Since last month, when the first mainland merchant ship from Lianzhou Prefecture in Guangzhou cautiously landed on Pearl Island, since February, several Luzon or Ming Guangdong maritime merchants who had been introduced by Li Guozhu and Liu Xiang have visited Pearl Island and brought much-needed grain and medicinal materials to Pearl Island, which is mired in falciparum malaria.

Although almost all of them are generals, but the price is fair, the attitude is polite, most of them still speak a surprising northern dialect of the Ming Dynasty, which is completely different from Luzon and Manchuria, and the small maritime merchants who have been running the sea for many years can't help but be surprised and emotional.

What made these Ming and Guangdong maritime merchants, who had been bullied at sea for a long time, even more flattered was that their return trip was actually escorted by these "Huamei Fanguo" warships along the way, and they did not take a penny. The light cruiser Blue Crystal, commanded by Captain Andrew, escorted these Ming merchant ships until they approached Hainan Island before returning home.

After all, a charcoal merchant surnamed Han in Chengxiang, Chaozhou, couldn't eat the refined coal supply contract alone, and after a busy rush to contact, he finally got enough of the first batch of refined coal that year. After the coal ship arrived at Pearl Island, it finally brought a good omen to Zhang Chunrui, the commander-in-chief of the Huamei Expeditionary Fleet, who was in a hurry.

A large number of laborers were infected with falciparum malaria, and the unloading of coal was carried out very slowly, and less than 600 tons of coal took three days before it was fully landed. The shopkeeper Han, who personally escorted the first batch of refined coal, was also a little frightened when he saw the situation of a large number of serious illnesses on the island, although the gorgeous silver coins that he bought were not discounted, he only wanted to complete the business and hurried back to the mainland.

On the day when the last load of refined coal was unloaded, another merchant ship from Batavia slowly approached Pearl Island. I heard that someone introduced it, and the ship was full of food, so the naval officers and sailors in charge of the inspection directly let the people on the ship land on the island to rest, but according to the rules, merchants from Batavia could only move within a limited range.

……

Even in the past month or so, more than one-third of the officers and soldiers have been infected with falciparum malaria by mosquitoes. However, under the powerful effect of antimalarial drugs, the military's malaria prevention measures were also immediate, so the vast majority of officers and soldiers were quickly out of danger, and a small number of seriously ill patients were transferred to the Huaqingchi hospital ship for treatment. In order to prevent a decline in morale, or to divert attention, the Army's daily training is continuous, and the Navy's combat readiness patrols are insisted on every day.

According to the Ministry of National Defense's telegram, the second convoy led by the Gray Whale transport ship is on its way to a hurry, and is expected to arrive at Pearl Island at the end of February or early March. So persevering until now, it finally makes people take a breather.

However, compared to the selfish protection methods of the US military in China. Life is still very difficult for the local Ming civilians. On Pearl Island, which has been plagued by illness, the Lunar New Year that has just passed is full of sorrow. As of February 1, nearly 1,000 of the original more than 3,200 civilians who stayed on the island had died, and almost the same number were still struggling in hospital beds.

Traditional Chinese medicine did not have much effect on this kind of falciparum malaria, which was like a great enemy in later generations, but it gave the local refugees some psychological comfort. Under the guidance of the Pearl Island Temporary Hospital, Chinese herbal medicine mosquito repellent and mosquito control methods have built the first line of defense for the people. The daily increase in the number of new infections began to gradually decline.

After completing the supply of supplies for the light cruiser Bloodstone, which was about to leave the port, Huang Hu'er, who had changed shifts, returned to the barracks exhausted, opened the cans of the day's rations, and began to gobble up.

There seemed to be crying outside. And it was a little familiar, and Huang Hu'er stopped at the canned fruit that he had just delivered to his mouth. If you listen carefully, it seems to be the voice of the sister-in-law Chen who adopted the abandoned baby, accompanied by the baby's crying.

A bad premonition came over me. Huang Hu'er almost threw down the can and rushed out of the barracks.

