In September of the 16th year of Jiajing, when the fleet arrived at the Guanhaiqiu Lighthouse again, they left Yang Hongju's family, 20 families and corresponding supplies at Guanhaiqiu. And let Yang Hongju be the head of 100 people, and take these more than 100 people to build Guanhai Village with the lighthouse as the center, and set up a beacon tower to serve as a warning. Then he drove to Wujiazhai.

When the fleet arrived at Wujiazhai on Dongfan Island for the second time, the population soon expanded. The people who immigrated, under Wu Tianxiao's arrangement, began to burn the wasteland in full swing and prepare for farming. After the burning, because the autumn planting season was missed, they had to wait until the next spring to plant the seedlings. Therefore, in addition to sowing cash crops such as sugarcane, tea, and hemp, Wu Tianxiao also led the people to build a river in his spare time. Wujiazhai belongs to the lower reaches of the Danshui River, only twenty or thirty miles away from the sea, and the probability of flooding is very small. However, for the sake of insurance, Wu Tianxiao is still ready to build some low embankments.

Wujiazhai is located in the plain plain, the soil is fertile, and it grows two to three times a year. To the south of Wujiazhai is the Fanbei Plain, which is the Taipei Plain of later generations. As the Tamsui River goes southwest, it enters the larger, hundred-mile-long Taoyuan Plain. The Taoyuan Plain is still connected to Hsinchu and Miaoli in the south, but these places are now just fertile wasteland plains. There are about 10 million acres of arable land in the whole Dongfan Island, with two to three crops of rice, local crops such as sugarcane, tea, fruits, jute, and sisal, and minerals such as a large amount of sulfur and a certain amount of coal mines.

Wu Tianxiao used the existing local resources under his control to plan the cultivated land. The fertile land is cultivated with rice, and the slightly barren or hilly woodland is cultivated with local crops, as well as tea trees and vegetable seeds brought from the Ming Dynasty. Sugar cane can be used to extract sugar, and jute and sisal can be used to make hemp rope and linen. Fruit is essential for the crew and can be used to make juice wine. It's just that minerals need to be explored, so now farming is the main thing.

Wu Tianxiao was not professional in cultivating and building river embankments, so he just gave some general guidance, and after taking the lead in making a model, he handed it over to some relatively experienced people to do. Wu Tianxiao attaches great importance to the reconstruction of the match and gunpowder workshop. Fortunately, in these days, the relevant personnel have gained some experience. So it didn't take long for the match gunpowder workshop to be established again in Wujiazhai. And because a lot of raw materials had already been shipped, the production of matches began on the day of completion, and a large number of explosives and bamboo grenades were also made.

With the prosperity of Wujiazhai, there are more and more natives on the north bank of Hanxi who come to the market, and they are basically friendly neighbors of the Atayal people. Under the leadership of Yaqun, the nearby Dawu clan also came to the market under the leadership of the leader Dao Ze. Soon a little farther away, the Nanzou tribe, under the leadership of the leader Talu, also came to the market, and brought a small amount of sulfur. In order to meet the increasingly prosperous market on the north bank of Hanxi. Wu Tianxiao asked Jiang Zhuang to lead people to build Hanxi Village with the wharf on the north bank as the center, and relocated 30 families in the past to burn and cultivate the wasteland on the north bank. Beacons were also erected as warnings.

At this time, Wu Tianxiao's foundation developed step by step. In Zhoushan Luomen Village, Jia Yuan is responsible for the management of the warehouse, the sale of goods, and the purchase of raw materials. Lu Ziming is the bookkeeper, and there are about 100 managers. Guanhaizhai is managed by Yang Hongju, and there are also one or two hundred people, mainly responsible for clearing the wasteland and guarding the lighthouse. Hanxi Village is managed by Jiang Zhuang and assisted by Chen Minzhi, and the staff is also one or two hundred. It is mainly responsible for trading with the indigenous people, and also clearing the land. Wujiazhai is the foundation of everyone, not only making matches, explosives and bamboo grenades in the match and gunpowder workshop, but also cultivating the land and sending materials everywhere.

