Late Ming sea owl

Chapter 345: The Fall of Penghu
"Boss, I'll get ready and go to Manila right away!" Miguel was so excited by Lin Hai's words that he wanted to go on another mission immediately.

"There's no rush in the next two days. I came to Keelung for another matter. I want the board of directors to pass a special resolution on the immigration budget..."

Lin Hai then called together Shibi, Zheng Tingqiu and Wu Guoyi, and expressed his ideas to the four directors based in Keelung.

Since the budget for naval construction had not been cut, no one raised any objections. The special resolution was equivalent to having obtained eight votes, and there was no need to consult the three overseas directors, Li Guozhu, Xu Yilong, and Ou Zuoji.

All the directors at home signed the resolution document, and the Civil Affairs Bureau obtained temporary authority to approve large sums of money outside the annual budget at any time. Lin Hai then returned to Danshui with the document and began to deploy specific actions for purchasing grain and immigration.

According to the company's articles of association, the board of directors is the company's highest authority, and all resolutions involving amendments to the articles of association, director selection, equity changes, and annual budgets must be voted on by the board of directors.

In addition, as the president of the company, Lin Hai can exercise the highest authority in specific affairs, especially military and diplomatic affairs which often require impromptu decisions, so the charter grants him the power to make the final decision.

After returning to Tamsui, Lin Hai immediately signed the chairman's order, announcing the establishment of the Jianan Immigration Committee, which was fully responsible for the military and political affairs of the Jianan region.

The chairman of the committee is Feng Yidao, a company director, and the two deputy directors are Waizui and Yang Lu. The daily work of the General Security Administration is temporarily presided over by Deputy Minister Shan Sinan.

Other members of the committee include the director and deputy director of the Vanguard Department of the General Security Bureau, as well as one deputy director each of the Household Registration Department and the Agricultural Soldiers Department, in addition to Yang Lu stationed in Penghu, and Qin Cheng, deputy director of the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Transportation.

Qin Cheng was the clerk of the Household Department in Zhoushan Zhongzhong. He offended Qian Shouli, the governor of Dinghaiwei, because he took the initiative to surrender to Lin Hai. After Lin Hai resigned from his post, Qin Cheng was retaliated by Qian Shouli, so he simply gave up his job as an official. Later, when he heard that Lin Hai had been recruited, he took the initiative to come to him.

The future work focus of the Immigration Department will be on Jianan Plain, so the Director should go to Jianan in person. But because Xu Xinlan will be going to Guangdong in the second half of the year, Lin Hai simply let Qin Cheng join the Immigration Committee and planned to let him take over.

The logistics work of the Jianan immigrants was coordinated by the Civil Affairs Bureau and co-organized by the Ministry of Communications' Trade Department. After the first payment was approved, the Trade Department sent ships to Jiangnan and Japan to buy grain.

These two places plus Annan are relatively close, so they can be transported against the wind in an emergency. The other major grain producers in Southeast Asia are too far away, so they can only be transported during the north wind season. If the grain is to be transported back, it will have to wait until the south wind season next year.

After arranging the immigration, Lin Hai went to Xindianxi to inspect the Firearms Bureau and learn about the latest progress of iron mold cast cannons.

Before he went south to Guangdong, the Firearms Bureau had already cast several batches of 10-jin cannons, which had undergone several rounds of process improvements. The advantage of iron mold casting cannons is that the mold can be reused, so as long as the mold is not changed, the iteration of process improvement is much faster.

After several rounds of iterations, the yield rate of the iron mold casting 10-jin cannon has reached 20%, which is almost the same as the mature clay mold process. In order to increase production as soon as possible, Lin Hai decided to temporarily solidify the process flow of the 10-jin cannon and transfer it to the Firearms Bureau for mass production, while the research institute focused on the 15-jin cannon and the 20-jin cannon.

The projects for these two types of naval guns were launched later, and the iron molds were still being made at that time. According to the time, the first batch of sample guns should be about to come out.

"General, with the experience gained from the 10-jin cannon, the 15-jin and 20-jin cannons should be more successful." He Liangtao said to Lin Hai, "However, due to the increase in caliber, the yield rate of these two types of cannons is still relatively low..."

"How much exactly?"

"15-jin cannon is a little over 10%, and 20-jin cannon is less than 10%."

"No, the yield rate is too low." Lin Hai shook his head when he heard this. Although artillery pieces that failed the test could be sent back to the furnace for recasting, this would greatly affect efficiency. Even if the iron molds could be reused, this was unacceptable.

"We are working hard to improve the process, but there is little hope of significantly increasing the yield rate in the short term." He Liangtao looked worried. The yield rate of large cast iron cannons has always been a difficult problem.

"Try lowering the caliber a bit." Lin Hai said after pondering for a moment. He wanted to borrow the idea of ​​the carronade again.

"Still surrender?" He Liangtao's reaction was similar to that of Wannu Bugalao. The caliber of the company's current self-produced naval guns was 20, which he thought was low enough.

"Let's try reducing it to 13, and make the short multiple diameter one first." Lin Hai continued, "The quality of the lower die core and the rotating bore must be strictly controlled. Do you understand what I mean?"

"I understand." He Liangtao nodded when he heard this. Reducing the caliber not only affects the range but also the accuracy. It can only be compensated by improving the accuracy of the barrel.

