Chapter 593 The Mission’s Visit

The development model of Shibazhi is actually somewhat similar to that of Haihan. They both occupied overseas islands and established strongholds, made a fortune through maritime trade, and expanded commerce and military simultaneously. However, Shibazhi is not in the hands of time travellers.

The black technology cannot obtain huge commercial profits through its own production, so in order to expand rapidly, it can only use force to plunder.

When the wind is favorable, this method will naturally bring in money quickly. In the original time and space, Zheng Zhilong even relied on this method to defeat the Fujian Ming Army, and finally went ashore to clear his name. But in this time and space, after the Haihan time traveler intervened in the Fujian battle, the Eighteenth

Zhi's piracy methods were no longer able to achieve good results, and they also suffered losses every time they attacked Zhangzhou and Quanzhou. Although their little fortune was not completely lost, they were indeed in a state of being unable to succeed.

On the other hand, Xu Xinsu's sea trade business has been better protected after consecutive battles and victories. The annual increase in revenue is enough for him to arm an army of modern hot weapons with strong combat capabilities, and he still has the ability to go to sea.

Han's ordering of higher-end and more expensive weapons and equipment can be said to have embarked on a virtuous cycle of development. Even if Haihan does not increase support, the balance of victory will gradually tilt towards Xu Xinsu's side over time. Maybe two or three

Years later, Xu Xinsu will be able to wipe out the Shibazhi pirates entrenched in Penghu and Taiwan Island with her own strength. This time point is basically consistent with Haihan's expected naval development speed, and the strength will be even stronger than now.

The Haihan Navy will also move north to take over Shibazhi's strongholds in Penghu and Taiwan, and use them as bases to extend Haihan's sphere of influence to Northeast Asia.

But the existence of the Dutch is obviously an unpredictable variable. The Executive Committee and the military have treated the Dutch as a hostile force from the beginning, and all preparations are based on the possibility of armed conflict in the future. Compared with the past

As Shibazhi began to decline, the Dutch entrenched on the island of Taiwan seemed to pose a greater threat to Haihan. This time Shibazhi took the initiative to ask for peace talks, and the Dutch seemed to be disappearing and appearing behind it.

"One of the purposes of our fleet is to let Xu Xinsu take a good look at who is stronger between us and the Dutch, and which thigh he should choose to hold on to," Ning Qi said proudly.

Haihan's construction of the "Dignity Class" large battleship is not a secret to the Fujian military. As early as the construction period, the news was spread back through various news channels by Fujian students studying at the Shengli Port Military Academy. And Haihan

He did not deliberately block relevant information, and even invited representatives of the Fujian military to attend the ceremony for the commissioning of the "Dignity-class" battleship at the end of 1629. The last time Xu Xinsu visited Guangzhou, she also proposed that she would like to see the legendary

Haihan's main battleship had dozens of cannons, but at that time the two "Dignity-class" battleships were performing blockade missions in the Qiongzhou Strait, and there was no time to specially sail to the Pearl River Estuary to make Xu Xinsu's eyes open.

As part of the plan for this visit to Fujian, Xu Xinsu was invited to board the ship for a visit. If the conditions were suitable, Xu Xinsu might also be arranged to take a trip to the sea to let Xu Xinsu experience the terrifying power of steam-powered propulsion.

Regarding Xu Xinsu, the information Malik could provide to the mission was relatively limited, but the sailors he had found for the fleet in advance who were familiar with the sea conditions along the coast of Fujian came in handy. Although Haihan had a large number of

Satellite map data, but the time difference is hundreds of years, and the topography of many coastal areas is still very different from that of later generations, especially the ocean current conditions under the water surface and the distribution of reefs. These require experienced sailors who are familiar with sea conditions.

Know.

The people under Xu Xinsu obviously took this into consideration. Dong Yanyun also specially sent four boatmen to Zhennan Port to take orders and then set off with the fleet to Fujian.

The mission fleet only rested for one night in Zhennan Port. After completing the supply of supplies and food, they left the place the next day and continued eastward.

Going east from Hong Kong Island, you reach the boundary of Huizhou Prefecture, and then after passing Chaozhou Prefecture to the east, you enter the coast of Fujian. The Ming Dynasty also originally arranged many guard posts on this coastline, such as Pinghai Post and Jiesheng Post.

, Jiazimen Station, Jinghai Station, Haimen Station, Jieshi Guard, etc. It’s just that the troops stationed in these guard stations are basically army personnel and cannot effectively defend the sea frontier. This is why pirates were rampant in the past few years.

