Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 108 Hong Kong
The large sailing ship "Guangming" braved the wind and waves, speeding across the boundless blue sea. Its sails were filled with strong sea breeze, which stretched the towing rope straight.

When adjusting the sails against the wind, a series of "crackling" sounds are made like the sound of iron chains being plucked, just like stroking a huge lyre on the sea, drawing a long white trail on the sea.

With full sail lowered, the boat can sail at full speed, reaching a speed of over 15 knots, which is approximately equivalent to a land speed of or kilometers per hour.

At this speed, you can reach Cebu in one day and one night, Manila in two days and two nights, and Hong Kong in three days without any difficulty.

In the past, when escorting a fleet, one had to take into account the speed of the flat-bottomed Fuzhou ships filled with people and cargo. The "Guangming" basically hoisted the front triangular sail and the front and rear secondary sails, and the mainsail did not need to be lowered.

Now free from its fetters, it gallops forth like a wild beast out of its cage.

Zheng Guohui stood on the stern deck and looked into the distance. The strong wind pressure made the skin on his face tremble. It must be at least a force five wind.

He turned and looked behind him

It is the boundless ocean and sky, but in Zheng Guohui's eyes,

It is as if I can see the vast land of Mindanao and the nearly 100,000 Chinese immigrants living happily on this land. Those are 100,000 Chinese families that are multiplying and surviving, all of which are due to the fruitful results of the continuous promotion of the Nanyang cause.

He felt genuine satisfaction and pride filled his chest. This was the miracle he had created since his rebirth.

The strong sea breeze made Zheng Guohui's hair flutter. He stood on the stern cabin, watching the soldiers and sailors busy on the deck. After standing for a while, he returned to the cabin.

The "Guangming" sailing ship had a total crew of 379 people. Except for Zheng Guohui's 150 personal soldiers and several staff members, the rest were all sailors and gunners on the ship.

In addition to the people resting in the third-level crew cabin, the deck was also very lively.

Many soldiers and sailors gathered at the bow or side of the ship, sitting on the large bundles of ropes, chatting excitedly about everything, including women and trivial matters.

At night
Because there were not enough beds, many soldiers and sailors had to hang hammocks between the mast and the wheel, squeezing in almost every available space, and they were as densely packed as silkworm pupae.

After the large sailing ship "Guangming" and the "Endeavour" left the Davao Strait one after another, the accompanying "Endeavour" fired three salutes and then headed straight west, with its destination being Zamboanga.

The four gunboats with the prefix "Fen" will not leave Mindanao. They are the island's maritime escort force.

The large sailing ship "Guangming" sailed southeast for a while, bypassing the southeasternmost cape of Mindanao Island, and then immediately turned north, with Hong Kong as its destination.

On the return trip
Originally, Zheng Guohui wanted to visit Singapore in person and conduct an in-depth investigation into the colonial rule of the British over Singapore, Penang and the Malay Peninsula, to understand the local social, cultural and geographical conditions and conduct a survey.

But as time was running out, I had to give up with regret.

He chose the next best option, stopping in Hong Kong for a day, and then headed north back to Nanjing without stopping at the Penghu Islands.

The Guangming sailing ship sailed northward, and two days later, it successfully crossed the strait between Palawan Island and the Luzon Islands and turned to the northwest.

After another day and night of sailing, we arrived at the waters off Hong Kong Island on the morning of the fourth day.

When the sailing ship sailed into Victoria Harbour, what appeared before Zheng Guohui was a prosperous port with forty or fifty Western sailing ships docked there.

And at the berth near the dock, there are hundreds of small wooden boats crowded together. Is this what the southerners call Xu family boats?

In the Bay
There were also many small boats traveling back and forth between the two sides of Hong Kong Island. Captain Huo Haisheng, who was operating the Guangming sailing ship, quickly issued a series of orders, directing the sailors to get busy.

The rigging hand climbed up the mast like a nimble monkey, tying up the mainsail with ropes one by one. It seemed extremely dangerous just looking up.

If you fall and hit the deck, you will definitely die. If you fall into the sea by chance, you are lucky enough to survive.

After the mainsail and mizzen sail were reefed, the speed of the sailing ship dropped sharply and it slowly sailed towards the dock area.

The boat was parked
A middle-aged man named Huang Liansheng came forward quickly. He was a leader stationed in Hong Kong, using traveling merchants as a cover to gather intelligence.

These spies are not only found in Hong Kong, but also in Singapore, Chennai, Bangkok, Batavia and Manila, where they are now used to collect local information and intelligence.

Zheng Guohui took a small group of about a dozen people with him, left Captain Huo Haisheng to negotiate with the tax collector at the dock, and took two four-wheeled carriages to the city.

In this era, Causeway Bay in Hong Kong was a shipyard and military camp. There was also a small village nearby, which exuded the fishy and salty smell of fish products, and was a bit smelly.

Every household hangs salted fish out to dry, and the fish are hung on the high and low wooden racks with nets and ropes like flags of all nations.

