Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 179

At the end of October of the sixth year of Apocalypse, the fleet led by Zheng Tingqiu returned to Tamsui. This time he went north from Dongfan and went to Chongming, Pidao, Hirado, Nagasaki and other places. He basically followed the path that the Bowang traveled last year. The route was walked again, lasting more than four months in total.

After Lin Hai heard the news, he went to the mouth of Tamsui River to greet him personally. With the continuous arrival of immigrants, the continuation of the war in Yilan, and the cost of preparing for Zheng Zhilong's war, the company's cash was getting less and less, and it was waiting for the caravan to come back. Replenish blood.

If the caravan does not come back in another half month, Lin Hai plans to suspend the recruitment of immigrants. He must leave enough money in case something happens to the caravan.

"Brother Zheng, you seem to have lost a little weight." Lin Hai boarded the Ganfu at the mouth of the Tamsui River and smiled at Zheng Tingqiu who came forward.

"It is true that I have lost weight. I, Old Zheng, have not slept well in the past four months." Zheng Tingqiu also laughed when he heard this. There are more than 500,000 taels of silver on the Ganfu, how can he not worry about it day and night?

"Then you should eat more tonight. I have prepared a banquet in Guandu City."

"It's easy to talk. Mr. Lin...ah, no, sir, has my wife given birth?"

As early as October last year, Lin Hai bought an eighteen-year-old girl from Ren Yazi in Xiamen and gave it to Zheng Tingqiu to warm his bed.

As a result, within two months, the girl was pregnant. Zheng Tingqiu was so happy that he immediately worshiped her, so he asked this question.

"Congratulations, Madam, you have given birth to a big fat boy. It was a full moon a few days ago. I just asked Zhu Niang to send a congratulatory gift." Lin Hai cupped his hands and congratulated Zheng Tingqiu.

"Same joy, same joy." Zheng Tingqiu was overjoyed when he heard this. He was already in his thirties. He had never married and had children before, but now he finally had an heir.

"Chief, let's go to the official hall to talk." Zheng Tingqiu knew that Lin Hai was concerned about his trip to the north, so he asked him to go to the official hall to talk.

Lin Hai nodded and said, "Okay, let's talk while walking."

The Ganfu took advantage of the northwest wind to sail up the Tamsui River. Sand ships were good for this. Even for large ships with a load capacity of 600 tons, the draft was still very shallow. The Dingyuan and Bowang were completely unable to sail on the Tamsui River.

Lin Hai sat down in the official hall, and Zheng Tingqiu said straight to the point: "Master, the total amount of silver I brought back this time is more than 560,000 taels, of which 450,000 was given to me by your brother Ou Zuoji..."

Lin Hai nodded when he heard this, and his heart suddenly became calm. He handed over to Ou Zuoji 1,500 dans of raw silk at Sijiao Mountain, of which 1,000 dans of seven-li silk were negotiated by the Hirado Matsuura clan and were worth 400,000 taels.

The other 500 tons of ordinary raw silk Linhai gave to Ou Zuoji at that time, and naturally there was no money to get back. The other 50,000 taels were other goods he had purchased in Zhejiang before, and Ou Zuoji took them to Nagasaki for sale.

Just listen to Zheng Tingqiu continue to say: "In addition, I sold nearly 180,000 taels of ginseng, mink skin, Dongzhu and other items in Hirado and Nagasaki this time, and then bought some copper ingots, and added There are more than 110,000 taels left to spend on the journey. All accounts are with the finance officer assigned to the ship by the finance department, and the chief officer can check them at any time."

"I won't read it. Of course, someone from the Finance Department will be responsible for the review." Lin Hai will definitely not do such detailed work himself now. With Chen Yaozu in charge of the Finance Department, he feels relieved.

Although this kid is good at eating, drinking, prostitution, gambling and smoking, he has no evil intentions. In essence, he is still a middle-aged boy with an intestine leading to his asshole. Moreover, even if Chen Yaozu had this intention, with his personal ability, he would not be able to turn this department into an independent kingdom that could hide everything from the outside world.

In comparison, Lun Yiyi and Zhang Yong have more outstanding abilities, but they also have their own shortcomings. Lun Yiyi is a cosmopolitan man and Zhang Yong is not good at sociability.

"How is the situation over there with Zhang Yong? Has the store in Pi Island opened?" Lin Hai then asked. He sent Zhang Yong to Pi Island more than two months before Zheng Tingqiu went north.

"He didn't open a store in Pidao. Now he has gone to North Korea. I brought back the brothers who went to Pidao with him." Zheng Tingqiu replied.

"Zhang Yong went to North Korea?" Lin Hai was surprised when he heard this. The main purpose of sending Zhang Yong to Pi Island was to find out who the North Korean rebel was.

Originally, he wanted Zhang Yong to open a shop in Pidao, and after Zheng Tingqiu went to negotiate a trading location with the North Korean rebels, he would then wait for an opportunity to find a way to get close to the people there. Unexpectedly, this kid got there right away.

