Rise of the 1630s South America

Chapter 256 Antsiranana ([-])

Antsiranana Bay, 1640 July 7.Antsiranana in this season is one of the most comfortable seasons of the year. The sunny weather, the temperature around 25 degrees, and the gentle sea breeze make people feel very comfortable and comfortable.

After more than a month of intensive construction, the vicinity of the landing point has changed a lot compared to the initial one.The first is a wooden trestle bridge that goes straight into the sea. This simple trestle bridge built with rough pine wood cut from the mountain goes into the sea about tens of meters away, and can simultaneously support two large transport ships to dock at the port for unloading.Of course, this trestle is also temporary in nature. When the materials and personnel here are more abundant in the future, Taoist Shou will organize people to build a more modern cement permanent pier.

At the end of the trestle is a road paved with broken bricks and stones.Due to the relatively large precipitation here, the dirt road is easy to soften in rainy weather, which affects the efficiency of the outward transportation of goods in the wharf.Therefore, at the suggestion of Pei Suoning, Shou Daoist organized people to mix the broken bricks, broken tiles, gravel, sand and so on left over from the burning of bricks, and paved such a relatively simple road to dredge the port.Similarly, in the future, after the problem of tight sea transportation capacity is alleviated, Taoist Shou will consider applying for a batch of asphalt to be transported from the mainland, and some roads and roofs here will be cleaned up again.In the rainy place of Antsiranana, asphalt, a material with excellent water resistance, is essential.

Shugang Highway splits a virgin coconut grove to the south, and after extending for more than [-] meters, it is the main urban area under planning.More than a month ago, there was only one set of three-room brick and tile houses, a dozen or so pine board houses, and a large number of living tents in the main city area. Now, a month has passed, and the tents that were everywhere in the main city area have been demolished and put away. up, and replaced by a dozen or so pointed-style brick and tile houses that are common in the water towns of southern China.The red brick walls, the blue eaves, and the wild flowers and vines that grow rapidly in the tropics, all appear so natural and beautiful.The words "warehouse", "health center", "canteen", "kitchen", "dormitory [-]" and "dormitory [-]" are painted with lime water on the outer walls of each house. , The living environment of the first batch of landers has been greatly improved.

In the southeast corner of the main urban area, there is a mess of simple wooden houses.These houses were for slaves. The roofs were covered with wormwood and tarpaulins. There were no windows on the walls of the rooms, and a huge gauze curtain was hung at the door to keep out the invasion of mosquitoes and flies.It was just dawn at this time, and slaves began to come out in twos and threes at the door of these wooden houses. They were all dressed in thick denim woven clothes, with turbans wrapped around their heads, and almost only their eyes were exposed.The slaves who came out first found their seats in the open space outside the door and started to line up. Several Xhosa people who looked like overseers of the Eight Banners walked up and down in front of the line with their hands behind their backs, talking non-stop. What, it looks like he is lecturing.

About 1000 meters behind these messy shacks, a tall chimney can be seen standing there from a distance, and the mouth of the chimney is still emitting a steady stream of black smoke.Judging from the size and height of the chimney, there seems to be a small kiln below.As for what kind of kiln it is, it is nothing more than a brick kiln and a retort kiln.In such a natural and primitive tropical bay full of wild atmosphere, to see such a large chimney full of civilization puffing out black smoke, I have to say that this is really a sense of disobedience and harmony. Unreal.

The above is all the situation observed by Lieutenant Wang Tiechui, the commander of the Second Fleet, standing on the third deck of the stern building of the battleship "Common Market".

Since returning to the Port of Suez with some officers of the Ottoman Empire's Egyptian fleet in February this year, Wang Tiechui has been away from the mainland for more than six months.Now the goods carried have been sold in Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire has officially approved the plan jointly proposed by the Pasha of Egypt, the Pasha of the Navy and the Pasha of Syria to order six warships from the Republic of China on the East Coast of the New World. Wang Tiehammer, who made the first batch of prepayments, felt that it was meaningless to stay in Egypt, and the route to the east was tightly controlled by the Portuguese. On the return journey.

When the fleet sailed to the waters of the Comoros Islands near the Mozambique Strait a while ago, Wang Tiehammer suddenly recalled that he had chatted with Mo Ming, Liu Ang and others in the Fort in the River before sailing. The construction of a new port in Namibia.Therefore, Wang Tiechui ordered Lieutenant Han Dezhi, the captain of the high-speed cruiser "Chaoyong", to escort two merchant ships full of people and supplies from the South China Sea Transportation Company to Mozambique Island to stop for supplies and rest. Delivery of a batch of Persian slave girls and children they transported.And he himself, on the battleship "Common Market", turned due east with Lieutenant Julien's armed transport ship "Galicia Flying Fish", heading towards Antsiranana Bay.Anyway, there is still plenty of time, and now he really wants to know how the development there is going, and whether he needs his help.

