Lu Ming

The main advantage of Zheng Yangyang's ability to go south to participate in the pioneering business this time is that he is young: several older construction industry leaders are unwilling to go to Nanyang to work hard under the scorching sun and mosquitoes.

And Zheng Yangyang's main task is of course to build the city... There is a long list of place names waiting for him, the chief designer, to design the city or the castle.

So when Designer Zheng came to Halong Bay on the second day, he drew a circle on the map: "First dig a ditch, and then build a circle of grass sheds, Hon Ki Fort, I think it will work!"

Chapter 573 Team from the North

In the endless, never-ending rain, a large number of construction workers are desperately building on the coast of a foreign country.

There are two types of construction workers, which can be seen at a glance from their attire: one is short and thin locals in coir raincoats or tattered homespun clothes; the other is outsiders in canvas raincoats.

After going through the most difficult two days at the beginning, the traversers who had established a firm foothold in Hongji Port couldn't wait to order the troops to attack in all directions and "recruit" the local aborigines to participate in the construction.

So the mobile team like Wu Sanye received the mission, set off in the continuous rain, and ventured to search inland.

Soon, some coastal fishermen and indigenous people from scattered inland villages were "invited" to the Hongjibao construction site by the development team.

Under normal circumstances, indigenous villages are not so easy to submit.However, in the rainy season, the harsh natural environment greatly limited the reaction speed and mobility of the aborigines, so Wu Sanye and the others easily blocked the aborigines in their nests.

At this time, the aborigines can only honestly "respond to government corvee".Yes, in a copycat country like Annan, its political system is learned from China from top to bottom, including corvee.

As for the government... the translator with a local accent told the aborigines that this key project was an order from the government. Didn't the well-equipped "Royal Forest Army" come to the door?

The natives who were invited by the gun and bayonet, although they were muttering about the legitimacy of the visitor, they had to obey the visitor's order in action.

However, things quickly reversed.After the panicked people were escorted to the construction site to work for a day, they not only ate enough high-calorie meals, but also received wages when they left work in the evening: they could choose daily necessities such as copper coins or cloth, candles, salt, rice, etc., and paid daily.

For poor Annan farmers in the seventeenth century, finding such well-paid work during the rainy season was not too cost-effective.This time, there are no fake government offices anymore, and the officials who hang the banner of "Cao" are the real government offices. Whoever says it is fake, I am in a hurry!

Soon, the aborigines called their friends, braved the rain, and brought their fellow countrymen and relatives to support the country's construction.

Compared with the outsiders, the aborigines are more adaptable to the local rainy season and terrain, so they take on almost all the non-technical tasks... such as clearing the surrounding vegetation and bringing back enough building materials to the construction site.

The so-called building materials are mainly some wooden poles and large plant leaves.These two things are for carrying out Zheng Yangyang's previous instructions: digging ditches and building sheds.

The circle that Zheng Yangyang drew on the map before is actually a square.The reason is simple: Compared with the odd-shaped bastions and round castles, the construction of square buildings saves the most man-hours and costs, and it is the most convenient to plan and expand afterwards.

With advantages, there are naturally disadvantages: a square city will leave a wide attack surface for the besiegers, and the defense ability is low.

The army, however, has faith in Square.So far, what the crossing army has completed are siege operations that require more resources and technical content. At least in the territory of Daming, the situation of defending the city has never happened.

It can be inferred from this that a stronghold that can be defended with only a small amount of troops will have a very high bonus to the party with a technological advantage.Annan's army may be able to put pressure on our side in field battles, but the military is dismissive of this in defensive battles, even in the rainy season.

Even though it has become a consensus that Annan's regular army is not low in combat effectiveness, it is also a military consensus that no one can capture a city with rapid-fire guns and breech-loading guns.

So after comprehensive consideration, trenches appeared on the coast of Halong Bay.

A trench is two lines in a parallel state.

The inner trench is square, not only deep but also wide, which is the foundation for the city wall.The ditch used as the outer protection is much shallower. Here, only a low wall needs to be built, and there is no need for a neat square shape. It can be repaired facing the inland direction.

