Lin Gao Qiming

Chapter 861 Study Group

With the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Service, he has conducted extensive research on the issue of coastal navigation safety. After all, he is a full-time naval intelligence officer stationed by the Navy in the Foreign Intelligence Service.

Through inquiring historical data and talking with a large number of natives, naturalized sailors, and businessmen, Xu Xu came to the conclusion that a small number of transport ships of Dabo Shipping can pass through the ocean of Fujian freely, but the ships need to be fully armed to To deal with possible small bands of pirates looting.However, he also pointed out that if a large number of ships pass by, Zheng Zhilong's attitude may change - any large-scale shipping may arouse the attention of these maritime forces.

"In addition, we have to consider one point: Chinese traditional navigation generally does not deviate from the coast. Coastal landmarks are often used as references for navigation. Even for routes to Southeast Asia, try to choose to sail along the archipelago. Crews can rely on sextants and nautical charts to sail in oceans far away from the coastline, thus avoiding coastal routes that are easily blocked by surveillance.”

After some demonstrations and preparations, the second inspection team took a medium-sized lucky boat of Dabo Shipping to go to Hangzhou.This Fuchuan is a specially modified ship in Dabo Company, and its mission is to transport important people and goods.

The ship is equipped with smoothbore guns for self-defense.In addition, plainclothes personnel from the Escort and the special investigation team were stationed on board to ensure the safety of the journey. The special investigation team not only carried SKS and grenades, but also brought machine guns and disposable rocket launchers to ensure that the inspection team was safe at sea.

The port of arrival of the delegation was chosen in Shanghai County.Qiwei Escort opened a waterway sub-cabinet in Shanghai County, which is responsible for the transfer of people and goods at this wharf in Shanghai.

In the Yuan Dynasty, Hangzhou had Ganpu as its estuary, but in the late Ming Dynasty, due to mud and sand, it was difficult for ships to enter and exit, so Hangzhou's estuary was transferred to Zhapu and Ningbo.The Navy and the personnel of Dabo Shipping had a discussion, and they thought it would be better to go directly to Shanghai than to Zhapu or Ningbo, and to check the local hydrogeographical conditions first.After docking in Shanghai, an advance team was sent to investigate the conditions of the water and land routes along the way to Hangzhou, so that they can be used when transferring refugees from Zhejiang to Shanghai in the future.

The trip of the delegation was very smooth. Fuchuan chose an "outer sea" route - the outer sea was just a coastal route in old times and space, but at that time, there were not many voyages away from the "inner ocean" where the land could be seen See you.The vessel did not encounter any danger and arrived at Shanghai Port safely in late April.

Shanghai County has a long history, and its construction history can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. However, until the middle of the Ming Dynasty, there was no city wall in Shanghai County.The county seat was built in the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty to "prepare the Japanese".The city is nine miles around, the city wall is two feet and four feet high, and there are six gates in the city, four gates in the southeast, northwest, named Chaozong, Kuahai, Yifeng, and Yanhai. In addition, there are Baodai and Chaoyang gates, commonly known as Xiaodongmen and Xiaonan. Door.

The wharf along the Wusong River is just outside Xiaodongmen.Since "Longqing opened the sea", it has gradually become a port city.Songjiang Prefecture, where Shanghai County is located, is famous for its cotton cloth, and it is known as "clothes and quilts in the world"-even in Hainan Island, the birthplace of China's cotton textile industry, Songjiang cloth can be seen-Shanghai is a cotton cloth export port. The market is a little bustling.However, compared with the foreign trade of Fujian and Guangdong, which were thriving at that time, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces seemed outdated in this respect.Overseas ports that once flourished in history, such as Taicang Liuhe and Ningbo, are now unable to compare with Zhangzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou and other places.

As soon as the boat arrived, someone stood and waited on the pier. Seeing the blessing boat with the big wave flag approaching the shore, they immediately waved on the shore.Standing on the bow was the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Agency. He not only had the task of escorting the investigation team during his trip, but also had the task of personally observing the hydrological environment along the way.He immediately gestured to Ye, the gangway hadn't been set up yet, the leader who was waiting on the pier had already stepped onto the boat, his movements were nimble, as if he was walking on flat ground, and he could tell at a glance that he was used to life on the water.

Someone came to him, bowed and saluted: "This is Mr. Xu?"

