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Text Chapter 38: Sharpening the Knife

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    March 2, 1646, Friday, was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the second year of Longwu in the Ming Dynasty.

    Today is the Lantern Festival, the last festival of the annual New Year holiday. At this time, the overseas community of Huamei Pearl Island is still in the final stage of the New Year holiday. People and cars are coming and going in the commercial streets, the sound of firecrackers is everywhere, and children are chasing each other.  In the streets and alleys.

    The newly expanded port finally welcomed its biggest wave of visitors after the Lunar New Year: a total of six beautiful and large merchant ships entered the port area accompanied by an Alfalfa-class frigate.

    Longzhu is the first ship of the third batch of improved Alfalfa-class frigates. It is the first latest capital ship of the Huamei Asia Fleet to be equipped with a new steel rifled gun. It is also the first time this class of ships is deployed to the Far East.  The range of its 100mm naval gun is almost comparable to the 120mm Wisworth rotary bore gun on the Princess-class light cruiser.

    The first captain of the Longzhu was Major Zhou Ping, the son of Yan Qigu of Huameiyan Mansion.  The addition of the Longzhu has once again brought the strength of the Asian fleet to a higher level.  For Zhou Ping, it was also the first time since he became sensible that he had returned to the East.

    In the merchant fleet escorted by the Longzhu, five of them are small merchant ships flying the flag of the Eastern United Group.  Although they are small, they are much larger than the Ming Dynasty merchant ships that are common in Southeast Asia, but this type of ship did not exist in the Eastern Union Group before.

    They are the earliest generation of all-steam modern and general-purpose inland river merchant ships in China, with a full load displacement of less than 1,000 tons and a maximum cargo capacity of about 450 tons. Most of the ships are over fifteen years old and belong to the national standard 440 type that is being gradually phased out. At present, the Eastern Union Group  The smallest merchant ships are the Donglian 800 type with a cargo capacity of 800 tons.

    From a gorgeous perspective, the appearance of such small merchant ships in the Far East across tens of thousands of sea miles is no small miracle. If they are not careful, they may stop midway.

    In fact, these five national standard 440-type merchant ships are second-hand merchant ships purchased by Donglian Group from Huamei for Daming Guangfu Bank. They are the first batch of Huamei-made merchant ships purchased by Luo Huide's Guangfu Bank with a mortgage loan from Oriental Bank of Hong Kong.  It was the first time that the Ming Dynasty merchants owned steam merchant ships.

    In order to enable these refurbished second-hand ships to sail to the Far East, Eastern Union Group has also spent a lot of effort.  From the day they set sail, their cargo holds were filled with coal.  It took almost half a year to reach Pearl Island with stops along the way.  So dirty inside and out that they look even more old, otherwise they would have a pitiful standard endurance of more than 2,000 nautical miles.  It is impossible to cross the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

    The last and largest remaining ship is the Indian Ocean Fairy, Huamei's most luxurious large-scale ocean-going passenger and cargo merchant ship, flying the flag of the state-owned ocean shipping company.

    As the third sister ship of the same type to the Pacific Queen, the Indian Ocean Fairy was not only employed by the Chinese and American Army to transport a group of army recruits to the Far East, but also carried a group of special guests.

    When the gorgeous body of the Indian Ocean Fairy docked at the pier, it almost stole the attention of everyone in the port area.  The good living conditions for long voyages make every passenger who steps off the ship feel in good spirits at the pick-up area at the pier.  There was already a group of anxious soldiers waiting.

    The first to come ashore were about 600 Chinese and American Army officers and soldiers. They were all recruits who completed recruit training last autumn and winter. They will join the Eastern Brigade of the National Defense Forces and the Brown Bear Brigade of the Foreign Legion respectively to replace the retired soldiers of these two units.

    The next people to disembark were more than a hundred employees sent by the Eastern Union Group from the mainland. They also came to the Far East to rotate positions.  There are now as many as a thousand Eastern Union Group employees in the Far East. Except for some who have moved their families to the Far East, most of them have to be rotated every one or two years.

    The last one to disembark was a bit surprising.  Almost all of them were well-dressed women, many of them even had children by their side or in their arms, and a few of them were followed by several servants.