The next step is to build a grass shed.

If you want to use bricks and cement to build walls during the continuous rainy season, you must do a good job in waterproofing.After the rain-proof thatched shed above the trench is set up, the next step is for the builders to level the foundation, mix cement, and build walls.

In this process, it is also necessary to dig some drainage ditches on the side of the trench to discharge groundwater at any time.

There is no doubt that the brick walls built in the current environment will not be as strong as the northern standard. After all, the cement will slowly solidify after the rainy season.However, this is a small problem for the traversers: under the cover of the awning, the fire rate of the firearms is greatly increased, which is enough to wipe out the enemy on the charge road...if there is a large force to charge.

The above tasks involve the most engineering personnel.Another key point of employment is the wharf, where a stone wharf deep into the bay is being built... Even the stones are transported from the sea, and there are no stone processing enterprises on the remote Annan coast.

……

While the pioneers were desperately racing against time on the coast of Annan, a large passenger ship departing from Taijiang Port stopped at the official wharf of Guangzhou New District.

What got off the boat was a team from the north.

At the end of May, the imperial court received a memorial from the south.In addition to reporting the cause and effect of the Macau war, it also attached a stack of land deeds-it is said that after the city of Macau was broken, the Franchi businessman "happily lost" to the government.

Le loses this kind of trick, everyone in the court is clear about it.But that wasn't the focus of everyone's attention at the time: the booty and title deeds from the south were the main thing.There is no one who doesn't like making money from wars, but the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty have always lost money in wars, and they have never enjoyed this kind of feeling.

After that, a round of offensive and defensive battles took place between the monarch and his ministers around the spoils.Of course, the young emperor was finally defeated by the civil servants as expected/duoduo, and was deprived of most of the spoils.

Today, the team that disembarked at the pier in the new area was the team sent by the imperial court to receive the land deed farm.

The receiving group is composed of several people with different identities.Among them, there are two most important ones: Ma Min, the head of the household department, and Du Shangbao, the eunuch who is the deputy envoy of the inner treasury.

Ma Min and Du Shangbao, one representing the household department and the other representing the inner palace, are standard receiving officials.

And the rest of the receiving group were sent by various bigwigs to see the direction of the wind.

As early as the Manchu Qing Dynasty first entered the customs, after Cao Zongbing went to Jingqin King, the interest of the capital tycoons in buying properties in the south has been increasing day by day.

At the beginning, people took a tentative attitude and sent slaves to Yizhou to buy some legendary Datian to test the water.

After that, aside from the generous industrial returns, there is another very important concept that has been slowly changed among high-level people: miasma.

That's right, the phenomenon of "land of miasma", which has killed countless people since ancient times and the ancients avoided, no longer exists in Yizhou, and even extended to all Cao's territories.

Now, with the passage of time, the elites of the Ming Dynasty in the far north have undeniably verified this point.Although there are all kinds of weird legends, the facts cannot be changed: in places like Yizhou, there are very few people suffering from miasma (malaria) and various fevers.

This phenomenon undoubtedly added a dazzling aura of mysticism to Cao.

In this way, the simple investment behavior of "buying a property in the south" becomes complicated: since the miasma can be broken, then "when the rush is inconvenient", can the clansmen go to the place that is like spring all the year round to "spread branches and leaves" "What about "resting and recuperating"?

After having this idea, since this year, people from the family of officials from all over the Ming Dynasty have come to various places in the south to buy properties, and the price of land including Yizhou has actually attracted a small increase.You must know that as of today, the level of development of the Tainan Plain is far from that of later generations. In theory, there are still many, many fields that can be sold.

And this time, the imperial court formed an official reception team because of the land deed presented by Uncle Zhongyong. It was an excellent opportunity to go to the south for inspection.The reason is that Zhezifang in Zhongyongbo’s Mansion in the capital city has already released the word that the miasma in Nagada in Annan has been eradicated, and the people in Annan are also hospitable and hospitable. Zongbing Cao has also collected a lot of land deeds there, waiting for everyone to invest up.

