Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 37 The First Mindanao Pioneer Group
Time flies, and a month and a half passed quietly.

After spending a lively and bustling Spring Festival in Tongzhou City, Zheng Guohui and his party came to Chongming Island again before the Lantern Festival. This was his fourth visit here when he returned home to visit his relatives.

The cold wind was howling, and among the large patches of withered yellow reeds, remnants of fallen snow could still be seen.

The ground is frozen hard at this time of year, and there is basically no collective work arranged on the entire Chongming Island. It is in a dormant state during the winter.

However, the residents on Chongming Island were not idle. Military training was organized by each village and town, with half a day of training in the morning and rest in the afternoon.

In order to motivate the residents, all those who participated in military training could get a bucket of corn flour every month.

Winter military training lasts for two months, which is to give the men on Chongming Island something to do and maintain a high level of military combat.

Although a bucket of corn flour is not a large amount, it is enough to feed these young and middle-aged people with big appetites for another week.

Except for special reasons such as illness or injury, villagers must participate in military training, otherwise it will affect the ability assessment of the village chief and team leader, as well as their own evaluation.

The news of going to Southeast Asia has spread, and many settlers have signed up enthusiastically.

Anyone who has a fervent hope for future life hopes to join the army going to Southeast Asia as soon as possible. As long as they make meritorious contributions, they will be rewarded with land, women, gold and silver, and can live an upright life like a human being.

Instead of just hiding on an isolated island and struggling to survive like we are now.

What people fear most is having no hope. The settlers on Chongming Island know very well that if their identities are exposed, they will have no way out, and that is death.

It’s a pity that the world is so big, but there is no place for us to live.

The operation in Southeast Asia led by the general ignited the fire of hope in the hearts of the settlers. In this cold winter, military training was carried out in full swing.

On the drying yard, by the road, and on the flat wasteland, villagers training in neat rows can be seen everywhere. They hold wooden sticks or wooden swords in their hands and train in an orderly manner.

Although it is not a real weapon, the fierce murderous aura that comes towards you cannot be faked.

The inhabitants on the island were all elite soldiers who had survived hundreds of battles. None of them were old, weak, sick or disabled. Those who were old, weak, sick and disabled had their heads chopped off and used as military merits for the Du Biao Battalion's suppression of bandits.

Zheng Guohui took a look around and was very satisfied, and gave a lot of praise.

Fifth uncle Zheng Shoucheng was not happy, because the grain stored in Tucheng had been greatly reduced, from more than 8000 shi more than two months ago to more than 3700 shi now, which could only last until the winter rice harvest at the end of March.

If you don't become a householder, you don't know that firewood and rice are expensive.

This nephew of a high-ranking official spent money lavishly. He only gave one bushel of corn flour for each month of military training. For more than 3 people, that would be more than 3000 bushels, which could be converted into bushels of rice.

The price of rice is higher than that of cornmeal, and it is a legitimate food.

Today's river bend
There were 27 thousand-stone Fu ships gathered, and more than ten thousand-stone Fu ships arrived from Nanjing recently. The ships were all loaded with food and gunpowder, as well as a large number of swords, guns and shields.

These swords, guns, and shields all came from the stockpile. In the city of Jinling, which once saw a battle involving hundreds of thousands of people, there were so many weapons that they were piled up in the warehouse like a small mountain.

Guangming Town
Zheng Guohui summoned a group of officials who were planning to go to Southeast Asia in the meeting hall of Tucheng to discuss specific matters.

In front of everyone, he personally appointed his younger uncle Zheng Shouxin (note, Thirteenth Uncle) as the Commander-in-Chief of Mindanao, the highest official responsible for the development of Mindanao Island.

At the same time, he appointed his deputy Qian Jiang as the commander of the Mindanao Special Battalion, leading 500 elite soldiers to march south.

All the soldiers were equipped with British-style rifles, and they also brought 300 more rifles and four British-made Armstrong 12-pound field guns, and accompanied the fleet south to explore.

The number of settlers heading south to Mindanao was finally confirmed to be 3822, more than 800 more than the original plan.

