Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 307 The maiden voyage of the "Broken Wave" ([-])

On Monday, July 1641, 7, it was sunny and the southwest wind was four.

In the Hekoubao Wharf, the multipurpose ship "Breaking Waves", which has just been refitted, is mooring quietly on the slightly turbulent river.Some South African laborers are loading materials on the deck of the ship under the command of the foreman and the assistance of the steam tower crane. Except for a small amount of weapons and ammunition, construction materials, and living materials such as food, spirits, and cloth, the most important material is that Box heavy cash box out.Thirty tons of silver coins totaling 100 million yuan were packed in these boxes made of Paraná pine, and they were to be transported to the New China region as the first funds for the transaction with the Portuguese oriental immigrants starting at the end of this year.

The Ministry of Finance had a hard time trying to make up the first payment.First, the money obtained from the last grain transaction was directly transferred over, and then some money was transferred from the Bordeaux and Smyrna ports after the completion of the transaction, and then part of the construction special funds for the second half of the year, various Such subsidies and so on, and finally took all the first loan sent by the Brazilians, and finally managed to make up the 100 million yuan fee.

As for the subsequent expenses, the Ministry of Finance still needs to continue to wait for the payment brought back by the transport ships returning from Bordeaux and Tuscany.However, this may not be enough. Even if the Brazilians send the remaining 15 yuan in loans to their door soon, the Ministry of Finance estimates that they may have to sell a batch of grain or impose new taxes in the country, or ask the Spaniards for an advance payment. Half a year's share of the trade income of Colonia City, only in this way can it be possible to temporarily fool this huge financial hole, so as not to declare bankruptcy immediately.

When Liao Meng, the company commander of the 3rd Company of the Army, boarded the deck of the "Breaking Waves", he could still hear the chattering voice of the Minister of Finance Tang Yuan: "Commander Liao, you must be careful this time! You are a middle-level and high-level military officer in our country. , I think you must be very clear about the significance of this huge sum of 100 million yuan to our country. In short, be careful. If you have the money, you must have the money! If the money is lost, we will really lose it. We can’t afford the expenses of those immigrants from the Ming Dynasty. At that time, many creditors may come to our door to collect debts. We will only go bankrupt and renege on our debts. This is a great blow to our reputation, so we must be cautious , Make sure to send the money to Xinhuabao safely."

Thinking of this, Liao Meng sneered. To the country, this money means the population—and it is Ming people from the East with the same language and race. How could he not know the importance.But Tang Yuan couldn't be blamed for being so worried. He, the Minister of Finance, is not doing well now. People ask him for money every day.Ke Nima's country's finances are so difficult now, where can he get money from?He could only keep tearing down the east wall and repairing the west wall, mending holes everywhere like a paper painter.

This problem must be resolved as soon as possible!The Portuguese have sucked our blood for long enough. Next, we have to break the monopoly blockade of the Dutch and Portuguese, march into the South China Sea, emigrate to the Ming country by ourselves, and stop being exploited by them.Wang Tiehammer's Second Fleet should have already headed north in mid-April. I hope their exploration of the route will go smoothly.

"Old Liao, the materials and personnel have almost been loaded. Should we start now? The navy has sent a signal to ask several times." He has stepped down from the position of director of the Ping An Mining Bureau and concentrated on serving as the army Bai Shui, deputy commander of the 3rd company, was wearing a dark blue military uniform, and walked over to speak.

Hearing this, Liao Meng looked back and saw that the 3 officers and soldiers of his 240rd company were sitting quietly cross-legged in the cabin, and the sailors on the deck were almost busy at this time. "Well, I have no objection. According to the regulations, this trip is in charge of the commander-in-chief of the Navy's temporary escort formation. Let them arrange it themselves. There is no problem on my side."

The 3rd Company of the Army is the second unit in the army to be adapted to the Dalian team system. The company has a total of 240 people. Before departure, all of them were equipped with the latest 32-C flintlock rifles.According to the order of the Ministry of the Army, they will take a boat to the New China region to replace the 101st Company of the Army, which has been away from the mainland for two years, to station there. run sequentially.

The 3rd company was originally stationed in Meihe Township, Pingan County. It was responsible for suppressing the local Guarani people and hunting down some anti-government religious elements and underground missionaries supported by foreign forces (mainly the Jesuits).Now according to the principle of rotation, after they are transferred to the New China region as a whole, the defense of the Meihe Township area will be replaced by the Army's 1st Company, while the capital will be stationed by the Army's 103rd Company.

