Orderwise chose the brig Louvre as the flagship. 4 brigs, 3 notification ships, 11 galleys, and 5 military transport ships made up the entire northbound fleet. In the past two years, the newly launched brigs and notification ships are named after the mountains and rivers of China, and Luofu is a famous mountain in Guangdong.

The small brigs, of course, could not fit the guards and staff teams, and they were scattered with the army to other ships.

The fleet was not loaded with much merchandise, only canvas, ship cables, teak and tin, saltpeter, all of which were supplies delivered to Taiwan. In addition, the fleet carried 200 buffaloes.

When heading north, pass through Jinou Bay and Houjiang Mansion. Jinou Bay is located in the northeast of Jincheng, with a range of 230 nautical miles, facing Jincheng across the mouth of Siam Bay. Hu Min is the commander of the garrison here, and under the guidance of technicians sent by Jincheng, a quadrangular fortress is rising from the ground. The trouble of building a fortress in Jinou is that there are no stones here, and the building materials needed for the fortress have to be transported from other places by boat. In the future, the Golden Ou Fort will be another important base of the navy and an important guarantee for ensuring sea supremacy in the Gulf of Siam.

Houjiang Mansion also built a four-cornered fortress to control the mouth of the sea.

Chief Executive Lam Tong Man boarded the Lofu and noticed his emaciated face. The road is blue, overcoming obstacles, and the work of pioneering is always difficult.

Lin Tongwen said to Shou Xu, "The oarsman has been selected according to your requirements. He has not suffered from severe cold, fever and other diseases. ”

Shou Xuan patted him on the shoulder, "It's hard work, I'll leave you 4 Shebek ships, and you can use these ships as the core to build the Mekong Fleet." ”

Lin Tongwen nodded and did not speak. This was agreed with him in the orderly manner, and the four ships would certainly not be able to ensure the safety of navigation on the Mekong River, and they could only use themselves for self-defense and exercise certain inspection rights at the initial stage.

"What is your core goal when you return to China this time?"

Shou Xuan thought about it, and it didn't hurt to tell Lin Tongwen the truth. "Where do you think the best blacksmiths in the country are?"

The issue of order was well known to the maritime merchants, and iron was also one of China's export commodities. Lin Tongwen smiled, "Foshan Town, Guangdong Province and Wuhu in Nanzhili." ”

Blacksmiths are the key talents recruited by Lin Tongwen in Guangdong, and Jincheng now has more than 100 blacksmiths from Foshan. Wuhu is the base for the production of Sugang. Sugang uses the steel filling method, which is the best steel that can be obtained in the Ming Dynasty at present.

Shou Xuan nodded and said, "I'm going to Wuhu to recruit a group of Suzhou Iron and Steel workers for Sanya Iron and Steel Company." ”

Seeing that Shou Xuan was serious, Lin Tongwen coughed, and he looked at the naval guns on the Shou Xuan Luofu. If it's really recruiting, just send a merchant, is it necessary to bring a fleet.

Lin Tongwen said: "Wuhu is in the upper reaches of Nanjing, and you have gone deep into the mainland, so it is better to consider the porcelain craftsmen in Jingdezhen, the dye workshops in Nanjing and Songjiang, and the silk and weaving craftsmen in Suzhou and other places." ”

Shou Xuan nodded frequently, "Yes, yes, I'll invite them all." ”

With a cannon please? Lin Tongwen was speechless.

……

The two stood on the deck, looking out over the horizon that Houjiang Province was now a wetland wilderness full of shrubs and mangroves.

"Build Houjiang into our big granary." Shou Xiang clenched Lin Tongwen's hand.

"I'm going all out," Lin Tongwen said, "The domestic situation is complicated, and Nanzhili is the core area of all kinds of partisan struggles, so you must be careful." ”

Shou Xuan smiled, "I won't participate in the game between the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party. ”

Before leaving, Shou Xian left Tiqi and a guard platoon in Houjiang Mansion, and he had appointed Tiqi as the battalion commander of the Houjiang Garrison Battalion. The ruling guard now only has Gushan's Indi arrangement and Lin Chuyong's Chezhidan platoon, a total of more than 70 people.

