Ignoring it seemed to have worked. After a period of time, Lingao's petition document, which originally came every seven or eight days, disappeared. Tang Yunwen was deeply afraid that Lingao County had fallen - if this was the case, what if any of his enemies read his book?
"If you don't save me until you die," things got into trouble. He sent someone to inquire at the government office in Fucheng, and the report said that the post road to Lingao was still open and the county seat was fine. So he breathed a sigh of relief. Since everything was safe, there was no need to
It’s nerve-wracking.
Tang Yunwen simply forgot about the big iron ship. Compared with the big iron ship in Lingao, he had more troublesome things to do: first of all, Liu Xiang, a rising star in Guangdong's ocean, harassed and robbed
They harassed the ocean at the Pearl River Estuary in an attempt to monopolize Guangdong's overseas trade. From time to time, they also came to Qiongzhou, Leizhou, and Lianzhou to make a fortune on the ocean, and robbed salt ships and sugar ships. The veteran pirates Zhu Cai Lao were not to be outdone, and fought against the Guangdong ocean.
He was having a great time fighting. The chaos on the ocean surface in Fujian also disturbed the coast of Guangdong. For a time, you were coming and going, smoke was being made everywhere, and rumors of mobilizing his troops to "suppress" came one after another. Tang Yunwen led his troops
Fighting everywhere, fighting in the Fujian and Guangdong seas, there was no room for warmth every day, and I was very busy.
With Zhu Cai Lao defeated and killed in Nanri, Tang Yunwen finally had a chance to take a breather and withdrew his troops back to the old camp to rest. But not long after returning to Baisha Water Village, he received disturbing news. The sporadic items captured by the patrol boat
According to the confessions of the defeated pirates, in the past a remnant of Zhu Cai's men went to Lingao. There were seventy or eighty ships and more than a thousand people.
These remnants of the pirates who have gone to Lingao are now sending people to recruit surrender and rebels on the ocean in Guangdong, and are constantly luring the remnants of Zhu Cailao to go to Lingao and "defect to the Australians." This is the first time Tang Yunwen heard "
"Australian". He quickly sent spies to Lingao again to inquire about the news.
The news he came back from inquiring about it surprised him. It turned out that the Australians who came to Gao in large iron ships not only did not leave, but also built houses and docks in Bopu. It seemed that they wanted to stay in Gao for a long time. This reminded him of the time when Fran
The past story of the Ji people trying to build a city and settle in Tuen Mun - later they established a foothold in Heung Shan O. Is it possible that this Australian also plans to follow the same trick as the Franco people?
This was an unavoidable event. Tang Yunwen became nervous. He knew very well the court's attitude towards these overseas people - except for Macau, they were absolutely not allowed to stay in the Ming Dynasty's land, let alone build city docks.
No matter it was Shuangyu, Tuenmen, or Penghu during the Tianqi years, the attitude of the imperial court was always the same. There was only one word for Westerners to stay and build cities on the land of the Ming Dynasty: "fight".
Thinking of this, he didn't dare to pretend to be deaf and dumb anymore. Counting from the arrival of the iron ship in Lingao, this group of overseas "Australians" had been in Lingao for almost a year. In the past year, they had probably established a firm foothold in Lingao.
Heel, so he recruited and surrendered the remnants of Cai Lao to expand his strength.
From this point of view, the situation in Lingao is worrying! Tang Yunwen quickly sent people to inquire about the news about Lingao. But he was surprised. Not only did Lingao not send out a call for help from the pirate invasion in the past year, but he also repeatedly offered to the government.
The heads of captured pirates and various seals, flags, documents, etc. were captured. Among them were notorious pirate leaders who were wanted by the government. Even the heads of Western pirates were presented.
"Lingao County Magistrate Wu Mingjin has recently become a first-class red member." Jiang Youling told him that piracy activities on the ocean surface of Lingao are almost extinct now, and the prefect thinks highly of him.
"What about the so-called Australians?"
"That's what's strange." Jiang Youling said, "The letters from Magistrate Wu to the government office never mentioned the presence of Australians."
"You mean..." Tang Yunwen whispered, "There is collusion between County Magistrate Wu and the Australians?"
"It's hard to say whether there was collusion or not. At least there was a tacit understanding not to offend each other."
"Wu Mingjin is too bold." Tang Yunwen said, "But Lingao seems to be quite quiet."
"It's more than just quiet." Jiang Youling said that Lingao has now become a big place in Qiongzhou Prefecture. There is an endless stream of local merchants going to Lingao to do business. Every day, many merchants from the mainland transfer ships to Lingao at Shenying Port.
.
"Now there is an outer counter of Gaoguang Boat Company in Shenying Port. Anyone who wants to go to Lingao can buy a ticket at the counter and take a boat there. It is very convenient."
Lingao has experienced rare prosperity and prosperity on the island, which is obviously related to the Australians. Wu Mingjin has been the county magistrate of Lingao for several years and has not been in this situation. The big iron ship has made rapid progress in the year since its arrival. It is said that there is no such thing here.
No one believes anything about the Australians.
Tang Yunwen decided to go to Bopu himself to take a look at the situation. Hearsay information was always unreliable. He would make a decision at that time.