The news that Xu Xu and others were going to Shanghai was sent out by the Guangzhou Headquarters of Qiwei Escort Bureau with a code roll order a month ago, and the outer cabinets along the Escort Road were sent to the Shanghai cabinet one by one by manpower and pigeons.How many people will come, how many houses, warehouses and porters need to be prepared are all indicated in detail on the rolling list.

Although this system is not as fast as the telegram, it is not slower than the imperial post in terms of speed. It took less than ten days to transmit from Guangzhou to Shanghai, which is faster than the Titang official who sent the important documents of the imperial court. Be quicker.On the one hand, this is because Qiwei established an effective carrier pigeon communication network under the guidance of Nick, an expert in horse and pigeon breeding from the Agricultural Committee, and at the same time absorbed a group of professionals. Post staff.Qiwei has recruited many capable professionals from it.

After getting an affirmative answer from Xu Li, the visitor simply greeted him: "Greetings to Mr. Xu, little Mao Sansheng, waiting for the master's orders!"

The person who came was the shopkeeper of Qiwei Shanghai Foreign Cabinet, and he was a distant relative of Sun Kecheng's old lady.In the past, he worked as a discharge worker on the Ganjiang River.The workers who discharge the long-distance waterway all know how to defend themselves with fists and feet.Later unemployed.Mao Sansheng defected to Qiwei in Guangzhou, and was one of Qiwei's many "old cousins" who defected to Sun Kecheng.Mao Sansheng's skill was not enough to be a bodyguard, Sun Kecheng began to arrange for him to run errands, and later he became a front man in the outer cabinet.Although Mao Sansheng was a discharge worker, he was very good at dealing with people.The Political Security Bureau conducted a secret investigation on him, and the reliability level of the evaluation was [-], so he was sent to be the treasurer of the foreign cabinet in Shanghai.

"Everything is ready," Mao Sansheng bowed and said, "Masters will stay in Panyuan first, and the goods will be transported to this warehouse for temporary storage. They will be shipped together when the ship is ready. The sedan chair is on the pier."

"Okay, you go to the pier to say hello."

As soon as Mao Sansheng left, Xu Xu returned to the cabin.Tell everyone to pack up and get ready to disembark—especially wear the wig so that you don't show your face.Others can say that Jin Lige is a little troublesome, after all, his image with a high nose and deep eyes is attracting attention.There has to be a certain amount of camouflage.

Because Shanghai's Qiwei Waigui is still in its infancy, and there is a shortage of housing.Mao Sansheng was afraid that he could not entertain the elders, so he borrowed Pan Garden from the local gentry Pan Jiashang as the residence of the elders.

This place is just behind the Town God's Temple in Shanghai County, and it is the predecessor of Yu Garden, the No.1 garden in Shanghai.In this time and space, Yu Garden was the property of Pan Yunduan, who was the chief envoy of Sichuan during the Jiajing period.It is still in the hands of Pan's descendants.Although it is located in the downtown area of ​​the city, it is quite quiet and elegant, and it is very convenient to provide food and go in and out.

A few people lingered in Panyuan for several days, while Mao Sansheng went out to arrange boats - of course there is an official way to travel from Shanghai to Hangzhou, but when it comes to traveling comfortably and safely, it is better to take a boat.What's more, they also carry a lot of heavy cargo, which makes it even more inconvenient to travel by land.

"I never thought we would live in Yu Garden. It's like a dream."

When the lights came on, several elders were sitting around in a flower hall in Pan Yuan, Xu Xu couldn't help talking.

The elders felt a little like a dream—they had been to Shanghai in another time and space, visited the Temple of the City God, swam in the Yu Garden, and some even drank tea in the teahouse by the Jiuqu Bridge and ate famous delicacies. Xiaolongbao.Now everyone actually lives in Yu Garden—of course, Pan Garden can only be regarded as the predecessor of Yu Garden.

Zhou Dongtian picked up a piece of hawthorn cake on the table——the four plates of snacks on the table were "respectfully presented" by the master of the Pan family.All the food they stayed in Pan Garden was provided by Pan's family, and there were some servants of Pan's family to take care of them.After all, the Pan family was a nobleman, and they ate and drank exquisitely.This hawthorn cake is not the kind of jelly made of sugar and substitutes in the old time and space.It is made from real peeled hawthorn and tribute sugar. It is sweet and sour, soft and hard.