Leaving Houjiang Mansion, the next stop is Sanya.

Hai Shuzu sent a nephew to serve as the inspector of the Sanya Inspection Division. The exit between Yulin Port and the open sea is only 400 meters, and the east side of the channel is being built Anyou Fort, which is a triangular fortress, and the cannons in the fortress can completely cover the entire channel in and out of Yulin Neiao.

In Inner Australia, the port terminal and a quadrangular fortress are under intense construction, which is shared by the Sanya Naval Base and the Sanya Iron and Steel Company. The location of the iron ore has been found, it has not yet been mined, and the first phase of the project starts from the road from the port to the mine. It is now the season of high incidence of falciparum malaria, and he does not plan to land in order. He left three Shebeck ships to Sanya as the starting maritime armament of the Sanya Iron and Steel Company.

A typhoon made landfall at the mouth of the Pearl River, and Sanya was also affected, with heavy rain pouring for several days. The Callie ship had a shallow draft and could not withstand the big waves. Shou Xiang waited in Sanya until the typhoon had completely passed before setting sail north.

The ship was a little reluctant to sail in the open sea, and had to anchor at Magongao in Penghu on the way to rest. The highest islands in the Penghu archipelago are shaped like a mesa, and Magongao is well surrounded by these islands, completely shielding from the strong winds at sea. The depth of the bay is 8 to 9 fathoms, which is suitable for sailing ships to anchor. There are two small ports in Magongao, and some Chinese fishermen could have been seen nearby, but they all ran away before the orderly fleet arrived.

Shou Zhi decided to go ashore to rest and move his muscles. The ground of the Penghu Islands is flat, there are many stones, there are no trees on the island, only wild grasses grow.

The castle built by the Dutch was on the west coast of Ma Gong Ao. The castle has a circumference of about 600 meters, and the building materials are made of sugar water and gray as a binder for the stones, which is as strong as the castle of Geranza. In addition to the main fort of Penghu, there are several castles near Magongao. Among them, the city of Dark Ao was built by Yu Dayou, and the quality of the castle built by the Ming army was very poor, and the city walls collapsed, and now only a piece of bricks remains. Watong City was also built by the Dutch and is located in Watong O. At the top of Ayutthaya on the main island, the Dutch also built a large fort with a circumference of nearly 400 meters.

Penghu is now under the de facto control of the Dutch, and the big Galen ships sailing in the Taiwan Strait all use Magongao as a supply point to and from Japan. Most Dutch ships to Japan would load some buffalo on board, and Geranza would send a boat to transfer to Tainan at Magongao.

The Dutch kept their treaty with the Ming Dynasty, and although they actually controlled Penghu and the castle was still there, they did not send troops to station. Orderly walks among the weeds of the castle, and some discarded iron cannons are dumped on the ground. When the Dutch and the Ming army evacuated, they did not take the artillery with them, and after simply dismantling the gun mounts, they abandoned them on the main island. The former Dutch governor of Taiwan, Putmans, later sent people to Penghu to recover the cannons, but for some reason, the matter was over. The rusty barrel just lay there, and no one cared about it.

For the Dutch, this is scrap iron, but for Taipei, which lacks iron tools, these are good raw materials. Shou Xiang asked Gushan to return to the fleet to find people, search the whole island, and pack all the scrap iron that the Dutch and Ming armies did not want. Penghu used to be a battlefield where many forces fought, in addition to artillery, there were many other discarded weapons, and more than 100 tons of rags were picked up here.

Being poor is really the original sin. Shou Xiang sighed.

Three days later, the fleet continued north, arriving at the port of Tamsui. It has been a year and a half since the last time I left Taiwan, on the right bank of the Tamsui River, at the foot of Balikun Mountain, the Tamsui Fort battery fired a 9 salute to the fleet, which was the first time that Taiwan saw a reinforcement fleet from Jincheng during this time.

The Guardian noted that the foundation stone of a quadrangular fortress on the left bank of the Tamsui River had been laid and was under construction.

