Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 80 This is my world, I am the master. (Please subscribe, please vote, please recommend.)
We sailed south for 5 days and encountered strong winds and heavy rain only when passing the waters off Fujian Province. The wind and waves reached a maximum of 5 to 6 meters, and 7 meters for a short time. They raged for half a day before returning to calm.

At this time, they were not far from the Penghu Islands. The fleet was scattered in the storm, and the four "Fen"-class sailing warships at the back began to search.

A team of two sailing warships searched repeatedly in a zigzag pattern at intervals of five to eight nautical miles. On the morning of the sixth day, they found the three scattered cargo ships. The mast of one of the cargo ships was broken by the strong wind and waves.

The three ships were tied together tightly with ropes and drifted along the sea.

After the arrival of the "Fen" sailing warship, two other intact cargo ships were arranged to sail directly to the Penghu Islands.

The cargo ship damaged in the storm was towed by the sailing warship "Struggle" and arrived at the Penghu Islands that evening, where emergency repairs were immediately carried out.

On the Penghu Islands

The inland sea surrounded by three islands is Penghu Bay, which is about 12 kilometers long from north to south and about 8 kilometers wide from east to west. The northern entrance is Niugongwan Strait, and the southern entrance is blocked by Fengguili Peninsula and Yuweng Island. It is about 3.3 kilometers wide and has a water depth of 10 to 62 meters.

Such a favorable harbor anchorage can accommodate the entire fleet, even ships with a displacement exceeding 10 tons.

This is the most ideal sheltered anchorage. No matter how rough the waves are outside the bay, Penghu Bay is as calm as a lake.

nowadays

More than a hundred large ships were anchored in the harbor in scattered patterns, their white sails reflected on the water, looking spectacular and quite shocking.

Small sampans traveled back and forth between the ship and the shore, transporting some immigrants who were severely seasick and vomiting to the shore for recuperation, and bringing back large quantities of vegetables and fresh water to replenish the needs of the ship.

All the immigrants took action, cleaning the cabins in the bay, washing away the dirt, hanging up the clothes, and replenishing the fresh water in the bamboo kettles to prepare for the next voyage.

In the fishing village of Penghu Island
There are six small fishing villages nearby, with a total population of only seven or eight hundred people. Most people live in poverty, and the only thing they can offer is pickled seafood.

Apart from that, there is almost nothing missing here.

These isolated fishing villages lack almost all daily necessities, including lamp oil, cloth, ironware, food, needles and thread.

The arrival of the southbound fleet ignited new hope for the Penghu fishing village.

The fleet conducted large-scale trade with the fishing village here using cloth, ironware, needles and thread and other daily necessities, exchanging almost all the pickled seafood stored in the village.

More than a dozen people who stayed behind brought a large amount of vegetable seeds and grain seeds, and led the local fishing villagers to reclaim wasteland and cultivate land, planting hundreds of acres of vegetables, fruits and melons, allowing the light of civilization to shine into these small fishing villages.

The more than 1600 people who arrived earlier, together with the local population, began large-scale construction, building houses, cutting down trees to build piers, further reclaiming land, and planting vegetables, fruits and melons that would produce quick results.

By the time the large fleet heading south arrives, they will be able to supply the necessary supplies on a large scale.

In a newly built stone fort at the foot of the mountain

This stone fortress built against the mountain is mainly made of quarried stones and now only the frame has been erected. Some sections have stone walls as high as the knees, and most of it has not been built.

The concrete adhesive used in building the stone fort is made from the local shell powder, which is innumerable, mixed with clay, glutinous rice paste, and a small amount of egg white.

Shell powder is a powder made by crushing the shells of oysters, clams, clams, snails, etc. after the flesh is removed.

On the riverbank not far away

The mountains of shells are first crushed with a large stone mill, and then placed in a stone mortar and pounded into powder. The entire process is done by manpower, but the speed is not slow at all.

A strong laborer can produce more than 200 kilograms of shell powder a day, and more than 50 people can produce more than 10 tons a day, which is enough to build a stone fort.

The only thing missing is glutinous rice. The large fleet heading south has already brought thousands of tons. Only dozens of tons are needed to build the stone fort in Penghu Bay, and the rest will all be taken to Mindanao, where more artillery forts are to be built.

There are five or six completed wooden houses in the stone fortress. The ground has been leveled with fine stones and furnished with some wooden tables and furniture brought from the ship, temporarily serving as the general's camp.

The storm we encountered the day before yesterday caused great suffering to the maids on the boat, who vomited all over the place.

I hardly ate anything in the past two days. I vomited everything I ate and lost weight rapidly.

Qiao Yue was the most seasick. She hadn't eaten properly for four days. Her face looked pale and it was difficult for her to get out of bed.

Zheng Guohui was not a heartless man. After he arrived at his post, he brought all the maids up and placed them here to rest and recover.

The room was filled with the rich aroma of chicken soup. These local chickens were stewed with precious medicinal materials such as Codonopsis pilosula, Astragalus membranaceus, and deer antlers. They can effectively invigorate blood circulation, nourish qi, and replenish the body.

Zheng Guohui walked into the room and saw six or seven maids drinking chicken soup with their heads down. Even Qiao Yue, who had lost her appetite, was among them. Her face looked much better than when she got off the boat earlier.