Of course, this kind of enjoyment is not completely free. After they leave, Mao Sansheng will also offer a large amount of "thank you" as usual.

"Your horizons are too small." Zhou Dongtian ate hawthorn cake, "What a small Yu Garden, I will go to the Forbidden City, the emperor's palace to sleep for a few nights..."

"That house is actually not at all comfortable." Mei Lin, who had visited the Forbidden City, said, "I can't imagine that the emperor lived in that kind of house. The inner palace is not grand, it's just an ordinary brick house. Let alone Plumbing and things like that. It’s hot in summer and cold in winter—I kind of understand why the emperors of the Qing Dynasty had to practice in the palace outside Beijing.”

"I think it's not bad to have a big banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony." Lu Zhongxing, who was on a business trip from the Ministry of Communications, said, "Put five hundred tables, each with a big round table, and behind each of them is a row of princesses and princesses. There are people of all skin colors. There are bands on the terrace, one from China and one from Europe. When Mr. Wen raises his glass to toast, the band will play music—”

"Fart, why should Mr. Wen raise a glass to toast?" Zhou Dongtian expressed contempt, "He won't be the chairman for the rest of his life."

"Well, any senator—what do you think of this feast?"

"Don't talk nonsense." Xu Xu said, "Mao Sansheng said that we have to stay here for a few days. Do you want to take a stroll in Shanghai during this period to see the specific market?"

"Yes, of course, otherwise, what are we doing here?" Zhou Dongtian said without hesitation, "We came to Jiangnan to understand the local social situation, and we can't see anything in the garden."

Although Shanghai County is not considered a famous city in this time and space, it is a county under Songjiang Prefecture that is famous for cotton spinning.Shanghai itself is an impact land with a lot of sand, which is very suitable for growing cotton.Therefore, the local cotton textile industry and cotton planting industry also have a large scale, which is a direction worth investigating.

On the second day, under the leadership of Qiwei staff, everyone toured around the county seat of Shanghai.At that time, there were already 3 households in Shanghai County, and there were more than 1000 households in the city.Among the more than [-] counties at that time, it was considered a large county.When passing by Qiaotou and Lutou, Zhou Dongtian noticed that there were many people in rags and rags gathered at the bridge and teahouses, all of them looked disheveled, but they did not look like beggars and refugees, so he asked Mao Sansheng.

"My lord, these are all weavers, and there are also dyers and calenders." Mao Sansheng said that there are more than 2000 craftsmen who "eat cotton cloth" in this county, and most of them are casual workers who are paid on a daily basis.

"The market for cotton cloth is not good recently, and machine owners are almost out of control. Who else will hire craftsmen?"

"Cotton cloth is not selling well?"

"The market for cotton cloth has been very bad since last year. Cloth cannot be sold at a price," Mao Sansheng said. It can’t be sold anymore.”

Zhou Dongtian and the others were speechless. They thought that Songjiang cloth was already "clothes and quilts in the world", so it should be easy to sell. They didn't expect the local cotton textile industry to decline to such an extent.Daming's economy not only has problems, but the problems are not small.

Several people went all the way to a big house in Taiqingfang in the county - commonly known as "Nine Buildings". Mao Sansheng whispered that this was Xu Guangqi's old house.

"There is currently no Xu family living in this house, only a few servants guarding it."

As a relatively rare figure in China who "opened his eyes to see the world" at that time, Xu Guangqi was already 70 years old at the time.But this time he is not in his residence in Shanghai County. Last year, he became a minister of the Ministry of Rites and a bachelor of the Imperial Academy, and he was the assistant director of Zhan Shifu.Most of his family is also in Beijing.

Xu Guangqi's son Xu Ji and Sun Yuanhua are in-laws, and the relationship between them is unusual.Because of the Dengzhou Rebellion, the Foreign Intelligence Agency has been paying a lot of attention to Xu Guangqi's clue.One of the missions of the intelligence team sent to the capital was to use the Jesuit relationship to try to get in touch with Xu Guangqi.On the Shanghai side, they did not take any action for the time being, but ordered Qiwei to pay attention to the activities of the Xu family in Shanghai.

