He has conducted extensive research on the issue of coastal navigation safety with the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Service. After all, he is considered a full-time naval intelligence officer stationed by the Navy in the Foreign Intelligence Service.
By consulting historical information and talking to a large number of indigenous people, naturalized sailors, and merchants, Xu Li came to the conclusion that a small number of Japanese shipping ships can pass through the Fujian ocean freely, but the ships need to be fully protected.
Armed to deal with possible small groups of pirates. However, he also pointed out that if a large number of ships pass by, Zheng Zhilong's attitude may change - any large-scale shipping may arouse the covetous eyes of these maritime powers.
"In addition, we have to consider one thing: Traditional Chinese navigation generally does not stray away from the coast. Coastal landmarks are often used as a reference for navigation. Even on routes to Southeast Asia, we try to sail along the archipelago. And the senior officers we have trained
Crews can completely rely on sextants and nautical charts to navigate the ocean far away from the coastline, thereby avoiding coastal routes that are easily monitored."
After some argumentation and preparation, the second inspection group took a medium-sized Fuchuan of *** Shipping and sailed to Hangzhou. This Fuchuan was a specially modified vessel of *** Company, and its mission was to transport important people and
goods.
The ship is equipped with smoothbore cannons for self-defense. Plainclothes personnel from the Escort Bureau and the Special Reconnaissance Team are stationed on the ship to ensure the safety of the journey. The Special Reconnaissance Team not only carries SKS and grenades, but also machine guns and disposable rocket launchers - ensuring that the inspection team is safe during the journey.
Nothing goes wrong at sea.
The inspection team's port of arrival was chosen to be in Shanghai County. Qiwei Escort Bureau opened a waterway sub-container in Shanghai County, specifically responsible for the transfer of people and goods at this terminal in Shanghai.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Hangzhou had Kanpu as its outlet. However, in the late Ming Dynasty, due to sediment obstruction and difficulty in entering and exiting ships, Hangzhou's outlet was transferred to Zhapu and Ningbo. The navy and Japanese shipping personnel discussed it and concluded that it was better than
When arriving in Zhapu or Ningbo, it is better to go directly to Shanghai and investigate the local hydrogeographic conditions first. After docking in Shanghai, send an advance team to conduct on-site surveys and find out the conditions of the land and water routes to Hangzhou, so that they can transfer refugees from Zhejiang to Shanghai in the future.
use.
The trip of the inspection team went very smoothly. Fuzhou chose an "open sea" route - it is said to be an "open sea", but in the old time and space, it was just a coastal route. However, at that time, there were not many sailings away from the "inner sea" where land could be seen.
As expected, the ship did not encounter any danger and arrived at Shanghai Port safely in late April.
Shanghai County has a long history, and its construction history can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. However, until the middle of the Ming Dynasty, Shanghai County did not have a city wall. The county seat was built in the 32nd year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty to "prepare for Japanese invaders". The city was surrounded by
Jiuli, the city wall is two feet and four feet high, with six large and small gates, four gates in the southeast and northwest, named Chaozong, Kuahai, Yifeng, and Yanhai. In addition, there are two gates called Baobao and Chaoyang, commonly known as Xiaodongmen and Xiaonanmen.
The wharf along the Wusong River is located outside Xiaodongmen. Since the "Longqing Opening of the Sea", it has gradually become a port city. Songjiang Prefecture, where Shanghai County is located, is famous for its cotton cloth and is known as "the world's clothing and quilts" - even if
Songjiang cloth can be seen as far away as Hainan Island, the birthplace of China's cotton textile industry - Shanghai, as a cotton export port, has a slightly prosperous market. However, compared with the prosperous foreign trade of Fujian and Guangdong at that time,
Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces seem to be lagging behind in this regard. The overseas ports that were once prosperous in history, such as Taicang Liuhe, Ningbo and other places, are now unable to compare with Zhangzhou, Xiamen, Guangzhou and other places.
As soon as the ship arrived, there were people waiting at the pier. When they saw the lucky ship with the flag of *** docking, they immediately waved to the shore. Standing on the bow of the ship was the permission of the Foreign Intelligence Service. He was not only escorted for inspection during this trip.
The mission of the regiment also included the task of personally observing the hydrological environment along the way. He immediately responded with a gesture. The springboard had not yet been set up. The leader who was waiting on the pier stepped onto the boat with two steps, as agile as walking on the ground.
