Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 730
"We can smelt another furnace of good steel." Chen Haiyang looked at Dai Xie of the Action Team of the Planning Institute who greedily registered the numbers in the record book, and said jokingly.

"It's not one furnace, it's several furnaces. Just melt these cannons and irons and you'll get as much pig iron." As the director of the Survey and Statistics Department of the Planning Institute, Dai Xie rarely visits the front line in person. The "home search team" - a special search operation team - came to the Pearl River Delta, which shows that Wu De has high hopes for capturing a large amount of materials from the Pearl River Delta.Of course, the Planning Institute has indeed gained a lot.Especially the cannons that were seized after several forts were captured—even Frangji and the like can melt two to three hundred kilograms of molten iron, not to mention the Hongyi cannons that cost thousands of catties.

The cannons dismantled by the sailors piled up on the beach to form hills, among which 12 bronze cannons were precious trophies.But there are no ships to transport them yet, so we have to wait for the follow-up supply fleet to arrive.

The big whale was working nervously, puffing out black smoke.The steam winch pulled out the wooden stakes that were driven from the bottom of the water one by one.The wooden piles used for the blockage were simply hammered down by civilians with a sledgehammer, not the result of a mechanized pile driver, and the driving depth was only just firmly established in the river.After being gently pulled by the steam winch, they were pulled out one after another.Even the crane and the specially prepared wire rope were not used.

Hundreds of wooden piles blocked the river, and the Planning Institute, known for its thrifty housekeeping, did not let go. Several sailors who had worked as layout workers weaved the wooden piles into rows and prepared to be dragged back to Humen by boats.

After clearing the obstacles in the water, the scouts found a group of boats moored horizontally on the river a few kilometers away from Wuchong, filled with sand and stones.This is obviously another water obstacle.Chen Haiyang thought that it was fortunate that the Ming army did not sink the ship. Otherwise, of course, there would be no hindrance to the current wooden ship, but the channel of the future [-]-ton giant ship would be greatly affected.

However, according to the measurement of the survey ship, the officers and soldiers have indeed sunk several ships in the channel. Although the blocking line is intermittent and cannot be connected as a whole due to tides, currents, and shipwreck operations, it still makes the water depth in some waters change. It's only about 1-2 meters.Survey boats set up buoys in all areas where there was a risk of grounding.

The Big Whale began to dismantle some blocked areas that might affect normal navigation. Several steamboats dragged the boat full of sand and gravel to the shore, and the captives captured in Wuyong happened to be used as laborers.Chen Haiyang ordered to rest for a while, clean up the artillery, and prepare to continue upward. At the same time, he sent sailors to post notices to nearby villages to collect "reasonable burdens".

Now there is no longer any village that has the determination to resist them. Even before the sailors arrived, the elders and big households in the nearby villages sent people to present gifts and "rewards", expressing their willingness to accept all the conditions of the Australians.The nearby villagers also rowed boats to sell vegetables, fruits, meat and wine.At one point, there was a conflict with the civilian ships following the fleet and preparing to do business.

Many small boats gathered around Wuyong, forming a temporary but quite noisy floating market.Eventually even the whore's boat came.Of course, it is possible for them to do the business of the contingent, but the prostitutes still made a lot of money from the sailors and traders on other civilian ships.

Seeing more and more private boats gather, in order to prevent Shui Yong from mixing in them and launching a sneak attack.Chen Haiyang ordered all civilian ships to berth at the mouth of the Wuchong River and not to enter the waters where the fleet was moored.There must be a distance of 100 meters between the two to prevent the enemy from making a surprise attack with an arson boat.

There were so many small boats selling goods that Chen Haiyang realized that as long as his fleet still had money to pay, there was no need to labor for a dedicated supply fleet to transport him food—rice, poultry, eggs.Vegetables and fruits, as well as oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and alcohol can be purchased from small boats, and the price is not expensive.

Chen Haiyang ordered to buy a large number of citrus and other fruits for the soldiers to supplement vitamins.At the same time, it is ordered that if the food does not involve hygienic issues, the price can be purchased directly from the vendors on the boat.