Blocked by the guards, the young woman knelt on the ground with the weeping baby in her arms and bent vigorously in salute. There were still a number of Ming refugee women standing around to accompany them to plead for mercy, but the officers and men of the Foreign Legion who were guarding the gate of the naval base stood in a row, loaded with bullets and bright bayonets.

"Folks, go back, this is a military place, and you are not allowed to trespass!" Qiao Yan stood in front of the soldiers, with an unbearable expression on his face, but he could only persuade hard.

"Master Jun, please, save the child!" Sister-in-law Chen walked a few steps on her knees, put the child in front of Qiao Yan, and kowtowed vigorously, "We adults can bear it, but let's give the child some medicine!" ”

The baby in front of him had red skin, and he almost didn't have to touch it, so he knew that he must be infected with malaria and had a high fever, and such a young child, if he could not be treated in time, would basically die in a day or two. Looking back at Yu Shan, who was in charge of leading the troops behind him, Qiao Yan's lips moved several times, but he couldn't open his mouth.

Yu Shan deliberately pretended to cough and turned his head over, but in that trance-like eyes, he seemed to be able to experience a trace of pain and helplessness. The order from above is very clear: from this month, medicine will no longer be supplied to ordinary civilians who are seriously ill.

The stocks of antimalarials, antipyretics, and infusions of the Huamei expeditionary fleet have fallen to a critical point, and although some of them were allocated to save civilians in the early stage, as time went on, this kind of treatment, which was only slightly humanitarian, was completely interrupted.

"Please, military master!" The surrounding Daming women also knelt down in unison, kowtowing desperately one by one, and Qiao Yan and the others involuntarily took a step back slightly.

"Sister-in-law Chen!"

A high-pitched voice came from behind them, and the officers and men of the army turned around to see a naval non-commissioned officer running over with a sweaty head.

"Sir!" After saluting the army lieutenant Qiao Xian, who was currently on duty, Huang Hu'er hurriedly separated the soldiers and ran to Chen's sister-in-law to squat.

"Huzi...... The girl also got a fever this morning, you see ......" Sister-in-law Chen, who was about to cry and swollen in both eyes, picked up the child and handed it to Huang Hu'er's arms, "Think of a way, I know you have a way to cure the fever." You can ignore adults, but this is a child! ”

"......" touched the baby's forehead, and Huang Hu'er's heart jumped.

"Sir, if you ......" Huang Hu'er gritted his teeth, and while putting the child down, he turned back to the lieutenant with a pleading expression.

"I think Sergeant Major Makarov is in good health, I think he was able to get out of bed yesterday. Maybe he could save a lot of medicine out there. I don't know if it's a joke or what, Yu Shan muttered unknowingly behind the crowd.

"Corporal, this is an order from the General Command." Qiao Yan took a deep breath. He shook his head slightly at the naval non-commissioned officer in front of him, "Now there are more than two hundred army brothers lying in the camp and on the Huaqingchi......

As soon as the words fell, there was another kowtow all around, and even a number of family members of patients who heard the wind came to gather around several times, and there was a sign of rushing into the camp to grab medicine.

The vigilant Foreign Legion infantry platoon began to retreat, then raised their rifles, and even the two organ machine guns at the camp gate were safed.

"Folks, calm down, don't do stupid things! Hold on for a while. There's a ship bringing the medicine! Now it's really almost out of medicine, and many of our brothers are lying down! Qiao Yan saw that the shape was wrong, and quickly opened his arms.

"What's wrong?!"

At this moment, two female naval officers separated from the crowd and walked out. Qiao Yan looked back and saw that it was Navy Lieutenant Tang Hanna and Second Lieutenant Yan Xianping, who were currently in charge of medical treatment and material dispatch at the naval base.

"Lieutenant, you can send someone to the camp, at least bring them a few buckets of ice, wrap them in a towel and let the patient control his temperature." Tang Hanna glanced at the patient's family members around her, and had an idea for Qiao Yan beside her.

"Sir!" Huang Hu'er seemed to see a savior. Hurriedly ran a few steps to salute in front of the two immediate superiors.

"Huang Hu'er?" Yan Xianping's voice was a little hoarse, he had only organized most of the day's ambulance work on the Huaqing Pool before, and he had not rested, so his face looked a little pale.

