While Katata was carefully observing the black speedboats riding the wind and waves, she inadvertently noticed that a strange black bird suddenly flew over the heads of the ships, then rose rapidly, and finally stopped steadily. Above the fort on the other side.
"Kaknu?" Because he believed deeply in the prophecy of the soaring eagle, Katata instinctively thought that it should be a peregrine falcon.
The Indian girl hid behind the rocks and peeked, and her tribesmen were also alarmed by the explosion. At this moment, these people all took their bows and arrows and came to the bushes on the hillside by the seaside, staring at what was happening on the other side.
"The Soaring Eagle didn't lie to us, there really is a white ship!"
"The white house up there is square."
"Who has seen my daughter? Katata~~"
Katata didn't hear the calls of his parents and tribesmen, because the tens of thousands of frightened sea lions on the beach made a noise that was far noisier than the explosion. They roared with their big mouths open, shook their fat bodies quickly, and jumped into the sea one after another.
In an instant, a gray-black blanket swelled on the entire north side of San Francisco Bay, and little bearded heads were floating on the water, looking at the strangers with vigilance and curiosity.
Chen Yingqi, who was sitting in the speedboat, patted the shoulder of his companion, pointed at the panicked animals not far away, and shouted: "Xiao Chai, look, there are sea lions here too!"
Su Chong'a, who has been renamed "Chai Rong", took a look at it with his hands on the shade, and said in surprise: "There are so many! There is no shortage of meat now!"
There are many such animals on the southeastern coast of Bitterleaf Island. The local Feyaka people usually hunt them in autumn to obtain enough oil and fur to survive the long cold winter.
After Beihai Town occupied Dabo Town in the southern part of Kuye Island, sea lion skin and oil became a local specialty. Not to mention that oil can be used as a good health medicine after simple processing. The key is the leather. As long as it is taken to Anping Port, it will be snapped up by merchants from all over the world.
The only drawback is that the sea lion meat is so woody and fishy that it feels fresh when you eat it for the first time. However, if you eat too much, you will find it difficult to swallow. Nowadays, in Dabo Town in the south of Kuye Island, the old residents don’t like to eat it, only the new farmers from the island country like it.
However, under Liu Zheng's suggestion, in order to ensure the local population of sea lions and seals, Dabo Town only hunts in autumn every year, and the number is controlled within 300. After all, rare things are more valuable!
After hearing what his companion said, Chen Yingqi said disdainfully: "What's so delicious about this thing! It's the skin that's valuable! Let's catch a few after the war!"
Chai Rong nodded hurriedly after hearing this, fully agreeing with this idea. As a former Eight Banners soldier, he never thought that he would travel thousands of miles across the ocean and come to the other side of the sea.
It was already the tenth month of the lunar calendar. Compared with the bitter leaf island where the ice and snow were howling and the wind was howling, the climate here made him feel very comfortable, neither cold nor hot. Even the sea breeze blowing on his cheeks was warm.
After three years of hard labor in the Blackstone Town coal mine, Chai Rong and Chen Yingqi finally regained their freedom. However, because they could not return to their hometown in Shengjing for the time being, the two of them stayed in the coal mine and became regular workers, earning a monthly salary of 10 Beihai dollars. Regardless of the small amount of money given, the winter on Bitterleaf Island is too cold, and there are at least four months of the year when you don’t work and you get paid for nothing, so the average income is not bad.
There are now more than a thousand former Qing prisoners of war like them on Kuye Island, and at most they were nearly three thousand. Most of these people's homes are in Shengjing and Wula, Jilin; since the Northern Navy has never gone south, it is difficult to return home even if they return to the mainland, and even if they sneak back, they will be imprisoned. In desperation, some people continued to stay in the coal mines, some were recruited by the oil fields, and some went to the ranches in Ezo.
The original idea of the civil administration was to let these people stay and settle on Kuye Island, give them land, and bring their families over. The problem is that five years have passed, and the transformed swamps in the southern part of Bitterleaf Island can only grow some sugar beets and rye, but the yield is not high; even if a ten-year tax exemption is offered, many prisoners of war are not willing.
