Chapter 27, Twenty-seven Moments of Chongzhen's Four Years (27)

The twenty-seventh moment: Xiangshan County Ling was stunned

December 28, 4th year of Chongzhen, Hainan Island, Lingao County, Bopu Port

In recent years, the streets of Bopu Port have been very lively - since the Senate of the Travelers of Lingao County took control of the whole county, a port was established here, and the Bopu Commune was set up as a grassroots organization, and the number of fishermen, merchant ships and small merchants who came here to beg for a living gradually increased, and gradually became a market. With the successive construction of a series of modern enterprises such as arsenals, shipyards and chemical plants, a large number of workers and their families gathered here.

Therefore, the Ministry of Commerce under the Senate of Lingao Traversal, in accordance with the old practice of Dongmen City, concocted a town in Bopu Port as a commercial service area supporting the port. Although the scale of Bopu Town is far less than that of Dongmen City, the street is also full of people coming and going, bustling, and very lively, with fishing shops, inns, inns, wine shops, and fishing tackle shops...... One after another, it is not inferior to many counties in the water towns of the south of the Yangtze River.

At this moment, the bosses and men of the shops are all under the command of the propaganda of the Bopu Commune, and they are busy in front of their own doors, building ladders, pulling ropes, carrying paste, and some people are still shouting for people to bring things over. The local militia and Yu troops also took the lead, plastering slogans and stickers all over the streets, and they were very busy. Some people carried baskets of folded paper lanterns and distributed them to everyone, some people hung the lanterns directly at the door of their homes, and some people climbed the ladder and hung the lanterns on the ropes that had just been pulled everywhere.

-- In addition to the customary lanterns to celebrate the New Year, there are obviously some other things on the streets of Bopu Port at the end of this year -- accompanied by the sound of a trumpet, several militiamen worked together to pull up an eye-catching banner between two street lamp poles in the center of the street, and yellow paper squares had been sewn on the red silk with thread, and the words written on them in thick ink and block letters: "Welcome the heads of the continents of Australia and the Song Dynasty to visit this county."

The students of the new schools under the jurisdiction of the Lingao Senate were also mobilized to practice waving flags and shouting slogans. Some of the girls were in charge of laying flowers, and some of the boys were organized to play flutes and drums, and there were even lion dancers, making the streets noisy.

In addition, all settlements in Lingao County, including the old county seat, have launched a vigorous sanitation campaign, and have also come up with evaluation indicators and reward and punishment regulations. The sailors and sappers were partly busy building trestles in the harbor so that the large visiting fleet could dock; Some of them leveled the land on the shore, repaired temporary prefabricated houses, and set up tents to accommodate thousands of visitors from afar to come ashore to rest.

In order to provide delicious food for the sudden increase in so many mouths, the people of the Ministry of Trade had to rack their brains to organize the supply of goods, purchasing vegetables, fruits, fish and shrimp, livestock and poultry in large quantities from all over the country, and even went to Guangzhou and Vietnam to buy them. Many vendors, hearing of the imminent arrival of such a large group of potential customers, also flocked to the market with the goods they could raise, hoping to get a piece of the pie.

In the midst of the bustling commotion, the people on the high ground were working hard, and all kinds of gossip were also circulating among each other.

“…… Brother Akun, you said that during the Chinese New Year, the Australian chief insisted on making the whole county jump up and down, what kind of name is it? ”

“…… Aren't they all written on banners and notices? Oh yes, you can't read...... It seems that the capital of Australia sent a messenger, and many big officials from Australia came, and they brought hundreds of big ships, which were tens of thousands of people. ”

“…… Huh? There are so many people in Australia? Is there another big iron ship coming this time? And what's going on with Australia's Qincha, doesn't it mean that the head of Wen on our side of Lingao is already the prime minister? Is there anyone in Australia who can give orders to Chief Wen? ”

“…… I'm afraid that there is really a new big iron ship to sail over, otherwise why would the chiefs let people build a trestle and put buoys on the pier? As for the Qincha, even if Chief Wen is the prime minister, there is still an emperor above the prime minister, and there may not be only one prime minister in Australia...... The Ming Dynasty has a total of two capitals in the north and south, plus thirteen political secretaries (provinces), and the Australians will definitely not only have this small piece of territory in our Qiongzhou in their hands - a few old masters in the county town have pondered before, and the hundreds of people brought by Chief Wen in the seventh year of the Apocalypse are estimated to be the pioneers sent by the Australian court to fight the front station. Now that Chief Wen and Chief Ma have opened up the situation in Qiongzhou, the Australian emperor naturally wants to send more reinforcements over and plan big things......"