"Sir. Look at this child......" Huang Hu'er cried and held the baby girl in front of Yan Xianping, "Save her, her mother passed away not long ago......"

The crowd fell silent. They all looked at these two "female officials" who seemed to have a high status.

Carefully taking the swaddling clothes, Yan Xianping gently touched the child's forehead with his hand, and his face suddenly became very ugly.

"Sister Hannah!" Yan Xianping seemed to have forgotten his fatigue. Anxiously looking at the blonde lieutenant beside him, "The child must have a fever, otherwise he ......"

Tang Hannah bit her lip and thought about it for almost a minute, and finally nodded her head slightly, this action suddenly made Huang Hu'er's heart fall to the ground.

Yan Xianping hugged the child and turned around and walked towards the Huaqingchi medical ship anchored in the distant port, while Huang Hu'er followed closely behind. Looking at the backs of the two of them in the distance, Sister-in-law Chen, who had been begging for a long time, finally burst into tears and smiled.

"Master Jun, give us some medicine too!"

As if seeing a glimmer of hope in someone else, the crowd on the periphery began to shake, and the soldiers of the Foreign Legion hurriedly raised their rifles horizontally, blocking the crowd of patients' families. In a short time, more army soldiers arrived to deal with the civil unrest that could break out at any time.

Just when there was a mess at the entrance of the naval base barracks, under a coconut tree, an ordinary Chinese Navy soldier was secretly looking, his eyes following the back of a Navy non-commissioned officer who was moving away.

……

The baby's body temperature was finally controlled at dusk, and as long as she continued to use anti-abuse drugs for a few days, the baby girl could get out of serious illness. At this time, a small baby cot appeared on the Huaqingchi, which was crowded with a large number of officers and soldiers of the army and navy, bringing a different kind of vitality to the soldiers who were still in the treatment stage.

In a certain medical cabin, Sun Yang, who had a sallow face, was half-lying weakly, and it seemed that the high fever had subsided, and Yan Xianping, who was sitting next to the bed, was feeding porridge. The dignified lieutenant commander of the expeditionary fleet is also ill, and the task of commanding the naval operations of the whole fleet has to fall to Major Wang Zhihua, the captain of the Republic.

"It's funny, I would be infected with this stupid disease...... Sun Yang drank the last mouthful of porridge and showed a self-deprecating smile to the girl in front of him.

"I still have a little fever, if not, I need to get a dose in the evening."

Yan Xianping has been busy all day, but still under the instructions of the seventh aunt, he has insisted on feeding this "nasty chief" every day for nearly half a month, and he is much more diligent than an ordinary medical soldier.

The meaning of the elders in the clan represented by Qigu is already obvious, Lieutenant Colonel Sun Yang is interested in the eldest lady of the Yan family, and the Yan family is also eager to form a closer relationship with Hua and the United States after Yan Siqi's death, and Yan Xianping, who is over eighteen years old, seems to be the executor of this position.

Thinking of Huamei's attitude towards Liu Xiang, Yan Xianping felt that he seemed to have become a transaction item that the Yan family was eager to "express". Thinking about the meaningful gaze of the old seventh master, the expression of the personal maid Xiaoyu, who seemed to be smiling but not smiling, and the expeditionary fleet's treatment of the seriously ill of the Yan family at any cost, Yan Xianping felt quite uncomfortable in his heart.

"What are you thinking?" Sun Yang saw that the other party seemed to be a little distracted, and couldn't help but lightly touch the other party's hand.

"Huh?!" Come back to your senses. Yan Xianping's face was slightly red, he just shook his head, and stood up with his back to Sun Yang, "There are more than 1,000 Daming homeless people on the island, and the general headquarters is watching everyone fend for themselves?" ”

"The Gray Whale is coming, and it is estimated that there will be more than half a month." Sun Yang knew that Yan Xianping had great resistance to Zhang Chunrui's order, and couldn't help but sigh, "We can't step over because of this, otherwise we will delay a lot of time, and more people will die at that time." ”

What is Sun Yang referring to? Yan Xianping naturally knew it in his heart, but when he thought of the deceased patients who were carried to the cemetery for burial every day, as well as the desperate faces at the gate of the naval base camp in the afternoon, Yan Xianping's heart ached like a knife.

