Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 491 Unannounced Visit to Boshop ([-])

Ignoring it seems to have worked.After a period of time, Lingao's pleading document, which came once every seven or eight days, disappeared.Tang Yunwen was deeply afraid that Lingao County had already fallen—if that was the case, things would be troublesome if any of his opponents read his book "Willing to See Death".He sent people to inquire at the yamen in Fucheng, and reported that the post road to Lingao was still accessible, and the county town was also fine.So he was relieved.Since everything is safe and sound, there is no need to worry about it.

Tang Yunwen simply forgot about the big iron boat.Compared with the big iron boat at Lingao, he has more troublesome things to do: First, Liu Xiang, a rising star in the Guangdong ocean, harassed and robbed the Pearl River Estuary, trying to monopolize Guangdong's overseas trade, and came here from time to time. Fish in Qiongzhou, Leizhou, and Lianzhou, and rob salt and sugar boats.Veteran pirate Zhucai was not to be outdone, and had a great time fighting him in the Guangdong Ocean.The chaos in Fujian's ocean has also disturbed the coast of Guangdong.For a while, you came and went, smoke was everywhere, and rumors of mobilizing his troops to "suppress" came one after another. Tang Yunwen led his troops to fight everywhere, and moved to the sea of ​​Fujian and Guangdong.

With Zhucai's defeat in Nanri, Tang Yunwen finally had a chance to take a breather, and retreated back to the old camp to rest.But not long after returning to Baisha Water Village, he received disturbing news.According to the oral confession of the sporadic and scattered pirates captured by the cruise ship, a remnant of the past colorful veterans went to Lingao.There are seventy or eighty boats and more than 1000 people.

These remnants of the pirates who have gone to Lingao are now sending people to recruit and accept rebels on the Guangdong ocean, and continue to lure the remnants of the original Zhucai old men to Lingao, "to join the Australians".This is the first time Tang Yunwen heard the name "Australian".He hurriedly sent spies to Lingao again to inquire about the news.

He was surprised by the news that the Australians who came to Gao in the big iron boat not only did not leave, but also built houses and docks in Bopu, which seemed to mean staying in Lingao for a long time.This reminded him of the past when the Frangji people tried to build a city and live in Tuen Mun - and then they gained a foothold in Xiangshan O.Is it possible that this Australian is also planning to do the old trick of the Francois?

This is an inevitable event.Tang Yunwen became nervous, he was very clear about the court's attitude towards these overseas people-except for Macau, they were absolutely not allowed to stay on the land of Ming Dynasty, let alone build cities and docks.Whether it was Shuangyu, Tuen Mun back then, or Penghu during the Apocalypse era, the attitude of the imperial court was always the same. There was only one word for Westerners to stay and build a city on the land of Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, he didn't dare to pretend to be deaf and dumb anymore.Counting from the arrival of the iron boat in Lingao, this group of overseas "Australians" have been in Lingao for almost a year, and they have gained a firm foothold in Lingao in the past year or so, so they wantonly recruited the remnants of all the old people. Expand your strength.

From this point of view, the situation in Lingao is worrisome!Tang Yunwen hurriedly sent people around to inquire about Lingao.In the end, he was surprised. Not only did Lingao not send out a call for help from a pirate invasion in the past year, but he also presented the captured pirate heads and various seals, flags, documents, etc. to the mansion many times.Among them are notorious pirate leaders who are wanted by the government.Even the heads of Western pirates have been presented.

"Wu Mingjin, magistrate of Lingao County, has become a first-class red member recently." Jiang Youling told him that the pirate activities in Lingaoyang have almost disappeared now, and the prefect thinks highly of him.

"What about the so-called Australians?"

"That's the strange thing." Jiang Youling said, "There is no mention of Australians in the letters between Wu County Magistrate and the government office."

"You mean..." Tang Yunwen whispered, "Magistrate Wu colluded with the Australians?"

"Whether there is collusion or not is hard to say, at least there is a tacit understanding that the two will not commit crimes."

"Wu Mingjin is too bold." Tang Yunwen said, "However, Lingao seems to be quite quiet."

"It's not just quiet." Jiang Youling said that now Lingao has become a big destination in Qiongzhou Prefecture. There is an endless stream of local merchants going to Lingao to do business. Every day, many merchants from mainland China transfer ships to Lingao at Shenying Port. .

"Now there is an outer cabinet of Gaoguang Shipping Company in Shenying Port. Anyone who wants to go to Lingao can buy a ticket on the cabinet and go there by boat, which is very convenient."

The prosperity and prosperity rarely seen on this island have appeared in Lingao, which is obviously also related to the Australians.Wu Mingjin has been the magistrate of Lingao County for several years, and he has not been in this situation. The big iron boat has been advancing by leaps and bounds in a year. If there are no Australians here, no one will believe it.

Tang Yunwen decided to go to the Boshop to see the situation in person.There is always something unreliable about the news that comes from hearsay.It's time to make a decision.

This is how he pretended to be a fisherman and personally sailed out to sea to find out the truth.

