The Volume of Changning Kingdom: Section 33: The Palace of the Chief Soldier
The wine was sold to Princess Tang by the Senate. To be honest, neither Cui Yunhong nor Wu Tingwei were interested in it. Instead, they drank a lot of locally brewed rice wine and coconut wine.
Cui Yunhong returned to her guest room. Cui Yongfang had already taken out the bedding from the cowhide suitcase and laid it out. This is the best guest room in the Huang family. All the furniture is made of high-quality Borneo big-leaf huanghuali wood, even the floors.
It's fine hardwood.
In the 21st century, even the furniture in this house could be replaced by a house in a second-tier city.
Unfortunately, there is no nylon screen, so while the cool breeze blows in from the window, a lot of flying insects also fly in. Therefore, gauze tents are hung on the canopy beds here, and several mugwort incense sticks are lit.
Fortunately, the peninsula where Shanba Port is located is surrounded by the sea on three sides. The air is extremely circulated and there are not as many mosquitoes as expected. Relatively speaking, the transmission rate of malaria will be much lower. This also explains why people can live together here and develop large-scale
of residential areas.
European immigrants in the Age of Discovery always preferred seaside areas when colonizing because the seaside was "more hygienic." Obviously, although they did not know the transmission mechanism of malaria, they knew from experience that the risk of malaria infection on the seaside was relatively small.
But if we want to survive and develop, we cannot stay on the seaside. Only by advancing inland can we better develop this land. Since we can cooperate with the Dutch to develop plantations, why do we also develop plantations here? Plantations can
Effectively change the water and soil here to make it "more hygienic". As for issues such as environmental protection and biodiversity, it is not too late to consider them after hundreds of years.
"Chief, glucose water." Cui Yongfang had prepared the glucose water. Cui Yunhong took it and strolled to the window. He was instantly attracted by the beautiful scenery of the seaside under the moonlight.
The guest room he lives in now is located at the highest point of the earth building. Looking out the window, beyond the high wall of the General Military Mansion is the calm bay. A bright moon hangs high in the blue sky. The bay is dotted with fishing fires. He
Listening to the sound of the waves, the air was filled with the fragrance of plants blowing from the forest... Cui Yunhong actually felt an inexplicable worry in her heart: The Miao descendants of China crossed the vast sea and came to the paradise-like tropical island, but they never thought of returning.
They have to suffer a hellish reality. They have worked hard to multiply and develop business here, and have built prosperous Chinese towns along the coast of Borneo. However, they still have to be suppressed by all parties and suffer constant destruction.
Destiny. In the 21st century, prosperous Chinese towns like Shanbagan have no trace of their existence at all. There is no trace of the earthen buildings as large as Huangjiazhai. Even the sacred mountain has been forgotten by the world. Her official Chinese name is only
Leaving behind the name of Chinese Widow Mountain. I wonder in this time and space, will the fate of these overseas Chinese immigrants change because of our arrival...
The next day, Cui Yunhong got up early and had a carefully cooked breakfast. Huang Shidong came over.
"Cui Yuanlao! I wonder how you enjoyed your rest last night? This is a remote place on the edge of Nanyang, not as good as Lingao or Guangzhou. Please forgive me if I don't take good care of the place."
"It's very good...although it's not the Central Plains, the scenery here is magnificent and unforgettable."
"The chief has commended me. Although the scenery here is beautiful, there are many dangerous things. After living here for a long time, I know how difficult it is to survive here." Huang Shidong sighed, "It's too early. The chief likes the local scenery. I will accompany you, sir."
How about walking on the wall of the village, which is considered sightseeing?"
This was exactly what he wanted. Cui Yunhong originally wanted to visit the General Soldier's Mansion. He was very interested in this kind of Hakka earth building style architecture that combines Nanyang style. But even distinguished guests are not allowed to wander around the castle at will - don't have to
He said that there are many entrances and roads here, and the layout is complicated. If you wander around rashly, you will most likely get lost. Now it is best to have someone to guide you.
Huang Shidong was leading the way, and Cui Yunhong visited the interior of the General Military Mansion under his leadership.
Although it is a Tulou-style building, the interior is not empty like a Tulou. Instead, various buildings are arranged. Specifically, it strictly follows the layout of ancient Chinese buildings along the central axis. The architectural form also generally follows the Chinese
The style, but the architectural layout here has many deviants. For example, the doors and windows are mostly made of vermilion, and the building bays are up to seven rooms wide. As for the wood, not to mention, the wood in the Forbidden City is not as sophisticated as the Huang family.
The color of the walls of the General Military Mansion is different from the earthy yellow of the walls of the earthen forts he has seen. It is a milky white wall, and you can feel the delicate graininess when touching it with your hands. Cui Yunhong guessed that this was because shells were added when the wall was built.
, the walls mixed with shells can more effectively resist the erosion of the sea breeze, and also make the entire space cleaner and brighter.