Now the Ming people have seen a truth from the Tartars who rolled back outside the customs and the Yizhou natives who sold fried chicken: since the soldiers are strong and the horses are strong, the fierce and domineering Zhongyong Bo said so, then those Nanyi who eat grass must be enthusiastic. Hospitable, and Annan must have a lot of land deeds waiting for everyone to pay for it.

Ever since, the reception/investigation team of the big bosses in the capital was formed in this way.

The group members included not only official principals and eunuchs, but also confidants sent by wealthy families in the capital.By the way, when the boat arrived at Zhangsutan Port in Shanghai, there was a large wave of gentry and slaves from the south of the Yangtze River. Among them, there were quite a few current heads or second generations of the big gentry families.

Therefore, the number of guests disembarking at the official wharf in the new district today is quite a lot. Counting the servants who followed each family, there were a total of 300 people who were zero.

……

After the delegation disembarked, they undoubtedly stayed at the Baietan Hotel.And that night, under the luxurious large crystal chandelier, Dr. Rong Lu, Zhu Guoyu, Feng Zhongyong, the Minister of the Ministry of War, the left governor of the military governor's mansion, Mr. Cao Chuancao stood in the lobby of the hotel, holding a glass of bright red wine in person, and gave each other one by one. The distinguished guests of the delegation toasted and greeted the wind, and the lively banquet lasted until the early morning.

In the next two days, members of the delegation seized the opportunity to visit relatives and friends in the city of Guangzhou first, and then wandered around in the new district, thoroughly feeling and comparing the difference between the "modern" city and the old city.

Afterwards, the delegation hurriedly boarded the passenger ship: the Nth transport fleet organized by the New District was just about to unload in Halong Bay, so the delegation would naturally have to move with the large fleet escorted by warships to be safe.

So one morning in late July, in a bay not far south of Fangchenggang outside the country, members of the delegation inadvertently saw someone's violent and domineering behavior.

Chapter 574

Fangcheng is located on the border coast of Guangxi.

As you can guess from the place name, the so-called Fangcheng must be the border gate.The reason why the ancients named this place Fangcheng is that it has the meaning of defending and defending against enemies outside the country.

It was the end of the Ming Dynasty, the imperial court was in decline, and the troops in the defense city were slack, unable to maintain the situation on the sea.

This resulted in the vigorous development of pirates traveling between Daming and Annan coasts.

Especially in the past two years, a large number of pirates from the Ming Dynasty have moved south for some reason, disturbing the coast of Annan, and the environment in the Beibu Gulf is getting worse.

Until the arrival of a certain army.

Time: noon.Location: Off the coast of Fangcheng.

The dense clouds all over the sky make everything on the sea seep into gray and black tones.The gray air and rain and fog, the black waves, and even the flying seabirds and the ships below all seem to be painted with ink, hidden in the darkness, indistinct, unable to see their true colors.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning pierced through the clouds and struck down in the air.

Accompanied by the thick blue electric light, it is the golden sun that follows.At this moment, the thick cloud layer was split open, revealing a huge crack, and the golden sunlight that followed, stained everything it went with a layer of gold: the rain stopped.

It is not uncommon for the wind and rain on the sea to stop suddenly.However, things that "surge" from the sky with the sun are not so common.

The three white-sailed warships that broke away from the large fleet opened the large triangle sails at the bow, with their backs against the golden sun, facing the monsoon blowing from the direction of the Philippine Sea, and rushed towards the coast like sharp arrows.

At this time, a large group of thirty or forty indigenous ships that were originally hidden in the darkness and sailing along the coast had just caught sight of the incoming ship.

Unexpectedly, the indigenous fleet immediately exploded, and at least [-]% of the ships made various tactical maneuvers immediately: some sailed on the spot and turned around, some left their companions and went south and north, and even more Those who didn't care about the possible reefs and shoals on the coast plunged into it, and seemed to ignore it when they ran aground and hit the bottom.

