Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 156 Linhai Fort (Part )
This year's immigration fleet not only arrived more than ten days later than last year, but was also divided into two groups, arriving at Linhai Fort one after another.

On August 8, the "Polang" and "Kaiyuan" carrying more than 4 Liao people slowly approached the slightly simple dock of Linhai Port, attracting warm cheers from all residents.

"Holy crap! Are you shipping immigrants like pigs?" Wei Zhonglong was stunned as he watched the stream of immigrants flowing out from the dock berth all the way to the temporary resettlement area in the distance. "How many people are there? ... If they drift at sea for a few months, half of them will die!"

"Our two ships are carrying over nine hundred people in total, practically filling up all the available space!" Wei Yingbin said with a smile, "However, we didn't plan to transport so many people back to Qiming Island. We planned to leave over two hundred people for your Linhai Fort. ...Are you surprised? Are you surprised?"

"With so many people in Linhai Fort, you'll have a rare opportunity for major development. You should improve the infrastructure here. ... Look at this dock. It's just a few wooden supports and can only accommodate one ship at a time, making the transportation of people and goods extremely inefficient."

"No problem, as long as you give us your people, we'll make sure you see the facilities and standards of a five-star marina next time!" Wei Zhonglong was overjoyed when he heard that he could leave 200 people for them. "Well, maybe we'll even build you a luxurious hotel later so you can enjoy VIP treatment in Linhai Fort!"

"A luxurious hotel is fine, but a comfortable little bed for two days is enough!" Chen Rui warmly embraced Wei Zhonglong and Qi Yongze, saying with a smile, "Oh, and please prepare a delicious meal for us to satisfy our cravings! ...Preferably, all vegetables! Just thinking about the month-long voyage ahead gives me a tingling sensation."

"No problem! We didn't grow much grain here, but we do have some vegetables. You'll have enough to eat for the next two days!"

Wei Zhonglong took in the chaotic scene at the dock, called Liang Sangui over, and instructed him, "Take our people and properly organize and manage the immigrants. Don't let them run around. Keep them in this temporary holding area. If anyone disobeys, beat them with sticks. But don't hurt them, as we'll have to sail away in a few days."

"Yes, Captain!" Liang Sangui responded loudly, then waved his hand to signal the armed guards behind him to follow him and rush towards the temporary gathering area for immigrants.

"Alright, everyone, come with us to the village to rest a bit." Wei Zhonglong extended his hand as an invitation and led everyone towards the fort. "We'll eat and talk later. Xiaoze and I have discussed and drawn up a long-term development plan for Hokkaido. Please help review it and offer some suggestions. When the time comes, report it to the decision-making committee and ask for their approval for implementation."

"Great!" Wei Yingbin said with a smile, "I didn't expect you to have drawn up a long-term development plan for this place. That's truly rare and valuable. In my opinion, after going through some training, all of you former cadets have become capable commanders within our group!"

"Instructor Wei, we're really being forced into this situation," Qi Yongze said as they walked. "In such a dangerous environment, we have to constantly think about how to quickly improve our own strength so that we can gain a firm foothold in the shortest possible time."

"Besides, there's nothing much to do in this remote and desolate place, so I can only pass the time by doing some situation simulations and local development planning with Xiao Wei. After a while, we compiled and drafted a relatively detailed Hokkaido colonization plan. I think it's good, so I plan to submit it to the decision-making committee to gain the support of the entire group."

"Let's go, let's go, let's go to the village and eat and chat together!"
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"Sir, where are we?" Luo Congnan looked around blankly, his heart pounding at the unfamiliar environment around him.

"How would I know?" Although Deng Kun felt a little panic in his heart, he still replied calmly: "Anyway, this shouldn't be the territory of our Ming Dynasty."

"Ah, we're not in Ming territory anymore?" Luo Congnan was stunned. "Could it be that we've reached North Korea?"

"Not really." Deng Kun shook his head and said, "Look at the guards. They're not Korean soldiers. And judging by their accents, they sound a bit like southerners."

"This ship has been sailing for about ten days. Could it have reached Guangdong and Guangxi, or even further away, Annan?"

Some Dongjiang Town military officers stationed on Pi Island had heard the smugglers who came to the island mention the situation of the Ming Dynasty's vassal states such as Annan, Champa, and Siam, so they were not completely ignorant.

"The south is hot and humid, warm as summer. Does the climate here resemble that of Guangdong, Guangxi, or Annan?" Deng Kun rolled his eyes. "Besides, the ship set sail, first heading southeast, then northeast. How could it possibly be heading south?"

"..." Luo Congnan was stunned when he heard this, "Then where are we now?"

They were all generals of the Dongjiang Town Army before. Logically, as they were registered in the Ming Dynasty army, they should not be treated as ordinary Liaodong refugees by Pidao and thrown to the "foreign merchants" like a burden in exchange for thousands of stones of grain.

But their background is rather embarrassing. To be precise, they are a group of abandoned pawns who need to be "dealt with". If they don't leave, they will be eliminated by Liu Xingzhi's brothers sooner or later. But now they are indirectly saved by Shen Shikui in this way.

