The wind blows from the South Sea

Chapter 61: Nip in the bud (please vote for me, collect it, and support me from readers).

After climbing up the hill and overlooking the busy construction site from a high place, Feng Guohui felt an invisible impulse to create history, which made him feel very good.

The hilltop they are standing on is the highest and largest hilltop in the surrounding area. The top of the hilltop has been bulldozed and covers about 400 square meters. The hills on the left and right can be connected through trails.

There are seven hills in this row, the tallest one is about seventy or eighty meters, and the short one is thirty or forty meters long. They form a continuous barrier and stand abruptly in the flat bay.

The mountains were still being set on fire below, and through alternating hot and cold methods, large swaths of mountain rock cracked and collapsed, and rocks were taken to build embankments on the side facing the bay.

After a long time

This piece of rock facing the bay will become steep and upright, making it difficult to climb. This is exactly Feng Guohui's purpose.

These hills are in an excellent location. From now on, the road up the mountain will be at the col facing the bay, where a large warehouse will be built and two high walls will be built.

From then on, a closed fortress-type portal was formed to tightly guard the port.

If coastal artillery is installed, the entire fjord can even be closed.

Surabaya Port is located within the Surabaya Strait. From here, you can clearly see the green mountains of Madura Island in the distance. The strait between the two is only more than 5300 meters wide.

Considering that the shallower areas along the coast are not suitable for navigation, the width of the strait suitable for navigation is more than 4500 meters, which can be completely covered by large-caliber shore guns.

Ignoring Britain's expensive Armstrong large-caliber shore gun, the most suitable one is the French-made M1857 12-pound field gun. When the muzzle is raised 10 degrees, the range of this gun can reach 1911 meters.

If placed on the 78-meter-high No. 2 Hill, this range can be extended to about 2850 meters, basically covering most of the Surabaya Strait.

I can only think about it now. I can't get such powerful artillery for the time being.

Feng Guohui looked left and right on the hill, discussed with the craftsman leader Zheng Daan, and basically established the building specifications for the fortress on the top of the mountain.

Zheng Da'an is indeed an old craftsman who has built many cities and has unique insights into defensive cities. He suggested building these seven hills separately and connecting them with stone steps and paths carved between the mountains.

It can be subdivided into "two masters and five auxiliaries". The so-called two masters are three-story stone fortresses built on the second and sixth mountains, which are larger on the top of the mountain, about 10 meters high.

Especially on the second mountain, a wooden tower building with a height of more than 10 meters can be built further up, which will be used as the location of the lighthouse and alarm bell, and is also the fortress where the commander is located.

Guide ships in peacetime and lookout and warn in time of war.

"Five Vices" refers to the five hills with a top area less than 5 square meters. Because of their small area, they are not suitable for large-scale warfare.

There is only one circular stone wall built on these hills, which is 3.8 meters high. It can station a team of musketeers ranging from 15 to 20 people, and it can also set up 2 to 3 artillery platforms.

On weekdays, there are a total of 7 small and medium-sized fortresses with "two masters and five auxiliaries" that are independent of each other. Only a side door is opened and connected through stone steps. They can fight independently behind closed doors, and they can also support each other.

This kind of construction is not difficult and the defense effect is good.

Feng Guohui listened with great interest and made a rough calculation. In addition to consuming a little more construction time and food, the additional cost was only three to four hundred tons of cement.

After all, it is a fortress-type building. In addition to large pieces of mountain stone, strong adhesives such as cement are indispensable.

Didn't say anything, did it.

However, Feng Guohui slightly modified the "two masters and five auxiliaries" and took out the No. 3 hilltop separately to prepare to build a reservoir.

The most fatal flaw of the defense system on the bay is that there is no fresh water. If it is surrounded by the enemy and hundreds of soldiers are nestled inside, it will be a dead end.

Anyone who likes theater knows that Zhuge Liang killed Ma Di with tears in his eyes. Why did Ma Di lose his street pavilion?

It was because Ma Su did not listen to others' advice and stationed his army on Nanshan Mountain where there was no water source. As a result, Zhang Jaw led his army to cut off the water source and collapsed without a fight.

The Seven Star Fortress on the seaside also had this shortcoming. It could neither dig a well nor obtain fresh water, and had to obtain domestic water from nearby streams.

It would be terrible if we were surrounded by enemy troops.

Feng Guohui plans to take out the top of Hill No. 3 and build a reservoir of about 400 square meters in size and four meters high, which can store more than tons of water.

Together with the water stored in other forts, it is enough to be used for a long time.

This makes up for the fatal flaw, which is perfect.

"These seven mountains imply the meaning of the Big Dipper. From now on, we will call it Qixing Mountain. It sounds catchy and easy to remember." Feng Guohui gave this place a name with a smile, and then continued;

“Building the Seven Star Fortress on Qixing Mountain has an excellent location and overlooks the entire bay.

As long as this hard nail stands here, our port security and bay warehouse will be reliably guaranteed, and any enemy will be beaten to death here.

As the ancients said, nip problems in the bud.

We cannot rely on others to show kindness, but we must do our own work solidly and impeccably in order to eliminate possible open and covert attacks. "

Feng Guohui's words were meant for Zheng Xiucai, Hu Laohu, Zheng Da'an and others, and they also encouraged his own confidence to deal with the worst possible situation in the future.

The Nanyang Company is now in the limelight, and it has just made a big deal with the Spaniards, which will inevitably arouse the jealousy of some forces.

