Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 252 Antsiranana ([-])

On May 1640, 5, it was sunny.In Antsiranana Bay, the northern tip of the Maldives Island, which is already within the Tropic of Capricornus, is sunny, and a formation of sailboats flying the flag of the East Coast Republic of China slowly sailed into the bay with wide harbor and deep water.

There were only slight waves on the sea. Lieutenant Li Yi held up his binoculars and observed the coast for more than half an hour. Then he pointed to the south with his hand and said, "I think it's better to land there. The woods there Not very dense, there is a large area of ​​low bushes and grass by the sea. There is a small stream flowing beside it. Well, the water volume is not very abundant. I don’t know if it is a seasonal river. But it’s okay, convective rain is prevalent in this year, Places with a lot of precipitation are not afraid of running out of water."

"I also think it's pretty good there." Ensign John Ston, who took the traffic boat to the "Red Trout" frigate, also nodded and said, "The small river can be widened appropriately in the future, and then a repair station can be built there." Shipyard, this is not too suitable. Of course, even if the small river is a seasonal river, we can also transform it into an artificial reservoir to provide domestic and drinking water for the residents of the entire castle. The soil quality on the bank is also I don’t know how, can we grow crops? In the future, we won’t be able to transport food all the way from outside every time, we still have to be self-sufficient.”

"Don't think about it too much, let's send someone ashore to investigate first." Li Yi put down the binoculars, and then said: "Let's help Lao Shi lay the foundation here first, and it's his own business to pull the boat over later." After all, he is the captain of the Madagascar Pioneering Team appointed by the executive committee."

Soon, under Li Yi's overall planning and coordination, a total of eight small boats were put down from the four ships, and then a large number of supplies and sailors also got off the boats and onto the small boats.Those Eight Banners slaves who had already been tortured by seasickness for more than a month and their hands and feet were sore and weak climbed down the rope ladder one by one. Many clumsy people fell into the sea while crawling, which made The sailors on deck laughed.

After more than two hours of noisy tossing like this, a total of 32 sailors, 40 slaves, and a small amount of tents, mosquito nets, shovels and other supplies finally filled eight small boats, and then the sailors began to row towards the shore.The waves on the sea surface are very slight, and the sea water is also extremely clear. Many slaves who saw the sea for the first time even temporarily forgot the fear of seasickness, and instead looked in amazement at the schools of fish passing by under the turquoise water.

"It's really a beautiful beach." Sergeant Kyle stood on the bow and said in admiration: "I have to say, it's quite rich. The density of fish schools is not even lower than that of Big Fish Lake a few years ago, and the trees on the shore are so Strong, how many years has it grown? Although I don’t know if it is suitable for ship materials, at least it is no problem to simply use it to make furniture and military barrels. Fresh air without soot smell, clear and clear The river at the bottom, the endless forest, the dense schools of fish, ah, I think I love this place. Yes, everything is very good here, well, except maybe the weather is a little hot and humid, but it seems tolerable."

After paddling for a long distance and almost approaching the coast, the sailor in charge of measuring the water depth indicated that it was already a shoal.A group of Eight Banners slaves who were concentrating on looking at the turquoise sea were roughly driven off the boat by the sailors, and then they began to push the boat hard in the waist-deep sea water and leaned towards the shore under the sailor's signal.

"There are not many shoals on the coast, and most of them are deep water areas. What's more exciting is that we have detected a considerable part of the rocky coast, which means that the port is not easy to silt up." Sergeant Kyle recorded in the notebook he carried. After detecting the information, he jumped off the side of the boat and walked slowly onto the beach in knee-high sea water.

"Everyone gather!" Kyle yelled on the beach, and continued after seeing everyone gathered together: "Now I repeat, everyone's cuffs and trousers have been tied tightly. The part must also be wrapped with a towel, and then I will get the tools, first cut down the small forest on the shore, and try to clear an open space as soon as possible. Grandma, bear, how much rain is there in this place? There were trees everywhere, and there was almost no place to stay."

The Eight Banners slaves responded loudly, and then, led by several sailors, went to the cabin of the small boat to find tools.Some of the remaining sailors picked up their weapons and did security work on the shore, while the rest began to row their boats towards the fleet moored at sea. They went back and continued to transport people and supplies ashore.

Soon, more small boats were placed on the four large ships, a few were used by the sailors to detect the coastline and measure the water depth, and most of them were used to carry people and supplies.

