1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 531 Development of Annan Territory

January 1645, 1, Indochina Peninsula, Nanping Fort (now Cam Ranh, Vietnam)
Nanping Fort, although it is a Zhenfu Fort establishment, has a population comparable to that of a county in Hanzhou. The population has remained at the level of 6000 to [-] since last year.During the immigration season in January this year, the population increased to over [-].Of course, for the Qi government, which has always implemented strong stems and weak branches, it is unacceptable that the overseas territories have too many populations, and I am worried that it will become a big trend in the future.

But who made Qi's immigrant ships not enough!
Although after several years of expansion of transportation capacity, there are now as many as 36 ships used for immigration, including nine special immigration ships. In theory, 8000 immigrants can be transported at one time. Returning against the wind, you can also make an extra trip, and you can get an immigration scale of more than 3 people.

However, not all ships in Qi State can only be dedicated to immigration affairs, and some ships may be "not doing business properly". For example, four professional warships and one armed merchant ship were left near Shandong to cooperate with Denglai The prince's power consolidated Denglai, managed Shandong, and even waited for an opportunity to sneak attack Jiannu's lair in Liaodong.

In the vicinity of Annan, Qi Dajiang, the commander of the North Sea Fleet, was actively organizing ships to transfer immigrants. He received a message from the Zheng family in the north of Annan. unknown.In order to ensure the safety of Nanping Fort, Lin'an Fort (now Vung Tau City on the southeast coast of Vietnam) and Xinsheng Island, four professional warships and two armed merchant ships had to be stationed at Nanping Fort to deal with potential risks.

Although, Qi Dajiang does not believe that the Dutch will take the risk of another all-out war with the Qi State and help the Annan Zheng family attack several Annan important places in the Qi State, but he is afraid that the Annan Zheng family will have a brain twitch and spend money to hire the Dutch in the country. Transport troops by sea, or buy Dutch ships and personnel out of pocket, and a war breaks out with Annan Ruan, and if you are not careful, it will eventually spread to Qi.

You must know that because of the frequent storms on the eastern route, there are certain risks in maritime transportation.In recent years, nearly 2% of Qi's immigrants have taken the western route. Therefore, Nanping Fort, Lin'an Fort (now Vung Tau City on the southeast coast of Vietnam), and Xinsheng Island (now Phu Quoc Island in Vietnam) have gathered Nearly [-] immigrants.If there is a war, not to mention delaying the immigration work, it will be very difficult to raise the materials used by so many immigrants.

In June of last year (1644), the head of the Zheng family in Annan, Zheng Bing, once again assembled a large army to attack the Mo family regime in Gaoping. Although they gained a lot, the offensive was unsustainable among the mountains and mountains, and the Mo family regime could not be eliminated in the end. , "Until the Ming Dynasty, the distinction between the two surnames can never be unified", which made Zheng Bing sigh deeply.

Since the Mo family regime in the north is difficult to attack because of the high mountains, it might as well turn around and see if the Ruan family in the south can take advantage of it.A few years ago, because the Hanzhou secretly assisted the Ruan family, the Southern Expedition failed, and the result fell short, which made Zheng Bing always grieve.However, I recently heard that Ruan Ni was dissatisfied because Champa gave an important seaside area near his country to the Hanzhou people, thinking that the Hanzhou people had violated their core interests.As a result, the relationship between the two parties is much colder than before.

For this reason, Zheng Bing felt that it was an opportunity. If Ruan Ni did not have the advantage of sailing at sea, with his weak strength, how could he confront my Zheng family?

But just to be on the safe side, Annan Zheng planned to contact the Dutch, and planned to buy another Western gunboat to enrich his sea power.And it just so happened that the Dutch seemed to be asking for something from them, as if they wanted to find a temporary berth and transfer point on Zheng's territory to provide some convenience for their trade.Then, with their own goals, the two parties began to hook up.

Faced with the treacherous situation in Annan, Qi Dajiang can only step up the organization of ships to transport immigrants, and at the same time send "powerful" ships to patrol the coastal line of Annan to deter and threaten certain "powers". overseas territories.

Zhang Wenqi, the general manager of Xinsheng Island, accompanied by Nanping Fort Commander Yuan Zuquandi, also began to inspect the construction and defense facilities of the entire Nanping area.

