1635 Han style rises again

Chapter 569 Ezo Land

On August 1646, 8, the southwestern bay of Ezo (today's Hokkaido Island, Japan) (today's Ishikari Bay outside Otaru City, Hokkaido, Japan).

Two sailboats of about 100 tons lingered in the bay for a long time, and finally stopped on a leeward seashore.After a while, two small boats were lowered, one rowed hard to the shore, and the other began to measure the water depth of the bay.

"There should be no Japanese here." Lu Tianming muttered softly while carefully observing the situation on the shore with a binoculars.

The two boats led by Lu Tianming set off from Changshan Island more than 20 days ago, stopped in Jeju Island for two days, and then sailed towards Japan. Then they went north along the coastlines of several large islands, looking for Ezodi is planning to build a backup base for the Denglai Yongchu court.

According to the instructions sent by Hanzhou itself, in view of the unpredictability of the future situation of Ming Dynasty, in order to ensure that the Yongchu court has a reliable, safe and long-term development reserve base, the Qi State Naval Forces stationed in Changshan Island can go to the current still For the landless Ezo (in fact, during this period, the Matsumae clan of Japan had established Fukuyama Castle at the southern tip of Hokkaido), looking for a suitable place, first establishing several strongholds, and preparing for the later immigration construction.

A few days ago, when they passed the southernmost tip of Ezo, they encountered several Japanese fishing boats fishing, and when they approached the land, they suddenly discovered that someone had already built an earthen castle and established a stronghold there (Fukuyama Castle, Matsumae-cho, Hokkaido, Japan today).

After observing the seaside for a while, Lu Tianming confirmed that the people who were active here were not local aborigines, but personnel from a certain Japanese feudal kingdom. The number might be around 500, and most of them were cold weapons, but There were also samurai armed with large guns, who gathered on the seashore very vigilantly after they spotted two ships of unknown origin.

Considering that there were not many armed personnel on board, Lu Tianming and his party did not dare to land, so they could only continue northward to find a suitable landing point.

Since the Japanese have established a stronghold at the southern end of Ezo, they must stay away from here and choose another secret landing point in the central or northern part of the island for the preliminary construction.

About half an hour later, the small boat that landed came back, and a sailor reported to Lu Tianming that there were no indigenous people near the land, and there were no signs of Japanese activities. There were rolling mountains in the distance and large slopes on the shore , there are also some flat plots mixed in during the period, and there is a small river flowing through the mountain, which is a good seaside stronghold.

What's even more rare is that the water level on the shore is deep enough, and two sailboats of more than 100 tons can sail to a place not far from the shore. In the future, if we build a little trestle and insert it into the sea, and build a few booms, we can form a Initially complete small pier.

"Then don't delay." Lu Tianming turned his head and ordered: "Get ready to land and establish a stronghold."

Under the guidance of a small boat, the two transport ships sailed slowly towards the shore, and finally docked at a place five or six meters away from the shore.Immediately, the bags of materials were hoisted down one by one, and several small boats kept transferring them to the shore. More than 70 strong and strong men waded directly to land, and then under the guidance of an experienced Qi civil affairs official, began to cut wood, dig soil, burn slopes, and set up a temporary camp.

The entire landing operation lasted for one day, and the material reserves enough for the left behind personnel for three months were also carried ashore one after another, piled up in a cleared space, and only covered with a few pieces of sailcloth.Dozens of wooden stakes were only driven into the surroundings of the camp, and no fence was formed.More than a dozen armed sailors carried muskets and carried out an investigation into the mountains, searching for and eliminating possible threats.

When night fell, several huge bonfires were lit in the camp, several captured wild deer were cut into several sections, put into a pot for cooking, and several fat fish were stuck on wooden sticks. Rolling and grilling on the bonfire, the few sprinkles of spices sprinkled on it, exude a slanderous fragrance from time to time.

"It tastes good!" Lu Tianming took the grilled fish from a man, opened his mouth wide, and took a hard bite.

"If the general likes it, we can catch more from the sea tomorrow. In addition to barbecue, we can also try making fish soup. It may be delicious." A small official of the Yongchu court in Denglai said with a smile.