Faced with this situation, the civil affairs department is also having a headache; Beihai Town’s current territory is too large and has better farming conditions than Kuye Island.
There are many, and they are all in urgent need of development. Not to mention anything else, the newly captured Nenjiang Plain alone would not be too much to throw in ten or twenty thousand people.
Today, the agricultural population in Otomari Town is almost all poor farmers recruited from the island countries of Noto, Etchu and Echigo. They are mainly engaged in cattle raising, fishing and farming. Although the work is hard and the climate is cold, the policy of 100 acres of land and ten years of exemption from land tax is very attractive to them; and the civil administration also promised these people that they can be naturalized as long as they work for five years.
Last summer, the Northern Navy Training Department came to the coal mines of Blackstone Town to recruit soldiers. When they learned that joining the overseas corps, in addition to receiving a monthly allowance of 20 silver dollars, they could also return to the mainland for one year of training, many people did not hesitate. They signed up hesitantly; even if the first requirement for joining the army was to cut off their braids, they were willing to risk it as long as they could get out of that hellish place.
Back at the Spanish fortress, after a lot of fuss, all the soldiers' families hid in the church, and the Indian male and female slaves were also driven and locked in the dormitories. The second lieutenant who stayed behind to guard the fortress then sent a lieutenant. Sergeant, led fifteen soldiers to the fort to support.
Even though the name of this place has both "royal" and "fort" in it, it is actually a large courtyard with wooden walls. It can at most prevent attacks by a few Indians and wild beasts, so the fort is become very important.
When these soldiers wearing iron helmets arrived at their destination, a deafening explosion came from the direction of the fort, which frightened the horses under their crotches, causing them to spin in place and stop moving forward. When the soldiers saw a black column of smoke rising in front of them, their expressions changed greatly.
When they came to the fort tremblingly, they saw that half of the earth platform used to set up the cannons had been blown down. Several bronze cannons were scattered on the ground, and seven or eight people, including the lieutenant, all fell in a pool of blood.
Faced with such a tragic scene, the sixteen Spanish soldiers were at a loss. You must know that Spain's main enemy in California today is the Yuma people living in the lower reaches of the Colorado River. In Northern California, it has always been "I am the only one who bullies others, and no one can bully me."
At this time, everyone no longer had the courage to hold on to the fort, and they instinctively thought of their families behind them. If it weren't for the persistence of the leading sergeant, even the few survivors who were still breathing would have been ignored. So when the soldiers of the Overseas Corps rushed to the beach, fired a lot of shots, and threw a few grenades closer, they discovered that the Spaniards had run away.
On board the Thor, Wang Yuanfang, who was responsible for leading the expedition, saw the red flag raised on the fort from the footage returned by the drone, and ordered the landing troops to stay in place through the walkie-talkie, waiting for the arrival of follow-up troops.
The deputy on the side, Lu Qi, put down his telescope, turned around and asked, "Comrade Lao Wang, is Jinshan Mountain far from the sea?"
Wang Yuanfang thought for a moment and replied: "It seems to be more than forty kilometers away from the sea. What is it called Coloma? But I heard Zhao Xin say that gold sand can also be found in the surrounding river beds. The earliest gold diggers This is how I made a fortune."
"Boss Zhao is making money again now. But if he brings back so much gold, will something happen?"
Hearing what Lu Qi said, Wang Yuanfang shook his head slightly and said, "Let's just do our own thing and don't worry about anything else. Of course he has a way."
The main reason why Lu Qi came was that this guy's mentality has changed since he completed the political meeting at the beginning of the year and became a member of the 22-person committee of Beihai Town. He felt that as a key member of the committee, if he always stayed in the steel factory from now on, he would not be able to show his due identity and status at all.
Although the process issues in the converter workshop are also very important, they are still under construction and have not been put into production. Moreover, this position can be replaced by someone else.
Lu Qi thought that he was not good at fighting, so when he got to know the civil affairs and military industry departments of Beihai Town, he found that the position of the boss was all taken, and he could only be a deputy at best. In his mind, he must be like Zhang Bo and become an industrial boss who is in charge of one side.
After thinking and hesitating for several months, when he heard that Zhao Xin was organizing an expedition to the North American continent, he felt that his opportunity had come and volunteered without hesitation.