"Sail, go to Changgong Bay." Tang Yunwen ordered his men.

Changgong Bay is just to the west of Lingaojiao. It is a traditional fishing ground in Lingao, and there are many fishing boats in operation.There are little sails on the sea, so it should be easy to get mixed in.

Unexpectedly, the captain of the boat who was acting as a guide shook his head and said, "Vice lord! It's not that he refuses to go. Fishing in Lingao ocean requires a thing called a 'permit' and a small flag to hang on the mast. The small ones have never been done. The Australian clippers will come to check after the boat passes by, and the catch will be confiscated, and even the boats will be confiscated.”

"What's the matter with this license?"

"The younger ones have also heard that only after receiving the flag can they be allowed to fish in Lingao Ocean, and they have to pay one-fifth of the catch every day as a tax."

Tang Yunwen nodded, Australians are really good at making money.The seafood catches in Lingao area are very rich, controlling the territory here to blackmail the fishermen, the income is very considerable.He himself receives more than three or four thousand taels of silver from fishermen all over the island every year.

"In this case, there is no need to lower the net to fish, just move the boat closer."

The boss of the boat was helpless, he didn't know the specific identity of Tang Yunwen, but it was certain that they were officers of the army in Baisha Water Village.This kind of person, people who live on water, naturally cannot be provoked, and because they are greedy for the promised "more money", they risked the boat to go to Lingaojiao.

The boat approached Lingaojiao quietly under the propulsion of the big scull. It was the fishing season and there were many fishing boats on the ocean. This two-masted fishing boat sneaked into the fleet and was unremarkable.

The boss of the boat was very worried, looking around from time to time, and urged him to "hurry up".Tang Yunwen secretly laughed at the courage of the boss of this ship, how could the so-called Australians take care of these many ships?He also used the telescope to look at the high angle on his own.

Tang Yunwen led the patrol boats to pass by Lingaojiao at least dozens of times.Here is a natural rock embankment with nothing on it.

Now the Lingao corner has completely changed. On the top part that goes deep into the sea, a circular shape has been built, and there are many protruding bastions on the outside.The fort is not high, but it is extremely solid and thick, and the whole body is made of large stones.On the pier, a huge iron cannon can be vaguely seen.It looks much bigger than the Hongyi cannon bought by the imperial court.

Many trestle bridges were built on the high corner, all paved with big stones, as wide and flat as a road.There are large and small ships moored on it, and people and cars on the embankment come and go, which is very lively.Many identical tall wooden frames with large wooden wheels were also built on the embankment, and long booms were stretched out to lift goods back and forth, which seemed to be something like oranges.

Tang Yunwen was secretly startled, not to mention the power of the cannon, just building such a solid pier and these stone trestles on this high corner... If the government comes to do it, even if the money and food are sufficient, there will be no worries. According to his estimate, it will take at least two or three years.

"My lord, Fengsui!" Zhang Wen, his relative next to him, reminded him in a low voice.

Fengsui also changed its appearance.Originally, not only most of the bricks and stones on the surface of this beacon had fallen off, but some places had collapsed with soil, and it was covered with weeds and small trees, like a small mountain of dirt.Now, the beacon tower has been rebuilt with bricks and stones, the trees and weeds have been cleaned up, and a small house has been built on the top, on which a large iron cannon can be vaguely seen.

Tang Yunwen felt strange: Although the beacon tower has a wide field of vision and can see very far, it seems meaningless to erect iron cannons on it-the red barbarian cannons bought by the imperial court can only hit a distance of four to five hundred feet at most, and they are not far away at all. Missed.This beacon is five or six miles away from the sea on Bopu's side. When the cannon is fired, wouldn't the shells hit the land?

Is it possible that the shells can hit the sea?So this cannon can hit at least five or six miles away!Tang Yunwen is a military general with actual combat experience and has dealt with Europeans. He is different from the literati who are scribbling about firearms and warfare.He knew that the so-called Western French cannons "as far as ten miles away" were nonsense, but the group of Australians in front of them had such heavy artillery!Thinking of this makes me shudder.The biggest cannon on his own ship is not as good as the Hongyi cannon of the Francoids. If he came to Bopu to attack the Australians, he would probably be beaten to pieces before he got close.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but rejoice that he had listened to Jiang Youling's words.If you really come to crusade, it is easy to lose a battle, and the entire army may be wiped out.

After thinking about it, his heart became very heavy again.Looking at the situation, the Australians are planning to build a city here in Bopu and stay here for a long time, just like the Franji people and the red-haired people in the Apocalypse Year.If this is the case, sooner or later the imperial court will order a crusade.

But it won't happen this year, Tang Yunwen thought. Recently, Donglu suddenly bypassed Mongolia and entered the pass, sinking several cities in a row, and the soldiers pointed directly at Zunhua, shaking the capital.The imperial court probably has no time to deal with this matter.If there is a local encirclement and suppression, it is likely to be the congregation and suppression in Guangdong and Fujian...

(End of this chapter)