I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 843 We are about to start business!

Hu Yinglin followed the sailors onto the deck and met Wang Shisong and Zhu Lian head-on.

The two men were assisting the ship's medical officer, conducting sanitary inspections in the cabins on each deck.

Hearing the sound of artillery fire, they also ran out.

"Where to have sex?"

"do not know."

"Will we encounter the Spanish fleet?"

"So what if we meet? Just fight."

Seeing the three people acting like headless flies, the sailors next to them couldn't stand it anymore.

"Not the Spanish fleet."

"how do you know?"

"There are no Spanish ships on the west coast of Genxunzhou. How could we encounter them? Besides, the sound of the cannons is not from the Western barbarians, but from ours."

"Ah, can we tell the difference between our artillery and the Western barbarians' artillery from the sound of the artillery?"

"Of course. The materials of the naval guns are different, and the gunpowder is formulated differently. The Western barbarians' guns are duller, while our guns are crisper and have a stronger tearing sensation."

Tearing feeling?
Another sailor added: "The lookout didn't sound the alarm, and the captain didn't order a combat alert. We must have encountered our own ship."

Hu Yinglin, Wang Shisong and Zhu Lian followed the sailors to the side of the ship, looked up and saw two warships slowly approaching at an angle.

Our ship has a favorable wind and is moving fast.

The two opposing ships were heading obliquely to catch the wind and were not moving very fast.

"Di Di!"

The boatswain blew the whistle, and the sailors on duty immediately climbed up the mast, stood on the crossbar, and reefed the sails from top to bottom, reefing nearly half of the sails.

The speed of the Anyang slowly decreased.

The other five ships were also reefing their sails at half-sail and reducing their speed.

The opposing warship soon approached.

"The Mackerel and the Croaker."

The lookout on the mast shouted.

As they got closer, both sides waved flags on the masts.

"The Bluefin Squid and the Yellow Croaker belong to the Third Squadron of the Azure Dragon Fleet. They are on patrol duty. This place is only a hundred nautical miles away from Songmen Port. We will be there tomorrow."

"We're here! We're finally here!"

The deck was boiling!

Starting from Dagu Port, the six clippers, namely Anyang, Yuci, Yuanling, Zhijiang, Huoqiu and Baishui, rushed eastward, stopped at Dongyu Port on the way, stayed off the coast of Yanggu Island for two days and two nights, encountered three storms and five windless days, and after 55 days*, they finally arrived at Songmen Port.

From Dagu Port to Songmen Port, the route on the map is marked as about 6,700 nautical miles, equivalent to 12,395 kilometers. Excluding anchoring and windless days, the average ship speed is close to fourteen knots (nautical miles) based on sailing at full speed for ten hours every day.

It would take at least a hundred days for an ordinary prince's sailing ship to sail with the wind from Dagu Port to Songmen Port.

In comparison, the clipper is really fast and is literally flying across the Pacific Ocean.

Led by the Bluefin Squid and the Yellow Croaker, the fleet continued sailing, and at noon the next day, the coastline appeared before everyone like a crack cutting through the sea and sky.

The crowd cheered again. Hu Yinglin, Wang Shisong and Zhu Lian jumped on the deck, shoulder to shoulder.

We are finally here, and we can finally step onto land.

We have finally arrived at the God-given land of Ming Dynasty!
As everyone watched, the west coastline of Genzhou appeared more and more clearly in everyone's sight. Along the coast, there were continuous mountains and white sails sparkling in the sun.

When they entered Songmen Bay, the artillery batteries on both sides of the cape fired salutes. The roar echoed on the sea, and a fierce and enthusiastic feeling rushed towards Hu Yinglin and his men.

Passing through the long and narrow entrance, we entered the Songmen Bay port area, where there were less than ten ships moored, four of which were under repair.

The dock was already full of people, with thousands of soldiers and civilians gathered there. As the Anyang had just docked at the berth, deafening gongs and drums sounded, and the overwhelming enthusiasm ignited the entire dock.

At the front of the crowd, a group of naval admirals and officers were seen.

The leader was Lu Zhifu, the commander-in-chief of the Qinglong fleet.

After dropping anchor, tying cables and setting up planks, Liang Menglong went down to the shore with his staff including Gu Yangqian, Xiao Lin, Shen Mingchen, and Hu Yinglin.

"Envoy Ludu, I am Liang Menglong, the governor of the Eastern Expedition Administration, who has been summoned to take up the post."