    Every woman who gets off the boat.  When picking up guests at the pier, a soldier would step out, holding hands shyly, hugging him warmly, or looking at each other closely without words.

    As soon as a fat middle-aged European-American woman walked down the spiral staircase with her salute in hand, a tall European-American second-class sergeant major approached her.  The rolled up sleeves revealed his furry arms, and he hugged the middle-aged woman like a bear.

    "My dear Polya, my sweet little biscuit, when I knew that you were delayed at Nanshan Port, my heart was broken. But God bless you. There will be a good holiday tomorrow for us to make up for each other.  ,Ha ha"

    "Dear dead ghost. You haven't sent your salary home for a whole year. I have to reduce the expenses at home. I want to check your expenses this year. God is my witness, if there is something wrong, I will  Leave now¡±

    The unshaven face touched his wife¡¯s cheek frequently, but he was ¡°mercilessly¡± scolded by his wife. Makarov¡¯s cheeky laughter spread almost dozens of meters away, causing the ship to tremble.The next upload was filled with laughter and clapping.

    Another large group of passengers disembarked. The blond woman at the head was only in her twenties. She was dressed in luxurious clothes. She was holding a little boy who was only three or four years old. The long line of people behind her were almost all servants.  Both men and women carry suitcases.

    "Major, your wife should be the most beautiful angel on this ship"

    "I'm sure the major's wife brought half of the estate in a suitcase."

    Ren Xingzhong sheepishly stepped out of the queue amidst the applause of his colleagues, walked up to the blonde woman, and after gazing at her affectionately for a few times, he couldn't help but hug her into his arms.  Then he turned his head and looked at his timid and shy son who had been separated for three years.

    "Call daddy, dear." Seeing her son shrinking behind her, Anne quickly squatted down and pushed her son to her husband.

    When Ren Xingzhong set out from his hometown, his son was only a few months old. Now he can stand and speak.  Ren Xingzhong suppressed his inner excitement and just smiled and touched his son's face with his hand.

    You must know that when Annie planned to take her son to visit relatives in the Far East, Yang Wenwen firmly opposed it.  Even though she was traveling on a large luxury liner, Yang Wenwen, who was well aware of the risks of ocean voyages, was very worried about her grandson's safety.

    The little boy looked at the unfamiliar officer in front of him, then looked back at his mother, and finally lowered his head and grasped the hem of his mother's skirt.  Ren Xingzhong and his wife looked at each other and could only show a wry smile.

    Not long after, Qiao Si¡¯s wife and eldest son, and Yu Shan¡¯s wife and young daughter also appeared among the passengers.  Unfortunately, at this moment, Qiao Si was leading a mixed force of the Eastern Brigade and the Brown Bear Brigade to perform a major mission on Da Yuan Island, and only Yu Shandai was there to receive him.

    Dozens of visiting family members of the Eastern Brigade officers and soldiers stepped off the ship, setting off a heat wave of crying and laughter on the pier.  Many officers or non-commissioned officers who had been separated from their wives and children for a long time actually became red-eyed.

    This arrangement should be the first attempt by the Chinese and American Departments of Defense. The purpose is to allow officers and soldiers deployed in remote areas to have the opportunity to reunite with their families.  Although the Eastern Brigade was formed.  The Ministry of National Defense has specially approved the family members of military officers or senior non-commissioned officers to accompany them and settle on Pearl Island, but in fact only a small number of people have applied.

    Due to the delayed changes in the Far East military operations schedule, the Eastern Brigade¡¯s originally planned three-year deployment period had to be extended for another two years. Except for the officers and soldiers who retired or were replaced during the normal service period, most of them had to continue to stay in the Far East.

    In order to take care of the emotions of officers and soldiers or maintain morale, the Ministry of National Defense, in addition to generous promotions to some officers and soldiers, also arranged this large-scale family visit to the Far East at the end of last year.  It was only because the Indian Ocean Fairy temporarily merged with the five second-hand ships sold to Guangfu Hong during its layover in Nanshan Port that the trip that was supposed to arrive at Pearl Island before Lunar New Year's Eve was delayed until today.

    With the last family member disembarking.  The crowd at the dock gradually dispersed, and then another wave of dock workers came over and began the next stage of unloading the warehouse.