, one can tell at a glance that he is used to a life on the water.
The visitor came to him and bowed and saluted: "Is this Mr. Xu?"
The news that Xu Xu and others were going to Shanghai was sent out by Qiwei Escort Bureau's Guangzhou headquarters a month ago, and it was delivered to the Shanghai overseas counter one by one through manpower and pigeons at the outer counters along the escort route.
How many people, how many houses, warehouses and porters need to be prepared are all specified on the bill of lading.
Although this system is not as fast as the telegraph, it is not slower than the court's post. It only took less than ten days to transmit from Guangzhou to Shanghai. It was more important than sending to the court, and it also absorbed astronomy and literature.
A group of professionals - The imperial court abolished the post staff and dispersed a large number of experienced post personnel. Qiwei recruited many capable professionals from them.
After receiving a positive reply, the visitor simply said hello: "Greetings to Mr. Xu, little Mao Sansheng, please be at your disposal!"
The person who came here was the shopkeeper of Qiwei Shanghai Foreign Office, a distant relative of Sun Kecheng. He used to work as a drainage worker on the Ganjiang River. The drainage workers knew how to defend themselves with fists and kicks over long waterways. Later, he was unemployed and had no home. Mao Sansheng was born
Qiwei, who defected to Guangzhou, was one of the many "old cousins" in Qiwei who came to defect to Sun Kecheng. Mao Sansheng's skills were not good enough to be an escort, so Sun Kecheng arranged for him to run errands at first, and later became a waiter in the outer cabinet.
Although Mao Sansheng was a laborer, he was very good at dealing with people. The General Administration of Political Security conducted a secret investigation on him and assessed him as having a reliability level of 100, so he was sent to Shanghai as a foreign minister.
"Everything is ready," Mao Sansheng bowed and said, "The gentlemen will stay in Panyuan first, and the goods will be transported to our warehouse for temporary storage. They will be shipped together when the ship is ready. The sedan is on the dock."
"Okay, you go to the pier and say hello."
As soon as Mao Sansheng left, Xu Xu returned to the cabin and asked everyone to pack their bags and get ready to disembark - especially to put on their fake hair buns so as not to show their faces. Others could say that Jin Lige was in a little trouble, after all, he had a high nose and deep eyes.
It is attracting attention and must be covered up to a certain extent.
Because Qiwei Waikai in Shanghai was still in its infancy and there was insufficient housing. Mao Sansheng was afraid that he would not be able to entertain the elders, so he borrowed Pan Garden from the local gentry Pan Jiashang as a place for the elders to stay.
This place is just behind the Town God's Temple in Shanghai County, and was officially the predecessor of Yu Garden, the first garden in Shanghai. At this time and space, Yu Garden was the property of Pan Yunduan, who served as Sichuan's chief envoy during the Jiajing period. It is still in the hands of Pan's descendants.
Although it is located in the downtown area of the city, it is quiet in the bustle. It is quite quiet and elegant, and it is also very convenient for food and beverage supply and entry and exit.
A few people lingered in Pan Yuan for several days, while Mao Sansheng was busy arranging ships. Of course, there is an official route from Shanghai to Hangzhou, but when it comes to travel comfort and safety, it is better to take a ship. Besides, they also carry a lot of weight.
It is more inconvenient to transport goods by land.
"I never thought we would live in Yu Garden. It's like a dream."
At the beginning of the lanterns, several elders were sitting around in a flower hall in Pan Yuan, and Xu couldn't help but talk about it.
Several elders felt that it was a bit like a dream - they had been to Shanghai in another time and space, visited the Chenghuang Temple, visited Yu Garden, and some even drank tea in the teahouse next to the Jiuqu Bridge and ate the famous
Xiao Long Bao. Now everyone actually lives in Yu Garden - of course Pan Garden can only be regarded as the predecessor of Yu Garden.
Zhou Dongtian picked up a piece of hawthorn cake on the table - the four dishes of snacks on the table were "gifts" from the owner of the Pan family. All the food supplies they stayed in Pan Yuan were provided by the Pan family, as well as several Pan family servants.
People serve and take care of them. After all, the Pan family is a Jin gentry, and their food and drink are extremely exquisite. This hawthorn cake is not the gelatin made from sugar and substitutes in the old days. It is made from real peeled hawthorns and tribute sugar.
Yes, sweet and sour, suitable for both soft and hard food.
