"Captain, there is fire on the beacon tower!" Mei Wan, who was in charge of the observation, reported.
Bei Wei looked up and saw that a bonfire had been lit on the beacon tower, with thick smoke rising into the sky under the dim sky.
Although this situation had been expected, he was still a little frustrated - it would be great if this warning post could be pulled down silently. But his plan was shot down by Xi Yazhou - the preparations for special operations took too much time.
The travelers must launch landing operations as soon as possible and gain a foothold on the shore before the news spreads. The Qiongzhou Strait was an important maritime transportation thoroughfare and fishing ground in ancient times. At dawn, such a fleet that transcends the times cannot hide anything.
For humans, the difference between pulling out the beacon tower and not pulling it out is no more than an hour or two.
"Ignore him and continue to measure the water." Bei Wei ordered. The best thing to do now is to get the ship into the harbor as soon as possible.
But the people on the boat were still a little nervous. Mei Wan, while recording the water depth line, quietly asked Bei Wei:
"Will the Ming army come for reinforcements?" As the war started, reinforcements from all walks of life came one after another - this is a common plot in movies and novels.
"No." In fact, Bei Wei himself had no idea. Yu Eshui swore that there were no troops stationed in Lingao City, and the beacon tower served as an early warning. Although he was not afraid of a small group of Ming troops or any local armed forces.
, but the less unnecessary bleeding, the better.
The boat rowed all the way, testing the water depth and placing beacons to calibrate the waterway for the ship. The sea water was rising, and the waves were pouring into the river. The boat hardly needed to be rowed before it was carried by the tide to the pier in front of the beacon tower. Under the platform was a low
A tile-roofed house with a flagpole in front of the door - this is probably the Bopu Inspection Department mentioned in the intelligence.
There was no one in front of the Inspection Department, and a lantern with the words "Inspection Department" still hanging on the tall flagpole was not extinguished.
Bei Wei waved his hand: "Everyone, bayonets on! Reconnaissance team, target the house directly in front, one group, two groups and three groups, follow me!" Following the command, Bei Wei turned off the safety, and was the first to jump out of the boat and onto the dock.
.
Although everyone did a standard job in this assault, the first Ming Dynasty government office occupied by the travelers was empty. On the beds in the left and right rooms, the straw mats were still warm, and a pot of water was already sitting in the kitchen.
, the fire has not been extinguished. The place has not been empty for a few minutes.
The Inspection Department is responsible for inspection and early warning. Of course, there is no need to fight against the vicious pirates. They are familiar with the terrain and leave. Anyway, the pirates will not stay for a short time, and they will come back to clean up after leaving. In addition to tables, chairs and benches, the Inspection Department is
The guys in the kitchen couldn't lose much money. The pirates also knew that there was nothing valuable in the yamen, so they simply refused to enter.
This group of travelers in the 21st century not only searched everywhere, but also looked through everything with great interest - in their minds, these were antiques. They also had to occupy dove's nests - houses and houses with their backs to the coast.
The beacon tower at the commanding heights and the dock are a ready-made landing headquarters.
Bei Wei ordered a team to go up to the beacon tower to search and extinguish the fire and then serve as a guard. Another team climbed to the top of the Inspection Department and was responsible for suppressing the surrounding areas. He reported to the flagship through the walkie-talkie that the landing was successful and occupied the Bopu Inspection Department. No one was involved in the operation.
casualties.
After the report, he called two team members: "You go back to the boat and cast smoke beacons along the waterway to guide subsequent ships into the port."
In the dock of the Fengcheng Ship, the people who had been watching the smoke column nervously after hearing the news breathed a sigh of relief. The gate of Bopu Port-Lingao has been opened to the passers-by.
Ma Qianzhu suppressed his excitement and pretended to be calm and said to Mond, "Let's begin!"
This order was immediately transmitted to all the ships. The same order was repeated on every ship: "Weigh anchor!"
Two fishing boats were in the van, two in the rear, the Fengcheng ship and the self-propelled barge were traveling side by side, and the North American sailing ship opened its snow-white sails. The fleet rolled along the white waves and sailed toward the harbor in a mighty manner. Behind them,
It was a red sun that burst out, dyeing the sky red, the surface of the South China Sea sparkling with golden light, and the dawn of the new world shone on the travelers for the first time. The travelers on the deck stood up involuntarily,
The excitement in my heart is incomparable:
I am witnessing history and I am also creating history!
This feeling made them so intoxicated that someone sang "Ode to the Motherland":
The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, and the victory song is so loud,
Singing our dear motherland, we will become prosperous and powerful from now on.
…
First it was one person, then many people, and finally everyone. The high-pitched singing voice went straight to the sky and resounded throughout the new world.
"Sound the whistle!" the executive committee ordered as they were about to enter the harbor.
"Woo--" the whistle sounded loudly. This was the whistle from another civilization in time and space. It announced the coming of a new era - history was about to be changed.
Although everyone is eagerly preparing to embark on the new world, for the time being they have to continue to endure on the ship until the dock project is completed. Professional engineering personnel and unprofessional basic labor force - the latter are organized in groups of 5 people, in batches
Go down to the boat and carry it ashore,
Engineers must first plan and build a port area as a starting base for advancing inland.
