At the end of November, Pereira, who was responsible for designing the new port construction plan, submitted the first draft to Zhao Xin.
After more than two months of on-site inspections and a careful understanding of the construction level of Beihai Town, Pereira, who is from Macau, decided to locate the new port in a narrow bay fifteen miles southwest of Beihai Town.
Because whales can often be seen there, people in Beihai Town call it Whale Bay.
The narrowest width of Whale Bay is 500 meters and the maximum width is 900 meters. It does not freeze at all in winter, and the water depth is more than ten meters. It is an excellent natural port.
In the draft, Pereira divided the future Whale Bay pier into four, lining up from the northeast side of the bay to the southwest, which can accommodate up to thirty thousand-ton ships.
After watching for about twenty minutes, Zhao Xin raised his head and said to Pereira: "Very good, Mr. Pereira. In addition, I also need to build another one in the southeast of Beihai Town, that is, in the bay south of the workshop. port."
Zhao Xin is very satisfied with Pereira's work. However, in his plan, military and civilian terminals must be strictly separated in the future, and it is best to keep them far away, in order to keep them secret. The two small frigates he purchased from Andrew will be fully outfitted and ready for delivery next summer.
If you don’t ask, you won’t know. If you ask, you will be shocked. Zhao Xin took the time to contact Andrew these days and found out that the outfitting of warships is a very long and cumbersome process, and the project volume generally accounts for about 60% of the total ship construction project volume.
Even though 80% of the hull construction progress of the two ships purchased by Zhao Xin has been completed, the subsequent outfitting will still take a year.
The main construction period of the outfitting is between the launch and the first sea trial, and after the sea trial and before the official delivery, many finishing operations of the outfitting must be completed. Fortunately, Zhao Xin does not need electronic warfare systems, air defense systems and missiles, otherwise the delivery cycle would be longer.
Of course, then again, if Zhao Xin wants missiles, there is no question whether he will sell them or not, and it is certain that he will be targeted by someone who is interested.
"Forgive me for offending, Your Excellency, I think the port in Whale Bay is sufficient. There are as many as thirty berths in the plan." Pereira scratched the frostbite on his face a few times and said Speaking in broken Mandarin, he spoke carefully.
These Macao-Portuguese people have been in Beihai Town for a few months, and they are extremely uncomfortable with the climate here. After traveling from the warm and humid subtropical zone to the cold and dry Beihai Town, many people suffered from chilblains. Every time they returned home from outside, their hands and faces were itchy and painful.
In addition to frostbite, Pereira and other Macao-Portuguese workers also often catch colds and have become frequent visitors to the hospital. If Beihai Town had not possessed medical technology that was far ahead of this era, these Macao-Portuguese people would not have been able to survive this winter.
Zhao Xin thought for a while and said: "It's hard for you, Mr. Pereira. I know it's cold now. Well, you'd better take advantage of the winter time to learn the language and communicate more easily in the future. You can go to the port in the southeast We’ll do the survey and design again next spring.”
"Thank you very much for your consideration, Your Excellency." After speaking, Pereira bowed and exited.
Shortly after Pereira left, Sheng Haizhou knocked on the door and came in, saying to Zhao Xin: "Sir, Serdan and the others have news!"
"read."
"Yes! It has been found out that the Qing government recruited tens of thousands of civilians from Shangyangbao and Fengtian areas to build a city in Hunchun. The original Hunchun city has been changed to an earthen city wall, twelve feet high, with a city perimeter of seven miles and four sides. All have city gates. In addition, there is a mountain city three miles east of Hunchun City, and the city is surrounded by stone walls for fourteen miles. This place is surrounded by water on three sides. It was originally an abandoned city, but it has been restored."
Zhao Xin said "hmm" and asked, "What's happening on the other side of the Mongolian River?"
"There was not much movement there, but a barracks was built at the western foot of Tongken Mountain and on the east bank of the Hunchun River. There are currently 100 armored soldiers stationed there."
"Where is Hunchun's military strength?"
"Hunchun is currently guarded by a deputy general named Guan Bao. He has three thousand people under his command, half of whom are musketeers. Serdan also found out that Ning Guta will send troops here next year."
"Guardian? What is the origin of this person?"
Sheng Haizhou said: "I heard that he came from the capital with Qing Gui. I don't know the rest. How about asking them to grab a few tongues and ask?"
Zhao Xin thought about it for a while and felt it was unnecessary. He believes that the real thing is to put up fences and start construction now; as for the Manchu and Qing Dynasties, they are just goldfish in a glass tank - they cannot make big waves. Of course, if Qianlong really sent a hundred thousand troops to engage in human wave tactics, that would be another matter.