The rest of the large troops who didn't know the situation were in a hurry in the face of the sudden chaos: the boatman desperately turned the rudder to avoid the crazy ship, and a large number of crew members rushed out from below the deck when they heard the movement, speaking in an unintelligible Annan language, jumping their feet. The boss who cursed at the bow.

In short, the scene was chaotic.

Time waits for no one.Just as the big fleet was adjusting its formation, the white-sailed battleship rushing towards it flashed a dazzling red light from a distance of one and a half miles away, and then, the black spots flying from afar turned into iron balls , smashed into the big fleet.

The three sail warships are composed of one Youguang class and two Taijiang class.In other words, on average, about 15 shells were fired in each round of artillery fire.

On the swaying sea, even if it is a neat row of artillery, the final landing point will become elusive.And the reason why the attackers fired shells at the furthest distance was because the large fleet was crowded together at the moment, so there was no need to worry about the hit rate.

The next moment, with the dull "dong dong" sound, the ship's plank was smashed, the boatman was thrown into the air, the sail was torn, and the bits and pieces on the ship were splashed everywhere by the bouncing iron balls, leaving a mess of blood and flesh.

Immediately afterwards, there were loud wailing sounds.The sailors whose arms and thighs were severed would not die for a while, their screams mixed with the frightened roar of the ship's boss, flying over the fleet.

Soon, the rumbling cannons covered up the shouts of the natives.The rapidly approaching fleet made the interval between the sound of the guns and the shells shorter and shorter. Now as long as you see a row of red dots on the incoming ship, you can hear the sound of the guns coming soon.

The vicious blow left the victim dumbfounded.

Round after round of cannonballs hit their heads, followed by broken ship plates and flying human body parts, all of which made the pirates fall into hell, and the large fleet suffered heavy casualties.

At this time, no matter what the indigenous ships thought before, everyone instantly unified their thinking: run away, so a large number of terrified sailors began to jump into the sea.

However, the nightmare was far from over.The three fast boats rushing straight forward, about to rush two hundred steps away from the brigade, turned a corner lightly and gorgeously, and circled around the big pirate fleet—during the whole process, no matter how the fleet maneuvered, The artillery fire never stopped, and the artillery shells were fired at a precise time interval. This kind of mechanical coldness especially made the natives collapse.

The ferocious blow lasted for an entire hour.After that, the surface of the sea was full of ship planks and floating humans, among them were the dead and the living who rose and fell with the waves.

The previous large fleet has already fallen apart at this moment.Except for the slowly sinking ship floating alone on the sea surface, most of the rest have sunk.

Only a few old acquaintances who recognized the opponent's escape in advance successfully saved the lives of themselves and their subordinates.They ran away with infinite terror of the traversers, and soon, these people will also become voluntary propagandists, spreading the bad news to every corner of Beibu Gulf.

……

"This can be regarded as Li Ting sweeping acupuncture points!"

An hour is enough to catch up with the transport fleet behind.So the passengers on the passenger ship saw the seventeenth-century Caribbean for free...the final battle of the Beibu Gulf Pirates Trilogy.

Seeing the tragic situation of the pirate gang, the investors from the north on board all smiled.

Even if it is a servant sent by a certain gentry, it is a servant dressed in silk and satin, an agent of the ruling class.And the ruling class is born to be deadly enemies with all kinds of bandits, so at this moment, none of the audience on the boat showed any embarrassment, but they all praised and praised Mr. Cao for his hard work in maintaining peace in the Beibu Gulf.

If the guests are so supportive, the host will naturally come out to thank the guests.One of the traversers of the Nanxia Group who was in charge of escorting the boat, a former Meituan delivery boy named Shang Qi, hurriedly stepped forward.

After the business exchange, Shang Qi immediately stood at the bow of the boat and made a solemn statement regarding the current harsh environment in the Beibu Gulf: This place has already left the country of Ming Dynasty, so the set of gentle policies in Ming Dynasty has been discontinued.According to the latest spirit of the Zongbing Yamen: For Annan and the Annan coast, we must drop ten meetings at once!To "clean up the demon atmosphere", let the barbarians know the pros and cons!