The commander of the Tamsui Fort garrison was Cai Yuanding, the former Chinese guard captain of Shou Order, and he showed a look of surprise on his face when he saw Shou Order. "My lord, I didn't expect you to come, otherwise I would have fired a 21-gun salute."

It didn't hurt to wave his hand in order, he was relatively low-key when he went north this time, and his Admiral General Flag and Orca Whale Heraldic Flag were not hung on the ship. He pointed to the two Yahat ships moored next to the Dutch Merchant House, "Are those two Dutch ships going to Japan?" ”

"Yes, my lord, the Dutch merchant ships Afrika and Berg are taking shelter from the wind in Freshwater to buy our deerskins."

"What do they pay for?"

"It's still Indian cotton."

Shou Xuan thought for a moment, "You go to Witherling to discuss if you can increase the amount of rice paid." ”

Cai Yuanding was a little embarrassed, "My lord, you should go to Governor Maiden or Commissioner Boggs about trade, they are all in Keelung." ”

Maiden's position was that of the governor of Taipei, but privately the soldiers were accustomed to calling him governor.

"You're right, you're just a castle garrison commander now, and you can't take care of trade." Shou Xuan patted his head, "Yuan Ding, I plan to inspect the Taipei Plain, and you will be the guide." ”

"Yes, sir."

Shou Xu and Cai Yuanding took a team of guards to change to a long boat, raised the sails, and sailed to the upper reaches of the Tamsui River. Summer is also the season of high malaria incidence in Taipei, so I don't plan to go ashore, so I take a long boat along the Tamsui River to have a look.

Taiwan's rivers all originate from the Central Mountain Range, and are generally characterized by large drops, strong seasonality, and fast flow during the flood season. Because of the frequent flash floods, the river bank is washed by the rapids, and the collapse phenomenon is more frequent. Most of Taiwan's rivers not only have no navigable value, but also have a very negative impact on agricultural production because of frequent diversions.

The Tamsui River flows north from the mountains, the river meanders, and the rainfall in Taipei is on the high side, which is stable at about 2000mm all year round, creating a relatively stable course of the Tamsui River, with little seasonal variation. This is the only river in Taiwan with navigable value, and it is accessible to small sailing boats from below the downstream Daxi.

There are a few immigrant villages scattered on both sides of the Tamsui River, and there are not many brick houses, but they are still mainly stilt houses, and the roofs are paved with palm and coconut leaves.

"Will these cabins be able to withstand a typhoon?"

Cai Yuanding shook his head, "I can't stop it." When a typhoon comes, the roof will be blown off. ”

"Then why don't you build more brick houses?"

"The main reason is that there is no money, and the brick house is more expensive to repair. Moreover, after comparing the brick house with the stilted wooden house, Governor May said that the stilt house was dry, well ventilated, and healthier for the body of the immigrants. ”

"What if a typhoon comes?"

"When a typhoon comes, the village will issue an alarm in advance, and everyone will take refuge in the village's ancestral hall, which is the brick houses. The roof of a stilt house is easy to blow away, but it is also easy to repair. Wait for the typhoon to go away and rebuild. ”

Typhoons are the most important natural disasters facing Taiwan, and every time a typhoon crosses, it will cause great economic losses, but there is no way at all, so we can only carry it.

Considering that rice fields can contribute to the spread of malaria, the main food crops grown in Taipei are sweet potatoes, corn and wheat, in addition to some tobacco, cotton, sisal, flax and other cash crops. Tobacco, corn and sisal seeds were brought from the Americas, and sisal was one of the main raw materials used to make ship cables.

Cai Yuanding pointed to a village by the river and said to Shou Xu: "Governor Maiden has ordered all immigrants to plant three fruit trees in their homes. ”

Shou ordered to become a little interested, "What kind of fruits do you grow?" ”

"Coconut, banana, betel nut, mangosteen and bread tree, you name it."

The fruit is rich in vitamins and can improve the immunity of immigrants. Betel nut has a direct preventive and therapeutic effect on dysentery, which is a murderous disease in this era, second only to malaria. Coconut is also worth growing in large quantities, and coconut whiskers are also an important raw material for ship cables.

