Taking advantage of the invasion of Brazil by the Dutch West India Company ten years ago, Taoyuan Island (Fernando. Denoronia) fell into the pocket of Huamei and became a crucial node in Huamei's Atlantic checkers.

From the perspective of later generations, Taoyuan Island is actually not suitable as a port of call, and the natural geographical conditions of the small bay in the north are destined to not develop into a large seaport. But at least in the 17th century, Taoyuan Island was still an important node on the north-south transatlantic route between China and the United States, and was called the crossroads of the South Atlantic, the Caribbean, Brazil and West Africa.

Ten years later, the settled population of Taoyuan Island has reached 3,000, and the proportion of Chinese Americans accounts for about 80%. As the smallest and least populated overseas consular city town in Huamei, Taoyuan City is small but has a lot of organs.

Public facilities such as hospitals, post offices, police stations, banks, schools, libraries, stadiums, and even a temple and a chapel are available. Probably no gorgeous town that has been built for more than a decade has been as compact and perfect as Taoyuan City.

On average, only a few dozen Ming immigrants can be diverted from the Far East to Taoyuan City each year, and more than half of the citizens are from old national families in the mainland or the Caribbean, in addition to hundreds of Chinese who have migrated from the Portuguese and Brazilian colonies in the past decade.

For more than 20 years, the number of Chinese displaced to Brazil via the Far East has taken root and multiplied there, and the total number is now more than 30,000. Aside from the Brazilian Indians, they are the second largest ethnic group after the Portuguese.

Most of them are located in large and medium-sized towns such as Recife and San Salvador, and they have also become the most important support and cooperation groups in Brazil. As the economic ties between Portugal's Brazilian colonies and China became more and more close, many Chinese families who grew up in Brazil became agents or business managers of Chinese American capitalists investing in Brazilian industries, and some young people even went to the Caribbean to study in China.

The Portuguese and Brazilian colonial authorities have long welcomed hard-working Chinese Americans, and with the importance of Chinese and American aspects, the attitude of the Brazilian colonies towards Chinese immigrants is not bad. But in the past few years, some Chinese Brazilians who have already made a fortune have simply moved back to Taoyuan Island, which can be regarded as another level of falling leaves.

With regular cruises of the Washington Caribbean Fleet. In addition, the gunboat Itachi also used Taoyuan Island as a temporary second home port, and the surrounding security environment of Taoyuan Island has changed from a pirate rampant to a real maritime paradise. There is only one squad-sized National Guard reserve in charge of the coastal defense fortress in the city, and the city police station has only a few more than 20 policemen.

Taoyuan Island is small in area, the island is only more than 10 square kilometers, and the local natural resources that can be developed are minimal, so the local economy is positioned in the ocean supply and trade transit logistics.

As the smallest overseas consular administrative unit in the United States, Taoyuan Island's strategic position has led to its high-standard colonization construction from the beginning, enjoying the national special local construction grants, and Chinese American enterprises and businessmen from all over the Caribbean have benefited greatly from the construction of Taoyuan City.

Due to the constraints of the natural environment, even a large number of South African prisoners of war were put into forced labor. The small bay in the north of Taoyuan Island can only provide sheltered anchorage, large and medium-sized merchant ships cannot dock at all, and most of the goods entering and leaving the port can only be transferred by special motorized barges. However, the island still has a small coaling station that can supply five ocean-going steam ships a month for coal, a large warehouse storage area and a large crew hotel.

A lot of goods to and from the Caribbean, West Africa and South America are transited here, and more than a dozen foreign merchant ships resupply and rest here every month. The comfort of the crew lodge rivals that of some of the most upscale hotels in the United States, and it is popular with a large number of Dutch and Portuguese merchants who travel between the Caribbean, Brazil, Africa and Europe.

The largest local agricultural economy on Taoyuan Island is only the 1,500 acres of vegetable fields and tropical orchards of the same size planted by the island's residents, as well as the special spotted pig breeding industry introduced from Bermuda's overseas territory, which can replenish passing ships with fresh food throughout the year. In the industry, there are only a few small food or salt and sugar processing industries. In addition, basically more than 95% of the daily necessities rely on external inputs.

Even though the local industry is very weak, with the help of nearly 100 ships a year, refueling, crew rest and accommodation, and trade, warehousing and logistics, Taoyuan Island's per capita GDP exceeds 400 US dollars. It quickly became the highest in the country, and directly pulled Bermuda's overseas consulate, which had occupied the first place in the per capita GDP ranking for 15 years, in one fell swoop.

……

Monday, February 12, 1646.

If calculated according to the lunar calendar, today is still the twenty-second day of the lunar month. this day. In Huamei, the outdoor temperature in most towns is still around freezing. But on Taoyuan Island, the temperature is stable between 24 and 29 degrees all year round. Except for the occasional heavy storm, it can be said that the four seasons are warm and humid, and the Chinese and American people who have settled here live an unusually comfortable life.