“…… Planning something big? What's the big deal? Hiss--Isn't it...... The Australian emperor wants to sweep the world and change the dynasty? ”

“…… It's possible, but if the flowers and rivers of the Ming Dynasty are taken away by the Australians, there seems to be nothing bad - what a prosperous situation our Lingao is now, and what kind of poor and broken appearance it was before, you have also seen it. This Australian is not a barbarian, but a descendant of the Great Song Dynasty who was left overseas, and if these remnants of the Great Song Dynasty come to sit in the country, the life of the people in the world may be better...... Alas, I'm nagging you so many taboo words, why hurry up and hang up the banners and lanterns to welcome Australia's 'Shang'an'......"

“…… Brother Li, have you heard everything? In the past few years, hundreds of thieves crossed the sea and landed in Lingao, which turned the land of Lingnan upside down, and the Qiongzhou government was no longer owned by our dynasty. Now tens of thousands of thieves have gathered from all over the world, if this generation has any bad intentions, I am afraid that I am in danger."

“…… Huang Gongzi said cautiously, now that Lingao is no longer the realm of the Ming Dynasty, be careful that the misfortune comes out of the mouth, we can't wait for a while, and we must think about it in the long run......"

“…… Alas, when will it take for my heavenly soldiers to sweep away these thieves and give me a bright future."

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Not to mention the turbulent undercurrents and rumors on the market in Lingao, Qiongzhou. At the same time, at the anchorage of Hong Kong Island on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary, the Lingao Senate Navy is also making intensive preparations for this large-scale global traverser summit.

-- As a group of careerists and conquerors from later generations, the Senate of the Travelers of Lingao County on Hainan Island all knew very well that in this era of great powers, any diplomatic negotiations must be backed by force, even between groups of traversers. In other words, it is precisely because the opponent of the negotiation this time is also from the 21st century and has a similar way of thinking to the senate travelers, so it is all the more necessary to fully display their military strength, so as not to be underestimated or misjudged by the other party, and to prevent complications in the negotiation process

So, on this day at the end of the fourth year of Chongzhen, as soon as the morning sun rose above the horizon, the red light was projected into the Hong Kong anchorage, shining on the masts of dhows, brigs, three-masted ships and steamships. When the sun rises, the half-hung sails change colors in the field of vision, first black, then blue-gray, and finally white. Although the origin and style of these ships are different, even the tonnage is very different. But each one was beautifully decorated and full of flags. The decks and hulls were clean, and the black-hole guns and various bronze and steel components shone with metallic light......

-- More than 70 percent of the naval fleet under the Senate of Lingao has now completed its assembly in Hong Kong and is about to sail back to its home port of Lingao.

Sailors, who had just woken up from the barracks for breakfast, wore copper basin hats made of coconut shells, gathered in the open space near the pier, waiting to board the ship. On the pier at the anchorage, sailors and coolies shouted trumpets and ran like ants moving, loading the departing fleet. Many boxes marked with different numbers, graphics and colors are loaded onto pallets, covered with nets, and are being lifted by cranes. Further afield, the larger boats need to be transferred by small boats - the bay is full of small boats of all kinds, some of which are based in Hong Kong and some of which are brought by the larger boats, coming and going like barracudas. They were busy carrying goods and transporting people, the oars of the rowboats were repeatedly rising and falling, and the motorboats were constantly emitting smoke and steam. Sometimes they lean on the docks, sometimes they get on the big boats. The sailors shouted at each other and whistled at each other...... The boisterous sounds of people, the rattling of lugs and ropes, the sound of oars hitting the water, and the roar of machines can be heard for miles through the rough and undulating sea.