"Your servants are here to greet the general and thank you for your kindness." Several maids who had already eaten were cleaning up the dishes. When they saw the general come in, they quickly turned sideways and bowed deeply.

Zheng Guohui saw the other maids also stand up, so he stretched out his hand and pressed them lightly, saying;

"No need to be so polite. Just sit down and finish your soup. Take good care of yourself. They say girls are made of water, and I think that's true."

"General, this servant..."

Qiao Yue returned to shore for most of the day and ate some nourishing chicken soup, and her complexion had improved considerably. As she spoke, large, glistening tears welled up in her eyes, and she choked up, unable to continue.

Zheng Guohui smiled and said to Qiao Yue;
“Don’t you need to save anything for your General?
As long as you have an appetite, you can eat and drink as much of these nourishing foods as you want to keep your body strong.

Otherwise, we can only leave you on the island to recuperate slowly until the ship arrives."

"No... General, Qiao Yue will follow you even if I die." When Qiao Yue heard that she was going to be left on the island, she immediately became anxious and her tears flowed freely.

"Alright, I understand. You should take good care of yourself. Eating and drinking more now is better than getting seriously ill upon arrival."

"If Qiao Yue knew, she would definitely eat a lot."

"Also, stop crying. Qiaoxing, you have to take good care of Qiaoyue. Move around more after dinner so you can eat more at the next meal."

"Please rest assured, General, I understand." The maid Qiao Xing was very adaptable to ocean voyages. Apart from the initial discomfort, she quickly adapted to life on the ship.

Even though there was such a big storm the day before yesterday, the waves pushed the hull to shake violently, and Zheng Guohui felt seasick, but this little maid was able to hold on.

Among these dozen or so maids, three or four of them were obviously much stronger in physique.

Zheng Guohui took it to heart and decided to select those who could adapt to life on board when sailing on the ocean in the future.

The girl Qiao Yue obviously couldn't bear it.

According to statistics after landing
More than 1400 immigrants and soldiers who were vomiting and dizzy were basically transferred to the island one after another to help them through the severe adaptation period.

There happened to be several ships damaged in the storm, and the carpenters on board were now repairing them.

Leaving behind 6 ships, these immigrants will stay on the island for 2 to 3 weeks and then head south to Zamboanga to minimize the loss of personnel during the voyage.

After 2 days of rest
Zheng Guohui saw that the weather at sea was calm and it was a good time to sail south. The supply of water and vegetables was basically complete, so he ordered the large fleet to set sail south immediately.

Zamboanga

Noon on July 1865, 8

On the sea skyline near Zamboanga, a tall mast jumped out of the sea, and then the entire triangular mast was revealed, and the white sails filled with sea breeze were like a signal.

not long

Dense sails appeared on the skyline, forming a long snake formation that stretched as far as the eye could see, rushing towards the Zamboanga Port in a mighty force. The huge fleet was getting closer and closer, bringing a huge and oppressive feeling that made one's scalp numb.

If it were an enemy, they would have been panicking by now.

The Zamboanga Port was obviously not like that. When the huge fleet was seen, cheers immediately filled the entire port. People ran and jumped excitedly, expressing their inner excitement and passion.

But the number of people was small, only about two or three hundred at a glance, so the noise was not big.

Soon, someone rode on horseback and rushed towards the town. Not long after, a team of more than 150 fully armed soldiers came running over. Along with them came immigrants driving horse-drawn carriages, ox-drawn carts, and donkey-drawn carts, about dozens or even hundreds of people.

When the huge team entered the Zamboanga Harbor one after another, four or five hundred people gathered at the dock. Everyone was waving their arms excitedly, and many people shed tears of excitement.

The four or five hundred people who came to the port to welcome them were the majority of Han immigrants and soldiers who remained in Sanbao Camp.

The large group of immigrants followed the commander Zheng Shouxin (with the title of Qianzong, my uncle), and Qianzong and the military officer Qian Jiang. They had captured Davao more than two months ago and launched suppression and colonization operations in the local area.

The main force totaled more than 3500 people, and only less than 900 remained in Zamboanga.

No wonder Zheng Shouxin and Qian Jiang repeatedly urged the general in their letters to bring more immigrants south, as there was a serious shortage of manpower here.

Now, the second wave of large fleets heading south has arrived, bringing with them more than 19000 people, greatly expanding the local Chinese influence and consolidating colonial rule.

As long as such a large population takes root, establishes Chinese families and expands, it will be wishful thinking for any hostile forces to drive them away.

Standing at the bow
Zheng Guohui looked at the outlines of the towering mountains on the blue bay in front of him, stretching endlessly to the end of the horizon. A huge sense of accomplishment surged in his heart, and his eyes were a little moist.

It’s worth it, so worth it.

All his efforts so far were rewarded with unimaginable greatness when he saw the majestic and magnificent sight of Zamboanga Peninsula.

The strong and dizzying feeling of happiness and the powerful desire to conquer that arose in his heart were like two fires, warming Zheng Guohui's body and mind, making him feel warm as if he was drunk.

There is also a slight tingling sensation, and the hormones stimulated by the small electric current in the body are expanding continuously. I can only use one word to describe it: "It's so fucking great."

This is my world, I am the boss.

(End of this chapter)