Because the geographical environment of Bobu Port as a seaport is not superior - although there is a deep-water channel with a water depth of ten meters in the bay, the red stone island and the silted sandbar at the river mouth also play the role of a natural breakwater, the wind shelter conditions here are not
It is all-weather, with almost no cover on the northwest side. Once the northwest wind blows, the wind and waves in the harbor will be very strong - travelers cannot use it as a main base. The storm surge caused by typhoons every year also makes it unsuitable to live and work here.
The modern Bobu Port is at the southern end of the bay, where the water depth conditions are the best. Engineers also chose the same location as the landing site and unloading and storage area. As a rule, such a port requires the construction of breakwaters, various forms of piers and
There are trestles, unloading machinery, and large-area warehouses and venues. All of this is a fantasy for travelers.
Of course, landing craft can also be used for ship-to-shore transfers, but the speed is too slow. If the trestle is built manually, the entire construction period will be very long, and some professional equipment must be made to work effectively. Therefore, Yan Quezhi, who is responsible for the port planning and design work, and several
The engineering and technical personnel discussed the simplest method before crossing - floating dock.
The most common use of floating docks in modern times is for the loading and unloading of small boats, and they are rarely used as unloading docks. However, anyone who knows a little about military history knows that floating docks were used on a large scale during the Normandy landings in Britain and the United States.
This allowed the Allied forces to deliver 100,000 tons of supplies and 50,000 various vehicles ashore without capturing the port. Although the floating dock suffered heavy losses in the hurricane that followed and soon lost its use, its effectiveness was
Completely proven.
The travelers do not have such luxurious conditions - the floating docks and breakwaters in Normandy do not need such a large scale. They just need to be able to transfer the supplies and personnel on the ship to the shore as soon as possible. Therefore, the floating dock uses
Closed rows of 200l iron drums are connected and welded into small units using angle steel. Waste tires for buffering are suspended at the connecting parts of each unit, and corrugated steel plates are welded to the top. According to calculations by the engineering team, the buoyancy of each unit can be
It can carry 40 tons. General vehicles, machinery and materials can pass through.
The problem with this type of iron drum floating dock unit is that it is difficult to connect. If it is a standard pontoon bridge, there are special connecting bolts that can be connected very accurately. Although these iron drum docks have an outer frame welded with angle steel, the connection parts are also welded in advance.
There are exposed steel ears, but no one can guarantee the error level here.
The floating piers towed by fishing boats were towed into the bay one after another. The traversers did not have the high-powered motor boats of the pontoons. The small motor boats on the Fengcheng ship had limited horsepower. They were towed and towed by several small boats with great difficulty.
The units are roughly in place - the berth where the Fengcheng ship is anchored is almost a full 150 meters away from the shore. The number of units is sufficient, but it is more difficult to assemble than expected. The undulating waves make it difficult to connect the bolts.
In place, the engineering staff had no experience in this area. From time to time in the rush, someone fell into the water because they were too focused on their work. Fortunately, there were life jackets and whistles. The landing command organized a group of people who were good at sea swimming to take a rowing boat in the bay.
After patrolling back and forth for rescue, the Engineering Department finally did not become the first department to produce martyrs.
The anchors installed with reference to the pontoon played a decisive role when manufacturing the pontoon. The four small anchors on each unit successfully slowed down the bumps of the pontoon. At the end of the morning, a 150-meter-long and 8-meter-wide anchor was installed.
The floating trestle has taken shape, although these units will still reveal cracks that can break a person's ankle from time to time in the ups and downs of the waves, and subsequently make a terrible pulling sound.
The members of the executive committee watched the completion of the first project of the traverser on the Fengcheng Wheel. They couldn't help but feel excited. Ma Qianzhu said loudly: "I suggest that this trestle be named 'Project No. 1'."
We need to erect a monument and pass it on, and it will forever be remembered in the history of our country!"
"It's okay to erect a monument," Wen Desi said, "but this thing needs to be replaced with a permanent facility before the typhoon next year. When the typhoon comes and blows it away, we will suffer a huge loss - so many iron barrels.
And steel!”
Ma Qianzhu was about to speak when suddenly a foreign girl came into the cab, holding a camera and snapping pictures. Everyone was stunned, and then they remembered that this was Ding Ding's girlfriend Pan Pan, and then
Ding Ding also came in, holding an interview machine in his hand, and directly asked Ma Qianzhu to talk about his thoughts on landing. This media reporter who was unwilling to be left alone had already roped in a few people who knew printing and was preparing to publish the first picture of the time traveler.
For the newspaper, he even allocated shares and gave his future newspaper an uncreative name, "Lingao Times".
"I don't have any thoughts." Ma Qianzhu said with an uncooperative attitude. In fact, he was very excited today, but he didn't like interviews. He would rather quietly mention his thoughts while writing his memoirs instead of
Asked when someone poked him with something.
"Where's Mr. Wen? Tell me what you think." Ding Ding immediately changed the subject, and Pan Pan came over and slapped Wen Desi fiercely.