Nanyang Storm 1864

Chapter 82: A Narrow Escape at Davao Port (Please subscribe, please vote, please add to favorites, please support. Thank you very much.)
Two days later, early in the morning
"Master, please don't abandon Qiao Yue, I'm scared..." Qiao Yue hugged Zheng Guohui's legs tightly, tears streaming down her face, her face full of panic.

"Don't worry, aren't Qiaoxing and the others with you? Once you've recovered, they'll naturally take you to Davao. Don't let your imagination run wild."

Zheng Guohui patted her little head gently, feeling both amused and helpless. Qiaoyue has always been well-behaved and sensible.

If the continuous long voyages had not damaged his body and made his mind increasingly sensitive and fragile, he would not have said such inappropriate words.

Zheng Guohui turned around and said to the pitiful-looking maids Qiao Xing, Qian Xiaoyue, and Su Mei Niang:
"What are you doing as masters?
Arriving in Davao City to quell the local indigenous rebellion is not a life of peace and prosperity. The master has a lot of things to do and cannot take care of you.

You will recuperate here for a while. Once you have recovered, I will take you over to serve me.

The shortest is about 10 days, and the longest is about two weeks.

Stay here peacefully for the next few days, take good care of yourself, don't drink raw water, avoid mosquito bites, pay attention to hygiene, and don't get sick."

"Master, we obey your command! We are looking forward to you sending someone to pick us up." The maids responded in unison.

"Master, may you be blessed with good health. But please don't forget us." Qian Xiaoyue said with a look of reluctance.

Zheng Guohui, feeling both amused and helpless, nudged her with his finger and said, "Well, you're so clever. I'm a man of my word, how can I go back on my word?"

The maids smiled brightly after hearing these words. All their worries were swept away and they became lively again.

no way

In this era with deep feudal ethics, women are like branches clinging to the big tree of men, their fates rise and fall with the waves, so how can they have room for autonomy?

When Zheng Guohui and his party arrived at the Zamboanga Port by horse carriage, the earliest fleet had already left the port and returned home, fully loaded with copper ore.

After boarding the large sailing ship "Guangming", Zheng Guohui immediately ordered the ship to set sail, heading for Davao Port, and planned to arrive before 2 pm tomorrow.

The melodious sound of the horn spread throughout the harbor, and the large sailing ship "Guangming" raised the red and blue departure flag, which fluttered vigorously on the top of the tall mast, like a burning flame.

The large ships in the harbor responded one after another, and the sailors' work songs rose one after another.

More than a dozen people worked together to turn the wooden turntable, reeling in the heavy anchor chain in the water round and round, making a dull "clattering" sound.

The rigging hand climbed up the tall mast like a nimble monkey, released the huge sail that was tightly tied, and with a "whoosh" it spread out into the wind.

The sails filled with sea breeze pushed the hull to move, orders came one after another on the ship, and the sailors were busy manipulating the sails and steering the huge ship.

One after another, cargo ships in the bay followed the sailing ship out of the bay and headed towards the blue western sea.

As the sky gradually brightened, flocks of seagulls flew up and down, chirping non-stop around the fleet, as if bidding farewell.

The bow of the ship broke through the waves, drawing white tracks on the azure sea. The huge fleet was endless, with sails like a forest, and it was so magnificent.

Zheng Guohui stood on the tall stern deck, looked back at the endless fleet, and a confident smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

In the face of powerful force, all resistance is nothing but rubbish, reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

The area around Davao is the center of the indigenous population, with about 30 local indigenous people. It is an area that must be completely conquered and no mistakes can be made.

After conquering Davao, the next step was to send a fleet to conquer Cagayan, the third largest city in Mindanao, and completely control the island.

Cagayan is also a coastal port city located in the north of Mindanao.

Zamboanga and Davao are located in the south of Mindanao. The three cities form a roughly equilateral triangle, which is also the last step in conquering Mindanao.

The city of Cagayan is not big, and the town population barely exceeds 10,000 people. It is more like a seaside fishing town than a city, but it is relatively prosperous.

On the island of Mindanao, where productivity is relatively backward, the few cities are small and can be easily conquered.

However, the two major cities of Manila and Cebu occupied by the Franks were much more difficult to conquer.

The Cebu Islands are located in the central Luzon Islands. The largest island, Cebu Island, is the first place where French colonists landed and has been operating for more than three hundred years.

The entire island
There are buildings full of Spanish characteristics everywhere, including more than a dozen churches. It looks like a Spanish city on the Mediterranean coast.

The blue sea, white beach and swaying coconut trees are filled with rich exotic atmosphere.

Cebu, including the neighboring towns of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu, forms the Greater Cebu area, with a total population of over 15, three times that of Davao.

Manila has a larger population, so it is correspondingly more difficult to conquer.

Thinking of this, Zheng Guohui took a long breath, looked at the blue sea and blue sky in the distance with deep eyes, and a sense of pride suddenly arose in his heart.

