1627 Rise of the South China Sea

Chapter 3173
At dawn, dots of lights suddenly appeared on the distant river, and then became more and more dense, as if a large group of fireflies were flying in the air.

Those lights were wind lanterns hung from the masts to mark the position of the ships during night sailings so as to maintain a consistent course and speed.

This seemed to be a shot in the arm for the people who had been waiting by the Qiantang River for a long time. They cheered up and arranged their clothes again to prepare for the arrival of the distinguished guests.

The boat fleet of the executive committee hurried this night, and finally arrived outside Hangzhou at dawn.

When the huge figure of the Zhoushan came into view of the onlookers on the shore, many people couldn't help sighing.

In the eyes of most people, a Fuchuan with a displacement of [-] to [-] tons is considered a big ship on the Qiantang River.The Zhoushan, which has a tonnage ten times larger than this, is probably a super ship that many people have never seen in their lives, and it has even exceeded their level of cognition and imagination.

Some old masters even tremblingly sighed that even the treasure ships built by Zheng He, the eunuch of the Three Treasures more than 200 years ago, may not have such a huge size.With such a mighty giant ship in the Haihan army, it is not only about showing its might in the South China Sea, but even calming the whole world is just around the corner.

And the huge fleet that accompanied the Zhoushan to Hangzhou stretched for more than ten miles on the river, and the scale was breathtaking.The people watching on the river bank finally understood why the government had to clear the docks near the mouth of the canal ahead of time.

After the fleet docked for the first time, the first ones to land were not the senior officials of the executive committee who came from afar, but the armed forces serving as escort missions.

This is the security battalion that came from Sanya along with the Executive Committee, and its duty is to provide the strictest personal protection for the members of the Executive Committee.No matter what security measures the East China Sea Region has deployed, they must fulfill their duties and provide the last layer of protection for the personal safety of the Executive Committee.

After the security battalion confirmed the safety of the surrounding environment, the gangway already prepared on the pier was allowed to be pushed to the side of the Zhoushan and docked with the side of the ship.

Then under the gaze of the public, Shi Diwen, the consul of Donghai Region, was the first to appear on the gangway.

In recent years, Shi Diwen has spent almost half of his time in Hangzhou, and he has often appeared in public, so most of the people must recognize his appearance. When he shows up, even if someone takes the lead in cheering.

After Shi Diwen waved to the people on the shore, he slowly walked down the gangway.Tao Donglai and the others followed, getting off the boat one by one and landing on the shore.

As the host, Shi Diwen introduced to Tao Donglai and others the local officials and civil representatives who had been waiting here for a long time, as well as the envoys stationed in Hangzhou from various countries.

"Old Tao, this is the president of the Yangzhou Salt Chamber of Commerce, Dai Yingda."

After listening to Shi Diwen's introduction, Tao Donglai stretched out his hand and said in his mouth, "I have admired you for a long time."

Dai Yingda hastily stretched out his hands, bowed and shook Tao Donglai, and replied in a trembling voice: "It's really a good fortune for the villain to see all the adults today!"

Tao Donglai said: "I heard that Boss Dai has contributed a lot to the construction of the East China Sea Region. When time is free, I would like to invite you to tell us about the situation here."

Hearing this, Dai Yingda bowed even lower: "The villain is always at your disposal."

Since Shi Diwen had already greeted him before, Tao Donglai didn't care about giving him face.And Tao Donglai really wanted to know what drove the Yangzhou salt merchants to spend so much money.

After completing a simple interview on the pier, everyone boarded the prepared carriage, and under the escort of the cavalry, they headed for Hangzhou City several miles away.

"This is the most prosperous place in the East China Sea? Why doesn't it look like a city?"

After Thomas got off the boat, he asked Simao a little puzzled.As far as the eye can see, there are only rows of warehouses and a few private houses. Is this place the new capital chosen by Haihan?

Simao explained: "Master Thomas, this is just a pier outside the city of Hangzhou. Please look to the west. The place with lights in the distance is the city of Hangzhou!"

Thomas looked west as he pointed, and sure enough, he could see the faint image of the city outline in the distance.The city wall extends along the north-south direction and gradually merges with the horizon.

The official road leading from the mouth of the canal to Hangzhou City has been renovated once after Haihan took over Hangzhou, and the damaged road surface was repaired last month, and the road condition is now in the best condition.

Tao Donglai and Shi Diwen were in the same car, and they raised their arms and waved lightly from time to time, waving to the onlookers on both sides of the road.

Tao Donglai asked nonchalantly, "How is the progress of arresting the assassin here in Hangzhou?"

Shi Diwen said: "According to the situation reported by the Military Intelligence Bureau, everything is under control, so there is no need to worry about safety issues."

Seeing that he didn't want to go into details, Tao Donglai said, "Hangzhou is your territory, if you have any questions, you will be the only one to ask the executive committee!"

Shi Diwen smiled and said: "Old Tao, the elites of the Ministry of Security and the Military Intelligence Bureau are all in the city of Hangzhou. There are also more than 2000 policemen, more than 2000 city defense troops, and an armed force from the Seventh Army Division. There are so many people. Layer fortification, what else can go wrong?"

At the same time, in Hangzhou, there are people who are not as optimistic as Shi Diwen.

Gong Shiqi frowned, staring at the city defense map on the table in front of him.He stayed up all night, coordinating and directing various departments to track down the assassin, and his eyes were bloodshot at this time.

If it wasn't for the uninterrupted supply of ginseng tea and refreshing medicine this night, given his current age and physical condition, he might not be able to hold on long ago.

But how could Gong Shiqi dare to close his eyes and rest at this moment?According to the information currently available, there are at least three teams of assassins in the city that have not yet been discovered, and there may be more than ten standard rifles in the city.

A whole night's search failed to find these guys. Seeing that dawn is approaching and the executive committee will soon arrive in Hangzhou City, how can he feel at ease?
Thinking that these guys might have already made preparations somewhere, waiting for the Executive Committee to enter the city before carrying out their assassination, Gong Shiqi couldn't help but feel very anxious.

If I had known that the matter was so serious, I should not have waited to go with the fleet of the executive committee after receiving the order in Sanya that day, but went to the navy to dispatch the fastest scout boat to Hangzhou. At least it would take four or five days longer Time will be enough to solve the trouble in front of me.

But now I have only one or two hours left for myself to solve the case and arrest people. If something goes wrong with the executive committee later, my old life is not enough to atone for the crime.

When Gong Shiqi was restless, his subordinates had already brought the latest news: "The fleet of the executive committee has arrived at the mouth of the canal outside the city."

Hearing this, Gong Shiqi got up and pushed open the door to go outside. On the faintly visible Qiantang River in the distance, there was indeed a fleet of ships slowly docking.And the position he was in right now was the Qingchun Gate tower that the executive committee and his party would pass through later when they entered the city.

(End of this chapter)