He was surprised that the common people didn't care about doing business with the "thieves" who beat up the "government army" and ran away.Although this phenomenon is beneficial to the Fubo army, he feels very uncomfortable that the common people act as "bright traitors" so voluntarily.

At the moment of discomfort, another "delegation" came.This time it was ship owners and merchants moored at Huangpu Port.Because of the war, their ships and cargo were stranded in the port and dared not sail.Now I heard that the Kun bandits have conquered Wuyong, and the whole Huangpu Port has become a naked woman tied to a bed. The Kun bandits can go to the police whenever they want, and as many times as they want.The owners and cargo owners of more than 2000 large and small ships in the port were scared out of their wits.The sailors and helmsmen have all escaped, and even the officials and servants of the Huangpu River Pond have escaped completely.

The cargo owners and ship owners had no choice but to nominate a ten-member delegation to Wuchong to ask the Australians to "be kind".The shipowners and cargo owners were willing to pay a "ransom" of 5 taels of silver in exchange for the promise of the gangsters not to confiscate the cargo and not to burn the ship.

"I still hope for your permission!" The leading businessman kowtowed heavily on the ground.The people behind also kowtowed.The floor of the cabin was banged and banged.

Wen Desi gathered his hands in a very dignified manner—the feeling of being a master is really not bad: "Get up. No need to kowtow."

"Thank you, sir." The leading businessman cupped his hands again, then stood up cautiously, bowed his head and waited for the order.

"Your name is... um..."

"Villain Qin Haicheng." The leading businessman said cautiously.

"Is it a foreign merchant?"

Qin Haicheng got nervous, hesitated for a moment before saying, "Yes, the small one is a foreign businessman."

"Where to trade?"

"My lord, the Luzon Islands..."

"Must have made a lot of money."

Qin Haicheng trembled and dared not answer.I'm afraid that if I say something wrong, I will be blackmailed greatly.

Wen Desi probably realized that such words were inappropriate.Quickly change your tone:
"We don't need the money," Wen Desi said grandly, "but I have other requirements."

"Yes, please show me!" Qin Haicheng secretly heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that no money was required, but he thought that the price of this "request" would not be cheap, and it might be much more expensive than 5 taels of silver.

The first requirement is "and buy".Basically, they will send personnel to inspect the goods on various merchant ships, and all goods and goods that are in need of Lingao will be "and bought".And the buying price is the wholesale price of this kind of goods in Guangzhou plus 10% freight and gross profit.

All ships with goods "and bought" must sail to Hong Kong, and then be escorted by special service boats to Lingao to unload after the local formation.Due to the severance of foreign trade, Lingao now has a huge demand for many goods. There are more than 2000 ships in Huangpu Port, many of which are merchant ships.Of course, this kind of purchase has a certain predatory nature - it is much cheaper than the normal foreign trade purchase price between Lingao and Guangzhou in the past.However, a certain amount of profit is still left for the ship owner and cargo owner so that they will not lose money.

Although this condition is harsh, it is still tolerable.Qin Haicheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief—he wasn't worried about the Australians not giving money—the Australians' reputation as businessmen was still very good in Guangdong.

The second request sounds less like a request than a suggestion.He just talked about the superior geographical location of Hong Kong Island, which is currently under the control of Australia and Song Dynasty, and how complete the port services are.I hope that you will often go to Hong Kong Island to berth to load and sell goods-as for the goods that need to be transshipped, they can be transported by inland river vessels.

These words sound very polite, but in fact there is an element of coercion in them.According to the planning of the Central Government Affairs Council, the Planning Institute and the General Staff, although the main force of the task force will return to Lingao after the war against Guangzhou, the control of the Pearl River waterway will not be given up.In the future, the Hong Kong-based light patrol fleet will continue to patrol the Pearl River Estuary and the Pearl River waterways, forcing merchant ships entering and leaving the Pearl River Estuary to go to Hong Kong for trade.In the end, Hong Kong became the main outer port of Guangzhou and the gateway port for foreign trade and coastal trade in South China.

