Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 362 Immigration First Voyage

On June 1643, 6, at the wharf of Heishui Port, it was sunny.

At the urging of the soldiers, a group of 50 North Koreans reluctantly stepped onto the gangplank and boarded the upper deck of the steamship "Choppo".Every time a group of people boarded the ship, sailors would immediately come over and lead them to the lower cabin, and then order them to squat quietly on the floor, waiting for the ship to set sail.

A bag filled with cool boiled cowhide water and a few flatbreads was placed by each person's side, which was their food for today.From time to time, sailors with knives and guns came to inspect the cabin, and they were still talking about precautions while inspecting.It is nothing more than prohibiting loud noises, prohibiting random walking, prohibiting defecation anywhere, raising your hand to report immediately if you feel unwell, etc. They are already familiar with it, because this is what the managers of Blackwater Castle have been instilling in them all day long. consciousness.

People on the deck are still entering the bilge continuously. These people, like them, have been resting in Heishui Port for nearly a month, and are selected for their physical condition suitable for long-distance voyages.They all looked numb, and under the surveillance of the soldiers, they walked forward mechanically with their heads covered until the entire ship was filled.

I don't know how long it took, but when the humming sound in the cabin gradually became louder, and the air began to become a little dirty, I felt the ship shake violently, and there were more and more noises coming from the cabin next door. Loud machine noise.With the sound of this machine noise, the hull began to shake slightly. It seemed that the sailors on the outer deck pulled up the iron anchor that sank at the bottom of the river.After a while, when the roar of the machine reached its peak, with the faint sound of "squeaking" water coming from outside the cabin, the red sandalwood spliced ​​hull began to move forward, turn and so on; It lasted for a few minutes, and then there was a big shaking on the boat, and many people in the cabin suddenly rolled over unexpectedly, and the order was a little chaotic for a while.

"Don't panic, the boat will take a while to leave. Now please sit in your seats and don't make any noise!" While comforting everyone's slightly panicked emotions, the soldiers stepped forward and smashed their scabbards on the disobedient people. on an emotionally agitated person until the person sits down quietly.

"How long will it take for the 'Breaking Wave' to be fully loaded?" Captain Li Yi asked with a headache as he stood at the hatch and looked at the chaotic crowd below.These people need a long-term transformation, at least first let them know discipline and obedience, and these are also the necessary qualities of citizens in an industrialized society. In short, it seems that there is still a long way to go.

"It took too long for them to wait for coal loading. The wharf lacks steam cranes, and the efficiency of loading and unloading cargo is still too low. I don't know if the local area allows Heishui Port to equip steam cranes. If possible, we will In the future, the efficiency of loading and unloading will be much higher.” A young staff officer explained, “We may have to wait another 15 minutes.”

Li Yi nodded helplessly.This time they set off to Jinshan Port in Australia. Each ship’s cabin was loaded with about 1500 tons of black water clean coal, which was enough for them to sail to Jinshan Port and there was still a lot of surplus.Except for coal and basic drinking water, the two ships can say that they didn't load any extra things, so they were all stuffed.After removing about 1600 North Koreans this time, there are still about 500 people left at Heishui Port, plus the 2100 North Koreans who have been transported to Rishiri Island a few days ago, so that the entire Sakhalin Island area is controlled in the east. The population in the hands of the shore people dropped to about [-].With the current local facilities and resources, it can almost accommodate it.Otherwise, with the current cramped and narrow urban area, severely inadequate housing and heating facilities, so many people are crowded inside, it will be a tragedy when the long winter comes.

Although Sergeant Johnson, who is currently in charge of the construction of Heishui Port, has the urge to expand the entire city, but this is far from being achieved overnight. Many things, such as food production, will take time to accumulate.Moreover, each of the brick kiln factory construction, new dock construction, coal washing plant construction, wharf trestle construction, etc. ordered by Mo Ming is a deadly and urgent task, and he cannot be distracted to build new homes for these outsiders who are beyond the city's carrying capacity.

Therefore, it is a good thing for everyone to timely divert the redundant population to the sparsely populated Jinshan Port and Gushan Port in Australia.What's more, the 1500 North Koreans who are about to leave have been raised in Heishui Port for a month, and their current physical condition has almost reached the standard for going to sea.

Fifteen minutes later, the "Breaking Waves" finally hoisted the signal flag of readiness, and then the two ships left the dock one after the other, crossed the Blackwater River, and entered the Strait of Tartar.This is already the Sea of ​​Japan, but because it is within the strait, the waves are much smaller.There was a weak westerly wind blowing on the sea today, but it was not very strong, but everyone still hoisted the sails. After all, it is better than nothing, and it is possible to increase the speed a little bit.After turning to the south, the "Broken Wave" was in the front, followed by the "Chop Wave". The two ships were hundreds of meters apart and sailed south.

