1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 212 Reconstruction Project of the Guangzhou Office

In terms of business, He Qiang really admires Schneider, and all kinds of strange ideas emerge in his mind, some business ideas are even much smarter than his own shopkeeper, and he doesn't know where he learned these tricks.He Qiang doesn't know what a "win-win" is, but he understands that if this agreement is reached, it will be of great benefit to both parties.But He Qiang is still a little hesitant about the price to be paid to reach this agreement-Schneider hopes to learn more about the maritime forces in the Fuguang area, and this is beyond the scope of He Qiang's authority.

He Qiang pondered for a moment before opening his mouth and said: "Mr. Shi said that the most favorable treatment is naturally very good, but it is inconvenient for me to reveal too much about what Mr. Shi wants to know. It is better for me to arrange for Mr. Shi and personally talk to you about it." Can the shopkeeper discuss the details?"

Schneider hadn't expected to succeed in one fell swoop, and it was a surprise to get such a breakthrough. Since He Qiang intends to help Schneider arrange an interview, there is no need to be in a hurry.Schneider nodded with a smile and said, "Then trouble Manager He!"

It took more than two hours for the more than 20 laborers brought by He Qiang to finish unloading the cargo on "Sea Training 02".He Qiang's men counted correctly, and they submitted the bill of goods to the supervisors of both parties to sign.After He Qiang signed, he cupped his hands and said goodbye: "What I said earlier, I will send someone to the house to inform Mr. Shi after I report to the shopkeeper to set a time."

After sending away the "Furuifeng" people, they began to unload the goods stationed in Guangban from the ship.After arriving at the pier yesterday evening, everyone's luggage had already been shipped ashore and sent to the Guangzhou Office, and the rest on board were living supplies and some building materials sent from the base camp.And the most important ones are hot water boilers and ceramic sanitary ware.

Because the Guangzhou Office has more staff and the space is more spacious, the hot water boiler ordered by the Guangzhou Office this time is much larger than the one used by the Cliff Office. For this reason, Schneider and He Xi have asked people to dismantle it in advance. The back yard door outside the back cover room was opened so that the thick and long boiler could be transported in, and two vacant rooms were vacated in the back cover room, a smaller one was used as a boiler room, and a larger one was used as a public room Bathhouse use.In order to improve the efficiency of use, men's and women's bathhouses are not differentiated, but are used directly in different time periods.

As for sanitary ware, according to the requirements of the Guangzhou Office, a lot of toilets, squatting toilets and wash basins have been produced, not only enough for personal use, but also some samples for marketing promotion.But the delivery of these things is only the beginning, and the follow-up installation work is the trouble.

It is good for the Guangzhou Office to buy this house, but due to the current living standard is limited, there is no complicated sewage structure in this house. The bathing water and domestic water are okay, they can be directly discharged into the ditch outside, but flush toilets and the like need to be installed If there are no sanitary ware, then only septic tanks can be dug.And this thing definitely can't be placed in the yard. Schneider and He Xi decided to place the septic tank outside the east wall after deliberation for a long time. Cover it with a few wooden boards and let people clean it regularly.

He Xi even thought of building a septic tank into a biogas digester in one step. In the future, the biogas can be used to light fires, which can be used for cooking, heating water, and lighting.However, Schneider believes that the project is too large, and the laying of biogas pipelines is quite troublesome, which is almost equivalent to a complete renovation of the Guangzhou Office.After the opinions were submitted, the executive committee quickly made a decision. Anyway, the money is not short, and the Guangzhou Office can build sanitation facilities according to the specifications of the biogas tank.

In fact, biogas digesters have been put into use as early as the beginning of landing. After the establishment of various communes, biogas digesters have become the main energy used in communal canteens and bathhouses. The relevant construction technologies have been tested in practice, and they are nothing more than infrastructure. The investment is larger, but in the long run, the benefits are far greater than the expenses.Even Heitu Port on the far side of the Beibu Gulf has used biogas digesters as one of its basic energy facilities-although there is no shortage of fuel there, there must be a scientific way to deal with the large amount of human and animal waste, and there is no such thing in the local area. How much arable land can be developed, so building a biogas digester has become the best choice. .