Of course, this kind of enjoyment is not completely free. After they leave, Mao Sansheng will also give them a large amount of "thank you" as usual.
"Your horizons are too small." Zhou Dongtian ate hawthorn cake, "What does the small Yuyuan Garden mean? In the future, I will go to the Forbidden City and the emperor's palace to sleep for a few nights..."
"That house is actually not comfortable at all." Merlin, who visited the Forbidden City, said, "I can't imagine the emperor living in that kind of house. The inner palace is not grand at all, it's just an ordinary brick house. Let alone
Plumbing equipment and the like. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter - I finally understand why the Manchu emperor had a monastic palace outside Beijing."
"I think it would be good to have a big banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony." Lu Zhongxing, who was on a business trip from the Ministry of Communications, said, "Put five hundred tables, each person has a big round table, and then behind each person stands a row of princesses and princesses.
, Princess, eldest lady, etc., there are people of all skin colors. There are bands on the terrace, one Chinese and one European. When President Wen raises his glass to toast, the band will play music——"
"Shit, why does Mr. Wen raise a toast?" Zhou Dongtian expressed contempt, "It's not like he will be the chairman for the rest of his life."
"Okay, any elder - what do you think of this banquet?"
"Don't be ridiculous," Xu Xu said, "Mao Sansheng said we have to stay here for a few days. During this time, do you want to take a stroll in Shanghai to see the specific market?"
"Yes, of course, otherwise what would we do here?" Zhou Dongtian said without hesitation, "We came to Jiangnan just to understand the local social conditions. We can't see anything while sitting in the garden."
Although Shanghai County is not a famous city in this time and space, it is a county under Songjiang Prefecture that is famous for cotton spinning. Shanghai itself is an impact land with sandy land, which is very suitable for growing cotton. Therefore, the local cotton textile industry and cotton planting industry
It also has a large scale and is a direction worthy of investigation.
The next day, everyone took a general tour of Shanghai County under the leadership of the Weiwei personnel. At that time, Shanghai County already had 100,000 households, and there were more than 30,000 residents in the city. It was ranked among the more than 1,000 counties at that time.
It was called a large county. When passing by Qiaotou Road, Zhou Dongtian noticed that there were many people in rags gathering at Qiaotou and teahouses. They all had good food, but they did not look like beggars and homeless people, so he asked Mao Sansheng.
"Sir, these are all weaving mechanics, as well as dyers and calenderers." Mao Sansheng said that there are more than 2,000 craftsmen in the county who "eat cotton cloth," and most of them are casual workers who are paid on a daily basis.
"The cotton market has been bad recently, and machine shop owners can hardly start the business themselves, so who else can hire craftsmen?"
"Is cotton not selling well?"
"The market for cotton cloth has been very bad since last year. The cloth cannot be sold at a high price," Mao Sansheng said. "Not only the machine owners and machine workers are unlucky, but also the villagers who grow cotton in the countryside are having a hard time. If the cloth cannot be sold for money, the cotton will not be able to make money."
It can’t even be sold for more money.”
Zhou Dongtian and others were speechless. They originally thought that Songjiang cloth was already "the world's clothing and quilt" and should have no worries about sales. They didn't expect that the local cotton textile industry had declined to such an extent. Not only did the Ming Dynasty's economy have problems, but there were also problems.
Not small.
Several people walked to a large house in Taiqingfang in the county town - commonly known as "Nine Rooms Building". Mao Sansheng whispered that this was Xu Guangqi's old house.
"There is currently no Xu family living in this house, only a few servants guarding it."
As one of the few people in China who "opened his eyes to see the world" at that time, Xu Guangqi was already seventy years old at the time. However, he was not in his residence in Shanghai County at this time. He had already become the Minister of Rites and a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy last year.
, Assistant Director Zhan Shifu. Most of his family members are also in Beijing.
Xu Guangqi's sons Xu Ji and Sun Yuanhua are in-laws, and the relationship between them is unusual. Because of the Dengzhou Rebellion, the Foreign Intelligence Bureau has been paying great attention to Xu Guangqi's clues. He was dispatched to the capital.
One of the missions of the intelligence team is to use the Jesuit relationship to try to establish a relationship with Xu Guangqi. On the Shanghai side, they are not taking any action for the time being, but are ordering Qiwei to pay attention to the activities of the Xu family in Shanghai.