It has long been known to everyone that the daily necessities store opened by Nanyang Company on Xinshang Road in the south line purchases spices and various mountain products with great fanfare.

Various private speculations continue. As long as you are careful, it is not difficult to find out that Nanyang Company has purchased a large amount of spices. This cannot be kept secret in the first place.

The so-called concealment from the superior is not concealed from the inferior.

If all the Chinese worked together, it would not be easy for the Dutch colonists to know, because there is an obvious gap between Chinese society and white society.

Feng Guohui knew the evil of human nature very clearly, and he didn't expect to keep it secret for long.

He could bring the Qiao family into his business, or he could bring both the Hu family and the Lin family into his business, but it was impossible to bring all the 30,000 to 40,000 Chinese in Surabaya City into the business.

Even if you are brought in to share a piece of the pie, some people will get more and some will get less, and it is still impossible to satisfy everyone.

It might be Zhang San, or it might be Li Si. Sooner or later, this matter will be revealed.

This was also the purpose of Feng Guohui's insistence on placing Ma Ganqiang in the patrol room. Now that Ma Ganqiang had become the police chief and had several of his own people in the patrol room, his ability to obtain official or private information was much stronger.

Among other things, the official members of the Surabaya Municipal Council are all under his control, and he is now trying to find ways to stuff people into their homes.

Feng Guohui also asked the Spaniards to pay attention. They had their own news channels in big cities such as Batavia or Bandung, and their roots were much deeper than his own.

If there is any trouble, you can contact the local hidden stake of Nanyang Company.

Feng Guohui sent an old brother to Batavia to live permanently, asking him to rent or buy a room near the Dutch Governor's Palace in the old city, but he should be able to see people coming and going from the gate of the Governor's Palace.

The next step is to use means in the Governor's Mansion to instigate an insider.

At present, Feng Guohui cannot get away, otherwise he will go to Batavia in person to arrange the matter properly.

from the heart

Feng Guohui had always maintained a high degree of vigilance against the possibility of military intervention by the Dutch colonists, or even the elimination of the Chinese force of the Nanyang Company in one fell swoop.

The spice smuggling trade is indeed hugely profitable, but it is also very hateful and directly steps on the sensitive line of the Dutch.

"Old Antou, the recent progress of the levee can be postponed. Reduce some manpower and build the Seven-Star Fortress. After the construction is completed, build the warehouse." Feng Guohui clarified the order of priority and pointed with his finger at the more than 400 meters long that has been completed. The basic part, said;

"The rest of the coolies will be mainly transferred there to build the breakwater there first, and the remaining breakwaters will be prioritized last.

There are more than 400 meters long breakwater and trestle, which already have the initial characteristics of the wharf and will not affect its use.

After the fortress and warehouses are all built, the remaining breakwaters will be completed. Anyway, this is the main work in the past two years.

Take the time to build the new brick kiln. In terms of manpower, I will add more than 200 coolies to you next week, so feel free to use it. "

"My boss, I understand. Immediately redeploy manpower as you said and start the Seven-Star Fortress project first."

"How long do you estimate it will take to complete the project?"

"If the supply of cement can keep up, I am going to use more than 300 manpower to build the Seven-Star Fortress. It will take about one and a half to 50 days, and it will almost be completed."

"Deploy half of the manpower and I will finish the work within a month."

"Boss, the working area on these seven hills is not big. No matter how many people go up there, the efficiency may not be high." Zheng Da'an could see Feng Guohui's face sinking, and his heart was shocked.

Secretly blaming myself for being too happy and forgetting about the guy in front of me, but he is a real big devil, a master who can turn against him at any time.

So he couldn't help but bend down a little further, and said with a humble expression;

"Please rest assured, boss, I will arrange work day and night. Even if a bonfire is lit at night, the work will not stop. In any case, it will be completed within a month."

"Okay, if you finish it on time, I will give you a big reward, sir." Feng Guohui's face softened a little and he said encouragement.

Zheng Daan bent his waist 90 degrees at this moment, fell to the ground and said, "Don't worry, boss, I've done a great job for you even if I spared more than a hundred kilograms. If you have any dissatisfaction, please feel free to do so." Take off this human head from your neck."

"Hahaha... Lao Antou, I feel relieved if you promise like this. I hope you will receive the reward instead of the head on your neck." Feng Guohui tapped again out of habit, and then walked down the path down the mountain with satisfaction. OK.

Zheng Xiucai knew what Dingye was worried about. He looked around again at the seven connected hills and the flat and vast bay, his expression becoming particularly determined.

Today's good life was earned by Ding Ye and his brothers through life and death. If the red ghosts dare to invade and destroy our good life, I will fight them to the end.

We all have a head on our shoulders and believe in Jesus. Who is afraid of whom?

On the sea, a cargo ship with flying white sails cut through the blue sea and approached the Hujia Pier in the distance.

This was an ordinary sight in the bay. Zheng Xiucai withdrew his gaze and saw that his master, Feng Guohui, was halfway down, so he hurriedly followed him.

he does not know

At this moment, the sailing cargo ship was crowded with unkempt Qing people, including men, women and children, all looking at this tropical coast with eager eyes.

For them, this place will be the beginning of a new life, and they will also have their hometown friends who they miss day and night. They heard that life here is prosperous.

It's said to be magical, but I don't know if it's true or not?

(End of this chapter)