So he said to Sheng Haizhou: "No need, let Serdan and the others withdraw."
After saying this, Sheng Haizhou added: "There is a call from Guangzhou. Sun Shiyi, the governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, is sending someone to contact the British. It is said that they want to buy warships."
"To what extent?"
"The telegram didn't say anything. But the people in Guangzhou said that all the British people have gone to Macau to spend the winter, and they can't go back until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."
When Zhao Xin heard this, he immediately asked casually: "By the way, why are Liu Zheng and the others still in Guangzhou? Shouldn't they be going to Macau now?"
"Ah?" Sheng Haizhou was stunned and quickly reminded: "My lord, have you forgotten what happened at the Pearl River Estuary? Sir Liu told you this when he called last time."
"Oops!" Zhao Xin slapped his head, thinking that he had been so busy recently that he even forgot about this matter.
Because of the shelling of the Macau Fort at the Pearl River Estuary, the Macao and Portuguese authorities refused to allow Liu Zheng and his party to enter Macau City for the winter, and even asked Liu Zheng for Pereira and others through Wanhe Bank.
But Liu Zheng simply pretended to be dumbfounded, saying that he had no idea at all. He bluntly said that he was the business representative of the Great Ainu Kingdom and had nothing to do with those Seris people.
However, the Macao and Portuguese people are not fools. They will understand everything once they send someone to inquire.
So this winter Liu Zheng could only stay in the Thirteenth Street store scratching the wall.
It is said that the business hall of the thirteen businessmen from various countries in Guangzhou is about 100 meters away from the Pearl River. It is more than 100 miles away from the Humen Fort and more than 30 miles away from the Huangpu Anchorage. The entire foreign business district is more than 600 meters wide from east to west. Every country that came to trade used a big house as a place of residence and trade, thus forming a business hall. The fronts of each commercial building are exactly the same, all facing south.
The commercial buildings are all three-story, and the interiors are built in a Western style. If two large glass windows are used for one room, the number of rooms in the "Great Ainu Kingdom" commercial building is currently the least, with only two; The easternmost Dutch Pavilion has eight rooms.
Because the flag of the Great Ainu Kingdom is a white bear flag with a red background, after the flag was hung up, people in the surrounding area spread the word and called this place "White Bear Row". By the time Liu Zheng found out, it was already too late to change his mind.
To the right of the White Bear Gallery is the Gaogong Gallery - the French Pavilion; to the left is the Double Eagle Gallery - the Austro-Hungarian Empire Commercial Pavilion; further to the left are the Danish Pavilion and the British Pavilion.
There is a wide corridor in front of the British Pavilion and the Dutch Pavilion, which extends to the Pearl River. Two columns support the roof of the corridor. On the gable, there is a large emblem of the two countries and a motto written in Latin engraved on the gable. Liu Zheng later learned from the French that the words on the wall of the British Pavilion were "For the benefit of the King and the British Government", and the words on the Dutch Pavilion were "I support".
There is a street called Tongwen Street between the White Bear Pavilion and the French Pavilion. At the north end of Tongwen Street stands a very large Chinese-style courtyard. This is the "Gongshuo", also known as the "Foreign Company Hall". The office is the public property of the thirteen merchants, and is usually maintained by the merchants' allocations. Anything related to foreign trade needs to go through the public office. For example, when new regulations are established, old regulations are restated, or tax rules are revised, the heads of commercial offices from various countries must be invited here to discuss with merchants.
Liu Zheng often goes to the office for a walk when he has nothing to do. What is different from businessmen from other countries is that he will ask for a pot of tea and sit in the open-air courtyard for an hour. It is called to understand the local situation, but in fact it is to get information.
There are many small courtyards in the house for entertaining guests and talking, including open-air courtyards. The office is managed by the general merchant of Thirteenth Bank, and the current general merchant is the Cai family of Wanhe Bank.
The only thing that Liu Zheng felt extremely regretful about when he came to Guangzhou was that he couldn't see any women. Not to mention the business district, there was not even a maid in the office. But this doesn't mean anything to him, anyway, the fifth girl has been with him for many years.
The White Bear Pavilion is the private property of the Wanhexing Cai family and is leased to Beihai Town. According to the law, traders are not allowed to bring firearms, gunpowder and weapons inside. However, this description of Beihai Town is false, because after the Cai family looked at the salutes of Liu Zheng and others, they could not recognize the pistol that was disassembled into parts as a weapon; as for the bullets, Liu Zheng and others put them in their personal pockets. In the iron can, the Cai family didn't even think that weapons could be stored there.