Mao Sansheng told Zhou Dongtian that in Kuahaimen of Shanghai County, that is, in Kangquli outside the south gate, there is a "double garden" of the Xu family, which is the ancestral property of the Xu family, and is now the Xu family's vegetable garden and mulberry garden.It was Xu Guangqi who first successfully planted sweet potatoes in the south of the Yangtze River from the Fujian-Guangzhou area.There is a peach orchard outside the north gate, where many peach trees are planted, and the harvest is very good.There is also a farm villa in Fahua Town called "Hou Le Tang", which is also the location of the Xu family's ancestral tomb.

"It's Xujiahui!" Zhou Dongtian blurted out.He knew the origin of the name Xujiahui.Xujiahui is where the Xu family real estate is located. Xu Guangqi's descendants once lived here, so it got such a name.

Mao Sansheng looked at him inexplicably, somehow "Xujiahui" appeared.Zhou Dongtian just smiled and didn't explain.

Except for urban housing, the Xu family's industries in Shanghai almost all involve agriculture.Although Xu Guangqi's grandfather started his family as a merchant, the Xu family didn't have much experience in business, but Xu Guangqi is not a farming and studying heir in the traditional sense.Although he doesn't have a lot of land, he manages every place carefully, and has a deep study of agricultural techniques, farmland water conservancy, field management and other agricultural methods, so the land income is quite good.Although later Xu Guangqi was known as a scientist who spread Western learning, he was actually a successful agricultural capitalist. There were already many such people at that time.

Obviously, Qiwei's work efficiency in the local area is quite good, and he quickly inquired about the specific situation of Xu's family.Although Zhou Dongtian felt that it was of little significance.

Several people went to several land and water terminals inside and outside the city of Shanghai County to observe the traffic conditions.Lu Zhongxing, one of the members of the inspection team, was sent by the Ministry of Communications to investigate the road traffic conditions in the south of the Yangtze River.He is a double degree holder in electrical engineering and road and bridge engineering, and used to specialize in road and bridge quality inspection.

Investigating traffic conditions is not only for planning routes for future military advances, but also for preparing for future commercial activities in the south of the Yangtze River.Transportation is always a prerequisite for the economic development of a region.

The next day, Mao Sansheng's boat was ready.These are two short-distance passenger ships commonly used by rich people in the south of the Yangtze River, commonly known as Wuxi Express.The boat is not big, and the facilities on it are complete. There are not only bedrooms for rest, but also a living room for banquets and living. There is a kitchen in the rear stern, so it is very convenient to provide food - Wuxi Kuai is very famous for enjoying the journey.For the sake of caution, Mao Sansheng replaced all the people on board with powerful people.In this way, of course, there will be no considerate service from the famous Wuxi boat lady.In addition to the passenger ship, there are two other ships to accompany the luggage.As for other goods, arranged by Qiwei, multiple ships will be transshipped in batches.

After Zhou Dongtian and his party boarded the ship, they enjoyed the spring scenery of the south of the Yangtze River along the way, and talked loudly in the cabin when they were tired.Lu Zhongxing has more things to do: he has to measure the water depth from time to time, observe the waterway, and accumulate first-hand information for the dredging of the future waterway.

Sitting bored in the cabin, several people discussed the transportation plan from Hangzhou to Shanghai.At that time, the most convenient transportation route from Hangzhou to the north was of course the Grand Canal.It is fast and convenient to take the canal from Hangzhou to Suzhou directly.But if the transshipment terminal is located in Shanghai, after all, Suzhou is still [-] or [-] kilometers away from Shanghai.

"I asked: Mao Sansheng said that he never took the Grand Canal and went directly from Shanghai County to Hangzhou. It's just that the river is not as wide and deep as the Grand Canal. I'm afraid I can't take a heavy ship."

The south of the Yangtze River is known as the country of water, not only lakes and ponds are everywhere, but also criss-crossing rivers, and there are also a large number of paddy fields during the period.Except for the county capital Fucheng, most villages and towns have no access to dry roads and have to use waterways.Even between cities and counties in prefectures and counties, although there are official roads connecting them, the transportation is also convenient by water.Inland waterway shipping is very developed.However, most of the rivers have not been repaired and dredged, and many rivers are either not deep enough or narrow, and only small boats can walk.The largest is nothing but a so-called "ship".According to Lu Zhongxing's estimation, the load capacity of this kind of ship is only more than 20 tons.

(End of this chapter)