At the beginning, because of the surrounding environment, the Cliff Office did not have the conditions to dig and build facilities such as biogas pools outside the yard, but the Guangzhou Office was not located in a prosperous area. Since the objective conditions allowed, the Executive Committee did not hesitate to burn more Some ceramic pipes, and sent a few trained plasterers to Guangzhou Office to help them build biogas digesters.

However, no matter how much the Executive Committee took care of it, it was impossible for the Guangzhou Office to install a set of sanitary ware in every room of the crossing public—that would really have to dig out the entire yard of the Guangzhou Office and re-lay the sewer pipes.In desperation, this toilet can only be built in a public form.Fortunately, everyone has lived in the base camp for several months, and they have long been accustomed to the existence of various public facilities, so they don't think there is anything wrong with it.

The outside of these ceramic sanitary ware and pipes are densely tied up with extremely thick straw ropes, and it is impossible to see what is inside without opening them.However, it was very troublesome when the boiler was unloaded from the ship. This large iron tank with a diameter of more than one meter and a length of more than two meters was not light. To be on the safe side, two layers of springboards were built to prevent it from breaking under heavy pressure. .A group of laborers tossed and tossed for a while before moving this thing from the deck to the pier.

In addition, there are several large nanmu boxes containing the weapons of the security personnel of the Guangzhou Office.In addition to the new flintlock guns issued by all eight militiamen, there are also four guns, two long and two short, for Xiao Liang and Yu Yao. Of course, these long guns are usually locked in the confidential room, and only when necessary will be taken out.Schneider and He Xi have always been running around the city of Guangzhou with bare hands, without any scruples at all. The two pistols they were issued have been sleeping in the safe of the Guangzhou Office for a long time.However, the newcomers Xiao Liang and Yu Yao were much more vigilant because of their work. Except when they were sleeping, they basically kept their pistols in the holsters under their armpits.

It was already noon when these things were transported back to the Guangzhou Office from the pier. After everyone had a brief lunch, they split up and started the renovation project of the Guangzhou Office.

The renovation of the Guangzhou Office is divided into two parts. The first is the renovation of security facilities, including the renovation and expansion of the back door, anti-theft doors and windows in the confidential room, glass slag on the top of the wall, and the observation point on the roof of the main building, etc.The reason for the reconstruction and expansion of the back door is that in addition to the two rooms that have been designated as bathrooms, the other rooms in the back room will be converted into warehouses for storing goods, and the people in the back room may come in and out frequently, so In addition to expanding the back door to facilitate the entry and exit of goods, it is also necessary to modify the door of the rear cover room to enter and exit the third courtyard, so as to prevent outsiders from mixing into the residences of the crossing people.

The confidential room located in the third entrance courtyard is mainly for storing radio stations, weapons, money and important documents, etc. It can be said to be the core area of ​​the entire Guangzhou Office.In addition to the door of this room itself, all-iron anti-theft doors and windows specially ordered from the base camp will be installed, and two stoneware water tanks filled with clean water will be placed at the door to prevent fires.As for installing glass slag on the wall, there is no technical content. As long as a ladder is built with good cement, a layman can easily complete this work.

The second part is the transformation of living facilities, mainly the construction of public bathhouses, toilets and biogas pits.Compared with security measures, this is the real "big project".After seeing the site, the foreman of the plasterer sent from the base camp said that it would take at least five days for the construction.The difficulty is mainly in the construction of the biogas digester. A pipeline must be laid to lead to the boiler room in the back cover room.In order to make full use of the biogas, everyone temporarily decided to vacate another room next to it as a kitchen, so as to save the effort of laying another pipeline to the existing kitchen.