This was because Zheng Guohui had seized a large number of salt merchants' thousand-stone ships, which greatly increased his transportation capabilities, so he had more manpower to go south.

To be cautious

Eleventh uncle Zheng Shouzhong is an experienced man, and he also plays an important role in this trip south. He was appointed as the navigator and has the highest authority during the fleet's voyage.

After safely delivering these southbound troops and settlers, except for the six thousand-stone ships left for the first Mindanao pioneer group, the others were required to carry local specialties and goods back.
Eleventh Uncle Zheng Shouzhong needs to lead the fleet, and he is also the most suitable member of the tribe to take on this important task.

"...

Non-my family, its heart must be different.

After the southern pioneering group arrived in Mindanao, the first thing they had to do was to show goodwill to the local tribal chiefs and elders with a friendly attitude, and to gain a detailed understanding of the local population distribution, the number of tribal warriors, their combat effectiveness, and other related information.

on the basis of

With full preparation, we can launch a surprise attack, obtain food from the enemy, seize the local land that is more mature for cultivation, and rapidly develop agricultural production.

Only by controlling a large amount of land can we gain a foothold here.

It also provides transitional food for the second and third batches of troops and settlers heading south.

As for the local indigenous tribal population, all males can be wiped out, or they can be forced to work as coolies to build bridges, roads, and houses.

Young women can be allocated to soldiers as rewards first, and the surplus ones can be distributed to the settlers according to their performance. This is what the general has promised them.

In the coming period..."

Zheng Guohui stood there and spoke eloquently, scanning the entire audience with a dignified gaze, and deploying the plan to go south in a clear and orderly manner.

Everyone below looked at the general with fiery eyes, excited for the upcoming grand plan.

The general's plan is simple: conquest.

They robbed women, food, and land, and killed all the men who were in their way. The men who could be used were demoted to hard labor, building bridges, roads, and docks for the pioneers heading south.

Everyone is familiar with these things.

On the Chinese mainland
Isn't the fighting over the years just conquest?
This is the case with the Taiping rebels and the government troops, it’s just a different way of saying it, there is no difference in essence.

Zheng Guohui made extremely thorough preparations for the fleet heading south.

Each troop transport ship is equipped with a large amount of soybeans. After the soybeans germinate, they can be eaten to supplement the vitamins that the body lacks. They will not rot quickly like other grains and vegetables.

In addition, sweet liquor is popular in Tongzhou area, with an alcohol content of only 3 to 4 degrees. This is fermented rice wine, and each ship also has fifty large barrels prepared.

This is because when the fresh water stored on the ship deteriorates, people use sweet white wine as water to drink, in order to avoid a large number of casualties due to severe diarrhea, malaria and other tropical diseases.

The third measure is the health pamphlet, which contains the regulations;

After arriving at the local area, you cannot drink cold water raw. It must be rinsed with bleach and cooked and disinfected before use.

Toilets are strictly managed. All toilets must be built like the folk toilets in Tongzhou area, with a deep pit dug and a wooden lid covering it, leaving only a small hole the size of a buttock.

The toilets are disinfected with quicklime water and mosquitoes and flies are strictly disinfected.

Establish an epidemic isolation mechanism and immediately isolate and treat those who are found to have abnormal epidemic diseases.

Besides
There are also other detailed hygiene measures, mainly for prevention, such as washing hands before meals and after defecation, paying attention to personal hygiene, paying attention to ventilation of barracks and houses, and promptly cleaning up human and animal feces.

During his travels in Southeast Asia, Zheng Shouzhong discovered that there was a large-scale quinine plantation in Batavia. This herbal medicine can effectively treat tropical malaria and can be purchased through various channels.

Mindanao is not far from Batavia and can be reached by boat in two to three days, making it very convenient to purchase goods and travel.

The meeting lasted from morning to night, and covered almost all matters related to the journey south, no matter how big or small. Everyone was very enthusiastic about participating in the discussion.

Now everything is ready, all we need is the east wind.

(End of this chapter)