Li Yi also went ashore in a small boat. He was wearing a full set of thick navy autumn uniforms, the cuffs and trousers were tied tightly with hemp rope, and a towel was wrapped around his face.Although this outfit looks very hot in the sun, it is the best way they can think of to prevent mosquitoes so far.Compared with life, what is a little heat?After all, getting bitten by a mosquito here is not a joke, and you might be honored one time and get malaria, and things will be troublesome.

The sailors had already cleared a small open space with higher ground on the coast, and then set up a simple tent.The tents were made of thick cotton cloth and covered with tarpaulins and cut wormwood to keep out the rain.A gauze curtain was hung at the entrance of the tent, and several sets of wooden tables and chairs were placed in the room.Because the place is humid and hot, the sailors built some low wooden stakes on the ground, and then fixed the bed boards on the wooden stakes, and then spread mats. This is the place to sleep.Some sulfur was sprinkled around the tent to drive away snakes and insects, and lime was sprinkled in every corner for disinfection.

Li Yi sat down on the newly built bed, carefully combed the mosquito net hanging above the bed, and then looked at the naval sergeant Kyle and the leader of the Eight Banners Supervisor Mo Dashan (Xhosa, Chinese name) standing in front of him , Changshou Taoist priest of the 101st company deputy company, and Pessonin, the special commissioner of the executive committee, said: "I don't like to talk nonsense. You have to do a few things now. First, clear an open space, then set up tents, move furniture and Daily necessities. Remember, the mosquito nets and gauze curtains must be hung properly. This is the top priority, and the mosquitoes or insects in the mosquito nets must be wiped out before going to bed. Sulfur is sprinkled around the tent, which can expel a considerable number of snakes and insects. It's good for you. Lime is sprinkled too, for disinfection."

"Second, you are not allowed to drink raw water. You should have learned that there are many insect eggs in raw water, and you will easily get sick if you drink it. A public toilet will be built in a place far away from the camp. It is not allowed to defecate anywhere. Violators will be punished severely. , the toilet needs to be disinfected with lime every day. The bathhouse is also going to be built today. By the way, you have to build an earthen stove before that. You can use the bricks in the cabin to build it. It can be used to boil water and cook. Everyone must take a bath and wash their hair every day. After a while, you will dispose of the soap in the cabin. In this place, if you don’t take care of your personal hygiene, you are irresponsible for your own life! The clothes you change every day must be washed. Cook at high temperature, then dry. Try not to hang the clothes outside in the sun, because there may be insect eggs left in the clothes, remember this! "

"Third, the security work must be done well. Before coming here, you have all received some short-term training. You know that there are still some indigenous countries on this island. It’s still high. They have mastered the technology of iron smelting and iron making, so don’t take it lightly. Moreover, there are some Arab settlements in the northern part of the Falklands, and there are often some Arab sailing ships. Of course, this is not the most terrible Yes. According to reliable sources, there are often Dutch and French ships passing, docking, and exploring on this island. They are not good birds, so be careful. It is said that there are still entrenched There is a group of European pirates, these are cruel guys, we must be vigilant enough, otherwise we may suffer a lot.”

"The last point, take care of your subordinates. Especially you, Mo Dashan, you and your subordinates must closely monitor the movement of those slaves, and don't cause me any trouble. Otherwise, the next Just go and work as a slave for me."

"I obey, sir." Mo Dashan said in a low voice. He is a strong Xhosa and is also very loyal to the people on the east coast, otherwise he would not have been chosen as the leader of the overseer.

"Okay, I can't think of more things for the time being, you go to work first. If there is anything, I will send a messenger to inform you." After finishing speaking, Li Yi waved his big hand, these people All of a sudden, the birds and beasts scattered.

Near noon, almost all 300 Eight Banners slaves went ashore.Then the supervisors took them to work in different places.Some people took up saws, axes, and machetes to cut trees and clear weeds and bushes in the forest designated by Li Yi; At the same time, they also took out red bricks and cement and started to build earthen stoves for cooking and boiling water; finally, some people were taken to the beach about several hundred meters away, and then began to dig pits. Also build a large public toilet with bricks and cement.

Seeing that everyone, including the Eight Banners slaves, was working in an orderly manner, Li Yi, who was inspecting the entire construction site with the 101st company deputy company Changshou Taoist in charge of safety, smiled with satisfaction.As long as everyone maintains this enthusiasm and at the same time transports more people from South Africa, the development of Madagascar is not so far away.

(End of this chapter)