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On May 27, I arrived in Macao and Hong Kong...
The officers and soldiers in charge of coastal defense lay lazily on the beach, sunbathing greedily.
At this point, it should have been the time for soldiers to practice patrolling, but the Daikin Coast Defense had actually begun to be abandoned as early as fifteen years after Honglin. Officials at all levels had no longer been involved in coastal defense affairs, so the armament was naturally relaxed.
For more than 20 years, the Navy has not added a single warship, and the ships used by the Navy are in a state of decay. Not to mention performing ocean missions, it is difficult to even catch pirates during offshore patrols. Travel at public expense.
Due to the reduction in commercial activities at the seaport, there were only a handful of foreign merchants picking up goods at the pier, which made the coastal defense officers and soldiers slack off and unfamiliar with their drills.
At this time, a coastal defense officer and soldier wearing a short shirt began to yawn. Then the yawn seemed to be contagious. Eighty-nine percent of the soldiers in the battalion who were sunbathing together also yawned, and some even started to yawn. Crying, hands and feet shaking.
"No, I have to take a sip."
An officer and soldier gave a soft drink, stood up and took out a wooden box the size of a baby's palm from the belt hanging from his waist. Then he took out a pipe from his belt and ran into the barracks not far away.
Arriving at the barracks, the officers and soldiers immediately took out their fire sickles, lit the candles placed on the stone bed, tremblingly opened the lid of the box, revealing half a piece of dark tobacco paste, found a small spoon, scooped up a spoonful and put it into the pipe. into the smoke hole, then lay sideways on the bed, pointed the smoke hole at the candle flame and started to smoke fiercely.
The next moment, the officers and soldiers stopped shaking and stopped crying. They seemed to be floating in the air, feeling extremely comfortable.
"Comfortable~"
The officers and soldiers took a long breath, closing their eyes and enjoying the changes brought about in every part of their body.
When he opened his eyes, the barracks were already filled with coastal defense officers and soldiers smoking ointment, and for a while, an unpleasant smell of smoke wafted from the huge barracks.
This tobacco paste is a "specialty" brought by merchants from Tianzhu. It is said that it is grown in tropical areas. After smoking it, people will be in high spirits and abandon all worries.
The officers and soldiers of the Kingdom of Jin called this smoke ointment Fushou ointment.
If Liu Ce saw this scene, he would directly shout out, isn't this stuff just opium? The main culprit that poisoned the physical and mental health of modern Chinese people!
Fushou ointment is one of the most imported goods in South Australia and the most important outflow of silver and gold. Because of its strong addictive properties, it is widely favored by the officers and soldiers of the Jin Kingdom and even the local officials and nobles of the imperial court.
Fu Shou Ointment has been flowing into South Australia for decades. After Honglin discovered its medicinal properties, he strictly prohibited the entry of such things that are harmful to the country. Officials in Macao were ordered not to tolerate it. Businessmen found to be carrying Fu Shou Ointment would be severely punished. Guan Bing is not allowed to be contaminated with this substance.
Unfortunately, Honglin's anti-smoking policy had little effect, and after Fushou Ointment was banned, those cigarette dealers colluded with South Australian officials and made greater profits through smuggling.
In addition, officials and coastal defense soldiers need Fushou pills to stay energetic. This policy has been like a piece of waste paper since it was promulgated, with no binding force at all.
Fortunately, at this time, Fushou Ointment did not cause serious harm to ordinary people in South Australia. After all, this stuff was very expensive. One box cost five taels of silver, which was equivalent to a farmer's income for one or two years. Most people could not afford it.
Naturally, those navy officers and soldiers cannot afford such tobacco products with their monthly military salary, but it does not prevent them from adding a new "sea tax". All foreign traders who pick up goods from Guangzhou, Macao and Hong Kong must pay the navy officers and soldiers. .
In the final analysis, the management of Hong Kong, Macau and Hong Kong can be described as a complete mess.
While the navy officers and soldiers were puffing away in the barracks, Navy General Ilim was patrolling along the Jing'ao Hong Kong Defense Zone.
Seeing that the officers and soldiers at their posts were unguarded, they couldn't help but said angrily: "Where are the people? Have they been taken away? What time is it now? You are so lax. What if there is an enemy attack?"
The deputy general Qi Jing on the side said: "To tell you back to the general, the men have been practicing hard and thought they should rest in the barracks now.
The sun is booming, and the men will inevitably think of being lazy. I will just teach them a lesson when I get back. General, don't be impatient. "
Irimu snorted coldly: "Coastal defense is an important weapon of the country, how can we give up lightly? Let them return to defense quickly! Don't think that they can do whatever they want after Long Live the Southern Patrol."
Qi Jing laughed and said: "General, you are overly worried. Our country is so famous, how can foreign barbarians dare to invade our waters by eating the courage of a bear's heart and a leopard's guts?"
Irimu said: "It's always right to be careful. What if there is an accident?"
As he spoke, he climbed up to the observation tower and looked into the distance.
"Huh? That is?"
Suddenly, Irimu saw a dozen large ships appearing on the horizon in the distance.
"Which country's merchant ship is this?"
When Yilimu was surprised, he immediately kicked Qi Jing: "Why don't you call the people back? Go ask which country's merchant ships those are!"
"yes!"
Qi Jing endured the pain and went to call the officers and soldiers to return to defense.
During this period, those giant ships were getting closer and closer to the port. When Ilimu saw them clearly, his eyelids suddenly jumped, and an ominous premonition swirled in his mind.
"No! Send someone to stop them immediately!"
At the critical moment, Ilimu made the right choice.
But the choice is correct, but the strength does not allow it.
The officers and soldiers in the barracks were called up by Qi Jing and walked towards their posts cursing.
But at this moment...
"Boom, boom, boom, boom——"
Four earth-shaking roars echoed in the air, and the next moment, four blazing sixteen-pound shells roared towards the sea from a few miles away.
Bang~~
There was a loud noise, and one of the artillery pieces hit the wall of the defense area. The camp wall made of soil was instantly hit with a gap half a man's height.
"No! Enemy attack! Return to defense! Return to defense quickly!"
Yilim and Qijing immediately shouted loudly for the officers and soldiers to garrison in the defense area.
These navy officers and soldiers had never seen such a powerful siege weapon, and they were already scattered in fear. Fortunately, Qi Jing used all his strength to suppress them and was able to stabilize them and barely allowed everyone to return to their posts.
On the Han army's flagship, Yue Shaomu and Gan Ziba each held a looking glass and looked towards the other side.
Liangjiu Ganzi said domineeringly: "The old rule is to demonstrate before the battle. Then it's time to send people to negotiate. If they are willing to accept the conditions, then everything will be easy to negotiate, otherwise..."
Before he finished speaking, Yue Shaomu interrupted him directly: "Admiral Gan, there is no conflict between negotiation and war. Do you see the three iron chains across the sea? This is probably what the Jin soldiers rely on.
Once these three iron chains are removed, Jiabao and Hong Kong will basically be in the bag. We will have the confidence to occupy all key points in Jiabao and Hong Kong in the shortest possible time and successfully gain dominance. "
Gan Ziba did not hesitate: "As you said, fortunately, the Chief of Staff has been prepared. This trip to the sea will bring highly corrosive chemicals. For up to five hours, this so-called iron rope crossing the river is an absolute joke. .”
Yue Shaomu nodded with a stern expression, and then said to the flag player: "Inform Zhu Heng to prepare for landing operations. Within three hours of the order, we must take down the Jia'ao stronghold!"