After entering the city

Zheng Guohui noticed that houses were being built on both sides of the road. Their structure was very similar to the "Tang buildings" popular in Guangzhou City. They were 2 to 3 stories high, 15 feet (about 4.5 meters) wide, and mostly made of blue bricks.

The roof of the Tang building is a sloping roof made of wood and tiles, connected by wooden stairs. It is very suitable for the rainy weather in the south, and the living comfort is more than one level higher than the poor people's huts.

This type of multi-story building is also being built in large quantities in Mindanao. The difference is that the first-floor corridors are interconnected, which is more similar to the arcades in Haikou and Xiamen.

The arcade originated from Beniapukur in British colonial India. It was first built by the British and called it "corridor house".

It's said that Singapore's founder, Raffles, also used this type of veranda in his design for Singapore City, calling it a "public corridor for shops" or, in Minnan dialect, "five-foot-bridge." In 1849, the first arcade was built on Sipailou Street in Haikou. Built by merchants returning from Southeast Asia, it can still be seen today in places like Xiamen.

There were not many people on the street. Most of the Chinese people who were coming and going were wearing white shirts and black pants, walking along the street corners with their heads down.

From time to time, one can see a foreign gentleman in gorgeous clothes in the crowd, holding a walking stick in his hand, parading through the streets with his female companions, looking very arrogant.

"Okay, let's stop here. Let's get off and take a look around. Ah Sheng, go pay the fare and let the guys behind you go a little further."

"As you command, General."

"Didn't I just tell you before we got off the boat? How come you forgot again?"

"Oh... yes, sir."

Zheng Guohui got off the carriage with a speechless look on his face, and walked straight forward without caring whether others followed him or not.

Zheng Shun, Zheng Fu, Zheng Gui and other suitable personnel are now staying in Mindanao to help him guard that base, which is better than anything else.

Zheng Guohui now only has Zheng Sheng, Zheng An, Zheng Ding and other family sons left to serve him. Compared with the previous ones, they are much more dull, or more honest.

Although Zheng Sheng is tall and strong, and has no problem dealing with 35 strong men, he is a typical stubborn person with a dull mind and a stubborn attitude.

Like an abacus bead, move it once and it will move.

We have to guard wherever we are told to. No one is allowed to enter. Even the emperor can't enter. We must get the order from the general and we must obey it.

Therefore, Zheng Guohui kept him by his side as a personal bodyguard. Now he has been appointed as the captain of the personal guards. He is so happy that he smiles all day long, and no one knows what he is so happy about.

Zheng Ding is also a law-abiding person, but he has been disciplined too much since he was a child and is timid. He would never dare to do anything that breaks the rules. It would be okay for him to stay by his side and be an errand boy.

Zheng An has a gentle personality and is definitely not suitable for the army, so he is kept by his side as a servant and now follows him to broaden his horizons.

Although these three people are not of great use, they are indispensable.

"Sir, walk to the front and turn around, and you will reach Albert Road. From there you can see the Governor's Palace which was completed ten years ago. It is also a lively place, and many upper-class foreigners live nearby." Huang Liansheng walked forward and gave a detailed introduction.

"Let's talk while we walk." Zheng Guohui walked forward with a relaxed demeanor, as if he was taking a leisurely tour, with three or four people following closely behind him.

There were another seven or eight strong men several dozen meters away, walking forward in groups of three or two.

In fact, this cannot be hidden from anyone.

As I walked along, I attracted a lot of attention.

The Chinese often looked at him with awe, knowing that he must be a big shot who they could not afford to offend, and they all dodged to the side.

This person is either a young man from a prominent family or an official from a very powerful family. Both of them are big and powerful and cannot be provoked.

However, the foreign gentlemen and ladies couldn't help but stop and look over with curiosity.

Some people even extended their hands to say hello, but were glared back at by that jerk Ah Sheng.

If it weren't in public

Could Ah Sheng really rush over, grab that foreigner and give him a few slaps on the head to wake him up? What is the crime of disrespect?
You're even waving your hand to say hello, why don't you just go die?

In this era, the common people were often afraid of officials. Except for the successful candidates such as Juren and Xiucai, other common people would kneel before an official. Looking up and looking straight at him was considered disrespectful.

In Asheng's mind

He didn't understand what a colony was, nor did he have any respect for foreigners. Whenever a foreigner looked at him, he would glare back fiercely, his murderous eyes exchanging blows in the air.

Zheng Guohui didn't call out to Ah Sheng, which indeed saved him a lot of trouble.

Seeing this situation, several patrolling red-headed Indians, who even dared to glare at their foreign master, wisely turned around and left without any hesitation.

Without one or two hundred years of colonial history, it would be impossible to achieve such smoothness.

Zheng Guohui led his men for a leisurely stroll without being disturbed. From the patches on the clothes of passers-by and the colors on their faces, it could be seen that the local people were living a decent life.

If you really want to compare, it is similar to the more prosperous southern prefectures and counties in Jiangnan Province.

When exploring local customs and practices, many of the answers are reflected in the local people. There is no need to ask, as they can be seen clearly at a glance.

(End of this chapter)