In fact, as soon as the civil affairs plan to develop the Nenjiang Plain came out after the Mid-Autumn Festival, additional
The gold-swallowing monster at the Iron and Steel Works has caused Beihai Town's current gold output to be insufficient to support massive material purchases, which has made the plan to develop North American gold mines start ahead of schedule. The overseas regiment originally intended to be sent to West Java was also sent over.
Zhao Xinzheng was worried that no one would go to North America to take charge, so he was overjoyed when he heard this. Although this expedition was led by Wang Yuanfang, he was of a temporary nature. After all, he would have to take his wife back to Bacheng as governor next spring, and He Xiwen and Ding Guofeng also needed his military support.
In another time and space, the gold mines in the Coloma area were mined for more than a hundred years until they were forced to close because the costs were too high. A total of 5.8 million ounces of gold were extracted during this period, but geologists estimate that 80% of the gold is still sleeping underground.
The problem is that the Coloma mine is only part of the Northern California goldfields. Historically, during the gold rush from 1848 to 1855, the total output of gold mines in the entire San Francisco area was as high as 12 million ounces, averaging 45 tons per year. At present, among the gold mines in Beihai Town, except for Linggao Jinshan, all other places are weak.
Since West Borneo is currently under the nominal rule of Beihai Town, Zhao Xin can bluntly ask Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie for gold miners, and the latter dare not disagree. Not to mention too much, just come with five thousand people first.
Zhao Xin's plan was to use the gold mining industry to drive Chinese settlers here and quickly occupy the vast area from Alta California to the gold mining areas of western Canada. At that time, whether it is gold sand obtained from the river or ore obtained from mining, all will be purchased by Beihai Town. Anyway, these days, countries are basically still on the silver standard, and there is still a lot of silver in Beihai Town.
Besides, you can also exchange silk and tea for silver with the Spanish Viceroyalty in Mexico, which has always been the largest silver producing area in the world.
Just when the people in the "St. Francis Royal Fortress" felt that a disaster was approaching, a long arrow with a whistle made a sharp whistle, shot out from the bushes dozens of meters away, and landed in the open space inside the fortress.
A Spanish soldier stepped forward to pick it up and saw a note tied to the arrow shaft. When he opened it, he didn't recognize it at all. He hurriedly took the arrow and reported to the only remaining officer in the fortress.
Second Lieutenant Desola took the letter and opened it. He was shocked to find that it was written in English and was a letter of persuasion to surrender. It said they were given two hours and must surrender, otherwise the safety of life and property of everyone in the fortress would not be guaranteed.
"Shameless!" Desola's face turned livid with anger. He thought for a moment and then ordered his men: "Go and call Brother Verez over."
Soon, the abbot of the monastery with a crown-shaped Mediterranean hairstyle ran over. After reading the letter, he was also confused. He thought to himself, what the hell is "Republic of China"?
It is no wonder that many Spaniards in California have almost never been to the East. Their only way to understand the East is through the "Manila Fleet" that traveled between the Philippines and Mexico.
The monk was still digesting the contents of the surrender letter, and Second Lieutenant Desola was carefully studying the one-meter-long whistle arrow. What he was sure of was that it was neither Indian nor Russian or British. It's staggering to think about a bow that can shoot arrows with such long feathers.
"Lieutenant, I want to go out and talk to them. Their letters are written in English. Apart from you, I am the only one here who understands some English."
"I'll send two soldiers to escort you there."
"No, I can go alone."
"Okay, Father. If you insist. But you must be careful. They attack us without any reason. They are coming with bad intentions!"
Half an hour later, Brother Verez, who was wearing a brown cloak and a rope waistband, saw the invaders calling themselves "Republic of China" outside the fort.
He was surprised to find that these people had yellow faces similar to those of the Indians, except that they did not have those weird paintings on their faces, and they had no beards on their cheeks and their hair was cut very short; even the style and style of their clothes. The hat was also very different from anything he had ever seen.
After meeting the leading officer of the other party and introducing his identity, he asked the question he was most concerned about: "Excuse me, who are you?"