    It seemed that he was still sleeping when he entered the port. When most of the sailors began to leave the ship, a sleepy-eyed Chinese young man in a suit appeared on the deck of the Indian Ocean Fairy and carried a suitcase.

    "Are you Mr. Chang, the newly appointed Assistant to the Far Eastern Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?"

    A European man who was holding a sign and was about to lose his patience at the dock saw a Chinese young man getting off the boat alone and ran over quickly.

    "Hello, I am Sanyu. This is the employment document and identity certificate issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." Sanyu shook hands with the other party and took out his identity document and certificate of employment from his body embarrassedly, "The ship was delayed midway.  That¡¯s why I¡¯m late. Please take me to the office of the Far Eastern Affairs Department, and I will apologize to Director Jin in person.¡±

    "Unfortunately, Director Jin is currently visiting Taoyuan Island. This is his work arrangement for you before leaving. Please go to Hong Kong immediately to meet Governor Conrad. The content of the letter is second-level encrypted and needs to be analyzed by yourself. Go  I have also prepared the Hong Kong ferry ticket for you. You can only rest for two days and will set off the day after tomorrow."

    With that said, a paper bag was handed to Sanyu.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I would receive such a tight work arrangement as soon as I got off the ship. It seemed to be a very important task. Sanyu once again expressed deep expectations for his transfer to the Far East.

    ¡­¡­

    ¡­¡­

    At this moment, the gorgeous Government House of Hong Kong.

    "Your Excellency the Governor, representatives of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia have arrived and hope that their crews and soldiers can enter the city to rest."

    The door to the office of the Governor's residence opened.  A clerk walked in at this time and handed Conrad a document.  The Governor of Hong Kong, who was pruning flowers in front of the windowsill, waved his hand.  I almost accidentally injured a flower stem.

    &nbsp"It's more effective than the Portuguese, but coming from a countryside full of mosquitoes and diseases, you should be more conscioustell them that they can only move in the port quarantine area and must undergo adequate health inspections."

    Conrad was not in a good mood after being disturbed. He knocked the scissors in his hand heavily on the window sill: "By the way, after the health quarantine, let them station in the designated area and not enter the city. Let the police keep an eye on it."  Some, today is the Lantern Festival, and I don¡¯t want anything to happen that may harass Hong Kong citizens.¡±

    An hour after Conrad's instructions were issued, about 800 disarmed sailors or mercenaries from the Dutch East India Company boarded the sanitary quarantine area of ????the Hong Kong dock, looking at them with fussy wonder and envy.  This gorgeous site is quite different from other oriental cities.

    Compared with the original and dark Batavia or the trading fortresses of the Spice Islands, the air here is fresh and the view is broad. All the buildings that come into view are fresh and bright colors, and there are no Javanese natives who are almost as big as half savages.  walk around.

    The neat urban streets and green belts in the distance, as well as the subtle delicacies mixed with the fishy fish, make every mercenary from distant Europe feel relaxed and happy.

    However, before they could summarize their opinions and continue the discussion, a group of officers, soldiers and police from the Huamei Oriental Brigade and more than a dozen health personnel from the quarantine area gathered around.  Without explanation, almost everyone was ordered to take off their clothes from the inside out, which were so dirty due to the long voyage that they could rival beggars.

    "No, no, God. This is a personal insult to me, Lieutenant. Open your eyes and take a good look at this document and my status as a general. I represent the Dutch East India Company. I am also the commander-in-chief of this military operation."

    The commander-in-chief of the Dutch East India Company in charge of this joint Japanese trade switch operation was a Danish man named Rasmussen.  At this time, he was spitting and furious at a gorgeous lieutenant officer.

    "I'm sorry, General, the joint command has not been formally established yet, so you are still an ordinary immigrant. I have been ordered to guide you in the sanitation and disinfection work, otherwise we will not be able to provide the next stage of material supplies."

    After listening to the translation, the young Chinese lieutenant coldly made a military salute to the Dutch Major General, who was apparently far superior to him in status, but did not give up his duties.

    Probably some of the smell of the scene is quietly dissipating.  Several Chinese and American health quarantine workers closest to Rasmussen secretly covered their noses.