Two days later, they arrived at the future port of Rishiri Island.Of course, Yuanbo Port at this time was just a small fishing village, and there were only a few dozen Ainu fishermen in the village—they had been moved away by people from the east coast, and no breakwater was built at the port.The winter base for the winter fleet planned by the people on the east coast has only built a short wooden trestle bridge. About [-] Koreans who were sent here are starting to build it with dense timber transported from Sakhalin Island. The second trestle.

Li Yi sent people ashore to deliver some food to these people, and then counted their names, and found that only about 500 of the 30 people had fled, and most of them were still here.And I believe that with the arrival of winter, those North Koreans who fled will probably turn back again.After all, this small island formed by submarine volcanoes can be said to have nothing but trees, basically a natural prison.These escaped North Koreans have no food for a long time, and they have no ships to flee to the mainland. If they don’t want to starve to death or freeze to death in the mountains and forests, they can only come back honestly and repair the pier for the people on the east coast in exchange for food and cold-proof supplies. , there is no second way to go.

They only spent one night in Yuanbo Port. After replenishing fresh water, the two ships set sail early in the morning on June 6, left Rishiri Island, and headed for Jinshan Port in the southeast corner of Australia.Since it was already early summer in the northern hemisphere, except for the occasional crosswind to sail, the two ships had no assistance and could only rely on the ship's own steam power to sail with difficulty.Moreover, sometimes even the ocean currents are not right, and you have to be careful to avoid possible Dutch and Spanish ships-although the chances are very low, it took 7 days for the two ships to reach the port of Rabaul. nearby.

Due to the long-distance voyage, coupled with hot weather, poor nutritional supplementation at sea, and air pollution caused by overcrowded cabins, about 1500 of the 250 North Korean immigrants had been thrown into the sea when they set off. There are less than 1300 people.Faced with this situation, Li Yi could only sigh helplessly. It seems that in the future, immigrants can only be transported to Australia in winter. Not only the wind direction will help, but also avoid the cyclones that may be encountered in the Pacific Ocean in summer Not only will the safety of the entire voyage be greatly improved, but the time will also be greatly shortened. It is estimated that the voyage can be shortened to less than one month.

But it is useless to regret now, the most important thing is to arrive at Jinshan Port as soon as possible.Therefore, after a short stay in Rabaul Port for a day, the two ships embarked on the journey again, following the southward east Australian warm current, and arrived at Jinshan Port in Australia, which is in midwinter, on July 7.

"It's really a long voyage." Li Yi, who looked a little unhappy, stood on the soft grass of Jinshan Port and let out a long breath.If counting from the last time they may have received large-scale supplies at the port of Lishiri Island, it took them about 45 days to arrive at Jinshan Port. Only about 1500 of the 1100 North Koreans who boarded the ship were alive in the end. Arrived on the Australian mainland, the death rate was as high as one in four.

"Let these North Koreans rest here for a while, just as we are also resting here, the sick sailors will be resettled, and the hull should be maintained and repaired." Li Yi said annoyed.

Second Lieutenant An Chu, who was standing beside him, also nodded in agreement: "I really can't take this route in summer in the future. It's really too difficult. People will die. It's not an exaggeration at all. Then, everything will go according to plan." Is it?"

"Well, from now on, your 'Polang' will stay in Australia, with Gushan Port as its home port. The conditions there are better than Jinshan Port. After all, they can often receive goods carried by ships from New China. In the future, you Let's take it as the home port. The "Breaking Wave" runs back and forth between Gushan Port and Jinshan Port, transporting Jiala people. It can run back and forth once a month, and it is open to navigation all year round. In the initial stage of our immigration, this It is enough to keep your motor sailing boat." Li Yi said.

According to the original plan, the people from the east bank transported the population collected in Daming and North Korea to Heishui Port and Rishiri Island for temporary resettlement, and then transported them to Jinshan Port in Australia by motor sailboat.After arriving at Jinshan Port, they will have a period of rest to recuperate their bodies, and then they will be pulled to Gushan Port by the "Breaking Wave" to wait for the ship from New China to ship back.After "Breaking the Waves" has pulled a boat of people to Gushan Port, it can also pull another boat of goods to Jinshan Port when returning. The entire immigration work is carried out in stages and is orderly.

(End of this chapter)