There was no other way. The Pacific Ocean separated the Ming mainland from Genzhou, so it was inconvenient for them to communicate. Lu Zhifu only knew that the court would send a senior official to govern Genxunzhou in the second half of this year, and that a naval commander would lead a warship to take over from him and rotate the warships on duty.

We have no idea who is coming, with what titles, how many people and how many ships are coming.

So Liang Menglong first introduced himself and stated his official title, and then began to introduce the staff behind him.

"This is the leader of the front team, Rencheng Bo Wang Fengju Wang Ao Tu."

Lu Zhifu laughed, "Let Governor Liang know that Ao Tu and I are old acquaintances."

"Envoy Lu is my old boss and has given me a lot of support." Wang Fengju said politely.

Liang Menglong waited for them to finish chatting before continuing with the introduction.

"This is General Xue Yixue, the commander-in-chief of the Genzhou Commandery.

This is the Xiazhou prefect Gu Yangqian Gu Yiqing, and this is the Shangzhou prefect Xiao Lin Xiao Kefa.

This person is the prefect of Taiping County and also the councilor of the household department of Jinglüe Mansion, Wang Jiaping and Wang Zhongbo.

This person is the prefect of Changle County and the assistant minister of the Engineering Department of the Jinglüe Prefecture, Jin Xueceng, Jin Zilu.

This is Wang Shisong and Wang Zhongshu, the assistant manager of the Siliyuan of the Jinglüefu and the acting manager in charge of official affairs.

This is Hu Yinglin and Hu Yuanrui, the chief of the Police Department of the Jinglüe Division and the doctor of the Xuanjiao Division. This is Zhu Lian and Zhu Wenqing, the chief of the Finance Department of the Jinglüe Mansion.

This is my Chief Clerk Shen Mingchen, Shen Jiaze."

Lu Zhifu bowed to them one by one.

"Governor Liang, my lords, the deputy envoy and commander of the First Division, General Qiang Angqiang, is cruising in Xunzhou with the Second Squadron. I will send a communications ship to contact him and ask him to come and see Governor Liang."

"Don't worry. The two successors, General Lu Xianglu and General Deng Zilong Deng, are still behind with the main squadron. It will probably take another two months for them to arrive."

"Two months?"

"Yes, according to the plan, they will stay on Yanggu Island in the Fuso Islands for half a month."

When did the Fuso Islands and Yanggu Island appear?

Lu Zhifu was confused.

"Envoy Lu, this is a new island discovered by the exploration team led by Zhou Yongfa. It is located right between Genzhou and the mainland. The location is excellent. The court has decided to build it as an important transit station."

"It turned out that it was discovered by Lao Zhou's exploration team. This is great news. God really blesses the Ming Dynasty. We were worried that the Pacific route was too far, but we didn't expect that God would put a transit station in the middle."

"Haha, Envoy Lu is right. May God bless the Ming Dynasty."

After a few words of consolation, Liang Menglong handed Lu Zhifu a list and said, "These are the people, supplies, and equipment that I brought with me. Envoy Lu, please take inventory."

The Ming Dynasty has always had military control over Genxunzhou, with the naval fleet commanders also in charge. Civil affairs are entirely handled by the fleet's political department, and there is no local government.

Therefore, the person who could liaise with Liang Menglong and be responsible for counting and receiving the population and supplies could only be Lu Zhifu.

Lu Zhifu glanced at the catalog and said in surprise, "Has the emperor decided to fully develop Genxunzhou?"

"Yes, the emperor has issued a decree to the world that Genxunzhou is a land bestowed by heaven on the Ming Dynasty. We must make every effort to develop it and provide for more people of the Ming Dynasty."

"Okay, I, Old Lu, have been waiting for this day, and so have all the officers and men of the Qinglong Fleet." Lu Zhifu raised his head and said with satisfaction and emotion.

"When our Qinglong Fleet was fighting the Spanish Fleet and conquering cities, I always wondered, this place is so far away from the Ming Dynasty, will the imperial court abandon it in the end?"

"No!" Liang Menglong said firmly: "When I set out, the emperor told me in front of all the ministers that not an inch of the Ming Dynasty's land can be given up.

Because every inch of land is soaked with the blood of Ming Dynasty heroes.

The two continents of Gen and Xun are the gift from heaven to the Ming Dynasty. They are also the lands that the officers and soldiers of the Qinglong Fleet fought hard for after risking their lives. We can only have more, not less!"

Lu Zhifu's eyes were red, and he choked up and said, "Well, my Qinglong fleet has sailed thousands of miles and fought bloody battles. It is enough for me to hear this from the emperor!"

