Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 53: Falling into a trap
Zamboanga has a new owner, and after just one week, the entire city has completely changed.

A city cross street about 20 meters wide was cleared, and a trench about 4 meters deep was abandoned. Many shacks and thatched houses were demolished for this purpose.

With the support of skilled Chinese craftsmen, what the general called "European city sewer dredging culvert network" was soon put into practice in Zamboanga, a coastal city in Southeast Asia.

The first batch of bricks came out of more than ten brick kilns and were immediately transported to the construction site in the city to start building a dome-shaped urban sewer culvert. There is no need to describe them in detail.

The advance group's headquarters was set up directly in the church, which was the best stone building in the city. It was not only spacious and sturdy, but also had a yard that could accommodate more than one hundred people.

The officers also each occupied some better houses, and their lives gradually settled down, giving them enough time to adapt to the local climate.

The Zamboanga area has a typical maritime climate, with hot and humid days, reaching 10 or degrees Celsius in early April, and cool and pleasant nights, with temperatures dropping below degrees Celsius.

The cool sea breeze came slowly, very refreshing, and it was not difficult to adapt to it.

A large number of illegally built shacks and thatched houses in the city were razed to the ground, and some rocks and wood were transported in to prepare for building houses.

The foundation of the house is built with mountain stones, and the joints are filled with glutinous rice paste and shell powder. This traditional craft is very durable and stronger than later concrete.

Shells are a material that is abundant in the Zamboanga area. The colorful shells are often used to make women's ornaments, jewelry, and inlaid tables, chairs, benches, and window frames, which are very characteristic of Southeast Asia.

As for those shells with inferior or less liquid color, they are crushed into powder with a stone mill and mixed with glutinous rice paste to make building materials, which are extremely convenient to use.

When building a house in the local area, in order to prevent moisture from rotting the foundation, you basically have to build a stone foundation about one meter thick, and then use wood to make a house frame on top. Fill it with oil palm and other materials and press it tightly with bamboo strips. Then apply a thick layer of glutinous rice paste and shell powder on the surface, and cover the roof with tiles, and it will be a pretty good house.

Such houses do not need to be cold-proof, but have excellent waterproof performance.

Most of the materials used are local specialties, and we just need to organize people to cut and dry them.

The most expensive item was the stone from the quarry, which was mined day and night by the indigenous laborers and then continuously sent to the city to support the construction of Zamboanga.

Officers and soldiers can be allocated first in the newly built houses, and the basis for allocation is military merit.

Chinese immigrants had to pay money to buy the land, while local natives had no right to obtain property or land and could only rely on the Chinese to survive.

In just one week

The first batch of more than 4000 Chinese immigrants who moved south have been distributed to more than villages around Zamboanga. They have seized the land of local indigenous people and are busy with spring plowing.

These Chinese immigrants faced many difficulties. The local Moro natives were not good at farming, and all the fields had no water conservancy and irrigation facilities, so the harvest depended entirely on the weather.

The weeds in the fields were as tall as the rice, and there were many uneven slopes that had not been tidied up at all, which was a headache to look at.

As for the output, needless to say, it is pitifully small.

Fortunately, this place is full of fruit trees, with more than 170 kinds of tropical fruits. The fruits are abundant, and it is known as the "Fruit Island".

The local Moro indigenous people eat fruits when they don’t have enough food and they don’t even go hungry. This shows how rich the agricultural resources in Mindanao are, which is simply outrageous.

After these Chinese immigrants arrived in the villages, they immediately aroused the nature of Chinese farmers and began to devote themselves to the hard work of cultivating the land.

At the beginning, these Chinese immigrants urged the natives with knives and guns to dig irrigation ditches, level the land, clear the weed roots, gravel and rotten wood in the land, and dig silt from the river to fertilize the fields.

Later, I couldn't bear to watch it anymore and started to demonstrate it myself.

Chinese immigrants were relocated to nearby villages and towns as a whole, not as individuals, but in groups of 12 people each.

Each village was divided into 8 to 14 groups depending on the amount of land, and they were equipped with weapons such as swords and guns to lead the local indigenous people to work.

Qian Jiang has led his soldiers and more than a thousand Chinese swordsmen and shieldmen to sweep the indigenous tribes farther away, and captured more than 10,000 people in succession, effectively supplementing the labor shortage in the labor camp.

this day

Zheng Shouxin and Qian Jiang, who had just returned, stood on a high place by the bay and pointed and talked. They were planning the location of future defensive artillery positions.

This place is located in the Basilan Strait, the southwesternmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula. The two are located in the Posonanca Highlands, a densely forested highland about ten miles away from the city.

At the foot of the highlands is the pier and seaside market.

If a fortress battery is to be built, Posonanka Heights would be the most suitable place, as it offers a commanding view from a high vantage point and the fortress artillery can control a large area.

The problem is that
The construction work was huge, almost like building a fortress on the high ground. It would take at least six or seven years and require the mobilization of thousands of convicts.

If it is built at the foot of the mountain and formed into a fort fortress around the mountain, the amount of work will be much smaller, only one-fourth to one-fifth of the former.

Zheng Shouxin frowned in embarrassment. He felt the project was too large and was delaying the city's construction. So he said, "Master Qian, I think we can build a fort at the foot of the mountain. It's enough to deter the enemy. There's no need to make it too large right from the start. That would be counterproductive."

"What Lord Zheng said is absurd. What is the foundation that cannot be changed?" Qian Jiang retorted with an unhappy look on his face.

He was a commander, responsible for the military operations of the advance group, and he only looked at things from a military perspective.

Building a solid fortress battery on the top of a highland mountain is undoubtedly a permanent solution, and the benefits are obvious.

