Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 685 Opening of the Golden Gate Foglock World
While Katata was carefully observing the black fast boats riding the wind and waves, she inadvertently noticed that a black strange bird suddenly flew over the tops of those boats at high speed, then rose rapidly, and finally stopped firmly at the top of the boats. Over the top of the fort on the other side.

"Kaknu?" Because he believed in the prophecy of the soaring eagle, Katata instinctively thought that it should be a peregrine falcon.

The Indian girl hid behind the rock and took a peek, and her tribe was also alarmed by the explosion.At this moment, these people came to the bushes on the hillside by the sea with their bows and arrows, staring wide-eyed at the movement on the other side.

"The Soaring Eagle didn't lie to us, there really is a white ship!"

"The white house above that is square."

"Who saw my daughter? Katata~~"

Katata didn't hear the calls of his parents and clansmen, because thousands of frightened sea lions on the beach made a noise far louder than the explosion.They opened their mouths wide and screamed, quickly shook their fat bodies, and jumped into the sea one after another.

In an instant, a layer of gray-black blanket was surging on the sea surface on the northern side of San Francisco Bay, and small heads with beards floated up and down on the water surface, looking at the stranger vigilantly and curiously.

Chen Yingqi, who was sitting in the speedboat, patted his companion on the shoulder, pointed to the panicked animals not far away, and shouted loudly: "Xiao Chai, look here there are also sea lions!"

Su Chong, who had changed his name to "Chai Rong", looked at it with his hands on the awning, and said in surprise: "There are so many! There is no shortage of meat now!"

There are a lot of this kind of animal on the southeastern coast of Bitter Leaf Island. The local Feiyaka people usually hunt it in autumn to get enough oil and fur to survive the long cold winter.

After Beihai Town occupied Dabo Town in the south of Kuye Island, sea lion skin and oil became a local specialty.Not to mention that the oil is a good health medicine after simple processing, the key is the skin, as long as it is brought to Anping Port, it will be snatched up by merchants from all over the place.

The only fly in the ointment is that the sea lion meat is smelly and fishy. It can be fresh for the first time, but it will be hard to swallow if you eat too much.Now in Dabo Town in the south of Kuye Island, the old residents don’t like to eat it, and only the new farmers from the island country like it.

However, under Liu Zheng's suggestion, in order to ensure the population of local sea lions and seals, Dabo Town only conducts hunting in autumn every year, and the number is controlled within [-].After all, rare things are precious!
Hearing what his companion said, Chen Yingqi said disdainfully: "What's so delicious about this thing! The skin is only worth the money! Go catch a few after the battle!"

After hearing this, Chai Rong nodded hurriedly, expressing his deep agreement with this idea.As a former soldier of the Eight Banners, he never thought that he would travel thousands of miles across the ocean and come to the other side of the sea.

It is already October in the lunar calendar. Compared with Bitter Leaf Island, which is icy and snowy, the climate here makes him feel very comfortable. It is neither cold nor hot, and even the sea breeze blowing on his cheeks has a hint of warmth.

After three years of hard labor in the coal mines of Heishi Town, Chai Rong and Chen Yingqi finally regained their freedom.However, because they could not return to their hometown in Shengjing for the time being, the two stayed in the coal mine as regular workers, receiving a monthly salary of 10 Beihai Yuan.Regardless of the small amount of money given, because the winter on Bitter Leaf Island is too cold, there are at least four months of a year when you don’t work and get paid for nothing, so the average income is not bad.

There are now more than 1000 former Qing army prisoners of war like them on Kuye Island, and nearly [-] at the most.Most of these people's homes are in Shengjing and Ula, Jilin; since the Beihai Navy has not gone south, even if they return to the mainland, they will have a difficult home, and if they sneak back, they will be imprisoned.In desperation, some people stayed in the coal mine, some were recruited by the oil field, and some went to the pastures in Ezodi.

At the beginning, Minzheng's idea was to allow these people to stay and settle in Kuye Island, distribute land to them, and take over their families.The problem is that five years have passed, and the transformed swamps in the south of Bitterleaf Island can grow some beets and rye, and the yield is not high; even if a ten-year tax exemption is offered, many prisoners of war are not willing.