No matter how difficult it is, I must finally put this beautiful South China Sea archipelago under my feet. It will become the starting point of my Zheng Guohui's ambition, not the end point.

mid-19th century
This was the craziest period of world colonization by European powers such as Britain and France, who were scrambling to grab land and expand the scope of their colonies all over the world.

this period
This is also the last chance to change the historical map. Zheng Guohui secretly vowed in his heart;
We must carve out a large territory, take root in Southeast Asia, echo the Chinese mainland, and win more living space for the Chinese nation.

This is the lofty goal he has set for his life, and he will devote his entire life to achieving it.
The weather was a bit gloomy when he woke up in the morning. Zheng Shouxin received news yesterday that the general had arrived in Zamboanga with a large fleet, so he led his men to the dock early to wait.

Looking at the dark clouds in the sky and the growing stronger wind on the sea, he couldn't help but feel more worried.

"What time is it now?"

"Report to the Commander, it is now 10:15 am."

"How's the wind at sea?"

"Reporting to the Commander, the wind is gradually increasing at sea. According to the analysis of experienced veterans, rain is likely around noon. The wind will continue to intensify, and a short tropical storm cannot be ruled out."

"Continue to strengthen observation and report any changes at any time."

"Yes, my lord."

Zheng Shouxin turned his head to look at the sea. The increasingly strong wind pushed the waves towards the seashore, smashing into pieces on the rocks, making a loud "crashing" sound.

The wind and waves in the bay are much smaller, but you can see rows of five or six meter high waves surging outside the bay in the distance, making anxious boiling sounds.

The sea breeze whistled past, causing the branches of the large trees on the shore to tremble constantly, and from time to time there were "crackling" sounds of them breaking.

In this horrible weather, we can only pray that the general's fleet has a safe journey.

The tense waiting felt like a year. I wonder how much time has passed?
Several soldiers on the shore suddenly shouted, "Is that a ship? Is that our fleet? By God, it really is!"

"Look over there..."

"Yes, it's the General's fleet. Report to the Commander-in-Chief immediately! The fleet is coming."

What else needs to be reported? Zheng Shouxin was suddenly delighted when he heard it. He stood up hurriedly and ran to the front to take a closer look.

On the crest of the waves in the distance, a continuous row of sails appeared, and then more and more of them appeared, until the entire sight was filled with densely packed large ships.

These large ships braved the wind and waves, sailing straight ahead amidst the raging waves stirred up by the strong wind...

The moment he saw the large fleet, Zheng Shouxin's excited heartbeat almost stopped, and then he was overwhelmed with ecstasy. He shouted loudly along with the soldiers on the shore, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"General, we have been waiting here for a long time."

"Long live the general! Long live the great fleet! Long live the Han nation!"

"That's good, the general is here."

"After so much anticipation, we finally have the General. With the General, we have a backbone and are not afraid of anything."

"Great, great!"

On the coast, the welcoming crowd cheered and more than 2000 people burst into a huge noise, drums and music sounded, and the sharp sounds of dozens of suonas echoed in the sea space, and they all played the celebratory music of "Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

The large fleet heading towards the bay, one after another, broke free from the raging waves and sailed into the relatively calm bay, and was greeted with even more enthusiastic cheers.

When the large sailing ship Guangming was the first to dock, the celebratory drums and gongs reached their climax. People, with tears on their faces, sang and danced, welcoming the general and the fleet with the warmest emotions.

The large fleet, originally scheduled to arrive at around 2 p.m., sped along in the increasingly strong winds at sea and arrived at Davao Port three hours ahead of schedule.

After Zheng Guohui arrived at the dock, he immediately arranged for people to count the number of accompanying fleets without having time to explain in detail to everyone.

a quarter of an hour later
The accompanying personnel reported that "63 ships have arrived, and 9 ships have not yet arrived, including the four warships with the prefix "Fen" (Fen).

Zheng Guohui's expression gradually relaxed after hearing this. The sailing warship has a strong ability to withstand wind and waves. The current sea surface is only a force 5 or 6 gale, which is far from threatening the sailing warship.

The only thing that worries people is the five transport ships. Although some of the population has been unloaded in Sanbaoyan, these five transport ships still have thousands of immigrants and a large amount of supplies on board.

When the storm hits

Visibility at sea deteriorated, and ships were violently shaken by the waves several meters high, making maneuvering more difficult. It was not surprising that some ships were blown off course.

After more than an hour of anxious waiting, two transport ships arrived one after another, which made people feel much more at ease.

It was not until around 6 p.m. that the raging storm subsided and the last two ships finally arrived.

The Endeavour was towing a transport ship with a long cable. The front and rear sails of the ship were torn apart and fluttered in the air, looking extremely miserable.

neither knows

What hardships did the ship go through during the nearly 8 hours of raging winds?
Fortunately, the ending was satisfactory. All the large transport fleet arrived at Davao Port without any danger.

(End of this chapter)