“Bang bang bang~~Bang bang bang~~~”
As the heavy machine gunfire from the Thor rang out, the hard sail of a two-masted crow boat of Zheng's Hong Gang was instantly beaten to pieces. Immediately afterwards, the main mast began to catch fire.
The black stern boat that was shot is a type of boat unique to Dongguan, commonly known as the "big-eyed chicken". The entire ship is made of iron wood, with a length of ten feet, a width of three feet, and a thickness of seven inches. It is extremely strong; the ship can even withstand iron bullets fired by the Franco machine gun. The cost of each ship is as high as 700 to 800 taels of silver. The same price can buy five ships of the same tonnage in the Mining and Zhejiang areas.
When the Thor first started shooting, a group of Red Flag Gang pirates didn't know what was going on. They heard loud thunderous and lightning-like noises not far away. They looked at me one by one, and then looked up at the sky. They all thought they were there. Thunder in drought.
But as the wooden frame on the top of the hard sail was smashed, bamboo chips and pieces of wood fell on the deck one after another. Only then did the pirates on the big-eye chicken react. They were so frightened that they ran around on the deck crying for their fathers and mothers.
At this time, other sea ships lifted anchors and rowed to escape. Only a few people on the ships shouted to their men: "Get over! Rescue the people on the ship!"
Hearing the continuous explosions coming from outside, Zheng Lianchang and others were still confused, but Zheng Yi's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly rushed to the round porthole and looked out, only to see that it was Zheng Lianchang's boat that was shot and on fire.
There are only two of these sturdy big-eyed roosters in the entire Red Gang. The others are white clam boats, tow boats, and even quite a few single-masted fishing boats.
At this time, Zheng Lianchang and others also came to the porthole. When they saw that their boat was on fire, their faces suddenly turned pale.
"Captain Zhao, Mr. Zhao, please cease the fire! There are still many people on the ship!" Zheng knelt down in front of Zhao Xin as soon as he spoke, and couldn't help but plead with him.
"Cease fire." Zhao Xin gave the order to the walkie-talkie.
The movement of the Thor caused the entire Tanzai Island Bay to explode again. The resting crewmen on various merchant ships came to the deck to check what was going on. The Dan family fishermen who were selling food and fresh water were frightened and fled back to the shore in a hurry.
Among the crew members of various merchant ships, there were those who often came to Macau. When they saw the flag of the Zheng family fleet, they understood what was going on and secretly cheered in their hearts. Those who did not understand were confused and asked other veteran crew members.
Seeing that the Thor dared to challenge the order of the Qing Dynasty and Macao and Portugal in this sea area again, the foreign captains were afraid and jealous; they said to themselves that if they had such a big iron ship, the fort in Humen would be nothing. I dare to drive directly into the Pearl River!
After the gunfire stopped, the people on the Big Eye Chicken were busy putting out the fire, and several nearby boats also came to help. After a lot of fuss, they finally poured water on it, but the deck was already a mess. A big hole was made on the top of the cabin between the two masts by the fallen sail. The mainmast on fire looked like it was in ruins, just like a half-burned matchstick; water vapor was rising from the upper part. Burnt and black.
Zheng Lianchang and others looked extremely ugly. They turned around and looked at Zhao Xin, who had several soldiers with guns standing behind them, and muttered: "Captain Zhao, I, I agree."
Zhao Xin's expression was still indifferent, and he looked at Zheng Lianchang coldly and said: "Gang Leader Zheng, the conditions have changed. Within ten days, fifty shipbuilders, one hundred sailors and their families will come. You send them over and I will pay you." Pay as you please; fifty taels per person as housing allowance."
Zheng Lianchang knew that the other party was giving a sweet date a slap in the face, but he was under the eaves, so he had no choice but to nod.
"Besides, Zheng Yi and Zheng Qi should wait here for a few days until everyone arrives before leaving. Don't worry, as long as you don't mess around, they won't miss a finger." After Zhao Xin finished speaking, he stood up and left the conference room.
Looking at the soldiers who came to take him and Zheng Qi away, Zheng Yi sighed and said to Zheng Lianchang: "Abba, do you understand? A quick cannon can defeat us without any power to fight back. From now on, the Pearl River Estuary Things are going to change!"