Since the "Breaking Wave" is the first ocean-going voyage (it has been tested several times in the Duck Lake before), in order to deal with various failures that may occur during the voyage, the senior engineers of Hyundai Special Shipyard, "Break the Wave" Zhang Xiao, one of the creators of the "Multipurpose Ship", took the post of captain of the ship.This energetic middle-aged man is walking up and down on the deck at the moment, going through the last inspection procedure before departure.

A huge flat chimney rose from the rear of the midship of the ship. At this time, the steam in the boiler was already hot, and the chimney began to slowly emit billowing black smoke.

"Bah! Ping'an Mining Bureau just shut down. What kind of broken coal is this? Its calorific value is so low! Damn, my 40-horsepower steam engine consumes 160 kilograms of coal per hour. How can this battery life be improved?!" Zhang Xiao While walking up and down on the deck, he was still cursing.

Bai Shui, who has just stepped down as the director of the Ping An Mining Bureau, is a little embarrassed, and the weather is conscientious. He strictly controls the quality of every ton of clean coal produced by the Ping An Mining Bureau, and carefully selects it to ensure that its combustion calorific value is as high as possible. high.But helplessly, the quality of coal in this place is inherently poor. Who can blame this?Forget it, don't be as knowledgeable as this technical geek!This time when I arrived at the New China Colony, I had to find an opportunity to inspect the Tamatave Port in the south.I heard that there is a high-quality hard coal mine in later generations, which is very shallow and easy to mine.The only shortcoming is that the reserves are not large enough, but at this stage, it is almost enough for the East Coast Republic, after all, its own industrial scale is not large.

After the inspection, Zhang Xiao saw that the time was almost up, so he asked the lookout to hang up a signal flag to indicate that the preparations were complete, and at the same time ordered the sailors to slowly raise a few sails with the help of the steam engine.The "Popeye-1" steam engine installed in the bottom compartment not only provides power for the paddle wheel, but also provides certain power for raising and lowering sails, turning the yard, lifting and lowering anchors, and hoisting cargo.Although the horsepower of the steam engine is not strong enough, the help provided to the sailors in these aspects is not too great, but it has saved them a lot of effort, and has been unanimously welcomed and praised by everyone.

Today, the wind blows from the southwest on the river, and the sails have already bulged under the force of the wind.With the naval frigate "Red Trout" at two berths in the front row and the flute-shaped transport ship "Abbot" of the South China Sea Transportation Company setting sail one after another, the "Broken Wave" also pulled up its bow and stern anchors. It began to accelerate slowly and headed northeast.Immediately behind the "Breaking Waves" was another merchant ship "Penglai" of the South China Sea Transportation Company, and not far behind "Penglai", the fast cruiser "Yangwu" of the First Fleet was also slowing down. Hoist the sails and prepare to sail.

The fleet to South Africa and New China this time consists of five ships, including two escorting naval warships, two transport ships, and of course a multi-purpose ship with a displacement of 730 tons. The most important ship in the world is not only because she is powered by steam and sail, but also because her cabin is loaded with a huge amount of silver coins of 100 million yuan.According to the plan made in advance by the Ministry of the Navy and the South China Sea Transportation Company, after the fleet leaves the port of Hekoubao, it will first go south along the coast of Argentina to deliver a batch of weapons, ammunition and construction materials to Baleen Whale Port on Falkland Island, and at the same time replenish supplies there. , Repair the ship.Then the fleet will leave Baleen Whale Harbor, turn east by north, and then turn northeast, following the westerly wind and current towards the South African River Port.

After arriving at Hezhong Port, the fleet will unload some weapons and ammunition, cloth, salt, iron products and other materials.Then the two transport ships of the South Sea Transportation Company will be escorted by the frigate "Red Trout" to load a batch of sorghum, wheat, spirits, wool and timber, as well as a batch of Persian, Balochistan female slaves and slaves stranded here. child, and return home.As for the "Polang" multi-purpose transport ship, together with the fast cruiser "Yangwu", it will set off in a team with two merchant ships of the South China Sea Transportation Company from Hezhong Port to deliver supplies to the New China area, and pull back some wood.

This is also the most common mode of transportation between the mainland of China East Coast Republic and several overseas strongholds.On this route, not only the East Coast's own ships are active, but also a considerable number of Portuguese, Spanish and French merchant ships are active - these are all rented by the East Coast people at high prices, otherwise such a heavy sea transportation task would not be completed at all. .

In order to keep pace with the speed of the entire fleet, the "Breaking Waves" did not raise all its sails, but even so, her slender hull and hollow bow still easily broke through the water, and the entire fleet When she just sailed into the waters of Duck Lake, she had easily risen to the first place.

The slender hull designed through scientific demonstration, coupled with the assistance of the paddle wheel driven by steam power, the speed is really impressive!

(End of this chapter)