Faced with this situation, the civil administration is also a headache; Beihai Town's current territory is too large, and there are many places with better farming conditions than Bitter Leaf Island, all of which are in urgent need of development.Not to mention anything else, it is not too much to throw 2 or [-] people over the newly captured Nenjiang Plain.

Today, the agricultural population of Dabo Town is almost all poor farmers recruited from the island countries of Noto, Echchu and Echigo. They are mainly engaged in cattle raising, fishing and farming.Although the hard work and the cold climate, the policy of [-] acres of land and ten years of land tax exemption is very attractive to them; moreover, the Civil Affairs Bureau also promised these people that they can be naturalized as long as they work for five years.

Last summer, the training department of the Northern Navy came to the coal mine in Heishi Town to recruit soldiers. When they learned that joining the Overseas Corps could not only get a monthly allowance of 20 silver dollars, but also return to the mainland for one year of training, many of them would not hesitate. Signed up hesitantly; even if the first requirement of being a soldier is to cut their braids, they are willing to risk it, as long as they can get out of that damn place.

Back at the Spanish fortress, after some fuss, all the families of the soldiers hid in the church, and the Indian male and female slaves were also driven and locked in the dormitory. The second lieutenant who stayed in the fortress then sent a Chinese Sergeant, led fifteen soldiers to the fort to support.

Don't look at the name of this place with "royal" and "fortress". become very important.

When the soldiers wearing iron helmets arrived at their destination, there was a deafening explosion from the direction of the fort, which frightened the horses under their crotches, and kept spinning in place, stopping.When the soldiers saw a black column of smoke rising in front of them, their expressions changed drastically.

When they came to the fort tremblingly, they saw that the earth platform used to erect the cannon was blown down in half, several bronze cannons were scattered on the ground, and seven or eight people including the lieutenant were all down in a pool of blood.

Faced with such a tragic scene, the sixteen Spanish soldiers were at a loss.You must know that the main enemy of Spain in California today is the Yuma people living in the lower reaches of the Colorado River, and in Northern California it has always been "only I bully others, no one can bully me."

At this time, everyone no longer had the courage to stick to the fort, and they instinctively thought of their family members behind them.If it weren't for the insistence of the sergeant who led the team, even the few survivors who were still panting would be ignored.So when the soldiers of the Overseas Corps rushed to the beach, fired a round of guns, and then approached and threw a few grenades, they realized that the Spaniards had already run away.

On the Raytheon, Wang Yuanfang, who was in charge of leading the expedition, saw the red flag erected on the fort from the picture returned by the drone, and ordered the landing troops to stay in place through the walkie-talkie, waiting for the arrival of follow-up troops.

Lu Qi, the deputy on the side, put down the binoculars, turned his head and asked, "Comrade Wang, is Jinshan far from the sea?"

Wang Yuanfang thought for a while and replied: "It seems to be more than 40 kilometers away from the sea. What is it called Koloma? But I heard from Zhao Xin that gold sand can also be panned out in the surrounding riverbed. The earliest gold diggers were You can make a lot of money by relying on this stuffy hair."

"Boss Zhao posted again now. But he got so much gold back, will something happen?"

Hearing what Lu Qi said, Wang Yuanfang shook his head slightly and said, "Let's just do our own thing well, and don't worry about the rest. Of course he has a way."

The reason why Lu Qi came was mainly because this guy's mentality has changed since he finished the political meeting at the beginning of the year and became a member of the 22-member committee of Beihai Town.He felt that as a key member of the committee, if he always stayed in the steel factory in the future, he would not show his proper identity and status at all.

Although the process of the converter workshop is also very important, it is still under construction and has not yet been put into production, and this position can be replaced by others.

Lu Qi thought it was impossible to fight a war, so after he got to know the civil affairs and military departments of Beihai Town, he found that the position of the boss had been taken by others, and he could only be a deputy at best.In his mind, no matter what, he had to be the same as Zhang Bo, and he had to be the boss of the industry in one side.

After thinking and hesitating for several months, when he heard that Zhao Xin was going to organize an expedition team to the North American continent, he felt that his chance had come, so he volunteered without hesitation.