"Don't bother." Lu Tianming slowly spat out the fish bone from his mouth, shook his head and said, "I can only stay here for a maximum of two days, and I have to go back to Changshan Island as soon as possible."

"The general is working hard."

"We are just a poor man who runs to the sea!" Lu Tianming said: "After all the affairs of your Denglai are arranged, my biggest wish is to return to the mainland of Hanzhou, live my little life, and hug my two-year-old My son. When he left, he was born less than three months ago, and I don’t know if he will call me daddy at this time.”

"The general is a blessed man." The little official said sadly, "It's not like us, who fled to Denglai. My parents, wife and children were all lost on the way, and I don't know whether it's life or death."

"Heavenly kill Jiannu!" Lu Tianming looked at the little official sympathetically.

For a while, the people sitting around the campfire fell into silence.If it weren't for the war and separation, who would become a lonely hungry person, and who would be transferred to this undeveloped island to establish a stronghold?
"Okay, everyone, don't think about your own misery, life will continue." Lu Tianming ate the grilled fish in a few mouthfuls, and then said: "I will be there in two days." Leaving here, in the future there will be Chief Zhou in charge of all affairs management, with old Kong assisting."

The petty official and a slender man hurriedly handed over their promises.

"The biggest task for you here is to build a camp before winter. Wooden houses, earthen houses, and masonry houses are all available. But you have to keep in mind that this place may be very cold in winter. When building houses, you must Keep warm. Food and other daily necessities have been left for you for three months. But just in case, you still eat sparingly. There are a lot of fish on the seaside here, and there are wild deer in the mountains, which can increase your food to some extent. supply."

"By the way, Lao Kong, how is the soil quality here? May rice, wheat, potatoes and other food crops be grown?"

"Return to Commander Lu." The man called Lao Kong said: "I see that the soil quality and environment here are similar to ours in Shandong. It should be possible to grow wheat and potatoes. As for whether rice can be grown, I'm not sure."

"In addition to building houses, you should first burn a few hundred acres of wasteland, and in the spring of next year, you can try to grow some food." Lu Tianming said: "In addition, you might as well try to plant some vegetable seeds. Otherwise, in the next few days, you can only eat salted fish and wild vegetables, that's not a problem. In addition, your armaments can't be wasted, and the swords and spears left for you still need to be practiced. Otherwise, from a certain It would be very bad if some natives came out of this forest and captured you.”

"Why don't you leave some muskets for us?" Lao Kong looked up at the dark mountains around him, and his heart tightened.

"Okay, I'll keep five muskets for you. However, you must keep them safe on weekdays, and don't force them to break." Lu Tianming instructed: "Maybe it will take a few days for the ships to replenish your supplies and personnel to arrive next time." It's a month later."

"...Da Ming, can he go back in the future?" Zhou Mengzhang asked softly.

"It depends on whether your Emperor Yongchu can persist in Denglai, and finally drive Jiannu out of the pass!" Lu Tianming shook his head and said, "I don't know how many people are still unwilling to build in the territory of Daming today. The rule and slavery of slaves. If I were to lose my head, I would not have Jiannu's ugly mouse tail!... You say, even if you shave your head, you will look better than that."

Zhou Mengzhang peeked at the short hair on Lu Tianming's head, the corners of his mouth twitched a few times, and he sighed slightly, but did not respond.

"Master Zhou, don't look at the short hair on my head and think that our country of Qi and that Jian slave have to shave their hair and dress differently." Lu Tianming saw Zhou Mengzhang's expression and knew what the other party was thinking, "We The state of Qi is not like the regulations of Jiannu, who keep their hair but not their heads, and keep their heads but not their hair! Our navy officers and soldiers in Qi State shave off their long hair in order to take better care of their own hygiene at sea. If you board a ship, you will Not taking a bath for two months and not tidying up your hair bun, hehe, big lice and fleas can eat you!"

Not all of the many sailors in my Ming Dynasty had their long hair shaved off. I am afraid that most of them went to the country and left their hometowns.Zhou Mengzhang said in his heart.

After staying in this Ezo stronghold for two days, Lu Tianming and his party of two boats sailed away under the complicated eyes of the immigrants left behind on the shore, and headed straight south, returning to Changshan Island.

(End of this chapter)