The snow and ice had long since melted, and at the foot of the mountain, the verdant earth was dotted with clusters of wildflowers of different colors, like a green carpet dyed with broken flowers.

The carpet is not smooth, and there are occasional slightly undulating highlands, but it can be seen at a glance, because it is overgrown with trees or shrubs, and the new shoots on the trees are more tender than the grass under the trees, and the more you look at them, the more pleasing they are to the eye.

As far as the eye can see, you can see the faintly visible coastline of Ushijima, and the snow-white waves keep hitting the reef of the coast, raising clouds of mist, as if to set a white edge on this small island full of life.

On the western skyline, a black line is clearly visible, which is the outline of Jeju Island, and above the black line is the famous Halla Mountain, which is still snow-white, and there is a faint green under the snow.

Chu Fan's location at the moment is the top of the southernmost hill about 100 meters high on Niu Island, and at the foot of the mountain, large and small cowhide tents are like mushroom groups that emerge overnight after the spring rain, which is the camp of the entire caravan last night.

Instead of anchoring next to the captured falcon, the Aurora cautiously sailed to the shore at the foot of the hill - there happened to be a cliff of sufficient depth and height, and when the Aurora landed its ingot, it protruded from the deck and landed right on the top of the cliff.

At this moment, the men and guards on the ship were pushing wheelbarrows, shouting trumpets to carry boxes of copper ingots ashore, until they reached a cave on the side of the hill - the two men who stayed behind when they came were very conscientious, and trampled the island inside and out, not only to find the huge cave on the mountainside, but also to explore the depth of the water all around.

After looking at the copper ingots for a while, Chu Fan nodded with satisfaction, turned around and looked at the four 6-pounder guns under his feet—which were on the captured eagle boats—and said to Chen Shangren beside him, "Shibo, the location of this hill is wonderful, and it is a good place to set up a fort. ”

As he spoke, he pointed to the woods at the top of the mountain, "But these trees have to be cut down first to clear the shooting boundary...... The cut down trees were just used to build the wall, and the camp was set up at the foot of the hill, within the firing range of the fort, and safety was the first ...... However, this bit of wood is definitely not enough, and we have to find a way to buy some more from Jeju Island...... According to what we discussed at Hoshitori Mountain Villa, I will leave the eagle boat to you, and the men on board are also complete, a total of twenty people...... With Ling Ming and them, there are more than 30 people under your command in total, I know that there are still a little less manpower, let's overcome it first, and wait until I recruit someone in Dengzhou. ”

Chen Shangren naturally didn't know anything about this firepower configuration, but Ling Ming beside him seemed to be extremely familiar with it, and seeing that he was at a loss, he took over and said, "Childe, this arrangement is extremely appropriate, with this hill as the support, the four Franc machines can control most of the island...... And this mountain is surrounded by the sea on three sides, and there is no danger of being outflanked by the enemy...... Brilliant! ”

Saying that, Ling Ming arched his hand at Chu Fan, he really admired Chu Fan's firepower arrangement - since the surprise attack on the Sanjingtai camp, including old soldiers like Zhao Hai, they have admired Chu Fan to the extreme, who would dare to say that Xiao Xiucai does not know soldiers?

"But Childe, I don't know if I should say something?" Ling Ming bowed his hand again, and when he saw Chu Fan's head, he continued, "According to Master Chen's plan, a camp and a tobacco factory will be built at the foot of the mountain, and of course this mountain can be guarded, but our eagle boat anchorage," he pointed to the northeast, which was the shelter where the "Dawn" anchored when it first came to Niudao, just beyond the field of vision of the top of the hill, "but it is not hidden, my idea is that I can also build a fort on the headland of that harbor...... You don't need too many franc guns, and 2 doors can protect the entire harbor. ”

"Good! Good! Very good! Chu Fan smiled and high-fived and praised, "Brother Ling is really thoughtful. ”

Ling Ming's suggestion was indeed wonderful, that headland and this hill were one in the north and the other in the south, if a few cannons were placed there, the firing range would cover the entire Niudao, and under the crossfire, it would be difficult for any enemy to gain a foothold on Niudao.

However, the headland is low, and if you want to build a fort, you have to increase the height, at least a thirty or forty meter high earth hill, which is a big project, and you can only wait for the follow-up personnel to arrive.

Regardless of whether it could be implemented immediately or not, Chu Fan felt that it was necessary to encourage Ling Ming to come up with ideas for the team wholeheartedly, so he thought for a while and said to Chen Shangren, "Shibo, you can grasp the overall situation of this Niudao base, as for safety, I think let Brother Ling be more partial...... There is also the matter of the eagle boat sailing, I think I should listen to Chen Fugui's opinion, does Shibo think so? ”

Chen Fugui is also a Liaodong refugee from the Shahe River, and he is the Chen Laosan who peeked at the widow taking a bath and was ridiculed. When he was in Liaodong, he was begging for a living on a fishing boat, and when he arrived on the "Dawn", because he was down-to-earth and diligent, he was quickly promoted by Ge Bi to be the helm of the helm, and this time after recruiting a group of sailors from Fujian and Guangdong in Nagasaki, he was designated by Ge Bi as the captain of the eagle ship.

Hearing Chu Fan mention his name, Chen Laosan hurriedly stood up and thanked Ling Ming, "Don't dare to be, don't dare to be." ”

Chen Shangren knew that Chu Fan was arranging a deputy for himself, and the two people he chose were the same as the old man thought, so he smiled and said, "That's natural!" Then he turned to Ling and Chen, "In the future, we will have to work for the two...... Let's work together to build this cow island into a golden pond in Tangcheng that can't be inserted by needles and can't be splashed with water, so that we can make a lot of money! ”

His words were full of high-spirited heroism, which made Chu Fan's heart excited-his small team was full of vigorous and upward vitality, even Chen Shangren, who was over fifty years old, was so proud, a good thing!

In the midst of laughter, seeing that the copper ingots on the ship were almost finished, Chen Shangren twisted his beard and muttered, "Yixian, you really think about it, really don't let the old man go through this for you?" ”

What he said was Chu Fan's trip to Zhudao to propose, and many people were persuading Chu Fan these days, saying that he didn't have to take risks personally, and simply let Chen Shangren propose marriage for him - Chen Shangren is the recognized number two person in this team, plus he is also Chu Fan's elder, and it is impeccable for him to face those pirate leaders.

Everyone's concern for Chu Fan's safety moved him very much, but he had already thought about this matter and could not change it, and at this moment, seeing Chen Shangren's old matter brought up again, he shook his head firmly and said.

"A manly man, not to mention it's a pirate's den, even if it's a mountain of swords and a sea of fire, you have to break into it for the woman you love!"