"What's going on?" Lin Hai asked quickly.

"I met Zhang Yong twice, but we didn't speak. The brother who went with him said that Zhang Yong did not open a shop after arriving in Phidao, but went to the herbal medicine shop opened by Pu Zhenghuan to apply for a job as a bookkeeper. Later he said I want to go to North Korea with Park Zhenghuan and ask those brothers to wait for me at Pidao."

The Pu Zhenghuan that Zheng Tingqiu mentioned was the lover of Shen Shikui's North Korean concubine Suyan. Of course, this was the name he reported to Lin Hai on the Ganfu. Whether it was true or not is unknown, and Lin Hai didn't know that he was having an affair with Shen Shikui's concubine.

"Then where did you meet Zhang Yong?" Lin Hai then asked.

Zheng Tingqiu replied: "One time was when I met Pu Zhenghuan at the herbal medicine shop, and the other time was on Da Qingdao. It happened to be a coincidence that the trading place Pu Zhenghuan mentioned was in Da Qingdao where we parked last year. Because these two times Pu Zhenghuan We were all present, so Zhang Yong and I didn’t talk.”

Lin Hai asked again: "Then he didn't leave you any letter?"

Zheng Tingqiu shook his head and said: "No, but it seems that he should have gained Park Zhenghuan's trust."

"Okay..." Lin Hai didn't know what to say at the moment. Zhang Yong was not good at communication. He didn't expect that he could directly ask Park Zhenghuan to take him to North Korea.

But the problem is that now he is alone there. Even if he finds out who is behind Park Zhenghuan, he can't pass the information to Tamsui. Lin Hai doesn't know what Zhang Yong's plan is. In short, his action this time is of great significance. Exceeded expectations.

"Is there a letter for me from Ou Zuoji?" Lin Hai then asked. When Zheng Tingqiu left Tamsui, Ou Zuoji had not returned from the East Ocean route, so he did not know about Salvador Diaz.

"Yes." Zheng Tingqiu said, taking out an envelope from his arms and handing it to Lin Haidao, "Please take a look at it."

Lin Hai took the envelope, tore open the lacquered seal, took out the letterhead, and read it on the spot. After a while, he patted his thigh and cheered repeatedly.

Zheng Tingqiu asked from the side: "Master, what are you so happy about?"

Lin Hai smiled and said: "Next year, the senior officials will put on a good show, just wait and see." A few days after Zheng Tingqiu returned, Xu Letian came over from Xiamen again, saying that Hong Xianchun, the capital of Fujian, was defeated at the hands of Zheng Zhilong. After returning home, now the governor Zhu Yifeng is ordering Kinmen guerrillas Lu Yuying and Hong Xianchun to join forces to suppress, and he has transferred Fujian general Yu Zigao to the Zhongzuo post.

Lin Hai did know about this battle. Later, Lu Yuying was captured alive by Zheng Zhilong, but was released by the latter himself. Lu Yuying preached that Zheng Zhilong could be cured, but was imprisoned by Yu Zigao.

It was not until the first year of Chongzhen that Zhu Yifeng was deposed and the Fujian Navy was beaten to the point of losing his temper by Zheng Zhilong. Only then did the new governor Xiong Wencan release Lu Yuying from prison and take part in recruiting Zheng Zhilong.

In fact, to a certain extent, what Lu Yuying said was indeed right. There was nothing wrong with the imperial court recruiting Zheng Zhilong. This might have been the only option at the time.

At least during the Chongzhen period, Zheng Zhilong's role after being appeased was positive. He not only pacified the southeastern coast, but also sent troops to Guangdong and Jiangxi to suppress bandits many times. In the Southern Ming Dynasty, he took advantage of Emperor Longwu to show his self-respect, and later surrendered to the Qing Dynasty and ended the Longwu regime. This is another story.

But these have nothing to do with Lin Hai. For him, Zheng Zhilong is a roadblock that must be eliminated.

"Brother Lin, now that General Yu has arrived at the Zhongzuo Station, my father asked me to ask you when you can send troops here?" Xu Letian asked after talking about the situation in Fujian.

"It will take at least more than a month. The war between me and the natives is not over yet. In addition, I also need a batch of gunpowder." Lin Hai took the opportunity to make his request.

Xu Letian heard this and said: "Gunpowder is easy to talk about. General Yu is mobilizing troops and supplies from all over Fujian. After Brother Lin's fleet arrives at Zhongzuo Station, we will have as much as we need."

"What is your father's attitude towards the church thing you mentioned last time?" Lin Hai then asked. Since Li Dan had been tricked by the Spanish, he was a little worried that Xu Xinsu would not agree.

"This matter is easier to explain." Xu Letian continued, "But now that there is a war on the coast of Fujian, I don't know if the priests Brother Lin mentioned are willing to come."

