Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 79 The Beginning of the Journey South
"The auspicious time has arrived. Please come aboard, General."

"Well, let's get on the boat."

Zheng Guohui responded and led everyone to board five large Western sailing ships. He himself boarded the largest 5-ton "Guangming", which was also the flagship of the navy.

Other military and political entourage boarded the "Fenwei", "Fenyong", "Fendou" and "Fenjin". These large sailing ships were mainly used to carry soldiers, not settlers and immigrants.

Zheng Guohui was the last to board the ship. He waved goodbye to the Zheng clan members and Li Hezhang and others who came to see him off, and then ordered the fleet to set sail.

The Guangming was the last to leave the pier, but it was the first to sail out of the river. The sails behind it were like a forest, forming a long snake town following closely.

The four sailing warships with the Chinese character "奋" (Fen) in their names were the last in line and did not leave the dock until around noon.

This time, the four sailing warships with the Chinese character "Fen" in their names belonged to the post-war recovery and rescue fleet. Each ship carried several doctors and thick towing cables.

If other immigrant ships or Fujian ships encounter distress due to rough waves, the four "Fen"-shaped sailing warships at the rear will be responsible for rescue work on a "one-to-one" basis.

When a ship was found in distress, a sailing warship with the Chinese character "奋" (Fen) in its name would be left behind to provide rescue, while the other ships would continue to sail with the fleet and would not be disturbed.

And so on, I won’t go into details.

The large sailing ship "Guangming" took the lead and sailed out of the estuary. Zheng Guohui stood on the high roof of the stern tower and looked around with high spirits.

The surging river water pushed the big ship downstream. On the vast river surface, the coastline of the north bank of the Yangtze River was faintly visible. On the other side was the Chongming Island river beach with dense reeds, which was lush and green and stretched as far as the eye could see.

The speed of the ship going downstream was very fast. The fleet in front had long disappeared, and the fleet behind was huge, with bulging sails connecting to the end of the sight. This huge formation was spectacular.

The navigator Zheng Shouzhong (garrison title, eleventh uncle) was in command of the first wave of fleet, also a large Western sailing ship, with his master and apprentice Lao Ma walking in front.

The person on Zheng Guohui's ship was the deputy envoy Dong Haisheng, a mixed-race person of Chinese and Western descent. In his early years, he hung out at the Thirteen Hongs Wharf in Guangzhou Prefecture, and later boarded a British merchant ship to travel east and west.

This person is fluent in English and French, and can roughly understand Spanish. He can be considered a talented person.

Over the past ten years, he changed several British ships, working his way up from a sailor to a boatswain, second mate, and first mate. The farthest he had sailed was the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa. He often traveled between India and the South Pacific islands. He was a veritable old sea wolf.

This man was hired with a large sum of money and now serves as the deputy envoy of navigation. Zheng Guohui awarded him the title of Qianzong.

"General, if our fleet sails with the wind, it will reach Haikou in less than an hour and turn south." Deputy Envoy Dong Haisheng reported respectfully.

"Well, keep on course."

Zheng Guohui nodded slightly and turned to look at the deputy envoy Dong Haisheng. This man had been exposed to the sun at sea for many years, and his face had become dark, red, rough, and full of wrinkles.

Wearing the military officer uniform of a thousand-man commander, he looked like a monkey in human form.

Don't judge a book by its cover. The safety of the fleet's voyage depends largely on Dong Haisheng.

Zheng Guohui smiled and said amiably, "If this journey successfully reaches the Luzon Islands, Deputy Envoy Dong will have accomplished a great feat, and I will reward you handsomely."

"Thank you, General. I will serve you wholeheartedly and will not slack off even for a moment."

"Well, Deputy Envoy Dong, what do you think of the weather?"

"General, the sky is high and cloudless, so it must be a very good weather. It will be sunny for at least the next two days."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that. Please ask Deputy Envoy Dong to guide those sailors for a while. Operating a large sailing ship is a delicate job and we can't be careless."

"Please rest assured, General. I will do my best to help you."

"Well, you go ahead and do your work. I'll go back to the cabin and rest for a while."

"I respectfully bid you farewell, General."

Zheng Guohui didn't answer, but waved his hand and walked down the stairs. He glanced at the five or six young students studying on the ship and then turned back to the cabin. He occupied the huge poop alone. In addition to his own luxurious bedroom and study, he also had Qiao Yue, Qiao Xing, Qian Xiao Yue, Su Mei Niang, and more than ten beautiful maids.

They lived in rooms of two or five people each, and their living conditions were much better than those of the soldiers.

Among the accompanying personnel, only the staff advisor Zheng Xin, Zheng Fu and Zheng Gui shared a cabin, while the others mostly lived in the bow cabin and the main cabin. The entire ship was filled with more than 390 people.

Because the ship is wide and divided into five floors, it does not seem too crowded.

Unlike other ships, the Guangming ship carried dozens of war horses, and there were also some chickens, ducks, cows, sheep and other livestock in the lower compartments, all of which were selected fat and strong livestock.

They are transported to Mindanao and used as breeding stock to improve local livestock breeds.

If the fish is too weak to be transported, we can still eat its meat after killing it, which can be used to improve the food during the voyage.

Back to the cabin
The two maids, Qiao Yue and Qiao Xing, came forward and helped Zheng Guohui take off his coat. They served him mung bean tea and sliced ​​watermelon, and obediently used a palm-leaf fan to help fan him to cool down.

The boat was sailing for a while and was on the calm river again. The two well-behaved maids were not seasick and still looked excited.

When the boat is sailing in the river, the wind is much stronger than on the shore.

After Zheng Guohui finished his meal, he asked the maid to go and rest, and he picked up an English book and started reading.

Two maids carried small chairs and sat at the door. It was a great place with wind and shade, where they could chat with each other when they had nothing to do.

"Sister Qiaoyue, do you think there will be those foreigners on the island we're going to?"

"Didn't the master say that? That big southern island has not only red-haired foreigners, but also savages with bodies as black as charcoal. There's everything. Anyway, I can't tell for sure."

"Wow, it's as black as charcoal. Doesn't that hurt?"

"You ask me, who should I ask?"

"Then when the master is in a good mood, we can ask him. I'm really curious!"

"It'll only take about ten days. Once you get to the island, you'll see it with your own eyes."

"I'm afraid to look. It's scary just thinking about it. Sister Qiaoyue, you said his skin was burnt. Can he still be alive?"

"How would I know? Go away. It's so hot out here, won't it be hot if we sit together?"

"Sister Qiaoyue, Master said that the island in the south is very large, as big as our Jiangnan Province. How big is our Jiangnan Province?"

"How would I know?"

"Just tell me."

"What am I talking about? I've only been to Tongzhou Prefecture and Jinling Prefecture in my life. I haven't been to other places, just like you. How would I know how big Jiangnan Province is?"

"Tsk... so boring."

The two maids' whispered discussions were heard intermittently. Zheng Guohui smiled indifferently and focused his attention on the book in his hand again.

Questions like the two maids' are common among immigrants.

This needs no explanation. After arriving on the island, the mystery of imagination is unveiled and everything becomes clear.

I have made sufficient preparations for this trip, I just hope everything goes well.

(End of this chapter)