They originally belonged to the command of Chen Jisheng, the left-hand general of Dongjiang Town. After the brothers Liu Xingzhi and Liu Xingji led their personal soldiers and more than 300 surrendered Jurchen soldiers from Pidao to launch a mutiny, killing Chen Jisheng and other officials including the imperial commissioner Liu Yinghe and more than 100 soldiers, they became the next batch to be dealt with.

However, in order to stabilize the situation in Pi Island and appease the tens of thousands of officers and soldiers in Dongjiang Town, the Liu brothers did not take action against them for the time being. Instead, they stripped all of them of their military posts and put them under guard.

After Liu Xingzhi went to Lushunkou to meet the imperial envoy, he handed over the affairs of Pi Island to Liu Xingji temporarily. He originally planned to secretly kill all of Chen Jisheng's affiliated soldiers and generals to prevent future troubles.

However, unexpectedly, a few months ago, two large ships arrived at Pi Island, offering food in exchange for the Liaodong refugees on the island.

Shen Shikui then suggested to Liu Xingji that he hand over all of Chen Jisheng's more than one hundred trusted soldiers to the arriving foreign merchants. This would eliminate the Liu brothers' greatest concern and also save the lives of these Dongjiang elite soldiers, preventing them from dying at the hands of their own people. Liu Xingji only considered it for a moment before immediately agreeing, handing over the soldiers and their families to the foreign merchants.

As a result, more than 900 Liao people, including these former Dongjiang Town soldiers and generals, were crammed into two large ships, which made the space on the ships extremely small and left almost no room for maneuvering.

Just when everyone was about to collapse, the ship stopped after sailing for more than ten days, and allowed them to disembark and go ashore for a short rest.

There is a fort a few hundred steps away from the shore. It doesn't look very large, and the population living there is definitely no more than two hundred people.

It is surrounded by lush forests, and the open space near the fort is green, probably where crops are planted.

However, these Liao people who got off the ship were prohibited from moving around freely, could not go to the fort, and could not leave the temporary assembly area at the dock.

There are eight or nine rows of simple wooden houses built here, each row has four large transparent rooms, and each wooden house can accommodate about thirty people if they are crowded together.

Roughly speaking, it is just enough for all the Liao people on the ship to have a temporary resting place.

But because the wooden house was too small, most of the Liao people chose to sit on the ground, whispering to each other and discussing whether this was the destination of their trip.

Dozens of local armed guards were carrying wooden barrels and distributing dried fish, seasonings, cooking utensils and rice one by one. They also shouted loudly, asking some women and young men to make fire on the spot and cook some simple hot meals.

On the outskirts of the temporary assembly area, there were more than ten guards, holding muskets and leading hunting dogs, standing there at a distance, with a subtle sense of deterrence.

"General Bai, there shouldn't be many people here. If we encourage all the Liao people to rise up and revolt, we should be able to control this place." Luo Congnan withdrew his gaze from a distance and said in a low voice.

"Well, then what..." Deng Kun leaned against the outer wall of the wooden house and looked at him blankly.

"Then?" Luo Congnan paused, then said, "Then, we will take this place for ourselves and rebuild the Dongjiang Left Association. You will be the general, and we will use this as a foundation to establish a piece of land, support ourselves, and live a good life."

"We don't even know where this place is, how dare we start an attack here?" Deng Kun shook his head and said, "Besides, our relatives are all here with us. If we start a sudden attack, there will inevitably be a fight. How can we guarantee that they won't be hurt? Although there are hundreds of Liao people here, they may not all be on our side!"

"But I heard from the sailors on those ships that after resting here for a few days, we'll have to continue sailing across the sea to some ridiculous new continent! By then, we don't know if we'll even be able to return to Ming!"

"Is there still a place for us in this Ming Dynasty?"

"Even if the Ming Dynasty cannot tolerate us, then even if we surrender to the Jiannu, it is much better than going to some unknown New Continent!"

"To surrender to the Jiannu? ...To become a slave to the Tartars?"

"It's better to live a miserable life than to die..."

"You bastard?" Deng Kun kicked him angrily before he could finish his words. "How could the Jiannu treat us Liao people as human beings? Have you forgotten how Nurhaci slaughtered and abused millions of Han people in Liaodong? ... I would rather jump into the sea and drown than surrender to the Jiannu!"

"My parents, brothers and I all died at the hands of the Qing army. I'll always remember this hatred!"

"General Bai..." Luo Congnan said aggrievedly as he got up from the ground. "I didn't say I was actually going to surrender to the Jiannu. I just feel really bad about following these foreign merchants to that New Continent. Who knows, I might not even be able to return to the Ming Dynasty until I die, and end up becoming a lonely ghost in a foreign land."

"Humph, what if we can have a good life once we reach that new continent?"

"A good life?" Luo Congnan was stunned when he heard this. "Is there any place in this world where people like us can live a good life?"

“…Just wait and see!”

(End of this chapter)