1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 123 Preparations for Base Camp
After disembarking, the expedition team members were surrounded by crowds and returned to Base No. 20. After a brief welcome meal, the exhausted team members went back to their barracks to rest.After the executive committee learned that the expedition team had sailed for more than [-] hours and came back, the team members were allowed to catch up on a few hours of sleepiness, and then report on the expedition after recovering their spirits at night.Of course, before that, the expedition team had handed over the port area map and route chart to the Executive Committee, so that they could start preparations immediately in cooperation with relevant departments. Complicated engineering projects such as port area construction have to be done. Planning and designing a construction plan is not something that can be done in a day and a half.

During the nine days of the inspection team's trip, the relevant departments have not been idle, and the preparations for the overseas mining of the entire Traversing Group have not stopped for a single day.

The first to bear the brunt is the metallurgical workshop. In addition to completing the daily pig iron smelting tasks, they also undertake metal processing.Overseas mining will require a lot of iron tools. The entire workshop has been producing various tools such as shovels, hoes, and hammers these days.In order to ensure sufficient supply for mining operations, the Crossing Group even suspended the export of ironware to Li District and Yazhou.

The second steam engine has also entered the stage of assembly and commissioning.With the manufacturing and use experience of the first test machine, a lot of technical improvements have been made in the manufacturing process of the second steam engine. The technical team hopes that this steam engine can run continuously for 72 hours without failure in actual use. Level.This requirement seems to be very low, but considering the current level of production technology and processing precision, it is not easy for the technical team to achieve this level.Only after the large-scale electric drive and equipment are installed in place, the processing accuracy of some important parts can be qualitatively improved, and the actual efficiency of the steam engine will have a big leap.As for the many long-awaited steam trains and steam sailboats, I am afraid that we will have to wait until the time travel group has the ability to smelt steel on a large scale.

In addition to the production of tools, the production of weapons is also a key project during this period.At present, after repeated trials and improvements in the early stage, the 27-type matchlock gun has begun mass production. Of course, this so-called mass production is only relative to the production efficiency of the current era. It can only reach the level of 120 to 150 per month.Technically more advanced flintlock guns have also been trial-produced. The difficulty in manufacturing is still stuck in the material. If you want to increase the power of the firearm, the current pig iron barrel has little potential to be tapped. To meet the requirements, stronger steel was needed, and now the Crossing Group simply didn't have enough steel reserves to supply to the military industry for mass production.

In terms of artillery, the 6-pound army gun has basically been finalized, and the sea gun has also begun to be shipped for sea trials.It is worth mentioning that in the process of trial production of matches by the Ministry of Chemical Industry, potassium chlorate needed for the evolution of artillery has been produced by the way. This is an important material for making artillery fire tubes. Impatient.With the fire tube, there is no need to use priming powder and open flames to launch the artillery. This not only greatly increases the safety of the artillery crew during firing, but also solves the problem of low success rate of artillery firing in rainy days.

Regarding the strength of the armed defense force required for overseas sub-mines and whether large-scale firearms need to be equipped, the Executive Committee and the Military and Police Department have held many discussions, but there has been no final conclusion.On the one hand, this is because the final location of the port area has not been determined, and the armed forces required for defense cannot be calculated; on the other hand, it is because there are still ongoing debates among the crossing people about what kind of armed force structure should be established in overseas bases. endlessly.

Some people think that the current training time for naturalized militia soldiers is still very limited, and both their technical and tactical level and their ideological transformation work are only in their infancy, and they are not suitable for sending large numbers of soldiers overseas.Even if a certain number of security forces are needed in the local area, the number of naturalized militiamen should not exceed the number of cross-travelers.

However, the opinion of the Military and Police Department is that naturalized civilian soldiers should mainly form the main body of the armed forces stationed abroad, while the traversers should only send a small number of command personnel.As for the configuration of firearms, the Military and Police Department believes that since the training of matchlock guns and gunners has already started in the recruit camp, these people should be put into actual combat as soon as possible. The sooner they master the fighting skills of the firearms era, the better.Of course, stationed in Hongji Coal Mine may not be able to encounter any battles, but this kind of overseas stationing experience is undoubtedly a good training for soldiers.

In fact, the Military and Police Department is not just talking about it. After obtaining the approval of the Executive Committee, the preparatory work has already started before the expedition team departs.The second batch of 110 naturalized civilian army and police trainees entered the new barracks half a month ago. Like the first batch of trainees, these recruits mainly came from the three communes under the jurisdiction of the Executive Committee.After a period of intensive training, they will be added to the local security and defense forces to make up for the manpower gap caused by the transfer of armed personnel to station overseas.