He Xi had already organized labor to dig the biogas pool outside the wall in advance. Now it is only necessary to apply cement to the bottom of the pool and connect the pipes.But at this time, everyone discovered a new problem—the foundation of the wall was dug extremely deep, and a large part of the wall was still bluestone.But the pond outside the wall had already been dug, and changing the location was also very troublesome, so I had to keep digging down, and when I dug a foot and a half, I finally found soil under the bluestone.

"Look at the quality of the building!" Sha Xi sighed beside him, "Even the foundation of the wall is so deep, the house of the Guangzhou Office is worth buying!"

"It's just a small yard!" Schneider's life before crossing was a luxury for ordinary people, and he was quite disdainful of Shaxi's sigh.

"Small courtyard? The money I saved for several years was enough to buy a kitchen in a big city. Even a small courtyard is a dream for a person like me!" Sha Xi said with emotion: "If I really develop in the future, I want to buy a piece of land and build a yard... Well, of course I have to marry some beautiful wives to go home."

"Don't worry, there will be a house, and so will a daughter-in-law." He Xi patted Sha Xi on the shoulder and comforted him: "In the future, these places will be ours. If you are willing to do it, you can build a real estate by yourself like Mr. Tao. The company is fine too!"

That night, "Fu Ruifeng" sent someone over, and spread the word that shopkeeper Li Da would invite Schneider to the house tomorrow.Schneider knew that the other party was probably moved by the conditions he offered, so he agreed first, and after the visitor left, Schneider called He Xi, Xiao Liang and Yu Yao to his room, and talked with He Qiang today. Talk about the discussion.

Inquiring into the distribution of maritime forces along the southeast coast is one of the important tasks assigned by the Executive Committee to the Guangzhou Office.This task is completely different from other business promotion, material procurement, organization of immigration, etc., because the personnel of the Guangzhou Office can hardly have direct contact with those pirate gangs, and the Guangzhou Office does not have its own ships that can conduct investigations in the southeast coastal areas. It is extremely difficult to find relevant information.And "Fu Ruifeng" is currently the most likely channel for the Guangzhou Office to obtain intelligence information. Schneider still needs more advice from professionals from the Military and Police Department on how to make good use of this rare opportunity.

After listening to Schneider's narration, He Xi pondered for a while before asking, "Then what are you uncertain about now?"

Schneider said: "I am very clear about the general direction. The Executive Committee must aim to attack hostile forces and control the coastal areas. But what kind of goals your military and police departments want to achieve through this kind of intelligence collection, I don't know yet. Too clear. For example, what kind of information do we need to master, how detailed is the information to be useful, and what is our next goal after mastering this information? For this reason, we should ask 'Fu Ruifeng' What kind of request. I must clearly know what we want to achieve before I can find a way to bargain with Li Jifeng."

He Xi nodded and said: "I understand. Let's put it this way, the Military and Police Department's military expansion plan for the southeast coast is not carried out independently, but will be gradually promoted along with commercial activities. We can't talk about being on the sea right now. What kind of armed force, so it is unlikely to use military means to expand northward, so it is still necessary to collect information first, and establish contact with other maritime forces if possible. As for the details of intelligence, at present we only need to know the general information of these forces The distribution of activity areas, scale and their style of doing things are enough, of course, it would be better if they can be more detailed.”

"In other words, our main focus now is still on trade promotion, and by the way, collecting military intelligence?" Schneider asked rhetorically.

"That's right. Mr. Shi, you can concentrate on your best marketing, and intelligence will come out naturally. No matter how big or small these pirates are, they don't exist independently of the mainland. Except for a few large Outside of the power of China, the vast majority of pirate gangs are not engaged in production. All supplies must be purchased from the mainland, and they have no sales channels. The goods they rob and the hostages they kidnap must go through a middleman Cash and supplies." He Xi paused for a moment, and said with a more emphatic tone: "These businessmen who partner with pirates to do business are definitely money-hungry guys, as long as they are driven by enough interests, they will sell everything, including the ones they once had. partners!"