However, the mission fleet did not want to show off during the journey, so the route was always kept at a position more than ten or twenty nautical miles away from the coast. It did not stop at ports along the way and sailed directly to Fujian.

"Ahead is Nan'ao Island. After passing Nan'ao Island, we will reach Fujian." Shi Diwen was taking navigation notes while introducing the itinerary to Ning Qi. When leaving Hong Kong, Ning Qi had already moved from the "Lightning"

Arrive at the "Prestige Signal" and coordinate with Shi Diwen to command the fleet.

The fleet was not in a hurry, so the nearly 200-mile journey from Hong Kong Island to Nan'ao Island in Chaozhou Prefecture took almost two days to arrive. However, this speed is relatively fast compared to the Chinese sailing ships of the same era.

Soon.

Nan'ao Island is located in the sea at the junction of Guangdong and Fujian provinces, less than 20 nautical miles from Chaozhou Prefecture and less than 100 nautical miles from Zhangzhou, Fujian. It has an excellent geographical location and has been a transit point for trade along the southeastern coast since ancient times. In the third year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty, it also

It was in 1575, more than 50 years ago, that the Ministry of War of the Ming Dynasty set up the post of deputy commander-in-chief of Nan'ao here, that is, "deputy commander-in-chief stationed in Nan'ao to assist Zhangchao and other departments", and also divided the camps into two camps: Guangdong and Fujian.

In other words, during the Ming Dynasty, Nan'ao Island was a public area jointly managed by Guangdong and Fujian provinces.

There are many harbors on Nan'ao Island that are suitable for the construction of deep-water ports, so they are also one of the targets coveted by the military. However, there are always Ming troops stationed on this island, and it is too far from the Haihan controlled area. They want to capture it.

There are many objective difficulties, at least at this stage it is still impossible to implement. Therefore, Shi Diwen could only look at this big island through the telescope and drool.

After passing Nan'ao Island, you can already see Dongshan Island in front of you through the telescope. This butterfly-shaped island is the second largest island in Fujian and is currently under the jurisdiction of Zhao'an County, Fujian. Once you get here, you have entered the territory of Fujian.

"Xu Xinsu's attitude is quite correct. He sent someone to greet us." Not long after, Ning Qi also saw through the telescope several sailboats docked on the sea outside Dongshan Island. The first one was a big fortune ship, which was about 100 meters tall.

It is larger than Haihan's "exploration-class" sailboat, and is close to the appearance of an "exploration-class". The tonnage is at least four to five hundred tons, which is definitely excessive by the standards of civilian ships.

Of course, with Xu Xinsu's status in Fujian, no one would hold him responsible even if his ship was twice as big. There was a big flag on the mainmast, and a five-foot-square Xu character was floating in the sea breeze.

When spread out, it is very eye-catching.

"This ship is not bad! It seems that the shipbuilding industry in Fujian is indeed quite developed." Although Shi Diwen is not a shipbuilding professional, he has also been sailing for many years and knows much more about ships than Ning Qi, a stranger.

The focus of attention is naturally on the ships.

When Shi Diwen was admiring, the people on the lucky boat opposite were really surprised. This time, the person sent to Dongshan Island to greet the Haihan mission fleet was Xu Xinsu's fourth son, Xu Yuzhuo, who served in the Fujian Navy.

As a staff general, he went to the Victory Port Military Academy for four months of military training in his early days, and he met some people in the market. A few days ago, he sent a letter back from Guangdong, saying that Haihan sent a mission and fleet to visit Fujian, and

There will be the latest Haihan giant ship accompanying them. Xu Xinsu did not dare to be disrespectful, so he naturally arranged for the fleet to come out to meet him at sea. When the Haihan fleet arrived here, they had been waiting for nearly a day.

However, because the military's actions are too easy to attract attention, Xu Xinsu did not arrange for a warship to participate in the reception this time. For this purpose, a large fortune ship was specially mobilized to show off, so that the two sides would not lose momentum when they met. But Xu Yuzhuo suddenly discovered that with the other party

Compared with the huge warship in the fleet, the ship he was on was just a tiny thing.

“I used to see the big iron ships of the Haihan people in Victory Port, and I thought those things were just decorations, things made by the Haihan people to scare people. But now it seems that it’s not that the Haihan people can’t build big iron ships, but that they are really like them.

As you said, the time has not yet come!" Looking at the Haihan battleship approaching slowly, Xu Yuzhuo couldn't help but sigh.