This led to the scene where he dressed as a fisherman and personally sailed out to sea to find out the truth.
"Raise the sail and go to Changgong Bay." Tang Yunwen ordered his men.
Changgong Bay is just to the west of Lingaojiao. It is a traditional fishing ground in Lingao. There are many fishing boats operating. There are a lot of sails on the sea, so it should be easy to get in there.
Unexpectedly, the captain of the boat who acted as a guide shook his head and said: "Vice-General! It's not that I don't want to go. Fishing on the Lingao ocean requires something called a 'permit' and a small flag to hang on the mast."
. I have never done this before. As soon as the boat passes by, the fast boat that catches the Australians will come to check it. The catch may be confiscated, and the boat may even be confiscated."
"What's this license about?"
"Young ones have also heard that you are allowed to fish on the Lingao ocean only after you have received the flag, and you have to pay one-fifth of the catch as a tax every day."
Tang Yunwen nodded. Australians are really good at making money. The seafood catch in Lingao is very rich. He controlled the territory here to blackmail the fishermen, and the profit was very considerable. He himself can also receive money from fishermen from all over the island every year.
The amount of filial piety is more than three to four thousand taels.
"In this case, there is no need to lower the net to catch fish. Just move the boat closer."
The boss of the boat was helpless. He didn't know Tang Yunwen's specific identity, but there was no doubt that they were officers in the Baisha water village. Naturally, he couldn't afford to offend people like this who lived on the water, and they were greedy for the promised "many"
"Give me money", so I took the risk and sailed to Lingaojiao.
Driven by the big oar, the boat quietly approached Lingao Cape. It was the fishing season at this time, and there were many fishing boats on the ocean. This two-masted fishing boat quietly blended into the fleet without being noticeable.
But the ship boss was very worried. He looked around from time to time and urged him to "hurry up." Tang Yunwen secretly laughed at the ship boss's cowardliness. How could the so-called Australians take care of these many ships? He also used his telescope to look towards Lin.
High angle observation.
Tang Yunwen and his patrol boat have passed by Lingaojiao at least dozens of times. It is a natural rock embankment with nothing on it.
Now the top corner has been completely changed. At the top part that goes deep into the sea, a circular fort has been built with many protruding bastions on the outside. The fort is not high, but it is extremely solid and thick, and the whole body is made of big stones.
On the pier, you can vaguely see a huge iron cannon. It looks much bigger than the Hongyi cannon purchased by the imperial court.
Many trestles were built on the corner of Lingao. They were all paved with big stones and were as wide and flat as a road. Boats of all sizes were berthed on them. People and cars came and went on the embankment, making it very lively. There were also many manufacturing facilities built on the embankment.
It was an identical tall wooden frame with big wooden wheels, and a long crane stretched out to lift goods back and forth. It seemed to be something like a tangerine.
Tang Yunwen was secretly shocked. Not to mention the power of this cannon, just building such a strong pier and these stone trestles on this high corner... If the government was responsible for it, even if they had enough money and food, they would have nothing to worry about.
According to his estimate, it will take at least two to three years.
"Sir, Fengsui!" Zhang Wen, his general beside him, reminded him in a low voice.
The appearance of the beacon has also changed. Not only did most of the bricks and stones on the surface of this beacon fall off, but the soil has collapsed in some places, and it is also covered with weeds and small trees, like a small mountain of earth. Now, the beacon has been rebuilt all over.
The bricks and stones were removed, the trees and weeds were cleared away, and a small house was built on the top. A large iron cannon was vaguely visible on it.
Tang Yunwen felt strange: Although the beacon tower has a wide view and can be seen very far away, it seems meaningless to set up iron cannons on it - the Hongyi cannons purchased by the imperial court can only hit a distance of four to five hundred feet at most, and they are not at all
I'm not sure. This beacon is five or six miles away from the sea on the Bopu side. When the cannon fires, wouldn't the cannonballs hit the land?
Is it possible that the cannonballs can hit the sea? So this cannon can hit at least five or six miles away! Tang Yunwen is a military commander with actual combat experience. He has also dealt with Europeans, and he has written about the art of firearms warfare.
Literary men are different. He knows that the so-called Western French artillery "can reach as far as ten miles" is nonsense, but the group of Australians in front of him have such heavy artillery! Thinking of this, he can't help but tremble. The largest cannon on his ship is not as good as Fran.
If the robot's red cannons came to attack the Australians in Bopu, they would probably be beaten to pieces without even getting close to them.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel glad that he had listened to Jiang Youling's words. If he really came to attack, the defeat would be easy, and the whole army might be annihilated.
When he thought about it, his mood became very heavy again. Looking at this situation, the Australians had the same plan as the Francois and the red-haired people in the Year of Apocalypse in the past, and were preparing to build a city here in Bopu and stay there for a long time.
If this were the case, the imperial court would sooner or later issue an order to punish him.
But it won't happen this year. Tang Yunwen thought. Recently, the Donglu suddenly entered the pass through Mongolia and captured several cities. Their troops were directed at Zunhua, and the capital was shocked. The imperial court probably didn't have time to deal with this matter. If it were local
If an encirclement and suppression campaign is carried out, it will most likely be from Guangdong and Fujian...