"That makes sense." Schneider nodded repeatedly when he heard it: "As long as there are economic activities, there must be traces to follow. The ship 'Fu Ruifeng' can travel between Fujian and Guangdong all year round without incident. Ninety percent of it is because they have some secret relationship with the pirate group, maybe we can get a lot of inside information from them."

"I would like to add something about the strategic goals of the Military and Police Department on the southeast coast." Xiao Liang signaled that he had something to say.

"Currently, we have neither shipping capacity nor sales channels for the coastal areas east of Hong Kong, so our ships will not appear there in the near future, let alone take any military measures. Therefore, the initial goal of the Military and Police Department is to Control the waters of the Pearl River estuary.” Xiao Liang turned on the computer and called up the map of the Pearl River estuary for display: “The ships coming out of the Pearl River are going to the direction of Fujian. Generally speaking, they pass through the strait north of Lantau Island. Ma Wan, Victoria Harbour, Tseung Kwan O, and the route from Fotangmen. There are many Ming army water fortresses from Lantau Island to Fotangmen, and it is unlikely that we will use military means to directly occupy positions in this area.”

"And there are Portuguese in the waters near Macau to the west of Lantau Island, and it will be difficult for us to get involved for a while, so there are not many choices left for us." Xiao Liang drew a circle on the map: "Wan The Wanshan Islands are very close to the Pearl River Estuary, Hong Kong, and Macau, and there are no Ming Dynasty garrisons, so if we set up a small-scale military base in the Wanshan Islands, it is unlikely to cause hostility from the local government in Guangzhou."

Schneider frowned and said: "If the scale is too small, is it meaningful to set up a stronghold? Besides, we don't have warships now, so what's the use of putting some soldiers on a small island far away."

Before Xiao Liang could answer, Yu Yao rushed to answer: "How could it be useless? These garrisons can disguise themselves as fishermen of the Ming Dynasty, conduct long-term surveillance on the traffic between Macau and Hong Kong, and collect information about the sea conditions in this area." Prepare for the future naval stationing. Fighting a war is not something that can be fought immediately. It may take five, ten or even more years before we start to really attack the mainland, but the preparations have actually started before crossing Yes. The various military materials, military maps, and those of us who have served as soldiers are all preparing for this goal. The continuous establishment of military strongholds in coastal areas is also one of the pre-war preparations! "

"These preparatory work may never be effective until the day when the war breaks out, but what should be done must be done after all." Xiao Liang took the conversation, pointing to an inconspicuous island in the Wanshan Archipelago Said: "This is Baili Island. Perhaps Mr. Shi has never heard of the existence of this island, but this place has always been the largest military base in the Pearl River Estuary. In order to defend the Pearl River Estuary, the Republic of later generations completely gutted this island. Empty, the island has a hidden dock that can prevent atomic bombs, a large granary that can feed hundreds of thousands of people for several years, an arsenal, an oil depot, and a variety of facilities. You can imagine how many people spent on the construction of this place. The painstaking efforts, how much manpower, material and financial resources, but all this is for a war that never broke out. It didn’t really play a role until this place was opened as a tourist area at the end of the 10th century, but no one can say that it exists It is meaningless. The preparations for war often have effects that cannot be seen in front of the eyes."

Schneider said in astonishment: "I have been to Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau many times, and I never knew that there is a military base so close...a small island that has been hollowed out...I really should find time to visit that place before crossing over. Check it out!"

"There is a chance, the next time you go back to the base camp, you should pass by there, and you can ask the boat to stop there." Xiao Liang said with a smile.

Schneider shrugged and said, "What I want to see is Baili Island after the military fortress is built. Now this deserted island is nothing to see."

(End of this chapter)