The Hai'an Station in Lianzhou, Guangdong and Qiongzhou were across the sea. Since the Taiping Army occupied the entire Guangdong Province, it has built a military port here, becoming the second major military port of the Guangdong Navy after the Huangpu Port of the Pearl River. Wu Yuan, the navy commander of the Expeditionary Army, established a deputy general of the water camp here. Guangdong Governor Liao Ruixiang also sent envoys to accept Qiongzhou Prefecture, obtained three prefectures and thirteen counties, including Danzhou, Yazhou, Wanzhou, etc., and obtained more than 67,000 people from Dingkou. The original anti-Qing Yishi on the island was reorganized into the Qiongzhou Security Corps, responsible for recruiting ethnic minorities on the island who were dissatisfied with the royal empire, encircled and suppressed pirate dens, and responsible for local public security. Because they did not want to be under the jurisdiction of the Han people, the Li people on the island kept causing trouble, and several Li people were active in the Wuzhishan area. The Qiongzhou authorities failed to encircle and suppress the two encirclements and suppression, and had to write a letter to the Guangdong Governor's Yamen to send troops to support.

Guangdong immediately sent two brigades from Xinjian Town of a Taiping Army stationed in Leizhou to cross the sea on Guangdong Navy warships. After four months of encirclement and suppression, they finally successfully suppressed the Li people. Then Qiongzhou Prefecture implemented the "reform of land and return to the current" and established Taiping Prefecture in the original Li people's area. More than 20,000 civilians were moved from mountainous areas to convenient transportation areas, built villages and townships, and taught farming.

At the beginning of the year, due to the trade between Guangdong and Annan, especially the increase in grain transportation, Song Xianggong, who was left-behind Grand Secretary and the Governor of Guangdong and Guangxi, ordered the Guangdong Governor's Yamen, Qiongzhou local and Guangdong Navy to build military ports in Lingao as a transit station for the Annan and Guangdong waterways. From then on, two courses were formed. One was Hongji in Annan to Xuwen in Guangdong, and the other was Guangning in Annan to Linggao and then to Qianshanzhai Zhujiang. In addition, Song Xianggong encouraged Guangdong merchants to trade overseas. Because it was temporarily unable to conduct large-scale trade with Luzon and other places, Guangdong merchants' eyes were focused on the Annan area.

The opening of the two waterways ensured that the large amount of food and resources obtained by the expeditionary force from Annan could be quickly transported to Guangdong. However, at the same time, the prosperity of these two waterways also attracted the attention of pirates active in the South China Sea, forcing the Guangdong navy to turn its focus to the encirclement and suppression of pirates. After a series of encirclement and suppression, the rampant pirate activities were effectively curbed, but they could not be completely cured. This was mainly because the pirates' dens were difficult to find in the vast sea. Secondly, the pirates changed their strategy and no longer attacked the Taiping Army's grain transport ships, but specifically attacked trade ships without escorts from the military ships, and immediately fled after they succeeded. Often when the ship merchants reported that they were robbed, the pirates had long disappeared.

The main forces of the Guangdong Navy have been organized into the Expeditionary Force, and the ships left behind can only perform offshore combat missions. Therefore, Wu Yuan, the commander of the Expeditionary Force Navy, established a naval marine team, equipped with firearms such as firearms and thunder, and used the team as the organization to escort the merchant ship. Of course, the required expenses are borne by the ship merchants, and the ship merchants pass on this part of the expenses to the Annan people who trade, and slightly lower the purchase price, which is enough to bear the additional expenses of escorting the ship.

In addition to encouraging merchants to engage in maritime trade, Guangdong also planned to organize maritime merchants. Some warships eliminated from the navy, and even active warships were sold to these maritime merchants at a discount. In terms of weapons, guns, guns, swords, bows and crossbows were sold. In addition, two crew training centers were also set up in Guangzhou, Qianshanzhai and other places, specializing in training crew members for maritime merchants. The training standards of these two crew training centers are completely the standard training configuration for naval combatants. The only difference is that these people will be civilians in the future, not soldiers.

Some people are worried that such armed maritime merchants will inevitably form a force group in the future, which is not conducive to the jurisdiction of the court. This is the only concern that under Duke Xiang of Song and the reason for "armed ship protection" will not affect the implementation of the policy at all. Duke Xiang of Song has even suggested to Nandu that soldiers who have been in service for three years will be directly converted into crew members, so that the fleet of maritime merchants can handle the attacks of pirates without the escort of the navy.

"If you want to avoid being robbed by pirates, you must have the ability to rob pirates. Armed merchant ships are a good thing that benefits the country and the people. What Guangdong needs to do is to ensure that the goods of marine merchants are sold by the government and the profits earned are used to restore people's livelihood."

"Maritime trade cannot be limited to Annan. When the conditions are ripe, we must explore further places. When the eunuchs of Sanbao went to the West, they visited many places, there were many good things that I did not have in the Ming Dynasty, and there were also many places suitable for living. We do not have the ability to make another expedition, but we might as well let the people and let those maritime merchants explore. Some places have been seized by Westerners, and we have been much slower, but it is not too late to make up for the sheep."

Zhou Shixiang from Nandu replied to Duke Xiang of Song two letters, and at the same time brought him a hand-painted map called "The Complete Western Map"

“It’s time to the shore, it’s time to the shore!”

In Xuwen Hai'an Port, dozens of warships appeared in the eyes of the soldiers and civilians on the shore with sails. The soldiers who had been drifting for more than ten days on the ship were excitedly waving their hands in the cabin, and the land was like the gift they longed for the most.

After the ships docked, teams of soldiers in red uniforms went down from the deck one by one. When many soldiers stepped onto the land, they couldn't help but pick up the soil under their feet and sniffed it hard.

These soldiers were all the former Guangxi Green Camp surrendered troops transferred from the 11th and 12th towns of the Expeditionary Force, and some of them were the Han army in Annan. In the past two years in Annan, these Green Camp soldiers have been reborn and become real Ming soldiers.

At the beginning, when they went to Annan, these green camp soldiers only thought they were exiled and would never be able to return to their hometown in their lives. Even in Annan, they could be proud and enjoy the sumptuous meal provided by the Annan people. But no matter how good it is, it is not their hometown after all.

It is difficult to leave the hometown, which is the complex in the heart of every Han people. This complex has been passed down with their blood for thousands of years, and is the complex in their hearts and bones. No one or anything can change this complex.

The Annan Han people who first set foot in the hometown that their ancestors said were their first time, opened their eyes wide and looked at everything in front of them curiously.

This is the homeland, is it the homeland that awakens the ancestors in their dreams and shed tears in their dreams?

"The Grand Marshal did not give up on you!"

The deputy governor of the Expeditionary Force, Lu Guangzu, also had a little sore nose. When he knew that he was going to bring these 8,000 soldiers back to his hometown, he did not sleep all night. He drank a lot and got much drunk.

"Send the order and ask the brothers to be more strict and clean, and don't be laughed at by friendly forces for being monkeys from Annan."

Lu Guangzu got off the boat with a smile. When he got ashore, he felt refreshed. On the shore, some officials were waiting for him.

"Governor Lu, General Lu's military order!"

An officer stepped forward and handed a military order to Lu Guangzu.

"Bring it!"

Lu Guangzu nodded, took the general's order and looked at it, his face suddenly became very strange.
Chapter completed!