He was silent for a moment, then continued, "Boss, can the research institute develop the solid bore technology proposed by Master Zuo Wuwei as soon as possible?"

"Wait a little longer. I don't think this matter is that simple. The company still has too few research talents. For now, we have to concentrate on iron mold casting cannons. After the 15-jin and 20-jin cannons start mass production, you can go to Jiangnan to recruit some people. We'll talk about it then..." About a month later, the work of Jianan Immigration gradually got on track, and Lin Hai went to Beigang, Wanggang and Penghu for a trip.

In the Penghu guerrilla office, Yang Lu reported to Lin Hai: "General, the day before yesterday, the patrol officers caught a suspicious fishing boat. The fishermen on the boat were actually Li Kuiqi's men in disguise. The subordinates interrogated the prisoners overnight, and these bastards confessed quite straightforwardly, saying that Li Kuiqi sent them to find out the strength of Penghu and to check the situation of the old nest, Wanggang. However, Li Kuiqi did not explain the reason for doing so, and only asked them to report back after the investigation."

"Li Kuiqi? How dare this guy come to Fujian?" Lin Hai was a little surprised. "Have you asked where their main force is now?"

"I asked. The pirate leader on the ship was a small leader. He said that Li Kuiqi has been elusive recently and is often not with the main force. Their main force has been at the mouth of the Pearl River recently, but they have been unusually well-behaved. Their superiors don't allow them to rob, so they just eat and drink well every day and spend all their money. I don't know what their plan is?"

After the Battle of Lantau Island, Li Kuiqi's former subordinates led by Li Meiyu fought several more battles with the Guangdong Ming army. Later, they were suddenly picked up by seven or eight large ships, and there was no news of them after that.

The above is what Lin Hai heard from Yang Lu when he came back from Guangnan. The source of the information was He Rubin, the general of Guangdong. Now Li Kuiqi suddenly sent people to Penghu and Wanggang, and Lin Hai couldn't figure out what this guy wanted to do.

"We can't take this lightly. We must send more patrol boats and pay close attention to the situation in the surrounding waters." Lin Hai said, "Once a large-scale fleet is discovered, send people to Tamsui to report it immediately. At the same time, take all the soldiers and civilians in Penghu to Beigang to meet up with the Vanguard Division."

Yang Lu was somewhat unwilling to accept the news. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Li Kuiqi only has 3,000 remnants now. I can easily fight him with my troops. Why are we just abandoning Penghu?"

"We are just giving up temporarily. The people are the most important thing." Lin Hai then emphasized again, "This is a military order. If there is any mistake, I will not forgive it easily."

"Yes, President!" Yang Lu was solemn upon hearing this and dared not raise any more objections.

"Penghu is a transit point for immigrants. I will certainly not give up. If Li Kuiqi dares to come, I will personally lead the army to deal with him."

Lin Hai said, "You must remember that immigration is the company's top priority. We must not let the people who come to Jinhe get hurt, otherwise it will affect the recruitment in the future."

After leaving Penghu, Lin Hai went to Wanggang again and gave Feng Yidao a special warning: If Li Kuiqi attacks, the first priority of Jianan should be to ensure the safety of the people. They must not abandon the people and fight with the enemy.

Not long after returning to Tamsui, Longquilo, the special envoy sent by the Philippine Governor-General Tavola, arrived in Keelung. Lin Hai planned to take him to visit the Ship Bureau and the Firearms Bureau before sending troops.

Lin Hai originally had no intention of letting the Philippines know about the company's military strength. He was afraid that this would alert the Spanish and might ruin the alliance plan.

After all, the Philippines is right next to Dongfan, and the West Philippine authorities have always been very vigilant against overseas Chinese under their rule. If the Huiyou Company shows too much strength, it is hard to guarantee that Tavora will not feel that the coalition plan is "driving away the wolf at the front door and bringing in the tiger at the back door."

Lin Hai was once very troubled about how to strike the right balance, but after he realized that Tavora was a politician, everything became a problem.

The average term of office of the Governor-General of the Philippines is only three or four years. Tavola has been in office for almost two years. What he wants is immediate achievements. Why would he care about future worries?

However, the iron mold casting cannon technology had to be kept secret. Lin Hai made some arrangements in advance and only took Long Kuilo to see the number of finished cannons and the process of cannon testing, while the casting process was kept secret.

When Lin Hai was taking Long Kuiluo to visit the Firearms Bureau, Viper suddenly came to report: "General, someone from Penghu has come, saying that there is urgent military information."

"Where is the person?" A bad premonition flashed through Lin Hai's mind. For some reason, he always felt like a thorn in his back after returning from Penghu, but he couldn't tell what he was worried about.

"Waiting to be interviewed in the lobby of the Firearms Bureau."

"Your Excellency General, I have some urgent matters to attend to, so I have to excuse myself." Lin Hai hurriedly left Long Kuiluo and asked He Liangtao to continue to show him around.

After arriving at the lobby of the Firearms Bureau, Lin Hai dismissed the strangers and asked the officer who came to report the news, "What is the military situation?"

"General, Penghu has been captured! Li Kuiqi led all his men to attack, and he also invited the red-haired man to help. There are at least nine large Western plywood ships in the fleet!"

(End of this chapter)