The General Military Mansion is composed of multiple circular earth buildings connected together, and is large in scale. Cui Yunhong estimated that it can accommodate at least five to six thousand people living here for a long time. It is a veritable walled city.
He walked around the General Military Mansion and looked around. Today was the big day for Grandma’s Mountain Sacrifice Ceremony. Among all the sacrificial activities of the year, this Grandma’s Mountain Sacrifice Ceremony was the most grand. The inside and outside of the mansion were full of people.
There were noisy human voices and the sound of adjusting musical instruments. As Cui Yunhong walked and looked around, he found many strange faces. Although they were wearing Han clothes, their facial features and expressions were completely different from those of the Han people. It was obviously not just the result of the Han people being tanned.
…
"Brother Huang, I think some of your servants don't look Chinese. Are they natives here?" he asked.
"Are you talking about them?" Huang Shidong pointed to one of the people sweeping the floor and said, "These were originally local Shengfan tribes. They were originally a local Shengfan tribe - Daya Society."
"Are they Dayaks?"
"Actually, they claim to be Dayak people, and I don't know why Hongmao likes to add 'gram' when calling them." Huang Shidong said, "Originally, they were also headhunters. When people went to work in the fields, several people had to carry weapons with them. But.
Even in this way, people were killed from time to time. Later, our ancestors sent troops to fight with them and destroyed several villages, and then a peace treaty was concluded: they promised not to hunt our heads, and we promised not to open up the land around their villages.
.Only now can both sides live in peace."
The Dayaks can also farm, but their agricultural technology is relatively backward. The ancestors of the Huang family taught them farming and exchanged goods with them. Later, they gradually became more popular, and many immigrants even married Dayak women.
Huang Shidong smiled and said: "Speaking of which, my family also has Dayak blood."
"So that's it." Cui Yunhong thought that such indigenous tribes would be a help for the Senate to explore Southeast Asia in the future.
"...There are many natives here who can also speak Chinese. Many of them believe in our ancestors like us. We and Daya Society are closely related. We have experienced storms together over the years. But...
"At this point, he sighed, "Just a few years ago, the red-haired people needed a large number of natives for some reason. The red-haired people couldn't capture so many natives, so they provoked conflicts among the various tribes of the natives and made them
They killed each other and then bought the captives. The people of the Daya Society were not as fierce and aggressive as other tribes. The conflict caused a large number of members. The remaining people escaped and came to us to seek refuge. They set up several villages in the south.
In this village, young adults work and farm for us to make a living."
Cui Yunhong's heart skipped a beat. The Senate's involvement in the slave trade in Southeast Asia had always been a taboo topic. As for the chain reaction caused by this, few people seemed to care. He decided not to discuss this topic further.
After walking around the mansion for a while, Huang Shidong took him to the fortification wall again. The fortification here was quite tight. There were a large number of artillery, firearms, and various offensive and defensive equipment in the wall.
Standing on the observation deck at the highest point of the General Military Mansion, you can have an unobstructed view of Shanba Port and the beautiful scenery of the sea and the sky. However, neither Huang Shidong nor the soldiers patrolling and guarding on top had the pleasure of admiring the scenery. Instead, they were full of tension.
Although there are many defense facilities around Shanba Port, they can only deal with sporadic attacks. If there is a large-scale attack, those simple villages and towers cannot withstand it, and there is no city wall here. How do they protect the local area? What about safe ones?
When he entered the General Military Mansion yesterday, he noticed that the Huang family had a small-scale armed force. These people were generally young and strong, wore uniform uniforms, and were relatively well-equipped. They should be in the nature of a standing army.
If what Huang Shidong said on the ship about the population of Shanba Port is correct, then this small standing army will not exceed 300 people. Any more, and the Huang family will not be able to support it. Although Shanba Port is not the Huang family It is the only walled city under its control, but the other walled cities themselves also need armed defense, so these two to three hundred troops are probably the entire mobile force of the Huang family.
Judging from the soldiers alone, they have no armor, and their weapons are mostly Japanese swords and spears. But judging from the spare weapons, there are many firearms. It is not too difficult for such a force to protect Shanpak Port. After all, Nanyang is There is almost no development of the land in this area, and there are forests everywhere, let alone roads. Most of the battles use ships to deliver troops to land remotely. The number of troops that can be delivered at one time is very limited, mostly only a few hundred people. There are teams of two to three hundred people. Relying on forts and artillery is enough to repel the invaders.
Although he was a guest and could not inquire about the specific fortification situation, he still learned from Huang Shidong: Once the General Military Mansion fires a warning shot, all the men in Shanba Port, from sixteen to sixty, must assemble with weapons in hand. Prepare for war - Every household here has weapons. As for women, children, old and young, they will take refuge in the General Military Mansion. This is how they have been protecting the people of Shanba Port for hundreds of years.
"With such vigilance, do people come to attack you often?"
"Pirate raids happen from time to time. It's not common for a large group of people to attack," Huang Shidong said. In addition to defending the port, the Huang family often went out with a whole team to "conquer" the local natives.