Mao Sansheng told Zhou Dongtian that at the cross-sea gate of Shanghai County, that is, in Kangqu Lane outside the south gate, there is the Xu family's "double garden". It was the ancestral property of the Xu family and is now the Xu family's vegetable garden and mulberry garden.
It was Xu Guangqi who first successfully planted peach trees in the Fujian-Guangzhou area. There is a peach orchard outside the north gate, where many peach trees are planted, and the harvest is very good. There is also a farm villa in Fahua Town called "Hour Le Hall"
, this place is also the location of the ancestral tombs of the Xu family.
"It's Xujiahui!" Zhou Dongtian blurted out. He knew the origin of the name Xujiahui. Xujiahui is where the Xu family real estate is located. Xu Guangqi's descendants once lived here, so it got such a name.
Mao Sansheng looked at him inexplicably, wondering why "Xujiahui" came up. Zhou Dongtian just smiled and did not explain.
Except for residential buildings in the city, almost all of the Xu family's properties in Shanghai involve agriculture. Although Xu Guangqi's grandfather started as a merchant, the Xu family did not have much involvement in business, but Xu Guangqi is not a farming and reading family in the traditional sense. Although he has land
There are not many, but every place is carefully managed, and the agricultural technology, farmland water conservancy, field management and other agricultural methods are deeply studied, so the land returns are quite good. Although Xu Guangqi in later generations is known as a scientist who spreads Western knowledge, in fact he is not
To be called a successful agricultural capitalist, there were many such people at that time.
Obviously Qiwei's work efficiency in the local area was quite good, and he quickly found out the specific situation of the Xu family. Although Zhou Dongtian felt that it was of little significance.
Several people went to several water and land terminals in and outside Shanghai County to observe the traffic conditions. Lu Zhongxing, one of the members of the inspection team, was sent by the Ministry of Transportation to inspect the road traffic conditions in Jiangnan. He is a double engineer in electrical engineering and road and bridge engineering.
A degree holder who used to specialize in road and bridge quality inspection work.
Examining the traffic situation is not only to plan the route for the future military march, but also to prepare for future commercial activities in Jiangnan. Transportation is always a prerequisite for the economic development of a region.
The next day, Mao Sansheng's ship was ready. They were two short-distance passenger ships commonly used in the south of the Yangtze River for wealthy people to travel, commonly known as Wuxi Express. The ship was not big and had complete facilities, including bedrooms for rest and a living room for banquets.
For drinking and living purposes, there is a kitchen in the stern of the ship, which is very convenient for supplying food - Wuxi Kuai is very famous for its travel enjoyment. To be cautious, Mao Sansheng replaced all the people on the ship with powerful people. This way, of course, there is no famous person.
The Wuxi boat girl provided considerate service. In addition to the passenger ship, there were two other ships to accompany the luggage. As for other cargo, Qiwei arranged for multiple ships to be transferred in batches.
After Zhou Dongtian and his party boarded the ship, they enjoyed the spring scenery of the south of the Yangtze River along the way. When they were tired, they talked in the cabin. Lu Zhongxing had more things to do: he had to measure the water depth from time to time, observe the waterway, and conduct dredging for the future waterway.
Accumulate first-hand information.
Sitting bored in the cabin, several people discussed the transportation plan from Hangzhou to Shanghai. At that time, the most convenient transportation line from Hangzhou to the north was of course the Grand Canal. From Hangzhou, take the canal directly to Suzhou, which is a waterway
It's fast and convenient. But if the transshipment terminal is located in Shanghai, Suzhou is still *** ten kilometers away from Shanghai.
"I asked about it: Mao Sansheng said that he could go directly from Shanghai County to Hangzhou without taking the Grand Canal. It's just that the river he passes through is not as wide and deep as the Grand Canal. I'm afraid it won't be able to carry a heavy-loaded ship."
Jiangnan is known as a water country. It is not only full of lakes and swamps, but also criss-crossed by rivers. There are also a large number of paddy fields. Except for counties and cities, most villages and towns do not have access to dry roads and have to go by water. Even between counties and cities, although there are official
The rivers are connected by waterways, and transportation is also convenient by waterways. Inland navigation is very developed. However, most of the rivers have not been repaired and dredged. Many rivers are either insufficiently deep or narrow, and only small boats can travel. The largest ones are just so-called "ships."
.According to Lu Zhongxing's estimate, the carrying capacity of this kind of ship is only more than 20 tons.