Zheng Lianchang came in an aggressive manner and left in despair, but he still left a few boats nearby to monitor.
Zhao Xin stood on the deck and watched the Hongqi Gang fleet going away. He said to a platoon leader beside him: "Notify everyone that from today on, no one is allowed to buy anything if there are fishing boats coming to sell goods." Blast away. After dark at night, everyone returns to the shipyard to take turns on duty. If someone dares to climb onto the deck, the first time he fires a warning shot, and the second time he fires directly."
"Chief, what do you mean?"
"The fishermen on this sea are all Dan family, we have to be careful."
"Yes! I will notify everyone immediately."
Zhao Xin went to the communications room without looking back. He asked the communications soldiers to connect to Beihai Town, and then blasted the two people out.
"Lord, I'm here." The person speaking opposite was Li Ji.
"Are Katsu Kaishu and Kuzo here?"
"Lord, we are all here."
"Don't miss a word of what I'm going to say next!"
"Ha ha!"
Zhao Xin's call lasted for more than an hour.
In the past few days, Zhao Xin was so distracted by the jade pendant that he had little interest in doing anything. All he could think about was how to survive in the future. In addition, he was also speculating on how those time-travelers would react once they knew they could not go back.
After getting through the initial panic, despair and even despair, Zhao Xin calmed down and made a decision. He was going to start preparing backup plans, just in case.
Since yesterday, he had been on the phone with Liji and made some arrangements. After understanding the current situation in Beihai Town, he asked Liji to find Sheng Haizhou, Jiuzang and others. After Liji received Zhao Xin's order, although it was a little strange, he still followed Zhao Xin's order and found Sheng Haizhou, Jiuzang, and Wan Zao to communicate secretly.
Today, Zhao Xin gave separate explanations to Li Ji and the other three. After Zhao Xin finished the arrangement, Sheng Haizhou and the others began to communicate privately that night.
In addition to the seven people who initially followed Zhao Xin, Pan Xiucheng, Serdan and his son, Yaerha, the old man in charge of the military supplies warehouse, several small bosses in the workshop, and a certain nurse in the hospital who was second only to Director Liu Da The head of the department, Wan Zao's wife, Shino and others also received secret notifications in the following days. These people finally produced a letter of allegiance, and the relevant people pressed their bloody fingerprints on it.
If Zhao Xin hadn't controlled the number of people and levels, all the squad and platoon leaders in the army might have had to sign in blood.
Many times, people often do things that deviate from their original intentions in order to survive. If nothing happens to the jade pendant, Zhao Xin doesn't care much about many things. At worst, I would go it alone and send all these people back, and it would just be more difficult for me.
Although Beihai Town has begun to make progress, the living environment is still very grim, and industrial development has only made a small start. Historically, the industrialization of agricultural societies has always been through the scissor gap between industry and agriculture, sacrificing farmers to enhance industrial development. Zhao Xin relied on the jade pendant to avoid this situation. Now that the jade pendant cannot be used, as large equipment cannot be used in the future, industrial development will enter a period of stagnation.
If civil strife breaks out at this time, then Zhao Xin's hard work and investment over the past few years will be in vain, and Beihai Town will not be able to get out of the black soil.
Zhao Xin didn't know what kind of "monster" he had released at this time, but by the time he realized it, it was already several years later.
In the afternoon of the next day, Liu Sheng and his party came back, accompanied by dozens of Portuguese people, including men, women, old and young, and several of them were of mixed Chinese and Portuguese descent.
"Your Excellency, my name is Rodrigo Joao Pereira. My colleagues and I are very happy to work for you in the future." The speaker was a middle-aged man in his thirties, with a medium build and a thin body. He speaks fluent Cantonese and has a big beard on his chin.
According to Liu Sheng, this man named Pereira is an engineer who graduated from the Academy of Sciences of the University of Coimbra in Portugal. After coming to Macau, he has been engaged in engineering design work in the municipal committee. Pereira has a wife and two children. He originally lived a good life, but he was defrauded because of his silk investment. Not only did he lose all his savings, he also owed a sum of money.