"Yes, yes, the villain understands." Qin Haicheng was a little surprised why they valued Hong Kong Island so much. He knew Hong Kong Island. It was a desolate island—even though it had a large area and a good anchorage, ordinary merchant ships did not. Those who dare to go there - that area is the main activity place of pirates.Are the Australians occupying Hong Kong ready to become another Macau?

"It's good for you to understand." Wen Desi smiled, "Just be consistent with your heart and mind, and don't be obedient."

"The little ones don't dare!" Qin Haicheng was so frightened that he almost knelt down, "The little ones must let the ships go to Hong Kong for trade!" Others also firmly expressed that they would go to Hong Kong for trade.

"Okay, let's go. Now the river and sea are safe and sound. You can trade wherever you want. As long as you don't engage in hostile acts, our navy will never stop attacks on civilian ships."

"Thank you, my lord." Qin Haicheng was very surprised that he was let off by the gangster without spending a penny.But when I thought about what kind of "pig-killing knife" was waiting for everyone in Hong Kong, I felt hairy.But now the Pearl River is dominated by the Australians, and if one "does not follow", the ship and cargo will be lost immediately, and maybe even life will be lost.It seems that either they don’t do maritime trade, or they have to obediently go to Hong Kong to pay tribute if they want to do it.It is estimated that the asking price of the Australian is at most about the same as that of Liu Xiang.

Wen Desi smiled, "However, it is better for your merchant ships to come to Huangpu Port less in the future, so as not to burden you when you set fire to the cannon."

"Don't dare, dare not, I will never dare to come to Huangpu Port again! I must go to Hong Kong Island for trade."

Then Chen Haiyang ordered the sea soldiers to dispatch a company, and at the same time sent two squadrons of special agent boats to Huangpu with the representatives.Dai Xie led the indigenous clerks of the Planning Institute to carry out the "and-buy"-every ship owner and cargo owner must submit the manifest for review. Anyone who refuses to provide or tampers with the manifest will be confiscated.

Qin Haicheng led the representatives to announce the policy to the ship owners and cargo owners gathered on the shore.Everyone was relieved to hear that there was no need to pay.Although Hemai made less money, after all, the overall loss is limited.As for going to Hong Kong Island for trade, everyone agreed that this was just an imitation of Zheng Zhilong's old trick.Zheng Zhilong had repeatedly attacked Yuegang before, burning the ships and razing the streets to the ground, with the purpose of forcing all the trading ships along the coast of Fujian to go to the Zhongzuo under his control.Australians also want to use this hand to sit on the ground and make money.

Of course, the businessmen had no choice but to accept all the conditions - you must know that the Australians have already been kind, they can accept the 5 taels, or simply extort 10 taels and then raise these two demands, they will accept the same.

The sailors boarded the wharf, destroyed Huangpu's wharf facilities and river berths, and set fire to the river berths.

The task force continued to go up the next day and defeated the defenses of the two forts of Pazhou and Qinzhou without any effort.The spy boat didn't even have time to fire back.

The following battle was no longer a battle. The morale of the Ming army was extremely low. Neither the water warrior nor the navy had the intention to launch an attack.Even when guarding the fort, he is unwilling to contribute—since the enemy can only hit him, but he cannot hit the enemy, what is the point of defending such a fort?
Only in Liede and Ershawei, the task force encountered some troubles—it wasn't caused by the forts, but the river channel was completely blocked.Big Whale had to carry out two or three hours of demolition and clearance work in each lot.During this period, both Liede and Ershawei's forts only fired a few shots in response to the accident, and did not take any measures to organize the Fubo army to remove the river obstacle.As soon as the spy boat fired its guns, the battle was over.