In view of the fact that Wang Shi has no time to distinguish Annan fishermen from pirates, there will be ships in the future that will continue to "pull the net to clean up" this area. Note that the cleanup is a sweep, not a cleanup. The ultimate goal is: the Beibu Gulf Do not go to sea!

Shang Qi’s final statement: The above-mentioned “Beibu Gulf clean-up” policy to protect the safety of investors’ business routes will continue until the Annan coast is completely “cleared”.

Faced with such a murderous investment promotion declaration, the passengers on the passenger ship expressed their emotional stability.That's right, no matter what, this place has already left the gate of the Ming Dynasty, and no matter how serious the killing karma of the surname Cao is, it's not up to them, officials of the Ming Dynasty, to intervene.

Besides, getting rid of these foreign "fishing bandits" who are neither fishing nor bandits is definitely good for everyone's future transportation environment, so why not support it?

After the rain, the sea was blue and the sky was blue. Accompanied by the boastful talk of the passengers, was the flotilla hurrying south, and the wrecks and bodies left behind by the flotilla.

By the morning of the next day, the huge and slow transport fleet had traveled the remaining 200-mile sea route and berthed in Halong Bay.

It was nearly August, and the Annan rainy season was at its peak.However, in the misty rain and fog, Halong Bay, which was originally barren, is now full of vitality and popularity.

After more than half a month of frantic construction by outsiders, Halong Bay and even the seaport, Hon Ki Fort, etc. are already crowded with large construction sites.

With generous remuneration of money and food, a large number of local farmers who heard the news, braved the endless rain, fought against the sky, and forcibly changed the original appearance of nature into planned man-made buildings.

At this moment, from time to time, Halong Bay will appear a soaring water column blasting the reef.On the shore there is a wall of people flowing through it. The aborigines are shouting to pull the big stones and throw them into the wire cages deep into the sea. This is the foundation for laying a large trestle bridge.

The surrounding construction site was busy. As for the core building, Hongji Fort——in just a short period of time, the walls of the fort have already been built.

In fact, the most difficult part of building a city wall during the rainy season in Annan was laying the foundation.Once the foundation is repaired and the waterproofing is in place, the speed of adding bricks is still very fast.

The walls of Fort Honji are still far from being completed.The side facing the inland is the highest priority and its height has reached 1.5 meters.Although the height is not enough, the thickness of this wall is quite good, it is half a meter thick... You can see that there are protruding circular fortresses being built at intervals.

Inside the castle, there are now a few brick houses anyway.The largest one is being used to receive guests today.

Among the guests who came this time, the two most prestigious were undoubtedly Ma Min, the head of the household department representing the emperor and the court, and Du Shangbao, the deputy eunuch of the inner treasury.

Below these two, there is a vote of retired senior cadres in the capital and south of the Yangtze River, and further down, there are "little" people such as the brother-in-law of a certain country, the brother-in-law of a certain marquis, and the housekeeper of a certain uncle.

Shao Qiang, who was the temporary owner of the castle, heard the arrival of the Ming gentry investment group and the supply fleet, and hurried out to greet him.In a short while, the real bigwigs in the investment group were welcomed into the castle by Shao Qiang.

"Set the wine, cut the noodles, kill the chicken, master, I will treat the distinguished guests well today!"

In Hongjibao right now, the seafood is worthless, and the most expensive ones are the pasta from the north.

So, this time, Mr. Shao showed his sincerity to entertain the distinguished guests... You always need to invest some capital, who would let people bury money in the cellar?Rather than being dug up by Li Zicheng and given to the Tartars, it would be better to invest in planting some mangoes in Annan.

The host is enthusiastic, and the guests naturally have to show their affection.Those who can travel thousands of miles to come to a foreign country like Annan must not be some Taoists, and all of them are people with clear eyebrows.

So in the newly built big brick house with a back hall, everyone was in harmony, the wine was drained, and the guests and hosts looked forward to the future of Annan Development.