? This is the territory of the Kingdom of Spain and belongs to the state of California. For God's sake, why are you launching unprovoked attacks on us? "
The officer standing in front of Brother Verrez was called Li Shi, whose real name was Li Dassuan. He was twenty-two years old this year. Eight years ago, his family of four was bought back from the Kaifeng People's Market by Xu Dayong for twelve ounces of money. They stayed in Xuzhuang for half a year before being sent to Beihai Town. Li Shi attended primary school in Beihai Town for four years, and then went to the Junior Military Academy for two years. After the overseas corps was established, Li Shi, who was already a lieutenant, was transferred over and promoted to one level.
"Chinese! We come from the other side of the sea, the East!" Li Shi said in broken English: "Here, the Borderlands! You are the invaders. What should be said is clearly stated in the letter. Hours later, we must surrender, otherwise we will launch an attack!"
"No, that's not the case! Mr. Officer, I just said it very clearly. I am a Franciscan monk. I was appointed by the bishop of the Diocese of California to spread the gospel of God and bring civilization to this wild land! "
Regarding the issue of these missionaries, Lucci told all the officers and soldiers on the way here. He used the example of the Spanish colonists' conquest of the Americas to show everyone that despite the seemingly benevolent intentions of these people, in fact there was no good thing inside.
Li Shi couldn't think of how to refute in English for a while, so he directly swore: "Bullshit vivilization! You are a group of heartless bastards!"
Seeing the soldiers around him suddenly burst into laughter, Brother Verez guessed that what the other party said must not be something good.
Li Shi pointed at the Thor on the sea and issued an ultimatum: "Have you seen that boat? There are hundreds of soldiers on it. They will come ashore soon. You don't have much time. If you don't surrender, we will directly Fire the cannon and blow up the fortress!"
"Those people are just a bunch of unreasonable demons!"
The dejected Brother Verez returned to the fortress and told Lieutenant Desola what he had seen. When he learned that the enemy came from the other side of the sea, the second lieutenant was completely stunned. He thought to himself that we have no enmity with the Easterners. If they do this, aren't they afraid of the kingdom's revenge?
"This is important information and must be reported to Monterey immediately. If their next step is to attack there, the governor must be prepared in advance."
The Monterey he mentioned was the Spanish capital in California, nestled between mountains and the sea, and more than a hundred miles away.
"Then what conditions did they propose?"
Second Lieutenant Desola pondered for a moment, sighed, and said in a difficult tone: "Father, I know you have invested countless efforts in this monastery, but we only have this few people, and there are many women and children. We continue to fight. It is tantamount to dying in vain. Father, I have to make another trip to tell you that in the name of the fortress commander, we are willing to surrender as long as they can ensure the safety of everyone's lives and property."
When Brother Verez came to the fort for the second time to ask for an audience, he was shocked to find that there were one hundred more sturdy soldiers with weapons. Only then did he realize that Li Shi was not exaggerating.
An hour later, the Royal Fortress of St. Francis opened its gates. Under the vigilance and supervision of hundreds of armed soldiers, all the defenders in the fortress surrendered.
During this period, a Spanish soldier had a quarrel with Chen Yingqi because he was unwilling to hand over a dagger with a precious stone on his waist. After getting Li Shi's signal, Chen Yingqi raised his lever rifle and fired several shots at the opponent's feet, immediately scaring the Spaniards present into a cold sweat.
Second Lieutenant Desola looked at the weapon in the opponent's hand with lingering fear, his eyes full of astonishment, thinking that his decision was really wise!
Neither Wang Yuanfang nor Lu Qi planned to keep the group for dinner, so all the Spaniards were ordered to take their belongings and leave immediately. However, when the monks planned to take away the imprisoned Indians, they were stopped. Although several missionaries protested, the soldiers of the overseas corps completely ignored them. When the monks still wanted to show their shame, they simply fought with them and threw them outside the gate of the fortress.
At this point, Beihai Town's first stronghold on the North American continent was taken, and it also started to expand in the New World.
When the red flag of the Northern Navy was in the fort
After rising, Rucci announced that the place originally called "San Francisco" by the Spanish was renamed "Golden Gate Town", and the adjacent strait was called "Golden Gate Strait".