On the undulating sea, the ships of both sides naturally cannot get close to each other. What's more, the hull of the "Weixiang" is much higher than Xu Yuzhuo's ship, so approaching rashly will lead to the risk of collision.

Xu Yuzhuo didn't have any arrogance, so he immediately ordered people to put down the boat and changed boats to go over.

After a while, Xu Yuzhuo climbed up the "Prestige Signal" along the lowered gangway with awe. He was born in a maritime business family and now serves in the navy. Naturally, he has a good understanding of ships. This "Prestige Signal"

The size of the ship is so huge that even if he cannot see the structure inside the ship, he can still imagine that the difficulty of building this large ship is beyond the ability of Fujian shipwrights. Moreover, the sail rope system of this ship is also unique to Haihan.

It has a completely different appearance and operation method from the Chinese sailboats we usually see.

What made Xu Yuzhuo feel a little relieved was that he happened to recognize the two leaders of the Haihan Mission this time. When he was training at the Shengli Port Military Academy, both Ning Qi and Shi Diwen happened to be teachers. Ning

Qi teaches Haihan culture class, while Shi Diwen teaches weapons maintenance and repair. Xu Yuzhuo has to call them teachers.

Xu Yuzhuo stayed in Shengli Port for a while, and he also knew that the Haihan people did not like the ceremony of kneeling and worshiping even between masters and disciples. He bowed deeply and said: "Student Xu Yuzhuo, I have met Teacher Ning and Teacher Shi!"

"Oh, it's you!" Ning Qi saw that his acquaintance was also relaxed a lot, so he couldn't help but joke: "Your father sent you out to receive us. It seems that you are very valued at home.

!”

Xu Yuzhuo said with shame: "Teacher Ning, please stop making fun of me."

The three of them chatted for a while, and Xu Yuzhuo ordered others to present some gifts before returning to his ship in the boat.

"Is this considered playing the family card?" Shi Diwen asked with a smile.

Ning Qi shook his head and said, "I think it's unlikely. After all, when we notified the Fujian authorities, we didn't report our names to you."

Haihan consciously concealed the candidates for the mission's chief and deputy posts temporarily, just to prevent Fujian from making targeted preparations in advance. But it was such a coincidence that the envoy sent by Xu Xinsu recognized them. Of course, it is also possible that Xu Xinsu tried his luck.

After all, Xu Yuzhuo spent some time in Sanya and knew a lot of Haihan people. It was indeed easy to mislead acquaintances.

"No matter what, we still have to talk to the real owner when we get there." Ning Qi quickly returned to a serious state from the previous relaxation: "Their ship has moved, let's follow it."

The voyage from Dongshan Island to Zhangzhou is still about a hundred nautical miles. Since the speed of the pilot ship is relatively slow, the Haihan Mission accordingly slowed down and followed slowly. From early morning, they walked

As the sky turned dark, we finally saw Jiahe Island, where Zhongzuo was located in front of us.

"We've arrived in Xiamen!" Ning Qi's face was a bit complicated. He had also been to Xiamen before traveling through the time, and also traveled to Gulangyu Island. However, the brightly lit Xiamen in his impression was completely different from the dark island in front of him. Again

When I arrived at Xiamen Island, I felt like I was in another world.

"Their ship has given a signal and is about to dock here." Shi Diwen has never been to Xiamen, and he doesn't have as many literary and artistic feelings as Ning Qi. He has been paying attention to the signal of the pilot ship. He has never been to this sea area.

It was his first visit, and he was indeed very unfamiliar. He had to write down all the routes and port conditions in person. These were first-hand information that was difficult for the Security Department to collect.

Ning Qi nodded and said: "If you go to Zhangzhou to enter the river, it will definitely not be convenient so late at night. I guess you have to arrange to rest here for a day or two first. When I came to Xiamen before, I also saw Zhongzuo Suo City

ruins, but they were rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. This time we can see the original appearance of Zhongzuosuo City in the Ming Dynasty."

According to historical records, in the 20th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhou De, the Marquis of Jiangxia, built Zhongzuosuo City, which formed an angle with Kinmen City, Gaopu City, Yongning Acropolis, and Zhenhai Acropolis, and became an important coastal defense area along the coast of Fujian. Yongle Ten

In the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Zhongzuosuo, a moon city was built outside the city, and the city wall was raised to two feet and two feet. In the eighth year of Zhengtong in the Ming Dynasty, four more watchtowers were built. In the twentieth year of Wanli, the Fujian South Road generals moved their headquarters here.

In the fourth year of Longqing's reign, twenty more sentry ships were added here, and the garrison became an amphibious force.
Chapter completed!