And the first batch of local security guards and soldiers who have received more than a month of training time will be transferred to station overseas.In addition to the salary increase, these personnel stationed abroad will have the opportunity to be promoted after completing their overseas service period. It is very likely that the first batch of grassroots officers of the naturalized civilian army will be among these people.The news that Time Travel Group will establish an overseas base has been semi-public, and the basic treatment of expatriates has also been spread in private. For this kind of opportunity, anyone with a little brain knows how to choose.According to the internal survey conducted by the Military and Police Department, the enthusiasm of naturalized civilian soldiers to sign up is very high. After all, the temptation of double salary and early promotion is still quite strong.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that more than 40 local teenagers under the age of 16 were selected into the newly established scout battalion. These teenagers were all recommended by the culture and education system in charge of Ning Qi.The selection criteria of the relevant departments are very simple and rude. Poor academic performance, slow learning progress, fondness for trouble and violent tendencies are all the reasons for being selected for the scout camp.These bear children will receive semi-military training in the scout camp until they are 16 years old, at which time most of them will join the military and police system to serve.

With regard to the most urgent capacity issue of the executive committee at present, it seems that the dawn of hope has also been seen.Just the day before the expedition team returned, He Xi, who went to Qiongzhou Fucheng alone to inquire about the situation, had already returned to Shengli Port on the "Anfuxing" boat, and returned with him were a 47-material blessing boat and [-] tow boats. A sailor with a mouth at home.

Relying on the introduction of "An Fu Xing", He Xi got to know a lot of sea merchants who traveled between Qiong and Lei in Qiongzhou Fucheng. Fortunately, he met a merchant who was going to sell the ship and return to the north, and the price was 800 in the end. The two bought the ship, which was in fairly good condition, and recruited a group of impoverished sailors in Qiongzhou Fucheng to bring it back with them.As for the sellers of sea-going ships, there are still some, but the tonnage of these ships for sale is too small to meet the requirements of the Executive Committee for this route to be able to run more quickly.

But this didn't bother He Xi, he quickly thought of a compromise.At a price of 200 taels of silver per month, He Xi searched the market for large merchant ships willing to accept employment.This price immediately caused repercussions among the sea merchants, and soon several sea merchants took the initiative to contact He Xi to discuss employment matters.For these shrewd sea merchants, instead of selling the ship to this wealthy "Sea Han" at a price, it would be more profitable to rent the ship to him for a long time.So He Xi had already negotiated the lease of the three large ships before returning, but these ships were not empty at the time, and he had to go to Xu Wen across the Qiongzhou Strait before he could go to Shengli Port for dispatch.Of course, during the lease period of the boat, the salaries and expenses of all the sailors and boatmen on board will also be borne by the Transit Group.

In addition, He Xi also placed an order for two 200 taels of silver at the only shipyard in Qiongzhou Prefecture, with a total of 600 taels of silver. However, only a deposit of [-] taels has been given so far. Probably have to wait until the end of the year.Of course, He Xi would not pay this money in vain. Relying on the condition of three times the salary in the shipyard, he quickly persuaded several experienced old shipwrights to go south with him, and completed a trip at a very small price. Successful poaching.

These expenses seem to be a lot, but the executive committee is not worried about the financial burden.Several sets of glass stationery samples taken by the "An Fu Hang" last time were snapped up by dignitaries from all walks of life on the day they were exhibited at the Qiongzhou head office, and it is said that at least two sets have been sent to the official residence of the magistrate, which caused a lot of trouble. It is only a matter of time before the fashion trend in the market.When sending He Xi back to Shengli Harbor this time, the shopkeeper Zhang of "An Fu Hong" immediately ordered a full two hundred sets, and said that "An Fu Hong" and Haihan can fully use "negotiable coupons" for account settlement.This means that in the future, "Anfuhang" in Qiongzhou Fucheng or other places can directly purchase goods with circulation coupons.Of course, this kind of treatment is also based on Schneider’s commitment to adopt an unlimited exchange policy for "Anfuhang"-Anfuhang can exchange for full silver with negotiable notes at Victory Port at any time without any restrictions.

The Ministry of Commerce is very confident that with the continuous enrichment of product categories and the rapid progress of product technology, even the income from foreign trade of glass products will be enough to offset all current commercial expenditures including the purchase of raw materials, and achieve trade surplus.

(End of this chapter)