Wang Tiehammer had imagined the current situation here before sailing into the bay, but the results were not optimistic.First of all, he is aware of the poor domestic sea transportation capacity, not to mention the difficult sea area of ​​Cape Agulhas, and it is enough to transport hundreds of people and a small amount of supplies at a time.But what is the use of these things?You can also build a few houses and put up a few tents.

Therefore, in his vision, the best situation here is that there are a few brick houses, some thatched huts, and a simple pier. Most of the hundreds of slaves have died of illness, and the few remaining slaves are pitifully nesting Cutting wood to build houses in the mountains.And at worst, the East Coasters here are wiped out—by epidemics, pirate raids, native attacks, or slave revolts.

But what he saw now surprised him a little.Not only is a trestle bridge built in the bay that can dock large ships, but the buildings on the shore are also impressive. At least they live in not wooden or thatched houses, but comfortable and sturdy brick houses that are not afraid of the stormy storms in the rainy season.

"This group of people is a bit interesting." Seeing a group of soldiers from the 101st Company armed with muskets pouring out from behind the coconut grove by the pier, Wang Tiehammer said in admiration, "Okay, kids, go ashore and take a break. It seems that the native sent to host The people working here are very capable, which really impressed me.”

The two ships of the Second Fleet slowly docked at the trestle, one on the left and the other on the right. The sailors on the deck laughed and threw a section of cable amidst the enthusiastic cheers erupting from the shore.The army soldiers on the trestle took it quickly, and then tied it tightly to the stake.

Surrounded by naval officers and soldiers, Wang Tiehammer went down the rope ladder to the pier, and then looked at a person who greeted him and said, "You are Taoist Shou, I know you! When we were robbing the Spanish transport ship in the Caribbean, you were on my side. Be a musketeer on your boat, remember you are very good at it!"

"Thank you, Commander Wang, for remembering such a small person as humble. It's a great honor." Taoist Shou also said with a smile.

"Say something polite to me!" Wang Tiechui waved his hand with a smile, and then said while walking along the trestle bridge: "Tell me, if you need my help, tell me as soon as possible. I also came here on a temporary basis to have a look , I’m going back to my homeland soon. I didn’t expect you to be so impressive here, it’s much better than I imagined.”

"Commander Wang, then I won't be polite." It was luck to meet the two ships of the Second Fleet, so Taoist Shou was not pretentious, and directly began to ask: "We need people, a lot of people! We shipped them here at the beginning. As of this morning, 300 of the 25 slaves in China died of illness, 5 died of work, and 4 disappeared. In addition, about 22 people were infected with falciparum malaria; 30 of the 3 Eight Banners supervisors died of illness, 2 Infected with malaria; the 101 soldiers of the 48st Company of the Army were in better condition, but three of them were infected with malaria and were later cured, and another died suddenly of other acute diseases. Overall, the first batch of soldiers on May 3 The 1 registrants have already lost 5 people due to various reasons (mostly malaria), accounting for 5%. If this continues, it will not take long, and there will soon be no one available here .So we are in dire need of staffing right now, especially as construction gets better."

"The malaria here is so serious?" Hearing Taoist Shou's introduction, Wang Tiehammer couldn't help but slow down.This disease is not a joke. Since the disease on the shore is so rampant, is there any need for me to go ashore?

As if seeing Wang Tiechui's worry, Taoist Shou quickly explained: "Don't worry, Commander Wang, there are no mosquito habitats in our residential area and the surrounding area of ​​more than 300 meters, and all the puddles that may breed mosquitoes have been filled. It can be said that there are almost no mosquitoes in residential areas today. In addition, it is daytime, and mosquitoes are basically not lurking, so there is generally no danger."

"En." Wang Tiehammer nodded slightly, and then continued to walk towards the shore.

On the side of the road, several Eight Banners supervisors brought up baskets of freshly picked coconuts as a flattery. After seeing them, the naval officers and soldiers stepped forward with a smile and picked up one to split and eat.Of course, they won't take advantage of this side in vain.No, someone on the deck of the ship over there is already hoisting two cows and ten sheep down with a pulley boom.It was bought by them in Egypt, ready to eat on the road, and now it is given as a gift to the first brave pioneers of the Antsiranana colony to improve the lives of these miserable guys.

(End of this chapter)