An ocean-going merchant ship flying the flag of Huamei Xing Group is moored in the northeastern bay of Taoyuan Island, and every detail of the hull is clearly reflected in the almost completely transparent water. A few beautiful dolphins jumped in the sea not far from the merchant ships, and many brave sailors even jumped into the sea half-naked to swim, and the scenery was particularly charming.

Bags of wheat or paddy from the Viceroyalty of South Africa were casually tossed onto the barge by sailors, while another small boat was lowered from the merchant ship and slowly headed towards the harbor with a dozen men and women dressed in bright clothes.

Before the police could surround them, the men and women who had come ashore with bad faces knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the east. It's like nostalgic for the homeland that has been thousands of miles away, and it's like glad that I finally set foot on land after all the difficulties.

In recent years, there have been very few new immigrants who have been diverted to Taoyuan Island, ranging from dozens to a dozen or even a few, and the workload of local civil officials and police can be described as light.

Just like the online games that were on the verge of closure in later generations, as long as they met a "new person" coming, the local old citizens were always very happy.

Looking at the small boat carrying strange migrants docking, several native-born children playing on the beach near the bay ran over with curiosity.

There are only 14 Ming immigrants on the island, half male and half female, no old people, the oldest is only in their thirties, and the youngest is still in infancy. In addition to their poor faces, adult men and women wore gorgeous Han costumes provided by the transporters on the way. Because I have stopped many times to recuperate on the way, I am still clean up and down.

After some official duties, the migrants were led by the police to the island's hospital for a routine medical check-up. As the police led the team into a three-story white building, several armed National Guard soldiers locked the gate.

The door behind them closed, and the crowd was told to enter the smaller door further inside, one by one. Looking at the gorgeous soldiers at the door, the oldest man in the immigration procession, with only a little short scalp hair, looked a little uneasy, as if he was a little wary of the current location and the police present.

"Name?"

"Chen Jiao."

"Age?"

"Twenty-six years old."

"What did you do before?"

"Monks, who have returned to the world, have the strength to work with woodwork."

"Origin?"

"Fuzhou Mansion."

The man subconsciously answered one question after another.

"Fuzhou? I don't think the accent looks like it...... That being the case. Mr. Policeman, please take him out. ”

The young nurse, who was rechecking the immigration information, was stunned for a moment, and looked back at a Chinese policeman behind her, only to see the policeman step forward and grab the man's arm with one hand.

Perhaps from the beginning of getting off the boat, the man has been inexplicably nervous, and when he saw the movements of the Huamei police, he immediately grabbed the opponent's arm first, and then twisted it to the side, and then hit the back of the opponent's neck with his palm. Knock it out.

Another European policeman was shocked and hurriedly drew his gun, but before he could reach out of the holster of his revolver, he was punched in the abdomen by the onrushing man. This cow is a tall policeman. actually foamed at the mouth on the spot and fell to the ground softly.

The nurse's screams reached outside the gate, and two National Guard soldiers burst in, and as soon as they raised their rifles, they saw the man holding the nurse by the throat with one hand. The body retreated into the corner.

Probably no one would think that there would be people among the Ming refugees who had been screened through layers and had been reduced to emigrating overseas, and a routine immigration status check would turn into a violent confrontation.

"What do you want to do?!"

The man's eyes were red, and his voice was much hoarser than before. The accent is also completely different from before, and it seems to have a posture of breaking a jar and breaking it.

"Don't be nervous, sir...... We're just checking your identity so we can fill out your health card...... Mr. Police is ready to take you for a medical check-up, that's all! ”

The abducted nurse had already fainted, and a young European doctor at the scene was also so frightened that he waved his hand repeatedly.

The man was stunned for a long time before he let out a long sigh and slowly let go of the frightened nurse in his hand. The next second later, he was smashed to the ground by the butt of a rifle by an oncoming National Guard soldier.

……

At the Taoyuan City Police Station, a short-haired man was handcuffed to the back of a chair, and a young Chinese policeman in front of him was frowning and interrogating.

"Chen Jiao, male, 25 years old, registered as a native of Fuzhou before boarding the ship, a layman monk, and worked as a carpenter. But this identity must be fake, you are so good, you should have gone through many years of military training, but it is very hidden. ”

The Chinese policeman threw aside the immigration information and showed a serious expression: "We welcome any immigrant from the Ming Dynasty, and we understand everyone's difficulties and past, but we don't want any crisis of confidence, let alone someone who comes to the island with other purposes - even after several screenings." ”

The young Chinese policeman is the second generation born to the first batch of Ming refugees to arrive in Shuangwan City, Bermuda, and the family moved to Taoyuan Island a few years ago.

The man was silent, just staring blankly at the ground, but hearing the words of the Huamei policeman opposite did not relax his emotions.

As he spoke, the door opened, and an elderly Chinese man walked in.

"Uncle Li, listening to the accent should be your fellow countryman, you can talk first." After saying that, the policeman exited the room.