At this time, in terms of financial expenditure, the monthly salary alone is almost more than 2,000 taels. Fortunately, at this time, match sales are excellent, and the actual income of matches per month is more than 2,000 taels, which can just bear the salary of personnel. And the sales of matches are constantly increasing, and the income is slowly reaching a surplus from equilibrium, and the remaining money is used to buy food to feed more than 2,000 people. And the benefits of fur and other benefits obtained from the exchange of trade with the natives are completely surplus. In just one month, he gained 20,000 taels or 30,000 taels. With this money, Wu Tianxiao's first consideration was to build a sea ship with sealed cabin technology.

this day. After Wu Tianxiao transported matches, hides and timber back to Zhoushan, Jia Youshi went to take charge of unloading and purchasing materials. Wu Tianxiao took the preliminary drawings of the ship he designed and went to Ningbo to find Chen Qianhe, intending to build a large sea ship with a sealed cabin.

Chen Qianhe would see Wu Tianxiao in the room signed by the thousand households, and he knew that this Wu Tianxiao had nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace. So after asking someone to serve tea, he asked, "Brother is back this time, but what do you want me to help with?" ”

Wu Tianxiao said with a smile: "Brother Chen still understands me, but I came today to ask Brother Chen for a favor." That's it. The ships seized from the Japanese are still maneuverable, but they are still damaged. So I want Brother Chen to help introduce you to see where there are sea boats for sale, or the best ones to order. ”

Chen Qianhe was a little embarrassed after hearing this: "You want a sea boat...... This one...... But I bought a sea boat privately. That's a bit tricky. Although the sea ban is not as strict as it was in previous years, it is not so easy to buy a private boat. ”

Wu Tianxiao asked, "Isn't that possible in the name of the guard?" ”

Chen Qianhe replied: "Our guard is not a water master. If you want to buy a sea ship in the name of the guard, you must also sign the seal of the commander. Although the commander Liu Xian accepted the silver of your filial piety, he only treated the match matter as a business. Thinking that selling matches could also give the military families a way to make money, Lord Liu would not say anything. It's just that Liu Xian is also a bit upright, and he doesn't allow anything that violates the court's prohibition. So if you want to buy a sea vessel, it's better to do it privately. ”

Wu Tianxiao asked, "Then Brother Chen has a way?" ”

Chen Qianhe said with a smile: "There is naturally a way. Gong Jing Gong Qianhu, the Hangzhou Guard, is very familiar with me, and there is a shipbuilding department under his command. As long as the brothers can afford the silver, no kind of sea ship can buy it. But this is a matter that requires a little more silver. ”

Wu Tianxiao said happily: "Since that's the case. Then I hope that Brother Chen will introduce him on his behalf. ”

When Chen Qianhe heard that Wu Tianxiao wanted to buy a sea boat, he had already remembered Tang Xianyao's original warning. So now beware that this Wu Tianxiao is a real pirate, so naturally you have to be on guard. However, the proliferation of private businessmen can be found everywhere along the coast of Daming, and Chen Qianhe is also a little surprised by this person who is also a businessman and a thief. And because of the matter of matches, a Zhejiang political secretary can bring him Chen Qianhe an income of three or five hundred taels of silver a month, and as the matches are sold outside Zhejiang, the profits are rising day by day. So he can't ignore Wu Tianxiao's request too much, at least on the surface, he must be a good brother and help out.

So Chen Qianhe also said: "Brother." I naturally help you with this matter, but I can't do it too obviously. And it is not very good to buy a boat from the Hangzhou Weishui Division. Although Gong Qianhu also needs silver, he also needs to take care of this appearance. So what about ......"

Wu Tianxiao also understood what Chen Qianhe meant at this time, so he asked, "What should I do and ask Brother Chen to help me?" ”

Chen Qianhe said: "That's it. I'll find an opportunity to invite Gong Qianhu to drink, and introduce you to him at that time. As for the ship. Later, you can find an opportunity to talk to him about something, so that everyone can do it. ”

Wu Tianxiao also understood when he heard it. In fact, Chen Qianhe meant that Wu Tianxiao wanted to solve the matter of the ship in private with that Gong Jingqianhu, and he Chen Qianhe wanted to pretend not to know. In Wu Tianxiao's understanding, it was Chen Qianhe who wanted to take care of his appearance, but he didn't know that Chen Qianhe had already regarded him as a pirate.