In fact, as soon as the civil affairs plan to develop the Nenjiang Plain came out after the Mid-Autumn Festival, coupled with the giant gold-swallowing beast in the steel plant, the current gold output in Beihai Town was no longer sufficient to support the massive purchase of materials, which made it difficult to develop North American gold mines. plan started ahead of schedule.The overseas corps originally planned to be sent to West Java was also sent here.

Zhao Xin was worried that no one would go to North America to sit in town, so he was overjoyed to hear that.Although this expedition was mainly focused on Wang Yuanfang, he was of a temporary nature. After all, he had to bring his wife back to Bacheng to be the governor in the spring of next year, and He Xiwen and Ding Guofeng also needed his support in the military.

In another time and space, the gold mines in the Coloma area were mined for more than 100 years, until they were forced to close because of the high cost.A total of 580 million ounces of gold were extracted during this period, but geologists estimate that 80% of the gold is still sleeping underground.

The problem is that the Coloma mine is only part of the Northern California goldfields.Historically, during the gold rush from 1848 to 1855, the total gold output in the entire San Francisco area was as high as 1200 million ounces, with an average of 45 tons per year.At present, among the various gold mines in Beihai Town, except for Lingjiao Jinshan, which can be compared with it, all other places are weak.

Since West Borneo is currently under the rule of Beihai Town in name, Zhao Xin can bluntly ask Luo Fangbai and Xie Jie for gold miners, and the latter dare not disagree.Not to mention too much, just 5000 people first.

Zhao Xin’s plan is to use the gold mining industry to drive the Chinese to settle here, and quickly occupy the vast area from Upper California to the gold mining regions in western Canada.At that time, whether it is the gold sand obtained from the river or the ore obtained from mining, all will be purchased by Beihai Town.Anyway, countries are basically still on the silver standard these days, and there is still a lot of silver in Beihai Town.

Besides, at that time, you can exchange silk and tea for silver with the Spanish Governor's Palace in Mexico, which has always been the largest silver producing area in the world.

Just when the people in the "Royal Fortress of St. Francis" felt that disaster was imminent, a long arrow with a whistle whistled sharply, shot out from the bushes tens of meters away, and landed in the open space inside the fortress.

A Spanish soldier stepped forward to pick it up, and saw a note tied to the shaft of the arrow. When he opened it, he didn't recognize it at all.He hurriedly took the arrow and reported to the only remaining officer in the fortress.

Second Lieutenant Desola took the letter and opened it. He was shocked to find that it was actually written in English, and it was a letter of persuasion.The above said to give them two hours, they must disarm and surrender, otherwise the safety of life and property of everyone in the fortress will not be guaranteed.

"Shameless!" Desola's face was livid with anger, he thought for a while and ordered his subordinates: "Go and call Brother Verez."

Soon, the head of the monastery with a crown of Mediterranean hairstyle ran over. After reading the letter, he was also at a loss, wondering what the hell is "Republic China"?

It is no wonder that many Spaniards in California have almost never been to the East. Their only way of understanding the East is through the "Manila Fleet" between the Philippines and Mexico.

The monk was still digesting the contents of the capitulation letter, and Second Lieutenant Desola was carefully studying the one-meter-long sentry arrow.All he was sure of was that it was neither Indian nor Russian or British.It's amazing to think about a bow that can shoot such long-feathered arrows.

"Second Lieutenant, I want to go out and talk to them. Their letters are written in English. Besides you, I am the only one here who knows a little English."

"I will send two soldiers to escort you there."

"No, I'll go alone."

"Okay, Father. If you insist. But you must be careful, they attack us for no reason, they are not good people!"

Half an hour later, Brother Verez, who was wearing a brown cloak and a rope at the end, saw the invaders who called themselves "Republic of China" outside the fort.

He was surprised to find that these people had yellow faces similar to those of Indians, except that there were no strange painted faces on their faces, and their cheeks were shaved and their hair was cut short; His hat was also very different from anything he had ever seen.

After meeting the other party's leading officer and introducing himself, he asked the question he cared about the most: "Excuse me, who are you? This is the territory of the Kingdom of Spain, which belongs to the state of California. By God, why are you Want to attack us for no reason?"