Zhao Xin smiled and shook hands with Pereira and said: "Welcome, Mr. Pereira. But forgive my ignorance, is the University of Coimbra famous?"
Pereira said respectfully: "Yes, Your Excellency. This is a school with a long history, completely comparable to the University of Paris and Oxford University. It has been established for almost five hundred years. The famous priest Christopher Kraou I graduated from this.”
Zhao Xin blinked, never heard of it. He didn't know that the University of Coimbra was founded in 1290 and is one of the oldest universities in Europe. The earliest colleges founded were the Academy of Sciences, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Medicine, and the Faculty of Arts. Historically, this school was the only university in Portugal from its founding until the early 20th century.
As for the Christopher Craou that Pereira was talking about, he lived in the 17th century and made extraordinary achievements in the fields of mathematics, astronomy and other fields. But this man was also Copernicus's most staunch opponent.
Accompanying Pereira were a dozen Portuguese craftsmen with their families. These people all worked in Macau shipyards, including three carpenters, five blacksmiths and four general shipbuilders. Now the shipyards in Macau can only build some Cantonese ships and fishing boats. Chinese craftsmen are far more skilled at these ship types than the Portuguese, and their wages are also lower. Naturally, some Portuguese people are unemployed. After these people heard from the Macau Municipal Committee that Liu Sheng was recruiting craftsmen, they applied with the intention of giving it a try. Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng finally selected these people.
In these days, senior shipbuilders in Europe were earning very good incomes. In addition to being able to draw their own design drawings, they could also take commissions from apprentices. However, the income of ordinary shipwrights and apprentices could only maintain a basic survival.
Although Liu Sheng mentioned that Beihai Town is far away from Macau, the salary he offered is not low. Except for Pereira, whose salary is 300 yuan and two silver coins per year, everyone else's basic annual salary is 150 double silver coins, as well as bonuses and accommodation arrangements. The Spanish double-column silver coins of this year were the main currency in Southeast Asian trade. The average weight of each coin was 26.8 grams and the silver content was about 90.3%. If converted to the silver coins of Beihai Town, the 150 yuan double-column coin is almost 540 yuan of Beihai silver coins.
"We can only recruit these people. No matter how many more people we have, the shipbuilding industry guild in Macau will not be happy."
Dozens of Portuguese people looked at the Thor with different expressions, and exclaimed from time to time. After Zhao Xin greeted these people one by one, the sailors of the Thor took these people to arrange accommodation.
"Did you buy the lumber?"
Liu Sheng handed Zhao Xin an envelope, and then said: "I ordered a batch of iron wood and teak wood, which cost almost five thousand taels of silver; there were also some tea leaves, export porcelain, cotton and woolen cloth. These things were all made by The commercial bank is responsible for handling the formalities, and they also pay the export tax. They will send a ship to ship it over in three days. This is the contract."
The three of them returned to the cockpit, and Zhao Xin said to Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng: "Let me tell you two, we have to wait here for more than ten days before we can leave."
"Ten days?! What happened?"
Zhao Xin said helplessly: "As soon as you left, the communication point at Sheyang Lake was contacted."
When Zhao Xin finished explaining the situation, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng asked strangely: "Why are they here?"
Zhao Xin shook his head and said: "How could I know? We can't contact anyone now, so we have to wait!"
Then, he told the two of them about Zheng Yi and the others, and reminded them to be careful these days. Although the man with the big fist is the boss, these people are all guys who are smarter than monkeys if they have hair on them.
Liu Sheng slapped his head at this time: "Look at my memory, I almost forgot something. I found out about the British opium base, which is located in Yanzi Bay on the west side of Hengqin Island."
Zhao Xin said in surprise: "Huh? You can check this! How do you know?"
Liu Sheng said proudly: "I treated everyone to a drink at the bar last night, and later spent five double-column silver dollars to get it from an Irish sailor."
Ding Guofeng said with a smile: "Da Liu is shaking this time. The governor personally received him. Several Portuguese women were ogling him, but it's a pity that he didn't appreciate it."
Zhao Xin joked: "That's right, Da Liu is thinking about the little stars at the Heilongjiang estuary."