"The little brother is also from Songjiang? Hey, more than 20 years...... Old man, my ancestral home is Jiading County, Songjiang Prefecture, Daming, and I am currently the deputy director of the Taoyuan Civil Affairs Bureau. It's rare to meet an authentic old man in Songjiang! Hehe...... "Although the other party was still handchained to the chair, the old man still sat down opposite him very enthusiastically.

"Old man, Jiading is so miserable...... "Months have passed, and today I finally heard the authentic country sound, and the man's eyes were red.

How can you say this, could it be that it is another flood? Hey, natural disasters continued in those years, and my family was desperate to go out to sea...... Now life is stable. But people are also old, and they don't know when and when they can go back to see it. ”

Probably because he had heard too much and seen too many rumors of these old things, the old man also sighed.

"It's not a flood...... The Qing soldiers went south, trapped Songjiang, and shaved their hair, and the soldiers and civilians in Jiading and Taicang raised things, but the Qing troops were strong, and the soldiers and civilians in Songjiang were killed and wounded......" The man finally cried out, his whole body trembling, "My real name is Wang Huiwu." The chief of the inspection team at the gate of Jiading County, accompanied Shen Youlong, Chen Zilong and other adults to raise troops...... After that, he was blinded by lard, and he surrendered halfway with Zhang to help the Qing soldiers break through the city, and harm Lord Shen Youlong and Lord Chen Zilong...... Afterwards, his conscience was disturbed, he escaped from the Qing camp, and he was afraid that someone would investigate the rebellion, so he cut his braids and changed his hair, changed his name and surname, and went all the way to Fuzhou......"

It can be said that the anti-Qing activities in Songjiang and other places greatly slowed down the pace of the Manchu invasion of the south. Li Chengdong, the former general soldier of the Ming Dynasty who defected to the Manchu Qing Dynasty, was a big killer, and at least 100,000 soldiers and civilians from Songjiang in the Ming Dynasty died directly under the suppression of the Manchu Dynasty, especially in Jiading County, where there were three shocking massacres in a row.

With the Yangzhou Massacre, Jiaxing Massacre, Jiangyin Massacre and so on, they unfolded one by one. The face of the old man sitting opposite Wang Huiwu turned white.

"Here...... These are all serious, why the newspapers in the country only have a few words about such a big thing. I only knew that the soldiers were in trouble one after another, and the Ming court was in trouble, and I never thought that it would be so miserable......"

The old man shuddered. With tears in his eyes, he seemed to see the endless mountain of corpses and blood outside his hometown city.

"It's only been half a year, and I've seen it with my own eyes. Do it with your own hands......" Wang Huiwu lowered his head, and he couldn't cry anymore.

"Brute! Brutes! It's still human! ”

I don't know whether to scold Wang Huiwu in front of me or scold Qing Bing, but I saw the old man Huo Ran get up, shout loudly, and then a mouthful of blood spurted out, and the whole person fell to the ground.

Outside the door, the alarmed police pushed the door in, only to see the old man's chest covered with blood.

……

……

Natural and man-made disasters are happening all over the world, and the tragedy is not just one place.

For the old and new citizens of the United States, the rumors of famine, death, and war in the outside world have become commonplace, but they are the reason for their better luck, and there is no greater energy that can arouse a deeper inner touch.

Due to the stability of domestic public opinion and the fact that the focus at this stage is on dealing with European affairs, the Chinese and American officials are not willing to publicize the great trend in the Far East too early and too deeply.

While there have been some rumours of trade routes and immigrants arriving on the mainland, there has been no direct interpretation by the official and major media outlets. Even if some of the content had to be reported publicly, the description was very vague, and the real content was greatly discounted, and it did not sound worse than a drought or flood.

In the past year, refugees from the Ming Dynasty in Jiangsu and Zhejiang are no longer in the priority of the Chinese American immigration department. The vast majority of the refugees from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were given to the Yan family's Dayuan Island and Luzon, and some went to Temasek's Lan Fang.

Only a small number of refugees from the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang were transported to the Indo-Atlantic route after being screened through layers of screening, and almost all of them were arranged in the Viceroyalty of South Africa and the Viceroyalty of the Indian Ocean, but the total number of people was only a few thousand.

In a world where ordinary Fuzhou people may not really know what happened in Hangzhou a few months ago, Huamei's style is not a kind of information isolation mode. For the Chinese people in the United States, the tragedy that happened in the Ming Dynasty today is probably similar to what happened in Shandong or Liaodong more than ten years ago, right?

At a time when all the parties involved were ignorant of what was going on, the news that the deputy director of the Taoyuan Civil Affairs Bureau was hospitalized with vomiting blood from his homeland quietly spread out of the hospital, and then was heard by the crew of a Caribbean United Shipping Company. Coincidentally, there happened to be a reporter from the Observer newspaper on board, who was struggling with the decline in newspaper sales in recent years. (To be continued......)