"They will definitely be willing to go." Lin Hai was very sure of this. Catholicism was very enthusiastic about missionary work, which was why he thought he could tie the Dominicans to his chariot.

After sending Xu Letian away, Lin Hai came to Keelung from Tamsui. Not long ago, Huiyou Company moved both the Army Department and the Navy Department to Keelung. The Army Department occupied Sheliao Island, while the Navy Department was far away from Sheliao Island on the main island of Taiwan.

Of course, the navy still has many cargo ships and sailors still in Tamsui. The main ones anchored in Keelung Port are warships. The port conditions here are better than Tamsui.

The fortress on Sheliao Island has been completed. The bastion at the foot of the mountain is named Keelung Fort, and the round fort on the mountain is called Zhenhai Fort. The barracks of the Army Department are located in Keelung Fort.

Of course, currently only the newly formed Artillery Bureau has actually been stationed, while the rest of the Army Department staff are still fighting hard with the natives in Yilan. The so-called hard battle is not that the battle itself is difficult, but mainly that the process of searching for the enemy in the mountains is very difficult.

The Huiyou Company's military operations in the Yilan area have lasted for more than two months. Most of the Kavalan villages have accepted the rule of the Iron King Wulang and have been moved to the hilly areas of Taipei.

The few remaining village communities have either been wiped out and their residents reduced to slave labor, or they have hid in the mountains on the edge of the plains, playing hide and seek with the Alliance Company and the Iron King's coalition.

At present, there are four or five such village communities, with a total population of more than 1,000 people. This progress was much faster than Lin Hai expected, mainly because he did not kill them all blindly, but gave the Kavalan people a second choice to become the people of the Iron Kingdom. Otherwise, the war would probably last for ten years. For more than a year.

The population of the Kingdom of Iron has expanded to nearly 30,000 people, which is basically the same number of Han immigrants in Wanhua. This will not bring huge pressure for survival, because the Iron Country has become a pure trading country, and unlike in the past, the average person does not need to occupy a large piece of land to support himself.

From the perspective of Huiyou Company, it is not a loss. Although trade with the Iron Kingdom consumes a lot of food, it is not worth much compared to the harvested sulfur, volcanic ash, deer products and sea fish.

The Finance Department has calculated that the average profit rate of trade between the company and the natives is more than double. This is calculated based on the price of sulfur and other products sold to Fujian. In fact, these things are used by the company for its own use. Wulang is responsible for door-to-door delivery.

"Guoyi, artillery training has been going on for less than half a month. When do you think we can start joint training with other military bureaus?" Lin Hai stood on the triangular bastion on the northeast side of Keelung Fort, and the rumble of artillery could be heard not far away. Come on, this is the newly formed artillery bureau of the Ministry of War conducting training.

"The gunners of the Artillery Bureau are already good at firing artillery. As long as they are familiar with the guns they are responsible for, they can actually start joint training." Wu Guoyi replied from the side.

The artillery bureau currently has forty guns, ten of which are powerful long-range guns and thirty of which are 1-pounder Franco machine guns. Each gun uses two mules, one to carry the gun and the other to carry ammunition.

In terms of the staffing of the artillery crew, there are five people in the Great Power Long Range Artillery, two of whom are gunners transferred from the Navy Department. The Franco machine gun has four people, one of whom is a gunner transferred from the Admiralty, and the rest are selected from the auxiliary troops.

The test director of the Artillery Bureau was originally the captain of the auxiliary army. His name is Jiang Yu. He is twenty-five years old. He is tall and thin and has a rather elegant appearance.

Although he is not young, Jiang Yu is very studious. When he was an ordinary auxiliary soldier, he gave half of his military salary to a literate comrade in the team to teach him how to read.

It was this incident that made Lin Hai notice him and promoted him to captain of the auxiliary army. Inspired by this, Lin Hai also opened a night school at the Ministry of War, and specially transferred several graduates from Wanhuayi School to become teachers. Of course, this night school was free of charge.

After hearing Wu Guoyi's words, Lin Hai nodded and said: "Then transfer the soldiers from the Army Department back from Yilan as soon as possible, and just hand them over to the Navy Department and Wulang troops."

He continued: "The Fujian Navy has been defeated by Zheng Zhilong for a while. Currently, martial law has been imposed along the coast. Prices have risen faster than expected. We can't drag it out any longer."

Wu Guoyi heard this and said solemnly: "Chief Commander, when will we send out troops?"

"About a month later, if the weather permits." Lin Hai replied looking at the place where the sky and the sea meet in the distance.

At the end of November of the sixth year of Tianqi, Huiyou Company left Navy Deputy Commander Zheng Tingqiu to coordinate the defense of Dongfan. Except for a small number of sailors from the Security Department and the Navy Department, all combatants boarded the ship and set sail from Keelung Port to Zhongzuo Station.

(End of this chapter)