For the next half month, everyone was busy and excited.

Carry and count supplies, settle soldiers and civilians, build government offices, and invite the chieftains of the nearby Xia and Shang tribes to Taiping City for a gathering.
On that day, Liang Menglong convened a joint military and political meeting of the Eastern Expedition Strategy Office in the central hall of the Taiping City government office. All major military and political officials were present, and nearly a hundred people filled the small central hall.

Civil officials either wore a long-sleeved shirt with a vest, or a yisa, or official uniforms corresponding to their rank.

The military attachés were all wearing military uniforms, most of them were wearing the navy's sky blue uniform, only some officers such as Xue Yi were wearing the army's field gray uniform.

Everyone had short hair, including Liang Menglong.

The Eastern Expedition, as the name suggests, is mainly military action, supplemented by civil pacification. In this case, everyone must follow the rules of going to war and cutting their hair short. There is no room for negotiation on any conditions.

Liang Menglong glanced at the meeting room and coughed lightly. Everyone who had been whispering in low voices immediately sat up straight. The central hall, which had been buzzing just now, immediately became very quiet.

"Previously, the Ming Dynasty's strategy for Genxunzhou was mainly military, with little business. Now the strategy has been changed to focus on both military and business.

In terms of military, the court no longer relied solely on the navy and marines, but dispatched army infantry and cavalry regiments to launch operations from land.

In terms of management, the court increased the number of immigrants, sent civil officials, and established an effective governance system.
The first issue is to change the previous chaotic division of states and counties.

The prefectures and counties are not clear, and the government offices are not established, so it is difficult to gather strength and start business. "

Liang Menglong waved his hand and signaled the clerk to hang a map on the wall of the central hall.

“This map was drawn by the survey team sent out by the Qinglong Fleet over the past few years after multiple surveys and mapping of the area east of Xiazhou and the west coast of Xunzhou.

We also use pictures to talk. ”

Speaking of this, Liang Menglong suddenly remembered that he had learned this sentence from the emperor during a meeting in Xiyuan, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly.

The civil and military officials below didn't understand what was going on and just stared at him blankly.

Liang Menglong turned his head to look at them, took the slender wooden pole, pointed at the map, and began to speak.

"The first piece of land we discovered in Genzhou was called Xiazhou. From the map, we can see that the southern part of Xiazhou is a narrow peninsula (Baja California Peninsula), which the Geographical Society named the South Xia Peninsula.

In the second year of the Wanli reign, a survey fleet circled it. It is about one thousand kilometers long from north to south, like an arm extending into the Pacific Ocean.

The peninsula is high in the north and low in the south, with many volcanoes. The east coast is steep and the coastal plains are narrow; the west coast is flat and the plains are wider.

The coastline is tortuous, with many small islands, coral reefs along the coast and few rivers.

The weather is hot and dry, with many Gobi deserts. "

Liang Menglong pointed at the Xianan Peninsula and said, "It's a barren place with few people. There are only four whaling and temporary supply ports. It's what we want, so we can put it aside for now.

There is a river (Colorado River) about 500 miles east of Xiazhou, which the Geographical Society named De'an River, which means to conquer people with virtue and to pacify the barbarians.

At the same time, the area east of De'an River was designated as Dezhou as the direction of land attack, and the counties subsequently established were temporarily under the jurisdiction of Xiazhou.

There is another mountain range east of Xiazhou (the Sierra Nevada Mountains), about 1,200 miles long from north to south. The Geographical Society named it the Hexu Mountain Range. The source should be the "Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness East Classic" in which "There is a mountain in the Great Wilderness called Hexu, where the sun and the moon rise."

The Hexu Mountains are majestic and steep, with steep cliffs on the east slope and sparse vegetation. The west slope has deep canyons, dense forests, abundant rain and snow, and many rivers and lakes, making it a good farming and pastoral area.

Most of the descendants of the Xia and Shang dynasties live here. So far, eight cities have been built in the Xipo area, including Moyang, Luoshan, Wotu, Duguan, Tuodong, Wenyang, Weishan and Meiyang, which are a thousand miles apart from north to south.

It will also be a key agricultural reclamation area in Xiazhou in the future, with one city and one county, governed by the county, gathering the survivors, setting up agricultural reclamation, reclaiming land for farming, and grazing cattle and horses. "

Liang Menglong tapped the map and pointed the long pole to the north.

Okay, let’s take a look at the northern part of Xiazhou.”

(End of this chapter)