"Alright, go and rest, you're tired all day. Since the child is brought in, we will definitely save it. Now, you have to take good care of the seven aunts. I don't know when, Sun Yang actually got out of bed. A hand gently pressed on Yan Xianping's shoulder.

turned around and quietly looked at the tall young officer in front of him, the kind of gaze that was still naturally unfamiliar even though he had known each other for a few years, made Yan Xianping show a confused expression.

……

On the afternoon of the second day. In the sight, a Daming hard-sailed merchant ship that made a small profit on Pearl Island was gradually disappearing in sight, and Huang Hu'er was in a trance as if he had dreamed.

No matter how much struggle or confusion she had in her heart, Huang Huer still restrained the idea of escaping Pearl Island. But Huang Hu'er fell into another fear for no reason. This feeling gradually fermented and swelled the moment he received the information from Sun Erxi.

On the way back to work, Huang Hu'er found that the security at the naval base today was much stricter than usual, and even the dozens of gendarmes who had been "idle" for a long time appeared in the military port. A large number of tents have been erected in the open space of the port, and a number of medical personnel wearing masks are doing simple disinfection and medical examinations for the beggar-like groups of Ming refugees.

It is said that the Dutch had abandoned the blockade of the South Seas, and the Portuguese fleet from Malacca had once again converged on Pearl Island, and Liu Xiang, a guy who fished like a loach off the coast of Daming, did not know where to get thousands of Ming refugees. The epidemic situation on the island is still very severe, and it really shouldn't take in more people for a long time, and now most of these newcomers are isolated in the naval base, waiting for the quarantine to be completed before rushing to the port of Nanshan.

In the general headquarters of the expeditionary fleet, it is as busy as ever, and after the large-scale communication base station on Pearl Island is put into operation, a large number of telegrams will be sent and received here every day, of course, most of the content is Zhang Chunrui urging the Ministry of National Defense.

In the 17th century, the pure electromagnetic environment allowed short-wave communication to span thousands of kilometers, and although problems such as signal attenuation always existed, it is now the most relied upon means of communication in China and the United States.

"General, there's a message from the transports USS Gray Whale on the way!" Another message, which had been delayed for more than an hour due to poor communication quality, was finally pinched in the hands of the communications officer.

“…… It is about to enter the Strait of Malacca, the formation is in good condition, and it is expected to arrive at Pearl Island in two weeks. The communications officer read out the contents of the message, and the general headquarters was suddenly jubilant.

"Well, send this good news to Dean Zhao and them." Zhang Chunrui, who had not slept enough, suddenly raised his head at this time, revealing a tired but extremely happy gaze in his sunken eye sockets. Putting down the strong tea in his hand, Zhang Chunrui finally stood up and stretched out as if relieved.

"General, a soldier aboard the Blue Whale has asked to see you." At this moment, a small officer walked in from outside the General Headquarters and brought a strange news.

Before the words fell, an ordinary-looking European-looking soldier appeared at the door, first saluted Zhang Chunrui, then took out a document from his pocket, and respectfully handed it to the accompanying officer beside him.

"What are you going to do?" Zhang Chunrui looked at the cover of the document and was not surprised at all, because he knew not long ago that the Ministry of Homeland Security not only had the manpower to accompany Yan Xiaosong to protect Yan Xiaosong this time, but also served as a counter-espionage mission in the expeditionary fleet, and even set up an Asian Intelligence Division on the spot, "I originally thought that this should be the work of the Military Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense, but your Department of Homeland Security's hand is too long this time......

"Hehe, Your Excellency General, I have now been ordered to transfer to the Asian Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and I have nothing to do with the Department of Homeland Security." The European soldier walked up to Zhang Chunrui with a smile. Another letter came out of his pocket, "This is a local situation from the Department of Homeland Security, and I hope that your support for the operation here will be obtained." ”

After reading Liu Yun's letter from the mainland, Zhang Chunrui chuckled in his heart.