Liu Sheng ignored the two men's teasing and continued to Zhao Xin: "I did think it was easy before about opium. I have to apologize to you."
Zhao Xin smiled, waved his hand, and asked, "There have been so many changes. What did you see when you went to Macau?"
Ding Guofeng said solemnly: "All the foreign companies in the city are selling opium, and the Portuguese themselves are also smuggling it. Although the Manchu and Qing Dynasties have a ban, the inspections are not strict. According to what we learned in the bar, opium flows into Guangdong every year. There are more than two thousand boxes of opium."
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "All the Qing Dynasty cares about is how much money trade can bring. As for the life and death of the people, no one cares. If you want to take care of this matter, you must attract the same crime as the traffickers."
Liu Sheng said: "We have to enact laws and regulations when we go back, and shoot them as soon as they are discovered."
Zhao Xin smiled and said: "Come on, I think it's a waste of bullets, so I sent them to dig coal in Ezo."
Ding Guofeng asked: "What should we do about the opium stronghold on Hengqin Island?"
Zhao Xin thought for a while and said: "It must be destroyed! Let the British know our attitude."
Liu Sheng said: "But what if we take the lead and the British build on the back?"
Zhao Xindao: "So I said before that this is not just a matter of venting anger. It is useless to destroy a stronghold and several ships. A steady stream of opium will still be transported. The forces of all parties here at the Pearl River Estuary are intertwined. Unless We mobilized all the forces at sea. The effect is not big, and the gain is not worth the loss."
Liu Sheng said: "Then what do you think we should do? You don't know, I was so angry that I almost smashed the foreign bank. Guofeng said you must have a way."
Zhao Xin changed the subject and asked: "How many forts are there in Macau? Have you both figured it out?"
Liu and Ding nodded and said: "Six forts and more than 120 small cannons. We also bought a hand-drawn map of Macau from a Frenchman."
Zhao Xin nodded and said: "You two should tell me everything you have learned in the past two days. Give me a few days to do this. I have to think about it carefully."
Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng spent more than two hours talking about their experiences in Macau in detail, and Zhao Xin gradually got a clue, but it was still difficult to solve.
If you want to use force to control the inflow of opium, you must control the waters outside the Pearl River Estuary, including the various islands. This task is too large and requires the establishment of two fleets for patrol duty and long-term rotation. Besides, if the Pearl River Estuary is blocked, will these people take the risk and go to Fujian?
The only way now is to negotiate with the British and Portuguese to see what alternatives can be found. But the question is, in what capacity does Zhao Xin talk to others? Guangdong is still the territory of the Manchu Qing Dynasty, why should people listen to you? !
In fact, if we really want to end it once and for all, externally we need to send a fleet to capture Malacca and block the passage of opium into and out of Southeast Asia; internally we need to strictly control the opium trafficking business, implement a medical monopoly system, and use thunderous means to ban opium smokers.
Unfortunately, with Beihai Town's current strength, it is unable to do both.
Time passed like this day by day, and in the next five days, two merchant ships from Macau delivered all the supplies ordered by Liu Sheng and others. Zhao Xin paid for the goods with the banknote that Ma Baishan had previously paid him.
Seeing the crane on the Thor easily lifting heavy timber from the sailboat to the ship, this aroused the surprise of many sailors on the surrounding sailboats; some sailboats even sent people to inquire about the price of the marine crane.
During this period, Liu Sheng and Ding Guofeng operated drones to conduct more than ten consecutive surveys of the opium smuggling base on Hengqin Island, determining the location of each other's warehouses and the number of people stationed there. During the investigation, Liu Sheng accidentally discovered the figures of the Eliza and the Trust.
However, the Thor's unexpected stay on Tanzai Island caused uneasiness among Guangzhou officials.
Big-eyed chicken: a type of Cantonese-style fortune ship, with two or three masts. The shape of the ship is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The bow is like a fish, the bottom is pointed and round, and the stern has a hollow point, forming a platform with railings. There is a roll-hole type mat on the platform, and a room below the platform. There is a room like a house between the two masts. cabin.
(End of chapter)