As long as the fort is controlled, the entire Zamboanga Port area can be protected from foreign invasion and the initiative can be firmly in our hands.

What's the big deal about building a wall at the foot of the mountain?

If foreign enemies invade, we just need to abandon our boats and go ashore.

By launching a roundabout attack from the side of Posonanca Heights or the Zamboanga Peninsula and encircling them from a high position, we can remove this thorn at the foot of the mountain in minutes.

If a large fortress-type defensive battery is built on the top of the mountain, then no matter how many detours there are, it will be useless. The only solution is to capture the fortress on the top of the mountain. Even if it takes 20 years, let alone six or seven years, it would be worth it.

Zheng Shouxin was also very troubled after hearing this. Qian Jiang used the general's "eternal foundation" as an excuse, which was really difficult to refute.

If he speaks in a roundabout way and is caught making mistakes and reports are made, he will lose the general's trust, and even Zheng Shouxin, his illegitimate uncle, will not be able to bear it!

Zheng Shouxin then said, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be accomplished overnight. My suggestion is to wait until the navigator returns, or the second dispatch group arrives, and then convey the general's advice before taking any action. Is that okay?"

"The General has already granted you the authority to make decisions on the spot. Could it be that the Commander-in-Chief is afraid to take responsibility?"

"It's because the project is so massive. I'm worried about the lack of food and grain, and it's difficult to support such a large project! If this affects the general's immigration plan, I will be guilty of this even if I die."

"The fort is an eternal foundation, and we must start it no matter how difficult it is. I can sign a military order in front of the commander-in-chief, and all the hard labor required will be provided by the military."

"What about the food shortage?"

"It's okay. This island is full of fruits and vegetables, the sea is full of fat fish, and the seaweed and kelp on the coast are so abundant that it's outrageous. We can just let the convicts eat these." Qian Jiang was not without preparation and continued with confidence.

"I plan to recruit 20 Chinese immigrants to row sampans every day to collect seaweed and kelp, chop them up and mix them into rice balls for the convicts.

This can reduce food needs by 70%.

In addition, we can order people to set up nets and catch fish. Only a dozen fishing boats are needed, which can greatly reduce the demand for food."

Anyway, it is clear from the words that the Posonanka Fort must be built and it cannot be reduced in size.

Seeing Qian Jiang's unwillingness to give up, Zheng Shouxin had no choice but to give in and nodded in agreement to build a highland artillery fort.

Anyway, we don’t need much labor in the early stage, so let’s get more than a thousand people to do it first.

Both of them had the same goal of building Zamboanga, but their starting points were different, which led to their different opinions. It was not a big conflict.

As for the strategy for conquering Davao, the largest city in Mindanao, the two basically agreed, which was to wait for a month or two to gain a firm foothold.

The most important thing at present is agricultural production, and urban transformation and fortress construction are given lower priority.

At the beginning of the southward march, the general decided on the policy of "obtaining food from the enemy", so the food brought south was not much, only enough for one and a half months.

After more than 20 days of boating on the sea and about a week of landing, the remaining food was only enough for 20 days.

Therefore, the next step Qian Jiang will take is to lead his soldiers to go deeper into the tribes where the indigenous people gather, to search and seize large livestock such as cattle and donkeys, as well as poultry and livestock such as pigs, sheep, geese, chickens, and ducks, in preparation for large-scale breeding and raising.

Collecting surplus food from indigenous tribes is also a major focus.

The early rice that is being planted now will take about three months to mature and be harvested, which is mid-July.

Nowadays, fishing boats go out to sea and catch a lot of fish every day, which can save 60% of food.

The food, originally enough for 20 days, could easily sustain them for another two months, and the nutritional value was sufficient. Coupled with the abundant local tropical fruits, there was no problem supplying the needs of the advance team heading south.

The problem is that the number of convicts forced to work has reached over 10,000. How can we feed so many people?

Qian Jiang came up with a good solution, which was kelp steamed buns.

There is so much kelp and seaweed on the Zamboanga coast that it is an overflowing mess. The coastal areas are covered with large patches of black seaweed. You can just take a boat to pick them up.

As for the taste, you can't expect much.

Zheng Shouxin and Qian Jiang were standing on a high place, discussing future matters, when they saw a large Western sailing ship approaching from afar.

The two men smiled at each other, and another large Western sailing ship fell into their hands.

Sure enough, as soon as the large Western sailing ship entered the bay, it realized something was wrong.

There are a large number of ships parked densely at the Zamboanga Bay pier, and many people are standing on the pier looking out, pointing and laughing.

The white captain of the large Western sailing ship's expression changed drastically, and he loudly ordered the rigging hand to quickly untie the sail that had just been folded, but it was too late.

Behind this large Western sailing ship, three more large Western sailing ships came one after another, clamping it tightly from both sides and the back, with their black muzzles raised densely.

See this situation
The white captain had no choice but to raise his hands in surrender and stop resisting in vain, which would only lead to his death.

After occupying Zamboanga, in order to prevent the news from leaking, the advance fleet blockaded the entire port, and all ships were allowed to enter but not leave.

This large sailing ship flying the English Union Jack fell into the trap, and the 2500 dan of rice and 8 feet of foreign cloth it brought with it made Zheng Shouxin overjoyed.

It’s really fucking great that whatever I need comes to me.

If this much rice is eaten sparingly and combined with the fish caught in the sea, it will be enough for the advance team to sustain for another two months.

These 8 feet of foreign cloth are just right for making clothes after dyeing, and are the most needed supplies at the moment.

At worst, we can just give these English people some silver.

In order to keep it secret, they had to stay in the port for the time being and could not go anywhere.

(End of this chapter)