The officer standing in front of Brother Verez is called Li Shi, formerly known as Li Dashuan, and he is 22 years old this year.Eight years ago, his family of four was bought by Xu Dayong from the market in Kaifeng for [-] dan, and they stayed in Xuzhuang for half a year before being sent to Beihai Town.Li Shi studied in the elementary school in Beihai Town for four years, and then went to the Junior Military Academy for two years.After the establishment of the Overseas Corps, Li Shi, who was already a lieutenant, was transferred over and promoted to a higher level.

"Chinese! We come from the other side of the sea, the east!" Li Shi said in broken English: "Here, no man's land! You are the invaders. What should be said is clearly written in the letter. hour, you must surrender, or you will attack!"

"No, that's not the case! Sir, as I just said clearly, I am a Franciscan friar, commissioned by the bishop of California to spread the Gospel of God and bring civilization to this wild land! "

About these missionaries, Lu Qi told all the officers and soldiers on the way here.He used the example of the Spanish colonists' conquest of America to show everyone that despite the benevolent intentions of these people on the surface, there is actually nothing good in them.

Li Shi couldn't think of how to retort in English for a while, so he swears directly: "Civilization shit! You are a bunch of bastards with no conscience!"

Seeing the sudden burst of laughter from the surrounding soldiers, Brother Verez guessed that the other party must have said something bad.

Li Shi pointed to the Thunder God on the sea and gave an ultimatum: "Did you see that ship? There are hundreds of soldiers on it, and they will go ashore soon. Your time is running out. If you don't surrender, we will directly Fire the guns and blow up the fortress!"

"Those people are a bunch of unreasonable demons!"

The dejected Brother Verez returned to the fortress and told Lieutenant Desola what he had seen and heard.When he learned that the enemy came from the other side of the sea, the second lieutenant was stunned, thinking that we have no grievances with the Orientals, and if they do this, aren't they afraid of the kingdom's revenge?

"This is important information, and it must be reported to Monterey immediately. If their next step is to attack there, the governor must make preparations early."

The Monterey he mentioned is the capital of the Spanish in California, surrounded by mountains and seas, more than 100 miles away from the local area.

"Then what are their conditions?"

Second Lieutenant Desola pondered for a moment, sighed, and said in a difficult tone: "Father, I know that you have invested countless efforts in this monastery, but we only have so few people, and there are many women and children, continue to fight It is tantamount to dying in vain. Father, you have to work hard again, just say that in the name of the commander of the fortress, as long as they can guarantee the safety of everyone's life and property, we are willing to surrender."

When Brother Verez came to the fort for the second time to ask for an audience, he was surprised to find that there were one hundred more sturdy soldiers with weapons. Only then did he realize that Li Shi was not talking big.

An hour later, the Royal Fortress of St. Francis opened its gates. Under the vigilance and supervision of hundreds of armed soldiers, all the defenders in the fortress surrendered.

During this period, a Spanish soldier quarreled with Chen Yingqi because he refused to hand over a dagger with jewels on his waist.After receiving Li Shi's signal, Chen Yingqi raised the lever rifle and fired several shots at the opponent's feet, which directly scared the Spaniard present into a cold sweat.

Second Lieutenant Desola looked at the weapon in the opponent's hand with lingering fear, his eyes were full of astonishment, and he said in his heart that his decision was really wise!
Neither Wang Yuanfang nor Lu Qi planned to keep this group of people for dinner, so all the Spaniards were ordered to take their belongings and leave immediately.However, when the monks planned to take away the imprisoned Indians, they were stopped.Although several missionaries protested, the soldiers of the Overseas Corps completely ignored them.When the monks still wanted to be ashamed, they simply beat him up and threw him outside the gate of the fortress.

So far, Beihai Town's first stronghold on the North American continent has been captured, and it has also taken the pace of expansion in the New World.

When the red flag of the Northern Navy was raised in the fortress, Lu Qi announced that the place originally called "San Francisco" by the Spaniards was renamed "Golden Gate Town", and the adjacent strait was called "Golden Gate Strait".

(End of this chapter)