Cai Yuanding brought a few mangosteens to Shou Order. It is a fruit about the size of an apple with a dark purple shell. There are four flesh-colored petals that melt like cream in the mouth, and the taste is excellent. Mangosteen is a specialty fruit of the East Indies and the Malay Peninsula, and is a favorite of the Order. Mangosteen grows very slowly, and Cai Yuanding bought these fruits from the Dutch, who transplanted some fruit trees in Tainan.

The longboat fleet went all the way up to the confluence of the Tamsui River and the Keelung River. The Keelung River originates in the mountainous areas of southern Keelung and does not flow north into the sea, but flows south through the Taipei Plain into the Tamsui River. Sampan boats are also accessible in the lower reaches of the Keelung River, and naturally, a market town is formed at the confluence of the two rivers. The river harbor is home to more than a dozen sampans of all kinds and small flat-bottomed sailboats. The flat-bottomed boats were built by the freshwater shipyard itself, because the timber cut by Taiwan itself has not yet dried in the shade, and these ships use pine and fir materials imported from Fujian. The market town now has more than 1,000 inhabitants and is expected to expand further.

Shou Xuan said: "The development is very fast, and this place is still a wasteland when I leave. ”

Cai Yuan nodded and said, "The Chinese are really capable. Because you have repeatedly ordered that Governor Maiden and other senior administrators should not be allowed to penetrate into the island during the rainy season, the Governor will allow the Chinese here to be self-governing. As long as the construction is carried out according to the plan, we generally do not interfere in the specific work. ”

Shou Xuan nodded slightly, Maiden could not have enough cadres to manage all aspects. The Dutch and Spaniards, including the Dutch, were also managed in a way that allowed them to be autonomous. This reduces the hassle and motivates the best among the immigrants.

"What's the name of this market town?"

"Taipei Town, my lord. Governor Maiden named the market town after the core city you planned. ”

Shou Xiang smiled, this is the prototype of the future Taipei City.

Shou Xuan picked up a piece of mangosteen and asked, "Yuanding, remember what I said to you when I was in Acapulco?" ”

"My lord said he wouldn't be able to let me go home, but he would be able to guarantee that I would be closer to home than in New Spain."

Shouxu said: "I remember everything I said in my heart, I remember that you are from Xinning County?" Let's try it this time. ”

Cai Yuanding was a little excited, "Did the adults say that I would have a holiday and let me go home to see?" ”

"It's not a holiday," Shou Xuan glanced at him, and there was no way to take family leave now. "You hand over the post of commander of Fort Tamsui to the deputy position, and choose a team of soldiers to follow me, this time I will add a burden to you."

"Ahem," Cai Yuanding coughed twice, "Obey, my lord." ”

The longboat team turned around and returned to Taipei.

On the second floor of the tallest brick house in the market town, Leng Yingsheng sighed.

"The lord of the kingdom still hasn't landed?" Ding Yaokang, who was behind the desk, asked

Leng Yingsheng shook his head, "The boats have turned back." ”

Although the flag was not hung, the news of Shou Order's arrival in Taipei quickly spread among these managers. In an era when the vast majority of people are illiterate, literacy is always a prominent advantage. Like other places, immigrants like Leng Yingcheng and Ding Yaokang soon occupied some management positions. Even if they didn't become officials, they entered the school to become teachers and get a salary. Leng Yingcheng and Ding Yaokang are both bureaucratic families, and since childhood, they have heard and witnessed that they are better at managing immigrants than others. This year, he was promoted to the mayor and deputy mayor of Taipei Town.

"Don't sigh anymore," Ding Yao said, "Let's study the Governor's plan to build a freshwater embankment, as long as we do a good job of running the water conservancy errand, you and I will definitely be noticed by the lord of the country." ”

Leng Yingsheng nodded, sat down and went to the table with his colleagues to discuss how to recruit manpower.

Flash floods and tidal backflow are the main disasters faced by the freshwater river, and floods can erode the riverbank, which is very harmful. Those rivers in Tainan do not need to repair their embankments now, because it is useless to repair them, and they will be washed away in a few years. The Taipei Tamsui River can still be saved.

(I didn't catch everyone to work, so I got off work in a hurry.) ^^。 Happy holidays.