Rear Admiral of the Senate, Chief Adviser of the Navy, and Commander of the First Fleet, passing through Admiral Mingqiu, a "veteran" who had previously served in the South China Sea Fleet of the People's Liberation Army, stood on the bridge of the flagship Lichun, squinting at the tense and orderly scene of the fleet going to sea.

Behind him, the officers and sailors on the flagship were also busy sorting out their personal housekeeping—wiping their guns and swords; Washing and sewing flags, as well as haircuts, shaving, bathing, washing clothes, cleaning up their appearance: even if the "Australian officials" may not come to review themselves, but when it comes to the New Year, how can they clean themselves up, otherwise how to eat Chinese New Year's Eve dinner if they are unkempt and have scumbags?

“…… Report to the Admiral, the fleet is ready to sail and is complete, please instruct"

A moment later, a second lieutenant came over and saluted, and said with a full sense of air. And Mingqiu also returned the salute, and then issued an order:

“…… Very good, the whole fleet set off to Macau for a turn, say hello to the Portuguese, and then return to Lingao for the New Year together"

-- It stands to reason that such a short sea route from Hong Kong to Lingao does not need to go to Macao for replenishment on the way.

In fact, Admiral Mingqiu's decision is mainly for the purpose of deterrence and security by force:

As we all know, the absolute security of any important international conference must be guaranteed before it is held. Otherwise, in the middle of the meeting, there will be shells and bullets whistling, explosions and fires, and the delegates will flee in fear...... That was definitely a big embarrassment and laughing stock for the organizers. Therefore, when the Lingao Senate held the Global Traveler Summit to discuss state affairs, it naturally tried its best to prevent any riots.

In the surrounding waters of Lingao, the Vietnamese naval division in the civil war between the north and the south was weak, and in order to win the civil war, they even had to recruit pirates to make up the numbers, and they were unable to go on an expedition to Hainan Island. The pirates along the coast of Fujian and Guangdong in China have been wiped out by the Senate, and the rest are all frightened, and they definitely dare not come to Gao to offend. The Daming Shui Division of Liangguang and Fujian was either frightened, or the relationship between Huangshi and Huang Dashuai by the Senate had already been secretly completed. As a result, the only potentially unstable factor in the area around Lingao was the Portuguese, who owned a few Western-style armed galleons in Macao, and the Senate of Lingao's Travelers is still fresh in their memory, when they first arrived and had a firm foothold on Hainan Island, there was a Western pirate ship "Countess Scarborough" that attacked Lingao at night, which set off from Macao.

Although the Senate fleet is currently dominating the waters of Fujian and Guangdong, and the fleets of all parties that are about to arrive can be called invincible in East Asia, the Portuguese in Macao should not dare to make a mistake lightly. But what if a few daring Portuguese adventurers, newborn calves, were not afraid of tigers, and wanted to take advantage of the chaos of the fleets on all sides, what if they were to take advantage of the chaos that had been brought together by the fleets of all sides? Even if these guys are absolutely impossible to succeed and will suffer heavy revenge afterwards, the Lingao Senate is already disgraced and disgraced to the world

Therefore, before the unprecedented Global Traveler Summit was held in Lingao, the Senate of Lingao Travelers sent the main fleet to Macao to show off its military might and warn the Portuguese over there not to talk nonsense, which was still very necessary in various senses.

However, when this wave of sails that covered the sky and the sun arrived outside Macao and Hong Kong with the blue and white Enlightenment Cross flag of the Senate soon after, and released a salute to show off their might, not only the Portuguese in Macao were so frightened that they did not dare to make a mistake. There was another visitor wearing the official uniform of the Ming Dynasty's Qipinzhi County, who also looked messy in the wind on the dock in Macau, had a nervous breakdown, and even exclaimed:

“…… This...... What the hell is going on? How can there be a NATO flag in these years? And where did the steamships of the XVII century come from? Oh, what kind of ridiculous world did this damn Lord God throw me into? ”

-- He is the new Xiangshan magistrate who just arrived a few days ago, Liu Chaozuo. And...... A reincarnation from an infinite world

The real "master" of this space-time theory has finally witnessed the great changes in this world......