"Are you sure there is only one Zheng spy in the expeditionary fleet?" Zhang Chunrui folded the letter, stared at the former Department of Homeland Security agent pretending to be a Navy soldier in front of him, and expressed embarrassment at the disposal plan proposed by Liu Yunxin.

"At present, there is only Huang Hu'er in the intelligence possession, and according to our surveillance, an unknown person has been found on the island. According to domestic instructions, it is necessary to secretly arrest Huang Hu'er now. The agent said without humility or arrogance.

"Okay, I'll send the gendarmerie to accompany you to arrest Huang Hu'er. And send the situation back home. However, I don't want this to spread in the navy, so you should weigh it up. ”

After Zhang Chunrui finished speaking, he grabbed his military hat and left the room without looking back, making the agent who thought he would receive a few words of praise a little embarrassed.

……

Huang Hu'er, who came out of Sister-in-law Chen's house again, finally embarked on the way back to the camp with a relaxed expression. The child's life was saved, and Sister-in-law Chen, who got the good news, was very grateful, but Huang Huer always felt that she should thank everyone, especially the eldest lady of the Yan family.

Rushed back to the Blue Whale on the night shift of Huang Hu'er. As soon as he returned to the rest cabin, he saw the European private in his artillery group looking at him with a grin.

The first class soldier in front of him is said to have been transferred from the Qingcheng Naval Base before, although he is in the same artillery group. They even live in the same cabin, but usually the two of them don't talk much.

"Corporal, the child you saved yesterday will definitely be grateful to you when he grows up." The European soldier smiled and pulled out a small oiled paper bag from the quilt behind him. Stretched out in front of Huang Hu'er, "By the way, when I was tidying up the cabin just now." I found something. ”

The whole body was numb as if he had been electrocuted, and the small oiled paper bag in front of him was exactly the same as the information he had been carrying on his body!

"Won't you check to see if there's anything wrong?" The European soldier placed the oiled paper bag in his hand on the table, and then gently untied the cotton thread wrapped around it.

Huang Hu'er took it like a puppet being commanded, and slowly unfolded the tightly wrapped letter paper inside, the expression on Huang Hu'er's face became more and more frightened. It's what Sun Erxi handed over to him, and the one that is hiding on his body now is obviously a fake after being dropped!

Huang Hu'er sat on the edge of the bed in despair, looking at his trouser leg without saying a word, his face was blue and white for a while.

"We just played a joke on you, and the content was changed a little bit, but you made us feel 'disappointed'...... Why don't you run away? The European soldier stood up and clapped his hands gently.

The hatch opened again, several gendarmes walked in, and Huang Hu'er was carried out as if he had lost all his strength. The moment she left the door, Huang Hu'er suddenly cried: "Please, save my mother and sister!" ”

……

On February 27, 1628, after more than 30 days of dangerous sailing against the monsoon, the Gray Whale transport ship and the ocean-going large sailing merchant ship Guanyue finally completed the first voyage of 7,000 nautical miles with pure steam power and without a half-time break under the escort of the frigate Dandelion.

On the day of arrival at Pearl Island, the Dandelion frigate was only less than 5 tons of coal, and the large ocean-going sailing merchant ship Guanyue was also reduced to half of its normal power output when passing through the Strait of Malacca due to a boiler failure.

The arrival of the second batch of transport ships greatly boosted the morale of the expeditionary fleet, and not only did the urgent shortage of medicines and medical personnel be solved in an instant, but also nearly 1,000 tons of food supplies and military supplies made the officers and men full of confidence, and even the Guanyue brought a large number of engineering equipment, a small professional construction team, a number of administrative personnel, and a 15-member army special combat team.

A medical station larger than the previous temporary hospital on Pearl Island was opened, and large quantities of antimalarials, antipyretics and infusions began to be supplied to ordinary civilians.

Three days later, a telegram from Macao brought Zhang Chunrui even better news: through the unremitting efforts of the governor of Liangguang, Wang Zunde, had finally lifted the ban on Macau.

It is said that in this process, not only the maritime merchants of the various prefectures of Guangzhou were building momentum, but also Xu Guangqi, who was "bribed" by the governor of Macao, also played a decisive role. (To be continued......)