A group of people first traveled north by boat to the end of the bay, then landed on the west bank, and continued northward for more than ten miles, before they came to a fortress under construction.

"Further to the north is the border of Guangnan Kingdom. A few miles ahead, there is a camp of Guangnan Kingdom, with about [-] soldiers stationed there." Yuan Zuquan pointed to the north and said.

"How do they react when they see us building a fort here?" Zhang Wenqi looked up to the north.

"When we first sent people over last month, they came to more than a dozen generals and asked us why we came. After learning that we were going to build a fort here, they went back immediately. Afterwards, there seemed to be no big moves, just occasionally They will send a few people to spy on our construction progress from a distance. Now, most of the fortress has been built, and they don’t dare to come and interfere.”

"In the future, if there is a chance, we will have to build another fort in the mountain area on the west side. In this way, we can firmly lock the entire valley passage, completely block the southward passage of Guangnan Kingdom, and guard the north of Nanping Fort." Zhang Wenqi Then he turned his head and looked to the south, "In this way, we can boldly cultivate fertile land in this coastal plain. The climate here is suitable, the land is fertile, and there is abundant rain. If hundreds of thousands of acres of cultivated land can be developed, It is enough to accommodate more than [-] immigrants."

"If there are more than [-] people in Nanping, wouldn't that be lower than the population of Hanzhou?" Yuan Zuquan said with a smile.

"The situation in the Ming Dynasty is chaotic, and I don't know when it will be?" Zhang Wenqi said: "If our Qi State does not take this opportunity to increase the population, and wait for the reunification of the Ming Dynasty, or the change of the dynasty, and a powerful new regime appears, then it will be difficult to search. I have immigrated. The position of my Xinsheng Island District is to establish a transit area for immigrants and provide food supplies for the immigrants. All other affairs are for this purpose.”

"However, the climate here is hot and humid. Some immigrants from the northern part of the Ming Dynasty felt quite uncomfortable when they stayed here. In the past three months, no less than a thousand people have been sick, and more than two hundred people have died of illness. Several camps are already a little restless .” Yuan Zuquan sighed.

"All sick people, no matter what kind of illness they are, must be isolated separately and not mixed with healthy people." Zhang Wenqi said seriously: "If a person accidentally caused a plague among the immigrant group, that would be a big deal! In addition, Every time the immigrants are transferred, try to put those who are not resistant to the weather first on the ship. Also, from the immigrants who settled here last year, select a squadron of township soldiers and hand them over to the Marine Corps for training to maintain local order and responsibility. Partial defense."

"In the local mountains, there are many kinds of wood, including precious mahogany and hardwood for shipbuilding. Therefore, in addition to reclaiming the cultivated land, we also need to organize people to cut down some wood for economic use." Zhang Wenqi looked at the northeast. "The establishment of the Nanping Naval Base will inevitably require a lot of ship materials for ship repair and replacement. Of course, I can also use these wood to build some offshore galleys to meet the transportation of local materials and personnel." What is needed. Wouldn’t it be a pity to let these giant trees be uselessly abandoned in the mountains!”

In July last year, the immigrant fleet not only brought a large amount of materials and ordnance to Nanping Fort, but also brought more than a dozen shipwrights from Jianye Shipyard and Weiyuan Shipyard to start the construction of Nanping Ship Repair Station. , to provide daily repairs and maintenance for ships that go to Daming for immigration and military assistance every year.At the same time, some small and medium-sized sailing ships were also built for this region and several overseas territories near Daming.Of course, if necessary, small gunboats that can be used for inland river passage can also be built, and they can go along the river and enter inland areas to carry out military operations.

Nanping Fort is now one of the most important overseas territories of the Qi State. It strangles the South China Sea and controls grain production. Moreover, the land and sea terrain is dangerous, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It is a perfect sea base.

When Zhang Wenqi studied with Qi Tian in her early years, she often heard how Qi Tian talked about Annan, Cambodia, Siam and other places being rich and full of crops. If they just occupy a wide plain area, they can support millions of people. .

Today, after several years of operation, it has occupied Xinsheng Island, Lin'an Fort, and Nanping Fort successively.After a few more years of hard work, and the strength grows to a certain level, they can join hands with Champa to gradually encroach on Annan and the coastal areas of Cambodia, and open up more living space for our Han people.

(End of this chapter)