    "The damn Governor of Hong Kong told him that we are not natives of Java, let alone enemies."

    Rasmussen probably noticed something, and looked around at the hundreds of gorgeous soldiers who were gradually surrounding them, as well as the rifles that were pulling their triggers one after another, and his face turned red.

    "Perhaps we should change into more comfortable clothes. It seems that they are ready. What do you think, General?"

    ¡°I saw a pile of things neatly stacked in a shack not far away, and a secretary of the Dutch East India Company accompanying Rasmussen whispered softly to the side.

    "Okay. Let everyone take off their armor." Seeing that the resistance was ineffective, Rasmussen could only blush and take off the breastplate fastened to his body, and the moment he took off his helmet.  The smell wafting from his messy hair made the nearest Huamei health and quarantine personnel look uncomfortable.

    "General, you must take off everything. Except for your armor and weapons, everything else will be burned, but we will compensate everyone with a new set of clothes and shirts." A Chinese-American European staff member blocked Rasmus  Sen's way.

    "What a shameful day, we are not here to attend the Savage Ball" Rasmussen looked around at his subordinates, and finally began to tear his clothes impatiently, "Okay, let the boys cheer up.  I need everyone to keep their morale up when they walk into the bathhouse."

    A few minutes later, a naked Rasmussen raised his chest and raised his head.  The first one walked towards a large wooden shed in the distance, followed by hundreds of soldiers who were also shining in white.

    "I don't care about covering up shame in broad daylight."  Under the shy sneers of the Hong Kong female residents who happened to pass by nearby, hundreds of Dutch mercenaries stripped naked and sang unknown songs boldly and entered the bathing and disinfection shack one by one.

    ¡­¡­

    According to the arrangements negotiated by the heads of China, the United States, Portugal and the Netherlands in the Far East, the Dutch East India Company will become the main force in the "trade negotiations between the Netherlands, the United States and Portugal against Japan" after the beginning of spring.

    Due to an emergency incident on Taiyuan Island, most of the main force of the Huamei Asia Fleet went to Anping Port on Taiyuan Island, so only 3 warships, 1 transport ship and two ships including the Jincheng Princess could be mobilized.Three companies of Eastern Brigade officers and soldiers participated in the operation.

    The Dutch East India Company undertook the largest troop dispatch, dispatching 6 sailing warships and more than 600 land mercenaries from Java.  Portugal was responsible for organizing three sailing warships and more than 300 marine soldiers from Goa, Malacca and Macau.  The three countries have a total of 13 warships and more than 1,300 army troops.

    Although the Huamei side of Japan's Operation Switch has greatly reduced the scale of troop dispatches due to the Taiyuan Island issue, it is still a rare opportunity for actual combat verification for the Eastern Brigade of the National Defense Forces, which has been stationed in the Far East for three years.  Therefore, after careful consideration, Major General Deng Jian, commander of the Chinese-American Army's Far East Regional Command, personally selected the companies and officers who would participate in the expedition. For this reason, he also specially gave the officers and soldiers an early holiday.

    Portugal's manned ships are not yet fully in place, and there is still about half a month before the three-nation joint fleet officially sets sail. However, as more and more European sailing warships and soldiers appear on Hong Kong Island, it still arouses the concern of the Ming Dynasty merchants.  Discuss privately.  Some Ming merchants who had completed their trade delayed their departure for fear of encountering any accidents after going to sea.

    The gossip spread unexpectedly, and the Commander-in-Chief of Guangzhou Nantou and other surrounding Ming Dynasty Liangguang Beiwoying Town also became nervous.  For a time, the Humen Fort guarding Guangzhou's waterways was on alert day and night, fearing that the Spanish soldiers gathered outside Guangzhou would take the opportunity to land and plunder the place.  Zhao Youheng, the governor of Guangdong, even summoned the business representatives of Donglian Group, which was supplying the new army in Guangzhou, many times to specifically inquire about several matters.

    A few days later, a few well-informed maritime merchants finally heard two important words: Japan.

    After learning the truth and the safety promise, people breathed a sigh of relief.

    ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Offensively, the Ming Dynasty merchants did not know whether the Zheng family, which monopolized Japan's trade routes, would cause a conflict with the foreigners.  To be continued
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