Now, the task force has advanced to a place less than three or four kilometers away from Baietan.Except for a few hastily repaired sandbag forts, there is nothing to stop the Australians from entering the White Swan Lake.The dire prospect has thrown the city of Guangzhou into turmoil.The flower boats on the White Swan Pool scattered overnight, and one after another went to the upper reaches of the Xijiang River to escape.The gentry and rich families fled the city in large numbers, the shops were closed, and the common people had no choice but to close their doors tightly to hide from the noise.Many outlaws in the suburbs of the city raised the Australian flag one after another, such as: "Pioneer of the Great Song Dynasty", "Marquis of Dingyuan in Australia", "Guerrilla General of Guangdong in Daao", "Recruitment of the Former Enemy Governor of the Great Kun Kingdom", "Australia Left Pioneer", "Australia Song Guangdong Zhengyin Pioneer"... and other titles are blooming in all directions.Some people know that Australians fly red flags and blue and white flags, so various red or blue and white flags are flying in the four townships of Guangzhou.These gangsters either robbed houses, or blackmailed everywhere, which immediately made people panic.

The task force moved forward slowly, sweeping up the bandits and routs along the road—villages and towns no longer dared to fight against them, but the bandits and routs under the banner of "Australia" everywhere seriously affected the reputation of the Fubo Army .To this end, the task force carried out large-scale search and seizure activities along the way.After successively exterminating a dozen or so bandits who claimed to be the Australian army and executing several bandit leaders who had committed many crimes, this trend is basically over in the Henan Island area.

Under the urging of Li Fengjie, Xu Tingfa had no choice but to launch the last major counterattack against the Kun bandits on the Pearl River—up to Li Fengjie, down to Shui Yong, who was a poor man, knew that this was the last chance for the officers and soldiers to beat back the Kun bandits .Xu Tingfa used the last weapon of the Ming army navy - the arson ship.

Since the Portuguese first knocked on the customs, the most effective tactical method for the Ming army's navy to deal with European maritime forces that had certain technical advantages in ships and guns was to use arson ships.A large number of arson ships, under the cover of navy warships, were driven by sailors selected with huge rewards, and rammed the enemy ships.In narrow sea harbors, a small number of tall and clumsy European-style ships are often hit hard because of the lack of cover from light ships.This has been a tried and tested method against European ships since the middle of the Ming Dynasty.

Xu Tingfa and others thought of this tactic when they were desperate.Compared with the open water area of ​​the Pearl River Estuary, fire attack tactics in the inland river of Guangzhou seem to be more effective.The inland river channel is narrow, and the bandit warships are densely packed, making it difficult to maneuver and evade; the inland river harbors are numerous, and the fire attack ships can be scattered and concealed to search for opportunities.

Xu Tingfa discussed with the generals and believed that this method was feasible.It's just that the fire attack ship consumes a lot of ships, and the navy itself lacks ships.So this matter has to be resolved by the governor as usual.

Li Fengjie can talk about anything as long as the Kun thief doesn't rush into the White Goose Pond.Immediately, an order was issued, ordering the prefect of Guangzhou and the county magistrates of Nanhai and Panyu counties to seal up ships in Xijiang, Beijiang and other places.No matter how big or small, they will all be sent to Baietan for listening.All of a sudden, fishing boats, cargo ships, and flower boats that had just escaped from Bai'etan suffered disasters, and a large number of them were nailed to Bai'etan without explanation.During the period, the officials and naval generals who undertook it inevitably cheated in it, and nailed it everywhere in the name of fighting.If the ship owner is rich and well-connected, he will naturally ask someone to spend money to clear it and redeem his ship. The people who have no money can only watch their food capital being piled up with firewood and doused with clear oil, ready to be burned, crying and crying. There is no way.

In two days, the navy assembled more than 50 fire attack ships of various types on Baietan and Xijiang River, and also rushed to make more than 100 fire platoons drifting along the water.These ships and fire platoons were all loaded with fuel, and fixed large iron nails were added to the bow.Xu Tingfa recruited brave men, fishermen, and naval officers and soldiers who dared to die with good water skills, and promised to give each person ten taels of silver to settle down first, and 20 taels for those who came back alive, and ten taels of compensation for those who died.The favorable conditions immediately recruited more than 300 people.Prepare to sail the boat to ram the thief's boat.

(End of this chapter)