What Liu Zheng didn't know was that in another time and space, the business offices of various countries in the Thirteen Banks were all razed to the ground by British artillery fire during the Second Opium War; of course, consulates have replaced the Thirteen Banks since then.
Because of the arrival of new faces, the enthusiastic French people quickly came to visit. Later, people from Austria-Hungary neighbors, Denmark, the Netherlands and other countries came to visit one after another. Everyone showed great curiosity about Liu Zheng's arrival.
He has an oriental face, no strange braids, and his clothes are not oriental at all. When Liu Zheng said that he was actually from Seris, the expressions of his Austro-Hungarian neighbors and his French neighbors were completely different.
"Serlis people?" Christopher Zweig, the senior classmate, looked confused. He remembered which book he had seen it in.
Facing the puzzled Austrian businessman, the Frenchman's face was full of contempt, saying that he was really a bumpkin from the Habsburg family, and even the Silis people, who were rich in silk, didn't know about it.
The Dutch looked at Liu Zheng with a playful expression, and said in their hearts, don't think I don't know, there was a letter from Nagasaki last year, you people were bombarding the Saga Domain, then turned around and went to Guangzhou to pretend to be big. The tail wolf is coming.
In these days, the gifts given to merchants from various countries were all products they trafficked. Apart from clocks, woolen fabrics, jewelry, and spices, there was nothing new. If he could bring weapons in, it is estimated that Liu Zheng would also receive short-fire blunderbuss and knives.
After Liu Zheng accepted the gifts from his neighbors, he presented each of them with a calculator, artificial pearls, and two pieces of silk.
Anyway, he just wanted it as a gift that the other party could not make or copy in this life.
However, when another neighbor from a trading company came to visit, the originally lively scene suddenly became deserted.
You guessed it right, the British are coming!
The British came to protest. Morris, the "chief executive" of the merchant house, expressed great indignation at the Seris people's bombardment of Hengqin Island, and mentioned in his words that he wanted Liu Zheng to pay compensation and apologize.
Liu Zheng sneered: "What does this have to do with me? I am the trade representative of the Great Ainu Kingdom, and the Thor just sent us here by the way. By the way, Mr. Morris, you are in the warehouse on Hengqin Island , there seem to be a lot of things that shouldn’t be there, such as opium.”
As soon as these words came out, all the senior executives of the commercial bank present were stunned, and Morris's expression suddenly changed.
The French and Dutch looked at Morris and said to themselves: "Damn the British! It turns out that you are secretly smuggling opium on Hengqin Island. Why don't you share this good thing with everyone?"
Morris sneered and said: "Mr. Liu, you are sophistry. Macau has found out everything about your relationship with that ship. I warn you, the British Empire will seek justice for its people. In this world No one in the world can challenge the navy of the British Empire!"
Liu Zheng lowered his face and said: "Mr. Morris, although I am only a representative of the Great Ainu Kingdom, on behalf of the Seris people, I welcome the navy of the British Empire to come. Don't blame me for not warning you in advance. As long as you dare to come, keep it There’s no coming back!”
Morris's face turned green with anger, and he immediately stood up and left without even saying goodbye. He thought to himself that if I were the Governor of Bengal, I would have sent a warship north to settle the score with you.
Liu Zheng's first meeting with his new neighbors ended in such an awkward atmosphere.
In the days that followed, when Liu Zheng got up every morning and had breakfast, he would go out to the square surrounded by railings to eat. Sometimes I can meet French neighbors and Austrian neighbors and chat with each other in English about today's weather... With Liu Zheng's limited English ability, that's all.
Although the square at the entrance of Shisanhang is exclusive to each house, Chinese people know their temperaments well and will not take detours if they can take shortcuts.
When Liu Zheng moved into the commercial building, the fence on the square had been damaged, and some people often passed directly through it. There are often vendors doing business in the square, such as those selling salted olives, peanut cakes, tea and porridge, and one day there were even a few opera singers.
In addition to these little people in the market, there are often people who come specially to see the ghosts. Sometimes when these people see Liu Zheng, they will shout in surprise: "Who is this guy? Why doesn't he have braids?"
Those who knew the inside story of the cottage before the shelling of Beihai Town naturally knew who Liu Zheng was. After these people whispered to each other, those who were shocked to hear what happened looked at Liu Zheng with shocked eyes, and cursed fiercely: "Rebels deserve to die!"
